184 VIEWS OF NATURE. 



we find other large pieces of water between the Rio Xuinuru 

 and the Parime. One of these bavs is a branch of the Tacutu, 

 and the other of the Uraricuera. Even at the base of the Paca- 

 raima Mountains the rivers are subject to great periodical 

 overflowings ; and the Lake Ainucu, of which we shall subse- 

 quently speak more fully, exhibits exactly the same character 

 at the commencement of the plains. The Spanish missions, 

 -Santa Rosa and San Bautista de Caudacacla, or Cayacaya, 

 founded in the years 1770 and 1773, by the Governor Don 

 Manuel Centurion, were destroyed before the close of the last 

 century ; and since that time, no new attempt has been made 

 to advance from the basin of the Caroni to the southern 

 declivity of the Pacaraima Mountains. 



The territory east of the valley of the Rio Branco has of 

 late years been made the subject of several successful explor- 

 ations. Mr. Hillhouse navigated the Massaruni as far as the 

 Bay of Caranang, whence, as he says, a path would lead 

 the traveller, in two days, to the source of the Massaruni; 

 and, in three days, to the tributaries of the Rio Branco. 

 With respect to the windings of the great river Massaruni, 

 described by Mr. Hillhouse, he himself observes, in a letter 

 addressed to me from Demerara, 1st January, 1831, that 

 " the Massaruni, reckoning from its sources, flows first to the 

 West, then for one degree of latitude to the north ; afterwards 

 nearly 200 miles eastward; and, finally, to the north and 

 north-north-east till it merges in the Essequibo." As Mr. 

 Hillhouse was unable to reach the southern declivity of the 

 Pacaraima chain, he was not acquainted with the Amucu Lake ; 

 and he says himself, in his printed report, that "from the 

 accounts given him by the Accaouais, who are continually 

 traversing the country between the shore and the Amazon 

 River, he is convinced there is no lake in this district." This 

 assertion occasioned me some surprise, as it was directly 

 opposed to the views I had previously formed regarding the 

 Lake Amucu, from which flows the Cano Pirara, according to 

 the accounts given by the travellers Hortsinann, Santos, and 

 Rodriguez (and which had inspired me with the more confi- 

 dence, because they entirely coincide with the recent Portu- 

 guese manuscript charts). Finally, after five years of expec- 

 tation, Schomburgk's journey has removed all farther doubt. 



" It is difficult to believe," says Mr. Hillhouse, in his inte- 



