WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA 73 



breed of cattle, and the Portuguese make enough 

 of butter and cheese for their own consumption. 



On asking the old officer if there were such a 

 place as Lake Parima, or El Dorado, he replied, 

 he looked upon it as imaginary altogether. "I 

 have been above forty years,'* added he, "in Por- 

 tuguese Guiana, but have never yet met with any- 

 body who has seen the lake." 



So much for Lake Parima, or El Dorado, or the 

 White Sea. Its existence at best seems doubtful ; 

 some affirm that there is such a place, and others 

 deny it. 



