26 
THE GREAT CATARACTS OF THE RIVER CORENTYN. 
indeed beautiful ; tlie water rushed, at an angle of sixty degrees, into a valley formed by gigantic piles of rocks ; at our feet foamed the 
turbulent water, dashing its spray against the rocks that impeded its course : but the most splendid object was a cascade on the opposite 
side of the chasm. The rocks over which the water fell, were clothed with a species of Lacis, a water-plant, the pendulous branches of 
which were often five and six feet long, and the whole resembled a rich carpet : the various tints of green, the strong contrast of its 
flowers, and the foam of the water which rushed over it, made the scene exceedingly beautiful. We estimated the height of the fall at 
twenty-five feet, and that, on the top of which we stood, at thirty feet ; they are almost opposite to each other, but a third, more 
voluminous, is formed by three channels of the river uniting at the head of the cataract, and at their junction, their further progress 
being obstructed by a huge block of granite, the water forces a passage for itself, and thence precipitates headlong into a chasm full 
forty feet below. A large rock stands out in relief, and has been fancifully compared by the Indians to a thigh-bone, and from this 
resemblance it has received the name of AVoteto-tobo. 
The westernmost cataract is on a grander scale. Some of our party having visited it, and being quite enthusiastic in its description, 
we resolved to proceed thither ; and after climbing over, and crawling round numerous blocks of granite, we stood at the head of the 
largest fall I had before seen in Guiana. The huge mass of water, and the velocity with which it precipitates itself over the ledge of 
rocks to a depth of upwards of thirty perpendicular feet, causes the spray to form the cloud we had observed. I stood surprised— 
the sight of the foaming waters below, the unceasing noise of the cataract, which made every attempt fruitless to communicate my feelings 
to my companions, rendered the impression of this scene powerful almost to oppression. I became giddy, and retired quickly to prevent 
myself fiom joining the dance of the whirling, white-crested billows. I have stood in much more perilous situations without ever feeling 
the slightest sensation of vertigo, and I ascribe it in the present instance to those masses of water unceasingly rolling in the abyss below, 
which seemed to urge me to follow them, a feeling which the same sort of scene had likewise communicated to my companion Mr. Reiss. 
I was anxious to see the fall from below, and as we could not reach it in any other way, we had to climb over piles of rocks, 
or to seek a path across chasms, the trunk of a fallen tree serving us frequently as a bridge, while at other times we let ourselves down to 
the next ledge of rocks by means of lianas. Under our feet we heard the rolling of the streams, which forced a way through immense 
cavities. The spray, which was driven into the air by the fall of the water of the great cataract, descended in drops like a heavy summer 
shower, and the constant moisture thus produced, covered rocks and trunks of trees with a luxuriant vegetation. Disturbed by our 
approach, thousands of swallows rushed from the cavities formed by the rocks, encircled the cloud of spray in their flight, and hovered 
over the cataract. Before I reached the foot of the fall I was as wet as if I had been in a heavy rain, but the view from that situation 
richly recompensed me for this trifling inconvenience. The sun being to the west, I saw large spots adorned with all the colours of the 
rainbow, forming themselves in the spray, and vanishing in order to reappear the next moment. 
The Indians named this cataract Wanare-wono-tobo ; we called it after General Sir James Carmichael Smyth, the late much 
lamented Governor of British Guiana, who always took the liveliest interest in these exploring expeditions, and whose kindness and 
attention, during the time he presided over the colony as representative of his Sovereign, have been registered with gratitude in my heart. 
On the eastern cataract which I have described, we bestowed the name of Sir John Barrow, President of the Geographical Society of 
London. 
VVANAllK-WONO-TOBO, OH GENERAL STR JAMES CARMICHAEL SMYTILS CATARACT. 
