Man of war birds and seals were the only habitants of this dreary rock. They steered from hence to the coast of California, and returned to Socorro on the 25th of November, 1793; after examining the coast they found a small bay on the south, with twenty-five fathoms water and good anchorage; the surface of the island on being explored, appeared to consist of a fine loose cinder, excepting on the north-east, where the ground was more firm. Captain Collnettʼs crew being very weak, and his ship in a bad state, he staid here only long enough to procure fish and fruit, and before his departure named the group Revillagegido, out of compliment to the Viceroy of that name, who had treated him with kindness whilst a prisoner at Mexico.
These islands were originally discovered by the Spaniards.
The whole coast from hence to Guaxaca and along the shores of the kingdom of Guatimala presents no islands of any consequence until we reach the extremity of Veragua, towards the south, where, between Cape Dulce and Cape Mariato are the isles Zedzones, Mentuosa, Quibo, or Caybo, and Quicaras; the first are merely small barren rocks.
Mentuosarises to a considerable height, covered with cocoa-nut and other trees, and is about five or six miles in circumference, in 7° 15ʹ north latitude and 82° 40ʹ west longitude. TheQuicarasare two islets, one of which is seven miles, the other two or three in length, and about twelve miles south of Caybo; they are also covered with trees.
Caybo, orQuibo, was visited by Lord Anson, in his celebrated circumnavigation of the world, on the 3d of December, 1741; when he came to anchor near Canal Bueno, and staid here until the 12th of the same month.
They found plenty of water and wood. The island is of moderate height, and thickly covered with a forest of cassia, limes, &c. Tigers, monkeys, wolves, and deer, abound, but were all extremely shy. Parrots, parroquets, macaws, hawks and vultures were seen in large flights; guanos, alligators of enormous size, the hawkʼs-bill and green turtle were found in great numbers, and the shores abounded with sharks, sea snakes, and various sorts of fish. Venemous reptiles were common, amongst which was the dreadful hooded snake. This island was afterwards visited by Captain Collnett, in 1794, who was bitten in the knee by one of these serpents, and continued for a length of time in great danger.
The writer of the voyage of Commodore Anson, speaks with great delight of the beauties of this isle, and mentions a cascade in the north-east part, which surpassed any thing of the kind they had ever observed; it was formed by a river of transparent water, rushing between rocks, over a ledge forty yards wide, and 150 in length, overhung by beautiful tropical plants; a flight of macaws passing over, and hovering about whilst they were observing this fall, added, by the glittering appearance of their beautiful plumage, to the singularity of the scene. The cedar trees were of enormous size, and the place affords, from its good anchorages, every facility to a distressed vessel cruizing in the Pacific.
The coast abounds with whales.
These are the last islands of Spanish North America in the Pacific Ocean; with them we therefore conclude the description of that portion of the trans-atlantic colonies of Spain.
END OF PART THE FIRST.
SOUTH AMERICAN DOMINIONS.
Spanish South AmericaSpanish South America.SidyHall sculpt. 14, Dury Stt. BloomsbyPublished as the Act directs. Augt. 20, 1818, by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Browne, Paternoster Row, London.
Spanish South America.SidyHall sculpt. 14, Dury Stt. BloomsbyPublished as the Act directs. Augt. 20, 1818, by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Browne, Paternoster Row, London.
Spanish South America.SidyHall sculpt. 14, Dury Stt. BloomsbyPublished as the Act directs. Augt. 20, 1818, by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Browne, Paternoster Row, London.
SPANISH AMERICA.
PART II
The dominions of Spain in North America having been described as fully as the nature of the work permitted, our attention is now to be turned to the acquisitions of that power in the southern division of the American continent.
The territories acquired by Spanish enterprise in South America are more extensive than those which have just been treated of; they reach from the Canataguan chain of mountains, between the provinces of Veragua and Panama, in the isthmus of Darien, to the gulf of Chonos; but Cape Vela, the extreme northern point of South America, being in a higher latitude than the Sierra de Canatagua, it is usual to reckon the total length from it. This cape is in 12° north, and the gulf of Chonos in 44° south latitude[A]: thus the Spanish coloniesextend through a space equal to 3360 geographical miles, while their breadth, taken at a medium, is about 900 of the same miles. In fact, nearly the whole of that vast division of the New World, called by the general name of Southern America, is divided between two European powers, the Spaniards, and the Portuguese; the Portuguese holding the eastern, the Spaniards the northern, western and most of the southern part; the colonies of Great Britain and France being only slips of coast; and even the unconquered countries are very small, when compared with those belonging to the two powers first named.
Adding to this immense tract the kingdoms of Mexico and Guatimala, it appears that Spain possesses in the Americas an empire reaching from the 39th degree of north, to the 44th degree of south latitude; or a space included in eighty-three degrees, which is greater than the length of Africa, or more than five thousand miles.
The boundaries of the South American dominions are the province of Costa Rica, in the kingdom of Guatimala on the north-west; the Caribbean sea on the north; the Atlantic Ocean, British and French Guiana on the north-east; the Portuguese territories on the east; the Pacific Ocean on the west; the Atlantic and native tribes on the south-east; and the native tribes, and desert countries on the south.
Spanish South America is divided into five governments; viz. the viceroyalty of New Granada; the Capitania General of Caraccas; the viceroyalty of Peru; the viceroyalty of La Plata, or BuenosAyres; and the Capitaneria General of Chili; these are again subdivided into numerous provinces, which will be detailed in the descriptions of the different governments.
The discovery of the Spanish South American continent may justly take its date from the period at which Columbus landed on the coast of Paria, near the island of Trinidad, and the mouths of the Orinoco; which event took place in the month of August in the year 1498, and will be related hereafter at length. The discoveries of particular portions, the conquests and colonizations, will also be duly noticed in treating of the different governments; commencing with the most northern, and proceeding gradually, to those which occupy the southern portion of this great continent; concluding the whole with a description of the islands of most note on the coasts.
The viceroyalty of New Granada will therefore first engage our attention.
New Granada is bounded on the north by the Caribbean Sea, and the province of Costa Rica in the kingdom of Guatimala; on the east by the government of Caraccas, Spanish Guiana, and Portuguese Guiana; on the west by the Pacific Ocean; and on the south by the river Maranon, and the viceroyalty of Peru: its extent from 3° 30ʹ south latitude to 12° north latitude, is about 930 geographical miles, its mean breadth being 240.
This extensive viceroyalty is divided into numerous provinces, governed by intendants and governors under the orders of the viceroy.
These provinces are named Jaen de Bracamoros, Quixos, Maynas, Quito, Tacames, Popayan, Antioquia, Santa Fé, San Juan de los Llanos, Merida, Santa Marta, Carthagena, Choco, Darien, Panama, and Veragua; the three last of which are known by the distinctive appellation of Tierra Firme.
