Schomburgk's Account of Roraima. 311 



thing else, our forks. Seeing us eating with them, they 

 burst into loud derisive laughter, shaking their heads 

 sarcastically and pointing to their fingers, which evidently 

 they considered the most unsurpassable forks. As great 

 as our expeftations with regard to the provisions which 

 they were supposed to bring along, had been, as sorely 

 were we disappointed and we had therefore to start as 

 early as possible for the Roraima. 



Accompanied by some twenty Indians we started at 

 daybreak on the 17th of November, in the best of spirits 

 and full of excited expeftations as to the events of the 

 coming days, not thinking that the first day of our 

 journey would be saddened in so mournful a way. 

 We began by cutting through the magnificently wooded 

 oasis bordering the western banks of the Kukenaam, 

 which here forms a grand and pi6luresqi'e waterfall 

 of several cascades tumbling down with a thundering 

 noise. A proje6ting height hiding the actual base 

 of the Roraima lay in front, and above this arose the 

 gigantic walls of the latter and of the Kukenaam, 

 shining to-day in the bright morning sun without any 

 trace of fog. To the North-West the Murre rushed 

 over a mighty sandstone wall into the Kukenaam, over- 

 hanging which was an exquisite Leguminosae in full bloom. 

 Before crossing the Murre, the Indians drew our atten- 

 tion to a big sandstone block with hieroglyphics; on its 

 surface we noticed several carved lines, about an eighth 

 of an inch deep, looking just as if somebody had passed 

 with both hands in a curvelike dire6lion over the stone, 

 leaving the impression behind. When Makunaima 

 still walked on the earth, he passed by this spot and left 

 this sign of his presence to the coming generations. 



RR2 



