ITINERARY. lii 



greater difficulties than on the day before, for there was literally no 

 trace of a path, and a much worse foothold. It was a close mass of 

 new vegetation that had grown up in the four years since we had been 

 here: and it was with great relief that, hearing shouts behind, we 

 looked round and saw our old guide, Schoolmaster, the very trustworthy 

 Arrekuna who had cut the trail up to the summit on our former visit. 

 "We had been great friends, and it was a cordial greeting in its way. 

 He was now the chief of the village under the Kukenaam Mountain, 

 his father being dead ; and hearing that we had come again and had 

 gone up the mountain, he followed, as he knew from former experience 

 that the path would be quite obliterated with overgrowth. Another 

 man had come up with him from his village. 



And now we were able to enquire about the villagers from below. 

 It was true there had been a bad sickness that had cairied oflf many of 

 the older folk especially, but it had been long ago, and things were all 

 right now. Jeremiah liad taken the people on a visit to another 

 village, but no doubt he would be back as quickly as he could, when he 

 heard we had returned to Roraima. 



Schoolmaster also told us that his people had brought dow n supplies 

 and paiwarri for our men, which McOoniiell begged that he would 

 continue regularly, keeping an account until we should come down. 

 We knew he was thoroughly to be trusted. Then we turned to the 

 work in hand, the new men leading. 



It proved a long task to clear a good path for the carriers through 

 the very luxuriant vegetation and over the piles of rugged rocks that 

 in the long course of ages had fallen from the cliffs. It was really a 

 new track, but the direction was so true that a long way up we came 

 upon a rooky archway over the path which had been its most charac- 

 teristic feature, looking like the remains of a large building ; and we 

 finally struck the very beginning of the ledge. There was a difficulty 

 in finding any place suitable for a camp with the tarpaulin. Where 

 the ground was fairly level, just against the foot of the wall, it was 

 bare and rocky ; the rest was a steep rumble of rocks, with an open 

 growth of palms (Geonomjn, appuniana) over them, the stems being 

 weak and bent in every direction. However, we bound them together, 

 and were able to make a shelter for the stores, and eventually managed 

 to sling our hammocks as best we could, the supports being so flexible 

 that when we got in we almost rested on the rocks. It did not rain 

 that night, fortunately for us, and the sides of the tent were made 

 secure next day with palm leaves. Near the camp the wall was over- 

 hanging, the water dripping from above falling away from the foot, 

 and all along one could see how altogether rough and uneven the 

 surface is in reality, though away it looks so even and smooth. 



In the bush around we heard the notes of some birds, and saw what 

 we took to be a thrush in the rapid glance we had of it. Nothing was 

 shot, however, in the two or three attempts made, though we sought 

 for some time. Even if we had hit anything, it was very doubtful 

 whether it could have been found amid the deep and wide rocky 

 interspaces, except by a mere chance. 



Not far away were some loosely -growing blackberry bushes, apparently 

 of the same kind as some more luxuriant ones lower down. The fruit 