The coasts of New Granada which border on the Caribbean Sea were first visited by Columbus during his fourth voyage. Sailing from Spain to the West Indies, he arrived with his fleet at St. Domingo, in Hispaniola, where the governor Ovando, from private pique, refused him permission to enter the harbour and refit his vessels. This unforeseen occurrence obliged the admiral to stand to the west; after sailing in this direction for a few days, he discovered a little island, off the coast or cape of Honduras, where his brother landed, and traded with the natives. Prosecuting their voyage, they touched at the Cape itself, then called by Columbus Cape Casinas, and on which the admiralʼs brother landed to take formal possession for the crown of Spain: after this ceremony the fleet proceeded along the shore, and was compelled by the easterly winds to double a cape, which the pilots performing with difficulty, gave it the appellation of Gracias à Dios (thanks to God), because they could now take advantage of those winds in navigating along such unknown coasts with comparative safety.
Columbus touched at many places in this voyage, at Veragua, Nombre de Dios, Belem, Porto Bello,&c. At Veragua he sent his brother up the country to search for gold, and Don Bartolomeo returning with a considerable quantity; the admiral wished to have planted a colony, but having made several fruitless attempts, and finding that the ships were very rotten and worm-eaten, he set sail for Hispaniola to procure new vessels and supplies; in this attempt he was forced by storms to run on shore in a creek in the island of Jamaica, where he propped up the worn-out hulls with shores, building huts on the decks for the crews. Columbus remained almost a year in this condition, and from the mutinous behaviour of his men, his life was several times in danger; this, combined with the fatigue and vexation he had undergone, seriously affected his health, and at length, worn out with watching for succour, he determined as a last resource, to send over a canoe to Hispaniola, with one of his most faithful followers, and some Indians. These men after encountering great dangers, succeeded in reaching that island, and there procured a small ship, (but not without much opposition from the enemies of Columbus,) in which this great and unfortunate man returned to Spain, where he fixed his abode at Valladolid, and closed his illustrious career on the 20th of May, 1506, at the age of 64. His body was interred in the church of the Carthusians at Seville, and a handsome monument pointed out the spot where his remains were deposited; on which was engraven this inscription:—
“A Castilla y a Leon,Nuévo mundo dio Colon.”
“To Castile and Leon Columbus gave a new world.”
Ojeda, and Amerigo Vespucci, as well as many other adventurers, followed Columbus in exploring parts of the coast of New Granada, and Amerigo gave the first regular description of the people whoinhabited its shores. In the year 1508, Alonzo de Ojeda and Diego Nicuessa obtained from the Spanish crown, extensive grants in the territories now known by the names of Guatimala and New Granada; Ojeda had the country from Cape de la Vela to the Gulf of Uraba, or Gulf of Darien, included in his charter, which tract was to be styled New Andalusia; and Nicuessa was appointed to govern from the Gulf of Darien to Cape Gracias à Dios; the territory included between these points, to be named Golden Castile, and they left Hispaniola in the latter end of the year 1510, to assume the functions assigned to them. Soon after the arrival of Ojeda at Carthagena, (then called Caramari by the Indians,) he imprudently attacked the natives, and after a severe action, lost the greater part of his men, but was fortunately relieved by the arrival of the fleet of Nicuessa; he then went to the gulf of Darien, and established a colony on the eastern promontory, which place was named St. Sebastian; but being soon reduced to great extremity for want of provision, Ojeda sailed for Hispaniola, having dispatched another vessel before him to procure supplies and reinforcements for his new establishment; suffering shipwreck on the voyage, and losing all his property, he died shortly after of want.
The colony being reduced to great distress, went back to Carthagena, to endeavour to fall in with the reinforcements; by great good fortune they met two vessels with their supplies, and returning to St. Sebastian, found their town destroyed by the natives; to augment their misfortunes, they run their ships ashore, but by dint of great exertion they were at last floated, when the whole colony, by the advice of Vasco Nunez de Balboa, sailed to the river of Darien, where they attacked and conquered an Indian tribe, and founded a town which was named Santa Maria el Antigua del Darien, where they received a further reinforcement by accident, in November 1510.
In the mean time, Nicuessa, who also suffered great misfortunes, had endeavoured to establish a colony at Nombre de Dios; a deputation was sent to him here, to request him to come and assume the government of Santa Maria; he accordingly departed, but on his arrival, found that great dissensions had arisen amongst the colonists, who, instead of appointing him to the government, put him into a rotten vessel, and sent him to sea, where it is conjectured, that himself and his crew perished. The province of Tierra Firme, including both the grants of Nicuessa, and Ojeda, was given by a subsequent charter, in the year 1514, to Pedro Arias de Avila, under whose government Vasco Nunez de Balboa was beheaded on account of a revolt. It was this man who, in 1513 on the 25th of September, first descried the Pacific Ocean, from the mountains of Terra Firma, and embarking on its waters in a canoe, explored part of its shores, on his return making known to the Spanish nation, the existence of another sea beyond the Atlantic. The first discoveries of Ojeda in New Granada took place in 1502; in 1503, Roderigo Bastidas of Seville visited the coast from Santa Marta to the river of Darien. Thus in these years, the whole shore from the Gulf of Venezuela to Cape Honduras, had been explored by different navigators and adventurers.
In 1504, Bastidas resumed his discoveries, and proceeded to the gulf of Darien to procure gold and slaves; he here found grains of gold in the sands, which was the first time the metal had been sent in that state to Spain.
In 1515, the western coast of Panama, Veragua, and Darien, was explored under the orders of Avila, as far north as Cape Blanco; and the town of Panama was founded; from this city issued the conquerors of Peru, Francisco Pizarro, and Diego Almagro, of whom we shall have occasionto speak at length in the description of that country; they are mentioned at present, because the discovery, the conquest, and the colonization of most of the internal provinces of New Granada was achieved under their orders, by Sebastian de Benalcazar, one of the officers of the army who accompanied Pizarro and Almagro in their expedition.
In 1536, Benalcazar attacked the southern provinces from Quito, whilst Gonzalo Ximenes de Quesada, who had been sent by Lugo, the admiral of the Canaries, over-run the northern districts from Santa Marta; they met with considerable opposition from the natives, but finally succeeded in reducing the country, and the whole was formed into a kingdom, and governed by a captain-general, in the year 1547; to check whose power, the royal audience was established, of which he was made president.
In the year 1718, a viceroy was appointed; this office was suppressed in 1724, and again finally established in 1740.
In the viceroyalty of New Granada, at present, there are two royal audiences, or supreme courts of judicature. The audience of Santa Fé has jurisdiction over Veragua, Panama, Santa Marta, Maracaybo in Venezuela; Antioquia, Choco, and the Llanos, with some others. The royal audience of Quito has all the southern provinces of New Granada under its superintendance.
The power of the viceroy is as great as that of the same officer in New Spain, but his revenue only amounts to the annual sum of 8400l.sterling. In the kingdom he governs, the population has been estimated at 1,800,000, of which there are upwards of 200,000 souls more in the audience of Santa Fé, than in the audience of Quito. The value of the gold and silver produced in the mines, annually amounts to 650,000l.sterling.
