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278 SPLENDID SCENERY. 
impossible to fix the foot on this smooth and highly- 
inclined surface, had not large crystals of felspar, 
which had resisted decomposition, projected from 
the rock so as to present points of support. Scarcely 
had we reached the summit of the mountain when © 
we were struck with astonishment at the extraordi- 
nary appearance of the surrounding country: The 
foamy bed of the waters was filled with an archi- 
pelago of islands covered with palms. Toward the 
west, on the left bank of the Orinoco extended the 
savannahs of the Meta and Casanare, like a sea of 
verdure, the misty horizon of which was illuminated 
by the rays of the setting sun. The mighty orb, 
like a globe of fire suspended over the plain, and 
the solitary peak of Uniana, which appeared more 
lofty from being wrapped in vapours that softened 
its outlines, contributed to. impress a character of 
sublimity upon the scene. We looked down into a 
deep valley enclosed on every side. Birds of prey 
and goatsuckers winged their solitary way in this 
inaccessible circus. We found pleasure in following 
their fleeting shadows as they glided slowly over 
the flanks of the rock. | 
« A narrow ridge led us towards a neighbouring 
mountain, the rounded summit of which supported 
enormous blocks of granite. These masses are more 
than 40 or 50 feet in diameter, and present a form 
so perfectly spherical, that, as they seem to touch the 
ground only by a small number of points, it might 
be supposed that the slightest shock of an earth- 
quake would roll them into the abyss. I do not 
remember to have seen anywhere else a similar phe- 
nomenon amid the decompositions of granitic depo- 
sites. If the balls rested upon a rock of a different 
