THE ORINOCO AS A HIGHWAY 63 



the temperature varies but little, the snow on the moun- 

 tains does not melt more at one time of the year than at 

 another. As a matter of fact, the rise of all these rivers 

 is the result of heavy rains in the interior during the 

 rainy months, x^though the trade of Ciudad-Bolivar is 

 considerable, it is nothing to what it might be. The 

 Venezuelan government, with a short-sighted policy 

 which is almost incredible, has persistently debarred 

 Colombia from making use of that natural highway to 

 the Atlantic, the Orinoco : with the result that the 

 Colombian towns on the eastern slopes of the Andes, 

 instead of using the waterways which form part of the 

 Venezuelan system, are forced to do all their trade 

 through their own territory. With an intelligent 

 government, able to grasp the advantages of abolishing 

 the restrictions against the sister republic, and stable 

 enough to encourage the investment of foreign capital, 

 the possibilities of the Orinoco as a commercial highway 

 would be considerable. The cataracts between Atures 

 and Maipures are a serious obstacle to the navigation of 

 the Upper Orinoco. Yet it would be quite possible, by 

 the construction of a short railway along the river, and 

 the establishment of a line of steamers above the 

 cataracts, to obtain regular communication with the 

 country around the Upper Orinoco and its tributaries, a 

 region rich in rubber and other forest-products. Unfor- 

 tunately, there is no immediate likelihood of any beneficial 

 change taking place in the affairs of the country. During 

 the frequent revolutions from which Venezuela has suffered 

 in recent years, the overthrow of one government has 

 been generally succeeded by the establishment of another 

 even worse than its predecessor. Is it any wonder, then, 

 that the commerce of a country so miserably administered 



