438 



river, to land at an island on which the mission 

 of Vasiva is established *. The lake, which sur- 

 rounds this mission, is a league broad, and com- 

 municates by three outlets with the Cassiquiare. 

 The surrounding country, full of marshes, is 

 extremely feverish. The lake, the waters of 

 which appear yellow by transmitted light, is 

 dry in the season of great heat, and the Indians 

 themselves are unable to resist the miasmata, 

 that rise from the mud. The complete absence 

 of wind contributes to render the climate of this 

 country more pernicious. A sketch of the plan of 

 Vasiva, which I drew on the day of our arrival, I 

 have had engraved. Part of the village has been 

 removed to a dryer spot, toward the north, and 

 this change has become the source of a long 

 quarrel between the governor of Guyana and the * 

 monks. He maintained, that they had no right 

 to remove their villages without the permission 

 of the civil power ; but, being completely igno- 

 rant of the situation of the Cassiquiare, he ad- 

 dressed his reprimands to the missionary of Ca- 

 richana, who lives at the distance of one hun- 

 dred and fifty leagues from Vasiva, and could 

 not comprehend what was meant. These geo- 

 graphical mistakes are very common in coun- 

 tries, that are generally governed by men who 

 have never been in possession of a map. The 



* Barometer at Vasiva, 327 2 lines. 



