The Future Prosperity of the Colony. 361 



region. " The Wapisiana Indians call all hills which 

 " consist of solid rock and are only sparingly covered 

 "with vegetation, by the general name of Kuipaiti. 

 " The hill to which we dire6led our course this morning 

 " does not stri6tly belong to this class. The base con- 

 " sists of granite or granite gneiss, forming (about 250 

 " feet above the savannah) an immense wall from 50 to 

 " 60 feet high, extending S.W. for several hundred yards. 

 " Near the summit the substance of the rock changes. 

 " The seams of the stratification where they are exposed 

 " in consequence of the rains having washed off the soil, 

 '' run E.N.E., and are apparently traversed by others in 

 *' a N.E. dire6tion, which divide the rock in the form of 

 " lozenges. As this rock has a basaltic appearance, I 

 " have little doubt it has pierced the granite. Large 

 " veins of quarts traverse this rock." 



The testimony and dedu6tions of HuMBOLDT regard- 

 ing this part of the country, seem to add confirmation to 

 the theory that it is highly auriferous " I have already 

 " observed that the silvery lustre and frequency of mica 

 " have contributed to give Guiana great celebrity for 

 " metallic wealth, * * * According to the fabulous 

 " stories of the natives, the islets of mica-slate, situated 

 " in Lake Amucu, augment by their refie6lion the lustre 

 " of the nebulae of the Southern sky. * * * RALEIGH 

 " asserts that he brought back gangues of auriferous white 

 " quartz (* hard white spar') and to prove the richness of 

 " this ore he gives an account of the assays that were made 

 " by the officers of the mint in London ****** 

 " The gneiss of the littoral chain contains traces of the 

 " precious metals ; and some grains of gold have been 

 " found in the mountains of Parima near the mission of 