At Santa Fé de Bogota, the capital, besides the royal audience, there is a treasury, a tribunal of accounts, a royal mint, with many other judicialand state offices; the court of the royal audience is formed of five supreme judges, a fiscal, a protector of the Indians, and numerous subordinate officers. Santa Fé is also an archbishopric, founded in 1562, having Popayan and Carthagena as suffragans. This archbishopric is of great importance, the viceroyalty having been occasionally confided to its jurisdiction both in civil and religious matters. The president of the royal audience of Quito is governor of all the southern provinces, and is subordinate only to the viceroy.
Of the commerce of the viceroyalties in South America, we have very little correct information; the value of the import trade of New Granada has been stated as amounting to 1,235,000l.sterling, and its agricultural produce at 433,330l.The greatest revenue which the mother country receives during the most plentiful times, and when the mines are in the highest state of activity, amounts only to 108,330l.; but very frequently the expences of the administration render it impossible to remit even this small sum.
The gross revenue does not exceed 823,340l., as the contraband trade greatly injures the receipts of the customs in this kingdom; the vicinity of powerful neighbours who are all of great mercantile spirit, renders it utterly impossible for the agents of the government to check this traffic altogether. The Portuguese goods are poured in from their frontier by the great rivers; the British from the West India islands, and from Guiana; and thus, even before the present unhappy struggle, the existence of the viceroyalty depended entirely on the produce of the mines and of some few manufactures, with the native products which Europe could not dispense with. The manufactures are of utility only in its internal trade, and consist chiefly of carpets, cotton cloths, blankets, woollens, counterpanes, &c. The natural productions are the excellent dye-woods of the northern shore, whichare reckoned even superior to those of Yucatan, timber for ship building, the mahogany of Panama, better and more beautiful than that of Guatimala or New Spain, chocolate and cacao, from the borders of the great river Magdalena, and the marshes of Guayaquil; excellent cotton, some tobacco, cochineal, coffee, and medicinal drugs, amongst which are the celebrated cinchona, or Jesuits bark, and contrayerva.
The mines of New Granada are however the objects of the greatest importance to its commerce. It may be said, that this kingdom is as rich in mineral treasures as any of the Spanish transatlantic colonies. In the provinces of Antioquia and Choco, it is alone richer in gold than any other, and the silver procured here is remarkably pure; lead and copper are also found, but little sought after; emeralds and other precious stones are sent to Europe. Platina, that valuable metal, was long thought to be peculiar to the province of Choco. Mercury, so useful in a mining country, has been lately discovered to exist in the province of Antioquia, in the valley de Santa Rosa, in the mountains of Quindiu, and near the village of Cuença, in the province of Quito. Salt is obtained in great quantity, and the kingdom produces many other valuable mineral substances.
Cassava or manioc root, and maize, form the bread of the Indians. European wheat is cultivated by the Spaniards and their descendants, and the tropical and European plants and vegetables are produced in as much abundance as they are in New Spain. The rivers and lakes are well stored with fish, and the woods and plains with game. The animals are such as are common to all South America, and will be noticed in the provincial descriptions; in this kingdom the inhabitants breed immense numbers of horses and mules, which they sell in Peru.
The native Indians are divided into numeroustribes, which inhabit the provinces, and the widespread forests and savannahs, between the Andes and the Portuguese dominions. When this country was first conquered by Benalcazar and Ximenes de Quesada, they were very numerous, and those who inhabited the ridges of the Andes were nearly as far advanced in improvement and civilization, as the Mexicans and Peruvians; from both of whom they were however totally distinct, being unknown to the former, and but recently subjugated by the latter. They defended themselves with great perseverance and resolution against the Spaniards, and it was very long before they were totally subdued.
Of all the tribes who then inhabited this country, the people of Quito and the Moscas, or Muyscas, were the most civilised and the most numerous. The traditions of the Muyscas reached to very early ages, and the most remarkable point in their history was the mysterious appearance of their great legislator Bochica, son of the Sun, who came suddenly amongst them whilst they were disputing about who should be their king. He is represented as a white man, clothed in long garments, with a venerable beard, who having patiently listened to the contending parties, advised them to choose Huncahua, which they accordingly did; and this chief subdued the country extending from the plains of San Juan, to the mountains of Opon. Bochica lived amongst them two thousand years, and then suddenly disappeared near the town called Hunca, since named by the Spaniards, Tunja. The kingdom of Huncahua was called Cundinamarca, and the ruler had the title of zaque, analogous to that of inca among the Peruvians; but the high priest who succeeded Bochica was in fact the supreme governor; and his authority has aptly been compared to that of the Tartarian Lama. The other princes, or chiefs of tributary tribes were called zippas. Bochica invented the calendarof the Muyscas, and regulated all their festival; he divided the day and night into four parts. Their week he made of three days, and the year was separated into moons; the common year consisting of twenty moons, whilst that of the priests, by which the festivals were regulated, contained thirty-seven; and twenty years formed a cycle.
The language of the Muyscas, which has been grammaticized by Bernardo de Luga, is now nearly extinct. It is called the Chibcha, and has neither thelord; its chief characteristic being the frequent repetition of the syllables,cha,che,chu; they had words to express the ten numerals, beyond which they added the word foot, (counting by the toes in addition).
These people were sanguinary in their worship of Bochica and the gods. At the end of every fifteen years, they sacrificed a boy, who had been previously educated in the chief temple until he was fifteen. On this occasion, the priests led the victim with much ceremony to a column erected in a sacred spot, to which they bound him, and in the presence of the assembled nation, he was dispatched by the arrows of the warriors, after which, his heart was torn out, and offered on the altars of Bochica.
They appear to have known the use of a rude sort of dial, by the columns which were erected in various places, and to one of which, the boy victim was always attached; they had also attained some knowledge in sculpture, as their calendar was engraved on a stone, and other specimens of the progress they had made in this art have been occasionally found.
The ancient state of the town of Quito, and the first discoveries and settlements of the southern and eastern regions of New Granada, by Benalcazar and his followers, will be treated of under the head of the presidency of Quito.
Climate.—The climate of New Granada presentsgreat variety; the elevated Cordillera of the Andes, and the eternal snows which cap its summits, render this country, though it lies partly under the equator, subject to all the cold of the polar regions; whilst on its low savannahs, the tropical heats are felt with all their ardour. The elevated plains between the ridges of the Andes, enjoy a temperate and unvariable climate, and it is in these delightful spots, that the European colonists have chiefly fixed their abodes.
Thegreat feature of the kingdom of New Granada or Santa Fé, is that amazing range of mountains denominated theCordillera of the Andes, which crosses the country from the south to the north, and as some of the most sublime scenes in that astonishing chain exist in this viceroyalty, a general description of the whole will be given here from the latest sources of information.
