JlV ITINERARY. 



was liirge and ratlier acid, not being quite ripe. On the wall -were 

 some pretty little golden-tiowered Melitstonias ; and on trees and wall 

 and old stumps were numbers of the ])rilliant crimson Utricularia 

 Cavijjbelliana. There were none of the white species, U. alpina, to be 

 seen, of which we had found a single specimen heie on our first trip. 



The vegetation on the ledge is in general much more dwarf and 

 scattered than in the upper p:irt of tlie forest-belt, tliough there 

 ai'e, at the lower p;irt especially, very close clumps of a small baniboo, 

 which is veiy diiiicult to penetrate. Upwards it is much more exposed 

 and wind-swept, and the scanty soil easily becomes washed awiiy — 

 except in some more sheltered corners. Tlie ledge is very clearly 

 distinguishable in the picture in A^ol. I., facing j:). xxii, Itineraiy. It 

 is seen crossing the wall oblicpiely, from the right-hand side above tlie 

 middle of the view, to the top of the left side by the rounded outer 

 eminence ; and from below it pi-esents an iri-egular but continuous 

 green surface. The grassy area in the front is a part of the slopes 

 immediately below the forest-belt, and is just aljove the El Dorado 

 swamp, some .^400 feet elevfiliou. 



At the highest point, before reaching the deep gully, where the blufi" 

 is most prominent, the trail i-inis on almost ])are bioken rock Avith very 

 dwarf growths at the edge, being here slieltered by the projecting 

 portions of a soi+, of irregular ledge above. The unobscured view of the 

 rough and bnre face of the walls, the irregular slopes of the forest-belt 

 and the rock-strewn savannnhs below, Avith the viihige and the winding 

 Kukenaam liver, and the whole stretch of countiy awn}- to the liorizon, 

 with mouutaiys in the blue distance, is entrancing and unsur])assable 

 of its kind. From the greater heights of the summit, everything below 

 is seen depressed into a more uniform le^el : here they stood out moi-e 

 boldly, and present an altogether indescribable pictuie. One was loth 

 to turn nway f]-om it — it was such a, feast for the eyes nnd imngination. 

 At various points of the ascent there are fine views obtainalde of the 

 surroundings, but this one from its range and comprehensiveness is 

 unique. 



The stream at the bottom of the deep gully was very small, the 

 water from ;d)ove falling like heav}' rain, splashing the bare rock of the 

 wall as well as the few Imshes against it on the fiuther side, by which 

 one can get some little assistance in tlie ascent. Its size de];ends on 

 the rniiifall aliove. It swells quickly after a lieavy shower, the rocks 

 being already saturated ; and in the Avet season there must be a very 

 consideral)le fall. Roraima-paru Avould be a general name for all these 

 places, though a. jiarticular one bears tlie name Kainaiva — hence the 

 name of the village, KamaiAawong. 



The disintegration a.nd breaking awny of the upper part of the 

 Avail, Avhieh have left this uneven ledge, must have largely been 

 caused l)y this .stream and the numerous others that soak the upper 

 edges, in the wet season especially. Even now a rapid process of 

 alteration is going on, here particularly, and on the AA'estern slope down 

 Avhich must ru.sh a great acciunulation of Avater from a boA'e, A'ery largely 

 through the wide channel by Avhich one enters on to the plateau. The 

 outP!- part of this slope is swept clean beloAV of any kind of vegetation. 

 The sandstone rock all over the mountain is very vaiiable in its 



