561 



north, the basin of the Amazon, of which the 

 area (244,000 square leagues) is only a sixth 

 less than the area of all Europe, rises in a 

 gentle slope towards the Sierra Parime. At 

 68° of west longitude the elevated part of 

 this Sierra terminates at 31° of north lati- 

 tude. The groupe of monticules that sur- 

 round the source of the Rio Negro, the Ini- 

 rida and the Xie (lat. 2°) the scattered rocks 

 between the Atabapo and the Cassiquiare, 

 appear like groupes of islands and rocks in 

 the middle of the plain. A part of those 

 ocks is covered with signs or symbolical 

 sculpture. Nations, very different from those 

 who now inhabit the banks of the Cassi- 

 quiare, penetrated into the savannahs ; and 

 the zone of painted rocks> extending more 

 than 150 leagues in breadth, presents traces 

 of ancient civilization. On the east of the 

 sporadic groupes of rocks (between the me- 

 ridian of the bifurcation of the Oroonoko 

 and that of the confluence of the Essequibo 

 with the Rupunuri), the lofty mountains of 

 Parime commence only at 3° of latitude; 



a strange error, has covered plains with mountains of which 

 they are entirely destitute. He forgot that in the colonies, 

 monte signifies almost exclusively a forest, and he has traced 

 chains of mountains wherever he has written monies de cacao, 

 as if the cacao-tree did not belong to the hottest region of 

 the plains. 



VOL. VI. 2 P 



