The Western World: Picturesque Sketches of Nature and Natural History in North; and South AmericaKingston, William Henry Giles
History
The Western World: Picturesque Sketches of Nature and Natural History in North; and South America
Kingston, William Henry Giles
Natural history -- North America; Natural history -- South America
Above these falls is a lagoon, on which he discovered the now far-famed
Victoria Regia, before that time unknown to the world. At the head of
the Masaruni rises Mount Roraima, 7540 feet in height. It is the
principal watershed, from which various streams flow in different
directions into the three great rivers--Amazon, Orinoco, and Essequibo.
Hillhouse and Schombergh describe the side of the mountain as composed
of cliffs, fifteen hundred feet in height, of compact sandstone, as
perpendicular as if erected with the plumb-line, and overhung in part
with low shrubs. Though distant, they appear as if in dangerous
proximity. Around are detached masses, apparently torn from those
gigantic walls of nature; and every moment it seems as if one of them
would block up the path, or cut off all retreat. In places the channel
of the stream is so narrow that the canoe can hardly pass, in others it
widens out into a shallow claret-coloured lake. At length a capacious
basin is entered, black as ink, surrounded by a bold and extensive shore
as white as chalk. The roar of the water is heard, but no current
perceived; though there is a foam-like yeast on the surface, which
remains all day without visible alteration. At length, in the distance,
a broken white line is seen struggling through a cluster of granite
rocks at the base of two quartz cliffs of a mixed character. This is
the fall of Macrebah.
THE ARECUNA INDIANS.
In those mountain regions dwell the Arecunas, a fine sturdy race--with
clear copper-tinted skins--unencumbered by clothing, though wearing
feathers and other ornaments; long sticks through the cartilage of their
nostrils, and still longer, richly adorned with tufts of black feathers,
through their ears. Both sexes are much tattooed; some of the women
having dark blue lines across the upper lip, and extending in wavy
curves over each cheek, looking like enormous curled moustaches. Others
have a broad line round the mouth, which gives it the appearance of
being far larger than it is in reality. The men wear the heads of
humming-birds and of a bird of a beautiful blue colour in their ears;
and round their waist, girdles of monkey's hair.
Schombergh, who visited them, says they made a great feast in his
honour, when there was a grand display of gorgeous plumes, and
head-dresses,--the whole winged tribe having apparently been put in
requisition to furnish forth the most brilliant of their feathers. They
had also necklaces of the teeth of monkeys and peccaries, and
porcupines' quills; to which were attached long cotton fringes--which
hung down their backs, and to which toucan and other skins were
suspended securely. Feasting and dancing, kept up by the natives thus
dressed, lasted the whole night; and the constantly-repeated burden of
their song was--"Roraima of the red rock, wrapped in clouds, the
ever-fertile source of streams."
THE CORENTYN RIVER.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account