New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-04-21

that tho sugar plantations which cOhs"'u
wealth Cf the co ny ave exclus vely n.us'o0'
extending nowhere at present to gTcA'er a''''H0'
from it than few miles up the rivers
As the coast OF 'Brihsh Guiana begins 10 10 up
preached the wat ers of the ocean take on PecVn"
sppearance. y,t the distance Of more ohen hua-
drea miles FRI IN tbe land they lose their deep blue
color and assume q dark green nue. Inns ua,A
green gradually changes TO pale green ana Oy tue
time INST soupdipss are obtained, which b'ppens
Iono NJ fore the land ia visible, the water has become
Of a uhiii,h color, in which tie green tint ID bet
Iqotly perceptibe. The water gradually shoals
from twenty 10 Eve fath0ms, when, II the weather
3 clear. low line of coast beoOmes vfibe, defiant
ten or twelve miles 1t is bned with skIrtipg Of
bush, to use the language of the coODy-princpally
tie maDgove and the cOBri6a (Aoiceana mttidd)
trees, which rejoice in the saltwater, Behndnsy oc-
cseionally be seen towering gigantic elk cotton
tree, or a row of tall cabbage palms, Indicative OF
a plantation. As the coast ia approached nearer
though vessels of considerable draft ought TO keep
a good distauce-the smok ng cbmDeys OF the sugar
works occasionally appear By this time the waters
of the ocean have totally lost the bike and green
which we are accustomed to associate with them,
aud, 90 far at least as color is concerned, have
taken on the aspect of vast mud puddle. This
discolOIstOn of the waters Of the ocean, distn-
| gushing Characteristic of the whole coast of
| Guiana, is doubtless occasioned by the vast
| quantities of sand ard mud which the coplous
waters of the Amazon and its numerous tributa-
! ties under the influence Of the rsiUs almost con-
tnuOus in that climate, sweep down from the slopes
| of the Andes end the mountains of Bcaz'l. This
immense accumulation of muddy waters is preciPl-
tated in 90 vatt torrent into the ocean as to
fretben as well as to di.color ts waters for more
than hundred miles feawsrd. Under the con-
slant pressure of the trade winds, and the current
westward which they occafiOn, this turod flood
tets along the coast DOrthward aud westward, con-
tributiug also by its own supplies to accelerate the
current by which that coast il thus constantly
swept 1t lie, doubtless, from deposits derived from
this source that the whole aluvial coast border
Of Buti.h Guiana, including all the land at present
in cultivation, has IN the course Of cOuptess ages
been gradually formed. This aluvial coast district,
from depth inland at the western Limit of the
colony of only tao OF three miles, gradually wi3ehs
to the eastward, till on the river Corentyn, which
separates British from Dutch Guiana it is said to
have depth of some forty miles. Its inland boun-
Diary is range of low barren hills which traverses
the whole colony from northwest to southeast,
principally composed of ssnd Of various shades of
color from pure white ~ black, aud which evident
ly appear to have OAce formed the boundary of the
ocean in that direction.
t. ,b.kf al
Guiana, as well as that Of Dutch Guiana, its east
ern Deighbor, was originally covered by the sea
fOrmir z bay ndentation in the coast, of which
the lire of ssnd-hls appear to have been the shore
In this bay the forbid waters had liberty to spread
themelves, out of the immediate influence Of the
current, and to deposit those successive layers Of
sand, clay, ard mud of which, as appears from the
strata passed through in boring for srtesian wells,
this alluv6l district is composed for depth of at
least two hundred feet. Nor indeed has the bottom
on which it rests ever yet been reached.
Though in the particular order and respective
thickness of the strata penetrated BY these bOrngs
there is considerable variation, yet there is CUB
staDtsl agreement in their general character. The
water is found in strata OF pure white tand, mixed
with small pebbles Of quartz. Thee strata are
sometimes reached at the depth Of fifty feet, though
the average depth of the wells is nearer hundred
ard fifty feet The surface soil rests sometimes on
layer of sand and mud mixed together principally
the former, known IN the colony as "caddy," aud
sometimes on stiff clay. Bot there generally
occurs at varying depths below the surface thick
layer of semi fluid mud, soft that the auger often
goes down several feet of its own mere weight.
| The actual surface would thus appear to be hard
ened crust of but moderate thickness, resting upon
al expanse OF semi-huid mud-a condition of things
which will account for the jarriog often felt in
| Georgetown, the capital Of the colony when car
| risee passes the house. That such is the fact,
seems also TO be confirmed By the experience had ia
building and working the railroad which runs fifteen
miles or more from Georgetown parallel to the sea
coast. The embankment on which this road is
built, formed of earth thrown out of trench on
each side of it, shows great disposition to settle,
and too heavy a weight placed upon the road will
cause the mud to ooze up from the bottom of these
side trenches. Further down are found various
strata of clay, of which some are so stiff and hard
that the auger penetrAtes them with difficulty. At
sll depths hitherto reached, deeayed wood and
leaves are met with.
The water in these wells seldom if ever over
flows, and il lie necessary to use pumps to raise it
above the surface. AS it Issues from the tubing it
is about 94o Fahrenheit, being five degrees higher
than the COMMON temperature of water in that
climate at dsybreak Its flow is greatly dependent
upOn the state of the tide, the water ia the tube
rising some eighteen inches higher at high water
L.. 49, n :.