TRAVELS OP THE MISSIONARIES. 



413 



one which gave it birth. The vegetable Isingdom, vying with the others, displays 

 its fertility in the formation of vast forests abounding in majestic trees of the finest 

 foliage, in odoriferous flowers, in the richest fruits, and in those healing gums and 

 balsams which, constantly distilling, exhale their ambrosial streams, and fill the 

 air with fragrance. The spaces that are not occupied by the forests, are inhabited 

 by the savage tribes of the Sipibos, Setebos, Panos, and Cocamas, who there 

 enjoy the blessings which Nature has so amply provided for them. 

 • This highly favoured portion of South America, would, in the event of Manoa 

 being restored, and the Port del Mayro re-construfted and fortified, be in a man- 

 ner surrounded by the Spanish possessions ; at the same time that, every part of 

 the banks of the Huallaga and Maranon being peopled by the missions of Caxa- 

 marquilla. Lamas, and Maynas, Manoa and the above-mentioned port would afford 

 security to those of Mayro and Ucayali. By these means, also, the entrance into 

 the immense territories of Enim and Paytiti would be facilitated. To ascertain the 

 prafticability of a projeft so useful to religion, to the monarch, and to Peru, it was 

 indispensably necessary to follow the course of all the rivers by which the Pampa 

 del Sacramento is intersedted ; to observe the difiiculties which impede their navi- 

 gation ; to calculate the time it would require ; and to remove the obstacles whicli 

 the mountains present, in the tracks leading to the ports of embarkation. It was 

 by such a plan alone that a knowledge could be obtained of the mode to be pui"- 

 sued, both to defend Manoa from the fierce and wanton attacks of the barbarians, 

 and to open a ready communication with the capital of the viceroyalty, which 

 necessarily becomes the centre of the springs that give an impulsion to, and sustain 

 all similar enterprises. 



To this great aim the peregrination which was undertaken in the middle of thq 

 last year, 1790, by the apostolical father, friar Manuel Sobreviela, guardian of the 

 college of St. Anne of Ocopa, was dire£ted. Being desirous to throw every possible 

 light on a point of history and geography, little, if at all known, we brought forward 

 the history of the missions of Caxamarquilla, to the end that, by presenting the 

 fafts from their origin, this interesting subjeft might be better understood. With 

 the same design, we had some thoughts of prefacing this relation by a concise de- 

 scription of the Hualbga, freed from the errors which are to be found in all the 

 maps that have been delineated, more especially as it was not in our power to pub- 



lar species, -vhich illumine the country on the darkest nights, but which are so shy that they conceal 

 the light oil the least noise. 



lish 



