THE CARONI 53 



the gambling instinct in our natures tend to develop 

 a feeling of recklessness inseparable from enterprises in 

 which the element of chance is dominant. What better 

 material to work upon could the unscrupulous and clever 

 promoter desire than the average mortal thirsting for 

 riches which he is eager to obtain without toil ? For a 

 number of years I was on fairly intimate terms with one 

 of the fraternity who deal in imaginary gold-mines. He 

 was a very able man in his way, and a marvellous judge 

 of character. To a select few on rare occasions he would 

 confide the results of his researches in the form of maxims 

 such as these : ' The richest of all mines, the best paying 

 of all lodes, is the credulity of the human race.' ' Never 

 put your money in gold-mines,' he used to say, ' let other 

 people put theirs ; but you may put your brains.' I had 

 almost forgotten to mention that we remained excellent 

 friends, because I never had any money to pit against 

 his brains. 



The little that remains of the trade with El Callao and 

 the few mines around is still done through San Felix. 

 Heavy goods and machinery are transported by waggons ; 

 lighter articles are carried by pack animals. The traffic 

 over the wretched road to the mines is, in consequence, 

 tedious and expensive, and this precludes the working of 

 many mines which, with cheaper means of transport, 

 might be made to pay handsomely. Where we lay at 

 anchor we could distinguish between the dark waters of 

 the Caroni, sweeping along the shore, and the dirty yellow 

 wash of the Orinoco itself. The two streams flow side 

 by side for some distance before the smaller one is finally 

 absorbed by the other. 



When we passed the mouth of the Caroni I was again 

 reminded of Sir Walter Kalegh's voyage up the Orinoco. 



