ITINEEAEY. 



Early in 1894 the Royal Agricultural Society of Britisli Ctiiana 

 decided to send an expedition into the .sa^■anna regions, wliicli extend 

 over the southern part of British Guiana, witli the ol)ject of obtaining 

 more information on the life and habits of the Indians and general 

 appearance of the country in which they live, and also of ascending 

 Roi'aima, a large table-mountain on the borders of British Guiana 

 and Brazil, which has attracted special attention, not only from its 

 extraordinary appearance, but fi'om the fact that until a few years ago 

 its summit had not been reached. 



I was invited by Mr. Quelch, in whose hands the Society had placed 

 the control of the expedition, to accompany him, and I gladly accepted 

 his invitation. 



"We decided to start in the beginning of July, just before the end 

 of the rainy season, so as to be able to Call in at the Potai-o, on our 

 way up the Essequibo, and see the Kaieteur Falls in flood, and then 

 reach the savanna at the beginning of the long dry season, when we 

 might reasonably expect fine weather for our walk across to Roraima. 



Before giving an account of our jovirnej', it might be as well to 

 mention that the chief rivers, which all run due north, are the 

 Courantyne, Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo, the last having two 

 large tributaiies — the Cuyuni and Mazaruni — which both enter from 

 the west at Bartica Grove. 



The Essequibo, the largest of these rivers, has a course of about 

 680 miles and a width at the mouth of 12 miles. Three or four large 

 islands are situated near the mouth, and numerous smaller islands are 

 met on tlie way up the river for the first 230 miles. 



Both the Essequibo and Courantyne run the entire length of the 

 Colony, rising in the Sierra Akarai. 



In tlie report of Barrington Brown's survey the area of Britisli 

 Guiana is given as 88,000 sq. miles, of this 6500 are savannas and 

 3000 grass-covered mountain. 



The land near the coast and for several miles inland is uniformly flat, 

 and lias been formed by a (juite recent alluvial deposit from the large 

 i-ivers; it is on the coast-line that the sugar-estates for which the 

 Colony has long been famous are situated, 



Iirnnediately behind this is dense bush extending inland for some 

 200 miles. This bush at first covers dead-level country, inlersecteil l)y 

 numerous streams and creeks, and is monotonous in the extreme ; tlie 

 vegetation on all sides is most luxuriant, and for the greater part is 

 so dense that it is impossible to penetrate without first cutting a path. 

 After some fifty miles tl;e land l)econies billy and even mountainous 

 in parts; beyond this again conies the savanna <listrict extendiug inr 



