172 ATABAPO AND UPPER KIO NEGRO. 



still quite high, and the rocks, which at low water obstruct 

 navigation, were now covered, ^o that, with a strong cur- 

 rent to aid us, we made rapid progress. We stopped dur- 

 ing the day at several Indian conucos in hopes of purchasing 

 turtles, but found none until reaching Tiriquin, at 4 p. m., 

 a village of some forty dwellings upon the west shore, at 

 which place we were successful, and partook of our first 

 meal for the day. Coming to anchor, at nine o'clock in 

 the evening, where we observed a deserted hut, we took 

 possession, and rested until two hours after midnight. At 

 sunrise we passed without difficulty the Maiulal de Cocui, 

 and just below this the mouth of the Cassiquiare, which 

 is about one-third of a mile in breadth. Its white waters, 

 similar to those of the Orinoco, of which they are a part, 

 presented a striking contrast to tlic black current of the 

 Rio Negro. Tliree leagues fart'aer, and we were at San 

 Carlos, the frontier town of Venezuela, and the lowest 

 point on the river reached by Humboldt and Bonpland in 

 their passage from the northern coast of Venezuela. A 

 custom-house is established here, from which it was neces- 

 sary to obtain clearance even for our small craft, before 

 we could pass into the Portuguese country of Brazil. Our 

 passports also required to be viseed, and, for the first time 

 since they were received from our Secretary of State, these 

 interesting documents, requesting that the bearer be per- 

 mitted " safely and freely to pass, and, in case of need, to 

 give him all lawful and needful protection," were pre- 

 sented to the scrutiny of an official. It was a little amus- 

 ing to observe the comandante curiously scanning the 

 mysterious parchment, such as he had never before seen, 

 and which he was also unable to read, and then very 

 gravely prefixing his signature, certifying that all was 

 right. 



The village of San Carlos consists of eighteen or 

 twenty miserable huts, surrounding a great square, whose 



