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lancha was laden with cacao, and carried on a 

 contraband trade with the island of Trinidad* 

 For this reason the proprietor thought we had 

 nothing to fear from the enemy's vessels, which 

 then blocked up all the Spanish ports. We 

 embarked our collections of plants, our instru- 

 ments, and our monkeys ; and, the weather be- 

 ing delightful, we hoped to make a very short 

 passage from the mouth of the Rio Neveri to 

 Cumana : but we had scarcely reached the nar- 

 row channel between the continent and the 

 rocky isles of Borracha and the Chimanas, 

 when, to our great surprise, we met with an 

 armed boat, which, hailing us at a great dis- 

 tance, fired some musket-shot at us. The boat 

 belonged to a privateer of Halifax; and I re- 

 cognized among the sailors a Prussian, a native 

 of Memel, by his physiognomy and his accent, 

 I had found no opportunity, since my arrival in 

 America, of speaking my native language, and 

 I could have wished to have used it on a less 

 unpleasant occasion. Our protestations were 

 without effect: we were carried on board the 

 privateer, and the captain, affecting not to re- 

 cognize the passports delivered by the gover- 

 nor of Trinidad for the illicit trade, declared, 

 that we were lawful prize. Being a little in the 

 habit of speaking English, I entered into a ne- 

 gotiation with the captain, not to be taken to 

 Nova Scotia, but to be set on shore on the 



