" The Falls and Bapids of the Thousand Isles." 385 
commonly uniform: orcliids were Avanting altogether. On the 14tli 
September they passed the mouth of the Sipariwuini. The thermometer 
again rose to Violent thunderstorms, that had already been 
setting in almost every evening for the past few days, had now consider- 
ably increased the height of the water of the Curuni. From the 18th 
September on, the river took a more westerly, often also a southern 
course, where the bed was broken by a number of islands, until by 
evening the party was again confronted with a series of dangerous 
cataracts, formed of a number of granite dams wliicli crossed the river 
in a more northwesterly and northeasteidy direction. In spite of the 
bark of the woodskins being no thicker than half an inch no accident 
luul happened with them up to now— here however one had to be left 
behind because it had sprung aleak in coming down a rapid. 
901. Below the series of eataracts, the river, covered with innumer- 
able islands, widened out to 8 miles. Almost every channel between 
any two of these islands was a foaming A\ aterfall : my brother accord- 
ingly named this part of the river "The Falls and Rapids of the 
Thousand Isles.'' The flora of the islands shewed little variation. 
bJUsahctha vocriiica, JacaranOd , Laurus surina}ncnsis, Clitona arhorca, 
and a tree-like Solanum, were its chief representatives. Orchids were 
likewise non-existent Iiere. On the 19th September they camped in 
3° 21' ?>0" lat. X. The provisions were already so diminished on account 
of the complete absence of mammals and birds, even fisli being very 
scarce on account of the high water, that the daily ration had to be 
reduced to 4 oz. of farine. 
902. On 20th Se])tember they reached the head of several falls, one 
of which had a 52 ft. perpendicular drop. The woodskins had to be 
unpacked and together with the baggage carried more than a mile over 
liills 150 feet high while the river, on account of the continuous falls 
and rapids, was so far entirely impassable. My brother named the 
above important one after His Majesty the King of Prussia : Frederick 
William IV.'s Cataract. Its position is 57° 29' 54" long. W. and prob- 
ably 3° 20' lat. ^n". The cloudy sky prevented any astronomical 
observations. 
903. On the 22n(l September the baggage was repacked at the foot 
of the lowest of the falls, so that the voyage down could be resumed. The 
river, owing to the numerous islands, had again increased in breadth. 
Gneiss dams crossed it in 3° 38' 38" lat. Is. from X.^.F. to S.S.W., one 
following on the other like furrows in a ploughed field. 
904. The journey up to the 24th Septemlxn' was only a repetition of 
previous days. At noon they had again reached a fall where, at the 
summit, they had to unpack the woodskins, and at (he foot they found 
some ruined houses, two corials, and at the same time the path leading 
from the Corentyn to the Essequibo. These were the corials that be- 
longed to a party of Caribs whom we met in March on the Rupununi 
whither they had come from the jMarowini to visit their fellow-tribes- 
men. They had given my brother permission, if he should find their 
boats on the way, to use them as far as the Carib village Tomatai, wliere 
he was to hand them over to the chief, William. The tr-ack proved to be 
- Y 1. 
fi 
