44G ANNUAL REGISTER, 1818. 



the torrents : tlie result of which 

 is, that the lateral ranges are 

 transformed into so many rows of 

 paps, some round, and others py- 

 ramidal. The ground in general 

 is a gentle slope, as far as the 

 Impossible ; farther on, the preci- 

 pices become bold, and continue 

 so to the shore of the gulf of 

 Cariaco. The form of this mass 

 of mountains reminded us of the 

 chain of the Jura ; and the only 

 plain, that presents itself, is the 

 valley of Cumanacoa. We seemed 

 to see the bottom of a funnel, in 

 which we distinguished, amidst 

 tufts of scattered trees, the Indian 

 village of Aricagua. Toward the 

 north, a narrow slip of land, the 

 peninsula of Araya, formed a dark 

 stripe on the sea, which, illumined 

 by the rays of the sun, reflected 

 a strong light. Beyond the pen- 

 insula the horizon was bounded by 

 Cape Macanao, the black rocks 

 of which rise amid the waters hke 

 an immense bastion. 



What gives most celebrity to 

 the valley of Caripe, beside the 

 extraordinary coolness of the cli- 

 mate, is the great Cueva, or cavern 

 of the Guacharo.* In a country 

 where the people love what is 

 marvellous, a cavern that gives 



* The province of Guacharucu, 

 which Delgado visited in 1534, in 

 the expedition of Ilieronimode Ortal, 

 appears to have been situate south, 

 or south-east from Macarapana. Has 

 its name any conne>:ion with those 

 of the cavern and the bird ? or is this 

 last of Spanish origin ? (Laet, Nov. 

 Orb., p. 676). Guacharo means in 

 Castilian " one who cries and la- 

 ments himself;" now the bird of liie 

 cavern of Caripe, and Iheguacharaca 

 (phasianus parraka), are "very noisy 

 birds. 



birth to a rfvcr, and is inhabited 

 by thousands of nocturnal birds, 

 the fat of which is employed in 

 the Missions to dress food, is an 

 everlasting object of conversation 

 and discussion. Scarcely has a 

 stranger arrived at Cumana, when 

 he is told of the stone of Araya 

 for the eyes ; of the labourer of 

 Arenas, who suckled his child ; 

 and of the cavern of Guacharo, 

 which is said to be several leagues 

 in length ; till he is tired of hear- 

 ing of them. A lively interest in 

 the phenomena of nature is pre- 

 served wherever society may be 

 said to be without life; where, in 

 dull monotonj', it presents only 

 simple relations little fitted to ex- 

 cite the ardour of curiosity. 



The cavern, which the natives 

 call a mine qfjat, is not in the 

 valley of Caripe itself, but at three 

 short leagues distance from the 

 convent, toward the west-south- 

 west. It opens into a lateral 

 valley, which terminates at the 

 Sierra del Guacharo. We set out 

 toward the Sierra on the 18th of 

 September, accompanied by the 

 Alcaids, or Indian magistrates, 

 and the greater part of the monks 

 of the Convent. A narrow path 

 led us at first during an hour and 

 a half toward the south, across a 

 fine plain, covered with a beautiful 

 turf. We then turned toward the 

 west, along a small river, which, 

 issues from the mouth of the 

 cavern. We ascended during 

 three quarters of an hour, walking 

 sometimes in the water, which 

 was shallow, sometimes between 

 the torrent and a wall of rocks, 

 on a soil extremel}' slippery and 

 miry. The fldling down of the 

 earth, the scattered trunks of 

 trees over which the mules could 



scarcely 



