The Sun.
London, England, 1806-09-13 00:00:00

SOUTH AMERICA,

•THE CARACCAS.,
Dills fertile and,exten:,ive territory at present derives an
at:oriental 'aiitt temporary interest from its having been
chores, by Genetal ,MtstA xn4 as the scene of adventurous
einerprite.—T he account is taken trout the work of M. Di—
v 0 NS, a' Refugee troth St. Domingo; who appears to be well
acquainted ,with the subjetts which he has delineated.' •

DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST OF THE EASTERN PART

T 7 :OF TtRILS.
None of the coequesti. made, by the discoverers of.
, .
the new. world was disputed ‘eitli
_greater obstinacy
than that ot Caraccas. The Indians Who inhabited
; the country at- the, arrival of the Spaniards' were
%fierce and savage, and. the cruelty of. their invaders•
drove them to depair. They were not united, as in
Mexico and Peru, under a single head, but divided,
into small tribes, who fought separately for their ins•
dependetke. The nature of their country was fa-
vourable for defence, being mountainous and: diffi-
cult ot access, and intersected with innumerable
rivers, which, fora great.part of the year, overflow
their banks. • The progress •of the invaders .was;
therefore slow. and their • steps were marked with
devastation and blood. But the uativese were at
length exterminated or reduced to subjeetion. The
prieeners taken in war were hurried to the shore
airdj sold to slave merchants, who hovered over the-
c'Past like birds of•prey, in expeCtation of these vies
thus, to replace the- sufferers from bigotry and avas
rice at SW.DomitvgP. lii no part of the Spanish
Settlements: 'have the missionaries contributed so
little to the reduction of the country as in Caraccas.
DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY. .
The Captain-Generalship of Caraceas consists Of
the provinces •of Venezuela, Maracaibo, Varinose
,'GuiatiaeCtimana, and the Isle of Margarita. It ex-
'tends along, the coast from long. 75. to long, 61. W.
:from Paris, and from north to-south it reaches from•
`tat. 12. N. to the equator. It is bounded by the
seal, by Dutch, •Freneh,, and Portuguese Guiana, and'
,by4e Vice-Royalty of ,New Granada. It may be
~wke'ssary to remind our- Readers, that the Spanish
-Settlements-in. America are divided into four Vice-
,Royalties, Mexico, Peru,, Buenos Ayres, and: i-;ew
Granada ; and into five Captain-G.eneralships„ Porto
Rico, Cnba,r Guatemala, Caraccas and Chili. The
Captaiii:-General is an officer of itiferior dignity to,
the Viceroy, but is quite independent of his mulles'
city. • The temperature of this country is. moderated:
by a chain of mountains which traverse it from
west to 'east, extending from the lake of Maracaibo
to the Isle of Trinidad: • The highest point of this
ridge is near the city of Caraccas, having 15.278. toisea
of height ; butein general, it is much less elevated.
To the south of these mountains there is an exten-
sive plain, extremely hot, watered by the Orinoco
and its tributary streams. . The mountains of Carat:,
can are covered with wood fit for ahip-building; and
*;for every other purpose; and they coatain ,some. gold
mineis, though of little value, which were at one*
time worked, but have been long since abandoned.
There is a capper mine in the Province of Venezuela,
from which a small quantity of excellent copper is
annually extracted. _ft ,is .used by the planters in -
their sugar-works in preference to iron, on account
pfits clieviless, being sold at 15 dollars per cwt.--L
A small quantity is Intewise. exported at Porto, Ca-
bello. The pearl fishery near the Isle of Marg.,
rita, which first attracted the Spaniards to this eoaCt,
has been long since abandoned; and', it is said-that
pearls are no•longer to be found there.—Bay salt is
gathered in great abundance, and of excellent quality,
in-many plates along the coast of Venezuela. Near
Brava there is a mine of rock-salt, which might be
worked' to great advantage., were it not for the royal
,monopoly, which pre:vents any on.e from trading in
,salt except the .Bing-,,The seasons, are divided into
•wet and dry in Caraccas, as inother tropical countries.
The rainy season begins in May, and ends in De-
cember.' While it lasts, there is 'rain for three hours
a day, at an average, throughout the country. The
rain falls in torrents., fills the ravines, and makes the
rivers overflow their banks. Earthquakes are much
less, common in Caraccas than in Peru. When there
are long intervals between the ttnander-storms, , it is
- observed; that earthquakes are more frequent. The
Lake of Maracaibo is 150 leagues in circumference,
and communicates with. the sea; Its water is fresh,
hue at times brackish. It abounds in fish, andds na-,
vigable for ships Of considerable burthen. At ils north
east corner, thereds a very copious spring of mineral
pitch eatud from this a constant exhalation of inflatia-
mible vapours, which are phosphorescent during the
night, and serve as a beacon to the Indians and Spd-
ii.ards who navigate the lake.. The place is called,
'oh this account;, the BeacOn of Maracaibo.' T•he
banks of the lake are sterile and unwholesome, so
that the Indians -prefer living in villages built on
shallows in the midst of the watere who the Spa-
niards first arrived on this coast,: the number of these
villages was so great, that they gave to the province
the name of Venezuela, or Little Venice. Four of ,
them are still preserved, and their inhabitants earn
.their subsistence by catching fish in the lake, and by
hunting for wild ducks, in the manner described by
'Aka.; They take care that a number ofempty•ca-
labashes are continually floating on the lake, that the
ducks may be accustomed to them, anEl- without fear
at seeing them approach. The hunter then goes into
the lal-e with a calabash over his head, having holes
in it for seeing and breathing. Nothing is seen aboN'e
`the, water except the calabash, which, appears to be
floating on the-lake, Thus accoutred, he moveewith ;
the gieatest stillness towards the ducks, elicit:Melling
one by the* leg, he pulls it suddenly under the water
before it has time to alarm the rest; and, in this way,
he goes on till he has caught as many as he wants.
The rivers which take their rise on the •north side of
the mountains are short and rapid in their•course,,and
run directly into the sea. They might be usefully
employed for irrigation ; and they are well. adapted
for conveying lumber to the coast. Some of ahem,-
ate navigableto a considerable distance from the sea.
The rivers whichrise on the south Side of the moun-
tains flow through a flat country, which-they inun-
date in the rainy season, and are at last received ihto
the Orli-weo.-I'oa° Cabello is the best harbour upon
this coast, or.in all America. It is-large, sate, and
commodious; sheltered from every, wind-; calm,how-
ever much the sea is agitated; deep, and has good
anchoring grotind; Guayra, the harbour of Caraccas,
is the most frequented port on this coast, though it is
only a, miserable road Stead. In the Gulf of Paria
there is a good- anchorage, from eight to thirty fa-