SOUTH AMERICA. 4( 

 the progress of the fever, and enabled me to walk about i'lKST 



, . JOUKN'EY. 



m SIX days. 



Fort St. Joachim was built about five and forty years Fort st. 



Joachim. 



ago, under the apprehension, it is said, that the Spaniards 

 were coming from the Rio Negro to settle there. It has 

 been much neglected ; the floods of water have carried 

 away the gate, and destroyed the wall on each side of 

 it ; but the present commander is putting it into thorough 

 repair. When finished, it will mount six nine, and six 

 twelve pounders. 



In a straight line with the fort, and within a few yards 

 of the river, stand the commander's house, the barracks, 

 the chapel, the father confessor's house, and two others, 

 all at little intervals from each other ; and these are the 

 only buildings at Fort St. Joachim. The neighbouring 

 extensive plains affbrd good pasturage for a fine breed of 

 cattle, and the Portuguese make enough of butter and 

 cheese for their own consumption. 



On asking the old officer if there were such a place as 

 Lake Parima, or El Dorado, he replied, he looked upon 

 it as imaginary altogether. " I have been above forty 

 years," added he, " in Portuguese Guiana, but have 

 never yet met with any body who has seen the lake." 



So much for Lake Parima, or El Dorado, or the White 

 Sea. Its existence at best seems doubtful ; some affirm 

 that there is such a place, and others deny it. 



" Grammatici certant, et adhuc svib judice lis est." 



H 



