10 
PJRARA 
On his return an official despatch was delivered to him from tlie commander of the upper and lower Amazon, who, it appears, assumed 
authority over Pirara, and desired him to withdraw and to disperse the mission. The Brazilian detachment had orders to see the mandate obeyed, 
or to enforce it in case of refusal. The missionary removed to the eastern bank of the Rupununi, and after his departure the inhabitants of 
Pirara dispersed and have since wandered about the wilderness. The traveller who may pass from the present village of Pirara to the place 
of embarkation on the rivulet Pirara, will observe a 'spot which evidently shows that it was once the site of human habitations ; but posts, on 
which the vestiges of fire are observable, a few cashew and arnotto trees, as well as some straggling shrubs of cotton, are all that remain of this 
once happy Macusi settlement. His guides will tell him, that on one dark night a lawless band of slave hunters arrived from the Rio Branco, 
surprised the poor inmates, and, after having set their huts on fire, carried old and young away to die far from their native land in bondage 
and slavery. Too many desolated places are now to be seen in the savannahs, which were once the site of villages, and which met with a 
similar fate. May the moment soon arrive when the boundaries of the rich and productive colony of British Guiana shall be clearly 
defined, then only can peace and happiness be insured to the poor remnants of those who once roved in full supremacy over the soil which 
Europeans and their descendants have usurped. Taught by the past, let them settle on the British side of the frontier, and they will soon be 
aware, that 
“ Where Britain’s power is felt, 
Mankind will feel her blessings too.” 
Previous to the occupation of Pirara by a detachment of Brazilian militia, the Brazilians were not in actual possession of the regions 
further east than Fort San Joaquim do Rio Branco. This boundary fort, which is pleasantly situated in the midst of the savannahs, is built 
on the eastern shore of the river Takutu, within a few hundred yards of its confluence with the Rio Branco, the Parima of the Macusi 
Indians, or Urariquera of the Paravilhanas. A detachment of Spaniards from Nueva Guayana, on the Orinoco, arrived in 1775 by the 
Caroni and the Uraricapara at the Rio Branco, and fortified themselves in the vicinity of the confluence of the river Yurume. They wei’e 
dispersed by the Portuguese, who, against the incursions of the Spaniards as well as against the Dutch, erected the boundary fort San Joaquim. 
It is constructed of red sandstone found in the vicinity, and has fourteen embrasures mounted with eight nine-pounders in tolerable condition. 
A commandant, who is an officer in the provincial militia, and ten privates garrisoned it when we were there, and a small chapel and five 
houses constituted the village. Every two or three years a priest visits the fortress to administer to the spiritual wants of its 
inhabitants. 
Our party spent the rest of the dreary time of a tropical winter in San Joaquim. We had received permission for that purpose from 
the commander of the district, Ambrosio P. Ayres, at Manaos, or Barra do Rio Negro, who had sent his brother, Pedro Ayres to welcome us at 
the Biazilian boundaiy, and to afloid us eveiy facility, wdiich such a distant spot could yield towards our geographical pursuits. Two 
comfortable houses outside the fort were given up to us for our quarters, as long as we might think it convenient to use them. 
This leception from a Government whom we knew to be at that time fully engaged in suppressing an insurrection, which had lasted for 
more than five years, and had therefore little leisure to pay attention to scientific objects, was more than I could have expected in my most 
sanguine hopes, and I felt truly grateful for the kindness and civility I experienced. The same hospitality had been shown on former 
occasions to Mr. Charles Waterton, the author of the delightful “Wanderings,” and to those two unfortunate travellers Lieut. Gullifer, R. N., 
and Ml. Smith, both of whom lost their lives in the attempt to visit the interior of Guiana. The circumstances connected with their death 
are of so melancholy a nature that they deeply excite our sympathy. 
SAN JOAQUIM DO RIO BRANCO. 
