BATHING IN THE RIVER. 



61 



of the castle of St. Mary, from the site of which 

 there is a fine view of the gulf, together with the 

 island of Margaretta and the small isles of Caraccas, 

 Picuita, and Boracha, which present the most singu- 

 lar appearances from the effect of mirage. 



The city of Cumana, properly speaking, occupies 

 the ground that lies between the castle of St. An- 

 tonio and the small rivers Manzanares and Santa 

 Catalina. It has no remarkable buildings, on account 

 of the violent earthquakes to which it is subject. 

 The suburbs are almost as populous as the town it- 

 self, and are three in number : namely, Serritos, St. 

 Francis, and that of the Guayquerias. The latter is 

 inhabited by a tribe of civilized Indians, who, for 

 upwards of a century, have adopted the Castilian 

 language. The whole population in 1802 was about 

 eighteen or nineteen thousand. 



The plains which surround the city have a parched 

 and dusty aspect. The hill on which the fort of St. 

 Antonio stands is also bare, and composed of calca- 

 reous breccia, containing marine shells. Southward, 

 in the distance, is avast curtain of inaccessible moun- 

 tains, also of limestone. These ridges are covered by 

 majestic forests, extending along the sloping ground 

 at their base to an open plain in the neighbourhood of 

 Cumana, through which the river Manzanares winds 

 its way to the sea, fringed with mimosas, erythrinas, 

 ceibas, and other trees of gigantic growth. 



This river, the temperature of which in the season 

 of the floods descends as low as 71-6°, when that of 

 the air is as high as 91°, is an inestimable benefit to 

 the inhabitants ; all of whom, even the women of 

 the most opulent families, learn to swim. The mode 

 of bathing is various. Our travellers frequented 

 every evening a very respectable society in the 

 suburb of the Guayquerias. In the beautiful moon- 

 light chairs were placed in the water, on which were 

 seated the ladies and gentlemen, lightly clothed. 

 The family and the strangers passed several hours 



