502 



period when the crocodiles of the Llanos begin 

 their siesta, or summer sleep. If it were pro- 

 bable, that these animals of the same family had 

 heretofore inhabited the same northern country, 

 we might suppose, that, in advancing toward the 

 equator, they feel the want of repose after exer- 

 cising their muscles for seven or eight months; 

 and that they retain under a new sky the habits*, 

 that appear to be essentially linked with their 

 organization. 



Having passed the mouths of the channels, 

 that communicate with the lake of Capanaparo, 

 we entered a part of the Oroonoko, where the 

 bed of the river is narrowed by the mountains 

 of Baraguan. It is a kind of strait, reaching 

 nearly to the confluence of the Rio Suapure. 

 From these granite mountains the natives here- 

 tofore gave the name of Baraguan to that 

 part of the Oroonoko, which is comprised be- 

 tween the mouths of the Arauca and the Ata- 

 bapo. Among savage nations great rivers bear 

 different denominations in the different portions 

 of their course. The passage of Baraguan pre- 

 sents a picturesque scene. The granite rocks 

 are perpendicular. They form a range of moun- 

 tains lying North-West and South-East; and 

 the river cutting this dyke nearly at a right 

 angle, the summits of the mountains appear like 



* See above, p. 89. 



