Mgunt Roraima. 265 
Before I close, there is another aspect of Roraima, the 
' ever-fruitful mother of streams," as the Indians call it, 
on which I must say a few words. Gathering their 
waters on this marvellous top of Roraima, and starting 
with a wonderful leap of 2000 feet down over its cliff, 
are streams which flow in various directions to 
swell with no inconsiderable contribution of water the 
Orinoco, the Essequibo (the little sister of the Orinoco, 
the Indians say this is, but it is only little by comparison) 
and the Amazon, — the three chief river systems which 
water the greatest part of the Atlantic side of the conti- 
nent of South America. Roraima is but a little mother; 
but her offspring — her streams — are great. To the 
poetical imagination the summit of Roraima is a most 
fitting home and place of origin for these great streams ; 
but to the more sober reason it seems at first sight a 
little wonderful that so small a plateau should pour out 
such great waters. Yet the phenomenon can be very 
easily explained. 
The summit of Roraima is in reality not a perfectly 
level plateau, but a very slightly hollowed basin. The 
countless pillars of absorbent sandstone which stand on 
it constantly gather the great moisture which the winds 
ever drive round about and against them ; and this 
trickling down through the rock pillars accumulates in 
the spongy masses of soil formed in the lowest parts of 
the basin by the herb-like vegetation. Thence, in the 
tiny streamlets which have already been described, the 
water makes its way to the edge of the plateau through 
deep channels which it has cut for itself through the rim 
of the rock basin ; and emerging not quite at the top 
of, but some distance down, the cliff, it makes its great 
II 
