115 



an umbrella over his head." With what rapidity 

 do nations, who appear the most pacific, acquire 

 military habits! I then smiled at a timidity 

 avowed with such simple frankness ; and twelve 

 years afterwards those valleys of Aragua, those 

 peaceful plains of La Victoria and Turmero, 

 the defile of Cabrera, and the fertile banks of 

 the lake of Valencia, have become the theatre 

 of the most obstinate and bloody conflicts be- 

 tween the natives and the soldiers of the mother 

 country. 



To the South of Turmero, a mass of limestone 

 mountains advances into the plain, separating 

 two fine sugar-plantations, Guayavita and Pqfa. 

 The latter belongs to the family of Count Tovar, 

 who have property in every part of the province. 

 Near Guayavita, brown iron ore has been dis- 

 covered. To the North of Turmero, a granitic 

 summit (the Chuao) rises in the Cordillera ©f 

 the coast, from the top of which we discern at 

 the same time the sea and the lake of Valencia. 

 Crossing this rocky ridge, which runs toward 

 the West farther than the eye can reach, paths 

 somewhat difficult lead to the rich plantations 

 of cacao on the coast, to Choroni, Turiamo, and 

 Ocumare, noted alike for the fertility of the soil, 

 and the insalubrity of their climate. Turmero, 

 Maracay, Cura, Guacara, every point of the 

 valley of Aragua, has it's mountain-road, which 



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