LEAVES FROM A LOG. 363 



mal." At times we could perceive glimpses of those savannahs which 

 spread themselves alternately with forest and mountain over this im- 

 mense continent : one of which, I was informed, stretches all the 

 way to the mountains, in the bosom of which is built the beautiful 

 city of Caraccas. 



Having ascended beyond Barrancas, I left the schooner and went 

 on shore at San Miguel. This had been a mission* of considerable 

 importance; but the blast of civil war had lately passed over it, and 

 desolation was in its streets. The old priest had left his residence; 

 and his children, as he delighted to call his Indian converts, were 

 forced into the service of the republic : they were obliged to forego 

 the bows and arrows of their fathers, and shoulder the musket of 

 the state. Nature never intended this pacific race for soldiers. War 

 is the aversion of the aborigines of the Oronook ; yet they were 

 doomed to fight in a cause which, to them, was neither interesting 

 nor comprehensible. What did it matter to this poor race of the 

 forest, whether a Ferdinand held dominion over their country, or a 

 Bolivar? whether their native river flowed through a colony or a 

 republic ?t 



An abandoned town is anywhere a gloomy object ; but most me- 

 lancholy in a tropical climate, where the rapid vegetation caused by 

 an intense sun, and torrent-like rains, so overspreads its houses with 

 savage vines, bushes, shrubs, and trees, that a few months suffice to 

 choke its streets, cover its roofs, and even to fell its tallest edifices. 

 War had forced the tranquil inhabitants of San Miguel from their 

 peaceful employments and habitations, and nature had shrouded 

 their homes with her mantle of green. 



We quitted this melancholy scene, and were suddenly overtaken 

 by one of those semi-wild inhabitants of the Great South American 

 savannahs, called Llanaros.J He appeared of mixed European and 

 Indian race, which, I believe, is the genuine " Criollo ;" or, as we 

 call it, " Creole." I have been told this word is derived from two 

 Spanish words, cria (breed), and olla (a mixture), the words together 

 signifying a mixed breed, and was first applied, by the old Spaniards, 

 contemptuously to the mixed race descended from European and 

 Indian parents. It is now used as applicable to all persons born in 

 the West Indies or South America, of whatever race or complexion. 

 It is even applied to animals and vegetables : for we say, " Creole 

 canes," meaning the sugar-cane of the islands, in contradistinction to 

 those brought last century from Otaheite, and now usually cultivated. 



This definition of the word " Creole," however, is but conjectural ; 

 it is the only one I have heard. The Columbians are not a little 

 proud of being termed " Criollos," insomuch that they think them- 



* A mission is a tract originally given to the missionaries of various religious 

 orders sent from Spain. They were cultivated by converted Indians, under 

 the superintendance of the padre, and were generally the best regulated 

 portion of the colonies. 



f I am informed that the mission of San Miguel has subsequently been re- 

 vived under the auspices of the republic. When this journey was made, a 

 neighbouring magistrate offered to sell us the tiles off' the houses ! by what 

 right we did not inquire. 



$ Llanero ; from Llano, a plain. 



