55 



is the Raudal of Javariveni, where, on our re- 

 turn from Rio Negro, we passed some hours 

 amid the rapids, waiting for our boat. A great 

 part of the river appeared dry. Blocks of gra- 

 nite are heaped together, as in the morraines, 

 which the glaciers of Switzerland drive before 

 them. The river is every where ingulfed in 

 caverns ; and in one of these caverns we heard 

 the water roll at once over our heads and be- 

 neath our feet. The Oroonoko seems divided 

 into a multitude of arms or torrents, each of 

 which seeks to force a passage through the 

 rocks. We were struck with the little water to 

 be seen in the bed of the river, the frequency of 

 subterraneous falls, and the tumult of the wa- 

 ters breaking on the rocks in foam. 



Cuncta fremunt undis ; ac inulto murmure montis 

 Spumeus invictis canescit fluctibus amnis*. 



Having passed the Raudal of Javariveni (I 

 only name here the principal falls) we come to 

 the Raudal of Canucari, formed by a ledge of 

 rocks, that unites the islands of Surupamana 

 and Uirapuri. When the dikes, or natural dams, 

 are only two or three feet high, the Indians 

 venture to descend them in boats. In going up 

 the river, they swim on before, and, after many 



* Pharsal., lib. x, v. 1*32. 



