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Bogota, into which flow the waters of the valley, 

 forced its way through the mountains to the 

 south-west of Santa Fe. Near the farm of 

 Tequendama, this river rushes from the plain by 

 a narrow outlet into a crevice, which descends 

 towards the basin of the river Magdalena. 

 Were an attempt made to close this passage, 

 which is the sole opening out of the valley of 

 Bogota, these fertile plains would gradually be 

 converted into a sheet of water like the Mexican 

 lake. 



It is easy to perceive the influence of these 

 geological facts on the traditibns of the ancient 

 inhabitants of these countries. We shall not 

 decide, whether merely from the aspect of the 

 country a people not far removed from civiliza- 

 tion were led to form hypotheses on the first re- 

 volutions of the Globe ; or whether the great 

 inundations of the valley of Bogota were suffi- 

 ciently recent, to have left traces on the memory 

 of men. Historical traditions are every where 

 blended with religious opinions ; and it may not 

 be uninteresting in this place to mention those, 

 which the conqueror of this country, Gonzalo 

 Ximenes de Quesada, found disseminated among 

 the Muyscas, Panchas, and Natagaymas, when 

 he first penetrated into the mountains of Cundi- 

 namarca *. 



* See Lucas Fernandez Piedrahita, Obispo de Panama, 



