CLUSIAS—A MELASTOMA—FOREST TREES—FRESH CAMP—A FLORAL
TREASURY—BRAZILIAN MOUNTAINS—A COLOUR SYMPHONY—RORAIMA’S
EASTERN WALL—NO MEANS OF ASCENT—GOAT-SUCKERS—SOUTHERN WALL
OF RORAIMA—FALL OF KAMAIBA—KUKENAM FALLS—WESTERN SIDE OF
RORAIMA—REASONS FOR RETURNING HOME—SAVANNA FIRE—A STORM.
From the ridge above our camp, we saw a long tongue of savanna running up
through the forest belt, almost to a level with the base of the mountain
wall. To this clear spot we bent our footsteps, taking with us provisions
for three days, and leaving all the men except two in camp. To avoid the
wooded ravines, we followed the undulating savanna for a long distance
in a south-westerly direction. The path was well trodden and distinct,
but there were no signs of habitations, and, indeed, the arid appearance
of the country gave but little promise of support. The exceptional
drought which prevailed in the lowlands of Guiana prevailed also in the
mountains, and no water flowed over the beds of many of the rivulets
that we were constantly crossing. Wherever streams ran, the hollows and
ravines were clothed with a bright green foliage; beautiful ferns grew
on the banks, and among them was a grand species, which, in growth,
resembled the sago palm. There were clusias too with pure wax-like
flowers, and innumerable trees of a species of Melastomacea, whose large
white blossoms unfold themselves with a rare tinge of pink which fades as
day advances.
In the larger forest belts, the trees were chiefly of the chinchonea[97]
and laurus; but their pale flowers were varied with yellow gomphias and
crimson befarias. Slender palms and quaint cecropias added their beauty
to the woodland edges, and the rough-leafed curatella mingled with the
fragile mimosas. Over the savannas large kites hovered, and occasionally
small parrots flew from one grove to another; white-throated swallows,
of a reddish brown colour, dashed here and there, and a few long-tailed
fly-catchers[98] balanced themselves on the thin stems of a rubus whose
berries we often found very refreshing. I recognised some old friends,
too, in meadow larks,[99] with their pretty black horse-shoe marked
throats. But birds were not numerous, with the exception of a little
brown species like a linnet which was continually rising from under our
feet, and settling again a few yards off. In the wooded dells and ravines
were pigeons, and from the thick bush came the unceasing frog-like croaks
of the fringed chatterer.
On all parts of the savanna were dotted pyramid-shaped ant-hills, many
of which had been freshly torn open by the great ant-eaters.[100] These
curious animals as well as the smaller tamanduas are very common in
Guiana, though on account of their nocturnal habits they are not often
met with in the day time. They are slow clumsy creatures, peaceable and
harmless, but formidable when attacked, as their hug is almost as deadly
as that of a grisly bear. Their skin will resist the bite of a dog; but
the snout is their weak point, as a sharp blow on it from a stick will
kill them. When an ant-eater throws itself back and extends its powerful
claws, it will seize the first object within reach and hold on to it,
so they are often killed by throwing some article into their embrace,
and then tapping them on the proboscis. The tongue of the animal is very
long and round, and can be lubricated at pleasure from two large glands
below the roots; when with its strong claws it has opened an ant-hill, it
thrusts in its tongue which sweeps around and is quickly covered with the
insects which must, one would think, be swallowed in enormous quantities
to afford sustenance for so large a body. The wonderful mechanism of an
ant-eater’s tongue calls forcibly to mind the extraordinary muscular
flexibility of all tongues, from that of a giraffe, or snake, or bird to
our own. The tongue is so familiar an organ that we are apt to overlook
its varied offices, and its power and motion.
At last we turned off the Indian path, and soon reached a delicious
mountain stream which flowed at the foot of the slopes, directly below
Roraima. A thick grove on the other side of the rivulet formed a
sheltered nook, and as the position seemed an admirable one from which to
attempt an ascent, McTurk sent back one of the men with instructions to
move camp to the present site. We then continued our climb towards the
south-eastern extremity of the mountain. The higher we mounted, the more
tedious became the walking, owing to the boulders and débris which lay
hidden under the long grass. Sometimes a ravine had to be crossed, or our
way pushed through a narrow belt of woodland.
