nded a couple of hundred feet
to a spot where the "Salto," as it is called, burst on our view, rushing
down between two mountains until it attains the edge of a precipice,
whence the vast body of water is precipitated into a mighty abyss below.
The chasms through which such falls issue are known in the country as
barancas. The sides, consisting of reddish granite, rise almost
perpendicularly. The height of the whole fall may be nearly one
thousand feet, but the single fall in front of us was calculated to be
about six hundred feet.

We stood on the bank of the precipice for some minutes, not daring to
speak: indeed, the sound of the falling water completely drowned our
voices when we made the attempt; the sensation in our ears being as if a
thousand pieces of artillery were discharged close to us. The ground
trembled beneath our feet, our eyes were dazzled by the sparkling spray,
and our senses felt confused, as the mighty volume of water rushed down
before us, between the perpendicular rocks, into the chasm at their
base. The overwhelming body of water, as it left its upper bed, formed
a broad arch, smooth and glossy. A little lower down it assumed a
fleecy form; and then shot forth in millions of tubular shapes, which
chased each other more like sky-rockets than anything else to which I
can compare them. The changes were as singularly beautiful as they were
varied, in consequence of the difference in gravitation, and rapid
evaporation, which was taking place before the waters reached the
bottom. Dense clouds of vapour rose for a considerable height, mingling
with the atmosphere, and presenting in their descent the most brilliant
rainbows. From the rocky sides of the immense basin hung shrubs and
bushes, while numerous springs and tributary streams added their mite to
the grand effect. The water at the bottom then rushed impetuously along
a stony bed, over which hung various trees, and was lost beyond a dark
turn in the rock. From the level of the river where we stood, the
hills, completely covered with wood, rose to a great height; while
through the only opening amid them we observed the distant mountains in
the province of Antioquia, their summits clothed with perpetual snow.
Hovering over the fearful chasm were various birds of the most beautiful
plumage, peculiar to the spot, and differing from any I had seen before.
Our guide told us that some philosophical gentlemen, in order to
ascertain the tremendous