40 



ribbees, who inhabit the country so little known 

 between the sources of the Oroonoko, and those 

 of the rivers Essequibo, Carony, and Pari ma*, 

 are divided into tribes ; and, like the nations 

 of the Missouri, Chili, and ancient Germany, 

 form a political confederation. This system is 

 the most suitable to the spirit of liberty, which 

 prevails in those warlike hordes, who see no ad- 

 vantage in the ties of society but for common 

 defence. The pride of the Caribbees leads them 

 to withdraw themselves from every other tribe ; 



quippoes of strings of the nations of Upper Louisiana are 

 called wampum. {John Filson, Hist, of Kentucky, p. 102; 

 Charlevoix, Hist, de la Nouv. France, vol. v, p. 308 j Lepage 

 de Pratx, Hist, de la Louisiana, vol. ii, p. 196.) Anghiera 

 relates (Ocean., Dec. 3, lib. 10, p. 65, D.) a very curious 

 fact, which seems to prove, that the travelling Caribbees had 

 some idea of bound books, like those of the Mexicans and 

 our own. I have elsewhere made known (Views of the 

 Cordilleras, vol. i, p. 174.) the curious discovery of rolls of 

 paintings found on the banks of the Ucayale, among the 

 Panoes. The Peruvians had also, beside the quippoes, 

 bieroglyphical paintings similar to those of Mexico, but ru- 

 der. (Garcia 3 Origen de los Indios, p. 91.) Since the con- 

 quest painted pages have been used by them for confession. 

 Perhaps the fugitive Caribbee, who came to Darien from the 

 inland country, and of whom Anghiera makes mention, had 

 had an opportunity of seeing at Quito, or at Cundinamarca, 

 some Peruvian book. I employ, like the first Spanish tra- 

 vellers, the word book, since it by no means presumes the use 

 of alphabetical writing. 



* Rio Branco, or Rio de Aguas Blancas. 



