The " Schomburgks" in Guiana. 



By James Rodiuay, F.L.S. 



P to the time of Robert Schomburgk's explor- 

 ations, the interior of this country was almost 

 unknown. The great lake of Parima was still 

 retained on most of the maps of South America, but the 

 best geographers had already expressed doubts as to the 

 existence of any very large body of water in Guiana. 

 Hillhol'SE had made some journeys up the Massaruni 

 and also partial explorations of the country between the 

 Essequebo and the Orinoco, but the upper districts of 

 our great rivers were less known than they had been 

 a century before, when the Dutch post-holders must 

 have had a good knowledge of the country. HUMBOLDT'S 

 researches had left Guiana unexplored; he says, — 

 " With respect to the continuation of the system of the 

 mountains of Parime, south-east of the meridian of the 

 Essequebo, the materials are entirely wanting for 

 tracing it with precision. The whole interior of Dutch, 

 French and Portuguese Guiana is a terra incognita, and 

 the astronomical geography of those countries has 

 scarcely made any progress during the space of thirty 

 years."* The Royal Geographical Society of London 

 considered it a matter of great importance, to connect 

 HUMBOLDT'S observations with those made on the coast 

 of Guiana, and for this purpose Robert Hermann 

 Schomburgk was chosen in 1834. 



This gentleman was then thirty years old, having 

 * Humboldt's Narrative (Bohn) III. 343. 