The Andes run nearly parallel to the coast of the Pacific Ocean, at the general distance of about 150 miles, and may be satisfactorily traced from the river Atrato, in 8° north latitude, on the isthmus of Panama, as far south as Cape Pilares, at the western entrance of the Straits of Magellan, in 53° south latitude, being a length of 4200 miles. Their greatest altitude is conjectured to take place nearly under the equator, where the cone of Chimborazo rises to the amazing height of 7147 yards above the level of the sea, but they insensibly decrease in elevation towards the province of Darien, and in running through the isthmus of Panama are nearly lost; after passing the province of Darien, they again begin to evince their majestic forms, and dividing North from South America, enter the province of Veragua, pass to that of Costa Rica, and through the kingdom of Guatimala, where theyagain attain considerable elevation, and in which they are thickly set with volcanic cones.
Leaving Guatimala, the Andes ascend through the viceroyalty of New Spain, near the capital of which, their summits are scarcely inferior to Chimborazo, and continuing their immense course, they pass the confines of New Spain by the province of New Mexico; entering a wild and unfrequented country, where the elevation of their peaks is still very great; and they are supposed finally to lose themselves in the icy ocean of the Arctic regions.
That part of the Andes which crosses New Spain and Guatimala has been already described. Three secondary chains are thrown out in the known parts of South America; the first of these is in the kingdom of New Granada; the second is known by the name of the Cordillera of the cataracts of the Orinoco; and the third is the Cordillera of Chiquitos, which province it traverses.
The first branch, orCordillera of New Granada and Caraccas, bends eastward from the river Atrato, forming the Sierra of Abibé, and of Cauca, and the high plains of Tolu, and crosses the river Magdalena. It then forms a narrow chain along the coast to Cape Vela, where it separates into two parallel ridges; but joining again, and forming lofty summits, it stretches along the whole government of the Caraccas, and loses itself in the Atlantic ocean, at the cape of Paria. Its highest points are in the provinces of Santa Marta and Merida. TheNevadaof the former is 16,000 feet, and that of the latter 15,000 in altitude, and their heads constantly enveloped in snow. These parallel ridges form vast plains between their summits, elevated to great heights above the sea; the plain of the Caraccas being 2660 feet in height. The greatest elevation of the chain after it crosses the boundary between New Granada and the Caraccas is near the metropolis of the latter government, where theSilla de Caraccasraises itself to the height of 8420 feet,and forms an enormous and frightful precipice fronting the Caribbean sea.
In New Granada, the main chain also separates itself into parallel ridges, three of which exist between 2° 30ʹ and 5° 15ʹ of north latitude. The eastern ridge divides the great river Magdalena from the plains of the Meta; none of its summits are covered with snow. The central ridge separates the Magdalena from the Rio Cauca; this is the most lofty of the three, and its most elevated peaks enter the region of eternal frost; the three highest are namedQuindiu,Baragan, andGuanacas.
The western ridge separates the Rio Cauca from the province of Choco; it attains scarcely 4500 feet in altitude, and nearly loses itself in the province of Darien. These three ridges unite in the district of Pastos in Popayan, and continue single till they have far past the equator; when they again separate themselves into two parallel chains, in the province of Quito, by a valley near their summits. It is here that they are seen in their most sublime forms,Chimborazo,Pichincha,Illinissa,Antisana, andCotopaxiascending to the very skies, their white cones being beautifully contrasted with the dark blue of the surrounding firmament.
The second branch of the Andes, called theCordillera of the Cataracts of the Orinocoextends itself from the great chain eastward between the 3d and 6th degrees of north latitude, where the high plains of Tuquillo and St. Martin, with the peaks of Canavami and Umama are formed; it contains the sources of the Guaviari, the Meta, Zama, and Ymerida rivers, and forms the tremendous cataracts of Maypuré and Aturé; beyond these it acquires still greater elevation, and occupies an immense space, stretching southward to the boundaries of the Portuguese dominions, where it is lost in vast and nearly impenetrable tracts of woody country, over which no European ever trod, as the tribeswho inhabit the region are of a ferocious and sanguinary disposition. In this gloomy country exist the sources of the magnificent Orinoco, which have never been seen, either by the civilised Indians, or the Spaniards. The chain has again been observed issuing from forests farther to the eastward; it is, however, neither so elevated nor so broad, and is calledSierra de QuineropacaandPacaraimo, near the lake of Parimé and the Amazons. It again extends its breadth a few degrees further east, and bends southwards along the Mao, where the hill of Ucucuamo, which being formed of shining yellow mica, deceived the venturous travellers, who fancied they at last found a mountain of gold. From this hill, called El Dorado, or the Golden Mountain, the branch stretches eastwards towards the mountains of French Guiana, where its form is little known, as the interior of that country is inhabited by Caribs and negroes, who keep the settlers at bay. The rivers of Berbice, Surinam, Marony, and Essequibo rise in this part of the chain.
The mountain ofDuidais the highest point which has yet been seen of the Cordillera of the Cataracts; this volcano has not hitherto been explored, but its height has been found to be 8465 feet above the sea.
The Cordillera of the Cataracts is remarkable for the abrupt descent of its southern face.
It is said to exhibit no rock of secondary formation, or to contain any petrifactions or organic remains, consisting only of granite, gneiss, mica, slate, and hornblende; this however applies only to the part visited by M. de Humboldt, from the Rio Negro to the frontier of the Grand Para, a distance of 600 miles.
The third great branch from the main body of the Andes, is that ofChiquitos, between the 15th and 20th degree of south latitude, which, sweeping from the main chain in a semicircular shape, traversesthe province of the same name, connecting the heights of Paraguay and La Plata with those of Chili and Peru. The great rivers which fall into, and form parts of the La Plata and the Maranon, rise in this branch, but as no satisfactory accounts of it have been published, it is impracticable to give any general description of its particular properties and forms.
These branches form three immense plains between their bases, open to the southern Atlantic Ocean on the east, and shut out from the Pacific by the great trunk of the Andes on the west; the most northerly is theSavannah, orPlain of the Orinoco, noted for its luxuriant herbage, and possessing only a few scattered trees.The plain of the Amazons, orMaranon, succeeds to that of the Orinoco on the opposite side of the central branch. On this widely extended tract, forests, coeval with the soil they are nourished by, extend their gloomy and nearly impenetrable fastnesses, inhabited only by tribes of savage and wandering Indians, whose ferocity allies them to the beasts of prey which roam in every part of the savannahs of the Maranon.
The third great plain is that distinguished by the appellation ofthe Pampas, orthe Plains of the La Plata, resembling in some measure the valley of the Orinoco, being covered with a strong and luxuriant growth of herbage, and occupied by countless herds of wild cattle, which are hunted solely for the sake of their hides, these forming one of the chief articles of the export trade of the viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres.
The mother chain of the Andes is rich beyond description in metallic productions, and furnishes several sorts of the precious stones; but with all this profusion of treasure, it contains within its bosom the materials of destruction; earthquakes of the most tremendous nature swallow whole cities, the activity of the internal fires frequently destroysentire mountains, and leaves sheets of water in their place, by which provinces are devastated, and thousands of the animal creation destroyed. Forty volcanoes have been counted from Cotopaxi to the shores of the Straits of Magellan, that discharge lava, enormous rocks, showers of ashes, great quantities of water, liquid mud, sulphur, or devastating blasts of heated air from their craters.
