~r>^ 'S 2-'2_ "I give thefe Books
for the founding of a College in this Colony"

¦ ILHIBIKJ&IKEr •

Gift of
Dr. Hiram Bingham
of the Class of 1898
1907

AHATIVE S0LB1LEK,

L.7rhls*..IL62ii-hr.Z fy Slaei, fetiryr, arid Iburip, 2, TaMZStffO^ StrveC, 2#22.

JOtJRNAL

EXPEDITION
1400 MILES UP THE ORINOCO
AND
300 UP THE ARAUCA;

ACCOUNT OF THE COUNTRY, THE MANNERS OF THE PEOPLE,
MILITARY OPERATIONS, &c.
BY J. H. ROBINSON,
LATE SURGEON IN THE PATRIOTIC ARMY-

ILLUSTRATED WITH SEVEN PLATES.

LONDON :
PRINTED FOR BLACK, YOUNG, AND YOUNG,
FOREIGN BOOKSELLERS,
TAVISTOCK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.

MDCCCXXII.

XONDON :
PRINTED BY S. AND R. BENTLEY,
DORSET STREET.

ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR.

Almost all the Works respecting South
America, which have recently been published
by English expeditionary officers, are the
productions of men who ventured but a very
little way into the country, and who could
consequently record little more than the in
juries which repelled them from it. The pre
sent work is of a very different stamp. The
author has traversed the interior of Vene
zuela by its most interesting route ; has borne
a part in the sanguinary war which at this
moment devastates it ; has gone through
scenes of extraordinary suffering ; and has,
a

vi ADVERTISEMENT.
throughout, described domestic manners and
public events with a freshness and a force
which are rarely evinced by the professed
writers of similar Works. Perhaps no book
of travels, since that of Mr. Parke, exhibits
a journey of such event, such suffering, and
such interest ; and certainly no Work gives
views of the people of Venezuela and of the
present war which devastates that country,
at all approaching to these in accuracy or in
interest. XHaving spoken the truth of Venezuela, and
consequently displayed the utter worthless-
ness of its government and its people, the
Author, dreading their malice and their re
venge, had enjoined the Editor to conceal his
name. He has-since fallen a victim, among
thousands of others, to the pestilential cli
mate of those regions.
Perhaps one of the best effects of this work,
will be, henceforth to protect British lives
and British property from being committed

ADVERTISEMENT. vii
to a government and a people who are as
dangerous as the climate under which they
live ; for it will be seen that the smothering
earthquake and the withering pestilence of
the latter are the congenial accompaniments
of the insidiousness and the treachery of the
former. This effect will be insured by the
circumstance, evinced in every page, that the
Author was no friend to the cause of despotic
Spain, or to the conduct of the Spaniards in
South America, and that he loved the cause
of liberty as much as he deplored the igno
ranee, the sensuality and selfishness, the la
ziness and meanness, the conceit and obsti
nacy, the fickleness, fraud, and treachery,
which belong to most tropical and sultry
climes, but which characterize none so much
as Southern America. — So interesting does
this subject seem to be to the Editor, that
he has subjoined to this work concluding
observations, in which he has taken a brief
view of the influence of the American climate
a 2

viii ADVERTISEMENT.
on its people ; and, in illustration of it, has
made an abstract of the conduct of the
Venezuelan government to several of those
who have served it.

Londvn, August], 1821.

AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

In the following pages the Author has de
scribed facts and occurrences as they came
under his own observation. He has conse
quently omitted hundreds of stories and
anecdotes, which he has heard reported, be
cause on strict inquiry he found most of
them had their origin in falsehood, and not
a few in private pique. He has indeed
mentioned facts which may displease many
South Americans : but what country exists
without its faults ? And where can we find
a people without many bad as well as good
among them ?
The liberality of the people of any coun
try, can scarcely be exhibited in a stronger

x AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
light than in hearing with patience their na
tional failings and faults pointed out. In the
plays of ' Love a la Mode' and ' The Man of
the World', by Macklin, that author exposes
all the objectionable and even blameable parts
of the Scottish character, yet, to the honour
of that country, these Plays are often acted in
their capital, to overflowing houses, and amid
bursts of the most unbounded applause.
The author has avoided all systematic
arrangement, having merely stated cir
cumstances, and the reflections to which
they gave rise, in the order in which they
occurred.

Angostura, April 1, 1820.

CONTENTS.

CHAP. I.  Departure from England.
The Author enters into the Venezuelan service ; — Takes
his passage on board the Dowson ; — Ship sails, but is
delayed in the Downs ; — Anecdote of a bumboatman; —
Arrival and detention at Portsmouth; — Scene there on
being ordered to sail ; — Ship sails from Portsmouth, and,
after experiencing tempestuous weather at sea, in which
the Indian is lost, makes the harbour of Fowey; — Some
particulars as to the loss of that Ship; — Several officers,
discouraged, leave the Ship, and several soldiers desert ;
— Social anecdote at Fowey ; — Mutiny on board the
Ship ; — Festivities at Fowey ; — Scene on leaving Fowey
and putting to sea. 1 — 16.
CHAP. II.  Passage to the West Indies.
Tempestuous weather at sea;  Change of weather and
amusements on board ; — Occurrences at sea ; — Arrival
at the Island of Porto Santo ; — Some account of the
Island ; — Hospitable reception there ; — Sails from Porto
Sauto and passes Madeira; — Crossing the Line, and

CONTENTS.
description of the usual ceremony ; — Arrival at St.
Bartholomew's. 17 — 36.

CHAP. III.  Stay in the West Indies.
Patriot vessels which had touched at St. Bartholomew's,
and desertion which had taken place from them ; 
Some account of the Island ; — Unfavourable accounts
i of the Patriots there; — Sails from St. Bartholomew's
and arrives at Grenada ; — Still worse accounts of the
Patriots at this Island; — The Supercargoes refuse to
proceed, and many men leave the Ships ; — Indolence of
the people there ;— Sails from Grenada and arrives at
Trinidad ; — Some account of Port of Spain ; — Under
goes a medical examination with a view to settle there ;
— Further account of Port of Spain ; — Description of
the Negro-dance; — Takes a passage for Angostura
against the advice of friends. 37 — 50.
CHAP. IV.  Passage up the Orinoco to Angostura.
Sails from Trinidad and encounters a hurricane ; — Enters
the Orinoco by a mouth which is little frequented ; —
Tedious passage, and warping of the vessel; — Sur
rounded by the Guaraunos Indians ; — Description of
these people; — Conduct of the Master of the vessel with
regard to provisions ; — Attacked by various kinds of
Insects : — Fracas with an Old Spaniard ; — Put on short
allowance, and bad conduct of the Captain ; — Attacked
by musquitoes; — Further display of the Captain's vil
lainy ; — A monkey killed and eaten ; — Tarantulas, cen
tipedes, and scorpions; — Privations on the passage and
consequent distress ; — Entrance of the Grand River ; —
State of exhaustion from want of food; — Arrives at

