Watershed of the Amazon, Orinoco, anu Essequibo. 203 
liad killed the suake wliieh was iouiid lying a few iuclies from the path. 
Unless she herself had interfered with it, I had probably disturbed the 
reptile when I jumped upon the roek, and it had now darted at Kate, 
who Avas following me. When the Indians discovered it, it had already 
rolled itself into a spiral, with its expectant head erect, ready for another 
spring, which sufficiently contradicts the statement that it seeks flight 
after each bite. It was the very pöisonous Triyonocephalus atrox which 
was just then changing its skin, a period during which all po'isonous 
snakes are lielieved to be far more dangerous than at others. The 
Indians called it Sororaima. Fourteen Indians and Mr. Goodall had 
already passed by without noticing it, without treading on it. Kate was 
the victim. Accompanied by Mr. Fryer and her husband, who even 
yet exerted all his strength of mind to hide his grief, the nnfortunate 
young woman, already in an unconsc'ious condition, was carried back 
in her hammock to Ouii Village which she had left so merrily and 
happily. The look that Ave once more took of her was the last — this was 
only too well recognised hj every one of us. 
457. The feelings with wliich the journey Avas resumed by all of us 
in general, and liy myself in particular who, on account of my close 
proximity to the danger, must ever take the blame for being the 
innocent cause of the fatality, can be l^etter imagined than described. A 
long time passed before a sound could be heard in our taciturn company, 
for even in the hearts of the Indians the recent occurrence left no room 
foi' tlioughts of anything else. 
458. After half an hour's march Ave again stood on the banks of 
the Kukenam Avhich Ave had to cross. The Avater came up to our chests, 
and every effort had to l)e exerted to prevent ourselves being carried 
away by the raging torrent, against Avhicli even the dogs Avhen swimming 
could not contend. Its source lay still anotlier üve miles ahead of us, 
and yet the river had a breadth of from 50 to (iO feet. Once on the other 
side, we followed aAvhile the eastern l)ank, which was occupied here and 
there by neat brush-AVood thickets of Termströmia, a new species of 
Tovomita, Tovoitiita (Micraiithera) ligulata Klotzsch, Gomphifi, the 
stately Dimorpluindra overtopping everything else, even including the 
slender Mauritia, and a number of other plants as yet unknoAvn to me. 
We found ourselves at a height of 3,000 feet abov^e sea-level, but the glori- 
ous palm still sliewed the same vigour and luxuriance as in the savannahs 
of the Eupununi and Takutu. After some time we left the eastern bank, 
turned towards the North, scaled a little table-land, and in front of us 
rose the remarkable mountain system in the Avhole of its imposing 
majesty, without the base being hidden as liefore by the protruding 
hills. Isolated dark green plots in Avider or narrower streaks stretched 
from the base up the body of the mountain, Avhere scraggy rocky ridges 
were to be seen, which at about three-fourths of its height were replaced 
by patches of forest that had specially chosen a home in the ravines and 
gorges, as well as along the sides of the torrents pouring down them. 
A thick bushy scrub enclosed the perpendicular ascending wall, so as 
to make the latter look as if it Avere growing out of the dense foliage. I 
gazed for a long Avhile on this imposing mass of rock, which at such a 
