On the Upper Bet bice Riuer 



By the Editor. 



jN reporting upon my late journey along the 

 Berbice, I have no intention of wearying out 

 the patience of my readers by dwelling on 

 the features of the lower reaches of the river, which, as in 

 the case of the Demerara, are well-known. Of this dis- 

 tri6l there have been several more or less detailed 

 accounts already published, the most comprehensive of 

 which, perhaps, is " The River Berbice and its Tributa- 

 ries" by Mr. ALEXANDER Winter, contributed as a 

 paper to Timehri, December 1883. The most recent 

 account of the river is that given in 1885, by Mr. 

 Glaisher, my predecessor at the Museum, " A journey 

 on the Berbice River and Wieroonie Creek ;" but owing 

 to the desertion of the boatmen, the expedition had to be 

 abandoned at the first rapids. Concerning the distri6l 

 of the Upper Berbice, above the first rapids, we have 

 no information but that contained in the report by 

 SCHOMBURGK in 1 837, and in a short and rather meagre 

 account by C. Barrington Brown in 1873. 



Leaving the town of New Amsterdam, which is situated 

 Immediately within the mouth of the river, the contra6t 

 steamer traverses about 120 miles to Coomacka, 

 passing over the greater portion in which the influence 

 of the tides is felt. Both banks, above New Amsterdam, 

 were formerly lined by flourishing estates, from which 

 coffee and sugar were the chief produce ; but now the 

 greater portion has been abandoned, especially on the 



