338 



in the midst of pastures. The scattered popula- 

 tion of the Llanos being accumulated on certain 

 points, principally around towns, Calabozo 

 reckons already five villages or missions in it's 

 environs. It is computed, that 98,000 head of 

 cattle wander in the pastures nearest to the 

 town. It is very difficult to form an exact idea 

 of the herds contained in the Llanos of Caraccas, 

 Barcelona, Cumana, and the Spanish Guyana. 

 Mr. Depons, who inhabited the town of Carac- 

 cas longer than I, and whose statistical state- 

 ments are generally accurate, reckons in those 

 vast plains, from the mouths of the Oroonoko 

 to the lake of Maracaybo, 1,200,000 oxen, 

 180,000 horses, and 90,000 mules. He esti- 

 mates the produce of these herds at 5,000,000 

 franks ; adding to the value of the exportation 

 the price of the hides consumed in the country *. 

 There exist, it is believed, in the Pampas de 

 Buenos Ayres, 12,000,000 cows, and 3,000,000 

 horses, without comprising in this enumeration 

 the cattle that have no acknowledged proprie- 

 tor -f\ 



I shall not hazard any of these general esti- 

 mations, from their nature too uncertain ; but 

 shall only observe, that, in the Llanos of Carac- 

 cas, the proprietors of the great hatos are en- 



* Depons, Voyage (X la Terre Ferme, vol. i, p. 10. 

 t Az%aro, Voyage au Paraguay, vol. i, p, 30. 



