F 
 <^5 7/ 
 
 ai0rnEU Intocraitg Slihrarg 
 
 JItltara, Nem Qorh 
 
 BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE 
 
 SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND 
 
 THE GIFT OF 
 
 HENRY W. SAGE 
 
 1891 
 
Cornell University Library 
 F 2371.C62 
 
 Through British Guiana to the summit of 
 
 3 1924 020 436 766 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tliis book is in 
 tlie Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924020436766 
 
THROUGH BRITISH GUIANA 
 TO THE SUMMIT OF RORAIMA 
 
Kaietuk Fall. 
 
 Frontispiece. 
 
THROUGH BRITISH 
 GUIANA TO THE 
 SUMMIT OF RORAIMA 
 
 BY 
 
 MRS. CECIL CLEMENTI, M.B.E. 
 
 WITH FOURTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS AND A MAP 
 
 E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY 
 681 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 
 
 ^<K 
 
Printed in Great Britain 
 A II rights reterved 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTEE PAGE 
 
 I. The Demerara Eiver - - 11 
 
 II. The Essequebo Eiver - - - - 29 
 
 III. The Potaro District - - 47 
 
 IV. The Potaro Gorge - - 59 
 V. Kaietuk, Mother of Mists - - - 71 
 
 VI. The Ascent to the Highland Savannahs - 89 
 
 VII. The Highland Savannahs op British Guiana 119 
 
 VIII. A Corner of Brazil - - - 149 
 
 IX. The Venezuelan Approach to Eoraima 183 
 
 X. Eoraima, Father of Streams - 199 
 
 XI. The Eeturn Journey - - - - 217 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 KaieTUK Fall - - - Frontispiece 
 
 FAOISa PAGE 
 
 The Demerara Eiver : View from Three Friends' 
 
 Mine across to Akyma - 24 
 Watersmeet of Commingled Cuyuni and Maza- 
 
 euni elvees with essequebo - - - 31 
 Mount Sakwai on Potaro Kivek near Tukeit - 62 
 Watersmeet of Potaro and Amur Eivbrs at 
 Amatuk, showing Mount Kenaima on Eight 
 and Mount Kukui in Centre above Eiver-Mist 62 
 Potaro Gorge from Kaietuk - - 78 
 Baramaku Savannah - - - 113 
 Mount Kowatipu from the Karto Tableland - 128 
 Waratuk Eapids - - - 172 
 OpamapO Waterfall - - - 172 
 Fording the Kotinga Eiver - - - 174 
 The South- West Face of Mount Eoraima, show- 
 ing the Towashing Pinnacle - • - 186 
 Camp on Mount Eoraima - - - 208 
 Mount Weitipu from the Left Bank of the 
 Kotinga Eiver - - - 225 
 
 Map of Eoutb from Holmia to Mount Eoraima atmd 
 
 7 
 
THE DEMERARA RIVER 
 
THROUGH BRITISH GUIANA 
 TO THE SUMMIT OF RORAIMA 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE DEMERARA RIVER 
 
 Men travel far to see a city, but few seem curious about 
 a river. Every river has, nevertheless, its individuality, its 
 great silent interest. Every river has, moreover, its influence 
 over the people who pass their lives within sight of its 
 waters. — H. S. Merriman : The Sowers, chap. ii. 
 
 British Guiana, as first seen from the shoal- 
 water near the Demerara Ughtship, is a mourn- 
 ful and monotonous picture. Mud flats, fringed 
 with courida and mangrove, stretch endlessly 
 along the shore. Never a hill is to be seen. The 
 coastal flats are four feet below the level of high 
 spring tides, and the Atlantic slops over the sea 
 dams in yellow waves of muddy water. The 
 wide expanses of rich sugar-fields and smiling 
 rice lands begin about a mile from the seaside and 
 stretch "aback" to the "wet savannahs," by 
 means of which they are irrigated. These wet 
 savannahs are vast natural swamps converted arti- 
 ficially into shallow lakes by "stopping off" 
 
 11 
 
The Demerara River 
 
 their seaward outlets. South of them spreads 
 "the bush," that great primeval forest so hostile 
 to man, but sheltering in its mysterious recesses 
 a million varieties of insects, a multitude of 
 beasts and reptiles, and a ss;ealth of bird life un- 
 equalled, perhaps, in any other part of the .world. 
 
 Little, however, does the average colonist or 
 the chance visitor to British Guiana see of the 
 wonder and beauty of South America. The 
 forest builds an impenetrable barrier, keeping 
 him a close prisoner upon seaside mud flats, which 
 are in the main a dreary waste of uncultivated 
 land . Lack of labour renders it impossible for more 
 than a small fraction even of the coastal fringe 
 to be made to yield its increase. A land the size 
 of England, Scotland, and Wales combined ; a 
 population equal to that of Hertfordshire, and a 
 cultivated area less than one-fifth the size of Kent ; 
 a land for the greater part unknown and unsur- 
 veyed, whose only roads extend along the sea- 
 board and for a few miles up the banks of its 
 main rivers — such is British Guiana, ever since 
 the close of the Napoleonic Wars a possession 
 of the British Crown, the only one in South 
 America, and rich in unexplored possibilities. 
 
 But the colonists of British Guiana have never 
 
 12 
 
Monotony of Coast 
 
 made any serious attempt to investigate the 
 interior of their heritage. Their revenue has 
 always been spent upon coastal development; 
 and a conviction exists that the interior is not 
 only a death-trap, but also a wilderness of useless 
 jungle and sandy deserts. Many attempts were 
 made to dissuade me from venturing into it with 
 my husband, and I was assured that I was risk- 
 ing my health — nay, my life. But the call of 
 the wild was too strong, and I shall always be 
 glad that I decided to go ; for the fact that a 
 woman has traversed these forests and the high- 
 land prairies beyond during many strenuous weeks 
 and came back with health and vigour renewed 
 may perhaps dispel the legends accumulated 
 about the horrors of "the bush," and induce 
 people to investigate for themselves the charms 
 and opportunities of this neglected land, or at 
 least to travel with us in spirit into those great 
 expanses of sleeping Nature which await the day 
 of man's occupation. British Guiana lies, like 
 the princess of the fairy-tale, in an enchanted 
 sleep. One day, surely, the fairy prince will 
 come, mounted upon an iron horse, and bid her 
 awake ! 
 
 Two long years my husband and I lived con- 
 
 13 
 
The Dcmerara River 
 
 tinuously in Georgetown, at the mouth of the 
 Demerara River. Then, exhausted in mind and 
 body by the enervating atmosphere and disimal 
 monotony of a tropical coast, near the equator 
 and below sea-level, we decided to spend a brief 
 holiday in exploring a part of the Colony's 
 interior hitherto blank upon the map, hoping to 
 find there some of that strength which cometh 
 from the hills. A journey up cataract-barred 
 rivers and through primeval forests by Indian 
 trails was in itself an attractive prospect ; but we 
 had a still more potent lure. On the 21st March, 
 1914, my husband had spent a day at the Kaietuk 
 Fall, and had gazed from the brink of the great 
 chasm into which the Potaro River there plunges, 
 up its dreamy reaches towards the forest-clad 
 ridges that stand above the Arnik creek and away 
 to the towering, cliff-faced mass of Mount 
 Kowatipu. It was then that he resolved to visit 
 some day the wonders which Nature might hold 
 in the forests and savannahs farther to the west 
 and the south-west, and perhaps even to make his 
 way to that famous Mount Roraima, of which 
 the residents in British Guiana hear so much and 
 see so little. Then, in October, 1915, he made 
 the acquaintance of Mr. J. C. Menzies, whose 
 
 14 
 
Lure of the Bush 
 
 occupation as a diamond and gold prospector had 
 carried him into distant parts of our Colony's 
 interior. Mr. Menzies' account of prairie table- 
 lands at high altitudes, to be reached by travel- 
 ling a few days beyond Kaietuk, and affording a 
 view of Mount Roraima, where the boundaries of 
 British Guiana, Brazil, and Venezuela meet, and 
 whence streams flow to the Amazon, Orinoco, 
 and Essequebo, determined us to attempt the 
 journey across those tablelands to that mountain 
 of mystery. During the previous seven years 
 Mr. Menzies had frequently traversed the little- 
 known and unsurveyed part of the Colony that 
 lies between the Potaro River and our frontier 
 with Brazil, and be had been greatly struck by 
 the opportunities for cattle-ranching afforded on 
 its highland savannahs. He had, moreover, 
 bought and driven cattle from Brazil over the 
 Ireng River into British territory, where they 
 wander freely under the nominal guardianship of 
 a tribe of Makusi Indians. He was therefore 
 well qualified to make the preliminary arrange- 
 ments for the expedition which we had in mind, 
 and he very kindly agreed to place his experience 
 unreservedly at our disposal and to accompany 
 us. His knowledge of our proposed route did 
 
 15 
 
The Demerara River 
 
 not extend beyond the Colony's boundaries ; but 
 he felt sure that an Indian guide could be found 
 in one of the villages near the Ireng, who ,would 
 be able to lead us on to the goal of our hopes, 
 Mount Roraima. 
 
 We started on the 20th December, 1915, our 
 first stage being by steamer from Georgetown to 
 Wismar, a small settlement sixty miles up the 
 Demerara River. The journey takes eight 
 hours, and the scenery is not interesting. For 
 the most part the land on both sides is absolutely 
 flat and screened from the traveller by a dense 
 fringe of jungle growth. Not that the river- 
 banks are entirely unoccupied; tenements and 
 farms are dotted along each bank for miles after 
 the tall chimneys of the sugar factories are left 
 behind. Indeed, between Georgetown and 
 Wismar there remains hardly an acre of Crown 
 land by the river-side, and the titles of some 
 estates date back to the year 1746, when the 
 Dutch still ruled in Demerara. But a former 
 Governor of the Colony decreed that a belt, 
 several yards wide, should be reserved along the 
 fagade of all riverine grants, so that his succes- 
 sors might be free, if so disposed, td make roads 
 or build wharfs on the river-bank. This un- 
 
 16 
 
River-side Scenery 
 
 tenanted strip of land ,was, of course, rapidly 
 overgrown with jungle, and the dense mokka- 
 mokka which grows at the water's edge makes a 
 forbidding-looking fringe to the Demerara's 
 yellow tide. This plant, a member of the arum 
 family, is said to offer an excellent paper-making 
 material. It grows sometimes just above the 
 surface of the water, and sometimes reaches a 
 height of thirty feet or so, forming a happy sanc- 
 tuary for birds of many kinds. Their nests 
 among the broad leaves, that clothe the thick 
 stems rising straight out of the water, are 
 secure from snakes and such-like enemies. Once 
 I saw a tiny humming-bird, a veritable jewel of 
 colour, seated on her minute nest, regarding us 
 trustfully as we paddled by. This was not, 
 indeed, on the banks of the Demerara, but dur- 
 ing an expedition to one of the wet-savannah con- 
 servancies already mentioned. She sat on her 
 airy throne, perched in the fork of a low mokka- 
 mokka stem, a few feet above the wind-swayed 
 rushes and broad lily leaves .which cover the yn.de 
 expanses on each side of the water-paths, kept 
 clear for boats. As we sat in our low corial, her 
 background was blue sky, and a prettier sight 
 can scarcely be imagined. 
 
 17 E 
 
The Dcmerara River 
 
 The Demerara River has several large creeks, 
 navigable by eorials or even motor-boats for many 
 miles, but their mouths, screened by mokka- 
 mokka plant, are mostly impossible to distinguish 
 from the deck of a river steamer. The only one 
 of these streams I have explored is the Kamuni 
 creek, which my husband and I once visited in 
 order to see the now almost deserted Chinese 
 settlement of Hopetown. Strange that such 
 lonely jungle should ever have had attractions for 
 Chinese settlers ! Everywhere broods the heavy 
 silence of the tropical "bush," broken now and 
 then by the whir of a beetle or the cry of a bird 
 swooping across the creek; nor does this forest 
 afford any variations of colour save in the intense 
 green of the overarching foliage, reflected leaf for 
 leaf in the still, black water. Now and then some 
 glorious orchid decorates a decaying tree-trunk, 
 or the blossoms of some brilliant flowering creeper, 
 fallen from the distant tree-tops, float down the 
 stream. Here and there a splendid blue butter- 
 fly flits into the sunshine, and an occasional splash 
 betrays an alligator subsiding into a dark pool. 
 
 The Hopetown Settlement, which was once a 
 flourishing village engaged chiefly in charcoal- 
 burning, now consists only of a few hovels, 
 
 18 
 
Chinese Settlement 
 
 thatched with trooUe palm, and of some ill-kept 
 rice-fields, the one redeeming feature being a 
 nice wooden church. When we went in, there 
 were flowers on the altar, and a pair of Cantonese 
 vases, which must wonder how they got there. 
 An aged Chinese catechist conducted the service, 
 and a priest visits the place at rare intervals. 
 
 The people, I remember, welcomed us gladly, 
 and were delighted to hear a few words in Can- 
 tonese spoken by my husband. The whole vil- 
 lage accompanied us as ,we walked along the dam, 
 which serves it both as a main road and as a safe- 
 guard against inundation. We visited the " cul- 
 tivation," but there was nothing satisfactory to 
 be seen, A few miserable plantains, a few poor 
 cacao-bushes, untended and uncared for, was all 
 we could observe. A paddy-field, to which we 
 were led, was merely a rough clearing in the 
 bush, the trees having been cut down, but the 
 stumps left standing, and no attempt was made 
 to irrigate or drain. There had been no manur- 
 ing, nor, indeed, was there any sign of tillage. 
 The sight was a sad one to eyes accustomed to 
 the smiling, carefully tended rice-fields of China, 
 with their neatly dammed divisions for conserving 
 water, fields from which the laborious Cantonese, 
 
 19 
 
The Demerara River 
 
 by unceasing toil, reap their annual reward of 
 two rice harvests and one crop of " dry cultiva- 
 tion." The Hopetown settlers told us that they 
 could only raise a rice crop from a given area 
 once in five years ; but with care the land could, 
 of course, be made productive. The settlement 
 possessed no animals ; not even the pig, so univer- 
 sal in China, was to be seen. In fact, the people 
 evidently lacked energy to make an effort to im- 
 prove their condition. Most young Chinese, 
 desirous of better things, have doubtless dis- 
 covered that by going to Georgetown they can 
 with thrift, industry, and the business instincts 
 of their race, find more promising openings for 
 making a livelihood, in trade or otherwise, than 
 Hopetown offers. Hence only the aged, the 
 feeble, or the indolent, remain in the settlement ; 
 and Hopetown no longer answers to its name, 
 for little hope of its futureJs now left. 
 
 The Chinese, however, came late in the story 
 of the Demerara. Only Caribs lived there in 
 1598, when the river was first made known to 
 Europe by the report of two Dutch ships that 
 had cruised along the coast of Guiana, but had 
 not traded in the " Demirara," because they 
 were pressed for time, and because the Caribs 
 
 20 
 
River'Side Population 
 
 informed them that " not much was to be found 
 there," and also, perhaps, chiefly " because their 
 provisions were growing scant." In those days, 
 maybe, there was a numerous Carib population 
 hereabouts ; but the inhabitants are now a curious 
 medley, almost amphibious, for once the sugar 
 estates are passed the river is their only road, and 
 the smallest child navigates his corial. The 
 census of 1911 records that only 8,101 people 
 were in that year inhabiting the Demerara. Of 
 these, 2,983 were blacks; 1,756 were East 
 Indians; 1,741 were of mixed race; 124 were 
 Chinese ; 178 were Portuguese ; and 48 were 
 Europeans other than Portuguese. Only 1,229 — 
 say 15 per cent, of the whole — ^were aborigines. 
 There is the history of British Guiana in a nut- 
 shell ! A ceaseless struggle to people from over- 
 seas an empty land ! The Portuguese came 
 from Madeira. The blacks are descended from 
 negro slaves brought here from Africa by the 
 Dutch West India Company. No black slaves 
 were ever brought to Demerara under British 
 rule ; for the slave trade was abolished by Par- 
 liament in 1807, and this Colony did not become 
 definitely British until seven years later. The 
 East Indians have all been introduced as inden- 
 
 21 
 
The Demerara River 
 
 tured labourers under a system of immigration 
 which began in 1845 and ended in 1917. They 
 hail chiefly from Bengal and Madras. The 
 Chinese also came here under indenture, as the 
 result of a scheme of immigration, from Hong- 
 Kong, Canton, and Amoy, which lasted from 
 1853 intermittently until 1874, and was then dis- 
 continued. 
 
 On the whole, the Lower Demerara is dis- 
 tinctly monotonous and void of interest, but 
 shortly below Wismar there are hints of better 
 things. The river, which at Georgetown is a 
 mile wide, narrows considerably ; the banks rise 
 on either side, crowned by big forest-trees, tell- 
 ing of their mighty brethren in the far interior, 
 and greenheart logs lie steeping in the river, wait- 
 ing to be shipped. They cannot be drifted 
 downstream in the usual fashion, as greenheart 
 is heavier than water and does not float. 
 
 Moreover, the river-water, previously an 
 opaque yellow from the influx of the tides that 
 wash seas of mud along the British Guiana coasts, 
 now changes to the beautiful black "bush- 
 water," which, coming from the forest depths, 
 is darkly stained by vegetable matter held in sus- 
 pension. Sometimes it has a reddish tinge, and 
 
Demerara'Essequebo Railway 
 
 then again turns amber-coloured, especially over 
 sandy shallows. It makes a wonderful mirror 
 for sky, cloud, and tree, reflected in its sleeping 
 depths ; and it is quite safe and pleasant to drink, 
 when boiled. 
 
 The township of Wismar on the Demerara 
 River is the terminal point of the small piece of 
 railway built in 1896 by~ Sprostons Limited to 
 cross the divide, here less than nineteen miles 
 wide, between the Demerara and Essequebo 
 Rivers. Close to the railway-station, alongside 
 which is a steamer wharf, cluster the police- 
 station, post 'office, magistracy, and a few shops. 
 The train is a little toy affair, very dirty; the 
 engine burns wood fuel, and the sparks which fly 
 from its funnel give as fine a display of fireworks 
 after nightfall as one could wish to see. They are, 
 however, somewhat dangerous. A case in point 
 was the occasion when Princess Marie-Louise 
 travelled over the line in 1914. The train had 
 been specially decorated in her honour ; but it had 
 not proceeded more than half a mile from Wis- 
 mar before the sparks set all the decorations on 
 fire, and a halt was necessary in order to divest 
 the passenger-coaches of all combustible embel- 
 Hshments. 
 
The Demerara River 
 
 Crossing the divide by motor-trolley is quite 
 an agreeable experience, especially in the cool of 
 the evening, and the line is seen to better advan- 
 tage. The scenery, however, is disappointing. 
 On the Essequebo side of the water-parting, 
 Sprostons have considerable timber-cutting 
 grants, to which they run branch lines. But 
 near the main line all big trees have long ago 
 been cut down, and some years ago a terrible 
 forest fire swept down the divide, leaving behind 
 it a desolation of stark and charred tree-trunks, 
 unlovely to look at. The soil is a white sand, 
 dazzling in the equatorial sunlight. 
 
 Just above Wismar the Demerara Bauxite 
 Company has begun mining operations, and it is 
 very interesting to visit the Company's settle- 
 ments at Fair's Rust and Akyma. Fair's Rust 
 is a mile above Wismar and can be ■reached by 
 ocean-going steamers, but the principal bauxite 
 mines, or rather quarries, are twelve miles farther 
 up, where the low hills consist of almost solid 
 pink-coloured ore, once the overburden has been 
 removed. The Company pays great attention 
 to the health of its employes : good houses are 
 built; bush is cleared away, and drainage and 
 sanitation carefully contrived. 
 
 24 
 

 a 
 
 s 
 
 B 
 
 u 
 H 
 
Demerara Bauxite Company 
 
 A very pleasant way of accomplishing the 
 journey to Wismar is to travel as a guest of the 
 Company in one of its comfortable motor-boats, 
 starting from Georgetown at about tea-time and 
 following the silvery pathway of the river, aglow 
 in the setting sun ; to anchor in the starlight and 
 sleep in the grateful coolness and velvet silence 
 of the river night ; to get under way again in the 
 dawn, and to reach the settlement at Akyma 
 before the full heat of the day. Especially is this 
 delightful when such a journey is but the first 
 stage on towards all the glories of mountain and 
 river which lie awaiting those who venture to 
 explore the wonders of an unknown land. 
 
 25 
 
THE ESSEQUEBO RIVER 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE ESSEQUEBO RIVER 
 
 Vainly does each, as he glides, 
 
 Fable and dream 
 
 Of the lands which the River of Time 
 
 Had left ere he woke on its breast. 
 
 Or shall reach when his eyes have been closed. 
 
 Only the tract where he sails 
 
 He wots of ; only the thoughts, 
 
 Raised by the objects he passes, are his. 
 
 Matthew Arnold : The Future. 
 
 The problem of improving the Colony's lines of 
 communication into the interior may be said to 
 be the problem of circumventing the Essequebo 
 River. For instance, it is the Essequebo and its 
 tributary the Rupununi svhich ought to form a 
 natural highway across British Guiana to Brazil. 
 But the cattle-track, just opened to Georgetown 
 from the Colony's lowland savannahs near the 
 Brazilian border, studiously avoids the Essequebo, 
 which it touches only at Kurupukari, there cross- 
 ing the river and leaving it for g'ood. Again, the 
 Essequebo and its tributary the Cuyuni should 
 form the main avenue of approach from British 
 
 29 
 
The Essequebo River 
 
 Guiana to Ciudad Bolivar on the Orinoco, in the 
 heart of Venezuela. But it is very likely that, 
 when the time comes for Unking this Colony to 
 Venezuela by road or railway, the line will but 
 touch the Essequebo to bridge its estuary, and 
 then make across country to the Tumeremo 
 savannahs. Similarly, the problem of reaching 
 Kaietuk and the highland savannahs of British 
 Guiana has now become the problem of avoiding 
 the Essequebo. 
 
 It is a tantahzing river. Twelve miles wide 
 at its mouth; two miles wide at Bartika, where 
 the commingled Cuyuni iind Mazaruni join it ; 
 and still fully the same width at Rockstone, where 
 the Demerara-Essequebo Railway strikes it — 
 nevertheless, its innumerable cataracts and rapids 
 make it a snare and an illusion to the navigator. 
 In fact, the raison d'itre of the Demerara-Esse- 
 quebo Railway is to short-circuit the extremely 
 dangerous series of cataracts between Rockstone 
 and Bartika, in which many lives have been lost. 
 By crossing the low divide between the two rivers, 
 the traveller reaches the Essequebo at Rockstone, 
 well above these dangers. He then has a 
 navigable stretch *of sixty miles before him to 
 Tumutumari. 
 
 SO 
 
Wateks.ubet of oomminglkd Cuyuni and Mazauuni Rivers 
 WITH Essf:ijiRan. 
 
 To face page 31. 
 
Where Three Rivers Meet 
 
 This short-circuit, however, misses some inter- 
 esting country. At Bartika, thirty miles below 
 Rockstone, the commingled Cuyuni and Maza- 
 runi Rivers flow into the Essequebo, and very 
 beautiful is the watersmeet of the three stately 
 streams. On one hand, the shining waters of 
 the Cuyuni invite one, as the morning mists roll 
 away, to follow its gleaming track to Venezuela ; 
 whilst, on the other, Mazaruni, "black water," 
 as its Indian name implies, though flecked with 
 spume from its dread cataracts, has lured on 
 many a diamond-seeker to the very shadow of 
 Roraima's unscalable precipices. 
 
 Amid the mingling Mazaruni and Cuyuni, 
 with a clear view down to the Essequebo, Ues 
 Kyk-over-all, a tiny island, where the earliest 
 Dutch settlers lived in a fort, whose picturesque 
 ruins still remain. These hardy pioneers estab- 
 lished themselves here as early as the opening 
 years of the seventeenth century, and traded with 
 the Indians chiefly in anatto dye. To " see over 
 all " .was indeed a necessity for that tiny handful 
 of .white men, whose sole connection with Europe, 
 civilization, and succour was but one solitary ship 
 in a year ! The Dutch also established a settle- 
 ment at Kartabo, a bamboo-crowned point on the 
 
 31 
 
The Esscquebo River 
 
 nearest mainland, about half a mile away, whence 
 a speedy flight to the fort could be made in case 
 of danger descried. Kartabo Point lies exactly 
 between Mazaruhi and Cuyuni, and here the New 
 York Zoological Society hopes to establish a per- 
 manent research station* under Dr. William 
 Beebe, who considers the neighbourhood a para- 
 dise from the naturalist's point of view. 
 
 Within sight, a few miles downstream, His 
 Majesty's Penal Settlement affords to the con- 
 victs all that Nature can oflPer to cheer their toil ! 
 There is naturally no stone in the silted mud flat 
 on which lies the inhabited part of British Guiana ; 
 but the excellent granite of which the hills near 
 the Settlement are composed forms the quarry 
 whence all the stone used on the coast has been 
 obtained. Convict labour has also built a dry- 
 dock adjacent to the prison. 
 
 I have never been beyond Kartabo oil the 
 Mazaruni, but I remember a delightful expedi- 
 tion up the Cuyuni to Matope. We started from 
 the Penal Settlement in the delicious freshness 
 of the early morning, and were carried by the big 
 prison launch to the foot of the Camaria rapids, 
 where there is a road-portage of three miles. 
 "Jack" and "Jill," two panting Ford lorries, 
 
 32 
 
The Camaria Road 
 
 conveyed us with many bumps and jerks over the 
 uneven, hilly road. A prison gang was out 
 "improving" the road-surface by shovelling 
 loose sand into the ruts. Their work looked very 
 nice, and certainly had not exhausted or over- 
 heated the dusky road-menders; but poor 
 " Jack " and " Jill " found sand-filled ruts more 
 than tfiey could bear and constantly stuck fast, 
 whilst their boiling radiators protested noisily with 
 spurts of angry steam, and "all man" found 
 assisting them out again distinctly more strenu- 
 ous than road-mending. Next I have memories 
 of a long, lazy afternoon, when, embarked 
 once more, we puffed and panted slowly up- 
 stream from Camaria, or else drifted in lazy 
 silence on the bosom of the big sleepy river, 
 whilst our out-board motor refused to func- 
 tion. The delightful blue hills on each bank 
 of the Cuyuni seemed shouldering each other 
 aside to catch a glimpse of the unaccustomed 
 hfe ; and the exquisite peace made me wish 
 " ever to seem falling asleep in a half -dream," 
 until the diabolical spitting and puffing re- 
 asserted itself and restored me to reality again. 
 We managed to reach Matope before dusk in 
 spite of many breakdowns. Here, amid tree- 
 
 33 c 
 
The Essequebo River 
 
 crowned rocks, the river swirls down in fifteen 
 separate cataracts ; and, in the days of Wenamu 
 and Pigeon Island gold booms, Matope rest- 
 house, post office, and bond-store were estab- 
 lished on the two most accessible islets, and a 
 launch service plied thither. We were joyously 
 greeted by the black officer in charge of the 
 station, who proudly displayed to us the attrac- 
 tions of his lonely little domain and ferried us in 
 the gathering dusk — ^for twilight is, alas ! un- 
 known in the tropics — across to the rest-house 
 island, a most enchanting spot. Here, after the 
 bustle of disembarkation and the long, hot day, a 
 bathe in the cool, soft river water, like cream to 
 the skin, was delightful indeed, though it had to 
 be accompanied by a furious splashing to frighten 
 the pirai, an unpleasant flesh-eating fish that nips 
 off the fingers and toes of the unwary ere they 
 know; it. Then, lulled by the musical roar of the 
 cataracts, we slept soundly until, at 3 a.m., the 
 ' ' howHng baboons ' ' howled . To anyone who has 
 never heard these creatures it is perhaps impos- 
 sible to convey any idea of this marvellous sound. 
 The South American baboons have howling bones 
 in their throats, and at a distance of some miles 
 their "howl" sounds merely like a storm- wind 
 
A Deserted Garden 
 
 soughing through distant tree-tops; but, jvhen 
 they are close at hand, the whole air is alive with 
 the din, so that you cannot tell from which direc- 
 tion it proceeds. Every nerve in your body 
 tingles, and there is a curious fascination in the 
 great volume of sound, which used to remind 
 me dimly of the boom of the big temple-bell 
 through the cryptomeria groves of far-distant 
 Japan. 
 
 Near Matope, on a hill-shoulder on the right 
 bank of the river, stand the ruins of the house in 
 which the government gold officer of the district 
 used to live in the days of the big gold rushes. 
 He must have had a charming abode. We ex- 
 plored remains of a lovely garden terraced in the 
 hill-side. Beautiful clumps of feathery bamboo 
 framed delicious views of sky, river, and forest, 
 adream in the golden sunlight; ,whilst bougain- 
 villea, oleander, and petrea made the foreground 
 a riot of colour. But Nature in tropical climates 
 pursues her task of blotting out the works of man 
 ,w;ith surprising swiftness. The house, a wooden 
 structure of the usual Creole type, had fallen to 
 pieces inside under the influence of wood-ants, 
 and its three stories were filled with a glorious 
 alamander-bush, thrusting its golden blossoms 
 
 35 
 
The Esscquebo River 
 
 everywhere, filling all the deserted space, and 
 forcing its way out over the roof. 
 
 Doubtless one day in the far-distant future 
 these lovely reaches of river will be colonized. 
 Plantations of limes, coffee, and rubber will 
 replace the all-enveloping forests, and managers' 
 houses will crown the little hills. Although so 
 close to the equator, the sun in British Guiana 
 has little of its eastern fierceness and the climate 
 is wonderfully healthy, if elementary principles 
 of hygiene and sanitation are observed. Once 
 away from the mosquito-ridden coastal swamps, 
 our experience has always been that we can 
 expose and exert ourselves in a way that would 
 be impossible in the East, and I believe that on 
 these inviting hills white men, with wives and 
 children, could live in health and comfort. Com- 
 munications are needed; motor-roads to run 
 through the forest connecting the settler :with 
 civihzation and his neighbours. One pioneer, 
 Mr. G. B. Withers, has cleared and planted ynth 
 rubber the hills on the Mazaruni opposite the 
 Penal Settlement, and has constructed a motor- 
 road through the forest to connect his estate with 
 the Agatash Lime Plantation on the Essequebo 
 above Bartika. No metalling was necessary, 
 
 36 
 
From Rockstone to Tumatumari 
 
 since the forest floor, once cleared of stumps, 
 makes an admirable surface. All the big forest 
 trees have been left standing, only the " under- 
 bush " being removed, for shade thus prevents 
 the swift upspringing of vegetable growth which 
 would occur in any place exposed to the direct 
 rays of the tropical sun. Cool even at midday, 
 with Eats and helmets removed to enjoy the deli- 
 cious shade, to drive along these cleverly-aligned 
 gradients is a treat indeed; and one dreams of 
 the transformation which might be wrought by 
 motor transport in this unopened land. 
 
