Osprets, Herons, and Swallows. 
229 
at Pirara, under the protection of the military, his flocks that had been 
scattered by the Brazilians : during our stay in Georgetown he had 
already received the Governor’s permission to do so. As we were too 
far out from the bank, he was only able to join us at our next night's 
camp on the other side of Cumaka-Serrima ( i.e ., Silkcotton Tree Point) 
upon which is situate the last settlement of the coloured people. 
703. We had hitherto made our way up the Essequibo expeditiously 
and unchecked, but now the changed surface of the water indicated that 
we should soon have obstacles to contend with. We were nearing the 
rapids of Aritaka, G° O' lat. A., which we had to negotiate over a stretch 
of six miles. Innumerable crags, huge granite and gneiss boulders 
belonging to a range of hills 200 feet high, cut their way here across the 
hitherto smootli surface of the stream. It is through the sometimes 
narrow, sometimes broad, intervals and spaces from 40 to 00 feet wide, 
in and between these crags and boulders opposing themselves to it, 
that the stream forcibly makes its way, with noise enough to stun one’s 
senses. A number of small islands hedged in these dangerous places, 
and many leafless withered boughs of huge trees which the roaring flood- 
waters above the rapids had uprooted and floated down, rose in all 
directions from out the troubled waters. Numerous companies of osprey 
( Halicus brasilianus 111.) and some snow-white herons ( Ardea Cocoi ) 
had chosen these dead trees to rest on and stared at us with inquisitive 
eyes until they joined the huge crowds of swallows ( Hirundo fasciata 
Lath.) which noisily swarmed around us in their repeatedly revolving 
flight. However interesting as a whole the landscape might be in its 
mixture of pleasing and bizarre pictures, in the dull uproar of the 
stream, in the huge crags of rock and in the large number of small 
islands thickly dotted with an absolutely different vegetation, we 
nevertheless contemplated it with anxiety, because we all recognised 
beforehand that it would prove a hard struggle to get over this dangerous 
row of rapids. We landed at one of the small islands, to bring the 
corials one by one over the first of the rapids, and although we manned 
every boat with a double crew they were nevertheless several times 
dragged back again after already reaching the very summit: the two 
large ones “Victoria” and “Louise” had to be hauled over. Though we 
took several hours to negotiate these rapids they were indeed but trifles 
as compared with those with which we had to contend next day. A small 
island above this first series afforded us a suitable camp and as we 
surmised that niv brother was waiting in the neighbourhood we fired our 
small mortar and heard its echo repeated a thousand times over from 
the cliffs and forest. 
704. The island that had been so peaceful up to now was quickly 
changed into a lively playground : the rations were distributed, a huge 
circle of fires lighted up the dense leafage, the mighty blows of the axes 
and cutlasses boomed heavily on all sides through the forest and indi- 
cated distinctly enough that the boats’ crews were hurrying up to clear 
and level a spot where they could sling their hammocks. ° Small fires 
that had been lighted beneath them threw their strong lights upon the 
trembling foliage of huge trunks decorated with entwined bush rope and 