On all sides were flowering shrubs and trees whose blossoms were not only
brilliant but extremely fragrant. A more sweet-scented region than that
around Roraima cannot be found. Eugenias, aromatic lantanas, ericas,
genipas, a species of salvia, gesnerias and many other plants were as
abundant on the mountain-savanna as the bignonias and passion-flowers
which draped the forests.
After copious rains this district would be a perfect El Dorado for
botanists. Even after the drought which had preceded our visit there
were still many rare blossoms to be seen, and, though often faded or
withering, we could form from them some idea of the floral wealth of
Roraima. There were orchids, too, both tree and terrestrial, and of the
latter a lovely crimson cleistes[101] bore off the palm. Wherever it was
damp panicles of golden oncidiums drooped from the tree branches, but
they as well as the odontoglots and epidendrons were dead or dying. One
species—a Stanhopea[102]—seemed to set the dry weather at defiance, and
its dark purple cup and bright green petals always looked as fresh as
though they had been watered daily.
At length we arrived at a point almost on a level with the perpendicular
wall of Roraima, but with a vast forest-clad gulf intervening. It had
been evident to us from the first that our best method of proceeding
would be to choose from one of these open savanna ridges any point in the
straight-cut rock that appeared at all practicable for an ascent, and
then by the aid of a compass to make our way direct to that spot across
the wooded ravine. We afterwards found that the passage of this deep and
precipitous ravine presented difficulties which were second only to those
of the wall itself. The north wind swept so keenly over our elevated
position that we were glad to seek shelter for a time under one of the
great black boulders that lay around.
Our climb had made us thirsty, but we had to content ourselves with the
water contained in the sheath bases of the leaves of the wild pines,[103]
which grew in great numbers on the surrounding trees. These natural
reservoirs contained a good supply of rain-water, but it was very old and
full of insects.
Looking back over the country we had traversed, we saw a picturesque
landscape of mountain and plain. Far below, the undulating yellow savanna
was pierced at intervals by tongues of green forest; beyond, a few silver
flashes marked where a stream ran through a narrow valley, and on its
left towards the east rose the Sun mountain—Waëtipu—in a series of wooded
terraces, and with its southern extremity crowned by a high sugar-loaf.
From here, far away to the south, stretched a chain of blue hills with
flickering spaces of shadowed sunlight between them, and on the edge of
the horizon towered the great table mountains of Brazil, which, like
colossal monoliths, contrasted with the peaks and domes of the adjacent
ranges in Guiana. The scene was by no means grand but acquired a certain
charm from the variety of colour diffused by the western sun. The arid
savannas which had seemed so barren and dreary were now tinted with a
soft green paling to silver-grey; the purple film of distance, which we
knew was only the parched foliage of some forest belt, was streaked with
golden lines, and the hard red rock shingle over which we had painfully
trudged, gleamed and sparkled like early dew. Colour brightened the
landscape, but life was wanting. No bird sang, no hut was visible, no
wreath of smoke curled up from wood or plain, no moving object caught
the eye as far as it could reach. Cows in the green valley by the river,
a goat clambering about the rocks, or even an Indian banaboo would
have relieved the loneliness of the picture. Once we thought we could
distinguish a cluster of huts in a distant vale, but the sweeping shadows
hindered any close observation.
From the open country we turned to the giant fortress which rose sternly
above us. The contrast was sharp and decided. From the heights on which
we stood, the wide-stretching savanna land seemed a grassy country over
which a good horse could galop, jumping with ease the narrow forest
belts which intersected the plains like hedges. But nothing less than a
winged Pegasus could expect to attain the summit of the bare red wall
that raised itself for hundreds and hundreds of feet, unrelieved by aught
save a few tangled bushes and tasselled bunches of some wild grasses.
Carefully we scanned every ledge and crevice, seeking some practicable
spot to which we might direct our steps on the morrow. At the southern
extremity of the eastern side, which we were facing, a ravine near a
rounded tower-like rock, draped with grass and lichens, which recalled
to my mind the Metella Tomb of the Roman Campagna on a gigantic scale,
gave better promise of a foot-hold than anywhere else. But a closer
examination showed that this fissure only separated the rounded mass, at
about two-thirds of its height, from the rest of the mountain which then
rose as perpendicular as in other places.
