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D A R 



D irieu. may be mentioned the two following : — At the accession 

 s ~^^,"™ 1 ^ ofn new king, the carpets on which the several deceased 

 sultans used to sit, are spread before him, and whatever 

 of them he prefers, it is concluded, that his character 

 will resemble that of its former possessor. There is 

 observed an annual festival, called gclcd-cl-nahas, or the 

 leathering of the kettle-drum, already noticed, which 

 continues eight or ten days in succession. During this 

 time, every subject, unless he be an absolute mendicant, 

 is expected to come forward with some offering to the 

 monarch ; who, on his part, keeps an open table, or 

 rather kitchen, during the festival. There is, at the 

 same period, a review of all the troops not on actual 

 service, if review it can be called, where every man, 

 who has or can procure a horse, mounts and shows him- 

 self at this national meeting. See Browne's Travels in 

 Africa, Egypt, and Syria. (q) 



DARIEN, is a province of the kingdom of Terra 

 Firma, or Castile Del Oco. This kingdom is divided 

 into three provinces, Panama, Darien, and Veregua, 

 of which Darien is the most extensive. It is bounded 

 on the north and south by the two seas, on the east by 

 the gulf or river of Darien, and on the west by another 

 part of the South Sea and the province of Veregua. Its 

 Extent. limits are not accurately ascertained ; according to the 

 ex-jesuit Coleti, it is 100 leagues in length ; but Alce- 

 do and other well-informed 'authors say that it is on- 

 ly 6'8 leagues long. At the broadest part, it is about 

 50 leagues wide, north and south. The whole king- 

 dom of Terra Firma, according to Ulloa, is 180 leagues 

 from east to west ; but if the windings of the coast are 

 reckoned, it is 213 leagues. The breadth of the king- 

 dom is the same as that of the Isthmus of Darien, which 

 includes the whole province of Panama, and part of 

 that of Darien. 



The province of Darien is mountainous and rugged ; 

 but there are in it several Llamtras, or plains, which 

 are fertile, but deserted, uncultivated, and not very 

 healthy. The only produce of these plains is a little 

 cacao and tobacco, the quality of both of which is ex- 

 Rivers, cellent. There are a great many rivers in Darien, some 

 of which run into the North Sea, and some into the 

 South. The principal of the former are the Darien and 

 the Chape ; of the latter the Peto and Caynuto. The 

 Atrato, Darien, or Choco, takes its rise in the moun- 

 tains of the province of Choco, from two lakes; its 

 course is nearly strait from south to north for ninety- 

 five leagues, when it enters the North Sea, collecting, 

 as it runs, the waters of the Andageda, Quito, Litasa, 

 Zipe, Torron, and Pequerto, and of the lake Luina, and 

 other streams, so as to form a mouth upwards of five 

 leagues broad, in the Gulf of Darien. This river is navi- 

 gable for many leagues. Till within these few years the 

 navigation of it was prohibited under pain of death, un- 

 der the pretence that it would injure the provinces of 

 the Nuevo Reyno, as they might be easily entered by it; 

 but in reality to prevent the gold, which is very abundant 

 near its source, from being carried away. According to 

 Humboldt, the navigation of this river is now declared 

 free, and in consequence of this, the fraudulent expor- 

 tation of the gold of Choco has much increased, espe- 

 cially at those times when foreign vessels are permitted 

 to bring negroes from Africa, and flour from Philadel- 

 phia. As the Darien takes its rise near the gold mines 

 of Choco, its sands abound in gold. Near its entrance 

 into the sea, there are a number of small islands. Its 

 mouth lies in latitude 8° 2' North. The Chape rises in 

 the mountains near the valley of Pacora. In its course 

 it makes many windings, which are called randantes. 



It is navigated by vessels without keels, called chatas, Darien. 

 as far as Cruces. On its banks near its entrance into *^-v-*»' 

 the North Sea, there are many forts, as its navigation Rivers * 

 is watched and guarded by the Spaniards with nearly 

 as much jealousy and suspicion as that of the Darien. 

 It abounds in alligators, and the musquitoes on its shores 

 arc particularly troublesome. There is also found in it an 

 immense number of a very small fish, about the size of 

 a pin, called lilies, which are drawn out with a basket. 

 The mouth of the Chape is in 9° 18' North Latitude. 

 Ulloa, in his passage up it, ascertained, that the great- 

 est velocity of its stream was about a league an hour. 

 Cruces, where it ceases to be navigable, is about five 

 leagues from Panama. 



A great difference is observed in the tides in the Tide?. 

 North and South Seas. Those tides which in the ports 

 on the North Sea are reckoned irregular, are consider- 

 ed regular in the ports on the South Sea : when they 

 cease to increase or decrease in the former, they both 

 rise and fall in the latter, extending over the flats, and 

 widening the channels. Ulloa, who notices this cir- 

 cumstance, declares himself unable to account for it ; 

 " all that can be said, is, that the isthmus separating 

 the two seas, confines their waters, whereby each is 

 subject to different laws." 



The mountains in the province of Darien belong to Mountains. 

 one of those three remarkable chains, which are noticed 

 by Humboldt as proceeding from east to west, parallel 

 to the equator. This chain extends by Popayan and 

 Choco, on the west of the river Darien, towards the 

 isthmus, where, on the banks of the Chape, it forms 

 mountainous land about 1200 feet high. 



The gold mines of Darien at one period were very Gold 

 abundant and profitable, affording metal of a much finer mine-. 

 quality than those in the provinces of Vereguas and 

 Panama ; but it was found necessary to abandon most 

 of them, in consequence of the revolt of the Indians, so 

 that only a few remain on the frontiers, which yield a 

 small quantity of gold. The gold mines at Choco, 

 Avhere the river Darien takes its rise, have already been 

 noticed. The largest piece of gold ever found there 

 weighed 25 pounds. 



The most fatal disorder which rages in Darien is the Diseases. 

 vomito : it rages frequently with great violence on both 

 coasts of the Isthmus, but the causes are supposed by 

 Humboldt to be very different. At Panama, the vomi- 

 to is endemical. Here the tides are very strong, and 

 throw up great quantities of marine plants ; these being 

 exposed to the heat of the sun,Cputrefy and infect the 

 air ; hence, at Panama, the shore is considered as the 

 origin of infection. At Porto Bello, on the contra- 

 ry, the putrid emanations proceed from the very great 

 strength and luxuriancy of vegetation. Here the tides 

 ai - e scarcely perceptible. That this is the cause of the 

 insalubrity of Porto Bello, is apparent from the fol- 

 lowing fact. Till within these few years, the forests 

 which cover the interior of the isthmus, extended to 

 the very gates of the town ; since the environs have 

 been cleared, the salubrity of the air has been greatly 

 increased. 



Both on the north and south coasts of Darien, there climate. 

 are two sorts of general winds; the one called brisas, 

 (breezes,) which blow from the north-east; and the 

 other called vendebales, which blow from the west and 

 west-south-west. On the north coast, the former set 

 in about the middle of November, but are not fixed and 

 regular till the beginning or middle of December. On 

 the south coast, the brisas are later. On both coasts, 

 they continue to blow till the middle of May : they 



