EIVEES OF GUIANA. 21 



appropriate to the Amazons than to any other South American stream. Like the 

 Maroni, the Oyapok rises under the name of the Souaure in the Tumuc-Humac 

 Mountains at the Watagnapa Peak, and serves as the eastern frontier of the un- 

 disputed portion of French Guiana towards Bi-azil. 



The "creeks" * or headwaters of the Oyapok approach those of the Maroni, 

 and these two rivers closely resemble each other in their general character. The 

 Oyapok also, which was usually followed by travellers bound for Brazilian Guiana, 

 descends from reach to reach through a succession of falls and rapids, which, how- 

 ever, are both more numerous and higher than those of the Maroni. Coudreau 

 speaks of two which plunge over precipices some 60 or 70 feet high, and the Trois 

 Sauts (" Three Leaps ") is probably the finest in the whole of French Guiana. 

 The Robinson Fall, last of the series, lies about 50 miles from the sea. 



The Araguari, Cachipour, and Mapa Grande. 



East of the long alluvial promontory of Cape Orange, which is formed by the 

 deposits of the Oyapok, the whole of the triangular space comprised between this 

 river and the Araguari belongs to the same zone of drainage. Like the Ovapok, the 

 Araguari, the Cachipour, the Cunani, the Carsevenne, the Mapa Grande ( Amapa of 

 the Brazilians), the Frechal, and the Tartarugal all rise ainid the marshy foothills of 

 the Tumuc-Humac range, whence they diverge in all directions like the ribs of a fan. 



The Araguari estuury marks the extreme limit of the Guiana seaboard, beyond 

 which immediately begin the waters and islands of the Amazonian basin. 



General Character of the Guiana Rivers. 



As in Venezuelan and Brazilian Guianas bej'ond the dividing range, the rivers 

 of Guiana north of that range differ greatly in the colour of their waters. Some, 

 those especially of the savannas, are cloudy and whitish, while others flowing from 

 the woodlands seem black or blackish, although really transparent. In the Esse- 

 quibo basin the blackish hue of these forest streams is attributed to the roots and 

 branches of the wallaba tree growing in the water along their banks. 



Although most of the Guiana rivers traverse continuous woodlands from the 

 mountains to the sea, they are far less obstructed by snags than many other 

 watercourses of the tropicil regions. This is due to the great specific gravity of 

 nearly all the arborescent species growing along the margins of the Guiana rivers. 

 Instead of floating;, the trees fallino^ into the water throuo;h erosion or storms sink 

 to the bottom and rot on the spot. 



But on the narrow and shallow upper reaches, the tangle of branches and 

 lianas is a great impediment to the boatmen, who are often obliged to hew their 

 way through with the axe or knife. Here the fallen timber accumulates in barrages, 

 the so-called taliuba of the Essequibo Indians, and the barrancas of the Brazilian 

 refugees in the contested territory. Other obstructions are formed by masses of aquatic 

 plants, like the stidd of the White Nile, which often present as effectual a barrier 

 to the canoe-men as the falls and rapids themselves. In most of the watercourses 

 * In French Guiana the term crique (" creek ") is generally applied to mountain torrents. 

 36 