 But the day of motor-roads into the interior 
 has not yet come, and we reached Rockstone on 
 our journey to Roraima by railway from Wismar. 
 At Rockstone the great width of the Essequebo 
 is disguised, as almost everywhere else, by 
 islands; for immediately opposite the railway 
 terminus is Gluck Island, fully seven miles long, 
 in whose marshy jungle the Victoria Regia lily 
 was originally found. Apart from the railway- 
 station, the only other building there is a pleasant 
 httle bungalow hotel, in which we spent the 
 night. The full moon over the Essequebo was 
 very pretty. 
 
 We started upstream from Rockstone at 
 
 S7 
 
The Essequebo River 
 
 6.30 a.m. on the 21st December, 1915, and 
 arranged ourselves for a long day's occupation of 
 the Ark, a primitive sort of house-boat, towed 
 alongside the motor-launch which plies regularly, 
 when the state of the river permits, between 
 Rockstone and Tumatumari. The launch was a 
 terribly noisy affair, and even in the dignified 
 seclusion of our Arh we could not hear ourselves 
 speak. However, once comfortably established 
 in hammocks, we could lose ourselves in our 
 books. One of the most important parts of an 
 outfit for a bush journey, and certainly one that 
 requires very careful thought, is the choice of 
 one's library ; for who would dream of starting, 
 like Musset's Ninon, "en voyage sans livre"? 
 You want, first of all, books that contain a good 
 deal of reading matter in them, so that you may 
 not run through the pages too quickly ; and the 
 more they afford of piquant contrast to the sur- 
 roundings you are likely to encounter, the better ; 
 whilst an enduring charm will be thrown for you 
 over any favourite work which has accompanied 
 you across hill and dale and cheered hours of 
 weary waiting in the rain, or of provoking delays 
 on the part of the food commissariat. Sir George 
 Trevelyan's Life and Letters of that most 
 
 38 
 
Trials and Tribulations 
 
 delightful of men, Lord Macaulay, Macaulay's 
 Essays, Kim and Va7iity Fair, have all acquired 
 for me a peculiar and indescribable flavour, since 
 this or that passage recalls some incident of travel 
 or lazy hammock hours in river and forest, when, 
 as supper was a-preparing or the pit-pat of rain 
 beat on our tent-roof, I lay luxuriating in the 
 delightfulness of freshly-donned, dry footgear and 
 in the anticipation of "pigtail soup." 
 
 The Essequebo was unusually low on this occa- 
 sion, and the silver sand-reefs jutted out of the 
 water like bones. At midday we were stopped 
 by the Kopano sands, which forbade further pro- 
 gress. Here we waited a long three hours for a 
 smaller launch, the Nelly, which was expected 
 downstream from Tumatumari to discharge 
 her crowd of " balata-bleeders " and "pork- 
 knockers " into our bigger launch for their return 
 journey via Rockstone to the joys of a Christmas 
 in civilization. We found the time long, in spite 
 of lunch. Lord Macaulay, and the view of a flat- 
 topped hill known as the Arosaro Mountain, a 
 welcome sight to eyes that had scarcely seen any 
 rising ground for two years. It is a low forest- 
 clad hill with a flat top and chff -edges, the first 
 sounding of the Roraima leit-motif. We were, 
 
 S9 
 
The Essequebo River 
 
 however, anxious to reach Tumatumari that 
 night, for we knew that the Arle must be left 
 behind with the big launch, while the tarpaulins 
 and camp gear, that would have made a bivouac 
 on the river-bank tolerable, had preceded us by 
 some days with our stores. At 3 p.m. we wel- 
 comed the sight of a puff of dark smoke on the 
 wide stretch of smooth, still water before us ; but 
 it was close on 4 p.m. before our transhipment 
 was complete and our fate committed to the 
 launch Nelly. She was quite unspeakable^ — filthy 
 dirty, with a shocking vibration — but we were 
 thankful enough when she did vibrate, for the 
 hateful little thing constantly broke down and 
 floated helplessly on the vast expanse of desolate 
 water, as we anxiously scanned the lingering day- 
 light, the while an unhappy son of Ham wrestled 
 in vain with his engine. My husband managed 
 to sling a hammock for me inside the launch, and 
 that was a great comfort ; but the noise was 
 excruciating. The coxswain, a nice fellow called 
 Lekha, half East Indian and half black, said his 
 orders were to get us through, if possible, but 
 that Crabbu Falls could not be run in the dark. 
 As he spoke, the vixenish launch broke down 
 again, and required half an hour's patching up. 
 
 40 
 
Rapids by Moonlight 
 
 A little later the engines stopped once more for 
 a quarter of an hour. We felt rather miserable, 
 as a more comfortless place in which to spend the 
 night than that abominable little Nelly could 
 hardly be imagined, and no food was available, 
 save tea and the remains of a cake, with some 
 slabs of chocolate which I fortunately had handy ; 
 so we were now pretty hungry. By 6.30 p.m. it 
 was dark. Rich, fresh, sweet scents were wafted 
 to us from the banks ; but, though the moon rose 
 beautifully at 7 p.rn., she hid her fickle light soon 
 afterwards behind a cloud-bank. However, our 
 cox was a real good fellow. By help of a very 
 feeble light from the dimmed moon, he got us 
 safely through Tigri Rapids — a tortuous race 
 between rocks — and at about 8.30 p.m. we got to 
 the foot of Crabbu Falls. Here another launch, 
 the Potato, was waiting to help us up the rapid, 
 and the blazing crude oil of her engines made the 
 night a weird inferno of noise and glare. She 
 was lying near a sandy spit ; and, when NeUy got 
 alongside her, we managed to push out a plank, 
 scrambled ashore, and strolled about to stretch 
 our cramped limbs. There was a banaboo of 
 Patamona Indians near by, whose inhabitants 
 came out silently to watch at a safe distance our 
 
 41 
 
The Essequebo River 
 
 strange proceedings. The flickering light of the 
 burning oil lit up their dusky figures uncannily. 
 At length the moon, which was full, cleared 
 somewhat, and Lekha decided to risk the attempt 
 of climbing the rapid. Nelly and Potato were 
 lashed side by side and, steaming together, were 
 to surmount the rapid. But the first attempt 
 failed. We steamed up, gaining ground inch by 
 inch, till, just as we were at the crest of the rapid, 
 Nelly's engines stopped again, and we had to 
 slide back. Next time, however, Potaro made 
 the attempt towing Nelly as dead-weight, and 
 just did it. Lekha then said that Potaro drew 
 too much water to continue safely upstream, as 
 she might hit on a sand-bank. But I declared 
 that I would prefer any fate to that of returning 
 to Nelly; and Lekha, who was really a sports- 
 man, agreed to transfer our few belongings to 
 the bigger launch and take us on. Two miles 
 above Crabbu Falls we entered the mouth of the 
 Potaro River, and puffed our hesitating .way 
 over its black course, the moon having disappeared 
 again as soon as she had seen us safely surmount 
 the rapid. Darkness, of course, hid from us the 
 lovely view of blue mountain ranges, which we 
 have subsequently seen from Potaro mouth, hills 
 
 42 
 
A More Excellent Way 
 
 which verily looked to us the "delectable moun- 
 tains." We reached Tumatumari, ten miles up 
 the Potaro, shortly before midnight, as tired as 
 dinnerless folk well could be; but -that was the 
 only really unpleasant day of all our forty days in 
 the wilderness. 
 
 Such an experience naturally prompts the 
 question : Is there no better way of getting from 
 Georgetown to the Potaro ? Cannot this section 
 also of the Essequebo be circumvented ? Yes, a 
 better way has been found, but it has not yet been 
 made available for public use. There already 
 exist eighteen and a half miles of railway from 
 Vreed-en-hoop, on the Demerara River, opposite 
 Georgetown, to Parika, on the Essequebo 
 estuary. There also exists a much-neglected 
 road, 67 miles long, built years ago by prison 
 labour, from Bartika to the Kaburi gold-fields. 
 It is now proposed to extend the railway for a 
 distance of some thirty-four miles from Parika 
 to a point opposite Bartika; and the trace has 
 also been cut of a road extension frorn Kaburi to 
 a place known as Garraway's Landing, on the 
 Potaro. The total distance from Bartika to Gar- 
 raway's Landing would be about a hundred 
 miles ; and, if this route were made available for 
 
The Essequebo River 
 
 motor traffic, it .would be possible with suitable 
 arrangements to make the journey by train from 
 Georgetown to Bartika and onwards by motor- 
 car from Bartika to the Potaro River in a single 
 day between sunrise and sunset. Such a line of 
 communication would be a boon to the colonists 
 both at Bartika and on the Potaro River, besides 
 being a great step towards bringing the Kaietuk 
 plateau within reach; and I hope the day may 
 not be far distant when its construction will be 
 taken in hand. 
 
 44 
 
THE POTARO DISTRICT 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 THE POTARO DISTRICT 
 
 Quid non mortalia pectora cogis, 
 Auri sacra fames ? 
 
 Virgil : Mneid, iii. 56. 
 
 TuMATUMARi is a formidable cataract with rocky 
 islands amidst its swirling rush of waters. The 
 name is said to mean " as hot as pepper." All 
 river traffic, whether upstream or downstream, is 
 stopped by this obstacle, and a portage between 
 the lower and the upper landing must be made 
 over about half a mile of good cart-road. On the 
 right bank stands a nice wooden bungalow, 
 belonging to Sprostons, built on a bluff overlook- 
 ing the river. There are also several other houses, 
 including a land office, a police-station and a post 
 office, in this little outpost; and many "bucks," 
 as the aborigines are called in local parlance, live 
 in the neighbourhood. From a point just above 
 the cataract Sprostons run a launch service for 
 another ten miles upstream past Garraway's 
 Landing to a place known as Potaro Landing, 
 
 47 
 
The Potaro District 
 
 and there all public service ends. Potaro Land- 
 ing is the northern terminus of a cart-road, about 
 twenty-three miles long, running between the 
 Potaro and Konawaruk Rivers and serving the 
 Minnehaha Gold Mining Company's settlement. 
 It runs as a sort of Nile through a desert of dense 
 forest. 
 
 Great is the energy of the white man ! In 
 lands where all Nature cries to him, "Be still; 
 do not exert yourself; keep a dry skin!" and 
 where she relentlessly obliterates with importu- 
 nate veils of quick-springing jungle all traces of 
 his efforts, if ever he suspends them, he neverthe- 
 less pursues his vpay, dragging his machinery, and 
 defying the mosquito ! But in British Guiana 
 he is hopelessly handicapped by want of labour. 
 What can he do, if he cannot command the hands 
 effectually to conquer the wilderness, to roll back 
 the jungle, to plant and tend and reap? 
 
 The road up from the riverside at Potaro Land- 
 ing is wide, but excessively bad. It begins by 
 climbing up a hill of loose sand, in which the 
 heated wayfarer toils along ankle-deep, save 
 where a very rough corduroy of timber changes 
 the form of his penance. Even the fortunate 
 occupant of a dogcart is little better off, for the 
 
 48 
 
The Potaro-Konawaruk Road 
 
 jarring to one's spine as the wheels jolt from log 
 to log is almost more than body and bones can 
 endure. After the first seven miles the road-sur- 
 face changes and becomes ironstone gravel, good 
 enpugh to permit motor trafl&c, provided one does 
 not set too much store by the springs of the car. 
 From the road there are interesting glimpses of 
 the black cliffs of Eagle Mountain and another 
 range of grim precipices, frowning like prison 
 walls on either hand. The valley, thus shut in, 
 is intensely hot. The soil is fertile, and limes 
 especially thrive, though all cultivation is pre- 
 carious, when established on an oasis, amid the 
 jungle, and thus woefully exposed to the depre- 
 dations of birds and cushie ants. These ants fre- 
 quently clear a patch of cultivation in a single 
 night of every blade of greenstuff. 
 
 When, in 1917, we visited the hospitable 
 manager of the Mjnnehaha Company at his house, 
 situated near the tenth milestone of the road, 
 there was a big dredge at work washing gold in 
 Mahdia creek at " Nine Miles," and another was 
 in process of being shifted from "Fifteen Miles " 
 to a point lower down the Minnehaha creek, near 
 the twentieth mile-post. The Company also 
 maintains a comfortable and picturesque bunga- 
 
 49 D 
 
The Potaro District 
 
 low at "Eighteen Miles." Near the fifteenth 
 mile you cross the divide between the Potaro and 
 Konawaruk Rivers, and the road then runs along 
 the banks of the Minnehaha creek. This once 
 was a picturesque stream, but the washing for 
 gold has discoloured it and altered its course. A 
 track branches off from " Fifteen Miles " and 
 runs up into the Eagle Mountain, where quartz- 
 mining operations had just been begun when war 
 broke out and work was unavoidably suspended. 
 The administrative headquarters of the district 
 are at the eleventh mile, where the Government 
 maintains a court-house, a police-station, and a 
 dispensary. Several shops are dotted at inter- 
 vals along the road, and more than one church. 
 Nor must I omit to mention the " Potaro 
 Library," an imposing-looking shed consisting 
 of side-posts, a roof, and a floor, and proclaiming 
 its title in large letters, but (apart from the total 
 absence of all books) a somewhat strange building 
 to enjoy the title of " library." I understand it 
 is frequently used for dancing. The shopkeepers 
 of the Potaro Road and, I believe, in all the 
 Colony's gold districts are Chinese. I shut my 
 eyes and imagined the difference that would be 
 wrought in that desolate scene if a million or so 
 
 60 
 
Gold^dredging in Minnehaha Creek 
 
 of their almond-eyed brethren could be trans- 
 ported hither. How would the wilderness blos- 
 som as a rose, air and light enter, where reigns 
 mosquito-breeding jungle, and the fertile land 
 smile with all that maketh glad the heart of man ! 
 Now, if you bump over the excruciating cor- 
 duroy and the large stones embedded in the road, 
 and especially if light is fading and darkness 
 gathering, the melancholy of the long, dreary, 
 winding way, with its scattered settlements and 
 struggling clearings, penetrates your very bones 
 and gives you a sensation of physical disquiet. 
 
 I have, nevertheless, very pleasant recollec- 
 tions of the Potaro District and of the cheery hos- 
 pitality of the Company's manager and his thre^ 
 or^our white assistants, chiefly New Zealanders. 
 Thelrx pluck, good spirits, and eagerness in their 
 work ris^ade a vivid impression on my mind, as 
 did the iViteresting process of gold- washing, which 
 we observed on Mahdia creek. The dredge- 
 buckets bring up quantities of yellow mud from 
 the bed of the stream, and this mud is washed by 
 water along a sort of wide gutter with gratings 
 across /the bottom. The gold-bearing matter, 
 being heavier than the rest, gravitates down 
 through the gratings on to coconut matting 
 
 51 
 
The Potaro District 
 
 sprinkled with quicksilver. This process is called 
 " washing up." When it has continued for a 
 considerable time, the coconut mattings are -care- 
 fully washed and beaten, and all that comes out, 
 including the quicksilver, which has charged itself 
 with the gold particles, is again washed through 
 a box by a jet of water. The box has three layers 
 of plush in it, and the water is strained through 
 these layers. The residue is very fine black dust, 
 from which the gold-bearing quicksilver is care- 
 fully separated and carried off to be smelted. 
 This process is called "streaming down." 
 
 From the manager's bungalow at the tenth mile 
 a very pleasant alternative route back to Tumatu- 
 mari, avoiding the launch trip, is to ride over the 
 seventeen miles of Tiger creek trail. This trail 
 was opened as a bridle track for the accommoda- 
 tion of the " pork-knockers," who washed Tiger 
 creek for gold, at one time very profitably, though 
 the "placers" are now worked out. A branch 
 line, also made up as a bridle track, goes off from 
 this trail to St. Mary's, on the Konawaruk River, 
 where the British Guiana Gold Mining Company 
 have dredges at work. The ride is delightful, if 
 one be mounted on a sure-footed mule. The 
 forest trees are veritable giants, and their deep 
 
 52 
 
Tiger Creek Trail 
 
 shadow prevents the suffocating undergrowth 
 from springing up. The line, when we rode over 
 it, was clean, and all bridges were in good repair. 
 It is absolutely cool even at midday in the 
 exquisite shade, and we enjoyed charming little 
 views, where the path wound pleasantly up and 
 down small hills. At times it runs beside the 
 deep pools of beautiful Tiger creek and its pic- 
 turesque slides of amber water and creamy foam. 
 Being mounted, we had the pleasure, rare to 
 travellers in the bush, of looking about us instead 
 of being obliged to watch our feef carefully all 
 the time, or pay the penalty by a stumble. Thus 
 I caught sight of an ant-bear, and we observed 
 that remarkable animal, with its enormous tail 
 and long snout, ambling along on the hiU-side 
 below us for quite fifty yards. It appears that 
 ant-bears are bold creatures and fear nothing, as 
 everything else takes care to give them a wide 
 berth. Though they only eat ants, they have a 
 way of rising on their hind legs, gripping an 
 adversary with their inturned front claws, and 
 then tearing him open with their hinder ones. 
 Big ant-bears have been known to do this to men. 
 When the time comes to improve communi- 
 cations in this part of the Colony, the Potaro 
 
 53 
 
The Potaro District 
 
 River will doubtless be bridged at Garraway's 
 Landing, where it is only 800 feet wide. Then 
 a line will be cut to join the Potaro-Konawaruk 
 Road at "Two Miles"; and from this second 
 mile-post another road will branch off to rejoin 
 the river and climb to Kaietuk and the highland 
 country beyond, up the wonderful Potaro Gorge. 
 
 To-day a trail leads away into the forest west- 
 wards from " Two Miles," where a rough sign- 
 board proudly points the way " To Kaieteur."* 
 Gladly does the wayfarer step into the restful 
 shade after the glare of white sand on the cart- 
 road, and grateful indeed is the cool springiness 
 of the leaf -strewn forest floor. After five miles 
 along this trail, where from time to time the roar 
 of unseen cataracts breaks the silence, the path 
 emerges on Potaro bank once more, at a place 
 known as Kangaruma. Here, on a low hill im- 
 mediately above the river, is a small clearing with 
 a wooden rest-house, belonging to Sprostons, a 
 couple of Indian troolie-sheds, and some provi- 
 sion-fields. 
 
 It is on account of the long series of rapids 
 below Kangaruma that the portage of seven miles 
 from Potaro Landing has to be made, and the 
 
 * Kaieteur is a mistake for Kaietuk, See p. 75. 
 54. 
 
Through Forest to Kangaruma 
 
 river's big loop to the north is also thus circum- 
 vented. ' 
 
 When travelling up the Potaro Gorge we have 
 always sent our stores on ahead of us to Kan- 
 garuma, and arranged for our Indian carriers, or 
 droghers, to await us there. Then from this spot 
 one fairly " pulls out on the Long Trail, the trail 
 that is always new." 
 
 66 
 
THE POTARO GORGE 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE POTARO GORGE 
 
 He lured her away so far, 
 
 Past so many a wood and valley and hill, 
 
 That now, would you know where they are ? 
 
 In a bark on a silver stream, 
 
 As fair as you see in a dream. 
 
 A. O'Shaughnessy : Zuleika. 
 
 Once the stores are all safely packed in the tent- 
 boat, the paddlers established on their thwarts, 
 and after the last wild rush up the bank to secure 
 some precious, almost forgotten article, such as 
 kettle or saucepan, how delightful it is to feel 
 that at length one is off into the very heart of the 
 wilderness ! The soothing splash of the paddles 
 is inexpressibly welcome after the din of launch 
 travel, and we surrender ourselves to the enjoy- 
 ment of the big restful silence and unchanging 
 peace of the dreamy forest-wrapped river, and 
 to delightful anticipation of wonders to come- 
 On the journey to Roraima, we left Kan- 
 garuma in the afternoon of 22nd December, 1915. 
 Our party consisted, besides Mr. Menzies and 
 
 59 
 
The Potaro Gorge 
 
 ourselves, of Haywood,, our black cook, a most 
 excellent and capable fellow, and of fourteen 
 aborigines. Scanning the expressionless bronze 
 figures of these Indians as they paddled steadily 
 upstream, I speculated on what manner of men 
 they might be, these dwellers amid trees and 
 waters, whose home lies in the very bosom of 
 Nature, and who look to her alone to supply all 
 their needs. Nine of them came from the 
 Demerara River, and the remaining five were 
 Makusis from the highlands whither we were 
 bound. Two of these five — Johnny and Thomas 
 by name — were headmen of Puwa, a village near 
 the Ireng River and close to the Brazilian frontier. 
 The Makusis were good fellows and did yeomen 
 service ; but the natives of the Demerara River, 
 as we discovered to our cost, were an idle and 
 worthless set. They had already suffered the 
 contaminating effects of civilization, and great 
 were the delays and annoyance we had to endure 
 from them, until we were able to exchange them 
 for the willing and athletic Makusis of the high- 
 lands. 
 
 Above Kangaruma stretch some seventeen 
 miles of smooth water to Amatuk, where once 
 more the roar and rush of a cataract break on 
 
 60 
 
The Gateway to the Gorge 
 
 the river's repose. Amatuk is a delightfully 
 pretty place. The Potaro here is joined by the 
 Amuk creek, and then rushes in two cataracts 
 round a rocky tree-crowned island, swirling out, 
 all foam-beflecked, into a bay below. In the 
 centre of the right-hand cataract, down which the 
 great bulk of the water flows, there is a sheer drop 
 of some thirty feet, and a fountain of white foam 
 leaps upward. On a low knoll, looking over the 
 bay and immediately above the left-hand cataract, 
 stands another wooden rest-house. This knoll 
 has been cleared of the dense bush, which 
 dominates all else, and delicious English bracken 
 grows freely on its sandy slopes. 
 
 We arrived by starlight ; and, whilst the bag- 
 gage was being carried up to the rest-house and 
 supper made ready, I lay in my hammock watch- 
 ing an exquisite moon rising from out the mil- 
 lion tree-tops of the forest, with a foreground 
 of dimly, shining river. The music of falling 
 water filled the air, and the stars gleamed like 
 great lamps hung athwart the night. Wherever 
 we may in future travel, a hammock shall always 
 accompany me. It enables one to be made as 
 comfartable as possible in two minutes, though 
 for sleeping at nights we must confess to being 
 
 61 
 
The Potaro Gorge 
 
 luxurious enough to require camp-beds. To our 
 deUght, we each of us needed a warm blanket that 
 night; and, when you have scarcely used the 
 lightest blanket for two years, it is a real luxury 
 to enjoy a good heavy one again. Rain fell all 
 night long, and at dawn heavy mist-wreaths lay 
 about the hills. 
 
 Amatuk is the gateway to the beautiful 
 Kaietuk Gorge. Looking upstream from the 
 bay below the fall, we saw towering on one side 
 the peak of Kenaima Mountain, and on the other 
 side the vertical cliff -face of Mount Kukui. Just 
 above Amatuk the Potaro emerges from between 
 these mountains, and is at once joined from the 
 right by the Amuk creek, which also flows in a 
 narrow gorge, so blocked by huge boulders and 
 so difficult of access that it has never yet been 
 explored. Streams, which are almost better 
 spoken of as cascades, spring down the faces of 
 the cliffs, gleaming like white threads against the 
 red sandstone. Another hint is thus given of the 
 Roraima leit-motif which rules the land. We 
 had, indeed, throughout our wanderings the im- 
 pression of a mighty symphony. The wondrous 
 Kaietuk Fall was the first movement whose intro- 
 duction began with Amatuk. Thereafter we 
 
 62 
 
Mount Sakwai on Potaro River near Tukeit. 
 
 WaTERSMEET of foTARO AND AmLTK RiVERS AT AmaTUKj SHOWING 
 
 Mount Kbnaima on right and Mount Kukui in centre 
 above biver-jiist. 
 
 To face page 62 
 
Diamond Prospecting 
 
 realized that several days of river and forest jour- 
 ney were but the transition passages to a move- 
 ment of shining tablelands, whose jasper-bedded 
 rivers repeat everywhere the same leit-motif, 
 though with a myriad tiny variations, for all the 
 streams of the highland savannahs tumble in cas- 
 cades down vertical faces into a succession of 
 pools, while long-sought-for and much-dreamt-of 
 Roraima, with his cliffs over a thousand feet in 
 height rising out of primeval forest, standing on 
 his pedestal of rolling savannah uplands, with 
 waterfalls leaping from his mysterious flat-topped 
 summit, forms a magnificent resume and finale 
 of the whole. 
 
 Next morning, whilst the stores and baggage 
 were being portaged from the bay below Amatuk 
 to another boat moored above the falls, we had 
 leisure to study the beauty of the cataract. The 
 river was low, so we made our way to the edge 
 of the water over rocks generally covered by the 
 rushing stream as it changes from the normal 
 dark — almost black — flow of its peaceful pro- 
 gress to the amber swirl and creamy spray of 
 coming excitement. These diabase rocks are all 
 flat-topped and deeply fissured, and they contain 
 here and there curious " jigs," made by pebbles 
 
 63 
 
The Potato Gorge 
 
 swept round and round in some tiny whirlpool, 
 till, as the long ages pass, they dig for themselves 
 deep circular holes. These "jigs" are eagerly 
 explored by the diamond prospectors, as some- 
 times they contain precious stones. I baled out 
 one such deep, dark hole with the help of a 
 Makusi, and obtained a plateful of extremely 
 pretty pebbles, all tiny and agleam with many 
 different colours, rose-red, turquoise-blue, pieces 
 of malachite-green, and many a shining speck of 
 quartz to raise my hopes. I felt that to be the 
 actual winner of a real diamond, however small, 
 would be a delightful experience ; but my pebbles, 
 although pronounced by the authority^ of Mr. 
 Menzies and Haywood to be "good diamond 
 indication," did not, in spite of their intrinsic 
 beauty, harbour any stray speck of real value. 
 Nevertheless, I feel that diamonds will always 
 - have an added charm for me when I think of them 
 as gifts from that lovely land of unknown streams 
 and as the ornaments of Nature herself. 
 
 We spent a delightful three hours paddling 
 upstream to the next portage at Waratuk, sur- 
 rounded by the wonderful scenery of the gorge. 
 Rain fell in little misty veils of shower; and 
 exquisite forest fragrance, wafted to us from the 
 
 64 
 
Portage at Waratuk 
 
 banks, was strong enough to overpower even the 
 smell of salt beef and pork which emanated from 
 our provisions. Potaro here flows between flat- 
 topped cliffs towering on both sides about a 
 thousand feet above their own reflections, mir- 
 rored in the black jvater. The hidden bases of 
 the hills are clothed in forest, while their sides 
 are grim precipices, revealing overhangs of castel- 
 lated rock and toppling crags with great fissures 
 and clefts, wild and wondrous to behold. 
 
 At about noon we reached Waratuk, where 
 another portage is necessary. This is a much 
 smaller cataract than Amatuk. In fact, at high 
 river, boats going downstream can run it, whereas 
 no one would dream of running Amatuk, in the 
 centre of which is a vertical drop. On the right 
 bank at Waratuk stands a httle shelter with cor- 
 rugated iron roof, supported by wallaba posts. 
 Under its cover we lunched, or rather took "break- 
 fast," as the midday meal is invariably called in 
 this Colony; and at 2 p.m., when all our stores 
 had been portaged, we set off again in another 
 smaller craft known as the " parson's boat," used 
 by the Church of England for the missionaries 
 who at one time travelled up the Potaro to mis- 
 sion-stations, now abandoned. 
 
 65 E 
 
The Potato Gorge 
 
 From Waratuk to Tukeit was two hours' 
 paddling. The shining lazy river, lying half 
 asleep between its sentinel hills, seemed already 
 to have forgotten the wild leap over Kaietuk. But 
 from our boat we caught several glimpses of the 
 Kaietuk cliff, which bars the end of the gorge, 
 and we could just see that corner of the fall itself 
 which is nearest the left bank. 
 
 The river is studded by rocky islets, and the 
 stunted trees growing thereon are often literally 
 laden with long bags of woven sticks which are 
 the mocking-birds' nests. At high river I once 
 counted seventeen on one small tree, which 
 appeared to rise straight out of the water, its 
 rock pedestal being entirely submerged. 
 
 Above Tukeit the river is a series of racing 
 cataracts, curiously broken by deep, still pools, 
 where the main current would appear to flow 
 beneath the surface. It is, of course, an entirely 
 unnavigable piece of water, and to pursue the 
 valley on foot to the base of the mighty Kaietuk 
 precipice is an enterprise of extreme difficulty, 
 not to say danger. Masses of giant boulders 
 make progress all but impossible ; and, save at 
 very low river, the attempt could not be made. 
 The Potaro has therefore to be abandoned until 
 
 66 
 
Tukeit Cataract 
 
 some miles above Kaietuk, and no full view of 
 the waterfall from below is obtainable along the 
 present line of ascent. 
 
 Sprostons have made a little clearing at Tukeit, 
 and have put up a wooden rest-house on the left 
 bank of the river, about a hundred yards from 
 the water. The forest closes in densely all round, 
 so that the place has no view, and besides being 
 very stuffy, it is full of big biting cow-flies. It 
 is not a pleasant spot to spend a night in; but 
 nevertheless, when encumbered by baggage, one 
 cannot with the existing means of transport get 
 up from Amatuk on to the Kaietuk plateau in 
 one day. On the opposite side of the river, how- 
 ever, there is an excellent camping-ground on a 
 beach of shining silver sand, and a rocky dell at 
 the forest edge, watered by the clear, cold 
 Tukeit stream dropping from the cliff-tops a 
 thousand feet above, offers delightful refuge in 
 the heat of the day. So, if time were no object, 
 a camp on Tukeit sands for fishing would be an 
 agreeable interlude in a "bush" journey. The 
 very deep, still pools of the river near by are a 
 favourite haunt of haimara, which are excellent 
 eating. These fish sometimes grow very large, 
 and Indians wading in the pools are on occasion 
 
 67 
 
The Potaro Gorge 
 
 savagely bitten by them. The aborigines usually 
 obtain fish by shooting them with boyy; and arrow. 
 This they do with much skill and dexterity. 
 
