Occasional Notes. 333 
distant day, it will be possible, when a striftly zoological 
search has been made, to describe an interesting and by 
no means limited fauna from the top of Roraima. 
As to the feasibility of spending a night or two on top, 
Mr. DRESSEL thinks that, if about three travellers 
were together, so as to be independent of the Indians 
during the night as to whether they remained or descended, 
it would be fairly practicable to do it, in such a corres- 
pondingly dry season, for there are very spacious excava- 
tions and cave-like parts in the large and overhanging 
rocks, which are perfectly dry and would afford all the 
shelter required ; while with the help of the Indians, the 
food required, and a few blankets and waterproofs for 
greater safety, could be easily carried up. The mountain, 
in the dry weather during his visit, was never really quite 
hidden for any long periods of the day, though clouds of 
greater or less extent were often hanging and passing over 
various parts of it; so that, though constant recurring 
mists in the rainy season might militate against one fine 
and clear day for ascent being followed by another for 
descent, yet in the really dry season, it would be highly 
unlikely that such a preventative should exist for any 
length of time. 
The fantastic shapes into which the sandstone has 
been formed, and the weirdness of the scene, which have 
been so graphically described by Mr. IM Thurn, affefted 
Mr. DRESSEL in a similar manner. He mentions that the 
surface of the rocks presents very closely the appearance of 
granite, owing to weathering, and at first he thought some 
mistake had been made in describing the formation as 
sandstone, until he moved away a small rock from its 
setting when its real nature was revealed. 
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