571 



of enterprise, which characterized the Castilians 

 at the period of the discovery of America. In 

 going along the Rio Padamo, a road was ob- 

 served across the forests and savannahs, ten 

 days journey long, from Esmeralda to the sources 

 of the Ventuari ; and in two days more, from these 

 sources, by the Erevato, the missions on the Rio 

 Caura were reached. Two intelligent and dar- 

 ing men, don Antonio Santos, and Captain Ba- 

 reto, had established, with the aid of the Ma- 

 quiritares, a chain of military posts on this line 

 from Esmeralda to the Rio Erevato. They were 

 houses of two stories ( casas fuertes), mounted 

 with swivels, such as I have described above % 

 which figured as nineteen villages on the maps 

 published at Madrid. The soldiers, left to 

 themselves, exercised all kinds of vexations on 

 the natives (Indians of peace), who had culti- 

 vated spots around the casas fuertes ; and these 

 vexations being less methodical, that is to 

 say, worse contrived, than those to which the 

 Indians are by degrees accustomed in the mis- 

 sions, several tribes formed a league, in 1776, 

 against the Spaniards. All the military posts 

 were attacked on the same night, on a line of 

 nearly fifty leagues in length. The houses were 

 burnt, and many soldiers massacred; a very 

 small number only owing their preservation to 

 the pity of the Indian women. This nocturnal 



* Chap. 23, p. 404. 