CONTENTS. xiii
Barancas on the Orinoco ; — Compels the Captain to take
in some provisions ; — 'Leaves Barancas and arrives at
Old Guyana ; — Some account of Guyana ; — Leaves
Guyana and arrives at Angostura. 51 — 78.
CHAP. V.  Angostura and Occurrences there.
Description of Angostura ;  Climate of Angostura and
country around ; — The Orinoco and its fish ; — Anec
dotes of these and the alligators ; — Contest with the
Captain, and settlement in the Author's favour ; — In
terview with General Bolivar, and application for ac
commodation, subsistence, &c; — Various houses ob
tained and taken away again ; — Curious adventure in
one of these ; — Golgotha behind it ; — Reflexions on this
war of extermination ; — Curious occurrence at Angos
tura ; — Strange treatment as to his appointment ; — Exe
cution of General Piar. 79 — 100.
CHAP. VI.  Manners of the People.
Extreme laziness of the people; — State of marriage among
them ; — Women and children smoking ; — Rations at
Angostura ; — Anecdote of Lord P  and Mr. H  ; —
Manner of killing bullocks and cutting them up ; — Scar
city of vegetables owing to the laziness of the people ; — ¦
Notice of the village of Soledad ; — Manner of living
there and at Angostura ; — Mode of grinding corn, &c. ;
— Conduct at table; — Coarse feeding and consequent
diseases ; — The women lose their front teeth by smok
ing, &c. ; — Various insects infest the dishes, &c; —
Money used at Angostura; — Habit of gaming; —
Mode of dressing the hair ; — Mule-equipage and stir
rups ; — Mode of driving Mules ; — Trade at Angos-

xiv CONTENTS.
tura; — Practice of Law there; — Their religion and
treatment of the dying ; — An accouchement ; — Es
cape from an alligator; — Some account of Colonel
C  ; — Reflections on the Colonels sent out; — Creole
notions of the English and of England ; — Creole Aid-
de-Camps ; — Diseases at Angostura ; — Effect of free
dom on the Slaves, &c. ; — Robberies, &c. 101 — 136.
CHAP. VII.  Expedition up the Orinoco.
Joins the Expedition by desire of General Bolivar ; — Proceeds
thereon ;  Bullets forgot by the expeditionary army ; —
Message received by Bolivar ; — Burning of a forest ; —
Mode of catching turtle ; — Bathing in company with al
ligators, carabee-fish, &c. ; — Ships return to Palmar to
take up troops; — Night-scene of the Indians and their
fires, as seen from the Ships ; — Arrival of General Mo-
nagas's troops ; — Dress, Address, and Character of the
General ;— Description of the Indian troops; — Physio
gnomy of the Indians ; — Their surprize at seeing a Ship ;
Creole and Indian officers ; — Mountains on the banks of
the river infested with robbers ; — Anecdote of a Creole
captain and major ; — Passage of the Bocas del Inferno ;
— Ruins of Las Piedras ; — Its commandant cruelly treated
by robbers; — Dinner with General Urdanetta; — Indian
wounded by a raya ; — Destruction of San Fernando by
Paez, changes the destination of the Expedition ; — Re
solves to proceed by the Cabullari; — -An anecdote of
Colonel Macdonald ; — Landing at Caycara and rag-
gedness, &c. of the troops; — Some account of Cay
cara; — The launch drifts up a creek, and is after
wards in danger ; — Route again changed from the Ca
bullari to the Arauca. 127 — 154.

CONTENTS. xv
CHAP. VIII.  Expedition up the Arauca.
Clothing supplied, and danger of the native troops, running
off on such occasions ;  A tiger killed ;  Immense
number of alligators, centipedes, &c. ; — Scene of the
Indians and their night-fires ; — Tormented by new kind
of musquitoes, and the author's plan to avoid them ; —
Arrival at Caugral ; — News of the arrival of a British
force and Bolivar's departure to receive them ;. — Creole
dishonesty and its supposed cause; — Its exercise on the
present occasion ; — State of the troops who had not
been clothed ; — Ludicrous scene on the first distribution
of the clothing from England; — Creole ignorance, con
ceit, selfishness, and laziness ; — Their manner of eating;
Manufacture of Tassago ; — Some account of the Sa-
muro vulture; — Paez enjoined by Bolivar to shun an
engagement till reinforcements arrive ; — Information off
the Spaniards, its cause and their advance. 155 — 169.
CHAP. IX.  Military and other Operations.
Station and state of the expeditionary troops ; — Scene of
cooking, &c. in an Indian hut ; — A Spanish spy has his
head cut off; — Mode of performing this operation ; —
Mode , of swimming Mules, &c. ;  Utter confusion
among the troops ; — Indian Colonel and his troops ; —
Jiggars, &c. ; — Camp-scene in the wilderness at night;
— Bad provisions; — Sleep and extraordinary mode of
awaking from it; — Reflections; — Utterly degraded cha
racter of the Creoles, and mode in which they must
be treated; — Again, of their ignorance, conceit, selfish
ness and laziness ; their cunning, deceit, pantomimical
religion, and hysterical sensibility, their filthiness ; —
Arrival of Morillo at San Fernando, and instant flight
of Colonel Figararo; — Being sent to Old Guyana; —

xvi CONTENTS.
Retreat talked of; — Venezuelan retail dealers, and an
anecdote of them ; — A fight between Indians with
knives. 170—192.
CHAP. X.  Retreat of Paez to Caugral.
Description of Paez's dragoons ; — Paez's guard ; — Remarks
on dressing in red in Guyana ; — Appearance of the
Spaniards and their firing ; — Consequent bustle, confu
sion, and plundering among the troops ; — Quarrels be
tween the British and Creoles; — The passes by which
the Spaniards could cross ; — The activity of Paez ; —
The author and another Englishman look for a residence
in the bush ; — Its great inconvenience, &c. ; — Its in
jury to health ; — Anzoategui, the commander of the
infantry, prepares to retreat, but assures the British offi
cers that he will not. 193 — 203.
CHAP. XI.  Unparalleled, disastrous, and frightful
RETREAT TO THE MOUTH OF THE ArAUCA.
The Arauca crossed by the Spaniards ; — Mules refused
by Anzoategui, and others purchased ; — The enemy's
fire approaching, and miserable condition of the mules
which fall in the rear ; — Immense savannahs burnt
by Paez's order ; ^-Distressed by the heat which issued
from them, and blackened by the clouds of soot ; — Nu
merous aged and helpless beings escaping with the re
treating army ;-^-The mules completely exhausted and
others refused ; — Drops behind from the darkness of the
night, ignorance of the way, falling of luggage, &c. ; —
A dreadful night of lightning, thunder, burning savan
nahs, and howling of animals ; — Route obstructed by
plains of bamboos, brush-wood, &c. ; — Overtaken by
other fugitives ; — Reaches the army asleep in awet savan-

CONTENTS. xvii
nab.; ^-Roused, ordered to proceed, and cattle stolen;
— Covered with galipatas from sleeping among wet
grass; — Hands hard and swollen, and nails separating
from fingers ; — Finds other mules, and rides off" galipa
tas and all ;— Passes an immense savannah ; — Party of
Indians going to hunt ; — Desert of burning sand ; — Mil
lions of sand-flies there ; — Experiences the horrid sen
sation of extreme thirst ; — Drinks from a pond, water
thick with mud and insects ; — Renovated by a small
quantity of coarse ardent spirit ; — Numerous parties of
fugitives winding along the mountains ; — Mules lay
down and will proceed no farther ; — Others procured of
which some also give in, and some luggage thrown
away ; — Ill-treatment of the British in the distribution
of beef; — Tormented by insects, exhausted, emaciated,
and affected with a disease of the feet and legs; — Throw
ing the wild bull in these plains ; — Catching, and stupid
and cruel mode of breaking the wild horse ; — Thou
sands of animals driven before the army ; — Dress and
mode of riding of the drivers, &c. ; — Cattle now regu
larly stolen ; — Ill-treatment of the British ; — The want
of all vegetable food being extremely distressing, a run
ning plant used on which the monkeys fed ; — Even that
not to be found ; — Arrival at the mouth of the Arauca,
and some tobacco procured. 204—228.
CHAP. XII.  State of extreme distress at the mouth
of the Arauca.
Island at the mouth of the Arauca to which they were to
retire;. — The British ordered to pass last; — Scene on
crossing to it ;— Skirmishes with Spanish infantry; —
Vegetable food still wanting, and carnivorous voracity
of the Creoles ; — Purchases at last two biscuits which

