Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1819-10-05
SOUTH AMERICA.
FROM THE OROXOCO.

FROM THE ORONOCO.
me ehciosed letter from gentlemen on
board vessel OF the United States IN his
tiIe"d AT nome, contains so much ussriuI aud
interesting information, and is so crrditahlc 10
me intelligence aud observation of the you,I,
,ui wriief, that we have pleasure in present
N"s " 10 our reader, NAT. Int.
u. 5. schooner Nonsuch,
at anchor of Angostwa,
Augid 18Th, 1919. )
we left Barbados the 9th July, and two
u"Hs ailer came III sight Of land, at the eu-
trance OF river, which we took to be Tie
OTonoco. The boats were immediately dis
pat ned TO sound aud make observations.
ne csast was low and marshy, and the water
100 shallow ts admit OF landing. Afterexplor-
Ia" Tor thirty miles along shore i'm search of
Tue Sntrance OF the river, the shin pot under
wa ana stood down about sixty miles. Here
our attempts were renewed, and for twod.ys
we spent the most unpleasant time / ever ex-
perienced. The weather was rainy aud b.J
ana The sea so tremendous that the vessel rodp
IL WIN dIthcnliy sleep or rest we were entire
strangers to. Early III the morning of the 18th
we haI Tue good fortune to discovera srhnou-
err; a boat was dispatched for inteIlisence
au returned with pilot for the Oronnco.
ms great river appears TO he almost max uown
IN rue United States all our charts laid dawn
us latitude differently The Commodore mr.
"ereu me John Adams to Trinidad, and tina
same naS we entered the month OF the river i'm
tn'N schooner vessels drawing more than M
iest water cannot cross the bar
Next morning two caROes OF Indians came
ca poaru' bringing regular pilot. These
,eHo"SWeTe naked, very slIghtiy and delicate-
~ mace and appeared poor and miserable in
Tue eXtreme-tIer onI, food was -pIautains
cassada bread and sugar cane,
lhe banks OF the OronocO for 200 miles nm
are uhihhabted, being subject TO innndation
They are thickly wooded with live oak mo.
hoeahS. coca nut, and thousand other trees
the names OF which we did not know The
river Is generally narrow, but extremely deep,
H ia, d stion: cnrrentalways setting down : we
SOMETHING'S lied the vessel 10 a tree like ca
noe; and could easily jump on shore on firm
iahu' ne prospect is always fine aud strik-
ing ana the trees filed witt! birds of the mos,
osT t piHmage. We saw some balloons,
as large as IGiudle sized dogs, of a lipht red
color they made the most tremendous how
hng ana chatterins in the night,
ihe Indians reside in the interior, and come
Ho"n occasionally TO fish they are IL harm
Tess, InotfeHslye race fond Of tobacco aud rum
and toIerably shrewd at driving a bargain
they are completely la state of nature the
"ohieu are not handsome, but some of them
possess regularity of features and express
s,oH OF countenance extremely pleasing A
piece oil red paint they consider invaluable
ana are IN the habit of r0uging pretty highly
:" met win several gen ,lemen who had each
half dozen wiyes "'''
AFTER ascending the river about sixty miles,
the country begins TO assume a different an
pearancc being higher and less woody some
sldh plantations, producing sugar cane and
piahtaIns, are here seen. The land is extremely
flch aud well adapted TO Indian corn 81 tobac-
co ootn these would grow almost without
CULTIVATION When in possession of Old
SPAN, sugar and coffee " ere extensively rails
eu Dut since the revolution, these valuable
articles have been entirely abandoned. Ia
ueeu ihis me soil is bestowed on a people per-
maps the most inactive and indOlent i'm The
universe Neither the hope of gaiu. or fear of
punishment, can make Spauiard work; thev
nave no more foresight than the duIlest nj
pr les, aud never look forward to Tomorrow
How they manage 10 live at all, lis indeed won
ue'iui' Tie consequences are Datu raj The
hecessaries OF life Can hardly be obtained. and
the people are poor, ignorant ana miseI able
III TIE extreme. never before Witnessed nv
contrast, The immense benefits OF Industry 10
society, ana ann now convinced that almost
every comfort of life is derived from il. eit,e r
directly or indiTectly
On the goth OF July we passed the Indian
village OF SanchOpaU, or the left bank of the
river MS rs handsome little town, laid Oft
III streets, aud regularly built of CLAY and pal
metlO leave. 1t is Tie capital of the Indians
~ ms quarter, where they resort in great ntiul
bers, Tor the purpose of fishing. After passi,Io
thiS pace Tue country begins to be inhabited
bySpanlards. The village Of Barauca tbtrtv
miles above this, contains perhaps a dozen
h0nSes, and Is consequently not very ponnlous
IL Is the rendezvous however for lie pnfri-
Ottorces IN this quarter consisting of fonr
gnn-OoaIS, 0i one gun each, and crew OF
hity men. The commander of The station
Commodore PadiseX boarded our schooner
ia large canoe. padded byS IS men. lie IL a
stout, fiBe looking man, Of every brave and dig-
mined appearance, and seems 10 I've drepIy
tinsed with either the Negto or Indian blood
His dress was blue round Jacket, red vest.
Two epauletieS, aud pantalOors OF the latest
fashion. lie lives III small thatched house
Bear the shore.
The same evening we arrived at GUYANA. on
old Spanish settlement, about 100 miles d, low
Angoslura. This town contains upwatds OF
thuH houses, matched, painted red. and fnr
oshed With glass windows-a tiiip,, uot v,,,
eosimou 10 ilus country. The ptincieag fori
mounts five guns, Is butt Vt stone, and stands
"a the foot Of bIll; there is a castle ou il,t
summit, with four piece, no regular watcl
Is kepi ~ either Of uc'n. These bsttcutS,u