The First Ascent of Roraima. 47 
tain with a view, not of trying any new point of ascent, 
but of ascertaining the practicability of such attempts 
in the future ; or whether, satisfying ourselves with the 
fair measure of success with which we had already met, 
to turn homeward. The growing scarcity of provisions, 
the even much more serious exhaustion of our stock of 
beads, gunpowder and other articles of barter, and the 
increasing symptoms of ill-health which I and some 
others of the party had for some time felt, decided me in 
favour of a return homeward. 
Till the 24th of December we remained at our house 
on Roraima, occupied in finishing the various sketches, 
measurements, collections and other tasks which we had 
undertaken. Then, on Christmas Eve, we descended to 
the village of Teroota, where we found that, without any 
prompting from us, the Arekoonas had built a very large 
new house for us to spend our Christmas in. 
Christmas day at Teroota was wet and gloomy as 
far as the weather was concerned. By the evening the 
fall of the Kookenaam river and the two falls, of the 
Kamaiwa and of the nameless river on to the ledge, had 
swollen to a very great size, so that the sound of their 
thunder was heard loud and far ; and in addition to them 
eight other cascades, most of them hardly discernible in 
ordinary weather, now fell in great volume down the 
face of Roraima alone. 
One other feature of that day deserves record. The 
Cattleya before-mentioned had been brought to SlEDEL 
in enormous quantities and in splendid flower ; and to us 
too it had been similarly brought until, fearing to increase 
our already too bulky baggage, I declined to take more. 
It grows abundantly, not far up Roraima, but along the 