xviii CONTENTS.
should have been served as rations ; — Alarm of tigers
raised by Creoles, to plunder the fugitives ; — Ordered
to return to Caugral, in consequence of a report that
the Spaniards had re-crossed: — Re-cross the Arauca,
ordered to halt, and suffocated with sand ;— Anecdote
of an Irishman : — Dreadful bowel-complaints prevalent ;
-^-Ordered to return to the island, on hearing that the
Spaniards had not re-crossed at Caugral, but fast ap
proaching ; and consequent scene of confusion ; — Re
flections on such proceedings ; — Starvation and debility ;
— Extreme thirst, inability to crawl to the river, and
fraud of a Creole who is paid to bring a little water ; —
Relieved by an Irishman with coarse spirit ;— Prepare to
cross to the island, and mode of conducting mules ; —
Anecdote of the Creoles and the yoking of horses or
mules; — Crossing to the island now unnecessary, the
report of the Spaniards advancing being untrue; —
Takes up residence in the bush, and advised to return
to Angostura, but leave refused ; — Reflections on the
seduction of British troops into such a country ; — Va
rious and harassing reports ; — Incapability of the Creoles
to liberate themselves ; — Passport to return at last
granted ; — Difficulty of finding a vessel ; — A flechero at
last found ; — Sinks on the sand, unable to reach it, and
is carried on board ; — State when on board ; — Sad re
flections ; — Recovered by nourishment. 229 — 246. \f
CHAP. XIII.  Descent of the Orinoco to Angostura.
Arrival at Urbana, and its poverty ; — The flechero returning,
the author proceeds in a gun-boat ; — Procures some bad
bread and sweet potatoes ; — Trick of a priest to procure
the latter ; — Difficult navigation of the river ; — Indian
fires seen among the woods ; — Attempted attacks of

CONTENTS. xix
Indians; — Recruited by vegetable food; — Search on
shore for turtles'- eggs; — Neglect to use shoes; — De
scription of the priest and his female companion; Thefts
of the former; — Anecdote of these; — Reverie and dan
ger ; — Scene from the river at night, and reflections ; —
Women round a fire by the river side ; — Indian village
on the bank of the river ; — Ferocity of the fish in the
Orinoco ; — Description of the chief of these Indians ; —
Meets a friend ascending the Orinoco ; — Receives pro
visions from him, which, the priest steals ; — Arrival at
Caycara ; — This wretched place infested with sand-flies ;
— Rocky mountain scene on the Orinoco ; — Arrival at
Las Piedras ; — Meets a patriot gun-vessel, and good
treatment by the master; — Arrival at Muitaco, &c. ; — ¦
Goes on shore in search of eggs, and finds the grave of
an English officer, whose body had been dug Tip and
devoured by animals ; — Reflections, &c. ; — Arrival at
Angostura ; — Conclusion. 247 — 271 .
Concluding Observations by the Editor. 273 — 376.
Appendix.  Minute Account of the Navigation of the
Orinoco, in a Journal of a passage of that River to
Angostura. 377 — 397.

LIST OF PLATES.

Plato

1

Angostura (Frontispiece)

80

2

Old Guyana .....

76

3

Native Soldier .

139

4

Bocas del Inferno (of the Orinoco)

.141

5

Caycara ......

.154

6

Attack by a Tiger ....

157

7

Banks of the Orinoco ....

265

- ^
-v'O

;!-

*"

"V

JOURNAL, &c. &c.

CHAPTER I.
DEPARTURE FROM ENGLAND:
The Author enters into the Venezuelan service ; — Takes, his
passage on board the Dowson ; — Ship sails, but is delayed
in the Downs; — Anecdote of a bumboatman; — Arrival
and detention at ' Portsmouth ; — Scene there on being
ordered to sail ; — Ship sails from Portsmouth ; and, after
experiencing tempestuous weather at sea, in which the
Indian is lost, makes the harbour of Fowey ; — Some
particulars as to the loss of that Ship ; — Several officers,
discouraged, leave the ship ; and several soldiers desert; —
Social anecdote at Fowey ; — Mutiny on board the Ship ; —
Festivities at Fowey ; — Scene on leaving Fowey and putting
to sea.
About the beginning of August, 1817, I
was informed of the expedition about to sail,,
in support of the South American Patriots.
B

2 EXPEDITION UP THE
Mr. W  n, who was connected with that
business, gave such a flattering account of
their certain success, and produced such let
ters, from the scene of action, in corrobora
tion of this account, that, in the mind of one
Avho had previously almost obtained his own
, consent, little doubt remained of the pro
priety of lending his aid to assist in relieving
that .country from the galling yoke of tyranny
and oppression. This person strongly- ad
vised me to join the expedition, and intro
duced me to Don Luis Lopez Mendez, Agent
for the Venezuelan Patriots, who offered
me an excellent appointment if I would
immediately proceed to South America.
To this Agent I accordingly unfolded every
material circumstance of my private practice
and public services ; and stated that, if under
all circumstances he could improve my situa
tion in life, I would join his cause. This he
promised to do ; and, after various nego
tiations, I received from him an appointment
which it is unnecessary here to transcribe.
I had long admired the cause in which the
South Americans were engaged, and I con
sequently felt some comfort in thus being

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 3
enabled to. assume a station in their Inde
pendent ranks.
The ships were chartered by the authority
of the Independents of South America ; and
I was destined to go out in the Indian ; but,
on making arrangements, it was found that,
unless some change took .place, she was
already too crowded, and I was consequently
desired to go on board the Dowson.
We dropped down the river to Gravesend,
on the 2d of November, with orders to wait
there for the Indian. She joined us ; and
we received orders to sail for Portsmouth,
with the first fair wind : from that port the
Dowson and Indian Mere to keep company
during the voyage.
After many unexpected delays, we got
under weigh. The wind was S. W. ; and,
of course, unless it changed, we had no pro
spect of getting further than the Downs. We,
however, came to anchor off Margate ; and,
when the violence of the tide abated,
again got under weigh for the Downs, where
we were detained amidst a very great quan
tity of shipping, of every description, some
b 2

4 EXPEDITION UP THE
of which had been wind-bound for more
than a month.
We had no sooner come to anchor, than we
were surrounded by fishermen and bumboat-
men of all descriptions. One old fellow
among them seemed to eye us all with a
particularly enquiring look ; and it soon ap
peared, that either our faces or his notions
of physiognomy did not place us high in his
estimation. I happened to be near him,
when, with much circumspection in his looks,
and even in his walk, he addressed me,
" Pray, Sir, is this a convict transportation-
ship ?" " Yes," replied I. " I thought
so," rejoined he, shrugging up his shoulders ;
and with considerable precipitation de
scended into his boat.
At Portsmouth we remained till the 29th,
when an express came, from our agents in
London, ordering the Dowson and the Indian
to proceed to sea, be the wind and weather
as they might. This express arrived after
midnight, and many of the officers were
ashore, enjoying themselves according to
their particular propensities. The news of
this arrival spread like lightning all over the

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 5
town ; and the scene which presented itself,
especially in that particular part of Ports
mouth called Love Acre, will be recollected
by many for many a day.
In fact, we could not sail, as the wind
blew strong and right against us. Some of
our wags, however, seized the opportunity to
go bellowing along the places where our
officers had taken up their quarters for the
night, that the Dowson was under weigh
with a fair wind. Instantly, they emerged
from various Love Acre habitations; one in
his shirt, carrying his clothes ; another with
only his trowsers ; and indeed in every pos
sible form in which men partially dressed
could present themselves. All ran toward
the landing-place, offering from one to five
guineas, to be put on board the Dowson.
Their Dulcineas, left in this awkward plight,
and believing the report was fabricated in
order to cheat them, had recourse to that
particular species of eloquence which at such
times they have at command.
The cause of our order for sailing was a.
proclamation, issued by the British Govern-

