211 



barked ; they are thrown down with ropes, and 

 then hoisted on board the vessels by means of 

 a machine resembling a crane. Ranged in two 

 files, the mules with difficulty keep their feet 

 during the rolling and pitching of the ship j and 

 in order to frighten and render them more 

 docile, the drum is beaten during a great part 

 of the day and night. We may guess what 

 quiet a passenger enjoys, who has the courage 

 to embark for Jamaica in a schooner laden with 

 mules. 



We left Porto-Cabello on the 1st of March at 

 sunrise. We saw with surprise the great num- 

 ber of boats, that were laden with fruit to be 

 sold at the market. It reminded me of a fine 

 morning at Venice. The town presents in 

 general, on the side toward the sea, a cheerful 

 and agreeable aspect. Mountains covered with 

 vegetation, and crowned with peaks % which 

 from their outline would be taken for rocks of 

 trap, form the back ground of the landscape. 

 Near the coast, all is bare, white, and strongly 

 illumined, while the screen of mountains is 

 clothed with trees of thick foliage, that project 

 their vast shadows upon the brown and rocky 

 ground. On going out of the town we visited 

 &n aqueduct, that had been just finished. It is 

 five thousand varas long, and conveys the 



* Las Tetas de Ilaria. 



p 2 



