WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 125 



repair. When finished, it will mount six nine and six 

 twelve pounders. 



In a straight line with the fort, and within a few yards 

 of the river, stand the commander's house, the barracks, 

 the chapel, the father confessor's house, and two others, 

 all at little intervals from each other ; arid these are the 

 only buildings at Fort St. Joachim. The neighbouring 

 extensive plains afford good pasturage for a fine 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 Portuguese Guiana, but have never yet met 

 with anybody 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. 