6 EXPEDITION UP THE
ment, to stop all vessels with arms and troops
on board for South America.
The following night we weighed anchor,
and, as we passed the Indian, we hailed her
to send on board the Dowson, Lieut. Mac-
laren, whom we had sent with some dis
patches to Col. Skeene. The wind blew
hard westerly, and of course Maclaren could
not return on board the Dowson. We next
hailed the Indian, to inform her that we
should put to sea; but, if we could not keep
our way, we should try to make the north-
about passage. We afterwards lay-to for
some hours for the Indian, but, not coming
in sight, we concluded that we had lost
each other in the dismalness of the night.
We soon found it quite impossible to hold
out against such tremendous squalls, enve
loped as we were in the densest fogs ; and we
bore for the north-about passage, the wind
from the S. W.
On December 1st, after a tremendously
boisterous night, we came to anchor off
Dungeness. Our expectation of making the
north-about passage soon vanished ; as, early
next morning, the wind had got about to

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 7
N. N. W., which gave us hope of being able
to effect our passage in the way we at first
intended. We, therefore, got under weigh,
and bore up Channel ; but, the wind again
changing to its old quarter, the S. W., we
made for Falmouth, where we anchored on
the 6th.
On Dec. 6th and the following day, it blew
a most dreadful hurricane, and our vessel,
with various others bound for the Western
Hemisphere, was drifted on the banks, but
none of us received any material injury. It
was fortunate that the wind still blew from
the west. Had the same tremendous hurri
cane come from the south, it is extremely
probable that, in this wretchedly bad an
chorage (for so it is for all but small vessels,
and for them the anchorage is good) none of
us would have escaped being driven on the
rocks and dashed to pieces. The gale, in
deed, was so violent, that it had not been
equalled on the same coast for fifty years.
The tempest subsided on the 11th, and we
once more weighed anchor with a northerly
wind ; but this did not last long, for it soon
changed to the S. W. with an excessive swell,

8 EXPEDITION UP THE
so that our ship laboured very much. The
squalls which succeeded were tremendous;
the fogs almost impenetrable ; and the danger
which now threatened us, between being
wrecked either on the French coast, among
the Scilly Islands, or between them and the
Lizard Point, seemed almost unavoidable.
On whatever tack we sailed, still our vessel
drifted rapidly to the leeward ; and in this
state of affairs, after encountering dangers
on every hand, we at length, about midnight,
left the Lizard lights on our larboard quarter,
which yielded us considerable relief, and many
a heart, anxious before, now sought a little
repose in sleep.
Our course was once more directed for
Falmouth, where we proposed to anchor till
more settled weather might allow us to put
to sea. In the morning, we found that the
hard gales and fogs had not abated much,
and that we had left Falmouth several leagues
to the westward. Our object was now to
put into any harbour we could make. We
were driven into that of Fowey, in Cornwall,
in distress, where we anchored on the 16th.
This harbour, although little frequented, and

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 9
not very, large, is an excellent port for an
chorage, even for large vessels, where plenty
of excellent water may be had.
It was here that we learned the dreadful
fate of our companion the Indian, which
during the above squalls had been driven on
the Isle of Bas, near the Ushant rocks, where
all on board perished. It was at the same
time conjectured that the Prince had also
been lost.
This melancholy intelligence,:; operated on
every person on board our ship in a way I
shall never forget. The same kind of wea
ther which made us attempt to get into
Fowey, or any harbour we could reach, had
wrecked the Indian. For myself, the nego
tiations I so lately had had with Col. Skeene,
to obtain a passage in his ship, operated in a
way which I am wholly unable to describe.
I felt how trifling were the circumstances
which had saved me from going down with
so many fine young and enterprising men.
In particular the fate of poor Maclaren was
altogether heart-rending. I thought of the
scenes of festivity in which we had mutually
joined ; I retraced their features, and recalled

10 EXPEDITION UP THE
in imagination the joke and the song, which so
very lately had cheered us in our adventure.
We afterwards learned, that the Indian did
not sail the same night we weighed, but re
mained at Spithead till the following day.
Thus the wind which drove us eastward to
Dungeness, in all probability saved the Dow
son from certain destruction. Early on the
2d, Colonel Skeene got under weigh from
Spithead with the N. N. W. wind, while we,
about the#sq$gne time, weighed from Dunge
ness. He, therefore, had the advantage of
being so far south as Spithead, and, of course,
all that distance a-head of us. Till the 6th,
he enjoyed the advantages of such a wind,
which, on the evening of that day brought
us about abreast of the Isle of Wight. The
wind then set in from the south-west, and
for the following ten days blew hurricanes.
It was here several of our officers were seen,
for the first time, to leave the ship, one under
one pretence, another under another ; but
the fact was, that the dangers we had just
escaped made them afraid to go again to sea.
Among the soldiers, too, a similar spirit pre
vailed ; and we had nothing but daily riot

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. H
and mutiny. Some of our officers having ac
tually left us, a few of the soldiers made their
escape ashore; and some of them were so
very turbulent, that, after remaining in irons
for several days, Colonel C. judged it proper
to send them about their business.
Fowey or Foy, a borough town in Corn
wall, happened to be the birth-place of Cap
tain Dormer, our sailing Captain, and he
being an extremely respectable man, we had
a ready introduction to the moS| respectable
inhabitants of the neighbourhood.
Soon after we became a little settled, we
accordingly treated the Lord of the Manor,
the Priest of the Parish, and another Gentle
man to dinner, which we contrived to make
as comfortable as possible. The merry jest,
the toast, and the song, alternated with each
other. These men of Foy, however, seemed
not well acquainted with the ceremony of
drinking particular healths, and in speech-
making, on such occasions, they were uncom
monly short— if even they spoke at all. The
Lord of the Manor's health being drunk all
standing, with cheers, "Thank you," was the
reply. When the Priest's health was drunk

12 EXPEDITION UP THE
with similar ceremonies, he rose, contrary to
custom, with the rest, and sat down without
saying a word. The other old gentleman, on
the same occasion, actually started on his
legs with the whole company ; and, on his
health being drunk, he lustily cheered in
concert with the rest. We made them all
very happy; for, in our gun-room, we
had singers, spouters, buffoons, &c. &c. who
made the villagers often gape with wonder
and amazement. These cautious gentlemen
were, naturally, very happy to see any of our
officers at their houses during the morning;
but they seemed extremely circumspect about
inviting any of us to dinner.
The spirit of mutiny, which at various
times had appeared among our soldiers, be
came excessively troublesome, now that they
found themselves so near land. A curious co
incidence of circumstances took place on this
occasion. Two of the leaders in these distur^
bances, who were in irons at the same time,
were named Cobbett and Hunt.
We actually found it prudent to send these
noisy fellows ashore; and one of them, on
going over the ship's side, had the impudence

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 13
to call out, that if twelve men of the ship
had been of the same mind with himself, we
should ere this have all been either under
another command, or sent out at a port-hole
during the late gales.
One of the weekly assemblies of the Foy
villagers now occurred, when a note from the
Priest arrived, requesting the honour of the
company of such officers as wished to go ; and
at the same time observing, that, as the meet
ing might lead to a dance, the-favour of our
regimental band of music would be accept
able. A very few of the youngest of our
officers attended with the band, and conti
nued to dance till morning. Next morning,
however, the landlord of the dancing apart
ment sent a message to those gentlemen who
had attended, that their bill of expenses
amounted to Is 3d each, which he wished
them to discharge. This little circumstance
seemed to mortify several even of those who
had not attended at the dance.
Vanity, that passion which few of us are
altogether without, prompted our officers to
astonish the Foy villagers with what we could
do. We accordingly desired our sailing

14 EXPEDITION UP THE
Captain, and two or three, to go on shore,
and invite all the ladies and gentlemen, with
whom they had danced on the former night,
to a dance on board our ship. They ac
cepted the invitation ; and the whole day
was employed in covering in and decorating
the floor of the quarter deck for the purpose.
In short, the time approached ; the party ar
rived ; the band struck up a merry tune,
and in a moment we were all on the light
fantastic toe. At eleven, we sat down to an
elegant cold supper ; and, after the exhibi
tion of our whole powers of merriment, we
resumed the dance, and kept it up till five in
the morning.
We now became a little better acquainted
with our neighbours ; and, of course, our
intercourse became more frequent. Their
reserve wore off by degrees ; and we at length
found them very pleasant sort of people.
There, consequently, existed an almost per
petual intercourse between our officers and
these villagers, who daily improved in our
estimation ; and our dinner-parties on shore
followed close on each other. It soon be
came a regular contest whether we or our

