24 TiMEHRl. 



when it was agreed to have a distribution as soon as 

 possible. 



The Indians did not always agree with the bovianders 

 and in 1805 Postholder LiNAU was sent up the Essequebo 

 to reconcile the parties in a dispute. He met with an 

 Arawak who had abandoned his home because the 

 mulattoes had frightened him with a report that the 

 Acawois and Macousis were coming down to murder 

 them all. He found the bovianders from Essequebo, 

 Massaruni and Cuyuni congregated on a small island, as 

 they said, for defence against the Indians. Being con- 

 fronted with some of the Arawaks, they affirmed that the 

 report of the expe6led raid came from the Indians, which 

 the latter denied. Finally the postholder forbade the 

 bovianders to interfere with the Indians, at the same time 

 saying they must pay the Arawaks properly and live in 

 peace with them. The offenders were however very 

 impertinent, refusing to obey these orders and saying that 

 if the whites did not give them satisfa6tion they would 

 attack the Indians. They were, they said, not only free 

 people, but Burghers, and in every respe6l as good as 

 the whites ; if the Fiscal tried to seize their arms he 

 might depend upon it that not a, single gun would be 

 given up. On further investigation Mr. LiNAU also found 

 that the Indians charged the mulattoes with stealing their 

 children to sell as slaves. The Court decided to send 

 two persons who understood the Indian languages to 

 assure them that they would be protefled, and to renew 

 the prohibition of 1793, against their being purchased as 

 slaves. 



Here we have a glimpse of one of the causes which 

 led to the gradual desertion of the lower distrifls by the 



