Occasional Notes. 367 
" Moruca abandoned all they possessed on the Orinoko 
" (not wishing to fight) and sought protection under the 
" British Crown. Most of them, leaving their homes in a 
<( hurry and in very small corials, were obliged to leave 
" their wives and families behind them and reach- 
" ing the Moruca by the inland navigation,* they 
" lost no time in reporting their arrival to General 
" D'URBAN, the then Governor of British Guianaf. His 
u Excellency, it is almost unnecessary to say, became 
" more than anxious at having so many persons to pro- 
" vide with employment and lands to suit their wants ; 
" and it was not until after much delay that the high- 
" lands of the upper Moruca river were assigned to them. 
" These lands were selected for the following reasons ; 
" the soil was rich, gravelly, and suited for the cultiva- 
" tion of coffee, cocoa et cet ; the river abounded with 
'' fish and the forest with game ; and, moreover, the 
" river being a highway to the Orinoko, would afford 
" these Spaniards frequent opportunities of communi- 
" eating with their relatives and friends, most of whom, 
" as I have said, were left behind in the Orinoko, to 
" take care of themselves as best they could. As there 
" was no chance of their wives following them to the 
" Moruca, these Spaniards sought wives from amongst 
" the Indian women of the Arawak nation ; and they 
" thus became the fathers of the present Spanish- 
" Arawaks of the Sta. Rosa Mission. "J 
* An account of this ' inland navigation ' will be found in Timehri, 
vol. ii. pp. 219-230. — Ed. 
f Major-General Sir Benjamin D'Urban became Governor of Esse- 
quibo and Demerara in 1824 and of British Guiana in 1831. He ceased 
to hold office in 1833. — Ed. 
I That these Spanish Arawaks have become so distinct and exclusive 
