SPANISH AMERICA. 529 



eff all the fruit, and throws it on the ground, to save himself such 

 another troublesome journey ; and rather than be fatigued with com- 

 ing down the tree, he gathers himself into a ball, and with a shriek 

 drops to the ground. 



The monkeys in these countries are very numerous ; they keep to- 

 gether twenty or thirty in company, rambling over the woods, leaping 

 from tree to tree ; and if they meet with a single person, he is in dan- 

 ger of being torn to pieces by them ; at least they chatter and make a 

 frightful noise, throwing things at him ; they hang themselves by 

 the tail, on the boughs, and seem to threaten him all the way he 

 passes : but where two or three people are together, they usually 

 scamper away. 



Inhabitants, commerce, chief towns. ...We have already men- 

 tioned how this country fell into the hands of the Spaniards. The 

 inhabitants therefore do not materially differ from those of Mexico. 

 To what we have observed with regard to this country, it is only ne- 

 cessary to add, that the original inhabitants of Spain are variously in- 

 termixed with the negroes and Indians. These intermixtures form 

 various gradations, which are carefully distinguished from each other, 

 because every person expects to be regarded in proportion as a 

 greater share of the Spanish blood runs in his veins. The first dis- 

 tinction, arising from the intermarriage of the whites with the ne- 

 groes, is that of the mulattoes, which is well known. Next to these 

 are the Tercerones, produced from a white and a mulatto. From the 

 intermarriage with these and the whites, arise the QuarterOnes, who, 

 though still near the former, are disgraced with a tint of the negro 

 blood. But the produce of these and the whites are the Quinterones, 

 who, it is said, are not to be distinguished from the real Spaniards, 

 but by being of a still fairer complexion. The same gradations are 

 formed in a contrary order, by the intermixture of the mulattoes and 

 the negroes : besides these, there are a thousand others, hardly dis- 

 tinguishable by the natives themselves. The commerce of this coun- 

 try is chiefly carried on from the ports of Panama, Carthagena, and 

 Porto Bello, which are three of the most considerable cities in Spa- 

 nish America; and each containing several thousand inhabitants. 

 Here there are annual fairs for American, Indian, and European 

 commodities. Among the natural merchandise of Terra Firma, the 

 pearls found on the coast, particularly in the Bay of Panama, are not 

 the least considerable. An immense number of hegro slaves are 

 employed in fishing for these, who have arrived at wonderful dexteri- 

 ty in this occupation. They are sometimes, however, devoured by 

 fish, particularly the sharks, while they dive to the bottom, or are 

 crushed against the shelves of the rocks. The government of Terra 

 Firma is on the same footing with that of Mexico. 



