685 



endeavour to attach the slaves to the soil, and 

 suffer them to enjoy as fanners the fruits of 

 their agricultural labours. The land on the 

 Caura, for the most part a virgin soil, is ex- 

 tremely fertile. There are pasturages for more 

 than 15,000 beasts ; but the poor inhabitants 

 have neither horses nor horned cattle. More 

 than six sevenths of the banks of the Caura are 

 either desert, or occupied by independent and 

 savage tribes. The bed of the river is twice 

 choked up by rocks ; occasioning the famous 

 Raudales of Mura and of Para or Paru, the latter 

 of which has a portage, because it cannot be 

 passed by canoes. At the time of the expedition 

 of the boundaries, a small fort was erected on 

 the northern cataract, that of Mura. The go- 

 vernor, don Manuel Centurion, hastened to give 

 the name of Ciudad de San Carlos to a few 

 houses, which some Spanish families (that is to 

 say, not Indians), consisting of Whites and Mu- 

 lattoes, had constructed near the fort. South of 

 the cataract of Para, at the confluence of the 

 Caura and the Erevato, the mission of San Luis 

 was then found ; and a road by land led thence 

 to Angostura, the capital of the province. All 

 these attempts at civilization have been fruitless. 

 No village any longer exists above the Raudal 

 of Mura ; and here, as in many other parts of 

 the colonies, the natives have as we may say re- 

 conquered the country from the Spaniards, 



