200 STEPPES AND DESERTS. 



Islands, and which I consider to be, without doubt, the 

 work of the Caribs, by whom that part of the Antilles was 

 formerly inhabited. I made the utmost efforts to detach por- 

 tions of the rock which contained the inscription, and which I 

 desired to take with me ; but the stone was too hard, and 

 fever had taken away my strength. Neither promises nor 

 threats could prevail on the Indians to give a single blow with 

 a hammer to these rocks, the venerable monuments of the 

 superior mental cultivation of their predecessors. They 

 regard them as the work of the Great Spirit, and the 

 different tribes who we met with, though living at a great 

 distance, were nevertheless acquainted with them. Terror 

 was painted on the faces of my Indian companions, who 

 appeared to expect every moment that the fire of heaven 

 would fall on my head. I saw clearly that my endeavours 

 would be fruitless, and I contented myself with bringing 

 away a complete drawing of these memorials." The last 

 determination was certainly the best, and the editor of the 

 English Journal, to my great satisfaction, adds a note to 

 the effect that it is to be wished that no one else may be 

 more successful than Mr. Schomburgk, and that no future 

 traveller from civilized countries may do anything towards 

 the destruction of these monuments of the unprotected 

 Indians. 



The symbolical signs seen by Eobert Schomburgk in the 

 Yalley of the Essequibo, near the rapids of Waraputa, 

 (Richard Schomburgk, Eeisen in Britisch -Guiana, Th. i. 

 S. 320), were remarked by him to bear a great resem- 

 blance to genuine Carib ones in one of the small 

 Yirgin Islands (St. John's) ; but notwithstanding the wide 