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 15
friends should excel in our parties, , and this
led to another dance on board our ship. As
on the previous occasion, all went on well till
a late hour in the morning, when our party
broke up, highly delighted with each other.
The wind which had held us fast, to the
sorrow of our new friends, now began to
shift, and we prepared to put to sea. We
ended the year in jovial conviviality ; and at
12 o'clock the band struck up, " The days
of lang syne," followed by various other
appropriate tunes.
On Friday 2d of January, 1 818, we weighed
anchor, at 9 o'clock a.m. The whole village
crowded to various points, where they might
have a full view of our ship as she majestically
sailed outward ; and, as if by general consent,
they cheered us with reiterated shouts, while
every officer stood on the gunnel and cheered
them in return, the band in full chorus
playing " The girl I left behind me." It was
a most grateful sight. As we proceeded out
ward, we observed, quite near the shore, se
veral of the ladies who had joined in our
dancing parties, running along the high land,
waving their white handkerchiefs ; as much

16 EXPEDITION UP THE
as to say, " God bless you ! and every thing
good and prosperous attend you in your
honourable undertaking !"
Driving before a favourable breeze, we
soon lost sight of our friends ; and in less
than an hour nothing appeared but the gray
outline of the mountains.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 17
CHAP. II.
PASSAGE TO THE WEST INDIES.
Tempestuous weather at Sea ; — Change of weather and
amusements on board ; — Occurrences at Sea ; — Arrival at
the Island of Porto Santo ; — Some account of the Island ;
— Hospitable reception there; — Sail from Porto Santo,
and pass Madeira ; — Crossing the Line, and description
of the usual ceremony ; — Arrival at Saint Bartholomew's.
As on former occasions, we soon found how
uncertain are his hopes who confides in the
faithlessness of the wind. By next morning
we had sailed about 50 leagues, when the
weather completely changed to the south-west
and by west. This was accompanied by rain,
fogs, and squalls. On Monday 12th, it blew
a tremendous gale, which increased by mid
night to an alarming degree. During this
night the ballast broke in upon the pumps,
and choked them. We were now drifting
at the mercy of the weather, and placed be
yond the power of relieving ourselves : the
water was gaining on us. It seemed that we
had no choice ; for unless we could relieve our

18 EXPEDITION UP THE
pumps, we must put back to some port. Ra
ther than do this, we made a determined
effort, and succeeded in clearing the pumps.
Still, however, the tempest raged with un
abated fury ; and, from necessity, our vessel
was suffered to drift right into the Bay of
Biscay. On the 15th our pumps were again choked
by the ballast, and all hands were called to
clear them. There seemed, however, little
prospect of doing more than temporary good,
and it was suggested to take one of our
stoutest baskets, and put the lower end of
the pump into it, which might prevent the
ballast (which was of the shingle kind) again
choking it up.
For twelve days after we came off the Bay,
we had to strive against bad weather, with
hard gales and tremendous squalls from the
W-. and S. W. What a dreadful life is that
of a sailor ! His hopes seem to perish in the
hour of their origin, and leave him as they
had often left us, a gaping-stock at their un-
substantialness ! The calm, the breeze, and
the hurricane, are the only changes he knows ;
and he seems to become so acquainted with

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 19
each in its turn, that neither the one nor the
other yield him either anxiety, pleasure, or
pain. A sterile promontory, lashed by the
contending waves, or parched by the burning
rays of the sun, gives him momentary delight.
On the 16th, after a smart shower of rain,
the gales almost wholly abated. By 11
a. m. the wind had shifted towards the east
and north-east, but was so extremely gentle
that the dog-vane could scarcely show its real
direction. As it was, however, it gave us
hopes, which, in another hour, were com
pletely realized, by its gradually increasing
to a moderate breeze from the above quarter.
The effect which this pleasing change had
on the features of every one was easily per
ceived. The silent, discontented appearance,
which had lately overspread every face, began
to disappear, and the merry joke and social
laugh soon told us, that the change did not
alone rest with the weather : it seemed to
have changed the mind of every one of us.
Men emerging from their miseries feel, in
these moments, far more sincere delight than
they ever can reap while enjoying a life of
uninterrupted luxury. As the breeze fresh-

20 EXPEDITION UP THE
ened, our minds kept equal pace with it.
After the long adverse weather against which
we had been obliged to strive, in these mo
ments we never dreamt of the chances of our
voyage being similarly interrupted ; and the
sole conversation among us was about our
speedy voyage across the Atlantic.
We were now driving before the wind,
with all our canvass set, at the rate of 8^
knots an hour; meditating nothing less than
the putting a plan in execution of bringing
out the play of the Mountaineers.
About 5 o'clock p. m., while in the full
flow of spirits, and striving with each other
who should show it most, we again ex
perienced a change of weather: the wind
shifted to the old quarter of south and by west,
and we were now again driving right into the
bay. Here we were rolling about, in the
full employment of our skill to keep the
vessel from being driven on a lee-shore.
On the 17th, the wind was all day much
the same, with a very heavy and disagreeable
swell, which seemingly drifted from the
N. E. This gave us some hopes that the
swell would be followed by the wind from the

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 21
N. E.; but, alas ! we hoped in vain. A brig
appeared on our weather-bow, and we sent
our boat with the Captain's Mate and Lieu
tenant Lees to ascertain what she was, and if
she could afford us some stores ; as, from our
hitherto protracted voyage, we began to be
afraid we might run short. She proved to
be a French vessel, with dried fruits and
brandy, from Marseilles to Nantes. About
the time our boat put off, there was an almost
complete calm, and the captain of the French
vessel, who acted very civilly, assured us, that
should we be near each other toward morning
he would let us have some supplies. The
wind, however, blew pretty smartly toward
morning, from the S. W. ; and by day
light, the French vessel had entirely disap
peared. On the 23d, the weather continued mode
rate ; and during the last two days especially,
we had made some way toward the south
and south-east. At noon we were off Oporto.
On the morning of the 24th a fine breeze
sprung up from the north-east, which conti
nued 1:o increase; and at 10 a. m. we found

22 EXPEDITION UP THE
by the log that we were making from 7 to
8^ knots an hour.
On the 25th, the breeze continued with
great steadiness ; and we spied a sail making
toward us. We hoisted the British flag,
which was immediately answered by the
French flag. She bore down by our lee-bow,
and we hailed her to ascertain her longitude,
but their answer was that they did not speak
English. We lowered our boat, and Captain
Dormer and Lieutenant Lees went on board.
We sent them a quarter of fresh mutton, as
it was possible they might have been at sea
for some time, and probably in want of fresh
provision. We also sent information that
we could make an exchange with them : we
would send tea (plenty of which we had on
board) for fruit. Captain Dormer and Mr.
Lees found her reckoning to correspond
nearly with our own, viz. Latitude 36"
48 . but her longitude was only in the
meridian of Paris 9s5 while our longitude
was 14. She was loaded with wine and some
fruit, bound for Havre-de-Grace. The Cap
tain received our mutton, and in return gave

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 23
our friends four oranges ! He declared, that
he could make no sort of exchange with us,
and was extremely well pleased to find us
peaceably disposed. He believed we were an
insurgent privateer, and said that another
vessel, similarly loaded with his, and which
had sailed in company with him, had been
boarded by a privateer near Gibraltar, and
plundered of a great part of her cargo.
On the 26th, we began to feel that we
had got into the region of the sun, the climate
being very similar to that of England during
the summer months. Our live-stock was
now nearly expended, and we proposed put
ting into Madeira; but when we reflected
that there might be a possibility of our de
tention, we abandoned the thought, and re
solved to prefer coming to anchor off Porta
Santo, about eight leagues from the latter
place, where no detention was to be feared.
Driving before a favourable wind, we calcu
lated on being able to make the above island
on Monday evening or Tuesday morning.
By our observation we found we were, this
day at noon, about 1^ deg. to the N. E. of