 But who would delay at Tukeit when Kaietuk 
 calls ? We must be up and on ! 
 
 68 
 
KAIETUK, MOTHER OF MISTS 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 KAIETUK, MOTHER OF MISTS 
 
 The cataracts blow their trumpets from the steep. 
 
 W. Wordsworth : Ode. 
 
 There were showers at dawn, but these had 
 passed over when we started from Tukeit in the 
 early morning to climb up on to the Kaietuk 
 plateau. The existing forest trail, after leaving 
 Tukeit, traverses some low foot-hills, and then 
 rises sharply to cross the Washibaru creek. Next 
 follows another steep ascent to the Korume creek, 
 which is bridged by tacouhas at a point whose 
 Indian name has been translated as the " Devil's 
 Mother's Pillars." Here the country is very 
 broken, and the whole channel of the Korume 
 has been strewn with large boulders that com- 
 pletely hide the water from sight. It would seem 
 probable that in time past cliffs stood on both 
 sides of this gorge, and that they crumbled 
 inwards, so blocking the exit of the Korume, 
 which, nevertheless, has burrowed a way under- 
 neath the rocks and hurries down in a very abrupt 
 
 71 
 
Kaietuk, Mother of Mists 
 
 cataract to the Potaro. From the Devil's 
 Mother's Pillars there is an exceedingly steep 
 climb, with a gradient resembling in places a 
 ladder rather than a road, until the edge of the 
 Kaietuk plateau is reached at a tree on which the 
 word "Amen" has been cut. Gossip has it 
 that on one occasion a respected colonist was 
 hoisted up to this point, two Indians pulling him 
 with a rope in front and two more pushing him 
 behind. He lay down under this tree almost at 
 his last gasp ; and, while he recovered breath, his 
 companion cut the word " Amen " in the trunk. 
 It certainly is a villainous climb, especially in 
 rainy weather, when the moss-covered stepping- 
 stones are wet and slippery, and it does not im- 
 prove iwith acquaintance. From Amen Point 
 the forest trail runs along a ridge more or less 
 level for another couple of miles or so to the 
 Kaietuk savannah, with the precipitous gorge of 
 the Potaro on one side and the deep-cut valley 
 of the Korume on the other. The Indians say 
 that this path originated in a track by which 
 otters descended from the Upper to the Lower 
 Potaro ; and, whether this be so or not, the line 
 is certainly quite unsuitable for human traffic 
 even on foot. 
 
 72 
 
The Kaietuk Savannah 
 
 The whole trail runs always in forest, never 
 affording any view of the Kaietuk Falls or of any- 
 thing save the vista of tree-trunks immediately 
 ahead. Big boulders lie scattered pell-mell rouiid 
 about in the jungle, some as large as houses, and 
 many curious orchidaceous plants thrive in the 
 drenchingly moist atmosphere. The so-called 
 " Kaieteur lily," whose green leaves are striped 
 with brown and black lines and whose heart, when 
 in flower, is a scarlet feather, grows gaily on 
 boulder and tree-stem. Then suddenly, when 
 we had been about two hours on the march from 
 Tukeit, the forest ended and the trail debouched 
 on a savannah of flat rock, covered with a thin 
 layer of sand, in which grass and many charming 
 wild-flowers grow freely. No sooner do you 
 reach the savannah than you also come upon the 
 last of Sprostons' rest-houses. It stands out in 
 the open, at a considerable distance from any 
 water, save what is caught upon its corrugated 
 iron roof and conveyed to a vat. Behind it and 
 on both sides all view is cut off by the forest, 
 which is only a few feet away. In front there 
 is a small open savannah, and beyond range upon 
 range of blue, forest-clad hills. But there is 
 still no sign or sound whatever of the mighty 
 
 73 
 
Kaictuk, Mother of Mists 
 
 waterfall, and those who do not know could never 
 guess that anything extraordinary was near by. 
 We rested for a few minutes in the bungalow, 
 enjoying the view and the delicious change of 
 climate which comes from ascending some 1,500 
 feet. Then we walked on a hundred yards or so 
 across the savannah. The first sign of danger 
 ahead is a deep fissure in the ground, which must 
 he crossed carefully. A few steps more, and 
 with appalling suddenness a terrific chasm yawns 
 at one's feet. From the rest-house nothing can 
 be seen of precipice or chasm, and the forests 
 which clothe the cliff -tops upon the opposite side 
 of the river gorge appear to meet the edge of the 
 savannah. Indeed, this abrupt rift in a land- 
 scape which does not otherwise suggest anything 
 stupendous startled me afresh each time. It 
 takes hours to realize the scene. We stood on 
 the overhanging lip of a precipice : thin air below 
 us for many hundred feet. Still, however, the 
 waterfall was almost a mile away across the gulf ; 
 and nothing could be seen of it, for the whole 
 gorge was filled jvith mist and thick, white, fleecy 
 cloud. " Mother of Mists " should Kaietuk be 
 named, as Roraima is called " Father of 
 Streams." In point of fact, however, the word 
 
 74 
 
''Old Man's Rock" 
 
 Kaietuk (Dr. Bovallius writes it Kaijituik) means 
 " Old Man's Rock," and the falls are so named 
 by the Indians, because of a folk-tale to the effect 
 that an aged Indian, becoming a nuisance to his 
 relatives, as his feet were infested with chigoes, 
 which they had to pick out for him, was put in a 
 woodskin and sent to drift to his death over this 
 abyss. Strange that Kaietuk's majestic beauty 
 should have inspired no better legend than this ! 
 The word tulc or tuik means " rock," and is also 
 found in Fakatuk, Amatuk, Waxatuk, and 
 Titfceit, all of which are well-known cataracts on 
 the Potaro River. The usual spelling " Kaie- 
 teur " is a mere mistake. 
 
 The mists of the waterfall are drawn up and 
 dispersed in the sunshine, but directly the sun 
 goes they fill up the gorge and hide everything. 
 Indeed, it was not till the afternoon on the day of 
 our arrival that the weather cleared and Kaietuk 
 stood revealed in aU its grandeur. I fear it is 
 almost impossible to give in words any idea of 
 this wonder, but I will make an attempt. Lazy, 
 dreamy Potaro suddenly leaps down fully eight 
 hundred feet vertically into a great black caldron 
 below, and then flows through a vast amphi- 
 theatre of precipices, towering to an equal height 
 
 75 
 
Kaietuk, Mother of Mists 
 
 on either bank, their bases clothed in forest. The 
 black bush-water, as it reaches the lip of the fall 
 and the sun strikes it, turns first amber and then 
 to a creamy spray, and falls in festoons of foam, 
 which seem living and change incessantly. The 
 river was low on this occasion, so that compara- 
 tively httle water was going over, and it looked 
 as though the whole mass turned to spray before 
 reaching the black depths beneath ; but some- 
 times a puff of wind blew the opalescent foam- 
 curtain aside for a second, and one caught a 
 glimpse of the amber column descending. The 
 contrast between the grim, black and red, 
 weather-stained cliffs and the flying, gleaming, 
 living, falling water is marvellously beautiful. 
 Little wisps of mist float ceaselessly forth from 
 out the black cavern behind the fall. A glorious 
 rainbow hovers about it, whilst flights of swallows 
 cross and recross before it, bathing themselves in 
 the spray in a manner that would enchant a 
 Japanese artist. Pairs of macaws sail majesti- 
 cally past the background of white foam, the 
 crimson of their under-wings and the briUiant 
 blue of their bodies gleaming like jewels when 
 the sun catches them. The fickle come-and-go 
 of shape and sheen in the restless cataract makes 
 
 76 
 
A Marvel of Beauty- 
 
 its strange beauties alive with caprice and 
 mystery; for the eye can follow during several 
 seconds the lace-like, ever-vafying tracery of each 
 water-wreath as it drops from the lip of Kaietuk 
 to meet the foam tossed up from the black whirl- 
 pool underneath. 
 
 We spent all the afternoon studying the fall 
 from various points of view. At the cliff-edge 
 near Sprostons' bungalow one can see, but not 
 photograph, its entire length ; and there is a good 
 view of the tumbling reaches of the river below, 
 which alternate ,with large, still pools. You can 
 also look fully a mile upstream above the fall, 
 where Potaro flows in a straight reach through a 
 vast, densely forested plateau, stretching away to 
 distant blue hills, also forest-clad, save on their 
 vertical cliff-sides — Chills that beckon the traveller 
 onwards, prophesying further wonders. For 
 from the Kaietuk savannah a view can be 
 obtained of Mount Kowatipu, round the spur of 
 which we were to travel on our further journey 
 to Roraima, and of the lofty range of mountains, 
 called by the Indians Kamana and Morakabang, 
 at the head of the Kopinang River. There is 
 also an extensive panorama of the plateau and 
 the mountains on the right bank of the Potaro. 
 
 77 
 
Kaietok, Mother of Mists 
 
 Sir Walter Egerton, who visited Kaietuk in 
 1913, had a path cut for him from Sprostons' rest- 
 house in a downriver direction, near the edge of 
 the precipice, through an awesome forest among 
 black fissures, huge rocks, and forbidding caverns, 
 for a distance of about a quarter of a mile, to a 
 bare jut of cliff, which overhangs the gorge at a 
 point about one mile as the crow flies from the 
 brink of Kaietuk. From this spot it is possible 
 to photograph the abyss in its entire height, but 
 not from any point nearer. The vertical fall is 
 sixfold that of Niagara, and the whole scene is 
 on so enormous a scale that it is difficult to realize 
 how huge is every detail of it all, and one sorely 
 needs something to give the sense of proportion 
 with the ordinary workaday world. There is 
 also a trail from the rest-house to the brink of 
 the fall, where one obtains a wonderful view down 
 the gorge to Mount Kenaima at the Amatuk 
 Gateway and to the dim plains beyond, a distant 
 sea of forest. But from the water's edge it is, of 
 course, impossible to see much of the chasm into 
 which the river falls, unless you lie prone on the 
 overhanging rock and look straight down into 
 the caldron below. Round about the head of 
 the fall on the left bank of the Potaro is a curious 
 
 78 
 
I'oTATio (iuRi.i: FKOjr Kaietuk. 
 
 To face page 73. 
 
A Memorable Christmas 
 
 open plain of hard, smooth rock. It is almost 
 flat, with a gentle incline toward the river-side, 
 and is strewn with small, round, white pebbles. 
 Save the wealth of wild-flowers, only scrub 
 wreathed with golden " Kaietuk vine " and big 
 orchidaceous plants, some of them ten or twelve 
 feet high, grow there; but it is a curiously fas- 
 cinating place, and forms a weird and fantastic 
 approach to the fall itself. Surely it would be a 
 good thing if British Guiana made the whole of 
 this unique savannah in the irmnediate vicinity 
 of Kaietuk, abounding, as it does, in interesting 
 plants and flowers, into a colonial park, after the 
 model of the national parks in the United States ; 
 and, if so, when made readily accessible, it should 
 be a source of health and delight to many genera- 
 tions of our colonists, whose work compels them 
 to reside, as a rule, on the hot coastal plains. 
 
 We reached Kaietuk on Christmas Eve ; and, 
 as all our baggage and stores had to be carried up 
 on the back of our Indian droghers from Tukeit 
 to a point above the waterfall, where Potaro is 
 again navigable, our headquarters during all 
 Christmas Day, as well as for the larger part of 
 Boxing Day, were at Sprostons' rest-house. I 
 shall never forget that Christmas Day at Kaietuk. 
 
 79 
 
Kaietuk, Mother of Mists 
 
 The lights were so .wonderful on the gorge, and a 
 lovely rainbow hovered over the fall. Each time 
 that I turned away from Kaietuk and looked 
 down the valley I said to myself: "It is more 
 lovely than the last time I looked this way ;" and, 
 whenever I turned back to that living, moving 
 water, I felt, " This really is more wonderful 
 than a second ago." One of the most striking 
 things about Kaietuk is its silence, due, I sup- 
 pose, to the foot of the fall being so far below. 
 Occasionally, when the wind eddied upward, a 
 great sullen growl came up, and the Makusis 
 standing beside me at the brink of the cliff 
 stepped back with a grunt of superstitious alarm. 
 The wonder of it all makes coming away very 
 hard, for one becomes fascinated by the ever- 
 changing glory and can never look enough. 
 When, in October, 1917, my husband and I were 
 three weeks in camp on this plateau, it did not 
 seem one day too long ; and we studied Kaietuk 
 in all its moods — ^in misty dawn, magnificent day, 
 and ghostly moonlight. We pitched camp about 
 fifty yards from the edge of the abyss, a few feet 
 above the river-side. It was a heavenly spot. 
 Our tarpaulins were slung in a little strip of 
 forest for protection from the weather ; but a big 
 
 80 
 
A River Paradise 
 
 rock, jutting out into the river and overarched by 
 trees, made us the most perfect " parlour " in the 
 world. As I lay in a hammock, listening to the 
 delicious swish-swish of the hurrying river, I 
 could see miles and miles of blue hills and shining 
 stream below me, right away down the gorge to 
 Amatuk. What happy, lazy hours that ham- 
 mock afforded me, too blissful even for reading, 
 when one seemed not wholly awake, yet not at 
 all asleep, and altogether aware of the loveliness 
 around one ! The fall, of course, could not be 
 seen from the camp, but the air came to us chilled 
 by its moving waters, cool and invigorating even 
 at midday. Curiously enough, the mists, which 
 float ceaselessly forth from behind Kaietuk and 
 often fill the gorge and roll in clouds over the 
 savannah, seemed somehow to be abruptly cut 
 off by the precipice, and never came our way. 
 Altogether it was the most perfect of many 
 delightful camps. 
 
 But the day's occupation was by no means 
 limited to hammock musings, for our object, 
 during those three .weeks, was to find a prac- 
 ticable alignment for a motor-road from the 
 Kaietuk plateau down to Amatuk. A very inter- 
 esting and attractive job it was, though it involved 
 
 81 F 
 
Kaietuk, Mother of Mists 
 
 us in many an hour's hard cUmbing and scram- 
 bUng, only to reward us at first with disappoint- 
 ment. 
 
 The work of trail-cutting in the vicinity of 
 Kaietuk is like groping in the dark. One can 
 see little or nothing beyond the few yards just 
 ahead ; for the forest shuts out all view, save when 
 one reaches an abrupt cliff-edge or a little patch 
 of rocky savannah. In country such as this every 
 step has to be cut toilfuUy up and down hill- 
 sides, and no rapid reconnaissance survey is pos- 
 sible. Oh for a hydroplane, with which to get a 
 bird's-eye view of plateau, ravine, and river ! 
 
 The Indians we found to be of no use to us as 
 guides to the country, and they did not at all 
 relish the job on which we were engaged. They 
 have a superstitious fear of Kaietuk and all its 
 surroundings. They consider that the .whole 
 place spooks, and they constantly murmur about 
 "kenaima " whilst at work. This is their word 
 for ghosts and spirits, and they have given to the 
 mountain standing above Amatuk, at the 
 entrance to the Potaro gorge, the name of Mount 
 Kenaima. From its summit the smoke as of 
 fires is said constantly to ascend, though no man 
 walks thereon. Between Kangaruma and Chena- 
 
Our Search for a Road 
 
 powu, some fifty miles of river, there is not a 
 single human habitation, and the surrounding 
 country appears unknown to the aborigines. Our 
 men dared not even look at the Kaietuk Fall 
 when by themselves, and, if obliged to approach 
 it, hurried past with averted eyes. They would 
 not leave camp unless two might go together, and 
 they plainly were reluctant to cut lines through 
 the rock-strewn forests round about, painting 
 their faces with red streaks to ward off malign 
 influences. Would that evil could indeed be 
 averted by so simple an expedient ! The truth 
 may be that the numerous caverns of this region 
 are haunted by jaguars and possibly by other wild 
 beasts, an'd that Indians have been killed from 
 time to time when passing through the gorge. 
 
 Still, after many failures we at last succeeded 
 in finding a Une. My husband's first idea was to 
 circumvent entirely the ravines of the Washibaru 
 and Korume creeks, which form the chief 
 obstacles in the ascent to Kaietuk. So he cut a 
 path from the edge of Kaietuk Fall in a direction 
 at right angles to the Potaro across the Kaietuk 
 plateau, descending into the Korume valley. He 
 then continued up this valley until he reached a 
 saddle, where, at a height of about 1,150 feet 
 
 83 
 
Kaietuk, Mother of Mists 
 
 above Tukeit, is the source of the Korume. After 
 that he crossed over on to another plateau above 
 the left bank of the Korume, and so made his 
 way to the headwaters of the Washibaru creek. 
 But, although the two ravines had thus been cir- 
 cumvented, no reasonable gradient could be 
 found downhill, beyond Washibaru Head, either 
 to Tukeit or to Waratuk. At last we decided to 
 explore the Korume defile itself, in spite of its 
 forbidding aspect at Devil's Mother's Pillars, and 
 shortly after dawn one day we walked to Korume 
 Head, taking four Makusis with us. 
 
 The Indians had so persistently declared this 
 valley to be "no walky " that we scarcely dared 
 to hope that it would be possible to get along it 
 for any distance ; and my husband, anticipating 
 some very troublesome scrambling, desired me to 
 return to camp and leave him with the four men 
 to make the attempt. But the men hung back 
 so much that I was obliged to follow to drive 
 them after him. My husband led the way, 
 plunging ahead through a thick jungle of scrub 
 and bush-rope. Then, when he reached the far- 
 thest point from which he could see me through 
 the forest veil, he signalled to me, and I gave the 
 word to the men to cut a straight line to where 
 
 84 
 
A Practicable Gradient Found 
 
 he stood. This process we repeated again and 
 again hour after hour. The going was amaz- 
 ingly good — too good to last, and we expected 
 every minute to be stopped by a waterfall or by a 
 jumble of rock and clijRP. It was very exciting 
 and very delightful. The gradient was 28 per 
 cent, over the first 4,854 feet, there being no 
 rock obstruction whatsoever. Then for another 
 4,438 feet of gentle descent the ground surface, 
 though by no means bad, was less easy, and the 
 line had to be graded round the hill-side instead 
 of running on the valley floor. Eventually we 
 were held up by a welter of huge tacouhas, and 
 turned back, our men being tired and sulky. But 
 on later days my husband completed the trail, 
 though from the point where we had stopped on 
 the first day things were not so easy. Obstacles 
 were incessant for the remaining 2,400 feet to 
 Devil's Mother's Pillars, where it will be neces- 
 sary to make a hair-pin bend in the road align- 
 ment, and the country between the Korume and 
 the Washibaru creeks is also rough and difficult. 
 Nevertheless, when we broke up camp at Kaietuk 
 to return to Georgetown, we had a complete 
 track to Tukeit, and since then the line has been 
 surveyed, continued to Amatuk, and examined 
 
 85 
 
Kaietuk, Mother of Mists 
 
 by an engineer, who reported on the 31st Octo- 
 ber, 1918, that the cost of a motor-road from 
 Amatuk to Washibaru would be about $92,000, 
 and from Washibaru up the KorumS valley to 
 Kaietuk plateau about $37,300. It only remains 
 now to trace the alignment of a road from Gar- 
 Ticway's Landing to Amatuk in order to com- 
 plete the scheme of a highway from Bartika past 
 Kaburi and across the Potaro-Konawaruk Road 
 to Kaietuk. What a difference it will make to 
 life in British Guiana when it is possible to reach 
 that wonderland in a day's drive by motor-car 
 from Bartika ! 
 
 86 
 
THE ASCENT TO THE 
 HIGHLAND SAVANNAHS 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE ASCENT TO THE HIGHLAND 
 SAVANNAHS 
 
 1 will make a palace, fit for you and me 
 Of green days in forests. 
 
 R. L. Stevenson : Romance. 
 
 In the long, straight reach of the Potaro, imme- 
 diately above Kaietuk, there are several rapids; 
 and the dangerous proximity of the Kaietuk 
 abyss itself makes this stretch of the river . an 
 undesirable starting-point for an upstream jour- 
 ney. Mr. Menzies told us a harrowing tale of a 
 bushman who years ago, wishing to cross from 
 the right to the left bank of the Potaro in this 
 reach, made a raft to ferry himself and his kit 
 over the river. When out in midstream, he 
 found to his horror that his punt-pole would not 
 touch bottom, and the raft began to drift in the 
 direction of the waterfall. The man did not hesi- 
 tate long, but, abandoning all his belongings, 
 threw himself into the river and, being a strong 
 svsdmmer, successfully reached the bank. So, in 
 
 89 
 
The Ascent to the Highland Savannahs 
 
 order to avoid all such dangers, the landing-stage 
 for the Upper Potaro has been placed a couple of 
 miles above Kaietuk, at a point about thirty-five 
 minutes' walk from Sprostons' rest-house. For 
 the most part, the trail to this landing-place 
 traverses the rocky Kaietuk savannah, the only 
 patch of ground clear of forest on our whole jour- 
 ney from the coast to the highlands ; but for the 
 last fifteen minutes it goes through forest and 
 involves a troublesome scramble over tangled tree- 
 roots, resembling piles of giant " spillikens." 
 The path emerges on the left bank of the Potaro 
 at a point where there is a small inlet, and where 
 all view of Kaietuk and its surroundings has al- 
 ready been lost. Here were two boats, one being 
 a second "parson's boat," and the other belong- 
 ing to Mr. Menzies. Mr. Menzies' boat is thirty 
 feet in length, built of silver-balli wood, very 
 handy and buoyant. It came up from George- 
 town in sections, and was screwed together by 
 Mr. Menzies with the help of two men in this 
 little cove, where it is safely moored even in flood- 
 time. The " parson's boat," on the other hand, 
 came up whole, and was many days in transit 
 from Tukeit. What a job hoisting it to Amen 
 Point must have been ! 
 
 90 
 
Indian Stjperstitions 
 
 We put six Indians into the " parson's boat " ; 
 the remaining eight, with Mr. Menzies, Hay- 
 wood, ourselves, and all our baggage, embarked 
 in the other. A tarpaulin shelter was stretched 
 amidships over a frame of bent boughs, to which 
 a hammock was slung for me. Mr. Menzies 
 steered, and had four paddlers with him in the 
 stern, while Haywood was bowman with four 
 more; and so we started off upstream on the 
 afternoon of the 26th December, 1915. 
 
 The Potaro above Kaietuk is as calm and 
 peaceful as below Tukeit. Its reflections are so 
 wonderful that it is hard to distinguish the water- 
 line, where the foliage of the banks ends and its 
 mirrored reflectio^i begins, while the deep blue 
 of the tropical sky shines yet brighter up from 
 the river's heart than from overhead. Primeval 
 forest is unbroken on both banks, save occasion- 
 ally where patches of secondary jungle and 
 " congo-pump " suggest that in bygone days 
 there were Indian settlements on the banks, now 
 abandoned, probably for kenaima reasons. 
 Whenever a chief dies in an Indian village, the 
 people are apt to attribute any subsequent run of 
 bad luck to his kenaima, or spirit, and they 
 migrate from the place. Indeed, a village is 
 
 91 
 
The Ascent to the Highland Savannahs 
 
 nearly always deserted for a short time after the 
 death of any important villager. There are also 
 whole districts besides the Kaietuk country into 
 which Indians will not go for fear of kenaima. 
 
 We did not get far that day, as the men, who 
 had been droghing our stores from Tukeit to the 
 landing on the Upper Potaro, complained of 
 fatigue. So we made an early camp on the river- 
 bank at a place where the forest was " clean," as 
 the bushmen express it — that is, without choking 
 undergrowth. Very soon we were most com- 
 fortably established. A tarpaulin stretched over 
 a framework makes a nice roof ; and we also had 
 tarpaulins hung on the two sides for the sake of 
 privacy, and another spread as a floor to keep our 
 feet dry. It is not the custom in this country 
 to use tents, so we had not "brought ours. But 
 this was a mistake, for a tent can be rigged up as 
 easily as a tarpaulin, and it would have ensured 
 greater comfort and privacy. Moreover, on the 
 open savannahs a tent is needed as a protection 
 against wind and rain. Haywo'od built himself 
 a camp-fire, placing a stick horizontally on two 
 forked uprights and slinging pots on it above the 
 flames, just as the bushman does in Canada and 
 probably all the world over. Our fire and those 
 
 92 
 
On the Upper Potaro 
 
 of the Indians Ut up the damp forest glade and 
 made it look quite friendly, but an hour after 
 dusk torrents of rain fell, .which speedily extin- 
 guished the warm glow. 
 
 Next morning we paddled steadily upstream, 
 halting only for an hour and a half at noon, when 
 we lunched. It was a very restful day. No rain 
 fell, but the sky was overcast until 8 p.m. Then 
 the sun broke through the clouds and lit up the 
 river with its perfect reflections most prettily. 
 We passed the mouths of several creeks empty- 
 ing into the Potaro, the largest being the 
 Amamuri, the Seebu, and the Ichirak, and from 
 our boat we could at times see the mountains in 
 which are the sources of the Ichirak and the Arnik 
 creeks. Above the mouth of the Ichirak the 
 Potaro becomes -very winding, and there is a 
 place where two reaches are parallel, flowing in 
 opposite directions, so that Indians travelling in 
 woodskins make a portage over the neck of the 
 bend. We noticed frequent maipuri tracks on 
 both banks as well as on spits of sand, where the 
 animals come down to water; and occasionally 
 the river-edge turns to eta-swamp, where mus- 
 covy duck are said to abide. We also saw several 
 divers, some beautiful white cranes, and a pair 
 
 93 
 
The Ascent to the Highland Savannahs 
 
 of otters, so much interested in us that th^y kept 
 bobbing up close to the boat, trying to get a 
 better viejv. The trees on the Upper Potaro are 
 magnificent, and the forest looks friendly ; 
 whereas the dense, suffocating, tropical jungles of 
 the lowlands give a horrible impression of hostile, 
 evil Nature. 
 
 This night we camped at the mouth of the 
 Arnik on a small island round which the creek 
 flows into the Potaro. The ground is slightly 
 rising and makes a picturesque and comfortable 
 camping-place, with a view straight down the 
 main river. As usual, rain poured down all 
 night long, making us thankful that our tar- 
 paulins were waterproof. 
 
 Next morning, after paddling an hour and a 
 half, we reached the watersmeet of the Potaro 
 and the Chenapowu creek. This is the limit of 
 navigation, for the Chenapowu is blocked by 
 tacoubas and cataracts, and the Potaro itself, a 
 short distance above Chenapowu, is impeded by 
 serious rapids. The river being low had been 
 favourable for our upstream journey, and we 
 covered the thirty miles from Kaietuk to Chena- 
 powu in ten and a half hours' actual paddling. 
 River travel is, of course, always governed by the 
 
 94 
 
A Forsaken Settlement 
 
 state of the river ; and Mr. Menzies told us that 
 once in time of abnormally high flood he made the 
 whole journey downstream from Chenapowu to 
 Kangaruma, a distance of fifty miles, between 
 sunrise and sunset. We, on our way back, there 
 being then about three feet more water in the 
 river than on our way up, paddled from Chena- 
 powu to Kaietuk in six and a half hours ; but we 
 were far indeed from approaching Mr. Menzies' 
 record. At Chenapowu several trails from the 
 highlands converge, and it was here that an old 
 Swedish gentleman. Dr. Carl Bovallius, some 
 years ago made a settlement which he called 
 Holmia. He cleared a hundred acres of land 
 and built himself a house, adniirably situated on 
 a knoll overlooking the watersmeet of the Potaro 
 and Chenapowu, furnished his home with every ' 
 comfort, and began a trade in balata with the 
 Indians of the neighbourhood. Mr. Menzies 
 did the transport work for him, and by his direc- 
 tion explored the forest trails to find a short-cut 
 to the highland savannahs. It was thus that he 
 found " Menzies' Line," which balata-laden 
 Indians could travel in two days, and which is 
 certainly a capital path from the Potaro to the 
 highlands. We ourselves travelled over it. Its 
 
 95 
 
The Ascent to the Highland Savannahs 
 
 length was estimated by Dr. Bovallius' foreman 
 to be thirty-two miles ; but, as the track is now 
 interrupted by fallen trees, it must be somewhat 
 longer, for detours have to be made to avoid all 
 the bigger obstacles. 
 
 It is unfortunate that Dr. Bovallius did not 
 come here as a younger man. He was over 
 seventy years of age when he began his enter- 
 prise ; and, though he lived to be seventy-eight, 
 yet time was lacking for him to establish his work 
 on firm foundations. When he died, the Indians 
 carried off everything that coiild possibly be 
 removed, and his entire clearing is now covered 
 by secondary growth and the horrible "congo- 
 pump," which, bearing a ghastly resemblance to 
 rubber, grows habitually wherever a clearing in 
 the primeval forest has once been, and mocks at 
 abandoned human endeavour. We could, how- 
 ever, still see traces of the roads and bridges 
 which Dr. Bovallius had made, and a small cor- 
 rugated-iron powder-store remains in good repair. 
 Of the house at Holmia nothing is left save the 
 four main posts and a few panes of glass scat- 
 tered on the ground. 
 
 We approached Chenapowu in some anxiety, 
 for at this point we were to leave the waterways 
 
 96 
 
The Boat Journey Ends 
 
 and begin our long march overland; and it was 
 here that Mr. Menzies had instructed the Makusis 
 of the highlands to meet us as baggage-carriers. 
 He fully believed that the Makusis understood 
 and meant to execute his instructions, until, just 
 before we got there, Johnny of Puwa observed 
 casually that his people " Chenapowu side no 
 come." Unfortunately, on arrival, we found 
 that Johnny had spoken but too truly, for at 
 Chenapowu we found no one but John Williams, 
 a tall Patamona, attired only in loin-cloth, knife, 
 and belt, who, vnth his wife and children, .was 
 the sole inhabitant of Holmia. He came down 
 to our boat and insisted on shaking hands with 
 us, saying very firmly and politely, " How do 
 you do?" but he equally firmly said, "Me no 
 carry load." In these depressing circumstances 
 the only thing to be done was to camp for the 
 time being on the site of Dr. Bovallius' house. 
 We never discovered why the Makusis had failed 
 us; for, when we eventually reached the high- 
 lands, they were all eagerly awa,iting us and most 
 anxious to be of use ; but it did not seem to have 
 occurred to them that their services would be 
 needed in the forest. Of course, explanations 
 with a people whose best interpreters understand 
 
 97 G 
 
The Ascent to the Highland Savannahs 
 
 only a bare dozen words of the English language 
 and can speak but half as many are apt to mis- 
 carry. Anyway, the Makusis jvere not there, 
 and we were faced by a forest trek of thirty odd 
 miles, with carriers insufficient to make the 
 attempt.^ It was a difficult and unpleasant posi- 
 tion. 
 
