Narrative of a Journey in South America,

The College is the only public institution for education; and hither all the youth of Caracas of the better classes are sent for that purpose. The routine of education is such, as it may be supposed to have been in Spain, two hundred years ago: a few common Latin authors, catechisms, and the Lives of Saints, being the chief studies. A free mode of thinking is, how ever, rapidly spreading among the young men, and may hereafter produce the most important effects.

The barracks which stand above the town to the north-west, are large and commodious. They are of a square form, capable of holding two thousand men with ease; and, from their situation, might completely command the town, were they not overlooked by neighbouring heights. The view from them is extensive, over a great part of the valley, and a delightful promenade might be formed in front of them, with very little trouble and

expence.

The elevated situation of the valley of Caracas, and the purity and lightness of the air, have a material effect upon the physical and moral character of the inhabitants, and distinguish them advantageously from the natives of the coast. As the original Indians here were celebrated among the surrounding tribes, the same may be affirmed of the present race of Caracas, that they are superior in quickness of perception, in activity, and intelligence, to the inhabitants of most of the other towns in the province.

The women of Caracas are handsome, sprightly, and pleasing: To their natural charms they know how to add the attractions of dress, and of graceful motions. They are uniformly kind and affable in their manners; and whatever faults an Englishman may frequently observe in their domestic conduct, these are not more than may be traced in the manners of Old Spain.

There is a tolerably large theatre in Caracas, but it is poorly ornamented, and seldom well filled. The actors are taken from the lower ranks, who pursue their several occupations through the day, and in the evening tread the stage. Considering this circumstance, their performance is entitled to be treated with lenity, and, in general, the audience are not difficalt to please. Patriotic songs are occasionally brought forward, and the singer is frequently not only applauded, but rewarded with pieces of money cast upon the stage. This circumstance is sometimes attended with inconvenience; and I have seen a hero obliged to stoop to avoid a friendly dollar thrown at his head.

About the 15th of January 1811, we left Caracas, and set off before day-break for Victoria, having a fine moonlight we took our course to the westward. A kind of hoar frost covered the ground, and the air was so cold that, until the sun rose, our feet and hands were benumbed, and our Mulatto trembled all over. Three or four miles from Caracas we see a small village, lying on the other side of the Guayra, pleasantly situated in a

Narrative of a Journey in South America.

recess among the hills, and distinguishable by the white tower of its church, like that of Macuta, on the coast. This was originally an Indian village, and it still retains the name of one, although very few, if any, original families are now remaining. It stands upon a small height, at the foot of which extends a large and fertile flat, capable at all times of being irrigated, and which is generally covered with Otaheitan sugar-canes. About two leagues from Caracas we pass through a straggling village, with its church on a small eminence, capable of being converted into a good military post for the defence of the road. The valley of Caracas now narrows rapidly, and the space between the hills seldom consists of more than the flat through which the river flows, evincing by its level surface, that after heavy rains it is frequently covered with water. After some time we leave the small heights, and descend upon the Guayra, which we cross and recross several times, until, having passed a little stream which falls into it, we approach Las Aguntas, a few houses at the foot of the mountains which we now prepare to ascend. This post is between three and four leagues from Caracas, and a good Pulperia affords the traveller the means of rest and refreshment. Pulperia is the name given in this country to establishments which are at the same time shops, farms, and inns, such as they may be, adapted to the state of society in the province.⚫

