418 DOTTINGS ON THE ROADSIDE. [Chap. XXV.—B. P. 
loaded; this operation has to he repeated at each si¬ 
milar obstruction, hut it is astonishing how dexte¬ 
rous the Indians are in this sort of work, so that the 
delay is not nearly as considerable as might he sup¬ 
posed. 
The river hanks are thickly clothed with trees of an 
infinite variety; the gigantic mahogany, which here 
abounds, the elegant wild cane, vulgarly called bamboo, 
the graceful tree-fern, all festooned with flowers and 
parasites, form a sort of verdant wall on each side, 
the difficulty of penetrating which, even with the 1 
sharp machete, only the initiated can understand. 
The tapir, wild hog, deer, coney, the turkey, quail, 
pigeon, and various kinds of birds, several species of 
fish, amongst which the shark* sometimes figures, 85 
miles from Blewfields lagoon, can be had for the hunt¬ 
ing; although it must be admitted that tigers, pumas, 
and snakes on land, and the alligators in and out of 
the water, render caution necessary when in pursuit of 
game, and by some people might fairly be considered 
to spoil the sport. 
There are two or three very respectable Indian vil¬ 
lages on the banks, but the natives are not always at 
home, having a strong liking to migrate up the many 
little creeks and rivulets which empty themselves into 
the upper waters of the river. 
About halfway between Kisilala and Carka there 
is a great fall (about a hundred feet), the portage 
* Sharks and dolphins have been met with 95 miles up the Nile; 
the former are very numerous and voracious in the Lake of Nicaragua, 
119 miles from, the sea.. 