 As soon as the boats had been unloaded, and 
 camp made at Holmia, we sent off two Indians, 
 Robert and Hubbard by name, to Arnik village, 
 which in Dr. Bovallius' time was some two and a 
 half hours' walk from Holmia, and whence he 
 supplied himself with ground provisions. We 
 instructed these men to make great haste, and to 
 induce as many as possible of the men of Arnik to 
 return with them at once, bringing cassava for 
 the forest journey, and we hoped to make an 
 early start next day. Our stores were packed in 
 the powder-house, and we sat down to await the 
 arrival of the Arnik people with what patience we 
 could muster, by the help of Sir George Tre- 
 velyan's Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay. 
 Our camp, shut in by congo-pump and dense 
 secondary growth, was most unattractive. 'There 
 were no mosquitoes — indeed, we never saw mos- 
 quitoes after Rockstone during our whole jour- 
 
 98 
 
Delay and Anxiety at Holmia 
 
 ney. But other horrible insects, such as cow- 
 flies, sand-flies, and ticks, made Ufe a burden. 
 The day dragged wearily by and night fell with 
 the usual heavy rain, but without any sign of the 
 Arnik people or of our messengers. Early next 
 morning Mr. and Mrs. John Williams called with 
 their two children. Mrs. Williams wore a bead 
 apron and had tattoo marks on her face and body. 
 They asked for sugar ; but John had been so little 
 helpful that we did not feel in the mood to be 
 very generous with that precious commodity, and 
 consequently only gave a teaspoonful to each 
 child, whereupon the family, apparently offended, 
 disappeared into the forest and we saw them no 
 more. All day we waited for the men of Arnik 
 to arrive, but no one appeared; and when, as 
 daylight died, heavy rain again began to fall, and 
 we had finally to give up all hope of starting next 
 morning, we felt thoroughly depressed and 
 miserable. Befor^ going to bed it was decided 
 that at dawn Mr. Menzies should make a start, 
 with all our Indians and as many loads as they 
 could carry ; take them to Akrabanna creek, 
 where the trail to Arnik branches off from 
 " Menzies' Line " ; shovdd there deposit the loads 
 at the junction of the trails, send the Indians back 
 
 99 
 
The Ascent to the Highland Savannahs 
 
 to us to be ready for further service, and himself 
 go on to Arnik to ascertain the position. The 
 inroad being made on our food-suppUes, without 
 our getting any nearer to the savannah plenty, 
 was beginning to cause us great anxiety. 
 
 Next morning Mr. Menzies set off early, as 
 arranged, with all the Indians, leaving Haywood 
 as our only camp attendant. Haywood's optimism 
 and cheerfulness were unfailing, but even 
 Macaulay failed to cheer us as the long hours 
 crawled by. Heavy rain fell at intervals, and, 
 imprisoned by sodden forest on all sides, the posi- 
 tion was certainly not enlivening. During some 
 hours we hoped that Mr. Menzies might return, 
 having met the men of Arnik in the way; but 
 we were disappointed, and 
 
 The weary day dragged to its rest 
 Lingering like an unloved guest. 
 
 Late in the afternoon nine of the Indians returned 
 with a note from Mr. Menzies which informed us 
 that Arnik village had been shifted to a consider- 
 able distance from its former site, but that he 
 was going thither with one man, leaving two to 
 guard the loads, and sending the others back to 
 us. He suggested that we should move to Akra- 
 banna next day, with as much of the baggage as 
 
 100 
 
The Men of Arnik Arrive 
 
 the nine men could carry, and meet him there. 
 This not very cheery epistle still comforted us 
 much, because it accounted for Amik's delay, 
 and our spirits also rose at the prospect of moving 
 on. After an early supper we had gone to bed 
 with a bright camp-fire to cheer us, when we 
 heard a shout, and then beheld the joyful sight of 
 Mr. Menzies with a lamp, followed by Robert 
 and Hubbard and a line of seven men and three 
 women. As they filed past our tarpaulin, the 
 firelight gleaming upon their naked brown bodies, _ 
 I could have cried for joy. Mr. Menzies had 
 met the men of Arnik on the trail before he 
 reached the site of their new village ; and it 
 appeared that Robert and Hubbard had got there 
 on the night of the day they left us, but had 
 found all the men away hunting. A day had 
 been spent in palaver and in making cassava for 
 the journey, and therefore not' until the morning 
 of the third day did such hunters as had returned 
 set out with our messengers for Holmia. With 
 anxiety much relieved, we calmed our emotions 
 and went to sleep. Hfeavy rain fell all night. 
 
 We struck camp early in the morning of the 
 31st December, 1915, and a walk of twenty 
 minutes up the left bank of the Chenapowu creek 
 
 101 
 
The Ascent to the Highland Savannahs 
 
 brought us to the point where the Tumong trail 
 branches off to the west. All previous travellers 
 to Mount Roraima, via the Potaro, had gone 
 by the Tumong trail; and, according to their 
 accounts, it is by no means a good one. But we 
 continued along the Chenapowu, and after 
 another fifteen minutes forded the Wong creek, 
 its tributary, while a further quarter of an hour 
 brought us to the point where the Chenapowu 
 creek itself is spanned by two tacoubas, for cross- 
 ing at low water -and at high water respectively. 
 The silver-sand bottoms of these creeks contrast 
 prettily with the deep amber bush water. Thence 
 an ascent over a couple of low hillocks brought us 
 after a walk of one hour and seventeen minutes 
 from Holmia to a clearing on a bracken-covered 
 sand-hill above the right bank of the Akrabanna 
 creek, where there had once been a Patamona 
 village, and where now the line to Arnik branches 
 off eastwards from our trail. The Akrabanna 
 falls into the Chenapowu, which latter creek, 
 though invisible in the dense forest, continued on 
 our right hand, until we saw it again five hours' 
 march farther on at its watersmeet with the 
 Sirani-baru creek. 
 
 It was delightful to be up and doing, and we 
 102 
 
The Forest Trek Begins 
 
 enjoyed our walk to Akrabanna very much. On 
 Mr. Menzies' recommendation, we had equipped 
 ourselves with rubber sole canvas boots, and we 
 found them most comfortable and practicable. 
 Our feet were always getting wet, since we had 
 constantly to wade across streams, but canvas 
 dries quickly without getting stiff, and the rubber 
 sole is a great safeguard against slipping. More- 
 over, it is possible to feel through it the nature 
 of the ground underfoot, and whether it is likely 
 to bear one or not. Forest trails are a mass of 
 tangled roots covered by deceptive layers of fallen 
 leaves, and one must, therefore, concentrate one's 
 attention upon one's feet. To glance up even 
 for half a minute, without first standing still, 
 invariably results in a stumble or in goring the 
 feet upon some spiky stump ; but the path is 
 springy underfoot, and it is possible to walk 
 long hours without fatigue. Nevertheless, the 
 monotony of forest trek is extreme. Generally 
 you cannot see twenty yards in front of you. 
 Indians walk so silently that sometimes the long 
 file of carriers appears noiselessly and suddenly 
 at one's side, when one had perhaps believed them 
 to be some distance behind. They do not speak 
 on the line of march, and they move their feet 
 
 103 
 
The Ascent to the Highland Savannahs 
 
 very carefully, seldom cutting them. We soon 
 became quite adept ourselves at walking quickly 
 without stumbling, and at clambering over the 
 fallen trees that barred our progress every few 
 yards. It would not, I think, be possible for a 
 woman to negotiate these trails in a skirt, for not 
 only would it hamper her greatly in surmounting 
 the continual obstacles, but it would at once 
 become sodden with water from the dripping 
 trees and bushes, and from the perpetual fording 
 of streams, when water often rises nearly to the 
 knees. I wore knickerbockers and puttees, and 
 found myself able to move very quickly and 
 easily. 
 
 We lunched at Akrabanna and considered the 
 situation, which was not particularly reassuring. 
 We could reckon on but seven carriers, from 
 Arnik, for the three women had only come sight- 
 seeing and were about to return to their homes, 
 each one having an infant with her. They were 
 neat, squat little people, attired only in the bead 
 queyu, or apron, and carrying their children on 
 the hip. We had, therefore, only twenty-one 
 carriers all told, and of these the nine Demerara 
 River men were totally inefficient. Not a cheer- 
 ful outlook ! So we reluctantly resolved that it 
 
 104 
 
Our Camp at Akrabanna 
 
 would not be advisable to travel that day beyond 
 the Akrabanna camping-ground, some thirty 
 minutes farther on, where we would open all the 
 boxes containing stores and pack the contents in 
 quakes, thus appreciably lightening the loads. 
 Having come to this decision, we descended to 
 the Akrabanna creek, which is wide and crossed 
 by a primitive bridge in the shape of an enormous 
 tree lying athwart the stream. This tacouha 
 was rather slippery, but rubber soles steadied our 
 feet, and we crossed it and many others without 
 mishap. After that, we ascended some distance 
 up a sharp incline and chose a very nice camping- 
 ground. We found a level floor for our tar- 
 paulin, while the steep slope below promised 
 good drainage. The trees around were magnifi- 
 cent, and the rare sunshine made all look charm- 
 ing. Bell-birds, giving thanks for the fine 
 weather, sounded their musical " ding-dong " 
 everywhere. 
 
 After establishing ourselves with all our com- 
 forts about us and a good fire burning, we jvan- 
 dered downhill to look at the rest of the camp, 
 which was made some distance below us. We 
 saw the seven men of Arnik busily engaged on 
 making quakes out of split palm-stalks, having 
 
 105 
 
The Ascent to the Highland Savannahs 
 
 already thatched themselves a little palm-leaf 
 banaboo. They were fine, strongly-built fellows, 
 destitute of clothing save a loin-cloth, but their 
 skins are so nice and red that their whole effect 
 is eminently in keeping with their surroundings. 
 They have also a fine native dignity about them. 
 On they went with their quake-making, cooking, 
 etc., without troubling themselves at all about 
 us as we stood watching their extraordinarily dex- 
 terous fingers, and they talked, cracked jokes, 
 and told stories among themselves like a gay 
 dinner-party at some club. No word of English 
 could they speak, save their names, which were 
 Samuel, George, Austin, William, etc. Our 
 " civilized " Indians were mostly lounging in 
 hammocks. This sort of droghing was not what 
 they liked at all. After surveying the loads, we 
 realized that some stuff must be left behind, and 
 we decided to leave to their fate our two side-tar- 
 paulins, in future using our carpet as a wind- 
 break or screen when needed, and also to desert a 
 couple of tins of salt which we carried as barter. 
 Money was no more use once the Potaro-Kona- 
 waruk Road was behind us. Then we dined 
 under our tarpaulin, that good fellow Haywood 
 making nothing of running up and down the hill 
 
 106 
 
New Year's Day 
 
 between us and his " kitchen " with the viands. 
 We had for supper soup, rice, and potatoes, with 
 fried sausage, tea, bread and jam. Our bread 
 lasted very well in a tin till we were on the savan- 
 nahs and could obtain cassava. We went to 
 sleep with a bright fire burning, and very snug in 
 our blankets. There was tremendous rainfall as 
 usual all night. 
 
 New Year's Day also began with rain ; and, 
 after some delay in redistributing loads, we set 
 off, following two of our men, appropriately 
 named Moses and Aaron, through the wilderness, 
 whilst Mr. Menzies came behind with the rest. 
 From the Akrabanna to the Sirani-baru our trail 
 crossed no water at all, save two small brooks, 
 both of which are within half an hour's walk of 
 the watersmeet of the Chenapowu and Sirani- 
 baru. The path runs for two and a quarter 
 hours' march dead level along a plateau, some- 
 times narrowing to a ridge, which, we assumed, 
 must divide the valley of the Chenapowu on the 
 west from that of the Akrabanna on the east. 
 At the northern end of this plateau there is a 
 stiff climb of 1,200 feet by terraced ascents from 
 the Akrabanna, taking one hour and forty-six 
 minutes, while at the southern end there is an 
 
 107 
 
The Ascent to the Highland Savannahs 
 
 easy descent of 800 feet, which lasts sixty-five 
 minutes. The trail was very indistinct, and once 
 or twice we lost it for a few minutes ; for Indians 
 are content to mark trails by merely breaking an 
 occasional twig, and it is extremely easy to stray 
 from the right line — in fact, one is bound to do 
 so, unless an Indian guide is immediately ahead. 
 We marched, of course, always in single file, 
 one behind the other, looking warily at our feet 
 and requiring all our energies for laborious 
 scrambles over huge fallen trees and their ramifi- 
 cation of branches. It was but rarely that any- 
 one spoke, and our party of twenty-five souls 
 scarcely broke the oppressive weight of silence 
 that broods over the sombre forest depths, though 
 sometimes birds, alarmed by the sight of us, sent 
 shrill cries of warning through the tree-tops. In 
 one place we crossed a deep fissure in the ground, 
 resembling that of which I have spoken near the 
 Kaietuk rest-house. No rain fell in the after- 
 noon, but the dripping forest kept us very wet. 
 
 Our progress was slow on account of our lag- 
 ging droghers, and we had to halt at the first of 
 the twq. brooks between Akrabanna and Sirani- 
 baru. The place looked an unpromising camp- 
 ing-ground ; but it is wonderful how quickly the 
 
 108 
 
Halfway through the Forest 
 
 most desolate glade of rain-soaked forest assumes 
 a snug and comfortable air when man has pitched 
 his bivouac there. On this occasion, the ground 
 being utterly sodden, we placed our spare tar- 
 paulin on the ground, and caused the Indians to 
 build us a side-screen of palm-leaves. Our 
 excellent roof tarpaulin (twenty feet by fourteen 
 feet) was soon spread ; then our two camp-beds 
 with their equipment of blankets, blue pillows, 
 and mosquito-nets, our table and three chairs, 
 lunch-basket vdth cups, spoons, plates, knives, 
 etc., and my husband's prismatic compass, boil- 
 ing-point thermometer, and aneroid barometer, 
 all combined to make the place look quite civi- 
 lized and home-like. Mr. Menzies had a smaller 
 tarpauUn, under which he slung his hammock and 
 sheltered the baggage, whilst the Indians speedily 
 rigged themselves up leaf-thatched benahs. 
 Then, with a dozen fires burning all around, the 
 whole aspect of the place changed in a twinkling. 
 Soon after we had made camp a few cheery 
 sunbeams found their way down to us. In the 
 forest sunlight falls like a most precious but spar- 
 ingly-scattered largesse. Haywood provided us 
 for supper with an excellent creole soup, piping 
 hot, made of onions, potatoes, and salt pork. It 
 
 109 
 
The Ascent to the Highland Savannahs 
 
 was very welcome in the chilly damp, and we did 
 it ample justice. Of course, there was a down- 
 pour all night. 
 
 There was also rain at dawn of the following 
 morning, and showers alternated with sunshine 
 during the whole day. We soon found ourselves 
 at the edge of the Sirani-baru, within a few yards 
 of its confluence with the Chenapowu creek. 
 This is halfway-house between Holmia and the 
 highland savannahs. We crossed the creek by 
 means of a huge tacouba, and the trail ascended 
 sharply on the other side. Ten minutes later 
 Thomas shot a marm, and announced trium- 
 phantly, " Marmu for Mamma." The Indians 
 always called me " Mamma " and my husband 
 "Pappa." We plucked the bird on the spot, 
 and then continued our march. When the 
 Sirani-baru has been crossed, a very short ascent 
 of 200 feet again takes the trail on to a level 
 plateau, which continues until the path drops 
 slightly to recross the Sirani-baru near its head 
 after close upon three hours' march, and that was 
 all we achieved during the day owing to our lag- 
 gard droghers. We were, in effect, making our 
 way round the spur of Mount Kowatipu, which 
 stood at our right hand; but nothing could be 
 
 110 
 
Round the Spur of Kowatipu 
 
 seen of the mountain, aild Ihe only object of 
 interest during the day's march was a deep 
 excavation at the side of the trail. It may pos- 
 sibly have been made for gold, but it might 
 equally well be natural. 
 
 Our Demerara River men were now very sulky, 
 but the Arnik boys were as good as gold, and 
 appeared to enjoy life. We took much interest 
 in watching them. Primitive man is wonder- 
 fully neat and dexterous. He seems to be able 
 to fashion a leaf or a twig to his will, be it spoon 
 or basket or house that he wants ; and it is touch- 
 ing to see him hold a palm-leaf carefully over his 
 head to serve as an umbrella, or pick a large leaf 
 to squat upon ; for his primitive mamma has evi- 
 dently taught him not to sit on damp ground. 
 When missionaries or traders introduce clothes, 
 the Indians soon suffer in health; for it never 
 occurs to them to take their garments off, and 
 they wear their sodden raiment day and night 
 till they die of pneumonia. You cannot keep 
 dry in the bush ; and, as an American once 
 observed to Mr. Menzies, while prospecting for 
 gold with him in the forest : " In this place your 
 shirt is sopping wet in two seconds, and three 
 months won't dry it." Rain fell heavily all the 
 
 111 
 
The Ascent to the Highland Savannahs 
 
 time while camp was being made, and also most 
 of the evening and night. 
 
 Next day we started in a downpour, and were 
 instantly soaked to the skin. A climb of twenty- 
 four minutes brought us on to the crest of the 
 divi(^e which, sloping down from Mount Kowatipu, 
 forms at this point the water-parting between the 
 Essequebo and the Amazon, 2,520 feet above sea- 
 level. Plere on a hill-saddle is a little swamp, out 
 of which two tiny streams trickle in opposite 
 directions, jthus marking the divide. Thereafter 
 the trail runs almost level for one hour twelve 
 minutes to the point where the path over Nose 
 Mountain from Arnik comes in from the east. 
 After that you descend for twenty-six minutes 
 and cross on stepping-stones the Huri creek 
 (2,090 feet above sea-level), a tributary of the 
 Yawong, which falls into the Kowa, and so feeds 
 the Ireng and the Amazon. Next follows a 
 steady and at times a steep ascent along undu- 
 lating hill-ridges, narrowing in places to a knife- 
 edge, until after one and three-quarter hours' 
 march from Huri creek the trail emerges from 
 the forest into the Baramaku savannah at a height 
 of 2,680 feet above sea-level. The character of 
 the forest towards the end was quite different, 
 
 112 
 
X 
 < 
 
 la 
 
 > 
 
 OS 
 
 o 
 < 
 
 m 
 
A Paradise in the Hills 
 
 and we had to push our way through tall bamboo 
 grass and among thickets of small trees before we 
 at last came out into the sunshine of lovely Bara- 
 maku-toy . ' ' Toy ' ' means ' ' savannah ' ' or open 
 country in the language of the local Indians. I 
 wonder if anyone can imagine the ecstasy it .was 
 to us rain-sodden, half -drowned rats who had not 
 seen clear sky for seven long days to find our- 
 selves out of the dark, gloomy twilight of the 
 forest, standing in the scented flower-starred 
 grass, able to look over long views of distant tiers 
 of hills into the fading blue distance, whilst glow- 
 ing sunshine warmed us through, and the most 
 delicious, cool and fragrant breezes blew in our 
 faces. Welcome seemed to smile from every 
 blade of grass in that enchanting little place. 
 
 The whole march through the forest between 
 Holmia and Baramaku-toy can be done, and was 
 done by us on our return journey, in fourteen 
 hours and twenty-six minutes. My husband 
 estimated our average rate of progress at two and 
 a half miles an hour ; and the length of the trail in 
 all its windings would therefore be some thirty-six 
 miles. On the outward journey this march 
 through the forest occupied sixteen and a half 
 hours, and was spread over four tedious days, 
 
 113 H 
 
The Ascent to the Highland Savannahs 
 
 because of the inefficiency of our Demerara River 
 droghers. The gradients of the route are shown 
 in the diagram (p. 237), drawn by my husband. 
 
 At Baramaku-toy our forest trek ended, and 
 we never again spent a whole day in the forest 
 during the remainder of our journey to Roraima, 
 although frequently we passed through belts of 
 woodland fringing a river course between one 
 savannah and the next. The British Guiana 
 jungle is certainly a place where you cannot see 
 the wood for the trees. The effort of getting 
 along quickly without catching your feet absorbs 
 the attention, and I am afraid that I have laid 
 much emphasis on the damp and gloom. Never-' 
 theless, the magnificence of some of the forest 
 giants induced us often to stand still and marvel. 
 The mora-trees, in particular, grew to a great 
 height, and their trunks, when a few feet from 
 the ground, spread out ribs of twisted wood like 
 bastions all round them. When they lie fallen, 
 you are astonished to see how short a depth the 
 foundations of the monster penetrated into the 
 soil. We saw no orchids in flower in the forest, 
 but orchidaceous parasites grow everywhere on 
 bush and stone, and send out fibres to suck mois- 
 ture from the earth. Even those perched on the 
 
 114 
 
Forest Impressions 
 
 tops of mighty trees, more than a hundred feet 
 above the ground, drop down these little, thirsty, 
 fibrous mouths. Occasionally we noticed bril- 
 liant blossoms lying at our feet, fallen from some 
 creeper, stretching itself in light and air over the 
 tree-tops; and at one point we picked up and 
 enjoyed some delicious suwarri nuts. But, taken 
 as a whole, primeval tropical forest is a hostile 
 thing. It can harbour no fairies, though there 
 might be demons and goblins. To be alone even 
 for a minute in the jungle is alarming, for such is 
 the profound silence all around that one has a 
 terrifying sense of being inimically watched by 
 unseen things, and I can imagine nothing worse 
 than to be lost in the bush. 
 
 115 
 
THE HIGHLAND SAVANNAHS 
 OF BRITISH GUIANA 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE HIGHLAND SAVANNAHS OF 
 BRITISH GUIANA 
 
 The shining tablelands, 
 To which our God Himself is moon and sun. 
 
 Tennyson : Ode on the Death of 
 the Duke of Wellington. 
 
 By contrast with the forest, the Baramaku savan- 
 nah seemed fairyland. It looks like an English 
 park : smiling slopes of grass with here and there 
 a clump of bracken or a cluster of trees ; undulat- 
 ing knolls and dells, and a delicious little brook 
 at its far end. Its area is between three and four 
 square miles, and it is situated about 2,700 feet 
 above sea-level. We walked right across it and 
 pitched camp near the brook. A tarpaulin 
 shelter was quickly made, and we changed luxuri- 
 ously into dry clothes, after which Haywood pro- 
 duced excellent tea almost at once. In spite of 
 all the drenchings of the last week, my husband 
 and I were in better health and spirits than at our 
 departure from Georgetown. The cool of the 
 forest had been invigorating, and the sole evil 
 result of the ceaseless damp was rheumatism in 
 
 119 
 
The Highland Savannahs of British Guiana 
 
 my shoulder, whi6h disappeared after two days 
 of the savannah sunshine and dry air. 
 
 But the setting of Baramaku-toy is far from 
 EngUsh, for all around this little Eden looms the 
 dark tropical forest, while to the north cliff-faced, 
 forest-crowned Kowatipu glowered at us from 
 among his rain-clouds some ten miles away. He 
 rises a thousand feet or more above the sea of 
 forest, a rectangular plateau edged by precipices, 
 true to the Roraima leit-motif. He is the magnet 
 for all the rain of the neighbourhood, and is 
 generally wrapped in forbidding cloud. But as 
 we gazed at him for a few minutes from Bara- 
 maku-toy, he stood out clear and grand, until 
 once more he wreathed his head in mist, while 
 rain fell about his feet. We watched, rejoicing 
 in our escape, when, as it were, he shook his fist 
 at us by sending an ugly black cloud straight for 
 us. I ran to the shelter of the tarpaulin, having 
 no mind to get my nice dry clothes soaked again. 
 But it was only an impotent threat. He could 
 not touch us in Baramaku's charmed keeping, 
 and the cloud drifted off on to the forest-clad hills 
 near by, whilst the thrushes sang on undis- 
 turbedly and we basked in the sunshine, lying 
 in the lush grass with Jio bete rouge to annoy us 
 . 120 
 
The Charms of Baramaku'toy 
 
 and fanned by cool breezes. The air had a deU- 
 cious mountain nip in it, the thermometer at 
 5 p.m. being only 69° F. The night was quite 
 cold, and I was glad of three blankets. Here 
 we slept without mosquito nets, untroubled by 
 insects. No one at present inhabits this savan- 
 nah, but there are the remains of a deserted 
 banaboo ; and the spot,' when made less difficult 
 of access, would be a charming little country pro- 
 perty. It has pasturage suitable for horses and 
 cattle, with plenty of room available for pleasure- 
 grounds and park-land, as well as for a kitchen- 
 garden and poultry-farm. Within a short time 
 a family established here would make itself almost 
 independent of supplies from the coast. 
 
 After our usual breakfast of porridge and 
 coffee, we set off next morning, having first been 
 taken by Mr. Menzies to look at a little meadow 
 sprinkled underneath its grass with water-worn 
 pebbles. He said that he had once prospected 
 this place for diamonds, and thought it showed 
 good promise, but could not go on with the work 
 for lack of dynamite. He had found some 
 ancient beads in the ground, of a kind not now used 
 by the aborigines, and concluded that the place 
 had been an Indian settlement in bygone days. 
 
 121 
 
The Highland Savannahs of British Guiana 
 
 Crossing the brook which bounds the Baramaku 
 savannah, our trail plunged again into forest, and 
 ran uphill and down-dale over a number of small 
 rills that drain northwards into the Kowa River, 
 until, after a hot, dull walk of about five and a half 
 miles, we reached the Quaibaru savannah. Ten 
 minutes before emerging from the forest we came 
 upon a stream with provision-fields on its banks, 
 where cassava, yams, bananas, and plantains grew 
 plentifully ; and here owf droghers washed them- 
 selves, brushed their hair, and titivated generally, 
 preparatory to a state entry into Quaibaru vil- 
 lage, whilst one of their number sounded a cow- 
 horn to announce our approach. We could see 
 that we were expected by the fact that the path 
 had been carefully and recently cleaned for us. 
 
 The savannah of Quaibaru is not nearly so pic- 
 turesque as that of Baramaku, but it occupies a 
 commanding position high above the left bank of 
 the Kowa valley. As the forest veil falls, you 
 step out on to the ridge of a grassy hill, whereon 
 are perched three banaboos, one on the hiU-top 
 (2,550 feet above sea-level), the two others in 
 4chelon lower down the ridge. Then come in 
 succession two narrow savannah valleys, divided 
 by two more savannah ridges, on -which also are 
 
 123 
 
The Quaibaru Savannah 
 
 banaboos. The houses of the savannah Indians 
 are, as a rule, circular, about thirty feet in 
 diameter, and they accommodate a large number 
 of people and dogs. The walls are of mud, about 
 four feet high, and the thatch slopes up sharply 
 to a high pointed top, so that inside there is a sort 
 of upper story, where provisions can be stored out 
 of the way of the starving curs who abound in 
 every village. The houses are only lighted by 
 the doorway, and are,' therefore, very gloomy 
 within, the reason for this being that the pest of 
 the savannahs, the biting kabouru-fly, never 
 enters a dark place. The doorways generally 
 face north-east, so as to get all the breeze pos- 
 sible, the wind blowing almost as steadily from 
 that quarter over the savannah as it does on the 
 coast. 
 
 We had anticipated much delay at Quaibaru, 
 for we feared that our droghers, after short rations 
 in the forest, would insist on celebrating their 
 arrival in inhabited country- by a feast. Luckily 
 for us, the Quaibaru folk, who are Patamonas, 
 were not in a hospitable frame of mind towards 
 our convoy, though friendly enough to us. They 
 declared that they had no cassiri and scarcely any 
 cassava, so that our men were soon anxious to 
 
The Highland Savannahs of British Guiana 
 
 leave. Accordingly we made and ate our break- 
 fast beside a stream in the first Quaibaru valley, a 
 shadeless and uncomfortable place, where the 
 Quaibaruvians brought us some excellent bananas, 
 a limited supply of hard cassava — " wood-bread," 
 Mr. Menzies called it — and a bucketful of limes. 
 Mr. Menzies had given the villagers some limes 
 to plant a few years ago, and the trees had done 
 extremely well. The limes were welcome, .as the 
 stock we had brought up from Potaro Landing 
 was nearly exhausted. The villagers also under- 
 took to fetch up for us the salt which we had left 
 behind at Akrabanna, and to bring it after us to 
 Puwa. 
 
 After a short midday halt we pushed on, wind- 
 ing in and out of the little Quaibaru valleys under 
 a blazing sun ; but a fresh breeze saved the situa- 
 tion. From a hill-ridge before descending a very 
 steep forest slope to the Kowa River, we caught 
 our first view of the big savannah, rising as a 
 shining tableland high up behind smaller tree-clad 
 hills on the other side of the river. It was a sight 
 for sore eyes, and looked a veritable " Land of 
 Promise." An Indian trail always goes bang up 
 the side of a hill in a straight line, and bang down 
 the other side, with no thought of gradient or of 
 
 124 
 
Across the Kowa River 
 
 avoiding unnecessary exertion, so down ,we had 
 to go, sUding perpendicularly to the Kowa, hang- 
 ing on to handy trees as we passed, and more 
 than once taking an involuntary seat. We 
 crossed the Kowa on a tacouha, just awash with 
 the stream ; and after a short rest and cool down, 
 the process assisted by a limade, we went on 
 through a forest of luxuriant wild papaw and 
 banana for some distance. Our path then turned 
 sharply out of the Kowa valley and proceeded to 
 ascend a hill very nearly as steep as a house in a 
 bee-line upwards. It was a bit of a scramble, 
 and the stiflest climb we had had since the ascent 
 to Kaietuk, the last part being a dry watercourse. 
 Once on top, the forest dropped away. We had 
 a superb view back over the Kowa to Quaibaru- 
 toy, and we could just see a savannah hill with a 
 tuft of trees on it away behind the Quaibaru 
 forest. It was Baramaku-toy standing a-tiptoe 
 to see the last of us. Kowatipu would have been 
 in sight had he not been characteristically con- 
 cealed in a rain-cloud. We sat down to admire 
 the glorious breadth of landscape, hoping also to 
 see our carriers emerge from the bush, for we 
 were somewhat anxious to know how the 
 Demerara River men would negotiate the hill. 
 
 125 
 
The Highland Savannahs of British Guiana 
 
 Haywood, who always kept up well, arrived 
 almost as soon as we did, and inquired exultingly 
 whether " Madam don't think this country worth 
 the walk." I said, " Indeed I did." 
 
