HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



209 



Many of the Indians, also, of South Ameri- 

 ca were, in this respect, not idle ; they culti- 

 vated cassava, cotton, and the plantain tree ; 

 and that system of cultivation is continued 

 by the Indians their descendants, who, at 

 the present day, reside in villages between 

 the Orinoco and the river of Amazons, 

 where they are peaceably united, and obey 

 chiefs. These places are called Pecanati, 

 Apoto, or Siberiene, and thither the mis- 

 sionaries have never penetrated. It is ob- 

 vious, therefore, that the sort of disposition 

 towards civilization, evinced by these In- 

 dians, must be inherited from their own 

 ancestors. 



Indeed, between the native Indians of 

 South America and those of North Ameri- 

 ca (excepting a. number existing in Mexico), 

 there has ever prevailed, as far back as infor- 

 mation can be obtained, a marked and essen- 

 tial difference. Of the former, a great number 



VOL. I. p 