As the heat of the sun had not yet become oppressive, we determined to proceed without stopping at Las Aguntas. The road soon became steep and rocky; but, as we ascended, we were amply repaid by the grandeur of the prospects which every step opened to our view. We continued to ascend for upwards of four miles, when we reached the summit of the first hills, which shut in the head of the valley of Caracas, from which we soon after looked back for the last time on the town, presenting, at the distance of twenty miles, a singularly interesting appearance, at the foot of lofty mountains. The spot from which this farewell view, or, if we are approaching from Valencia, this first glimpse, of Caracas is obtained, is called Bona Vista, and is marked by a single miserable Venta. The road from thence leads over the high grounds, and we find ourselves in the midst of a mouatainous country, the valleys of which are deep, dark, and solitary, without rivers, and the sides in general but partially covered with trees. To the south-west, the ridges gradually ascend, and terminate in a lofty peak, the summit of which appeared like a black spot far above the clouds. By degrees our road led us through a wood composed of lofty trees, such as are common in the West Indian islands; having got clear of which, we at length began to descend about ten o'clock into a valley, near the bottom of which is scattered the miserable hamlet of San Pedro, composed of fifteen or twenty houses, with an unfinished church; which, however, serves the country for many miles around. A clear stream, nearly the size of the Guayra, runs through the bottom, near which was fought the great battle with the Indian Chief, Guaycaipuro, which cleared the way for the Spaniards to the

Narrative of a Journey in South America.

valley of Caracas. Having now completed upwards of seven leagues of our journey, we stopped to rest our horses, and repaired to a Pulperia close to the stream. Here we procured some boiled meat, cakes of maize, and eggs; and for our drink, water, or guarapo, a liquor made by mixing coarse sugar with water.

About mid-day I followed the course of the stream, till I found a se questered spot, shade with trees, where I bathed. The day being cloudy, I was astonished to find the water exceedingly cold at this hour, and between the tropics; not reflecting that San Pedro is at a still greater elevation than Caracas. Being farther refreshed by two hours sleep upon the ground, towards three o'clock we again set off, accompanied by the owner of a coffee plantation, who joined us at the Pulperia. After ascending from San Pedro, which we begin to do immediately from the banks of the river, and riding about two leagues, we begin to have a view of the country on the other side of the chain of hills we are passing, and soon afterwards the descent commences. We first, however, turned off from our road into a deep valley, where lay the coffee estate of our companion, and which we found to be but newly commenced; and surrounded on every side by woods. The young coffee plants were all shaded by low frames, covered with a species of fern, which effectually excluded the heat of the sun, and is always necessary, we are told, for the first year. The house commanded a view over all the valley, where there was not another human habita'ion to be seen; the land, with little cultivation, yielded every vegetable necessary for subsistence; and the neighbouring woods abounded with deer, which occasionally, as we rode along, burst through the thicket.

Having at length reached the summits of this great chain of hills, and preparing to descend on the opposite side, we enjoy most beautiful views of the green cultivated valleys at a great distance beneath us. The long and rapid descent is reckoned to be nearly four leagues from the summit of the hills to the Coucuisas. Night, however, surprised us, before we were half down the mountain, and we stopped at a small house, where we thought ourselves happy in procuring green maize for our horses and mules. The whole plant is cut down and given to them, nor is there any green food which appears to yield them so much sustenance. For ourselves, two fowls were speedily killed and cooked, and cakes of maize made warm; but the whole house afforded only one small table, and neither chair nor stool of any kind. We therefore followed the fashion of the country; and when supper was brought in, hung our hammocks sufficiently low to serve for seats, and placed the table between us. Our seats were likewise our beds. These kind of houses here are almost wholly devoid of furniture. The lower classes sleep on mats, spread on the earthen floor, and the better sort have hammocks. Every traveller is supposed to carry his han mock with him; and for his accommodation, nails or hooks are fastened

Narrative of a Journey in South America.

into the walls, sometimes so insecurely that he runs considerable risk of coming to the ground in his sleep, head or feet foremost, as it may happen.

About three o'clock in the morning, we again set out, and continued our descent, guided by the light of the stars. This part of the road we found in some places more steep and rugged than any in our whole journey, being indeed more difficult to pass than the worst between La Guayra and Caracas. At day dawn we reached Las Coucuisas, consisting of a few scattered houses, at the bottom of the hil. Of these, the principal was a Pulperia, before the door of which a number of Indians and other travellers, proceeding to Caracas, were collected, waiting till it should be opened to prepare themselves for climbing the mountains, from which we had just descended. Among the Indians, were many young women of pleasing features, who were going together in parties to seek for work in the coffee plantations, where they are employed in picking the berries. They told me that in the low countries, their usual wages were about two reals, or one quarter of a dollar per day, besides a small quantity of provisions; but that in the high lands of Caracas, they would not work during the coffee season, under three reals, on account of its being there so extremely cold.

