Aroa.

The mouth of the Aroa is ten leagues to windward of that of the Tocuyo. It carries canoes to some distance from the sea, but its navigation is neither easy nor useful. This is not owing to a shortness of course; for it is upwards of forty leagues long, taking its rise not far from Barquisimeto; but its vicinity is little cultivated and its channel frequently obstructed. By reascending along the coast, we find at the distance of three leagues from the mouth of the Aroa, that of the Yaracuy. Its source is forty leagues to the south, but it begins only to be of importance two leagues east of St. Philip. At that point it becomes navigable, and convenient for the conveyance of the produce raised in the vallies of St. Philip, and in the plains of Barquisimeto, which is sent by sea to Porto Cabello, which is the nearest port.

Tuy.

From the Yaracuy there is not one river that can be called navigable till you come to the Tuy, which throws itself into the ocean thirty leagues east of the port of Goayre. This river takes its rise from the mountains of San Pedro, at ten leagues from Caraccas. Its waters flow into the vallies of Aragoa, between Victoria and Cocuisas; after that it refreshes the vallies of Tacata, Cua, Sabana; of Ocumare, St. Lucia and St. Theresa; and at last becomes more considerable by the junction of Goayre. By this means it is rendered navigable, and serves

for the transportation of produce, in which all these valleys abound, but principally in cacao, which is there of the best quality. It is indisputably, of all the rivers in the district of the captain-generalship of Caraccas, that which waters the greatest quantity of commercial productions. In 1803 the consulate of Caraccas, ordered a draught of it to be taken by D. Pedro Caranza, a skilful pilot, then residing at Caraccas, as they had it in contemplation to clear and repair its bed, and to prevent, by such works as their ingenuity could devise, all the evils, which are occasioned by its inundations.

On leaving the Tuy no river to windward fixes the attention of the traveller till he reaches Unara.This river serves for a line of division between the governments of Caraccas and Cumana. It is navigable as far as the village of San Antonia de Clarinas six leagues from the sea. Its course extends to about thirty leagues from south to north.

Neveri.

The Neveri is seventeen leagues east of the Unara. It takes its rise in the mountains of Brigantin, twenty leagues south of the place where it discharges it. self. The waters of the different rivers which it receives in its course, and the declivity of the ground which it passes through, give it such a body and curVOL. I.

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rent of water, as shipping cannot withstand till you come to Barcelona, or a little above it.

Manzanares.

As we pursue our way along the coast to the east, we are stopt at ten leagues from the mouth of the Neveri by the Manzanares, which washes the city of Cumana; and it is from this circumstance alone that it deserves to be mentioned, for its navigatlon is of no consequence at all, carrying but sloops from the sea to Cumana, which is only at the distance of a quarter of a league. Yet by its refreshing stream it fertilizes lands otherwise ungrateful, and by this means is enabled to yield fruits and vegetables in abundance, besides some other articles of produce.

Cariaco.

After Cumana comes the gulf of Cariaco, which is joined by several streams and a river of the same name, from which culture derives considerable advantages. It passes by a city, to which they vainly wished to give the name of St. Philippe d'Autriche. Regardless of the government, it took and retained the name of the gulf that is at the distance of two leagues from it. It is only to this city that the river is navigable, and not always even so far; for, as it receives a considerable quantity of rain water, it wants water when it is dry weather; and it is subject in rainy weather to inundations which are very inconvenient to the city. It is the tradition of the Guayqueris Indians

that the gulf of Cariaco was formed by an earthquake.. (See the article Cumana in the chapter of the description of the cities.)

Over all the northern coast as far as the Cape of Paria, which, with the Isles of the Dragons, forms the great entrance of the Gulf of Paria, there exists not a single navigable river. Into the Gulf several are discharged; the most considerable of which is the Guarapiche, which springs from the eastern declivity of Mount Brigantin. It swells with the waters of numerous streams, which deserve the name of rivers; so that, at its entrance into the Gulf, it has the majestic appearance of a river of the first rank. Vessels of ordinary size ascend on its tides as far as the Fork of Fantarma. They are prevented from advancing farther, not so much on account of the shallowness of its waters, as the embarrassments which its navigation suffers from the mangroves and the trees, which are cast into it by the winds, or deposited by the currents. These obstacles would quickly disappear, if the country produced commodities for exportation; but this land, so abundantly rich in the secret treasures of fertility, is not cultivated, because, to man in a state of nature, the greatest luxury is the wild fruits of the forest.

All these rivers, joined by the waters of an infinite number of others, do not make even the twentieth part of those which proceed directly to the sea, and water only what may be called the high or northern part of the provinces of Venezuela and Cumana. The low or southern part of Venezuela is intersected by rivers, which flow from north to south, till they

discharge themselves into the great Oronoko. Themost considerable are the Mamo, the Pariagoan and Pao, the Chivata and Zoa, the Cachimamo, the Aracay, the Manapira and Espino, together with the Apura, which enters the Oronoko by several channels; it receives into its waters those of an infinite number of rivers, which altogether forming, as it were, the figure of a fan, occupy a space of upwards of thirty leagues south of the province of Venezuela. The greatest part of these last rivers are navigable forty or fifty leagues from the place, where they together with the Apura, throw themselves into the Oronoko. This statement alone is sufficient to enable us to anticipate the prospect of that distinguished prosperity which nature destines for Guiana. (See the Chapter upon Spanish Guiana.) After treating of the rivers, historical order naturally leads us to the sea ports of the provinces I have undertaken to describe.

Sea.

The sea which washes these coasts, is by the English called the Caribbean sea, because in fact the chain of the Antilles, from Trinidad to Cuba and Terra Firma form an area bounded solely by the countries anciently occupied by the Caribbees. We know not why all the other European nations have not adopted that denomination, in order to designate a part of the globe which is generally known by the vague appellation of the Northern Sea. Have