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THREE DISTINCT ZONES* 



In a genera] point of view Venezuela presents 

 three distinct zones. Along the shore, and near the 

 chain of mountains which skirts it, we find culti- 

 vated land ; behind this, savannas or pasturages ; and 

 beyond the Orinoco, a mass of forests, penetrable 

 only by means of the rivers by which it is traversed. 

 In these three belts, the three principal stages of 

 civilization are found more distinct than in almost 

 any other region. We have the life of the wild 

 hunter in the woody district — the pastoral life in the 

 savannas — and the agricultural in the valleys and 

 plains which descend to various parts of the coast. 

 Missionaries and a few soldiers occupy advanced 

 posts on the southern frontiers. In this section are 

 felt the preponderance of force and the abuse of 

 power. The native tribes are engaged in perpetual 

 hostilities ; the monks endeavour to augment the 

 little villages of their missions by availing them- 

 selves of the dissensions of the Indians ; and the 

 soldiers live in a state of war with the clergy. In 

 the second division, that of the plains and prairies, 

 where food is extremely abundant, little advance has 

 been made in civilization, and the inhabitants live in 

 huts partly covered with skins. It is in the third 

 district alone, where agriculture and commerce are 

 pursued, that society has made any progress. 



In following our travellers through these interest- 

 ing countries, it is necessary that we lose sight in 

 some measure of the present constitution of the 

 South American states, and view them simply as 

 Spanish provinces. When we seek, says Humboldt, 

 to form a precise idea of those vast regions, which 

 for ages have been governed by viceroys and cap- 

 tains-general, we must fix our attention on several 

 points. We must distinguish the parts of Spanish 

 America that are opposite to Asia, and those that are 

 washed by the Atlantic, — we must observe where the 

 greatest part of the population is placed, whether near 

 the coast, or in the interior, or on the table-lands of the 