24 EXPEDITION UP THE
Madeira; and by 8 p. m. we had reduced it
to about half a degree.
Next morning we were early on deck, to
partake of the luxury of seeing land ; but
in this we were disappointed. It was very
evident we were wrong in our longitude,
whether the French vessel was right or not ;
for no land made its appearance.
On the 29th, at break of day, we discovered
the above island or rather islands ; for besides
several detached portions of barren rocks,
there are four larger portions, which the inha
bitants call Porto Santo. The highest of
these has a fortification on the top, and has
doubtless been a volcano.
The one in the centre is the largest, and
on it stands the town or rather village of
Porto Santo. The whole of the island is ex
tremely rugged, and seems parched with the
rays of the sun. We came to anchor two
miles from land, about 11 a. m. in deep
water; and Col. Campbell, Major Piggot,
and Captain Dormer went on shore with
Serjeant Kelly, who could alone speak Portu
guese. They were received by the people
very coldly ; and, with the exception of

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 25
Kelly, who was marched up to the Governor's
house, they were left to walk on the shore.
Kelly soon returned with an order from the
Governor for our party to proceed to his
house. By this time, I had come on shore ;
and we were all introduced to the Governor
with great ceremony.
This island seems to be principally com
posed of dry sand, sand-stone, very dense
granite, and equally dense lava. The town
consists of various houses, quite irregularly
built : so that there really is no street. The
houses look tolerable without. They are
built of stone, some being roofed with tiles,
and some with the common mud and water
mixed and plastered on canes. They are, in
general, very dirty within ; and the smell of
garlic which issues from them, is almost
enough to suffocate one.
Vines seem the principal produce, as
nothing in the form of wood appeared, except
a small shrubbery, and the vegetables and
grass so sparingly diffused, that the few live
stock the wretches have, are literally in a
State of starvation. There seemed to be some
wheat and corn several inches above the

26 EXPEDITION UP THE
ground. We had been assured, that there
was plenty of wild cattle here, such as bul
locks, and also innumerable rabbits, but we
saw none ; probably from the shortness of
our stay not giving us time to look after
them. Neither did we see any wild cattle ;
nor indeed is it a likely place to find them,
from the extreme wretchedness of the island.
The people are few in number, and, from
the Governor's family to the poorest of his
subjects, seem covered with vermin. These
poor creatures contrive annually to raise
about 2000 pipes of a sort of Madeira wine,
which they dispose of at the Madeira mar
ket ; and part of this, with excellent fish and
some lean fowls, constitutes the principal part
of their food.
At first, as I have stated, we were received
very coldly, and the reason is evident. The
island has been occasionally visited by Al-
gerine Pirates, who regularly carry off such
of the inhabitants as they require for slaves,
and also relieve the people of such wine as
they may not have disposed of. They took
us for one of these troublesome visitors, and
had actually prepared themselves to run up

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 27
to the high land and into the caverns to save
themselves. On Kelly explaining who we
were, and that we simply wanted some fresh
water and fruit, for which we should pay
them, or give goods in return, they seemed
mightily relieved, and received us with great
hospitality. It were difficult to find words expressive
enough to convey an idea of the Governor's
liberality. To his own honour in particular,
and also to the honour of the Portuguese na
tion, be it said, that there was nothing his
house could afford but he readily gave us ;
and while he helped us to some excellent
wine from his own cellar, (for he seemed to
act as butler, and in various other capacities,
himself) he seemed actually ashamed at the
liberality of his own conduct ; for, while he
repeatedly brought us a fresh supply of wine
and figs, he sneaked up to the table, laid it
down, took a snuff, and sneaked away
again. This good old fellow had been twelve years
in the navy of his country; had afterwards
been some years in Pernambuco ; and now
was an almost solitary prisoner in this

28 EXPEDITION UP THE
wretched place, among a set of animals who
doubtless deemed themselves men, although
I could see little about them which could
elevate them in the scale of being much above
the brute. He seemed about fifty years of
age, was married, and had two fine girls,
about seven and nine years of age. His
house is certainly the best of the groupe ; and
there are two tier of rusty guns placed in
front of it, some of them 12, some 18, and
some 24-pounders. They are mounted on
rotten carriages, with rotten wooden wheels,
and are certainly quite unfit for the use for
which they were intended. The Governor
took us through fields composed of mud and
large pieces of rock, which seemingly had
tumbled from the mountains, to a small run
ning stream of muddy water, which he
desired us to use as freely as our wants re
quired, and with this we filled a few casks.
On our return to his house through similar
masses of confusion (for there did not seem
any thing like a made-road in the island), we
were met by two men, whom he introduced
to us as brothers, who were the principal
vine-growers in the island. They were

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 29
dressed like English farmers, and had very
much the appearance of men of that descrip
tion in the west or north of Scotland.
Night began to approach, and we prepared
to go on board ; but, to our great mortifi
cation, we found the surf, which was very
high in the forenoon, had now increased
tremendously, so that one of our boats, in
attempting to send off some water, was stove,
and for a time rendered useless. By this
time they had hoisted blue peter, as a signal
for sailing ; and as night approached the guns
were fired, and lights hoisted at the main
top. We had nothing to put us on board
but a small boat, which, we feared, could
never stand the violence of the surf. We
repeatedly tried it ; and I offered to the
natives, that if any one of them would
board one of their boats, I would go into it
next, and pay them for their trouble when
we went on board. Menzies, the second
mate, tried to get the boat off, but was nearly
drowned ; and one of the men did so next,
but had his brains nearly dashed out against
the bottom of the boat. The inhabitants
stared with amazement at our madness, and

30 EXPEDITION UP THE
hauled their boats away to some distance
from the coast.
We had now very little prospect but that
of losing our passage, and being pent up
in this barren island ; and therefore we pre
pared to make the best of a bad bargain. We
received a message from the Governor, desir
ing us not to attempt to put off, because we
should not be able to escape being drowned,
and stating that he was then preparing some
fish for our supper, and we should be wel
come to such a bed as his house could afford.
We accepted his kind offer, and proceeded to
his house. We supped on excellent fresh
fish, with very good loaf-bread, made from
Indian wheat ; and a sort of store-room on
the ground-floor was allotted us for our bed
room. There was also an out-house allowed
for the sailors, who had plenty of fish and
wine for supper.
Next morning, we were all on foot by the
break of day ; and it afforded us sincere
delight to find that our vessel had not sailed.
In the morning, I found plenty of professional
employment, for which the people promised
to remunerate me with wine and figs ; but

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 31
no sooner were they in possession of a pre
scription, than they went into the mountains,
and I saw them no more. The surf had
greatly fallen, and we got on board before
mid-day, just in time to save our passage,
as they had shortened cable over night, and
were now getting under weigh, with a fine
breeze from the N. N. E.
The Portuguese peasantry of the island,
and the vine-growers, now surrounded our
ship, to dispose of their wine, spirits, and
figs for whatever we could give them in re
turn. For a gallon (four quarts) of wine,
for which they had charged one dollar, or
thereabouts, they now charged nearly double,
and the same in proportion for every thing
else. They readily bartered wine, &c. for
old clothes, but did not allow very liberally
for them. They were uncommonly fond of
salted meat; and any vessel coming this way
might lay in a good stock of wine and spi
rits in exchange for it, especially for pork,
of which they seemed very fond. Their spi
rits are a sort of rum, and some very tole
rable gin.
We set sail, and passed Madeira about

