The Cannonading When the Mighty Fall. 
261 
shot brought all three down at our feet. In the evening the Indians ate 
the five monkeys that had been killed, as great dainties. With these 
monkeys also, the youngster clambers upon the back or under the body of 
Fs mother : she never leaves its side even when it is already playing round 
about on the branches, .so that, on the slightest danger she may be able to 
shoulder her fond burden, hurry off, and away with it. 
760. For some time past we had been frightened particularly at 
night by an awful uproar that completely resembled a distant cannonade. 
For a long time I did not know how to explain the terrible noise until 
our Indians taught me that it was caused by the accidental uprooting of 
the forest giants. To-niglit we were to be witnesses of such a scene of 
destruction in the immediate neighbourhood of our camp. Hardly had 
I lain down than I was awakened first of all by an uncanny rustling, 
which was immediately followed by a frightful rattling like that from 
innumerable rifles, and after a time by the most mighty thuds. A small 
distance away from us the bank had been undermined by the current 
and the whole of the huge growth covering it followed the collapse of 
the soil. It was indeed a gruesome scene. A huge mass of foliage was 
heaved into motion, and with the awful and really deafening crashes 
of splitting and breaking timbers the falling giants dragged down into 
dire destruction everything in the neighbourhood that was connected 
up with them by bush-rope. Tn the morning there lay a large stretch 
of forest bank upside down in horrible confusion and the waves of the 
Essequibo foamed wildly through the immense branches that only 
yesterday were still softly swaying in the evening breeze. I often 
subsequently bore witness to such scenes of devastation: indeed, I myself 
was the cause of them, on a small scale, whenever I with my Indians 
felled a tree covered with flowers which on account of its height could 
not be climbed, when it usually entangled from six to ten of its neigh- 
bours in its fall. On several occasions I thus came into possession of 
flowers which, on account of their small size I had not at all noticed on 
other trees, and then found myself doubly rewarded for the long labour, 
often half a day occupied in cutting the giant down. 
761. Hardly had we struck camp than a new Rapid, that of Orotoko 
already lay before us, and once more gave us plenty of hard work to do 
before we could resume progress in still water. A number of large 
white cranes were strutting around on the exposed ridge of the stone 
dam. Deceived by the distance and morning haze, under the veil of 
which all objects become enlarged, we were first of all of the opinion 
that it was a party of Indians who happened to be on a turtle-egg 
expedition until we at last realised our mistake and at the same time 
noticed several Carlo in their place. Morning on the river bad quite a 
peculiar charm. The sunbeams of the early dawn again mirrored 
themselves in thousands upon thousands of dewdrops on the tree tops 
and hardly had the glowing orb put in an appearance over the eastern 
bank than the huge rocky boulders like mighty craters started rolling 
their steam-clouds over the surface of the water and so made every 
object at least in the distance seem half a dozen times as big. 
