HUMBOLDT'S DESCRIl^lON OF THE CAURA 101 



cattle. More than five-sixths of the banks of the Caura 

 are either desert or occupied by independent or savage 

 tribes. The bed of the river is twice choked up by rocks : 

 these obstructions occasion the famous Raudales of Mura 

 and of Para and Paru, the latter of which has a portage 

 because it cannot be passed by canoes. At the time of 

 the expedition of the boundaries, a small fort was erected 

 on the northern cataract, that of Mura ; and the Governor, 

 Don Manuel Centurion, gave the name of Ciudad de San 

 Carlos to a few houses which some families, consisting 

 of whites and mulattos, had constructed near the fort. 

 South of the cataract of Para, at the confluence of the 

 Caura and the Erewato, the mission of San Luis was then 

 situated ; and a road by land led thence to Angostura, the 

 capital of the province. All these attempts at civilisation 

 have been fruitless. No village now exists above the 

 Raudales of Mura ; and here, as in other parts of the 

 colonies, the natives may be said to have reconquered 

 the country from the Spaniards. The valley of the Caura 

 may become one day or other highly interesting from the 

 value of its productions, and the communications which 

 it affords with the Rio Ventuari, the Caroni, and the 

 Cuyuni. Near the mouth of the Caura, between the 

 villages of San Pedro de Alcantara and San Francisco de 

 Aripao, a small lake of 400 toises ^ in diameter was formed 

 in 1790, by the sinking of the ground consequent on an 

 earthquake. It was a portion of the forest of Aripao, 

 which sank to the depth of eighty or 100 feet below 

 the level of the neighbouring land. The trees remained 

 green for several months, and some of them, it was 

 believed, continued to push forth leaves beneath the 

 water. This phenomenon is the more worthy of atten- 

 ' A toise is equal to 6J feet approximately. 