 Haywood always carried his possessions in a 
 bag upon his head, and managed most skilfully to 
 look after his feet without upsetting his balance. 
 Indians carry their loads on their backs, with a 
 strap over each shoulder and a third strap across 
 the forehead. Their hands are thus free, though 
 Haywood always gave each drogher of our party 
 some additional etcetera, such as a saucepan, 
 lamp, or a teapot. I used often to wish I could 
 sketch the oddness of a pair of extremely stalwart, 
 naked, red legs, surmounted by a mighty bundle, 
 trotting along in front of me, naught else of the 
 man being visible save a pair of hands carefully 
 conveying some absurdly civilized object, like a 
 teapot or a kerosene lamp ! 
 
 In days to come it is to be hoped that one of 
 the main roads of British Guiana may lead up to 
 this plateau ; and, when the time is at hand for 
 building such a road, its trace will probably be 
 carried from the watershed of the Sirani-baru into 
 the Kowa valley by easy gradients, and thence 
 round hill contours, without ascending the Bara- 
 
 U6 
 
We Reach the Highland Savannahs 
 
 maku or Quaibaru savannahs up to the high-level 
 tableland. But the existing trail could with a few 
 detours at small expense be made into a bridle 
 track suitable for pack animals and for cattle ; 
 and if this were done the savannah highlands, 
 which are to-day within nineteen hours' march 
 from the Potaro at Chenapowu, would be made 
 economically and speedily accessible. A launch 
 would place Chenapowu within two hours of 
 Kaietuk, and a motor road would bring Kaietuk 
 within a day's journey of Bartika. It would then 
 be a matter of no difficulty and small expense to 
 travel up or down between the highland savannahs 
 and the coast in three or four days. 
 
 We got tired of waiting for our laggard car- 
 riers, took tea, and started off again. The trail 
 now went once more into the bush for a few 
 minutes, up and down one more hill, and then 
 emerged into savannah for good. The sun was 
 very hot and shone straight in our eyes ; but the 
 glorious air prevented fatigue, for every breath 
 of it was like a draught of strength. Our path 
 ran fairly level through high grass ; but, like all 
 Indian trails, it was uncomfortably narrow, as the 
 Indians put their feet down one immediately in 
 front of the other. The hills above the right 
 
 127 
 
The Highland Savannahs of British Guiana 
 
 bank of the Kowa, below the point where we 
 crossed it, form a grassy tableland with high 
 savannah crests ; and, • passing through a col 
 between two such crests, we debouched after 
 two and three-quarter hours' actual marching 
 from Quaibaru-toy on the magnificent plateau 
 which forms part of Mr. Menzies' ranch. The 
 path dipped down to the deep pool of a stream, 
 near a waving fringe of high bamboo. To the 
 right rose a low tree-clad hill, and at its foot we 
 camped in a banaboo built by Mr. Menzies near 
 the northern boundary of his grazing land close 
 to Karto village. 
 
 Towards sunset my husband and I went up a 
 neighbouring knoll to take observations. The 
 view over the lovely rolling plain, with its smiling 
 valleys, was entrancing, and old Kowatipu 
 actually put his head, rather crossly, out of his 
 cloud for a few seconds. The Karto tableland is 
 a flat, grassy plateau some 2,400 feet above sea- 
 level. It is bounded on the east by the Kowa 
 River ; on the north-west and south-west by the 
 Chiung River, both flowing in rifts far below the 
 plateau level ; on the south-east and north by hills 
 which divide the Kowa from the Chiung valley. 
 Its extreme length from north to south is about 
 
 128 
 
p 
 
 
 o 
 
 Li 
 
A Hill'Station of the Future 
 
 seven miles, and its extreme width from east to 
 west is some eight miles. Its area is roughly fifty 
 square miles ; and the distance across the plateau 
 by our trail, which ran in a tolerably straight line, 
 my husband estimated at five miles. The whole 
 tableland forms an excellent grazing-ground ; and, 
 although there ,was at the time of our visit no 
 water on the central part of the plateau, there 
 were many streams at its edges, falling into the 
 Kowa and the Chiung, while across it ran a few 
 dry channels, which are, no doubt, full of water 
 in the rainy season. The Indian village, named 
 Karto, stands at the north-west corner of the 
 plateau, not far from Mr. Menzies' banaboo. Its 
 provision-fields are partly in the tree-clad hills, 
 fringing the plateau to the north, and partly 
 down in the fertile Kowa valley near the point 
 of our crossing. We saw no cattle on the table- 
 land ; but the Karto villagers told us that there 
 was a herd on some very attractive-looking pas- 
 ture-grounds near the head of the Chiung River. 
 For it must be understood that the highlands suit- 
 able for grazing are by no means confined to the 
 tableland which we crossed, and from which we 
 could see the savannahs rpund the upper reaches 
 of the Chiung only a little below our level, while 
 
 129 I 
 
The Highland Savannahs of British Guiana 
 
 across the valley of the Chiung, lower in its 
 course, we looked up to a yet higher, and appar- 
 ently not less extensive, savannah plateau. These 
 attractive and spacious highlands deserve to be 
 developed, and would support a considerable 
 population. They would, as it is, make an 
 admirable hill-station. The scenery is beautiful. 
 The climate at the season of our visit was delight- 
 ful. The locality could be made easily and 
 cheaply accessible from Georgetown, and would, 
 I venture to think, prove much superior as a 
 health resort to the West India Islands. 
 
 We did not see Mount Roraima from the 
 Karto tableland; but I do not doubt that from 
 one or other jof the savannah hills which surround 
 that plateau it would be possible to see Roraima, 
 if by fortunate coincidence one reached the 
 proper point of observation at a time when the 
 mountain was free from cloud; for on our way 
 back we saw Roraima from many hill-tops, and 
 even from valleys, which on the .way out vouch- 
 safed us no such view. We did, however, from 
 Karto get our first sight of Mount Chakbang, 
 standing out conspicuously far away to the west, 
 a rugged finger pointing to the sky, and the 
 mountains of Mataruka were plainly visible. 
 
 130 
 
Mr. Menzies* Ranch 
 
 We awoke next morning to find a slight drizzle 
 falling, but it soon cleared off into a brilliantly 
 sunny day. All the Karto people came to see us — 
 men, women and children, dogs and waracabra. 
 Indians are very fond of tame birds, but do not 
 keep them in cages. They fly about as they like. 
 These villagers were Makusis, and appeared very 
 friendly. Our droghers were revived and gay, 
 having had overnight a feast of cassava and cas- 
 siri. Cassiri, which is a drink made from cassava, 
 has a magical effect on these people. It seems to 
 cheer without inebriating — in fact, it has rather 
 the effect which a cup of good tea or coffee has 
 on a tired European. 
 
 Our road for a couple of hours now lay over the 
 glorious grass plateau which forms part of Mr. 
 Menzies' ranch. Walking was perfectly delight- 
 ful in that exhilarating highland air. We had 
 enchanting views of blue distance in all directions. 
 Far on our left the tableland was bounded by the 
 rift of the Kowa River, beyond which rolling 
 forest-clad hills faded into the horizon, whilst 
 nearer to the right the head-waters of the Chiung 
 River wound away among green savannah moun- 
 tains, in the knees of which lay little rounded ter- 
 races and small guUeys, studded with eta-palm. 
 
 131 
 
The Highland Savannahs of British Guiana 
 
 These hills form another tableland about five hun- 
 dred feet higher than the one which we traversed, 
 and .would probably be a good country for sheep. 
 None of these smiling, healthy highlands are 
 marked on the Colony's maps, and their very 
 existence has, in the past, been steadfastly denied. 
 Mount Mataruka lay south-west of us, almost 
 in a straight line with our path ; but, although we 
 ultimately climbed over its shoulder, our route 
 first made a wide detour, taking us to Puwa vil- 
 lage. From the south-west end of Mr. Menzies' 
 tableland we descended some seven hundred feet 
 in half an hour to a narrow gorge, .where four 
 streams, falling in picturesque cascades from the 
 plateau, converge to form the Kowyann, a 
 tributary of the Chiung. From this point the 
 Makusis had opened a bridle track for us through 
 the small forest belts which separate the wide 
 stretches of savannah ; and we could have ridden 
 on horseback the rest of the way to the Ireng but 
 for the fact that, owing to a misunderstanding 
 between the chief at Mataruka and a chief in the 
 Kotinga valley, iwhere the horses were, "shanks 
 his mare " had still to be our mount. We break- 
 fasted beside the Kowyann, and then took our 
 way down its valley, steep grassy hills rising on 
 
 132 
 
The Chiung Village 
 
 either side of us. We travelled alternately 
 through little savannahs, whose long waving grass 
 and crooked trees, pretending to be apple-trees, 
 had a queer resemblance to an English orchard, 
 and through patches of woodland. The shade in 
 these little forest belts was very grateful, as the 
 sun was extremely hot. A march of one and a 
 quarter hours down the Kowyann valley brought 
 us to Chiung village, where we spent the night. 
 
 This village stands on the left bank of the 
 Chiung River, and here a large gathering of 
 Makusis had assembled. They seemed very 
 pleased to see us, and explained that they had cut 
 a broad trail all the way to Puwa. They also pro- 
 vided an abundance of cassava and cassiri for our 
 droghers. The village consisted of two houses, 
 with a third unfinished one, which was being 
 erected for us. The frame was all in place, the 
 wooden bars tied neatly together with bark-fibre, 
 according to Indian fashion, for these people do 
 not use any form of nail. The roof of our house 
 was only partly thatched, and the sides were all 
 open, a fortunate circumstance, as it was very hot 
 in the enclosed valley. We used our tarpaulin to 
 screen ourselves off from the rest of the village, 
 which was about fifty yards away, and at night we 
 
The Highland Savannahs of British Guiana 
 
 enjoyed the brilliant stars, looking down upon us. 
 We placed our beds immediately under the small 
 portion of thatch which had been completed, for 
 the excessively heavy dew of the savannahs makes 
 it unpleasant to sleep entirely d, la belle dtoile. 
 Until darkness fell we were much troubled by the 
 biting kabouru-flies, which are slightly larger than 
 the ordinary sand-flies. Their bite is much more 
 irritating, and raises a red lump with a black spot 
 in the centre. Though the lump soon dies down, 
 the black speck remains for several days. I 
 defended myself from the kabouru with a dark 
 veil and gloves, but my husband and Mr. 
 Menzies were soon sorry objects. The savannah 
 Indians appear to suffer little, if any, irritation 
 from the bites of kabouru, but the poor fellows 
 from Amik and from the Demerara River, being 
 unaccustomed to this pest, which is not known in 
 the forests, were very much afflicted. In the 
 highland savannahs kabouru-flies are generally 
 found near water, and the larger the stream the 
 worse the kabouru ; so we had to pay for our close 
 proximity to the Chiung River, which flowed 
 with a delicious gurgling noise close to our bana- 
 boo. During the night Mr. Menzies' quarters 
 were invaded by a raiding dog, who carried off 
 
 134 
 
We Ford the Chiung River 
 
 our excellent ham. This would have been a 
 serious business had we not been approaching 
 Puwa, the " Land of Plenty" as far as food is 
 concerned. 
 
 Next morning (6th January) we left Chiung 
 village at dawn with a large convoy, for all the 
 village, including women and babies, came with 
 us. Ten minutes after our start we forded the 
 Chiung River, an operation .which took another 
 ten minutes and was great fun. The water, 
 deliciously cold, rose to my knees. But very 
 little walking in that savannah air soon dries one 
 again completely, a delightful contrast to the 
 bush! 
 
 The path we followed from Chiung to Puwa 
 was nothing more than a big circuit round a hill. 
 We should have preferred a short-cut over the 
 summit ; but the Indians having prepared a level 
 track for us with much care along the valleys, we 
 felt that it would be ungrateful not to take their 
 line. This track ran through a thick belt of 
 forest, fringing the banks of the Chiung ; and the 
 Makusis had most carefully straightened and 
 cleared the forest path to a width of six to ten 
 feet, removing most of the tree-stumps, while in 
 places they had actually swept the ground clean 
 
 135 
 
The Highland Savannahs of British Guiana 
 
 of fallen leaves. The job must have given them 
 a great deal of trouble, for the trees, though small, 
 were of hardwood varieties, such as purple-heart 
 and letter- wood, and the road-makers were justly 
 proud of their work. We were two hours in this 
 forest, but I was walking slowly, being tired by 
 the unaccustomed exposure to sun during the two 
 preceding days. Then the trail again emerged 
 into savannah, having left the river, which winds 
 away to the left round some hills that we crossed 
 over a low col (1,550 feet above sea-level). 
 
 We now found ourselves in the Ireng valley, 
 though at some distance from the river, and we 
 halted for breakfast in the little belt of forest 
 beside a small brook. Here we discovered that 
 we were an enormous party, for half Puwa village, 
 including Johnny's wife and sons, had come out 
 to meet us. The Makusis, as young men, are 
 extremely handsome and well-made, full of life 
 and movement. Johnny's sons it was a treat to 
 see, the eldest especially, a lad of about fifteen. 
 He wore only a loin-cloth and necklace, with 
 bracelets of beads, carried a bow and arrows, and 
 simply flew about the place — never walked, but 
 he ran, and every movement was as graceful as 
 a cat's. Then there was a dear little fellow about 
 
 136 
 
In the Valley of the Ireng 
 
 six, Edward by name, who greeted Haywood 
 most affectionately, and became a zealous little 
 cook's mate. I remember we gave him and some 
 small companions a few of the dried prunes we 
 were eating, and they tied up each one most care- 
 fully in a separate leaf, and said they would take 
 them to their mothers. I also remember in con- 
 nection with that meal that Mr. Menzies and I 
 incautiously partook of red peppers, supplied us 
 by some hospitable friend, and cried in conse- 
 quence many bitter and involuntary tears. 
 
 Our path next lay through a succession of little 
 valleys with graceful eta-palms growing in all the 
 creeks, and occasionally patches of bush, through 
 which the Makusis had cut us a royal road. The 
 trail, which had hitherto run east-south-east, now 
 turned back on itself, the direction being west- 
 north-west to the Puwa cl-eek, which we forded 
 after another two hours' march ; and from the 
 ford it took us twenty minutes more to reach 
 Puwa village. Our path was practically level and 
 very good going all the way from Chiung to 
 Puwa. The distance, as the crow flies, between 
 those villages over the hill-tops is only some six 
 miles, but we had come at least twice that dis- 
 tance. The provision-fields of Puwa village are 
 
 137 
 
The Highland Savannahs of British Guiana 
 
 in forest, close by the ford, and are very fertile. 
 One yam brought from these fields and given to 
 us was as much as a man could carry. The vil- 
 lage itself stands on the right bank of the stream 
 from which it takes its name, and is situated in a 
 ring of hills, two of which we climbed, being 
 rewarded by a very good view of the Ireng valley 
 and of the river itself, flovnng in a deep-cut 
 trench. Everyone in Puwa was drawn up in 
 festal array to meet us, very anxious to shake 
 hands, and all who could boast clothes of any sort 
 had them on. The ladies mostly had their skirts 
 hung round them, immediately below their arm- 
 pits, whilst the correct Puwa wear for trousers is 
 to hang them round the shoulders, the seat form- 
 ing a sort of mantle behind and the trouser legs 
 quite handy to flap away flies or v^pe a perspiring 
 forehead, as need may arise. One boy there was 
 who had, I should imagine, been away to work on 
 some Brazilian ranch, for he was most magnifi- 
 cently got up in a white coat, blue trousers on 
 his legs, and three necklaces ; and he had a larger 
 number of pins stuck through his lower lip than 
 anyone else. He evidently fancied himself no 
 end, so we christened him the "Nut." Both 
 Patamonas and Makusis have a habit of sticking 
 
 138 
 
Makusi Women 
 
 pins, or, failing these, pieces of stick, through 
 their lower lips. The Makusi women are very 
 much shorter than the men, but their figures, save 
 in girlhood, are not pretty. They carry splen- 
 didly, and I should think are as strong as the men. 
 They are very squat and have immense legs, being 
 beasts of burden from childhood, whereas the men 
 only carry loads on state occasions. Indians gen- 
 erally live at a considerable distance from their 
 provision-fields, and often at some height above 
 water, so that the women are perpetually engaged 
 in droghing. The Indian children seem to abound 
 everywhere and to enjoy life. Indeed, I think 
 they live in a children's Paradise — no lessons, no 
 clothes, no bed-time ! 
 
 Puwa village consisted of three houses, and 
 another, in process of building for us, was in much 
 the same state as that we occupied in Chiung. The 
 villagers made me a nice little dressing-room in 
 one corner of our henab with tarpaulins and a 
 cowhide ; and on arrival I subsided into my ham- 
 mock to enjoy a glorious cool breeze blowing up 
 the valley, whilst my husband climbed the steep 
 rocky hill just above the village to take observa- 
 tions. Meantime all sorts of offerings came in. 
 Piles of cassava, plantains and bananas, enormous 
 
 139 
 
The Highland Savannahs of British Guiana 
 
 yams, pumpkins, eggs, and a couple of fowls', one 
 of which Haywood had in the soup in a jiffy. 
 The people seemed to have a great affection and 
 respect for Mr. Menzies, and he usually got them 
 to understand somehow what he wanted, although 
 he does not speak more than six words of 
 their language. "Walky" takes the place of 
 " makey " in pidgin Makusi. "Um" repre- 
 sents "piecey" of pidgin Chinese. We went 
 to bed early, the young moon and stars shining in 
 beautifully upon us; but dogs marauding atbout 
 amongst our baggage disturbed us a good deal, as 
 did attendant fleas. Indian dogs are never fed, 
 so that they may be keen hunters, and they are 
 always mangy and horribly thin. 
 
 Next day we spent in Puwa, as there was so 
 much to do. Everyone was very busy. Hay- 
 wood did some satisfactory and muph-needed 
 laundry work. The Indians drove up a herd of 
 fine short-horn cattle for our inspection, then a 
 bullock was separated from the rest, driven down 
 to the edge of the stream, and killed at a blow by 
 a Makusi, after which all the village assisted at 
 the cutting up and salting. The rest of the cattle 
 smelt blood, and set up a fearsome bellowing. 
 This herd had been purchased by Mr. Menzies 
 
 140 
 
A Day's Rest at Puwa 
 
 from Indians in Brazil, and by him driven across 
 the Ireng River. Another matter to be settled 
 was the method of carrying me, when necessary, 
 on the line of march. My husband insisted that 
 from time to time in the heat of the day I should 
 be carried in a hammock slung on a pole between 
 two carriers. This, of course, was never possible 
 when the trail ran at all steeply up or :down hill. 
 It was quite impossible in the forest, and my 
 hammock did not come into use for this purpose 
 until we left Puwa. The expedient was adopted 
 principally to give me opportunities of rest with- 
 out thereby delaying the progress of our caravan. 
 Johnny and Jack, two stalwart Indians from 
 Chiung village, undertook the carrying job. Then 
 we selected from our stores what we thought we 
 should ourselves consume during the next fort- 
 night — ^jam, oatmeal, sausages, chocolate, dried 
 fruit, cheese, biscuits, tea and coffee, enough to 
 make a load for one man. The rest, together 
 with a few of our personal belongings, we handed 
 over to the headman of Puwa, to keep in his 
 banaboo until we returned. We also settled that 
 the whole of our droghers from Chenapowu, save 
 two, should remain and be fed in Puwa during 
 such time as we were on our jvay to and from 
 
 141 
 
The Highland Savannahs of British Guiana 
 
 E-oraima. The two we took with us were Edward 
 and Moses, both Makusis, who particularly 
 requested to be allowed to come. The Amik 
 boys went with us next day to Mataruka, and 
 then returned to Puwa to rest, so that they might 
 be fresh for the return journey through the 
 Kowatipu forest. 
 
 When the chief part of cutting up the bullock 
 had been accomplished and long strips of it had 
 been salted and dried in the sun, Mr. Menzies 
 worked a gramophone, to everyone's great delight. 
 This gramophone had been brought up in fulfil- 
 ment of a request from Albert, the headman of 
 Mataruka. He had asked for a church bell, a 
 gramophone, and "high wines " — that is, rum — 
 as a reward for the services which he would give 
 us in connection with our farther journey. Mr. 
 Menzies had undertaken on our behalf that the 
 first two of his wishes should be fulfilled if he 
 arranged to have his people ready to convey us 
 from Mataruka to Roraima. With the gramo- 
 phone we supplied half a dozen records ; and as I 
 listened to the hideous machine screaming out 
 its ragtime, " Tipperary," etc., sung with an 
 appalling Yankee twang, I wished we cpuld have 
 done something better for the poor dears. 
 
 142 
 
Off Again 1 
 
 A nice breeze blew all day, and we were not 
 troubled by kabouru save in the very early morn- 
 ing. After tea-time we strolled up a little hill 
 close by and enjoyed the cool of the afternoon and 
 a lovely view of the Puwa and Ireng valleys. We 
 had excellent grilled steak for dinner; but the 
 dogs were worse than ever at night, trying to 
 get at the meat that had been hung up to dry. 
 The Indians sat up eating the remains of the 
 buUock nearly all night. They made remarkably 
 little noise over their feast, and appeared per- 
 fectly fresh and gay next morning. 
 
 On the following morning there was great delay 
 in getting off owing to the redistribution of loads ; 
 so my husband and I started off by ourselves, with 
 my hammock-bearers ahead to show us the way. 
 But more haste, less speed ! Johnny and Jack, 
 for reasons best known to themselves, saw fit to 
 guide us down into a low stuffy valley, shut off 
 by high hills from any breath of wind, and we 
 struggled along for an hour and a half through 
 bush and old yam and cassava cultivation by a 
 path which at times did not admit of our standing 
 upright. Finally we climbed out of the valley, 
 up a steep col, where we joined our caravan of 
 droghers and Mr. Menzies, who had come b^a 
 
 143 
 
The Highland Savannahs of British Guiana 
 
 shorter and quicker route along a hill-ridge, 
 affording a fine view of mountain scenery far and 
 near. From the point where the two trails con- 
 verge, an hour's march over a charming and 
 spacious savannah valley, in which there are some 
 rice-fields, and up a low hill, leads to a banaboo, 
 beautifully situated some six hundred feet above 
 the Ireng, now in full view, and commanding a 
 superb panorama. To the south lay the fertile, 
 golden-looking Mataruka plain, crossed by the 
 line of the Waikana creek ; to the south-east was 
 a tangle of big hills beyond the Ireng ; to the east 
 the Puwa hills and a glimpse of the Karto table- 
 land ; from north through ,west to south, beyond 
 the winding Ireng, the most glorious stretch of 
 open rolling grass hills and valleys that one could 
 wish to see ; and beyond all that, in the far, far 
 distance, was Roraima's great block, some sixty 
 miles away in the direct line of vision. Of course, 
 it was impossible at that distance to distinguish 
 between Roraima, Kukenaam, and Weitipu. 
 We merely saw a dim blue mass, obviovisly very 
 much higher than anything near it. 
 
 The air on our hill-top was absolutely glorious, 
 and a strong breeze blew steadily. The place is 
 too high for the kabouru, and we spent a couple 
 
 144 
 
On the Brazilian Frontier 
 
 of hours enjoying ourselves, and ate a most excel- 
 lent midday meak Our menu consisted of beef- 
 steak, potatoes, onions, yams, biscuits, cheese, 
 prunes, lemonade and coffee ; and we laughed at 
 the idea of the starvation journey which an expe- 
 dition to Roraima is always supposed to be. Hay- 
 wood cooked inside the banaboo, to get out of the 
 wind, and his grilled steak was first-class. The 
 banaboo gave us pleasant shade during the meal, 
 for we sat in the open immediately under the 
 thatch-eaves. In the afternoon we descended 
 sharply to the left bank of the Ireng, which is 
 here the boundary of British Guiana. By the 
 river-side the kabouru were one black cloud, and 
 I was thankful for my dark blue veil, which . 
 appeared to scare thenx off me. The boat we 
 wanted was on the Brazilian side of the river, so 
 one of our men sprang into the water, swam 
 across for it, and paddled gaily back to us, appar- 
 ently not the least out of breath, although the 
 Ireng here is wide and flows with a swirling cur- 
 rent. We hastily got into the dug-out and crossed 
 the river, landing at a point where the Waikana 
 creek from the Mataruka plain flows into the 
 Ireng. So we left British Guiana for Brazil. 
 
 145 
 
A CORNER OF BRAZIL 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 A CORNER OF BRAZIL 
 
 Across the hillSj and far away 
 Beyond their utmost purple rim. 
 
 Tennyson : The Day-Dream. 
 
 It took some time to ferry our whole party across 
 the Ireng, as there were only three boats avail- 
 able — namely, two small dug-outs and a large 
 one, the latter specially made for us by the 
 Mataruka people. The crossing was an amusing 
 performance to watch, and very picturesque the 
 dug-outs looked piled up with baggage and 
 people. Meanwhile, my husband and I rested 
 in shade under some trees at the mouth of the 
 Waikana creek, which drains the Mataruka 
 savannah and joins the Ireng through a narrow 
 rift between hills that completely conceal the 
 plain from the river-side. But, once through 
 this gate, an extensive flat prairie lies before you ; 
 and an hour's march over it brings you to 
 Mataruka village, at the foot of the mountain of 
 the same name, which we had first seen from the 
 
 149 
 
A Corner of Brazil 
 
 Karto tableland, and which had been in view off 
 and on ever since. Even at the village you are 
 only halfway across this admirable pasture-land, 
 which is flanked on the east by Mount Bulak- 
 koyepin, a landmark conspicuous during many 
 days of our journey, and on the south by the hills 
 that divide the Ireng from the Kotinga water- 
 shed. A tropical sun blazed down out of a cloud- 
 less sky, and I was extremely glad to avail myself 
 of the hammock, and to find that the men carried 
 me very comfortably. They bore me along faster 
 than I could have walked. 
 
 Mataruka is a large Makusi village ; and we 
 found all its inhabitants drawn up in two long 
 lines, with their chief, Albert, at their head, wait- 
 ing to shake hands. I did wish that the fashion 
 of shaking hands had not spread to this far-away 
 corner of Brazil, and I left the brunt of it to my 
 husband ; but all the mothers brought their babies 
 to me to shake hands. They seem to regard it 
 as a most important ceremony, and, of course, 
 we should have hated to hurt the feelings of this 
 friendly, pleasant people. Albert, a very stout 
 and heavy personage, whom we did not much 
 like, wore a pink shirt and grey trousers, all much 
 too small for his portly figure. In expectation 
 
 150 
 
Mataruka Village 
 
 of his church bell and gramophone, he had mus- 
 tered his people from far and wide to meet us. 
 He had also caused a banaboo to be built for us, 
 a very large, though unfinished edifice, of which 
 the greater part of the roof had been completed 
 and also the sides to windward — a fortunate cir- 
 cumstance, as the wind sweeps ceaselessly over 
 the Mataruka plain. We went into our house, 
 followed by the entire village ; and Albert then 
 brought up Joseph, our future guide, a very shy 
 Makusi cowboy. My husband asked him how 
 many days the journey to Roraima would take, 
 and he answered by nervously reeling off all the 
 names of mountains and rivers we should pass. 
 This certainly made it sound a very long way 
 indeed. Joseph ,we found to be a really good 
 fellow, and we became very fond of him before 
 the end of our journey. 
 
 These preliminaries being over, "gramophone 
 talked," with great success^ and was duly handed 
 over to Albert after he had been instructed how 
 to work it, together with his church bell. No 
 sooner had that been done than he proceeded to 
 ring the bell as a summons to the villagers to come 
 to church. Albert, who has strong ecclesiastical 
 leanings, has set apart as a church in his village a 
 
 151 
 
A Corner of Brazil 
 
 very nice banaboo with a pointed apse contain- 
 ing a picture of the Madonna and Child. Logs 
 on the floor serve as pews for the congregation, 
 which trooped in dutifully at the sound of the 
 bell — ^men, women and children, dogs and poul- 
 try. Then began a sort of religious service ; for 
 Albert conducts lengthy prayers and hymn-sing- 
 ing every morning and afternoon. We could 
 frequently catch the words "Ave Maria" and 
 " Spiritus Sanctus " ; and, whenever the congre- 
 gation fastened upon any phrase or tune they 
 knewj they all shouted lustily together. Albert 
 himself intones rather well, having been taught 
 by an itinerant Roman Catholic priest. On 
 every day we spent in the village Matins and 
 Evensong were duly celebrated, while in the 
 intervals the gramophone proved a great success. 
 There are several houses in Mataruka, and also a 
 corral for the cattle. At our request, a herd of 
 about fifty head was driven into the corral for our 
 inspection; and the Makusis said there were, in 
 addition, plenty of wild cattle round about. Here 
 we enjoyed a plentiful supply of new milk, 
 brought to us in large gourds, and on our return 
 journey a bullock was killed for our benefit. 
 The dogs of Mataruka were unfortunately even 
 152 
 
Breakfast by Starlight 
 
 more insistent than those we had hitherto had to 
 endure. Nothing was safe from the miserable 
 starving brutes. They sprang upon the rough 
 tables made of crosswise branches and snatched 
 anything that was put down for a second. Poor 
 Haywood was almost beside himself, and was 
 quite hurt with me for collapsing with laughter 
 as a dog swallowed three eggs and made off with 
 two fish that had been brought as a gift. The 
 fish were certainly very stale and the eggs prob- 
 ably likewise, so it was not a matter to grieve over, 
 as the loss of a precious ham at Chiung had been. 
 We went to bed as usual at dusk. The night was 
 chilly, and the glory of the stars above the wide 
 plain was wonderful. - 
 
 We were up again breakfasting on porridge 
 and fresh milk by starlight with a sinking 
 Southern Cross before dawn of day (9th January). 
 There was, however, much delay in starting off, 
 as we had an almost entirely new set of carriers. 
 The Mataruka folk appeared to regard our expedi- 
 tion to Roraima in the light of a pleasure trip, 
 and a large number of women, and even one baby 
 in arms, accompanied us on the march there and 
 back. I think they enjoyed the idea of a pil- 
 grimage through the Arekuna country under a 
 V 153 
 
A Corner of Brazil 
 
 safe escort. There is no love lost between Makusi 
 and Arekuna; the latter are stronger men and 
 fiercer, but the former are much more numerous. 
 So, our camp-followers being many, the usu^l 
 load for a drogher, which is between. fifty and 
 sixty pounds, was considerably reduced, and 
 several men carried next to nothing. Our rate 
 of travel was thereby much accelerated, and 
 everyone was extremely cheerful, regarding the 
 whole jaunt as great fun. 
 