32 EXPEDITION UP THE
7 p. m. which appeared a mass of unvaried
blackness : we could faintly discern the
high ground rearing its head among the
clouds, while sparkling lights occasionally
broke through the solemnity of the scene.
On the 2nd of February, we had at last a
prospect of a fine voyage, as we had had a
favourable wind since we left Porto Santo, by
which we had been making about 160 knots
in the 24 hours. We were now also about
entering on the trade-winds, which generally
blow from the N. E., and of course were ex
actly calculated to serve us. The climate
during the day was now like the beautiful
weather in England about the end of Sep
tember. The nights and mornings were
cool. On the 4th we approached the line, and
the usual ceremony of shaving had been in
active preparation among the sailors all day.
About eight in the evening, Neptune hailed
the ship from the bows, where it was to be
understood he had boarded us. The Captain,
aware of what was about to take place, was
on deck. Neptune had previously been
furnished with a speaking-trumpet, and in a

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 33
voice of thunder he called, " What ship a
hoy ?" " The Dowson," replied the Captain.
He then wished to know where bound and
where from ; and the answer was given, from
London to St. Bartholomew's. Neptune then
wished to know how many children were on
board (meaning how many who had not
•Wcrossed the line), and the answer was,
" several, Mr. Neptune." " Then good
night; I shall board you to-morrow morning,"
said Neptune. " Good night, Mr. Neptune,"
replied the Captain. " Aye, aye, Sir," replied
Neptune, and all was quiet. In an instant
Neptune's boat appeared to drop astern of
us, which we knew by the blaze of light on
board of it. — When Neptune is supposed to
leave the ship, the sailors have a part of
a small cask, which they fill with tar and rope-
yarn ; and, after balancing it so that it may
float, they light the stuff it contains and
commit it to the waves, where it often (as on
the present occasion) floats and burns for
several miles.
Next morning Neptune's car was prepared
on the bows, which consisted of an old hogs
head, with part of it cut away in a sloping
D

34 EXPEDITION UP THE
direction. After breakfast, an infernal
yell was set up ; one of the sails which
had hid Neptune's car was withdrawn, and
six of the ugliest men in the ship yoked to
draw him, his family-, and retinue up to
the quarter-deck. There were Mr. and Mrs.
Neptune, with two children in and about the
car, together with his barber and barber'str-
mate, constable, and other officers of his court.
They were all naked, except trowsers and
huge caps made of rope-yarn on their heads,
while their faces and bodie"s were daubed
over with pitch, black and other paints,
grease and every kind of nuisance. This
greasy gang proceeded to a part of the
quarter-deck, related the latest news they
had heard, and delivered several old news
papers to the Captain. While thus busily
employed, those who understood the ma
noeuvre kept at a respectful distance, while
all those unacquainted with it crowded round
these monsters. Instantly there were dashed
down from the rigging tubs of water, which
ducked the whole party most thoroughly.
Business now commenced. Neptune's
Clerk called successively the names of those

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 35
who had not passed the line, and although each
officer, in the gun-room, had, the preceding
night, assured the gang they would each give
the party a quart of brandy, rather than be
shaved, this process went on as if no such
offer had been made. Those called went to
the car, which was now filled with'water, and
those who took it easy got off with merely
chalking the chin, which was shaved off with
an iron hoop hacked like a saw, while those
restive spirits who objected were tarred and
feathered most plentifully, and had the skin
nearly rasped from their chin. The lsat
were generally also soused in the car full
of water; and all of them on leaving the
seat were saluted with a profusion of water
from every direction. Those shaved, how
ever, had the power to act on the offensive ;
and, recollecting how ill they relished it,
laved bucket upon bucket full till all were
completely drenched. The ceremony ended
amidst hootings, hissings, and applauses, just
as those who had been shaved roughly or
otherwise felt inclined.
On the 7th, it was eight days since we
left Porto Santo, and we had in that time
d 2

36 EXPEDITION UP THE
had run full 1200 miles. It astonished me
to find, that, at this distance across the
Atlantic, the weather was not warmer. The
climate is certainly delightful ; but the ther
mometer of Farenheit in the shade, even at
noon, did not stand higher than seventy.
On the 18th, we came in sight of Saint
Bartholomew's, and, by sunset, we were
within reach of the guns of the fort. We
fired our guns, but no pilot came on board ;
and, after it was dark we hoisted a light on
our foretop, but no notice was taken of it.
We lay-to during the night, and came to
anchor next morning about 8 a.m.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 37

CHAP. III.
STAY IN THE WEST INDIES.
Patriot vessels which had touched at St. Bartholomew's, and
desertion which had taken place .from them ; — Some ac
count of the Island ; — Unfavourable accounts of the
Patriots there ; — Sails from St. Bartholomew's, and arrives
at Grenada ; — Still worse accounts of the Patriots at this
Island; — The supercargoes refuse to proceed, and many
men leave the ships ; — Indolence of the people there ; — Sails
from Grenada and arrives at Trinidad; — Some account
of Port of Spain; — Undergoes a medical examination with
a view to settle there ; — Further account of Port of Spain;
— Description of the Negro-dance; — Takes a passage for
Angostura against the advice of friends.
Here we found the Britannia and the
Prince, the latter of which we had previously
been taught to believe was foundered during
the gales in which the Indian went down.
In consequence of the dreadful accounts
from the Main, neither of these vessels had
proceeded on their voyage, but had been at
anchor here for about a month. The Eme
rald had also been here, but had sailed for
Grenada about a week ago. Many of the

38 EXPEDITION UP THE
men and officers belonging to the Emerald,
the Britannia, and Prince, had left these
vessels, and we found them walking about
the streets.
The inhabitants were uncommonly civil,
which, from the extreme poverty of the place,
we could scarcely have expected. Often for
many months this island is not visited by
one shower; and, when we reflect that rain
water is all they have for every culinary
purpose, we cannot be surprised to find that
they must frequently send to St. Martin's
and St. Christopher's for water, and indeed
for almost every thing they want. Fish here
is the only staple article ; and this, with salt
provision and a scanty allowance of lean
fresh meat, once a week, is all their sus
tenance. — I was asked over night to dine
next day with Major G., and next day he
assured me that he had to apologize for the
poverty of the place, as he was unable to
procure any thing but fish and wine.
We walked into the interior, and there
we had an opportunity of seeing nature in
the greatest possible state of wildness. The
island is evidently of volcanic origin, and

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 39
altogether formed of the rudest precipices
and yawning dells ; every inch of the ground,
from the lofty summit to the lowest valley,
being completely covered with various kinds
of foliage.
It was partly lamentable and partly laugh
able to observe how ruefully our young heroes
looked, in consequence of the news they
received at St. Bartholomew. I now thought,
as it would evidently be impossible for me
to organize my medical establishment, I
would try if there was a single blush in
the possession of the whole party. I ac
cordingly wrote to Col. Campbell, offering
my services as a military volunteer, in any
way in which I could serve the general cause.
My services were not accepted.
Next day we sailed within cannon-shot of
St. Kitt's, or St. Christopher's, which seems a
very well cultivated island, and with the ex
ception of Bermuda, which is a mere flat, is
like all the other West India Islands, very
lofty and grand in appearance. On the
evening of the 28th we came to anchor in
St. George's bay, Grenada.
The information we received here, respect-

40 EXPEDITION UP THE
ing our expedition, was worse than what was
afforded us atSt. Bartholomew's. It appeared,
from all reports, impossible for me to orga
nize any medical establishment, owing to the
confusion in South America. It was dif
ficult to know how to proceed ; but at all
events I determined to quit the vessel in
which I had passed so many very uncomfort
able days.
Some advised me to settle here and prac
tice my profession; but the place seemed so
miserably poor, that I resolved to make no
such attempt. As at St. Bartholomew, the
inhabitants here were uncommonly hospitable,
and this struck me the more forcibly when I
found it was almost wholly inhabited by
Scots :— that emigrating and industrious set
of people seldom travel but to save money—
not to spend it.
Here the supercargoes ot our ships re
fused to proceed with their charge, because
the intelligence they received gave them
reason to fear they should not be paid for
their cargo. All parties seemed dissatisfied
with something or other. Many of the men
applied to the Governor, for a release from

