142 . IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



Esmeraldas; these have long since vanished. Humboldt 

 made his memorable voyage to the Cassiquiare in 1800, 

 and a number of other scientific expeditions followed in 

 his wake at irregular intervals; to enumerate them all would 

 be a tedious and imwarranted use of time. However, one 

 remarkable fact must not be overlooked, namely, that even 

 to this day the actual sources of the Orinoco have not been 

 discovered. 



To trace this huge artery to its very beginning, supposedly 

 somewhere in the Serrania de Parima on the Brazilian fron- 

 tier was not the object of our ejqpedition; but rather to 

 explore the regions north of the inaccurately mapped Rio 

 Cunucuniuna, more particularly Mount Duida, thought 

 by many to be the locality described in a widely read book 

 entitled "The Lost World." Of this country, and of the 

 people and animal life inhabiting its virgin wilds, very Uttle 

 was known. 



With the tying up of the Delta the first stage of our 

 joiuney had been completed. 



Ciudad Bolivar, formerly called Angostura, meaning 

 narrows, on accoimt of the narrowing of the Orinoco at 

 this point to the width of a mile, stands on an eminence 

 on the left bank, and is the capital of the Department of 

 Guiana; it is the largest and only city of importance on 

 the river. The red-tiled roofs and whitewashed walls of 

 the houses can be seen from afar. On landing, one is con- 

 fronted by a strange medley of low, thick-waUed edifices; 

 narrow, crooked streets, and swarthy, unkempt people. 

 Practically all of the windows are heavily barred, a cvistom 

 common in many parts of South America, and retained 

 from the Moors. 



Whatever beauty attached to the place is indoors. There 

 are no green lawns or flowering gardens to cheer the eye of 

 the passer-by; but a glimpse behind the sombre walls will 

 invariably reveal an open court or patio filled with flowers 

 and tropical shrubbery, and occasionally a fountain; but 

 this is not all. In the patio of the hotel, which served as 



