BOOK VIL 



CHAPTER XIX. 



Junctionof the Apure and the Oroonoko \— Moun- 

 tains of Encaramada. — Uruana. — Baraga an. 

 — Carichana. — Mouth of the Meta. — Island of 

 Panumana. 



On leaving the Rio Apure, we found ourselves in 

 a country of a totally different aspect. An im- 

 mense plain of water stretched before us like a 

 lake, as far as we could see. White-topped 

 waves rose to the height of several feet, from the 

 conflict of the breeze and the current. The air 

 resounded no longer with the piercing cries of 

 the herons, the flamingoes, and the spoonbills, 

 crossing in long files from one shore to the other. 

 Our eyes sought in vain those water fowls, the 

 inventive snares of which vary in each tribe. 

 All nature appears less animated. Scarcely 

 could we discover in the hollows of the waves a 

 few large crocodiles, cutting obliquely, by the 



