HISTORICAL SKETCH. 215 



Indians who, at the time of the discovery 

 of America, inhabited the plains of Cumana, 

 of Caraccas, and those which are watered 

 by the Apure and the Orinoco, were more 

 savage in their habits and disposition than 

 the natives of Mexico and Peru. There 

 were, however, in their state various 

 shades and degrees of organization ; and 

 on the plain where Bogota now stands, 

 a nation existed, called the Moscas, which 

 was governed by laws ; and the court of 

 the chief of Cundinamarca, to whom the 

 Spaniards gave the title of King, was not 

 without splendour. The Moscas alone re- 

 frained from the barbarous custom of sa- 

 crificing human victims, which was prac- 

 tised by the other Indian nations in that 

 quarter of the continent. 



The Indians who inhabited the districts 

 afterwards called Venezuela and New Gre- 

 nada, the first advantages of the conquest 