The most striking features of the southern Andes are these volcanic cones, whose flanks, beset with frightful crevices of immeasurable depth, are crossed by the fearless natives, by means of pendulous bridges, formed of the fibres of equinoctial plants. Over these frail and tremulous passages, the natives carry the traveller in a chair attached to their backs, and bending forward the body, they move with a swift and equal step; but when they reach the centre, the oscillation of the bridge is so great, that were they to stop, inevitable destruction must ensue; the native and his burden would be dashed to the bottom of a precipice to whose profound depth the eye can hardly reach.
These bridges are, from the nature of their materials, frequently out of repair, presenting to the shuddering European, who visits these countries, frightful chasms, over which the Indians step with undaunted confidence. Volcanoes and crevices are not the only surprising circumstances which attract the notice of the adventurous traveller; cataracts of magnificent forms are every where observed, that ofTequendama, near the city of Santa Fé, dashing a volume of water from the plains of Bogota, through an opening in the Cordillera, to the depth of six hundred feet, into a dark and unfathomable gulf. In these mountains, the largest rivers in the world derive their sources; the La Plata, the Maranon, and the Orinoco; of which, as well as of some of the peculiar scenery of the Andes, we shall treat more at large in the local descriptions of the governments and provinces ofSouth America, resuming the subject of the present section, we shall describe the capital of the kingdom of New Granada.
Capital.—The metropolis of the viceroyalty of Santa Fé, or New Granada, is the city ofSanta Fé de Bogota, in north latitude 4° 6ʹ, and west longitude 78° 30ʹ, near the river Funza, or Pati. It was founded in 1538 by Ximenes de Quesada when he conquered the tribes who then inhabited this country.
Santa Fé is situated in a spacious and luxuriant plain to the east of the great chain of the Andes, and between it and its first parallel branch; though only four degrees from the equator, the elevation of 8694 feet above the level of the sea renders its climate rather cold. The city is large, and handsomely built, containing four great squares, with wide, regular and well laid out streets. Two small rivers, the San Francisco, and San Augustin, run through the town, and join the main stream of the Funza at a short distance; over these rivulets, five handsome bridges are erected. The cathedral is a magnificent structure, and forms the chief ornament of the place, which also contains three other churches, eight convents, four nunneries, and an hospital; the university was founded in the year 1610, since which time two colleges have been endowed for public education; and a library was established in 1772. Besides the above mentioned churches, there are several others, as well as numerous chapels, all of which are tolerably well built. There is also a royal mint, several courts of justice, and state offices, necessary for the government of the viceroyalty.
The city is governed by six regidores and two alcaldes, with some subordinate officers; their jurisdiction extending over fifty-two villages in the neighbourhood, which are divided into seven districts. The inhabitants, amounting to 30,000,are in general not very wealthy, and most of them are occupied in the internal trade of the country. They are represented as possessing agreeable manners, and much good sense, combined with a considerable degree of industry; the latter quality is manifested by the appearance of the plain surrounding the city, which they take so much pains with, as to cause it to produce two harvests in the year. The elevation of this plain renders the temperature of the air so equable, that the Bogotians enjoy a perpetual spring.
The viceroy of New Grenada has a palace in Bogota, which is also the seat of the archbishopric, founded by Pope Julius III. in 1554, and the court of the royal audience of Santa Fé. In the environs are some mines of gold, as well as of Peruvian emeralds; salt and coal are found also in considerable quantities, but the difficulty of carriage renders the latter very expensive.
The cataract of the Tequendama, by which the river Funza joins the Great Magdalena, is the most noted object in the surrounding country. The Funza or Bogota, after receiving the waters of the numerous small rivers which flow through the great plain, is about 140 feet in breadth, a short distance above the fall; approaching the crevice through which it dashes, its breadth is diminished to thirty-five, when, with accumulated force, it rushes down a perpendicular rock at two bounds, to the astonishing depth of 600 feet, into a dark, unfathomable gulf, out of which the river again issues under the name of Rio Meta, and continues its course, by an immense descent, till it joins the great river Magdalena.
In the fall of this river may be observed a strange variety of climate. The plain of Bogota is covered with crops of wheat, with oaks, elms, and other productions of a temperate region. At the foot of the fall are seen the palms of theequinoctial low-lands. The face of the rock, which finishes and borders the vast plain of Bogota, near the cataract, is so steep, that it takes three hours to descend from the river Funza to the Rio Meta; and the basin or gulf cannot be approached very close, as the rapidity of the water, the deafening noise of the fall, and dense mass of vapour, render it impossible to get nearer the edges of the abyss than four or five hundred feet. The loneliness of the spot, the dreadful noise, and the beauty of the vegetation, render this situation one of the wildest and most picturesque scenes that are to be observed in the Andes.
When Quesada first arrived at Bogota, he discovered that the inhabitants, whom we have spoken of under the name of Muyscas, were rapidly approaching to civilization. The xaque or prince was absolute; his people carried him about in a sort of palanquin, attended by his guards and courtiers; whilst flowers were strewn along the ground over which he was to pass. They never approached him but with an averted countenance, as if they imagined that he was a divinity, in whose face they dared not look.
These people subsisted chiefly by agriculture, were clothed in cotton garments, and lived in regular society. Crimes were punished by judges appointed to watch over them, and they possessed, property independent of each other, on which taxes were levied for the support of the government. They had temples, altars, priests and sacrifices, but their religion, which consisted in the adoration of the sun, moon, Bochica, his descendants, and the evil deities, was intermixed with barbarous and bloody ceremonies; they resembled the Mexicans, with whom they had no connection, in a particular point of these immolations; the heart of the living victim was torn out, and supposed to be the most grateful offering to their gods.
One of their notions of the power of Bochica, and of the formation of the moon, is singular; and as it relates to the cataract of the Tequendama, we shall give it at length.
In remote times, when the sun alone gave the earth light, and the people of the plain of Bogota were savage barbarians, an old man, totally unlike the natives, suddenly appeared amongst them from the east, with a white beard and flowing garments.
This was Bochica. He instructed them in agriculture, &c., and with him came a woman, who, as well as himself, had three names, one of which was Chia; she was very beautiful, very malevolent, and overturned every thing Bochica attempted; by her magic she swelled the rivers and overflowed the plain, so that the people, with the exception of a few, who escaped to the mountains, perished in the waters. Bochica, exasperated at her conduct, drove Chia from the earth, and she became the moon. He then, by the mighty force of his arm, broke a passage through the rocks, and constituted the fall of the Tequendama, by which means the lake formed by Chia was drained; and the plain of Bogota rendered more fertile and beautiful than it had been before.
The appearance of the plain of Bogota at this moment justifies the tradition of its having been formerly a lake; low summits appear here and there like islets; and the whole plain is rendered marshy by the numerous streams which cross it in every direction.
In the kingdom of New Granada there are two mints, one in Popayan and the other in Santa Fé. The coinage of the capital is greater than that of Popayan; the total coined produce of the gold mines in 1801, was 455,000l.; whilst wrought gold and ingots were exported to the amount of 52,000l.; making the value of the gold found during that year 507,000l.This gold is notfound by digging, although many mines with auriferous veins exist, but by washing the alluvious grounds, and is chiefly collected by negroes.
