608 



and with them some germes of social life. In 

 1797, the settlements of the Capuchins on the 

 Rio Caroni already contained 16,600 Indians, 

 peaceably inhabiting villages ; while at the Rio 

 Caura, under the government of the Observan- 

 tins, there was at that period, according to 

 enumerations alike official, only 640. This dif- 

 ference results from the vast extent and excel- 

 lence of the pastures on the banks of the 

 Caroni, the Upatu, and the Cuyuni, the prox- 

 imity of the mouths of the Oroonoko, and of the 

 capital of Guyana, to the missions of the Capu- 

 chins ; and finally, from the interior government, 

 the active industry, and the mercantile spirit of 

 the Catalonian monks. Corresponding to the 

 Caroni and the Caura, which flow toward the 

 north, are two great tributary streams of the 

 Upper Oroonoko, that send their waters toward 

 the south ; these are the Padamo and the Ven- 

 tuari. No village has hitherto risen on their 

 banks, though they offer advantages for agricul- 

 ture and pasturage, which would be sought in 

 vain in the valley of the immense river, to which 

 they are tributary. In the centre of these sa- 

 vage countries, where there will long be no 

 other road than the rivers, every project of civil- 

 ization should be founded on an intimate know- 

 ledge of the hydraulic system, and the relative 

 importance of the tributary streams. 



In the morning of the 26th of May we left the 



