253 



the seventeenth century, have passed into the 

 Missions, and have perished in the forests. The 

 dampness of the air, and the voracity of in- 

 sects # , render the preservation of books almost 

 impossible in those burning regions. They are 

 destroyed in a short space of time, notwith- 

 standing the precautions that are employed. I 

 had much difficulty to collect in the Missions, 

 and in the convents, the grammars •jf of the 

 American languages, which I remitted, at my 

 return to Europe, into the hands of Mr. Se- 

 verin Vater, professor and librarian at the uni- 

 versity of Kcenigsberg. They furnished him 

 with useful materials for the great work, which 

 he has composed on the idioms of the New 

 World. I had omitted, at the time, to trans- 

 cribe from my journal, and communicate to that 

 learned gentleman, what I had collected in the 

 Chayma tongue. Since neither Father Gili, 

 nor the Abbe* Hervas, have mentioned this lan- 

 guage, I shall here explain succinctly the result 

 of my researches 



On the right bank of the Oroonoko, to the 

 south-east of the Mission of Encaramada at 

 more than a hundred leagues distance from 



* The termites, so well known in Spanish America under 

 the name of comegen. 



t See note A, at the end of this chapter. 

 t See for ample details, note B. 

 § In the latitude of 7°, and 7 P 25'. 