The provinces governed by the viceroy of New Granada have been already enumerated. The most northerly of these are the three which are distinguished by the name of Tierra Firme, or Terra Firma, we shall therefore commence the provincial descriptions with them.
The northernmost of the provinces, which are governed by intendants, nominated by the viceroy of New Granada, under the general designation of Tierra Firme, is the province of Veragua, situated to the south of the kingdom of Guatimala, in North America. This, from its geographical situation, has been already described in the first part; it will therefore be unnecessary to repeat any observations on its history or statistics; our attention must consequently be turned to the province of Panama, on the south, or rather east of the Canatagua mountains.
Panamaconstitutes the second province of Tierra Firme, and is sometimes called Tierra Firme Proper. The most plausible conjecture which can be formed, as to the reason of its having received this name, is, that the original explorers, having an idea that a strait existed in this part of the world, by which a communication might be had from the Atlantic to the South Sea, were, after much research, disappointed in their expectationsand gave the country the name of Tierra Firme (analogous to continent.)
The province of Panama is bounded on the north by the Caribbean Sea, or Spanish Main; on the west, by the province of Veragua; east, by Darien; and on the south, by the Pacific Ocean.
Of the discoveries of this country, we have already spoken. Tello de Guzman, in 1513, is said to have given the country the name of Panama, from having observed the natives engaged in fishing; the word denoting a place abounding in fish.
Climate, &c.—The climate of Panama is hot, as may be well supposed, from its situation, the greatest heat being felt in the months of August, September, and October, when it is almost insupportable; the brisas, or trade winds, and the continual rains, ameliorate the excessive heats during the other months; but at the same time render the climate very unpleasant.
The soil of Panama is prolific, abundantly producing the tropical fruits and plants.
Great part of the country is still covered with thick forests, and the land between the two seas consists generally of abrupt and broken chains of mountains, one of which chains, theSierra de Canatagua, on the borders of Panamo and Veragua, divides North from South America. On the tops of these craggy mountains, the land is sterile and uninhabited; the cities, settlements, plantations, and Indian villages, being mostly along the shores of the two oceans.
The trade of Panama consists in its relations with Veragua, and the ports of Peru and New Granada. From these it is supplied with cattle, maize, wheat and poultry; its exports are of no great importance or value. From Carthagena European goods are received, for which mahogany, cedar and other woods, with gums and balsams, are exchanged. The pearl fishery here is at present of little importance; it was anciently carried onamongst the small islands in the bay of Panama, and was very lucrative; an endeavour has lately been made to re-establish it, but hitherto without any beneficial results.
Part of the European trade of the western shore of South America is carried on by way of Panama and Porto Bello; but since the galleons were disallowed, the trade of these two cities has been comparatively trifling.
The mines of Panama produce so little gold or silver, that they are supposed not to answer the expence of working.
The river Chagre is the principal stream in this province, and may be called the high road of Panama, being used as the means of communication between the eastern shore and the capital. It takes its rise in the mountains near Cruces, which place is about five leagues from Panama; the Chagre has a considerable descent, but is nevertheless navigable for boats up to Cruces; its velocity is about three miles an hour; therefore the ascent from the coast is rather fatiguing.
The breadth of this river is about a quarter of a mile at the mouth, and 150 feet at Cruces; it requires four or five days to ascend it when the waters are not very high. The distance from the estuary to Cruces, the last navigable point in a straight line, is not above 36 miles; but the river winding frequently increases this length. If the water passage is counted, the sinuosities make it 43 miles, reckoning from Fort St. Lorenzo, which defends the entrance. It is by means of this river that a communication between the two oceans has been argued to be possible; the ascent from Cruces where the river is first navigable, towards the summit of the mountains is rapid for a short space, after which there is a gentle descent the whole way to the South Sea.
In the river Chagre are seen numberless caymans or aligators; they are observed either in thewater or on the banks, but on account of the thorny shrubs and thick underwood, cannot be pursued on shore. On the borders of this stream, the luxuriancy of the soil is such, that the trees stand so thick, as to render it very difficult to penetrate the forests. The barks which navigate the stream are formed of those trees which grow nearest the water; some of which are so large, as to measure twelve feet in breadth. These forests are plentifully stocked with all sorts of wild animals peculiar to the torrid regions, among which, are innumerable tribes of monkeys. Many of these creatures are caught for food by the negroes and natives. To prepare this dish, the body is scalded in order to remove the hair; and after this operation has been performed, it has the exact appearance of a young dead child, and is so disgusting, that no one, excepting those pressed by hunger, could partake of the repast. It is not at all improbable, that many savage nations who have been accused of cannibalism, have been very unjustly charged with it; for according to Ulloa, the appearance of the monkey of Panama, when ready to be cooked, is precisely that of a human body.
The peacock, the turtle-dove, the heron, and various other sorts of beautiful birds, frequent the forests of the Chagre and of Panama, and the country is dreadfully infested with reptiles, insects, &c.
The province of Panama contains three cities, twelve villages, and numerous settlements of converted Indians. The capital isPanama, a city and sea-port, built near the bottom of a large bay of the Pacific which bears the same name. From this city, the isthmus of Darien has frequently taken its appellation; but at present is indifferently styled the isthmus of Panama, or of Darien. It stands in 9° 0ʹ 30ʺ north latitude, and 79° 19ʹ west longitude. Tello de Gusman gave the country its name from this spot. In 1518, Pedro Arias deAvila, governor of Tierra Firme, settled a colony here, and in 1521, it was constituted a city by the Emperor Charles the Fifth. In 1670, it was sacked and burnt by Morgan, an English adventurer, who had already reduced Porto Bello and Maracaybo; he debarked at the mouth of the Chagre, reducing the fort there after an obstinate defence, and ascending the river, landed again at Cruces and marched to Panama, where after several skirmishes, he entered the city; the inhabitants flying to the woods. Soon after he left the place it was burnt down, but whether by accident or design is not known. The inhabitants resolved to rebuild the town at about a league and a half distance from where it first stood, and in a more convenient situation. It was then enclosed with a regular stone rampart; the houses were chiefly of wood with tiled roofs, having but one story, but of a very handsome appearance; and outside of the walls was a large suburb. In 1737, a fire commenced in a house where tar, naptha, and brandy, were stored; the devouring element was so rapid in its progress, that the city of Panama was entirely consumed in a very short time, with the exception of the suburb, which was saved, it being totally detached from the town. Panama was rebuilt shortly afterwards a second time, and the inhabitants having excellent quarries in the vicinity, erected their houses chiefly of stone; but it suffered again from fire in 1756, and in 1784 it was nearly destroyed by another dreadful conflagration.
The governor of Panama was formerly captain-general of Tierra Firme, and president of a court of royal audience, which has lately been removed to Santa Fé de Bogota. The city of Panama is the see of a bishop, who is subject to the control of the archbishop of Lima; but as he receives no tithes, is paid out of the royal coffers. A municipal council governs the district of the city; a treasury, custom-house, &c. are established there, and whenthe galleons came from Lima, Panama, and Porto Bello, might be said to have been the Acapulco and Vera Cruz of South America.
