193 



calls the river of Amazons, he is alarmed at the 

 heresies of Martin Luther, and the increasing 

 influence of schismatics in Europe. Lopez de 

 Aguirre was killed at Barquesimeto, after having 

 been abandoned by his own men. At the mo- 

 ment when he fell, he plunged a dagger into 

 the bosom of his only daughter, " that she 

 might not have to blush before the Spaniards at 

 the name of the daughter of a traitor." The 

 soul of the tyrant (such is the belief of the na- 

 tives) wanders in the Savannahs, like a flame^ 

 that flies the approach of men *. 



The second historical event connected with 

 the name of Valencia is the great incursion made 

 by the Caribbees of the Oroonoko in 1578 and 

 1580. That cannibal horde went up the banks 

 of the Guarico, crossing the plains or Llanos. 

 They were happily repulsed by the valour of 

 Garcia Gonzalez, one of the captains whose 

 names are still the most revered in those pro- 

 vinces. It is soothing to recollect, that the de 

 seendants of those very Caribbees now live in the 

 missions as peaceable husbandmen, and that no 

 savage nation of Guiana dares to cross the plains, 

 that separate the region of the forests from that 

 of cultivated land. The Cordillera of the coast 

 is cut by several ravines, that are very uniformly 

 directed from South-East to North-West. This 



* See above, vol. ii, p. 219, 220. 

 VOL. IV. O 



