216 



beyond the confluence of the Rio Supavi, that 

 going in a boat on the Guaviare (in the man- 

 ner of the savages) beyond the strait (angos- 

 tura) and the principal cataract, they met, at 

 three days distance, bearded and clothed men, 

 who came in search of the eggs of the turtle 

 terehey. This meeting affrighted the Indians so 

 much, that they fled precipitately, redescend- 

 ing the Guaviare. It is probable, that these 

 bearded white men came from the villages of 

 Aroma and San Martin, the Rio Guaviare being 

 formed by the union of the rivers Ariari and 

 Guayavero. We must not be surprised, that 

 the missionaries of the Oroonoko and the Ata- 

 bapo little suspect how near they live to the 

 missionaries of Mocoa, Rio Fragua, and Cagu- 

 an. In these desert countries, the real distances 

 can be known only by observations of the longi- 

 tude ; and it was in consequence of astronomi- 

 cal data, and the information I gathered in 

 the convents of Popayan and of Pasto, to the 

 west of the Cordillera of the Andes, that I 

 formed an accurate idea of the respective situ- 

 ations of the Christian settlements on the Ata- 

 bapo, the Guayavero, and the Caqueta*. 



Every thing changes on entering the Rio 

 Atabapo; the constitution of the atmosphere, 

 the colour of the waters, and the form of the 



* The Caqueta bears lower down the name of the Yupura. 