The cathedral is a handsome edifice of stone, as are the churches, convents, monasteries, and an excellent hospital.
The streets are broad and paved, both in the city and its suburbs, but the houses of the suburbs are mostly of wood, intermixed with thatched huts. Such is the spirit of trade of this place, that every person is engaged in bartering. The people of Panama, have a disagreeable drawling method of speaking, and appear as if they were overcome by the great heat of the climate; they nevertheless are really healthy, and live in general to a good age.
One of the favourite articles of food among the lower classes, and much used with the higher, is an amphibious animal of the lizard tribe, called the guana, about three feet long, of a yellowish green colour, having a bright yellow belly, with strong claws on its toes, its back covered with thin scales, and a serrated ridge running along the superior surface of the body and tail. It lays from fifty to sixty eggs, as large as those of a pigeon, which are esteemed great delicacies; these eggs are attached to each other by a fine membrane, and form a string or chaplet. The flesh, when dressed, is as white as that of a chicken, and greatly resembles it in taste; it is served with lime-juice, cayenne-pepper, or other high sauces.
Panama is now only remarkable for its fine bay, which is studded with islands; and amongst these is formed the road where the ships from the southern ports anchor in safety, particularly before the islands of Perico, Naos, and Flamingos; the distance of this road is two and a-half, or three leagues from the town.
The tide rises and falls from thirteen to sixteen feet at Panama, whilst at Porto Bello, theflux and reflux amounts to only as many inches. The Bay of Panama is famous for the pearl oyster, and the shoals near the islands del Rey, Tabago, and about forty others which form a small archipelago, formerly produced pearls as fine as could be procured in any part of the world. On these islands, huts were built for the divers, who were mostly negroes, and boats holding from eight to ten people, went out to the banks, which were not more than fifteen fathoms under water. The divers, provided with a rope tied to their bodies, and a small weight attached, plunged into the ocean; on arriving at the bottom, they seized a shell in the left hand, which they put under the arm, a second in the same hand, a third in the right, and sometimes one in the mouth; they then re-ascended to breathe and to put the fish in a bag.
In this practice, the unfortunate slaves were frequently destroyed by the sharks, mantas, &c. The manta is a large, flat fish of great size, which wraps its fins round the object it seizes, and presses it to death. The negroes usually carry a knife to defend themselves, but notwithstanding this protection, as well as that of their comrades in the boats, numbers were annually devoured by these horrid fish.
The Isla del Rey, was first discovered by Pizarro; it was for a long time inhabited during the fishery, but whether it is or not at present, is not known.
The next city of importance in this province isPorto Bello, orPuerto Bello, on the shores of the Caribbean sea, or Spanish main, in north latitude 10° 27ʹ, and west longitude 79° 26ʹ. The harbour of Porto Bello, as its name, (Fine Port,) indicates, is an excellent one, and was first discovered by Columbus, on the 2d of November 1502, who was so charmed with it, that he gave it the name it now bears.
The town of Porto Bello was founded by order of Philip II., who directed the settlers at Nombrede Dios, or Bastimentos, to remove to this spot in 1584, on account of its admirable situation for the commerce of the country; it stands near the sea, on the side of a mountain which embraces the harbour.
The entrance of the harbour is defended by a castle, called Todo Hierro, or all Iron, on the north point, where the channel is about three-quarters of a mile broad. The south side is covered with dangerous shoals, so that vessels are obliged to keep near the castle; and opposite to the anchoring ground on the south side, is another fort, called Castillo de la Gloria, between which and the town, a point of land projects into the basin, on which formerly stood Fort St. Jerome. Opposite to the town on the north-west, is another small and perfectly secure bay, where vessels are careened.
The whole town and harbour being surrounded with high land, renders it a very safe place for shipping, particularly as this part of the Spanish main is subject to terrible storms. The mountains in the neighbourhood are of such an elevation, that one of them, called Monte Capiro, is constantly covered with thick dark clouds on its summit.
A small river which discharges itself into the harbour near the town, is salt to the distance of a quarter of a league from its estuary; this river is called the Cascajal.
The country in the neighbourhood of Porto Bello is very thinly inhabited; a few farms are found in the valleys, but the mountains are covered with thick and impenetrable forests, tenanted solely by wild animals.
The climate of this city is very unhealthy, as the heat is excessive, owing to the stagnation of the air by the wall of mountains enveloping the harbour. The humid exhalations from the forests cause frequent rains, which, though of short duration, pour down with astonishing violence. The nights are as suffocating as the days, accompaniedwith torrents of rain, bursts of thunder, and flashes of lightning, which fill the mind of an European on his first arrival with dread and horror. The caverns in the adjacent rocks re-echo the percussions of the thunders, and add to the dreadful noise, which is accompanied by the howlings of animals, particularly the monkeys.
The natives, as well as the Europeans, are carried off in great numbers by the fevers generated by the unhealthiness of the air, and it is this which will ever prevent Porto Bello from becoming a large city; no one living here, but those engaged in government offices, or in trade.
It is supplied with provisions from Carthagena, and fish of every quality are caught in the bay. Its manufactures are unimportant; but there are some sugar-houses in the town, where an inconsiderable quantity of that article is made. The great luxury at Porto Bello consists in the numerous streams of fresh water which pour down from the hills into the town; they are said however to be unwholesome, and to produce dysentery, if too freely used. Little reservoirs are formed here and there, shaded by trees, and in these the inhabitants bathe themselves every day.
Jaguars, and other animals, are said to enter Porto Bello during the night, and to carry off any domestic animals they meet with. They are slain in the woods by the negroes and Indians, who hunt them for the sake of a trifling reward, which is paid on their destruction.
The sloth is an animal very common in the vicinity of this city. Its habits are well known. Serpents of every deadly nature are extremely numerous. Frogs and toads are seen in such numbers after the showers, that the natives say every drop of water is changed into one of those nauseous animals. The country about Porto Bello, resembles in this instance the British settlements insome parts of North America, where toads and frogs cover the land after any humidity.
The city of Porto Bello is also calledSan Felipe de Puerto Bello; it consists of one principal street, extending along the shore, and crossed by several others up the side of the mountain. In it are two squares, two churches, two convents, a custom-house, and some other public buildings; at the east end of the town, in the quarter called Guinea, are the habitations of the free and enslaved negroes.
Formerly, when the galleons were permitted, this place had an annual fair, and was then excessively crowded with people. The houses at present are chiefly of wood with a few of stone, and the better sort do not amount to 150. This city is sixty miles north of Panama, and its climate is said to have been wonderfully improved by a cut which has been lately made through a neighbouring hill to admit a current of air. The governor, Don Vincente Emparan, has also levelled great part of the forests which formerly reached to the very gates of the town.
Sir Francis Drake took this place in 1596, and died in a subsequent voyage in its harbour.
