20 
JUNCTION OF THE KUNDANAMA WITH THE PARAMU. 
appeared to be a succession of rapids and falls, some so large and dangerous, that we had to unload the corials five times in the 
course of the 15th of February, and to carry the luggage over land. The following day, about noon, we reached the cataract Mariwacaru, 
the largest we had yet passed in the Paramu ; the river precipitated itself upwards of thirty feet over a ledge of rocks, and we had 
therefore to unload and to carry our corials and baggage over land to the foot of this formidable obstacle. Thence we followed the 
river in a south-east direction, when towards sunset we saw, at some distance before us, what I at first mistook for clouds of white 
smoke from the fires which I supposed to have been kindled by some of our Indians who had gone on before ; but I was soon 
undeceived, it was a sheet of foam caused by a cataract which the river Kundanama forms at its junction with the Paramu. This 
river, coming from the north-east, is, near its junction, about thirty-five feet higher than the Paramu ; it falls gradually fifteen feet, 
when at its very mouth, the river being divided by a small island into two streams, it rushes down over two grand cataracts, the 
southernmost of which is twenty feet high. The dense white foam contrasts strongly with the dark colour of the Paramu, while clouds 
of mist, formed by the contest of waters, rise high into the air, and hang like a veil over the verdant clusters of Palms and thick 
umbrageous trees. 
Need I observe that we stopped to enjoy this sublime scene, and that our pencils were soon engaged in transferring to paper 
the striking features of this remarkable spot? I know no other instance where a river joins its recipient in so turbulent a manner. 
I estimated the breadth of the two falls at three hundred yards; at their foot they formed a large basin, studded with huge black 
blocks, and on its southern shore thick masses of sand were deposited, brought down by the Kundinama from the sandstone mountains. 
We had crossed this stream on the 1st of February, in latitude 3° 57' N., where it was of inconsiderable breadth, and whence its 
course had been south-west by south to its junction with the Paramu, in latitude 3° 30' N. 
The effect caused by the junction of the Kundanama and its whitish waters, with the Paramu, the waters of which are called 
black, is peculiar. There is no gradual transition, the turbulence of the Kundanama frequently pushes bodies of whitish water 
among the black stream of the Paramu, giving a spotted appearance to the latter. We found the Indians, who had preceded us, occupied 
in shooting fish, and the large basin below the cataract appeared to teem with the delicious Pacu and other fishes. The skill of the 
Indian in securing these animals by this method cannot be sufficiently admired, and if the false reflection, and the resistance which the 
water offers to the arrow be considered, it is easy to conceive how precarious is this method of procuring them ; but the Indian has, 
by practice from his earliest age, conquered what we consider obstacles, and those tribes who have no intercourse with the coast, and 
consequently are unable to procure hooks, depend solely upon their bows and arrows for their success in fishing. 
We passed the last cataract of the Paramu on the 20th of February, and I was truly thankful to the Almighty that it had pleased 
him to allow us to reach their termination without accident. The Paramu in the number and height of its falls surpasses any river 
I have ever before seen, and many an anxious moment had I known during our descent. 
Below the last cataract we were welcomed by a pair of fresh water dolphins, which followed us, sporting and gamboling around 
the canoe. On starting the succeeding morning from our night camp, they again made their appearance ; at least we fancied they were 
the same, as we saw no more than that one pair; and under their escort, we, at nine o’clock in the morning of the 21st of February, 
entered the Orinoco, and expected to reach Esmeralda on the succeeding day. 