 From Albert's village our trail ascended be- 
 tween Mount Mataruka on our right and Mount 
 Kako on our left. The valley, up which we 
 climbed, was very hot, even at half-past seven in 
 the morning, and we wound up it with the sun 
 at our backs towards an elusive pass over a suc- 
 cession of ridges, each one pretending to be the 
 real summit, and when we had surmounted it, 
 behold ! there was yet another beyond. It was 
 an exceedingly pretty valley with long golden 
 grass, dotted with picturesque shade trees; but 
 the Indians behind us set fire to the grass, 
 and on our return it was a blackened deso- 
 lation. Indians always set fire to the prairies 
 when they travel, partly to keep the trails clear 
 and make walking easier than it woxild be in long 
 • 154 
 
Our Cowboy Guide 
 
 grass, and incidentally to drive away snakes, but 
 partly out of merely childish pleasure in the blaze. 
 It is very bad for the country, as the soil after a 
 burning tends to get .washed off the hills by the 
 next heavy rain. 
 
 When, after climbing for an hour and a 
 quarter, we really reached the final ridge at a 
 point 2,350 feet above sea-level, the view was 
 glorious and the air so keen and invigorating, so 
 strong and beautiful, that with each breath we 
 seemed to be drinking health and energy. From 
 this pass the most striking feature of the land- 
 scape was Mount Chakbang, far away to the west- 
 north-west. It looks in shape somewhat like a 
 clenched fist, with one finger pointing up to the 
 sky. This mountain is indeed a surveyor's friend, 
 for it is visible and unmistakable from nearly 
 every elevated point in the country. 
 
 Joseph, our guide, a most picturesque bronze 
 figure, with his scarlet loin-cloth, his little quake 
 containing a hammock and drinking gourd on his 
 back, and a pair of chickens on his arm to assist 
 the commissariat, was always close to my hus- 
 band, telling him the names of all the hills far 
 and near, whenever we halted for observations. 
 He was tall and very lean and carried a knife in, 
 
 155 
 
A Corner of Brazil 
 
 his hand, with which he would gesticulate to him- 
 self as he walked, describing semicircles in the 
 air with it, or pointing away to distant hills, 
 evidently reciting in his mind all the different 
 trails of the neighbourhood. 
 
 From the col between Mount Mataruka and 
 Mount Kako, the trail taken by Joseph descended 
 slightly across an upland savannah and led us in 
 forty-five minutes to another col between the 
 hills to the east of Rera, a plain almost as large as 
 that of Mataruka and exceedingly well watered, 
 draining into the Kotinga. Rera is Joseph's 
 home, and he pointed out his house far away to 
 the south of the golden savannah on a knoll, 
 where stood three banaboos with cattle grazing 
 close by. No breath of air stirred in the Rera 
 plain, and I was glad of my hammock. Johnny 
 and Jack had evidently found my weight the day 
 before more than they could bear, and had each 
 provided himself with a tin canister instead ; but 
 I had two fresh volunteers, an old man, whose 
 name did not transpire, and his son, who called 
 himself " Misterquick." Mr. Quick is an 
 Anghcan parson who used to visit the district. 
 These two Makusis carried well ; but Indians dis- 
 like weights on their shoulders, as they are accus- 
 
 156 
 
The Rera Plain 
 
 tomed to carrying on the back, and they often 
 complained, " Mamma heavy." I did not, how- 
 ever, require them to carry me for long at a time, 
 though the hammock was very useful in enabling 
 me to rest every now and then for ten or fifteen 
 minutes without delaying the line of march. 
 
 After skirting the Rera plain for some distance 
 past the foot of Mount Kurowya, we crossed a 
 rather nasty little eta-swamp, and then turned off 
 at a right angle to ascend a pass between Mount 
 Kumaraying 'and Mount Sakmann — a steep and 
 rocky track. Halfway up we stopped to take 
 lunch, where a delicious rippling brook crossed 
 our path. Unfortunately, there was little shade 
 and no breeze, so it was very warm. We made an 
 excellent meal off our Puwa beefsteak, for meat 
 keeps several days in this atmosphere. We also 
 took note of the extraordinary number of people 
 in our train; but, as only nineteen claimed 
 rations, we realized that the others had come 
 independently for the sake of the journey. There 
 were some uncommonly good fellows amongst our 
 men. Daniel, Joseph's great friend and ally, 
 was a thoroughly hard-working boy. A younger 
 Thomas formed with Haywood our commissariat, 
 and a very efficient one too. Thomas carried the 
 
 157 
 
A Corner of Brazil 
 
 lunch-basket and all the materials and implements 
 immediately -necessary for making and eating a 
 meal, and he stuck firmly to a position just behind 
 Haywood, which meant that he was always well 
 to the front. Thomas also became a very handy 
 man about camp, and learnt with Indian deftness 
 to manipulate our folding beds, chairs, and table. 
 In return for these services, he was admitted to 
 mess with Haywood, who took care that he should 
 always have enough to eat, or rather that there 
 should be plenty, for an Indian has an infinite 
 appetite and can never have enough. Haywood 
 observed to me once : " I does like to see Thomas 
 eat. He eat so diligent"; and it was an apt 
 remark, for Thomas would squat down to finish 
 the remains in a saucepan with an air of rapt 
 thought, the complete concentration of a man 
 who is faced with one of the great tasks of life, 
 and he would scour and scour again the inside of 
 the pots vsdth his spoon, until no smallest speck 
 of food could possibly be scraped together, before 
 he would consent to wash them. Thomas's wife 
 came too, carrying a baby, as well as a quake with 
 their hammocks and food. I was rather anxious 
 about that baby the first day, exposed to torrid 
 sun with nothing on its head ; but it was perfectly 
 
 158 
 
Our Makusi Retinue 
 
 well and cheerful the whole time — a fine little 
 boy. Johnny and Jack of Chiung were another 
 pair of stalwart friends. Jack wore a felt hat 
 with a green ribbon run in and out round the 
 crown. It looked a very quaint apex to his 
 brawny, bronze-red figure. He jvas an excep- 
 tionally powerful fellow, whilst Johnny was a 
 dear old man to whom we became much attached. 
 He would come holding out his hand, saying 
 " Manuna " in a most appealing way, to beg for 
 a piece of chocolate ; and if I refused him a bit, 
 he iwould sulk just like a spoiled child, and pre- 
 tend to be deaf when spoken to. Then the 
 " Pirate," as we christened him on account of a 
 red handkerchief he wore tied round his head, his 
 real name being Alexander, was a cheery per- 
 sonage, always to the fore, despite the fact that 
 he was very elderly ; and he was closely followed 
 by his nimble, if likewise elderly, wife. The 
 "Nut," too, having discarded necklaces and 
 trousers, proved a useful retainer. 
 
 After our meal we started again up the hill. 
 It certainly was a roasting climb ; but a delicious 
 breeze met us on the top and fanned us as we 
 went down the other side. We descended into a 
 small grass plain, at the end of which we crossed 
 
 159 
 
A Corner of Brazil 
 
 a narrow strip of bush, where, as usual, a path 
 had recently been cleared for us ; and then, fol- 
 lowing the bank of a delightful jasper-bedded 
 little stream with pretty cascades and crystal clear 
 water, we wound in and out between low hills in 
 a narrow valley until the trail again took us to a 
 hill-top, whence jve perceived that we had come 
 in a sweeping semicircle from Mataruka back to 
 the Ireng, which was again at our feet. At this 
 point we were two and three-quarter hours' march 
 from the col between hills above the east end of 
 the Rera plain, say six miles by the trail in all its 
 windings; but the distance back to the col 
 between Mount Mataruka and Mount Kako was 
 only four miles in the direct line of vision. 
 Plainly, therefore, there must be some straighter, 
 if more arduous, path over this stretch' of country ; 
 and, as a matter of fact, the Arekunas who accom- 
 panied us on our return journey did make a short- 
 cut, which took them from the Paiwa valley to 
 the saddle between Mount Mataruka and Mount 
 Kako without traversing the Rera plain. Their 
 path was, however, described by Joseph, with an 
 expressive gesture, as " Mountain-top, mountain- 
 top, mountain-top." We could now see the 
 savannah peaks above Enamung as well as those 
 
 160 
 
The Tears of Makunaima 
 
 near Puwa, and it would evidently be possible to 
 reach Enamung from the Karto tableland by a 
 route far more direct than ours had been. Indeed, 
 Joseph afterwards told us of a trail leading from 
 Karto village to Enamung in two stages. That 
 would undoubtedly be the best line for any future 
 traveller bound for Roraima, as the long detour 
 through Chiung, Puwa, Mataruka, and Rera, is 
 thus avoided. Still, we did not object to the 
 longer march. It was all very delightful in the 
 keen air and sunshine, and I realized vpith great 
 thankfulness that I Was now hardening to the 
 sun and felt extremely fit and well. 
 
 From our hill-top we continued for some time 
 along a ridge, descending gradually at first, and 
 then sharply, till after twenty-three minutes' 
 walk we forded a beautiful clear stream, almost at 
 the level of the Ireng, which it joined a short dis- 
 tance to our right. Then, on a low knoll beyond, 
 we stepped upon some stone slabs with curious 
 markings on them, and here Joseph said, " Maku- 
 naima pickaninny, he dead." Makunaima is the 
 goddess whose tears, shed for the loss of her picka- 
 ninny, are said to form Roraima's waterfalls, and 
 this we supposed to be the child's burial place. 
 Then came another little flat meadow, a strip of 
 
 161 L 
 
A Corner of Brazil 
 
 woodland over some undulating ground, and we 
 again emerged into a large grassy plain in the 
 middle of which stands Parowopo village. I say 
 " village," but there was only one banaboo and an 
 open building, which the few women about the 
 place called "church," but which contained no 
 holy pictures nor any sign of worship. Our whole 
 party established ourselves in this "church"; 
 and, while we took tea, the women brought cas- 
 siri for our droghers. As each fresh batch of 
 men came in, the cassiri bowl was handed to 
 Joseph to give them at his good pleasure. After 
 tea we had some difficulty in getting our caravan 
 to restart from Parowopo. They explained 
 that Enamung was " far f ar " ; but, Joseph hav- 
 ing prescribed Enamung as our destination for 
 the night, we would not listen, but pressed on. 
 
 Another hour and a quarter brought us to 
 Enamung village. The trail, after leaving the 
 Parowopo plain, passed through the forest-belt 
 which fills the low saddle between the hills that 
 separate the two savannahs. The trail in this 
 forest had been admirably cleaned and widened, 
 and even the leaves had been swept off the path. 
 Towards sunset we emerged from the bush into 
 a lovely scene, open savannah, with a broad 
 
 162 
 
Cattle at Enamung 
 
 stream curving through it in a semicircle. On 
 our side of this stream the ground rose and fell 
 in pleasant undulations, whilst on the other side 
 it rolled up into high grassy peaks. We could 
 hear a cataract roaring on the right, where the 
 river disappeared from view. This river, called 
 the Wairann, is a tributary of the Ireng, and 
 we followed its course upstream for several miles 
 next day. The Enamung village consists of two 
 houses and a cattle-pen, perched up on a grassy 
 knoll just above the right bank of the Wairann. 
 A more beautiful spot for a camp cannot be 
 imagined. But we had barely time to spread 
 our tarpaulin over a wooden framework that stood 
 between the two banaboos before night closed in 
 on us ; and just as dusk was falling some children 
 drove up cattle into the pen. We counted twelve 
 head. They were a good, short-horned, straight- 
 backed breed. This was the last place at which 
 we saw cattle on our outward journey. Of 
 course, the herds one sees at the various Makusi 
 villages are only the tame cattle ; and we were 
 told that a far larger number roam wild among 
 these uninhabited savannahs, and are shot by 
 the Indians, when they have a craving for fresh 
 beef. 
 
 163 
 
A Corner of Brazil 
 
 It grew very cold directly the sun had gone 
 down, and the moon circled with earth-shine was 
 glorious, likewise the stars. Luckily there was 
 no wind, as our camp was most exposed. The 
 Indians and Mr. Menzies all slept inside the bana- 
 boos ; but we were in the open, and, as we lay with 
 all our blankets over us, looking into the infinite 
 depths of the starry skies, the muffled roar of the 
 distant cataract filling the air, four lines of Mat- 
 thew Arnold's which have always haunted me and 
 filled me with longing since I was a child came 
 into my mind : 
 
 In the moonlight the shepherds, 
 Soft lulled by the rills, 
 Lie wrapped in their blaqkets. 
 Asleep on the hills. 
 
 On the morrow we were up again by starlight 
 and admired an exceptionally bright Southern 
 Cross. Then, after swallowing a large plateful 
 of porridge each, washed down with some coffee, 
 we Kere off on the trail as day dawned. From 
 Enamung village a climb of twenty-three minutes 
 took us to the brow of a hill, whence we had a 
 good view up the valley of the Wairann and far 
 beyond to Mount Weitipu, one of the giants 
 standing near Roraima. The path, however, 
 
 164 
 
The Beautiful Wairann 
 
 dropped down again to the river, which curved 
 back to us, and we followed its right bank up- 
 stream for two hours in a beautiful valley. On 
 the left bank rose an almost perpendicular grassy 
 hill ; but we wound alternately through meadows, 
 strewn with big black boulders, and through belts 
 of woodland, where, as before, a bridle track had 
 been cleared for us. The river was roaring in 
 cataracts or meandering in still reaches beside us 
 or racing round islands. It contains a large 
 volume of water. 
 
 Our caravan halted for " breakfast " unusually 
 early, and we expostulated with Joseph ; but he 
 waved his hand in the direction of our onward 
 path, which was now to leave the beautiful 
 Wairann, and said, " Tuna (i.e., water) far, far." 
 The Indians have a manner of saying " f-a-a-r- 
 far " in a faint voice that is wonderfully expres- 
 sive of distance. 
 
 When the meal was over we resumed our 
 march, and a five minutes' climb uphill, followed 
 by a seventeen minutes' march across a small 
 plateau, finally took us from the watershed of the 
 Ireng to that of the Kotinga. From the small 
 plateau we again obtained a glorious view of 
 Mount Weitipu, rising high and blue above all 
 
 165 
 
A Corner of Brazil 
 
 intervening hills. The next hour was spent in 
 descending from the plateau, fording a little brook 
 which falls into the Karakanang, a tributary of 
 the Kotinga, re-ascending on to another and very 
 stony tableland, to the south-east of which was 
 the Karakanang gorge, far below the level of our 
 trail, and so reaching the point where that river is 
 forded by stepping-stones of red jasper just above 
 its leap from the plateau level into the gorge. The 
 heat of the sun, though intense at midday, was 
 mitigated by a heavenly breeze that fanned us 
 steadily. Flights of locusts rose at our approach 
 and flew round us, hitting us all over. The 
 Indians eagerly caught as many as they could and 
 ate them raw on the spot, regarding them, appar- 
 ently, as titbits. 
 
 The Karakanang is a most fascinating river, 
 flowing crystal clear in a succession of little ver- 
 tical falls, or else sliding over long, smooth slabs 
 of jasper into limpid green pools. This is the 
 regular formation of river-beds in the upper 
 Kotinga watershed. The colouring of that country 
 is exquisite : greeny-grey grass, red soil, and blue- 
 green ciystal-clear water, flowing over coral-red 
 jasper bottoms. When we had crossed the Kara- 
 kanang, the tableland widened into a fine grassy 
 
 166 
 
Into the Arekuna Country 
 
 savannah, surrounded by a stately amphitheatre 
 of hills, and we marched over easily-undulating 
 ground for an hour and a half, crossing in that 
 time no less than six small streams, that flowed 
 through guUeys in the plateau to join the Kara- 
 kanang. The course of these tiny canons could 
 be traced afar off by the eta-palms growing in 
 them. At last we came to a rift in the tableland, 
 where, beyond another small stream, there was a 
 strip of forest, through which, for the first time 
 since leaving Karto tableland, jye found that no 
 trail had been cleared for us — a plain hint that we 
 were now passing from the land of the Makusis 
 into that of the Arekunas. Moreover, the stream, 
 where we reached it, ran in a deep pool, too deep 
 to ford; so, while Joseph and some of the men 
 were felling a couple of small trees for us to cross 
 by, and clearing a path through the wood, we sat 
 down under a big tree, drank cold tea, which 
 Haywood had handy, and ate chocolate. Joseph's 
 arrangements being complete, we crossed the pool 
 on his makeshift bridge, and a few minutes' walk 
 brought us to the other side of the bush. Thence 
 our trail gradually sloped down over a grassy 
 savannah to meet the Warukma River, where it 
 races down over a jasper bed, glittering under the 
 
 167 
 
A Corner of Brazil 
 
 sun, from the heart of the mountain amphi- 
 theatre that swept round in a majestic circle to 
 our left. 
 
 We forded the Warukma and camped on the 
 ledges of its left bank. These torrents, sv^hen 
 swollen by heavy rain, must be a splendid sight, 
 but they would then be very difficult to cross. A 
 delicious current of icy-cold water was flowing in 
 the bed of the Warukma ; but wide stretches of 
 jasper floor were uncovered and dry, and on one 
 of these Joseph and his men improvised for us a 
 most ingenious tent. They placed one end of a 
 ridge-pole in the fork of a tree on the bank ; the 
 other end they supported on cross- wise poles, 
 whose bases they propped up with big stones. 
 They then stuck short uprights, on which to tie 
 the tarpaulin, in cracks of the ledge and buttressed 
 them up with stones. It was very picturesque. 
 The ledge made us a beautiful, clean, level floor, 
 and this was, in fact, the nicest camp of our jour- 
 ney. We bathed in a natural " porphyry font," 
 a few yards upstream from our tent. The water 
 was stone-cold and clear, and the pool very deep. 
 Little fish, about the size of a trout ^hich would 
 be thrown back as too small, and of a bright green 
 colour, with black " eyes " on them, came swim- 
 
 168 
 
"Landmark Peak" 
 
 ming up curiously to examine us. We had a still, 
 cloudless night; the moon was very bright, but 
 not large enough to dim the radiance of the stars. 
 We woke to find the weather deliciously cool 
 and grey ; and, after our porridge and coffee, we 
 started "under the opening eyelids of the morn " 
 to climb steadily until we reached the ridge of the 
 mountaip amphitheatre. It was an hour's ascent. 
 At the top we found a fine, grassy, high-level 
 plateau, well watered, but almost treeless, which 
 it took MS just half an hour to cross. The fresh- 
 ness of the grey morning gave wings to our feet. 
 We crossed a brook and a water-hole on this 
 plateau, for the country is wonderfully irrigated, 
 and every tableland seems provided with springs 
 of clear water. At the far end of the plateau, 
 before descending, we had a superb view back to 
 Mounts Mataruka and Bulak-koyepin. Given 
 favourable weather conditions, Roraima, Kuke- 
 naam, Wei-assipu, Weitipu, and Mukoripo can 
 all be seen from the trail itself at this point, which 
 is 3,150 feet above sea-level ; but on our outward 
 journey they were densely veiled in cloud. If you 
 climb a peak rising above the plateau a little to the 
 east. Mount Chakbang also comes into sight. It 
 is a splendid observation-post for a surveyor, and 
 
 169 
 
A Corner of Brazil 
 
 for that reason my husband labelled it " Land- 
 mark Peak." 
 
 Our path now descended very gradually in the 
 valley of a stream, which rises on " Landmark 
 Peak " and soon becomes a fine jasper-bedded 
 watercourse, the trail betaking itself to the river- 
 bed, where the smooth slabs made excellent 
 going. This stream is called Aimaratokpai. It 
 was very nearly dry — a fortunate thing for us; 
 but I should love to see these rivers rushing down 
 in spate over their smooth stone floors. The bed 
 of this particular stream had weathered to a slate- 
 blue colour, but there was a good deal of pink, 
 disintegrated jasper sand lying on it. The effect 
 of the blue floor, with its pink streaks of sand and 
 the grey hills above it, was very lovely and curious. 
 
 Too soon the line suddenly decided to leave 
 this friendly river-bed, and we had to scramble 
 up a steep bluff about sixty feet in height. An 
 Indian trail always makes a great point of doing 
 the unexpected. We then traversed a very 
 switchback of a path, winding over hill-spurs, 
 until we gained the top of a steep slant into the 
 valley of the Warama, a confluent of the Kotinga. 
 The view from this spot, before we descended, 
 was beautiful, and our whole company sat down 
 
 170 
 
Nature's Children 
 
 to admire it. Indians love to look out over a big 
 stretch of country, and it is amusing to watch a 
 crowd of them pointing out to each other all the 
 salient features and tracing with finger-tips the 
 directions of different trails over distant hills. 
 Their language seems onomatopoeic, and at times 
 one can gather the gist of their conversation with- 
 out understanding one word. It sounds very 
 much as though they spoke in tones, like the 
 Chinese, but, much more quietly. They are a 
 curiously quiet people, the result, I suppose, of 
 living amid that big, silent Nature. We never 
 heard them sing on the line of march, or even 
 when paddling, and they seldom raise their voices. 
 In camp, with thirty of them close by, they never 
 disturbed us. If we happened to wake in the 
 night, only the flicker of the fires, which they 
 keep going throughout the dark hours, reminded 
 us that they were near us ; and even in their vil- 
 lages they make little noise. A mere dozen blacks 
 or Chinese would give one a very different tale to 
 tell. 
 
 A steep scramble downhill brought us to the 
 side of a brook, which we followed for a short dis- 
 tance, and which flows into the Waraina. We 
 left the brook just before the watersmeet, and 
 
 171 
 
A Corner of Brazil' 
 
 crossing in the fork a little belt of land, where 
 some fine cassava was growing, we forded the 
 Waralna. Then a short walk took us to our 
 breakfast camp on the Opamapo, another con- 
 fluent of the Waraina. This is one of the pret- 
 tiest spots in the country ; for here the Opamapo 
 makes a vertical leap of some sixty feet over a red 
 jasper cliff into a clear, deep, jasper-ledged, tree- 
 girt pool. The crowning note of colour came 
 from a purple-blossomed tree projecting over the 
 cliff -side. We sat on the tree-shaded ledges 
 above the fall, drawing water for our meal from a 
 limpid, green pool, and the stream beyond wound 
 away fringed with eta-palm. Steep, green hill- 
 shoulders formed the far horizon. 
 
 After an hour and a quarter's rest, during 
 which ,we ate cold chicken, one of the four 
 brought with us from Mataruka, and our men 
 regaled themselves with cassava and dried beef, 
 we proceeded on our way, fording the Opamapo. 
 The weather was still dehghtfuUy grey and cool, 
 and we met a few Kght, passing showers — greet- 
 ings from Roraima behind his cloud-wall. We 
 marched in a steadily widening, valley for fifty 
 minutes until we reached the crest of a low ridge 
 that forms the water-parting between the streams 
 
 17 
 
< 
 PS 
 
Empty Pastttre^knd 
 
 that feed the Waraina and the basin of the 
 Kotinga itself. The latter river, however, as had 
 previously been the case with the Ireng, remained 
 invisible until we reached its edge. We were 
 now in the gently-sloping pasture-lands of a mag- 
 nificent valley, beautifully watered by numerous 
 streams, whose course is marked in the lush grass 
 by avenues of eta-palms ; but no human habita- 
 tion or sign of cattle could anywhere be seen. 
 We put up a big deer, but it escaped us easily. 
 There were signs that a fire, probably lit by travel- 
 ling Indians, had recently passed over the place, 
 the grass being very young and green, and the 
 stems of the palms blackened and scorched. On 
 our right we now saw Mount Weitipu quite 
 clearly, with Mount Mukoripo, an oddly-shaped 
 rocky cone, close beside him. The ground undu- 
 lates gently, forming a plateau some three hun- 
 dred feet above both banks of the Kotinga, which 
 flows in a narrow trench below the spacious 
 acclivities of the surrounding country. 
 
 At last from the edge of this plateau we saw at 
 our feet the Kotinga itself, with its turquoise-blue 
 water, flowing through a valley of brightest green, 
 dotted with eta-palms. So attractive and refresh- 
 ing it looked that we little guessed the hidden 
 V 173 
 
A Corner of Brazil 
 
 plague awaiting us, until Joseph said resignedly, 
 pointing down to the river: "Kabouru plenty, 
 plenty." We now descended quickly to the left 
 bank of the river, crossing the ravine of a boister- 
 ous little brook on the way. The river-bed ishere 
 about 2,200 feet above sea-level ; and the ford is 
 not far below the confluence of the Kwating from 
 the north-west and the Pipi — another blue jewel 
 in a setting of eta-palms — from the north-east, to 
 form the Kotinga proper. It was by far the most 
 serious obstacle of the kind that we had to nego- 
 tiate. The river at the ford is some two hundred 
 feet wide, and contains near the left bank an 
 island of some size — the usual camping-ground of 
 Indians on their way over this trail — and near the 
 right bank another much smaller island. The 
 ford runs diagonally across at the brink of a small 
 rapid over jasper rocks, water-worn and slippery, 
 and would doubtless be quite impassable when the 
 river comes down in spate. As it was, the water 
 came well above my husband's knees; and, the 
 current being strong, we had to plant our feet 
 carefully at each step to avoid an accident. We 
 had by this time become quite accustomed to 
 wading over streams, and much enjoyed the deli- 
 cious feeling of the stone-cold water round our 
 
 174 
 

"Kabouru Plenty, Plenty I" 
 
 feet and legs. Our clothes and our canvas rubber- 
 soled boots dried very quickly in the sun after each 
 such crossing. Joseph wanted us to camp on the 
 island near the left bank, but we did not Hke the 
 look of it. It was covered with dense bush, and 
 the kabouru, from which pest we had been happily 
 free since crossing the Ireng, rose in their mil- 
 lions to receive us. Besides, we felt that a ford, 
 once begun, is better done and finished with. It 
 was gresA fun getting across. Joseph held my 
 arm firmly, and piloted me with much care and 
 skill. The long file of. our Indians, men and 
 women, gingerly picking their way along the 
 brink of the rapid, was a quaint sight. 
 
 On the right bank of the Kotinga, in the neigh- 
 bourhood of the ford, there was no " bush," with- 
 out which, of course, one cannot camp, as fire- 
 wood is essential, and the Indians must have trees 
 on which to hang their hammocks. So we moved 
 on, the trail turning downstream to the left and 
 then up an eta-fringed brook. After a little while 
 we forded this brook, and, having crossed a low 
 ridge, we made camp at 4.80 p.m. on the banks of 
 another stream in a clump of bush at its edge. 
 Alas ! there was no escaping the kabouru ! As 
 soon as we had halted, they came about us in 
 
 175, 
 
A Corner of Brazil 
 
 swarms, and rendered life intolerable until dark, 
 at 6.30 p.m., when they all disappeared. The 
 ups and downs of camp life are truly astonishing ! 
 The night before, in the Warukma bed, we had 
 had as perfect a site for our camp as We could pos- 
 sibly desire, whilst the Kotinga valley camp could 
 not well have been more disagreeable. It was 
 not a picturesque camp either, for the surround- 
 ings had recently been scorched by fire. The 
 stream beside us was, however, pretty enough. 
 It dropped in a cascade into a steep guUey at our 
 feet, there disappearing into a dense thicket. But 
 there was no level ground, so that we spent an 
 uncomfortable night with our beds at a slant. I 
 would strongly advise future travellers by this 
 route to endeavour to ford the Kotinga early 
 enough in the day to permit of their camping for 
 the night some way up the hills to the north or 
 south of the valley, at a distance from the river. 
 
 Next day (12th January) we were up, dressed, 
 and packed before dawn, to avoid the kabouru. 
 It was a glorious, cool morning. A heavy dew 
 sparkled on the grass, and the air was keen and 
 fresh. Our path continued obstinately to the 
 left, despite the fact that our goal lay behind 
 Weitipu on the right ; and we passed over beau- 
 
 176 
 
A Snake in the Grass 
 
 tiful undulating meadows, like English hay fields 
 ready for the scythe, and then round hill-spurs, 
 until after one and three-quarter hours' march we 
 reached the valley of the Chitu, a large confluent 
 of the Kotinga, crossing on our way frequent little 
 brooks that tumbled down steep guUeys. Here 
 the Indians and Haywood killed a snake in the 
 grass, and the latter said it was a laharia and 
 poisonous ; but is a snake ever killed which the 
 people concerned in the daring deed do not 
 declare to be deadly ? 
 
 We forded the northern fork of the Chitu close 
 to the point where it descends out of a steep line 
 of hills, and up the steepest part of these hills our 
 trail then proceeded to climb. Pink soil showed 
 through the grass, which was now short and grow- 
 ing in tussocks, so that we knew we were still on 
 jasper formation. The hill ascended in a series of 
 terraces, the ascent between each being almost 
 vertical ; and on each terrace we paused to drink 
 in the wonderful beauty of the widening view, for 
 our hill-side commanded a great stretch of the 
 Kotinga valley, shut in far away by the mountain 
 ranges we had crossed in the previous forenoon. 
 The sun filtered through the clouds enough to 
 light up the scene with the most extraordinary 
 
 177 M 
 
A Corner of Brazil 
 
 and exquisite colouring, the far hills being a mar- 
 vellous sapphire and the nearer country a brilliant 
 emerald, patched with purple cloud shadows. 
 It reminded me dimly of old stained glass and of 
 the colouring of Rossetti's pictures. We were 
 chmbing the crest of the hill-ridge in the fork 
 between the northern and southeri\ branches of 
 the Chitu River, and one hour's effort brought us , 
 to the summit. We then had a view right back 
 to " Landmark Peak," while in front of us 
 stretched a tableland, over which the wind blew 
 keen and cold, for we were 4,500 feet above sea- 
 level. Such a country ! And there it lies, all 
 untouched and unknown, the great silence of soh- 
 tude brooding over it! Save for a handful of 
 nomadic Indians scattered over the vast prairies, 
 never a man treads these lonely regions. 
 