When Porto Bello was taken and plundered by John Morgan, the town was ransomed for a large sum, which prevented his burning it.
In 1739, Admiral Vernon with six ships entered the harbour and made himself master of the place, after demolishing the forts. He afterwards bombarded Carthagena, and took Fort Chagre, near the mouth of the river of that name.
The population of Porto Bello is inconsiderable, being chiefly negroes and mulattoes, with about thirty white families, and the garrisons of the forts.
The third city of Panama isSt. Jago de Nata de los Cavalleros, orNata, so named from the Prince, or cacique, who reigned over this part of the provincewhen it was explored in 1515 by Alonzo Perez de la Rua.
It is situated near the extremity of the Canataguan chain, fifty miles south-west of Panama, in north latitude 8° 35ʹ, and west longitude 81° 6ʹ, in a bay on the borders of the Pacific, which extends to the island Iguenas; it was founded by Gaspar de Espinosa, but the Indians burnt and plundered it shortly after its first erection; he again rebuilt it with the title of city.
At present it is a large place, the houses of which are built of unburnt bricks and mud. The inhabitants are a mixture of Spaniards and Indians; near it is a town calledLos Santos, which has been built by people from Nata, for the sake of the excellent soil in its vicinity, on which they have formed extensive plantations.
The population of this town is greater than that of the city of Nata, and also consist of Spaniards and Indians.
In the province of Panama, there are many villages, and farms, some of which are inhabited by the Europeans and their descendants, and others by the Indians who have been converted.
The third and last province of Tierra Firme is that of Darien, bounded on the north by the Spanish Main, or Caribbean Sea, on the east by Carthagena, west by Panama, and south by the Pacific Ocean, and the province of Choco.
Darien is one of the largest provinces of Terra Firma; it is about 200 miles long and 80 broad, but is very thinly inhabited, and that almost wholly by the native tribes. The unhealthiness of the climate and the impenetrable forests preventing the formation of European settlements.
The valleys in Darien are so marshy, from the overflowing of the numerous rivers that the savagesbuild their habitations in the branches of high trees. These rivers are in many parts very large, but most of them are not navigable, owing to the shoals, bars, and rapids in which they abound; most of them, however, roll down grains of gold.
A small fort which protects the gold mines ofCanais the principal station of the Spaniards on the frontiers of Choco; its garrison is sent from Panama every month.Santa Maria el Antigua del Darienwas the first settlement of the Spaniards on the Atlantic coast, but as it did not flourish, it was soon abandoned.
The chief products of this province are cotton and tobacco; it may, however, be said to be now wholly in the power of the natives, who are scattered over the whole country, and amount to about 30,000 souls, with whom the Spaniards have been frequently at war, but have as yet gained no sensible advantages. In 1786, the viceroy of New Granada sent a formidable expedition against them, but the troops being unable to bear the inclemency of the climate, the army returned to Bogota without effecting any thing.
The gulf of Darien which is the mouth of the Rio Atrato, or rather a large arm of the sea, is the most important part of the northern coast, and contains several islands of considerable size. The river Atrato though very wide, has many shoals at its mouth, yet serves to export much of the internal produce of some of the settlements in the neighbouring provinces; its mouth is a noted smuggling station, where European goods are exchanged for the gold of Choco.
The capital isSanta Cruz de Cana, which we have mentioned; it was formerly a very considerable place, and there were nine other towns or missions, with several farms and hamlets, but most of these have been abandoned, owing to the ferocity of the Indians, and other causes. The Scotchonce endeavoured to form a permanent settlement in this country; a company was chartered at Edinburgh, called the Scots Darien Company in 1695. In 1698 they fitted out a small armament, in the vessels of which were embarked a numerous body of colonists, with a governor, &c. and arriving on the Isthmus, they formed a settlement in a fine port on the north-west shore, in north latitude 9° 30ʹ, west longitude 77° 36ʹ, to which they gave the name ofNew Caledonia. Here several families were settled, but the Spanish government being alarmed, the British court refusing to acknowledge this act, and the success of the adventurers becoming daily greater, a force was sent against them, by which means they were ejected from the country in the latter end of the year 1699, or beginning of 1700.
The next province of New Granada, in passing eastward from Tierra Firme, is Carthagena, so named from its capital: it is bounded on the north by the Spanish main, east by the great river Magdalena, south by the province of Antioquia, and west by the river and province of Darien. Its extent from east to west may be computed at fifty-three leagues, and from north to south at eighty-five.
This space is covered with mountains, savannahs and forests. The great plains or savannahs are those namedZinu,Zamba,Tolu,Mompox,Barancas, &c., all of which are highly fruitful valleys between the ridges of the hills. The settlements of the Europeans and natives are chiefly on the coast, or in these valleys; the hills and rivers are supposed to have formerly furnished much gold, with which a trade was carried on with the neighboring countries; and gold is said to havebeen so plentiful, that the natives were always ornamented with trinkets composed of that metal.
The soil of this province is very luxuriant, especially near the capital where it produces every thing in the greatest plenty. The trees attain an immense bulk, and form by their shades, pleasing retreats from the scorching rays of the sun. The mahogany or acajou, of which the canoes of the natives are formed, the white and red cedar, the maria, the balsam tree which yields an oil, the celebrated balsam of Tolu (so called from a town where it is gathered), the tamarind, the medlar, the sapote, papayo or papaw, guayubo, cassia, palm, and mançanillo, are a few of the species whose wood, fruit or sap, are so precious. The mançanillo derives its name from the Spanish wordmançan, an apple, the fruit resembling the European apple in shape, colour and taste, but is of a poisonous nature; the juice of this tree is so acrid, that it blisters the skin of those employed in felling it, and it is reckoned dangerous to remain under its shade after a shower, as the droppings of its leaves have the same caustic quality.
The palms are of many different species, and form, by their broad and spreading leaves, elevated on lofty trunks, the great beauty of the scenery; of these, the produce is chiefly cocoa-nuts, dates and palm wine. The sensitive plant grows to the height of a foot and a half in the woods of Carthagena.
In its vast forests numerous tribes of wild animals are found; of these the jaguar or tiger, and the American leopard are very destructive to the cattle and domestic animals; the former grows to an amazing size, and is extremely ferocious; wild boars, foxes, armadilloes, squirrels, deer, rabbits and monkeys are produced in great plenty, most of which are eaten by the Indians and negroes whenever they catch them. The cattle and swine of this province are very numerous; their flesh, whensalted, forms the principal article of commerce and of food.
Wild geese are caught in the lakes by means of an entertaining stratagem; in the places they frequent, the Indians put calabashes or gourds, which constantly floating on the surface of the water, cause no alarm to the geese, and when they are sufficiently accustomed to see them, the Indian gets into the water at a distance from the flock with a gourd over his head; he then advances amongst them, and draws them by the legs under the surface, until he has procured as many as he wants.
The birds of this province are both numerous and beautiful; amongst them the toucan with its large bill, the gallinazo vulture, which clears the country of all carcases or offensive matter, and the guacamayo or macaw, with its beautiful plumage and disagreeable voice, are the most singular.