Balata and the Balata Industry. 155 
on the savannah remain ; but since the beginning of the 
European occupation there could have been very few- 
This I infer from the fact that there is no Indian blood 
among the present inhabitants, nor do they possess any 
of the household habits or customs of the Indians. On 
the other rivers, wherever the black people have come 
into contact with the Indians, they have absorbed Indian 
blood, and adopted Indian household customs and ways 
of living. The only trace of the former inhabitants that 
still lingers is found in the names of the more useful of 
the forest trees, but these are greatly corrupted, shewing 
that the intercourse was never sufficient for them to be 
properly or even fairly acquired. Yet the savannah re- 
gion is just such a country as Indians delight in, and one 
who has been about much in the colony can hardly per- 
suade himself, as he travels through it, that they are 
absolutely absent ; for the whole aspect of the country, 
every turn of the river, every bank and landing place, the 
ground and the trees and other plants upon it,— by 
association suggest, without conscious thought — their 
presence. Possibly the advent of Europeans, who, as I 
have said, first took possession of the upper part of the 
river, just below the savannah region where the Indians 
dwelt, and the turbulent and savage character of their 
slaves, gave them great alarm, which caused them to 
depart very early before any opportunity had occurred 
for close intercourse. 
Though charming higher up, to a degree that impresses 
one profoundly when the savannah region is reached, the 
Canje River for several miles from the mouth in its 
physical features is one of the least interesting and most 
dreary in aspect of any in the colony. The banks are 
u z 
