630 



these malignant fevers, which, I believe, are not 

 contagious. 



We ventured to pass in our canoe through the 

 latter half of the Raudal of Atures. We landed 

 here and there, to climb upon the rocks, which 

 like narrow dikes joined the islands to one 

 another. Sometimes the waters precipitate 

 themselves over the dikes, sometimes they fall 

 within them with a hollow noise. A consider- 

 able portion of the Oroonoko was dry, because 

 the river had found an issue by subterraneous 

 caverns. In these solitary haunts the rock ma- 

 nakin with gilded plumage (pipra rupicola), one 

 of the most beautiful birds of the tropics, builds 

 it's nest. The Raudalito of Carucari is caused 

 by an accumulation of enormous blocks of 

 granite, These blocks, several of which are 

 spheroids of five or six feet in diameter, are 

 piled together in such a manner, as to form 

 spacious caverns. We entered one of these ca- 

 verns, to gather the confervas, that were spread 

 over the clefts and humid sides of the rock. 

 This spot displayed one of the most extraordi- 

 nary scenes of nature, that we had contemplated 

 on the banks of the Oroonoko. The river rolled 

 it's waters turbulently over our heads *. It 

 seemed as if it were the sea dashing against reefs 

 pf rocks ; but at the entrance of the cavern we 

 ■ 



* $cc above, chap. 20, p, 54. 



