The Opelousas courier., 1902-06-28
SN1fstt.
TIE oRINoco RIVER,
Little Known Out of South America,
But One, of the Greatest

@itItS RHoWNI Out OF SOutn America
But One of the Greatest.
One of the greatest rivers of the
world. the Orinoco, is also one of the
least known to Europeans. It's sister
the Amazon, has often been described
by Wallace and Bates, among others
but Humboldt remains practically the
only writer of standing upon the great
stream which, rising ON the frontiers
of Brazil, runs for 1000 miles through
Venezuela, receiving in It's course such
immense tributaries as the Mela and
Apnre, and. discharging. itself by a
hundred mouths into the South At,
lantic opposite. the British island of
| Trinidad.
The principal entrance, and the only
one available for sailing vessels, is the
Boca Grande, to the south, into which
flow, among other tributaries, the
Aratura and Amacura, the latter al
most coineiding in its course with
the Schomburgh boundary line be-
tween British Guiana andS Venezuela.
B-most of the traffic of the Orinoco
passes through Trinidad, where pas
sengers and goods are transferred to
steamers almost fiat .bottomed, Hand
reach the .Orinoco sby the mNRth
known as Macarao, the open sea befYs
avoided. 1t was by that route tn
the writer started in the Apure, cha
tered for the ~oSeSsion, on a trip of soy
miles up the great river, forming probS
ably the first, and certainly the larg-'
est party of tourists which had ever
assembled it. =. j. =,,.@'. -. .@.
Six hours after leaving Port of Spain
the entrance of the Macarao was
reached and for fourteen hours we
navigated a deep channel, perhaps
half a mile wide, whose attractions
surprised those who had read of the
delta of the Orinoco as. a dismal
swamp, thousands of square miles in
extent, tenanted only by a few wild
Indians, who built their houses in
among the trees, by wild beasts and by
birds. The description is true, though
the impression left is not quite correct.
Well-nigh ~impenetrable forests and
underground hide ground which is for
the most part ooze, covered for half
the year by water. The Guaraoan
Indians, many of. whom padded out to
meet the steamer and beg, in canoes
roughly followed from the trunk of a
tree, and who dispute supremacy Of
these wilds with jaguars and alligat-
ors, are extremely low specimens of
humanity, though attachment to their
dogs, large; rough-haired and excellent
hunters, should be mentioned to their
~
But the ,~.passerby sees none of the
of this, great swamp. They
are concealed by magnificent trees
to the waters edge, whose
branches may. sometimes be touched !
from the steamer when she is steer
ed close to the shore in order to
avoid the current. Sometimes that
splendid parasite, the matapalo has |
wrapped in its deadly folds several
adjacent trees, and, these perishing. |
t stands alone, showing walls of green
Ind resembling a large ivy mantled
.ower. Upon this and upon the tops
the tallest trees other parasites
ling masses of blossom. A flock of
.iamfngoes makes a brilliant scarlet
'atch here and there; the sun flashes
rom parrots Of many sizes and vari-
,us hues; snow-white cranes gaze
'tolidly from the banks; macaws,
,reen and yellow, or deep crimson on
lead and breast, fly heavily past; and
mailer birds of every color of the
ainbow scream or chatter or sing
.nnong the trees.-Caracas Herald.