IN HUMBOLDT'S COUNTRY 447 
knew that he was well acquainted with the Indians of the 
Marania, Pacimoni, and Siapa, and had great influence over 
them, offered to him to undertake the management of the river 
Pacimoni. He closed with the offer and immediately removed 
his family to the Pacimoni. There was already a pueblo near the 
source of the Pacimoni, called Sta. Isabel, which had been 
founded a few years before with a few families of Mandauaca and 
Cunuqurana Indians. This pueblo Custodio augmented, and 
founded another pueblo some distance lower down the river, at a 
point which can be reached by boats of considerable size, and 
therefore better situated for commerce than Sta. Isabel, which 
can only be approached within two miles by boats of the smallest 
size. Not content with this, and being joined by several families 
of his wife's relatives, he moved a day lower down the river, some 
two years ago, and commenced another pueblo which has apparently 
taken firm root and has been named San Custodio. So that 
Custodio — the mulatto — the slave — the captive — now figures as 
"Comisario del Rio Pacimoni y fundador de los pueblos de 
Santa Maria y San Custodio " (Chief of the river Pacimoni and 
founder of the villages of Santa Maria and San Custodio !). 
Note on the Sources of the Orinoco 
[In a volume on L' Ord7toque et la Cattra, by 
J. Chaffanjon (Paris, 1889), the author describes 
his voyage up these rivers reaching to the sources 
of the Orinoco. Unfortunately, he appears to have 
had no means of fixing any positions, and his small, 
very sketchy map is evidently quite untrustworthy. 
This is shown by its making the distance from 
Esmeralda to the highest point reached, at a moun- 
tain which he names after Ferdinand de Lesseps, 
rather more than that from Esmeralda to San 
Fernando de Atabapo at the mouth of the 
Guaviare, which would bring him to a point far 
beyond the Sierra Parima as shown on all the maps. 
Leaving Esmeralda on December 2, 1886, in 
a large canoe with eight rowers, and ascending 
numerous rapids, he reached the Raudal des Fran- 
cais on the 13th. Thence, in 11^ days, in a small 
