80 
of Bogota, as they live in a climate where the 
thermometer descends very often to the freezing 
point. 
I succeeded, but not without danger, in carry- 
ing instruments into the crevice itself, at the 
foot of the cataract. It takes three hours to 
reach the bottom by a narrow path ( camino de 
la Calehra)^ which leads to the ravine of La 
Povasa. Although the river loses in falling a. 
great part of its water, which is reduced into 
vapours, the rapidity of the lower cuiTent forces 
the observer to keep at the distance of nearly 
one hundred and forty metres from the basin 
dug out by the fall. A few feeble rays of 
noon fall on the bottom of the crevice. The 
solitude of the place, the richness of the vege- 
tation, and the dreadful roar that strikes upon 
the ear, contribute to render the foot of the 
cataract of Tequendama one of the wildest 
scenes, that can be found in the Cordilleras. 
