1822.] 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
ACCOUNT of a JOURNEY from CUCUTA 
to CARACCAS, performed in the 
months of August, September, and 
October, 1321. 
(Concludéd from our last.) 
Al Carache we were invited to spend 
the following night at, the house 
of an agriculturis( in Agua de Obispos, 
about half way. between Carache and 
the next village. We accordingly left 
about eight o’clock in the morning, 
and immediately recommenced the 
ascent of an immense mountain, from 
whence, having gained the summit 
about one o’clock, we descended as far 
as Agua de Obispos, where we arrived 
at two o*clock, in a violent shower of 
rain. The atmosphere was cold, but 
the country is fertile and produces 
wheat and peas of a fine quality. The 
lhouses are very few, and merely con- 
structed for the occasional residence of 
ihe cultivators, when visiting their 
plantations. 
We continued descending the moun- 
tain the morning following, from Agua 
die Obispos to the village of Omuecaro 
Abaxo, where we arrived after more 
than eight hours of nearly constant de- 
scent. The climate of Omucaro is 
warm. the inhabitants chiefly Indians, 
aud its extent little more er less than 
that of a number of other small vil- 
lages already enumerated. 
From Omucaro to Tocuyo occupied 
us about nine hours, of which one and 
a half were spent in resting at a village 
at the half way; the latter part of the 
road was wide, firm,and level. As we 
approached the town, the country gra- 
dually became more open, and the 
chain of mountains, new in the dis- 
tance, on each side, diminished succes- 
sively, in height and bulk, with much 
regularity. Sugar cane and Indian 
corn appeared the chief productions of 
the surrounding country. 
Tocuyo is a neat town, containing 
many good houses, two or three 
churches, and a monastery, the latter 
of which is likely soon to be converted 
intoa public college. It has been much 
injured by the war, has a warm cli- 
mate, a small population and little 
commerce, - 
We left Tocuyo at a late hour of the 
dlay following, and arrived at Chibor 
after dark, where with some difficulty 
we procured a lodging for the night, 
and departed the next morning at 
break of day for Barquisemeto, which 
town we reached between four and five 
Montuty Mag. No. 365, 
Reeent Journey in Columbia. 
105 
o’clock in the afternoon. The road 
from 'Tocuyo to Barquisemeto was 
generally level and good, although 
muddy in piaces where the rain had 
settled, for want ofa channel to escape 
by. We were also somewhat less incom- 
moded by stones; since at Tocuyo we 
had terminated our passing the moun- 
tains, a task which had occupied us 
about three weeks, and had nearly de- 
stroyed the hoofs of all our animals by 
the continued surface of sharp stones, 
with which the roads, or rather path- 
ways, had till then incessantly present- 
ed us. 
The impressions made upon me in 
€araccas, in 1819, by the contemplation 
of the effects of the earthquake of 1812, 
were revived in Barquisemeto. In 
Caraceas, dreadful as were the conse- 
quences of this terrible convulsion of 
nature, some valuable houses and pub- 
lic buildings were left uninjured ; but 
herea whole city was utterly destroyed, 
and of Barquisemeto, a town which 
appears from its ruins to have been of 
the first order in this part of the coun- 
try, not an edifice of any description 
was left standing, and 1500 of its inha- 
bitants perished. It consists now 
prineipally cf one main street, con- 
structed within the last few years, of 
which all the honses have only ground 
fioors. ‘The convent has been repaired 
latterly, and two of the churches are 
now in hand. There is some commerce 
carried on with Maracaibo, and some 
valuable haciendas of indigo and cocoa 
are in the neighbourhood. The cultiva- 
tion of tobacco is prohibited here, as 
indeed it is generally, excepting only 
in the particular spots nominated by 
the government. The object of this 
prohibition is to prevent smuggling in 
an article from which the state derives 
one of its chief revenues. The popu- 
lation of Barquisemeto and its environs 
is probably from 8 to 10,000 persons. 
My companion was attacked with a 
serious -indisposition, which detained. 
us in Barquisemeto three days. We 
reached Cugisita about five o’clock in 
the evening of the day of our depar- 
ture from Barquisemeto, and left again 
the morning following, between seven 
and eight o’cloek. Cugisita is situated 
at the commencement of a Savannah, 
and eonsists only of a few scattered 
houses, of which the pulperia was our 
place of lodging. 
We arrived at the entrance of the 
Montana del Altar about mid-day, 
and at Caramacat in the evening at 
O five 
