The Republican journal., 1906-05-17
,,o7IleIa' S Bound|ess Plains
c.,oIs Live in Interior Venezuela and
30" ..;,o about the Industries There.

.,Irespondence of The Journal.
,t VENEZUELA, April I, 1906.
Known as The Delta is the
.L,y wooded part of the Orono-
pper portion of the river being
a 1y the treeless, grassy llanos,
The Venezuelans burn these
ad5Ws every year, and when we
rpgion of picturesque wilder
j pproached that OF the llanos
a.. HE whole country ablaze. 1t
,ssniiicent spectacle at night
GLOW with a hundred leaping
-. horizon outlined by cordons
Probably the true Ell Dorado
IA various nations searched in
"A tor a century will be found
. natural meadows, not with
.ar from mines, but garnered
.fudld crops, from the tonqua
tca rows SO profusely here
...th almost it's weight in gold
.4 perfumers, and from the
.rfS on which millions OF cat
. ind pasturage i'll winter as in
..s stretch from the coast
.,lacas to the forests Of Gul-
Ing the whole vast territory
liz sLuWy hills of Merida and
If The Oronoco, sweeping
~,..y ike an arm of the sea to
led banks of the Guaviare
That unknown mountain
.. the Spanish warriors (who
within a thousand miles of
. NJ Pdramo de la Fuma Paz-
Aaode of Everlasting Peace
region is watered by num-
..s full OF fish, covered with
..- M which millions of birds
.. ,oung, and deer, wild hog,
small game abound. But it is
Sill, Paradise. for the trail of
lit is over it all III a marked
ln say nothing of the perpetu-
Jous which vex Venezuela,
extensive marshes which ex-
..mas so deadly as to render
!borhood uninhabitable dur
- every year, in which enor,
.-.r auacondas find a congenlal
GATORS swarm, rattlesnakes
vaupmOnS craWierS abound,
rees grow so poisonous that
led on spits made from It's
lie death to all who eat of it.
ong stretches of a strange,
S. -raSs, called gamelote, whose
les are almost as sharp as so
0-do rapiers, and grow so
, A rapidly as to obliterate in a
All trace of the paths labor
dt by travellers and to kill out
..rl growing thing. In other
,-, are ranges of low hills OF
.t regular shape, formed of
lands blown by the winds
houndless plains. These are
0l changing-perhaps to-day
series of pyramids, to-mor-
.t crescent-shaped mounds,
appeared altogether under
-rass which waves as far as
reach in undulating sweeps
can petrifed after storm, so
.a,tIer can never safely guide
any landmark.
. arm III this region is called a
Is usually III the midst OF
yuanse of natural meadow,
smooth as a well-kept lawn,
. -.ren pillows to the horizon,
With brilliant flowers, inter
with sparkling streams and
,ols. with occasional tower
.ives and groves of oak and
whole alive with countless
l aorses and herds Of cattle,
-u- birds and rustllng snakes
-.l lizards and millions of
4t Keeping things. No words
.l Am idea Of the dazzling effect
.ut and shade, the harmonl-
nag of the most vivid colors,
1 atmosphere, the majesty
..t.pss plains, the broad smile
mmer. The hato consists
Of palm-thatched huts, look
distance like so many rather
ives, surrounding a more
S cottage, the home of the
W proprietor, the whole en-
.u an impenetrable hedge of
Js, and cacti of every variety.
. Vie of architecture is odd,
r,bIy fitted to the climate.
windows are of no account
I'D where tramps are not
u where the weather is uni
ot as the hottest throughout
5 iAdal structures, with their
-rass or shredded palm, slant
md to within few feet OF
are made of stout posts en-
way up with a combination
I mud, the upper half being
ait open for free admission
IS air. In the better houses
guerally one or two rooms
EAR to the top, the openings
uoWs should be screened on
.v shutters of solid wood or
of ox-hide. The projecting
0- to within five feet of the
'..ns a spacious corridor all
uouse and excellent protec-
rooms from sun and rain.
scorpions, hairy tarantulas,
without number, including
instructors, make their homes
--h, but they are considered
aompared to sleeping in en-
Us in this sweltering climate.
tie domestic arrangements
.ome are extremely simple,
. and difficulty of transport
such a distance from the
irrs of civilization rendering
nJluiture quite out of the
Iammocks Of woven grass
rom hooks in the posts that
roof are the universal beds
-. Raw-hides upholster the
s I'd carpet the dirt floor.
ard deer antlers stuck in
hen the mud of which they
rcI was soft, answer for hat
ru0es and closets.
ourds, big and little, serve
4 household uses i'll lieu of
cookery; and with little
u part Of the ranchman there