418 



May the 12th. Satisfied with our observations, 

 we left the rock of Culimacari at half after one 

 in the morning. The torment of moschettoes, to 

 which we were exposed, augmented in propor- 

 tion as we increased our distance from the Rio 

 Negro. There are no zancudoes (culex) in the 

 valley of Cassiquiare, but the simulium, and all 

 the other insects of the tipulary family, are only 

 so much more frequent and venomous*. Having 

 still eight nights to pass in the open air in this 

 damp and unhealthy climate, before we could 

 reach the mission of Esmeralda, our pilot 

 sought to arrange our voyage in such a manner, 

 as might enable us to enjoy the hospitality of 

 the missionary of Mandavaca, and some shelter 

 in the village of Vasiva. We went up with dif- 

 ficulty against the current, which was nine feet, 

 and in some places (where I measured it with 

 precision) 11 feet 8 inches in a second, that is 

 almost eight miles an hour. Our resting-place 

 was probably not farther than three leagues in a 



mutuas concesiones, seria una libertad entera y reciproca de 

 comercio en estos magestutfsos rios, el Orinoco, el Cassi- 

 quiare, el Rio Negro y el Maranon. Nada seria mas propio 

 para fomentar la prosperidad de unos payses tarn atrasados en 

 el cultivo de las tierras, para sosegar el ardor con el qual los 

 Americanos piden, el exercicio de sus derechos naturales y 

 para disminuir la antipatia que existe desgraciadamente entre 

 dos naciones limitaneas." 

 * See above, p. 91. 