Close behind the Coucuisas runs the river Tuy, in a narrow valley, through which is the road to Victoria. This stream, here rather more considerable than the Guayra of Caracas, flows first to the westward, but afterwards winds round the hills, and falls into the Guayra, which it greatly augments, and renders navigable for canoes. At the Coucuisas we pass this river, or rather go splashing along its bed for about fifty yards, when, after a short ride on its bank, we pass it again.

The steep sides of the amongst which we can

The natural beauties of this valley, however, are yet sufficient to compensate the traveller for its inconveniences. Sometimes the river, divided into several channels, runs through among the trees, which border the sides of the valley; then, suddenly uniting into one, it pours along a clear and rapid, stream over a bed of smooth rounded stones. Here and there are scattered huge trunks of trees, which have been brought down by the torrents, and now form bridges over some divisions of the stream. valley are generally green, or covered with weeds, notice trees, on which are large bosses of plastered earth; the nests of a species of ant, furnished with long winding passages of the same material, by which to reach the ground. At length the valley widens; we leave the river, and proceeding along the side of the hills on our right, enjoy for some time a view of it as it flows amid various flourishing plantations, In other parts it is concealed from us by tall reeds or canes, which grow along the banks to the height of twenty-five or thirty feet, and are swayed to and fro by one impulse of the slightest breeze. Not far from this, we arrive at El Consejo, sometimes called Mamou, consisting of about two hundred poor houses; but which indicate, by the new appearance of many of them, that

Narrative of a Journey in South America.

the place is rapidly increasing. We may now consider ourselves as in one of the vales of Aragoa, so much extolled for beauty and fertility. The valley hére opens rapidly, and after riding about two leagues farther, we arrive at La Victoria.

La Victoria is a scattered town, situated mostly in a plain, and interspersed with gardens and trees. Some of the principal streets contain houses equal to those of Caracas, and the general appearance, although irregular, is pleasing, conveying the idea of something between a town and a very large village. The principal officers of the militia of the neighbouring valleys of Aragoa reside here, thus making it as it were a seat of government, and contributing materially to form the manners of the inhabitants, such as they are. A large plaza or public square, is marked out, but the houses are not yet completed. On one side stands the principal church; which, although not finished, is, in its interior, beyond comparison the most beautiful and best proportioned public edifice that I saw in the whole country.

A river as large as the Tuy runs near the town, and supplies abundance of water for the purposes of irrigation. The plantations around are in general well cultivated; and I here, for the first time, saw the spectacle, so novel and so interesting to a European, of wheat and the sugar cane growing close together. The wheat, which was still green, appeared as fine as any I had ever seen in England, and was not separated, even by the slightest trench, from extensive fields of Otaheitan sugar canes, by which it was enclosed.

Having stopped a few days at La Victoria, we prepared to continue our journey, and set off before dawn for San Mateo, distant about two leagues. Between the two, the road crosses a small ridge, from which we obtain the first view of the lake of Valencia, and of the grand plain in which it lies. This view may be classed among some of the most magnificent in nature. We beheld at break of day, a rich plain extending before us to the westward more than fifty miles, a long regular line at a great distance which marked the lake, and the horizon bordered with high mountains. After descending from this little height we saw no more of the lake until after passing the straggling villages of San Mateo and Tulmero, and approaching Maracai, when it appeared again not far from us. The plantations in the neighbourhood of San Mateo are mostly of sugar canes, and those around Tulmero, of tobacco.

After halting at Tulmero, which is two leagues and a half from San Mateo, we arrivad at Maracai in the heat of the day, a farther distance of three leagues and a half over an open country, or covered only with bushes, which afford shelter to a vast number of small deer. We were struck with the appearance of Maracai, which, as we had been inforined, was, forty years ago, no more than a hamlet. It is now a town, containing nearly ten thousand inhabitants; the principal street, through which the road passes, is more than half a mile in length, and many of the houses are built of stone. It stands near the eastern end of the lake, but not immediately upon it,