213 



in the time of the Bishop of Chiapa, BarthoIo<- 

 mew de las Casas. I have already proved, 

 in my work on Mexico, the magnitude of the 

 error of presenting as a general fact the des- 

 truction and diminution ot the Indians in the 

 Spanish Colonies *. There still exist more 

 than six millions of the copper-coloured race, 

 in both Americas ; and, though an innumera- 

 ble quantity of tribes and of languages are extin- 

 guished, or confounded together, it is beyond 

 a doubt, that within the tropics, in that part 

 of the New World where civilization has pene- 

 trated only since the time of Columbus, the num- 

 ber of natives has considerably increased. Two 

 villages of Caribbees, in the Missions of Piritoo 

 or of Carony, contain more families than four 

 or five hordes on the Oroonoko. The state of 

 society among the Caribbees, who have preserved 

 their independence, at the sources of the Es- 

 quibo, and to the south of the mountains of Pa- 

 caraimo, sufficiently proves, how much, even 

 among that fine race of men, the population of 

 the Missions prevails in number over that of the 

 free and confederated Caribbees. Besides, the 

 state of the savages of the torrid zone is not 

 the same as that of the savages of the Mis- 

 souri. The latter have need of a vast extent 

 of country, because they live only by hunting . 



* Es cosa constante irse dismintiyendo por todas partes el nu- 

 mero de ios Indios. (Ulloa, Noticias Amer., 1772, p. 344). 