 For the next hour and a half our path lay over 
 charming upland savannah, with here and there a 
 strip of woodland, intersected by numerous brooks 
 hurrying down in cascades to meet the Chitu. We 
 halted beside one of these rivulets, crossing, as 
 usual, just above a cascade that fell into the cus- 
 tomary deep green pool. We had to put our 
 coats on directly we stopped to rest, for the sky 
 was overcast and a chilly but invigorating svind 
 
 178 
 
Water-parting between Amazon and Orinoco 
 
 was blowing. Anyone who filled these highland 
 valleys with cattle and built himself a jasper house 
 amidst the life-giving breezes of the hills iwould 
 have his lot cast in a fair land. After luncheon 
 we walked on again, and were caught in one or two 
 light showers of cold drizzle, though not enough 
 to soak our clothes. We descended slightly to 
 cross the southern fork of the Chitu, racing down 
 to its valley. The ford is short, but deep. Then 
 we climbed to the head-waters of the Chitu close 
 by. Here is, we believe, the divide between the 
 Amazon and the Orinoco ; and, if so, at this point 
 we presumably crossed from Brazil into Vene- 
 zuela. These two republics, however, have not 
 delimited the frontier in this neighbourhood. 
 
 179 
 
THE VENEZUELAN 
 APPROACH TO RORAIMA 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE VENEZUELAN APPROACH TO 
 RORAIMA 
 
 There, among the flowers and grasses, 
 Only the mightier movement sounds and passes ; 
 Only the winds and rivers, 
 Life and death. 
 
 R. L, Stevenson : In the Highlands, 
 
 From the ridge above the head-waters of the 
 Chitu we descended gently, and after fifteen 
 minutes' march we forded the Maipa, a deep, 
 sluggish stream, with a belt of forest at its farther 
 side. On the projecting branch of a tree a 
 glorious purple orchid, the only one we saw dur- 
 ing our journey, was admiring its reflection in the 
 water. The Maipa probably belongs to the 
 Orinoco watershed. We then traversed the nar- 
 row forest belt on the farther bank, and emerged 
 into a curiously-rifted savannah, which led us to 
 the foot of another abrupt hill-side. Up it we 
 went, and found ourselves at the edge of a vast 
 rolling plain, Weitipu on our right and far beyond 
 a big fog-bank, which we knew concealed 
 
 183 
 
The Venezuelan Approach to Roraima 
 
 Roraima. His great form loomed dark in the 
 cloud. This tableland, at the extreme south-east 
 edge of which we stood, extends past the foot of 
 Mount Weitipu almost to the foot of Roraima, 
 and then drops down to the Kukenaam River. 
 Its average level is fully 3,800 feet above the sea, 
 its gentle grassy undulations, broken here and 
 there by clumps of trees beside intersecting water- 
 courses, spread out before us for a distance which 
 it took no less than five and a half hours' actual 
 march to traverse. This plateau is a superb pas- 
 ture-land, but no animals now graze there, save a 
 few wild deer. What a country to lie fallow ! 
 
 We proceeded on our way, fording the Arata- 
 paru and the Weiwoto, both large tributaries of 
 the Arabupu . All these streams undoubtedly feed 
 the Kukenaam River, and thus form a part of 
 the Orinoco basin. The ford of the Weiwoto was 
 just above a lovely flashing waterfall, and we 
 camped on its right bank. Now at last did 
 Roraima and Kukenaam deign to take note of us. 
 First the head of the To washing pinnacle, which 
 forms Roraima's south-east corner, emerged from 
 out of a fog-bank ; then a piece of grim, grand 
 shoulder, then cloud-drift once again ; but gradu- 
 ally more and more of the twin giants was 
 
 184 
 
Mount Weitipu 
 
 exposed, never clear all at once, but hinted at 
 sufficiently for us to grasp their outlines. I felt 
 smitten with awe and fear. We seemed so minute 
 and so presumptuous to venture unbidden into the 
 presence of these towering monsters in a land that 
 knew us not. The glory and the beauty was very 
 great, as the evening sun fell on them, the fleecy 
 clouds now revealing, now concealing, the black 
 precipices. Well may the Indians feel that the 
 place is holy ground ! 
 
 I must try to describe the scene more exactly. 
 Weitipu lay on our right almost due north of us, 
 rising sheer up from the plain. This mountain 
 seems to be made of quartz, cliffs of which stood 
 out where the savannah slopes had been washed 
 away. Its southern end is roughly circular at the 
 base, the sides being terraced and the small 
 plateau at the top being surmounted by a sharp 
 peak, whifch would afford an uninterrupted view 
 to every point of the compass. AH this part of 
 the mountain is savannah dotted with occasional 
 tree-clumps, and it is seamed by the gulleys of 
 small streams tumbling from its terraces in spark- 
 ling waterfalls. To the northward the mountain 
 is forest-clad, and is shaped into the cliff -sided, 
 flat-topped rectangular block, so characteristic of 
 
 185 
 
The Venezuelan Approach to Roraima 
 
 this country. From its north-west side stretches 
 a sea of forest, in which two crags jut out fantasti- 
 cally side by side, the more conspicuous of the two 
 being known as Mukoripo. Between Weitipu 
 and Roraima the land drops very considerably and 
 is densely forested. Then arises Roraima 's south- 
 eastern wall, which is said to be ten miles long. 
 From our camp at Weiwoto we saw it, of course, 
 greatly foreshortened, and the south-western face, 
 up which we eventually climbed, we could not yet 
 see at all ; "but Kukenaam's southern end projected 
 far beyond the Towashing pinnacle. At one 
 moment the clouds cleared away almost entirely, 
 and we counted six long white streaks of water 
 falling vertically down Roraima's cliff-face. It 
 had evidently rained heavily, for we did not see 
 these cascades again after a spell of fine weather. 
 
 Our Weiwoto camp was very exposed and 
 bleak. Joseph looked so shiveringly cold that we 
 spared him an outfit of clothes, which, alas ! 
 greatly impaired the dignity and picturesqueness 
 of his appearance. The Makusis, with Mr. Men- 
 zies and Haywood, went off for the night to a little 
 wooded island amidstream for shelter. They had 
 stretched one of our tarpaulins for us over an old 
 hut-frame on the open plain, and had made a most 
 
 186 
 
o 
 
 H 
 
 O 
 02 
 
 s 
 n 
 
Twin Giants 
 
 inefficient wind-break with the other. As we 
 tossed and shivered on our narrow camp-beds 
 through the chilly night, we could see the dim, 
 cloud-wrapped mountain forms looming against 
 the moonlit sky. 
 
 For the first and only time on the journey Hay- 
 wood failed to have his fire alight before dawn. 
 His excuse, as he arrived by daylight, was an 
 entirely adequate one. To reach the bush-covered 
 island, where he and the Indians had slept, it was 
 necessary to wade knee-deep in water, and he did 
 not like to attempt the ford in the dark. So we 
 got oflp somewhat later than usual, and after fifteen 
 minutes' march forded the Arabupu. This 
 stream, running very fast and deep, at times 
 nearly carried me off my feet. The water rose 
 well above my husband's knees, and the squat 
 little Indian women were up to their waists. 
 From now onwards until we halted for breakfast 
 we were walking over prairie land, mostly on the 
 upward trend, towards the nearest comer of 
 Roraima's south-eastern wall where the Towash- 
 ing pinnacle separates itself from the mass, and 
 we came gradually round to face the south- 
 western side. Flights of locusts rose in all direc- 
 tions on our approach. We walked sharply to 
 
 187 
 
The Venezuelan Approach to Roraima 
 
 keep ourselves warm. Roraima and Kukenaam 
 were at first impenetrably hidden in fog ; but, as 
 the day wore on, the sun came out and very 
 gradually dispersed the clouds. Nearer and nearer 
 we came, the great cliffs, rendered pecuharly 
 mysterious by the flying clouds that partly 
 enveloped them, for ever changing their shapes, 
 till I said to myself : "Either I am dreaming it 
 all, or else I have had a touch of sunstroke ; but 
 that scene cannot be real." 
 
 We breakfasted in sun and wind in a hollow 
 by a small brook, and then set off again, proceed- 
 ing to the edge of the tableland, which then falls 
 abruptly down in steep-sided terraces to the basin 
 of the Kukenaam River. We dropped down 
 some one thousand feet into this valley in the 
 course of an hour, and then walked up the left 
 bank of the Kukenaam River over flat ground, 
 intersected by streams and swamps, under a broil- 
 ing sun, in blinding glare — not a pleasant walk. 
 A march of one and a quarter hours through this 
 country brought us to the Towashing, a stream 
 which leaps from the Towashing pinnacle of 
 Mount Roraima to join the Kukenaam, and, ford- 
 ing it, we filed into Kamaiwawong village half an 
 hour later, amidst an ominous silence. My mind 
 
 188 
 
A Village without Villagers 
 
 had been plagued with a presentiment that some 
 hitch would befall us here. Several travellers 
 have reached this spot and yet failed to conquer 
 Roraima, one of the last being Dr. Crampton, a 
 professor from the United States, who became 
 convinced that the Arekunas meant to murder 
 him, and simultaneously that the ascent of 
 Roraima " to satisfy a purely personal ambition " 
 would be "unjustifiable."* The fact that 
 Kamaiwawong was entirely empty and deserted 
 was far from reassuring. Not so much as a dog 
 was there to bark at us. We sat down in the 
 shade of one of the banaboos and sent Joseph with 
 a deputation up a small hill to the village of 
 Tekwonno, about half a mile off, across the 
 Kukenaam River. This, too, looked ominously 
 empty, and soon the deputation returned saying, 
 " No man." Roraima and Kukenaam stood for 
 the first time entirely clear of cloud, gazing down 
 upon us as much as to say, " There is many a slip 
 'twixt the cup and the lip." 
 
 It was rather an uncomfortable position. We 
 had about thirty very hungry people with us. 
 They had been reckless with the food-supplies; 
 and, jvheirMr. Menzies remonstrated, Joseph had 
 
 * Vide his article in Timehri, vol. ii., 3rd series (l912), p. 18. 
 
 189 
 
The Venezuelan Approach to Roraima 
 
 declared: "Arekuna, plenty cassava." But at 
 the " breakfast " hour this day more than half of 
 our followers had had nothing to eat. We 
 resolved, therefore, to establish ourselves at 
 Kamaiwawong as comfortably as possible for the 
 night, and on the morrow, if the Arekunas did 
 not return, as we hoped they would do, to send 
 out a raiding party to find their provision-fields 
 and to bring in cassava, jvhilst we, with another 
 party, would attempt to make our way up the 
 mountain. With field-glasses we could see quite 
 clearly, running up the cliff -face, the ledge by 
 which all ascents of Mount Roraima have been 
 made since Sir Everard im Thurn first found the 
 way in 1884, a line of green across the red face 
 of the rock. 
 
 Roraima and Kukenaam stand on the game vast 
 pediment of highland savannah. Doubtless in 
 remote ages they were one mountain.* Above 
 the savannah slopes is a girdle of forest, out of 
 
 * Cf. Timehri, vol. iv. (1885), "The First Ascent of 
 Roraima," p. 23, where Sir E. im Thurn, writing of Roraima 
 and Kukenaam, says : " Rarely did we see the scene quite 
 clear, a fact which, as the Indians were never tired of ex- 
 plaining to us, was owing to the habit of the mountain — 
 ih^ regard both mountains as one — of veiling itself whenever 
 approached by white men." 
 
 190 
 
An Anxious Day at Kamaiwiwong 
 
 which the gigantic cliflP-walls start up vertically a 
 thousand feet into the air, dominating and dwarf- 
 ing all beside. The whole scale is so huge that 
 eyes unaccustomed to it are easily deceived as to 
 the distances involved. The precipices seemed 
 to be close at hand, but in reality they were 
 not less than four miles away from us in the direct 
 line of vision to the nearest point. The twin 
 mountains are divided by a deep rift between their 
 cliffs, and from the summit of Mount Kukenaam 
 on the west side of this rift the Kukenaam River 
 leaps in a mighty waterfall, the spray and mists of 
 which surge to and fro in the gorge, filling and 
 concealing it, and often making the cliffs of the 
 two colossi appear to be one continuous escarp- 
 ment. 
 
 Rather glumly we established ourselves in 
 Kamaiwawong. The village takes its name from 
 the Kamaiwa, a small stream which, after spring- 
 ing vertically a thousand feet downwards from the 
 point on Roraima where the ledge athwart the 
 cliff-face reaches the summit of that grim wall, 
 flows past Kamaiwawong, between it and Tek- 
 wonno, to join the Kukenaam River. The bana- 
 boos are built on a little plain, some 8,700 feet 
 above sea-level. We chose a circular one for our 
 
 191 
 
The Venezuelan Approach to Roraima 
 
 dwelling. Only its walls to windward had been 
 filled in, so that it was the reverse of stuffy. Mr. 
 Menzies, iwith Joseph, Haywood, and Thomas, 
 occupied a house near by, whilst the others spread 
 themselves about in other buildings. Kamaiwa- 
 wong was quite as large as Mataruka village, and 
 had an imposing church.- The house of Jeremiah, 
 its late chief, stood in the centre, the doorway 
 blocked up with earth-sods. He had recently 
 died. 
 
 We unpacked and settled down, and it was 
 beginning to get dusk, when Joseph called out 
 " Arekuna yebu" (i.e., coming), and pointed to 
 a hill on the other side of the Kukenaam River, 
 where his keen eyes had detected moving figures. 
 The word went round the camp, " Arekuna 
 yebu. ' ' It was a very great relief ! Just as night 
 fell, three stalwart fellows strode up in single file, 
 all carrying guns, the first and last naked, the 
 centre one attired in a blue coat and trousers and 
 brown wide-awake hat. All had ear-rings and 
 painted faces. They wore an absurdly jaunty 
 delighted-to-see-you air, held out their hands, 
 ejaculated "How-do?" and laughed cheerily. 
 They then pointed to the mountain and said : 
 "Roroyima (such is the Arekuna pronunciation) 
 
 192 
 
The Arckunas Arrive 
 
 piif-piff-piflF-paflf-whizz," or at least that is what 
 it sounded like; and it clearly meant : " It is a 
 long way up there; do you want to go?" We 
 signified that we did, and, moreover, that we 
 wanted cassava and Jeapong (i.e., men). They 
 squatted down beside us, and said: "Yes, yes, 
 to-morrow. Schoolmaster yebu." "Indeed?" 
 we said; "but what side Schoolmaster and what 
 side all man?" They pointed across the hills, over 
 which they had come, and said, " Wrayanda- 
 aniafpai banaboo " ; so we sent off the blue-suited 
 fellow with a lamp to return to, and hasten, his 
 people, the other couple remaining with us. 
 
 Kamaiwawong had evidently been abandoned 
 by the villagers, Indian fashion, so that Jere- 
 miah's manes might have peace ; but we never 
 discovered for certain why Tekwonno also had 
 been deserted. The Arekunas afterwards said, 
 " Wrayanda-aniafpai plenty cassava," as though 
 to imply that they were all employed there pre- 
 paring cassava ; but this would not account for 
 every man, woman, child, dog, and fowl having 
 cleared out. It is more likely that they mis- 
 doubted our intentions, and removed themselves 
 and their belongings until they were reassured. 
 Mr. Menzies laid it to a "guilty conscience." 
 
 193 N 
 
The Venezuelan Approach to Roraima 
 
 He said the Arekunas are often brigands, raid 
 Makusi fields, and carry off their women; and 
 that, seeing a large party approach, they preferred 
 to seek safety in flight until they were assured that 
 vengeance was not about to overtake them. 
 
 We went to bed much relieved, and hoping to 
 make the ascent next day — a fallacious hope as it 
 proved; but really we were all the better for 
 having a day's rest forced upon us, after six con- 
 secutive marches, during which we had covered 
 the distance of some ninety-three miles between 
 Puwa^^ and Kamaiwawong. The night was very 
 cold. We piled our mackintoshes on top of our 
 blankets to keep in the warmth ; but from 3 a.m. 
 onwards it was too cold to sleep, and we were up 
 at dawn preparing for the climb. Only our 
 camp-beds, our two bedding-bags, and one small 
 canister, were to be carried with us, and we were 
 ready to start before any more Arekunas had 
 come in. So we sat down to solace ourselves with 
 " the virtuous Macaulay," hoping to make at all 
 events a half day's march. At about 11 a.m. a 
 long string of Arekunas arrived, beating a tom- 
 tom, and much decorated with paint and neck- 
 laces. One man had painted coat-buttons down 
 his naked chest ! They brought with them cas- 
 
 194 
 
"Schoolmaster Yebu" 
 
 sava and bananas, a clucking hen, and sat-on eggs, 
 also nineteen magnificent pineapples, which they 
 laid out in rows on the floor of our banaboo. 
 Those pineapples were quite the most delicious I 
 ever tasted. But to all inquiries as to making a 
 start the Arekunas merely replied, " School- 
 master yebu," so that we had to resign ourselves 
 to further delay. The newcomers brought a 
 gourd of paiwarri with them, which they offered 
 to our people. This is a highly alcoholic beverage, 
 and made the eyes of the drinkers shine unnatur- 
 ally. We were glad to see that there was not 
 much of it. 
 
 The day was brilliantly fine ; not a cloud speck 
 on either of the great mountains, whose cliff -faces 
 shone red above the green tree-belts. We felt 
 we were letting opportunity sadly slip by us, but 
 there was nothing to be done. The glare from 
 the barren earth-terrace, on which an Indian vil- 
 lage always stands, was blinding, so we spent 
 nearly all day within the welcome shade of our 
 banaboo. Arekunas — men, women, and child- 
 ren — arrived in small parties at intervals all day 
 long, and our hungry Makusis were regaled with 
 the much-desired cassava and cassiri. Towards 
 nightfall Schoolmaster came in, evidently the 
 
 196 
 
The Venezuelan Approach to Roraima 
 
 chief of the tribe. Why he has this pecuUar 
 name I do not know. He is a big, stalwart indi- 
 vidual, all muscle and sinew, full of gaiety and 
 laughter, as seems to be the Arekuna habit, and 
 we explained to him, pointing to the summit of 
 Roraima, that we wished to be there the next day. 
 After nightfall the moon shone brilliantly, so that 
 we had an opportunity of seeing the mountains 
 in all lights. It was an unforgettable scene of 
 mystery and beauty. 
 
 196 
 
RORAIMA, 
 
 FATHER OF STREAMS 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 RORAIMA, FATHER OF STREAMS 
 
 It was the rampart of God's house 
 
 That she was standing on ; 
 By God built over the sheer depth, 
 
 The which is Space begun. 
 
 D. G. RossETTi : The Blessid Damozel. 
 
 Saturday, 15th January, 1916, was the day on 
 which at last we climbed to the summit of Mount 
 Roraima. We were most fortunate in having a 
 cool, grey morning ; and after sundry delays, at 
 which Indians are adepts, we started off from 
 Kamaiwawong at 7.88 a.m. Our party consisted 
 of Schoolmaster and twelve other Arekunas, some 
 to act as baggage-carriers and some to cut open a 
 trail where the ascent was through forest. Mr. 
 Menzies and Haywood also accompanied us, but 
 none of our Makusi droghers. We had asked 
 Joseph and Daniel whether they would like to 
 come; but they said "No," possibly under pres- 
 sure, for I don't think the Arekunas particularly 
 wished the secret of their mountain to be dis- 
 
 199 
 
Roraima, Father of Streams 
 
 closed to Makusis. However, Joseph and Daniel 
 subsequently changed their mind, hurried after 
 us, and overtook us just as we were reaching the 
 cliff -top. 
 
 Roraima stood in clear-cut outline before us, 
 untouched by clouds. There was heavy dew on 
 the grass, and it was delightful walking up the 
 savannah slopes. The hill-track led us off to the 
 right over ground which was in places very stony 
 but for the most part good going, if steep. 
 Schoolmaster pointed to the top of the mountain, 
 and said, "To-morrow"; but we firmly 
 answered, "No, to-day," whereupon all the 
 Arekunas smiled and shook their heads, and 
 Schoolmaster shut his eyes, beat his breast, and 
 gasped, to show how exhausted we should soon 
 be. I retorted by running past him, laughing 
 my contempt, and pointing up to the sky, while I 
 told him, " Paranakiri [i.e., overseas} mountain 
 so!" He opened his mouth, pointed down his 
 throat, and said, "Brandina!" which I fear 
 throws a lurid light on the proceedings of former 
 travellers. It was really quite an amusing dumb- 
 crambo argument ; but our steady pace soon con- 
 vinced him that we meant business. The path 
 wound unremittingly uphill over long grass, with 
 
 200 
 
Up the Savannah Pediment 
 
 big boulders, doubtless once part of Roraima's 
 mighty cliffs, lying on all sides, much as they do 
 on Dartmoor tors, whilst the depressions are 
 boggy and filled with marsh-plants. The ever- 
 widening semicircle of panorama behind us was 
 very beautiful and interesting. 
 
 From Kamaiwawong to the forest fringe was a 
 hard three hours' walk, with no halt save an occa- 
 sional pause for breath. At 10.24 a.m. we 
 reached the highest point of the savannah hills, 
 6,510 feet above sea-level. Then we dropped 
 down some fifty feet to the edge of the forest, and 
 made our first halt, from 10.85 a.m. to 12.17 p.m., 
 in thick jungle by the side of a delightful gurgling 
 brook, which dashes down icy cold from 
 Roraima's bleak heights. The ascent to this 
 point can hardly be less than five miles by the 
 trail in all its windings. Schoolmaster introduced 
 the spot to us as " English pappa banaboo " ; and 
 we believe he meant to indicate it as the site of 
 Sir Everard im Thurn's camp, when he was 
 searching for a path to the top of Roraima. As 
 far as is known. Sir Everard was the first human 
 being to find a way up the precipice and to set 
 foot on Roraima's summit. He did so on the 
 18th December, 1884, after spending about a 
 
 201 . 
 
Roraima, Father of Streams 
 
 month in camp at the edge of the forest-belt, whilst 
 his Indians cut a trail to the toe of the ledge, 
 whereby alone the cliff -face can be surmounted ; 
 and our midday halt must have been near the 
 place where he persevered with such patience. 
 We had a thorough rest and made a good meal. 
 Our limes having given out, we took a bottle of 
 hme-juice with us; and I made Schoolmaster 
 drink a spoonful of it, lest the appearance of a 
 bottle should make him believe that his " bran- 
 dina " prophecy was being fulfilled. Close by, 
 there were growing some delicious-looking black- 
 berries ; but, just as we were about to eat some, 
 the Arekunas cried "No, no!" and made so 
 much fuss that we desisted. 
 
 Restarting, we addressed ourselves to the 
 ascent through the forest-belt; and this, to my 
 mind, is really the only disagreeable part of the 
 whole climb. The ground here is a pell-mell of 
 huge boulders, pieces of disintegrated mountain 
 that have broken away from the overhanging cliffs 
 above during long ages past; for Roraima and 
 Kukenaam are but the "fragments of an earlier 
 world." Over these rocks grows a dense mass 
 of small trees, and magnificent tree-ferns root 
 upon the debris of earlier decaying jungle, which 
 
 202 
 
Scramble through Forest^belt 
 
 is covered with a carpet of slimy green moss and 
 has a horrid corpse-like smell. The whole place 
 is dank and cold, and the thick matting of moss 
 makes it impossible to know whether one is step- 
 ping on a secure foothold, or on a rotten tree- 
 branch, or on nothing but a layer of moss and 
 twigs concealing a chasm between two great 
 rocks. It was a thoroughly nasty scramble, and 
 feet and hands had to be used almost equally. 
 Our rate of progress was necessarily slow, with 
 many short pauses, while the trail was being cut 
 open ahead of us, and it was 2.15 p.m. before we 
 reached the base of the cliff at the point where the 
 diagonal ascent by the jungle-covered rock-ledge 
 begins. During these two hours I must confess 
 that I was very unhappy, and I reflected much on 
 ^^he^uperior wisdom of all the other women in 
 the world who had refrained from placing them- 
 selves in this predicament. I expected to sprain 
 knee or ankle at every step, and the struggle was 
 dreadfully exhausting — in places more like tree- 
 climbing than mountaineering. Schoolmaster 
 with two Arekunas kept ahead of us to chop open 
 a track. 
 
 At the base of the ledge we were 7,680 feet 
 above sea-level; and here it was that Mr. J. J. 
 
 203 
 
Roraima, Father of Streams 
 
 Quelch camped in 1894, when he and his party 
 climbed Roraima. It is awe-inspiring to stand at 
 the very toe of that mighty precipice, with its 
 blue and red stains, and, looking vertically up, to 
 sge the overhang of great masses of rock, ready, it 
 would seem, one day to topple over and grind to 
 pieces the ledge and all that is on it. But until 
 the day of that impending catastrophe the climb 
 up the ledge will present no great difficulty, 
 although there are some bad places in it. I put 
 my ear against the cliff, and could hear the drip 
 of water percolating inside. 
 
 During the forest climb we had no view at all, 
 but the vegetation on the ledge, being stunted and 
 less dense, permits not infrequent glimpses of the 
 glorious landscape below, spread out like a great 
 green sea. Lovely flowers abounded at our feet, 
 and the cool air was like a tonic after the damp 
 oppression in the forest. We reached the first 
 obstacle in the ledge at 3.45 p.m., when it became 
 necessary to use a rope to assist the droghers in 
 hoisting their loads up an almost vertical rock-face 
 some twenty feet high. An active man, un- 
 loaded, can, however, scramble up without such 
 assistance, A troublesome point about the ledge 
 is that it has three V-shaped dips, and its general 
 
 204 
 
Climb along Ledge in Cliff 
 
 nature can best be shown diagrammatically 
 thus : 
 
 CLIFF 
 
 .■i6wh- 
 
 These three dips are very steep, and we had fairly 
 to slide down them, clinging on to every root, 
 bush, or stone we could catch hold of, while get- 
 ting up again on the other side was, of course, an 
 even more severe struggle. 
 
 At the third dip we met the only other con- 
 siderable obstacle presented by the ledge. We 
 reached this point at 4.20 p.m., and found a 
 diminutive waterfall trickling down the face of the 
 precipice and falling in a shower of icy-cold spray 
 upon the ledge, which the action of the water has 
 swept clean of all bush and scrub. A sharp 
 V-shaped depression has here been cut in the 
 ledge, which ascends under the waterfall in rock 
 steps, covered with moss and very slippery. Care 
 is necessary, but in dry weather, such as prevailed 
 at the time of our ascent, there is little or no 
 
 205 
 
Roraima^ Father of Streams 
 
 danger. After heavy rain, however, it might be 
 iinpossible to pass beneath the waterfall, although 
 I doubt whether, except in the case of continuous 
 rainfall lasting many days, a traveller would be 
 held up long by this obstacle, as water appears to 
 drain away very rapidly from the reservoirs on 
 the rocky summit of Mount Roraima. For 
 example, from our camp at Weiwoto, after a 
 rainstorm had passed over Roraima, we counted 
 no less than six waterfalls on its south-eastern 
 face ; but next day, after some hours of fine 
 weather, none of these could be seen with the 
 naked eye. They may possibly have continued 
 as small trickles, but were quite inconspicuous, as, 
 indeed, was the waterfall under which we now 
 passed, for it could not be seen from Kamai- 
 wawong. 
 
 Save at this waterfall, the ledge is everywhere 
 many feet wide, and there is no danger what- 
 soever of falling off it. From the waterfall 
 another forty minutes' direct ascent over rock- 
 boulders brought us to the top of the escarpment, 
 8,625 feet above sea-level. We reached this point 
 at 5 p.m. The wfiole climb had, therefore, taken 
 us three hours over savannah, two hours through 
 forest, and two and three-quarter hours up the 
 
 206 
 
Scene on Summit of Roraima 
 
 ledge. For purposes of comparison, I may here 
 say that the descent of the ledge occupied one and 
 three-quarter hours, the descent through forest 
 one hour and fifty minutes, and across the savan- 
 nah two and a half hours. Roraima was kindly 
 disposed to us, for we had splendid weather for 
 the climb — a grey, cool morning, followed by a 
 sunny, windless afternoon. 
 
 The scene when one has at last scaled th& cliff- 
 face of Roraima is fantastic and almost grotesque. 
 Little meets the eye save rock, which the weather 
 has blackened and worn into many weird shapes — 
 a dragon, a frog, and a couple of umbrellas, all of 
 rock, were conspicuous objects at the spot where 
 we camped for the night ; but there is in general a 
 monotonous lack of differentiation in the rock- 
 shapes, making this rugged plateau a maze where 
 one would soon be lost, especially if mist settled 
 down on the mountain. Here and there are 
 stunted trees (Bonnetia Roraimas) : but all wood 
 on this bleak summit is so sodden with moisture 
 that it is difficult to kindle a respectable fire for 
 cooking purposes, and quite impossible to make 
 such a blaze as would keep out the cold. Water 
 is abundant, clear as crystal, and icy cold. We 
 found no really satisfactory camping-ground ; but 
 
 207 
 
Roraima, Father of Streams 
 
 Schoolmaster took us to the spot where, it would 
 appear, all those who before us had spent the night 
 on the top of Roraima took shelter. It was in the 
 middle of a big amphitheatre of crags, encircled 
 by what one might almost call waves of stone, 
 about five minutes' walk from the edge of the" 
 precipice. Here two large rocks converge at an 
 angle which gives protection from the prevailing 
 winds ; and by spreading a tarpaulin over the gap 
 between them we made ourselves a rock-sided 
 tent, commodious enough to contain our two 
 camp-beds. Unfortunately, the floor was not dry 
 rock, but spongy, wet moss. 
 
 Haywood had ready-made Bovril in his kettle, 
 and soon supplied us with a hot drink, after which 
 we made our arrangements for the night. 
 Directly the sun had disappeared, it felt desper- 
 ately cold, and we longed in vain for fires to warm 
 ourselves. At 6.15 p.m. the thermometer was 
 51° F. — not very low, of course, but when you are 
 used to a tropical climate it feels like freezing. 
 A fire can only be maintained by an Indian 
 squatting beside it and tending it all the time. 
 Even then it gives but little warmth. Mr. Men- 
 zies arranged his tarpaulin in a place somewhat 
 similar to the one where we were camped ; but 
 
o 
 pi 
 
 Z 
 
 •91 
 
A Night on the Summit 
 
 when the wind rose in the night he discovered to 
 his cost that the entrance to his cave-dweUing was 
 to windward. He sheltered (if "shelter " is the 
 word) Haywood, Joseph, and Daniel with him. 
 We gave our spare tarpaulin to the Arekunas, and 
 as many as could got behind it ; but several pre- 
 ferred the lee-side of our rock, where the poor 
 things chattered, shivered, and blew up fires all 
 night long. The night was clear, and Roraima 
 looked wonderful by moonlight, the fantastic 
 shapes around us being even stranger than by day. 
 We slept a little, not much ; and I think that my 
 husband and I were the only ones of our party who 
 slept at all. 
 