The following day when we resumed our explorations the results were
similar. Near one of the falls an angle in the rock, and a fringe of
shrubs running up for some distance along a deep crack, held out hopes of
a practicable ascent, but they vanished in a plumb-line of wall without
ridge or chink. Upon the elevated ridges we were not troubled by animal
life, as besides a large rattlesnake, which one of the men killed, we
found nothing except two goat-suckers’ nests, each containing a young
one. But down on the savanna we were so plagued by a small black fly that
life was almost insupportable. These insects attacked the eyes and ears,
and bit severely, leaving a bright red mark with a black centre. Even the
Indians were obliged, when in camp, to sit all day surrounded by dense
volumes of smoke.
It was therefore with no regret that, after finding the ascent of the
eastern side of Roraima impracticable, we left camp one day with hammocks
and provisions—the latter now unfortunately reduced to little except
flour, of which we had far too much—with the intention of exploring the
south side. The nights were very cold, as the thermometer generally fell
below 60 degs., but the days were intensely hot, and in walking over the
open savannas we were much blistered by the sun, a circumstance which
rendered the incessant attacks of the black flies more aggravating. As we
crossed over the ridges, before turning towards the mountain, we passed a
very pretty tree-filled hollow with precipitous sides and very deep. At
one end of this chasm a fine stream emerged from underground, and after
falling over the rocks in a picturesque cascade, wound round the base of
the cliff and disappeared through a narrow outlet.
To reach an open point suitable for a survey, we passed over ground very
similar to that on the eastern flank. There were the same steep spurs,
the same widths of jungle, and the same black boulders, grass-covered
and so slippery that the greatest caution was necessary in placing the
feet, for a sprained ancle or a broken leg would have been of serious
consequence in these wilds. At last we stood above the great ravine
that surrounds the mountain, and commanded a near view of the southern
wall. This side of Roraima is, if possible, even more precipitous than
the eastern. The outline is similar, except in the centre, where it is
wonderfully turreted and shaped with battlements. Here and there enormous
black slabs appear to be let into the red stone as smoothly as if by
hand, and in other spots quaint mosaic patterns can be traced. There were
no waterfalls from the summit, but in three or four places the dark shiny
lines showed where water had only recently ceased to flow. A fine cascade
issued from the forest slope near the smooth western extremity, but we
could not tell whence the water came. This we imagined must be the second
fall of the Kamaiba, mentioned by Schomburgh as having a breadth of
seventy yards. Although when we saw it we estimated its width at barely
that number of feet, yet its diminished size could readily be accounted
for by the exceptionally dry season.
From this point we had a splendid view of the eastern side of Kukenam,
which projects beyond, and runs up parallel with the western flank
of Roraima. Its steep wall, though seemingly perpendicular, did not
present the same inaccessible front that Roraima did. North of its great
waterfall, we could trace ledges covered with trees and bush, which to
us seemed contiguous and continuous enough to reach the top. But Roraima
was our goal, not Kukenam, and even to reach its base across the broad,
dense forest valley that intervened, would have been the work of days.
These southern slopes are actually more prolific in floral treasures than
the eastern. The great fantastic black rocks which lie scattered about
in infinite variety, are all clothed with agaves, cactuses, bromelias,
gesnerias, mosses, and orchids. Every step reveals some new charm,
every breath of air seems laden with a fresh sweetness; now it is the
delicate fragrance of a yellow melastoma, and now the heavier odour of a
chocolate-tinted odontoglot.
The soil on the southern side of Roraima was more moist than on the
eastern, the plants were brighter, and the blossoms more abundant. In
one place, which in our excursions we continually had to cross, there
was a broad swamp, which was the last thing we expected to find on
such elevated ground, traversed apparently by no stream. Here, grew a
beautiful utricularia with dark blue flowers, a nepenthes, and various
cœlogynes. There were also numerous sobralias,[104] but none were in
flower, which was a great disappointment to us, as Schomburgh has
pronounced this variety of orchidea to be the most fragrant and beautiful
of its class. Near this swamp and hovering over the bell-blossoms of
a thibaudia[105] we saw the only humming-bird that we met with in the
locality; from the quick glance we obtained of it we could see it was not
one of a very brilliant species, the plumage being of a reddish bronze.
It was always a relief to emerge on to this flowery marsh from the thick
forest entanglement of the craggy ravine, and one day, after repeated
failures to trace out the smallest likelihood of a possible ascent, we
sat down on a rock near its edge, and agreed that the southern flank of
Roraima was as impracticable as the eastern. One thickly-bushed crevice
near the south-western end had cheered us with a prospect of success,
but alas! between the wooded ledges were impassable walls of sheer
rock, which neither man nor monkey could ascend. At another place the
bush connection up to a certain point was only interfered with by an
overhanging slab, but that projection was an insuperable impediment.
