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Siastics who have described the progress of the 

 Missions, continually confound, like the anci- 

 ents, geographical denominations with the names 

 of races. They speak of Indians of Cumana 

 and of the coast of Paria, as if the proximity 

 of abode proved the identity of origin. They 

 most commonly even give to tribes the name 

 of their chief, or that of the mountain or valley 

 they inhabit. This circumstance, by infinitely 

 multiplying the number of tribes, renders every 

 thing uncertain, that the monks relate respect- 

 ing the heterogeneous elements of which the 

 population of their Missions is composed. 

 How can we at present decide, whether the To- 

 mooza and Piritoo be of different races, when 

 both speak the Cumanagoto language, which 

 is the prevailing tongue in the western part of 

 the Govierno of Cumana ; as the Caribbean 

 and the Chayma are in the southern and east- 

 ern parts. A great analogy of physical con- 

 stitution renders these researches very difficult. 

 Such is the contrast between the two con- 

 tinents, that in the new a surprising variety 

 of languages is observed among nations of the 

 same origin, and which European travellers 

 scarcely distinguish by their features; while 

 in the old continent very different races of men, 

 the Laplanders, the Finlanders, and the Es- 

 thonians, the German nations and the Hindoos, 

 the Persians and the Curds, the Tatar and Mon- 