 Next day was gloriously fine. We rose at dawn 
 to find gusts of icy wind and vdsps of cloud blow- 
 ing all over the place. Our naked Indians looked 
 numb with cold; and, as the few of them who 
 could boast of a shirt or trousers were not much 
 better off, my husband and I reluctantly decided 
 that it would be impossible for us to spend another 
 night on the mountain-top. It would have been 
 inhuman to expose all our company in this shelter- 
 less place. Any party that may come hereafter, 
 really to examine Roraima 's summit, would have 
 to organize matters so as to let their Indians spend 
 
 209 
 
Roraima, Father of Streams 
 
 the night in the forest below, and occupy the days 
 in bringing up firewood for them. 
 
 We had, however, a few hours to spare, and we 
 spent them in exploring the vicinity of our camp. 
 From the edge of the cliff the panoramic view to 
 the south-west is vast and superb, the landscape 
 resembling a map in green plasticine with the 
 rivers shown in blue. All the hills we had toiled 
 over looked the merest little crinkles; but the 
 effect of that glorious stretch of open country is 
 wonderfully impressive ; and as the sun, gaining 
 power, dispelled all mist, we revelled in the great 
 sweep of air and space in front of us. Our old 
 friend Chakbang was the only hill that looked 
 more than an earth- wrinkle, save for some huge 
 cliff-faced mountains miles away in Venezuela, 
 which must be as high, if not higher, than 
 Roraima. Roraima itself concealed Mount 
 Weitipu from our sight, and we could see hardly 
 anything of the line by which we had approached. 
 The call of the mountain was clearly to go on, on 
 to the Orinoco, but we could not obey. We had 
 reached the end of our tether, and from this point 
 the return journey began. 
 
 To explore the summit of Roraima itself would 
 be a difficult task, and not without danger. It 
 
 210 
 
A Perilous Sea of Rock 
 
 would be unsafe to go any distance without white 
 paint, or some other means of marking one's way ; 
 for one would very soon be lost in the labyrinth of 
 extraordinary rock-forms, and, when mist or 
 cloud was on the mountain, it would be impossible 
 to see more than a very short distance ahead. We 
 clambered up to a point from which there was a 
 good view of the summit of Kukenaam. It 
 appeared to be the same fantastic jumble of black 
 weather-worn rock that surrounded us where we 
 stood, arranged in the same curious amphi- 
 theatres. Then we set off in an endeavour to 
 reach the edge of the cliff between Roraima and 
 Kukenaam ; but it is slow going where every step 
 is a climb either up or down. I soon gave up and 
 made my way leisurely back to camp, while my 
 husband pressed on. But he found a great chasm 
 across his path and had to turn back also. We 
 next visited the mark erected by Mr. C. W- 
 Anderson on his boundary survey, and walked to 
 the source of the Kamaiwa creek, which lay in the 
 trough of the rock-wave wherein our camp was 
 situated. There is a sort of fascination I cannot 
 describe m these silent waterholes, where the 
 eternal moisture of the "Father of Streams" 
 gathers on beds of white sand and shining 
 
 211 
 
Roraima, Father of Streams 
 
 crystals. The stillness and the deadness of every- 
 thing was extraordinary, and yet somehow won- 
 derfully refreshing. There was not a trace of 
 animal life. In an eastern land Roraima would 
 have its "patient, sleepless eremite," seeking 
 revelation in meditation amid its great silent 
 peace, "in height and cold, the splendour of the 
 hills." 
 
 At 10.80 a.m. we "breakfasted " ; at 11.7 a.m. 
 we commenced the descent; and we reached 
 Kamaiwawong without misadventure by 5.30 p.m. 
 The steepness of the descent made it almost as 
 slow a business as scrambling up had been. I did 
 a good deal of it by sitting down and then lower- 
 ing myself with the help of my hands. Merci- 
 fully the forest trail was much improved by the 
 fact that all the droghers had climbed it after us, 
 so that the slippery moss had to a great extent 
 been trodden away, and we could see where to 
 put our feet. How the Arekunas managed to 
 negotiate that climb with loads on their backs 
 without breaking their legs is beyond our compre- 
 hension. They were a good deal cut and 
 scratched, it is true; but their prehensile toes 
 saved them from more serious injury. Indians 
 catch hold by their toes in truly monkey fashion ; 
 
 212 
 
Descent from the Summit 
 
 and, if a man drops anything on the hne of march, 
 he picks it up with his toes and puts it into his 
 hand to avoid stooping. Our feet seemed stupid, 
 clumsy things by comparison. By the time I 
 reached the savannah slopes I was so very stiff that 
 I could only move slowly. These lovely savan- 
 nahs had aU been set on fire by our men, and were 
 charred and grievous to see. 
 
 At Kamaiwawong we were received with great 
 acclamation. The village had, during our 
 absence, been repeopled. Evidently everyone 
 from far and near had come to see us, and there 
 was much excitement and, unfortunately, a great 
 desire to shake hands. The Arekunas would 
 seem to have thought that our arrival broke the 
 evil spell which the death of Jeremiah had cast 
 upon the place. They pulled away the earth-sods 
 that blocked the doorway of their late chief's 
 banaboo, reoccupied both it and all the other 
 banaboos, and held evensong in the village 
 church, singing the same hymn and intoning the 
 same prayers which we had heard at Mataruka. 
 There was much cassiri-drinking and general 
 rejoicing; and as soon as it was dark the men 
 trooped out and set fire to the grass in a circle 
 round the village, to drive away all evil spirits, we 
 
 21S 
 
Roraima, Father of Streams 
 
 supposed. They danced round the fires they had 
 lit Uke madmen, in order to " send kenaima far." 
 Next day a feast was held in honour of the re- 
 opening of the village. Tekwonno, we gathered, 
 had never been really abandoned. Indeed, it is 
 more than likely that its inhabitants, having 
 news of our approach, with a large following of 
 Makusis, considered it prudent to evacuate Tek- 
 wonno until, by observing us from the neigh- 
 bouring hills, they were satisfied of our peaceful 
 intentions. 
 
 Roraima wore a cloud-cap during the evening, 
 so we congratulated ourselves on having decided 
 to come down ; and during the night we saw the 
 wonderful effect of a brilliant moon lighting up 
 the gleaming clouds that rested on the black preci- 
 pices of the twin giants — our last view of them 
 from Kamaiwawong, for next morning they were 
 quite invisible. We had an excellent night's 
 rest, which I think we well deserved ; and, having 
 blocked in with a tarpaulin a good deal more of 
 the sides of our banaboo, we were quite warm by 
 comparison with our experience of the previous 
 night. 
 
 214 
 
THE RETURN JOURNEY 
 
 x 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE RETURN JOURNEY 
 
 AlaSj that the longest hill 
 Must end in a vale ; but still, 
 Who climbs with toil, wheresoe'er, 
 Shall find wings waiting there. 
 
 H. C, Beeching. 
 
 Many farewells and the bringing up of piles of 
 cassava for the support of our caravan delayed our 
 start from Kamaiwawong on the return journey 
 to Mataruka. We had asked Schoolmaster to 
 send two men with us to bring back from Puwa 
 the salt and the cloth which was to be the recom- 
 pense of those Arekunas who had assisted us ; but 
 instead of sending two men, Schoolmaster him- 
 self and the entire party who had climbed Roraima 
 with us gaily accompanied our march back. It 
 was a delightful morning, with alternate showers 
 and sunshine and gloriously cool winds. We 
 retraced our steps until we were close to the spot 
 where we breakfasted on the 13th January, and 
 here we halted again for our midday meal at a 
 delicious spot under a big tree, sitting amidst 
 fragrant bracken and pretending to be in Eng- 
 
 217 
 
The Return Journey 
 
 land. The walk had unstiffened our muscles, 
 cramped by the long descent of the day before, 
 and we felt quite fit and fresh. 
 
 Schoolmaster, who now acted as guide, applied 
 for permission to lead us back by a line different 
 from that which we had traversed on the outward 
 journey. We agreed; and in the end School- 
 master brought us to Mataruka by a trail which 
 interlaced with Joseph's so as roughly to form the 
 figure 8. Our first divergence was to the left in 
 the direction of Weitipu; and plainly any trail 
 which avoided the long sweep to the west round 
 by the head- waters of the Chitu was likely to be a 
 short-cut. Then, after wheeling to the left, we 
 descended somewhat abruptly to a little plateau on 
 which stands Maurekmutta banaboo, the home of 
 a solitary Arekuna family. Here Schoolmaster 
 showed us another line running almost straight 
 towards Kamd,iwawong. It would probably have 
 been preferable to the one we had walked, and 
 might have saved some climbing. Why they had 
 not led us that way we could not make out ; but, 
 of course, to an Indian time is of no importance, 
 unless he is hungry, and the tramp of half a dozen 
 extra miles is a mere trifle. No one was at home 
 in this banaboo. 
 
 218 
 
A New Way Back 
 
 We next descended yet farther, until, after one 
 and a quarter hours' march beyond the point of 
 divergence from Joseph's trail, we reached and 
 forded the Arabupu (3,780 feet above sea-level). 
 Here we were met by quite a heavy shower of 
 cold rain.. Twenty minutes later we crossed the 
 Gunguila, a confluent of the Arabupu; and 
 another ten minutes' march brought us to the 
 brow of a hill, 4,060 feet above seia-level, 
 where it became evident that we were making 
 straight for the southern spur of Mount Weitipu 
 across the folds and rifts of a plateau. We could, 
 in fact, see our trail running ahead past the very 
 toe of Weitipu ; but as, on descending, the path 
 followed a valley in the diametrically opposite 
 direction, we were reminded — and not for the 
 first time either — ^that Indian trails are like the 
 paths in the garden of the talking flowers in Alice 
 through the Looking-Glass, and that to get any- 
 where you must turn and walk in the opposite 
 direction. We crossed two more small streams, 
 and then, after a further fifty-six minutes' march, 
 we halted for the night on the right bank of the 
 Erkoy River, in a little copse, evidently the 
 recognized Indian camping-ground, and much 
 preferable to the bleak camp at Weiwoto on 
 
 219 
 
The Return Journey 
 
 Joseph's trail. The Erkoy is another confluent 
 of the Arabupu, and from a Uttle clump of trees 
 on a level terrace where we camped the ground 
 dropped away abruptly to the river. A steep 
 grass hill on the left bank protected ^is nicely on 
 the windward side, whilst the lee-side was open to 
 the savannah. In the watery rays of the evening 
 sun Roraima and Kukenaam stood clear for the 
 first time that day. We could no longer see the 
 south-western wall up which we had climbed, but 
 we hati a splendid view of the south-eastern 
 escarpment. The clear, swift-running Erkoy 
 almost tempted us to bathe, but it was too cold to 
 venture. We had a fine night, though once or 
 twice, as the rush of the wind shook the tree-tops, 
 we woke up sufficiently to rejoice that we were 
 not on the exposed tableland. The Makusis 
 camped all round us, while the Arekunas slung 
 their hammocks in a clump of trees a little way 
 downstream. 
 
 Next morning (18th January) was gloriously 
 fine, and we saw Roraima and Kukenaam for the 
 last time at close quarters, shining red in the 
 dawn. We forded the Erkoy, which flows swiftly 
 and came icy cold well over our knees ; and then, 
 ascending the steep bank on the other side, we 
 
 220 
 
Round the Spur of Weitipu 
 
 found ourselves once more on a rolling plateau 
 with the trail we had seen passing over the toe of 
 Weitipu, now just ahead. I loved the walk over 
 the fresh grass of this shining tableland, amidst 
 the indescribable peace of its mighty silence. The 
 trail was almost level, save for little descents into 
 the channels of the many streams that come racing 
 down Weitipu's steep flanks; and in the keen, 
 fresh morning air mere movement was a joy — 
 different indeed to one's feelings on the low, hot 
 coast-lands ! In succession we crossed the Kama- 
 oura-wong, two small swamps, the Tongkoy, and 
 the Sappi, all streams which tumble in picturesque 
 cascades from Weitipu ; and after an hour's march 
 we crossed the southern spur of Weitipu himself. 
 He is a very attractive mountain, majestic, but 
 without the bleak austerity of Roraima and 
 Kukenaam. His southern summit would afford 
 a splendid camping-ground, and several of his ter- 
 races would make beautiful house-sites. In China 
 such a mountain would have been studded with 
 temples and monasteries, but I have never heard 
 of anyone climbing to the top of Weitipu. It 
 would not be difficult to do this, though rather 
 strenuous, and I should love to go back one day 
 and make the ascent. On the spur of Weitipu, 
 
The Return Journey 
 
 where we stood (4,100 feet above sea-level), 
 Schoolmaster showed us yet another trail — ^the 
 most direct of all — branching off to Kamaiwa- 
 wong ! 
 
 We then crossed two more streams — a small 
 one called the Apa, and a larger one called the 
 Perumak. The latter is fringed by forest, and is 
 probably identical with the river Maipa, crossed 
 by Joseph's trail. A glorious grassy savannah 
 spreads out on both sides of this narrow strip of 
 woodland; and in it, just beyond the Perumak 
 ford, an hour's march from the spur of Weitipu, 
 stands a solitary banaboo, nea'r which the trail to 
 Tumong, by which Dr. Crampton travelled in 
 1911, branches off to the left. We kept to the 
 right, and eighteen minutes later reached the crest 
 of a ridge, which appears to form the divide 
 between the watershed of the Orinoco and of the 
 Amazon. At this point, therefore, We presum- 
 ably returned from Venezuela to Brazil. The 
 divide here is 3,860 feet above sea-level. 
 
 We now descended into a charming valley, and, 
 after forty minutes' march, halted for our midday 
 meal beside the Muruina, a pretty little tributary 
 of the Kotinga. Once more we recognized the 
 jasper formation, and we established ourselves on 
 
From Venezuela into Brazil 
 
 a tree-shaded ledge above a deep, clear pool. This 
 place is a recognized Arekuna camping-ground. 
 The creek is forded just above a waterfall, where 
 its two branches meet. Within the fork is a 
 copse, and at the season of our visit there ran 
 along the side of the stream a dry rock-ledge which 
 would form a roomy and level tent-floor. I 
 remember that, whilst we waited for Haywood's 
 preparations, we regaled ourselves on the last of 
 the delicious pineapples, carried^ with us from 
 Kamaiwawong. It tasted most especially nice 
 after our three hours' walk. 
 
 Another ascent and descent brought us, twenty 
 minutes after restarting, to the Tunapun creek. 
 We crossed it, and thirty-eight minutes later we 
 had climbed to the top of the hill-ridge (3,670 feet 
 above sea-level), overlooking the full width of the 
 Kotinga valley right across to "Landmark 
 Peak. " This was the same hill-ridge that we had 
 climbed, much farther to the west, on the 12th 
 January; but the fierce midday sun had sucked 
 up all colour from the landscape, and it no longer 
 looked the fairyland which it had seemed on that 
 early morning. Now came an abrupt descent, 
 very warm work and lasting just an hour, to the 
 point where the Topa creek is forded close by a 
 
 223 
 
The Return Journey 
 
 solitary banaboo. Suddenly our procession 
 halted. The magic word !waikin was passed 
 along, and we all squatted down on the ground, 
 while Schoolmaster and Joseph stalked two big 
 deer not far away. Schoolmaster crept to within 
 point-blank range of one animal and fired. Alas ! 
 his stock of powder and shot was practically 
 exhausted, so he had given his old fowling-piece 
 a most insufficient charge ; and the deer, though 
 hit, bounded away uphill with its companion. 
 Behold Joseph and Schoolmaster racing after 
 them up the steep slope like a pair of dogs ! They 
 rejoined us later very crestfallen; and School- 
 master gesticulated to me as graphic an account of 
 the whole business as ever disappointed sportsman 
 poured into the ear of sympathizing lady. 
 
 For the rest of the day's march the trail lay over 
 spacious undulating pasture-lands, crossing three 
 small streams, fringed by eta-palms; and, after 
 two and a quarter hours' march from the Topa 
 crossing, we reached and forded the Kotinga at 
 the same point as on our outward journey, thus 
 completing one loop of the figure 8. We then 
 made our way over rocks up a little ravine on the 
 left bank and camped in bush upon a small level 
 terrace at the edge of a brook. It was a nasty, 
 
 224 
 
o 
 >33 
 
 o 
 
An Accident in the Kotinga Valley 
 
 stuffy place, full of ants ; but we cared little for 
 that, as we were practically free from the kabouru. 
 My husband unfortunately caught his foot in 
 some bush rope lying on the rocks and fell heavily, 
 breaking the little finger of his left hand, which 
 caused him great pain. The Kotinga valley, it 
 seems, was destined to be disagreeable to us. 
 
 When, next morning, we emerged from our 
 ravine on to the brow of a bluff above the Kotinga, 
 we were delighted to see a most interesting and 
 novel aspect of Roraima, .which was really rather 
 astonishing, for there had been no hint of such a 
 view either the evening before or on our outward 
 journey. The morning was gloriously clear, and 
 on the left, behind Weitipu, the south-eastern 
 face of Roraima projected clear and red, and 
 beyond that again Kukenaam's southern end; 
 whilst on the right of Weitipu we saw plainly, not 
 only the other end of Roraima's south-eastern 
 wall, but also a small and foreshortened portion of 
 the eastern escarpment. This view enabled us in 
 a small degree to grasp the enormous area of 
 Roraima. It is impossible to do so when oppo- 
 site one great wall only ; for Roraima is an 
 immense, irregular quadrilateral, of which the 
 south-eastern side, ten miles in length, is the 
 
 225 p 
 
The Return Journey 
 
 longest, and the area of the summit, flanked all 
 round by precipices, cannot be^'less than fifty 
 siquare miles. 
 
 From the Kotinga ford to the pass at " Land-' 
 mark Peak ' ' Schoolmaster's trail coincided with 
 Joseph's, but from "Landmark Peak" to the 
 Rera valley we traversed a new line of country. 
 This time we swung off to the right, and we hoped 
 to be led along the ridge of the mountain amphi- 
 theatre jyhich encircles the Warukma and Kara- 
 kanang plateau. But an Indian trail is nothing 
 if not surprising. For the first haK-hour we did 
 indeed continue on the high tableland at the same 
 altitude as the pass (3,150 feet above sea-level), 
 crossing two streams; but then jve wheeled 
 sharply to the right, and, passing between two low 
 knolls, left the tableland by a narrow path skirting 
 round the contours of a hill and affording a view 
 over a sea of jagged peaks tumbled together with- 
 out apparent rhyme or reason. It was a most 
 astonishingly tangled-looking country, with val- 
 leys running at angles to each other and hills flung 
 about pell-mell in the midst of them, as though 
 the powers engaged in making this place had got 
 tired of their work and flung it all down anyhow 
 and left it. The colouring, too, was curious, vivid 
 
 226 
 
A Welter of Hills 
 
 red, black, and green ; for many fires had evidently 
 seared the countryside, the most recent leaving 
 black patches, jvhich contrasted oddly with the 
 bright green of new grass springing up jyhere the 
 land had peace, and with the red soil on the hill- 
 sides, whence heavy rain had .washed away the 
 black ash, but where as yet forgiving Nature had 
 not reasserted herself. For half an hour our path 
 clung to the hill-side, but it then gave that up as a 
 bad job and dropped abruptly into one of the nar- 
 row valleys beneath. The prospect was certainly 
 not an inviting one. We consoled ourselves, how- 
 ever, with the reflection that the divergence to the 
 right must have put us in a direct line for Mount 
 Mataruka. A short but heavy shower of rain 
 now drenched us to the skin ; but it was welcome, 
 as relieving an unwonted sultriness of the atmo- 
 sphere. Round the base of the hill .we curved, 
 climbed over a knoll in the valley, and so, after 
 three-quarters oran hour's march, jve came to the 
 left bank of a creek called the Walamwoto, pre- 
 sumably a tributary of the Kotinga. Here we 
 pitched camp in a small .winding valley (2,450 feet 
 above sea-level) by the side of a charming pool. 
 As we were establishing ourselves under our tar- 
 paulin, a storm of wind and rain almost blew it 
 
 227 
 
The Return Journey 
 
 away from its moorings, and six Makusis had to 
 hold it up on the weather side until the fierceness 
 of the gusts abated. We caused the ridge-pole to 
 be lowered considerably so as to afford less target 
 for the wind, and I was somewhat anxious about 
 the night. But after dark the weather became 
 beautifully still and clear, a full moon making 
 diamonds everywhere of the lingering rain-drops. 
 This was the only rain-storm of any moment 
 which we encountered from the day yre left the 
 Kowatipu forest until the day of our return to it. 
 During the whole of the rest of our savannah 
 journey ,we enjoyed superb weather, sunny, 
 breezy, cool, and rainless, save for occasional 
 Scotch mist upon the hiU-tops. 
 
 We rose very early next day (20th January), 
 and broke our fast by lamplight. But the sun 
 soon rose clear and very hot, and I realized that 
 the strenuous exertions of the five preceding days 
 without a rest were beginning to tell on me. So 
 the start did not find me very fresh. An hour's 
 march in narrow winding ravines, followed by a 
 short climb over a long black-bouldered slope, 
 brought us to James's banaboo (2,720 feet above 
 sea-level), perched upon a hill-top. The inhabi- 
 tants came out in a string to greet us, and the 
 
 228 
 
** Schoolmaster's " Trail 
 
 second man in the line, as he shook my hand (the 
 ceremony none of them will forego), ejaculated 
 questioningly " Mamma?" and all his companions 
 echoed the cry. It must be seldom, if ever, that a 
 white woman is seen by these people. The view 
 from this lonely banaboo was certainly enchant- 
 ing ; but, alas ! no tableland such as we had hoped 
 to see lay unroUed before us, only a fresh tangle of 
 hills and valleys ; and, though the country looked 
 most interesting, it also looked very arduous. 
 Moreover, there ensued an argument between 
 Joseph and Schoolmaster as to the right road 
 onwards, and we wondered whether they really 
 knew the way, or were merely proceeding by trial 
 and error. The long ridge of tableland, over the 
 crest of which we had hoped to travel when we 
 turned aside from Joseph's line at " Landmark 
 Peak," looked most provoking away to the left. 
 At length our guides reconciled their difference, 
 whatever it may have been, and led us three hun- 
 dred feet downwards over a broad hill-shoulder 
 across a small stream. Then, after a long, 
 gradual ascent over another broad hill-shoulder, 
 we came to the top of a commanding hill, 
 2,960 feet above sea-level. Here indeed we were 
 comforted, for we saw again Mount Mataruka, 
 
 229 
 
The Return Journey 
 
 and realized that we were making for it by a much 
 more direct line than, if we had returned through 
 Enamung. Besides, a nice undulating ridge lay 
 before us, and the view was grand. We could 
 see a magnificent expanse of country on all sides. 
 Far, far behind lay Weitipu, with Roraima and 
 Kukenaam at his back, bidding us a last good-bye. 
 We saw them no more after this. I wonder if we 
 ever shall again ! On the right we had an excel- 
 lent view of our former line of journey, the 
 plateau of the Karakanang and the grassy peaks 
 of Enamung, as well as of a big waterfall shining 
 white in the distance, whither our outward jour- 
 ney had unfortunately not led us. Our guides 
 said that it was a fall on the Wairann ; and at close 
 quarters it must be a fine sight, for even at a dis- 
 tance of about seven miles it wa^ a striking 
 feature in the landscape. At this point we were 
 one hour and six minutes' march from James's 
 banaboo. 
 
 We continued for another forty minutes along 
 the crest of the hill-ridge, enjoying intensely the 
 glorious scenery, and finally reaching a point 
 (2,810 feet above sea-level) whence, beyond a cleft 
 in the hills, cut athwart our fine of march by the 
 Karakanang River, we could see the long, straight 
 
 230 
 
A Study in Exquisite Colours 
 
 line of the Paiwa valley, down which lay our for- 
 ward path. Fifty minutes' sharp descent, largely 
 through forest, then brought us to a ford of jasper 
 slabs over the Karakanang (1,960 feet- above sea- 
 level). Here we made our midday meal, and 
 thereafter we ascended the valley of a brook, 
 which falls into the Karakanang at the ford ; and, 
 climbing over some hillocks shut in between high 
 hill-ranges on both sides, we came, after an hour 
 and a half, to the Paiwa River (2,210 feet above 
 sea-level), down which our trail then ran for three 
 and a half hours' actual march. It was most fas- 
 cinating scenery. The turquoise-blue Paiwa in 
 its rose-pink bed (for the blood-red jasper 
 weathers on the surface to pink) flowed clear as 
 crystal through opal-green pools and in rippling 
 white cascades, whilst shade trees, dotted here 
 and there, relieved the glare of the brilliant light. 
 Beneath one such tree, seated oh pink sand close 
 to the edge of the stream, we enjoyed our usual 
 tea halt. The sides of the valley are seamed with 
 confluent brooks, many of which had water even 
 at this height of the dry season. In wet weather 
 the smiling stream must be a very torrent. 
 
 At first the Paiwa had all the appearance of 
 making for the Ireng ; but at a point a little more 
 
 231 
 
The Return Journey 
 
 than halfway in that part of its course which we 
 followed it turned abruptly off to the south and 
 swept past Mount Pakara to join the Kotinga. 
 Towards sunset .we crossed to its left bank, where 
 was a broad level stretch of sand, evidently a 
 favourite Indian camping-ground, but rather a 
 disappointing one to me, as there was a rift in the 
 jasper formation just here, and the stream merely 
 gurgled over quite ordinary stones, while the sand 
 was a commonplace white. Moreover, the steep 
 hiU-side across the stream had been hideously 
 burnt, and there were evidences of recent Indian 
 encampment and of fish-poisoning in the river. 
 Indians are an admirable people in many ways, 
 but they scarcely deserve their g6bdly heritage, 
 since all that they do for their beautiful country is 
 to poison the fish in its exquisite streams and to 
 disfigure the fair hills by continual grass-burning. 
 Next day we ate our porridge and drank our 
 coffee before dawn, as the moon sank behind the 
 trees. Then, after following the river for a short 
 distance, we climbed up through a copse to where 
 a banaboo was perched on a bluff, the Paiwa below 
 making a right-angled turn, so that those who live 
 here have an excellent vantage-ground whence 
 they can jvatch all wayfarers whether up or down 
 
In Rera Plain Once More 
 
 stream. At the banaboo we found Schoolmaster 
 and his Arekunas, who had evidently spent the 
 night there, leaving the Makusis with us; and 
 after a short colloquy Joseph led us down into the 
 Paiwa valley once more. The Arekunas remained 
 behinS, and made for Mataruka by that line of 
 their own which Joseph had graphically described 
 as " Mountain-top, mountain-top, mountain- 
 top," on the day of our trek to Enamung. 
 
 The Paiwa, which had grown to a considerable 
 size, now reverted again to a jasper bed, fringed 
 this time with eta-palms, and looking prettier than 
 ever. We walked along its bank most of the 
 way ; but at times the valley would close in to a 
 gorge and the river run in cataracts, while we 
 would have to climb over rocky bluffs. At last 
 we crossed the blue waters of this pleasant river 
 for the last time, and finally quitted the Paiwa 
 watershed. Our trail now wound away to the 
 left, choosing most cleverly a low divide, and then 
 equally cleverly winding in and out on the level 
 round the spur of our old friend Kumaraying, 
 until we found ourselves in the Rera plain once 
 more. It would have been a pretty path but for 
 the desolation and destruction wrought by fire. 
 Some men ahead of us actually started two 
 
The Return Journey 
 
 fresh fires, which were fiercely burning as jve 
 passed. 
 
 At the special request of our people we jvent 
 to Joseph's banaboo for our midday meal. His- 
 wife provided us with abundance of delicious fresh 
 eggs, and I confess, .without any desire to teach 
 my grandmother, that at times the best way of 
 eating eggs is to suck them. A few; minutes' 
 walk brought us back to the trail by which Sye had 
 travelled on our outward journey, so completing 
 the second loop in the figure 8. We now followed 
 our former line of march the rest of the way back 
 to Mataruka village, where we were warmly re- 
 ceived by Albert and the inhabitants. The Are- 
 kunas we passed at a brook a few minutes from 
 the village, busily engaged in washing and paint- 
 ing their faces afresh. They then made a state 
 entry behind us, beating a tom-tom. 
 
 The rest of our travels needs no description, for 
 the line of our homeward march was identical with 
 that of our outward journey. The distance 
 between Mataruka and Kamaiwawong by 
 Joseph's trail was a march of thirty-two hours 
 forty-seven minutes; and the return journey 
 between the same villages by Schoolmaster's trail 
 was a march of thirty-two hours fifty-one minutes, 
 
 2S4 
 
A Coantry for Undine 
 
 of .which eleven hours twenty-eight minutes .were 
 occupied in retraversing those parts of the route 
 where the two trails were identical — namely, the 
 Kukenaam valley, the ascent from the Kotinga 
 ford to "Landmark Peak," and the line from 
 Rera to Mataruka. There is, therefore, little to 
 choose between the two routes. Both mean five 
 stages of rather more than six hours' march a day. 
 Schoolmaster's line was slightly more direct, but 
 Joseph's was appreciably less arduous. 
 
 We reached Georgetown, after forty-six days' 
 absence, on the 3rd February, 1916, resting on 
 the way back for one day at Mataruka, one day on 
 the Karto tableland, and one day at Kaietuk. 
 There was a new and lovely note of colour on the 
 Potaro ; for the river was lit up by a beautiful pink 
 blossom (Syphonia glohijera) all along the banks, 
 very much like peach-blossom in appearance and 
 in its manner of growing on a leafless tree. Also 
 there was much more water going over Kaietuk 
 than .when ,we passed upstream ; and magnificent 
 was the amber swirl that descended, to change 
 into gleaming spray ^flashing like diamonds, as it 
 fell into the black depths. Grey-green cascades 
 dashed down the crags on all sides, flashing out 
 of the mists that lay heavy on the summits, to 
 
 235 
 
The Return Journey 
 
 mingle with the blossom-strewn river — a country 
 for Undine indeed ! 
 
 So our brief journey in the mountains ended, 
 alas! below; sea-level; nor did we "find wings 
 waiting there," for the aeronautical service of the 
 British Guiana Government is as yet only an 
 aspiration* 
 
 2S6 
 
lo 5 S S o 
 
 ^ 8 
 
 §.poooooooooooooo 
 ooooo.oogggooooo 
 oiooiaoioomo'ioouiOiooV 
 
 n CQ « « 
 
FEINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY 
 
 BILLING AND SONS, LIMITEDj 
 
 GUILDFORD AND ESHER