18 
COUESE OE THE OEIHOCO. 
of Chaguanes, Angostura miglit be defended against an 
enemy that should attempt to penetrate by one of the loccta 
cMcas. In my time the station of the gun-boats was east 
of San Eafael, near the northern bank of the Orinoco. This 
is tho point which vessels must pass in sailing up toward 
Angostura by the northern channel, that of San Eafael, 
which is the broadest hut the most shallow. 
Six leagues above the point where the Orinoco sends oif a 
branch to the bocas -chicas is placed an ancient fort {los Cas~ 
tillos de la Tieja or Antigua Guayana^ the first construction 
of which goes hack to the sixteenth century. In this spot 
the bed of the river is studded with rocky islands ; and it is 
asserted that its breadth is nearly six hundred and fifty 
toiscs. The town is almost destroyed, hut the fortifications 
subsist, and are well worthy the attention of the government 
of Terra h'inna. There is a magnificent view from the bat- 
tery established on a bluff north-west of the ancient town, 
which, at the period of great immdations, is entirely sur- 
rounded with water. Pools that communicate with the 
Orinoco form natural basins, adapted for the reception of 
vessels that want repairs. 
After having passed the little forts of Vleja Gnayana, the 
bed of the Ormoco again widens. The state of cultivation 
of the country on the two banks affords a striking contrast. 
On the north is seen the desert part of the province of Cu- 
mana, steppes (IJanos) destitute of habitations, and extend- 
ing beyond the sources of the Eio Blamo, toward the table- 
land or mesa of Guanipa. On the south we find three popu- 
lous villages belonging to the missions of Carony, namely, 
San Miguel de TJriala, San Felix, and San Joaquin. The last 
of these villages, situate on the banks of the Carony, imnie- 
diatoly below the great cat.aract, is considered as the embar- 
cadero of the Catalonian missions. On navigating more to 
the east, between the mouth of the Carony and Angostura, 
the pilot should avoid the rocks of Guarampo, the sand- 
bank of Mamo, and the Piedra del Eosario. From the 
numerous materials which 1 brought home, and from astro- 
nomical discussions, the principal results of which I h.ave 
indicated above, 1 have constructed a map of the counli-y 
bounded by the delta of the Orinoco, the Carony, and the 
Cuyuni. This part of Guiana, from its proximity to the 