Gradually the conviction was forced upon us that the Indians were right,
and that Roraima was impregnable. That the north side, even if it were
approachable through the wide-stretching primeval forest, was impossible
of ascent we had no doubt, on account of the stupendous wall of rock
we had seen—though at a distance—from Cashew Cottage. So now it only
remained for us to see what we could of the western side. Of this flank
we could only get glimpses by retiring towards Kukenam, and from savanna
hills obtaining our view up the dividing valley.
Owing to the clouds which almost incessantly filled this gorge, it was
seldom that we could enjoy a satisfactory view, but what we did see only
convinced us that the western side was a repetition of the others.
To thoroughly examine that side of the mountain, it would have been
necessary to make a journey round Kukenam, with the hope of finding high,
open ridges, from which we could have made a close inspection. But this
would have been a work of many days, and, as we felt, a fruitless labour.
Irrespective of my expressed opinion—when asked by McTurk—of the futility
of further efforts to ascend Roraima, I was influenced by two other
unexpressed considerations. One of these was my firm conviction that my
unfortunate boots would not stand a longer sojourn in the neighbourhood,
and I did not wish to pass the rest of my days in the wilds of Guiana,
and the other a desire for something to eat. For the fact was that our
provisions had run short; rice, bacon, coffee, sugar, mouldy biscuits,
all had vanished except several great quakes of mildewed flour, and it
was beyond human nature to return to camp day after day, hungry and
tired, and sit down with any enjoyment to cold water and “bakes” or
dumplings. In theory the carrying of a great quantity of flour may have
been good, as I suppose—although I am by no means certain of it—it would
have warded off actual starvation, but in practice it was bad. May future
visitors to Roraima take plenty of flour, but also may they take other
things to render it eatable!
On the day after our last view of the western wall we turned our steps
homeward, that is to the camp under the eastern slopes, where our Indians
awaited us. Before dark, we arrived at a circular hut which stood alone
on the top of a barren hill. It was deserted, so we took up our quarters
in it for the night. As daylight faded, the mountain fortress loomed
more and more mysterious; the battlements were touched with a light
rose colour, and the clear-cut summit was sharply defined against the
purple sky. For a short time the mists rolled away, and this great
“sermon in stone” stood out in vivid, faultless accuracy, all the more
impressive from the perfect stillness of the scene. Then darkness fell;
but presently the moon arose, and lo! the recent rich colouring gave
place to a fretwork of pure frosted silver. The edges of the woods and
the pencilled lines of the delicate foliage were burnished with the soft
rays, and then, indeed, Roraima looked weird and solemn.
We were destined to see the mountain under many aspects, as whilst the
clouds were enveloping it for the night, a pink reflection in them made
us look for the cause. Then we saw that all the country to the south and
east was illuminated by fire. We knew that probably the savanna grass
around our camp had been set on fire by the Indians, but had the design
and direction been arranged by an experienced pyrotechnist the effect
could not have been finer. As if by art, the flames kept in accord with
the hill outlines, here rising in long lines one above the other, and
there encircling the oval peaks as with coronets of fire. The exhibition
did not last long, for a storm, whose approach had been signalled by a
few thunder-claps, broke with great fury and a deluge of rain descended.
It continued all night, and we were very thankful that we had a
roof—although a leaky one—over us.
Next morning the face of the country had changed, the parched appearance
had disappeared, and all was green and fresh. The great Kukenam Fall,
which of late had been growing more and more attenuated was now a
splendid body of water, and three or four fine cataracts dashed down
the side of Roraima where previously there had only been the faintest
indications of moisture.
On our way back to camp, rivulets whose thread of water we had before
stepped over, were so swollen that we were forced to wade through
them, and in one or two cases we had to seek a place where a ford was
possible. Our Indians were rejoiced to see us back again, as they had
not expected that the mountain-demons would allow us to return. They
were very glad to hear that on the following day we should prepare for
our departure towards home. During our absence, they had transformed an
open shelter into a picturesque little house with door and walls formed
of palm leaves; a similar one, but made entirely of boughs, gave them a
comfortable lodging. Thus warmly housed, our last nights at Roraima were
pleasanter than the previous ones, and the smoke-filled apartment proved
a successful remedy for the poisonous flies.