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 41
their engagement ; and he told all of them,
that they had formed no engagement but
what they were at liberty to break if they
chose. Many of the most active and best
informed of these men are now settled in
St. George's, and in various other parts of
Grenada. To one just arrived from Britain, the indo
lence of the people here appears intolerable.
On looking from my bed-room window into
a ship-builder's shade, I observed no less than
seven black fellows all employed at one
grinding-stone in sharpening a hatchet !
I remained in Grenada till the 17th of
February, when I sailed for Trinidad, because
there I might be nearer the Main, and, of
course, be ready to start for South America,
should matters turn out for the better. Ac
cordingly, on the morning of the 20th, I
arrived in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
About five years ago this town was almost
wholly destroyed by fire. Since that time no
houses are suffered to be built but of stone.
The town stands upon a large plain of several
miles in extent, and this is bounded by the
Gulf of Paria, on the south and south-west,

42 EXPEDITION UP THE
and by a very high ridge of hills on the
east and south-east, forming a sort of semi
circle toward the north and north-west.
The serene and lonely grandeur of these
immense hills has a fine effect. From the
highest to the lowest spot of them, they are
covered with rich foliage. The irregularity
of the ground causes great irregularity of
temperature. A mile or two out of town the
thermometer generally stands 10° or 15° low
er than in the town. During the day the ther
mometer, in the shade, is from 88 to 90, and,
during the night about 78 or 80. From the
regularity of the streets, squares, &c. there
can be little doubt that in a short time this
will be one of the finest towns in the West
Indies. Although this is a British island, it is
governed (and I am at a loss to know from
what policy,) by Spanish laws. There is a
Governor (Sir Ralph Woodford) ; a Chief
Judge, who presides at Court (Mr. Bigge) ;
and an Attorney-general (Mr. Fuller). The
Governor possesses unlimited power over
every civil establishment in the island, and,
in the absence of Lord Combermere, the pre-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 43
sent military commander, over all the militia,
but not over any regiment of the line, unless
during military law. Nothing of course can
be done in the island without his permission
asked and given. He is a most indefatigable
man, and it is solely owing to his unremitting
assiduity that Port of Spain owes its daily
increasing elegance. All the streets are
perfectly straight, several of them, even now,
full a mile in length. Every one of them,
in whatever direction it leads, possesses a
gentle slope; so that in the wet season, the
water has a ready escape toward the Gulf.
This certainly, in a climate such as this,
where stagnant water, vegetable matter, &c.
are so apt to run rapidly into putrefaction, is
of the very greatest advantage.
On the arrival of the Governor, about five
years ago, he made many alterations, and
among the rest would allow no man to prac
tice physic and surgery till he was examined
by a Medical Board, composed of the most
respectable medical men in the island. Here
I attended, and received my diploma to prac
tice physic and surgery in Trinidad. On this
occasion a curious coincidence of circum-

44 EXPEDITION UP THE
stances occurred. On walking into the hall
of examination, I found one of these (Mr.
James Anderson) had also been one of my
examinators when I passed in Edinburgh in
1800. This island is inhabited by people from
every nation in the known world, of all co
lours and all kinds. You may trace every
possible shade of colour from the coal black
to the fairest face you can find in Europe.
Much wretchedness prevails here owing to
the disturbances on the Main ; for this island
and the Main being so contiguous, it for
merly served as a sort of port for South
American commerce ; while its own produce,
either in regard to crops, provisions, or any
thing else was completely neglected. Now,
of course, that no commerce has been car
ried on here with the Main for several years,
every thing is scarce, and every thing ex
tremely expensive. A shilling in Britain
will go as far as a dollar here. Were it not,
indeed for the fish caught in the Gulf, of
which there is no end to the variety, I know
not how the people could live.
There is a flesh-market, which, on flesh

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 45
days, (for these are not every day, but as the
Governor commands) is open from 5 a.m.
till 2, provided the meat is not all sold be
fore that hour, and most generally it is all
disposed of by 7 or 8 o'clock. The meat
offered for sale is beef, mutton, and pork.
The last of these is tolerable ; but the two
former are lean, flabby, disgusting to the
sight, and as tasteless as a chip of dry wood.
What they call excellent beef and mutton
here, is fit for a dog-kennel in England ; and
I should imagine that he who would dare to
bring such to a London market, would be
put in the pillory. Bad as they are, how
ever, the people are glad to get them. There
is what they call a clerk of the market, who
regulates the prices of each. The meat is
from Is. to Is. 6d. per pound, sterling !
The turtle here is excellent and plentiful,
and is sold at two bitts (two bitts and a half
make a quarter-dollar) per pound. — All the
different kinds of fish are about the same
price, and are sold at the wharf. The ve
getable-market is behind the flesh-market,
and is supplied by the free negroes, and
also by the slaves who come from the interior

46 EXPEDITION UP THE
of the island. A small ugly looking loose
cabbage is sold at from 1§ bitt to 2f bitts
(a quarter of dollar) ; a lettuce at one bitt, and
so in proportion.
Salt beef and pork from Ireland are ex
tensively used among the better sorts of
people, and the negroes use nothing but salt
and fresh fish (they prefer salt) and plan
tains ; 2>\ pounds of such salt-fish per week
being the allowance for one of them. In
short, were you to deprive a negro of salt-
fish, he would think it the hardest punish
ment you could inflict.
The shops, or stores as they call them,
contain a strange assemblage of miscel
laneous matter. Whatever there is for sale
is written on the door with chalk. You will
find, for instance, on one door " Beef, po
tatoes, onions, hard-ware, oysters, tea, Ma
deira wine, porter, salt, and cheese !" and
on some you will find double the number of
these heterogeneous artieles.
Most people would be highly amused with
the negro dance. These slaves have Sunday
to themselves ; and the after-part of that day
is regularly set apart for the purpose of danc-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 47
ing. From ten to twenty or thirty, of both
sexes, meet together, in the suburbs of the
town. They form a sort of ring ; and in
one part ot it the musicians with their instru
ments are placed. These instruments are an
empty barrel, laid on one side, which from
the head has been removed, and a second
laid in the same way, from which also the
head has been removed and for that is
substituted an animal's skin dried. These
are the drums. The one without the head,
and the other with the skin, are each sat upon
by one of the party : — the one beats with
two pieces of stick on the skin ; the other
on the side of the barel. The only other
instrument, or rather two instruments, are
two baskets ; and these contain a quan
tity of some sort of hard dried nuts or
small gravel. The man who conducts
these, uses them alternately or together,
so as to make the contents produce as
much noise as possible. In their use,
too, he distorts his body, in every possible
direction. The sounds, however, which they
produce, by the proper management of these
simple instruments, are far from being un-

48 EXPEDITION UP THE
pleasant. Their dances seem something in
the style of what they call in Scotland the
everlasting reel. All the men are constantly
employed, during the dance, in singing a
sort of wild air, at certain parts of which
there is a general howl set up by the women,
which consists of one note only. Those who
witness an exhibition of this kind will do
well to get to the windward of the group :
if within half a mile of them to the lee-ward
you will smell them.
On- the 12th of August, I desired the har
bour-master of Port of Spain to procure me
an early passage for Angostura, when he
told me that a schooner, called the Peace of
Trinidad, was just about to sail for that
place. I agreed to give the master 25 dollars,
and to live, on my passage, as he did.
I certainly started on this expedition under
the most unfavourable auspices ; as every
report in Port of Spain was very much against
the Patriot cause. When I announced my
intention of immediately proceeding to An
gostura, a gentleman, whom I had known
for some years, and who had afforded me
some pecuniary accommodation, wrote me

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 49
the following letter on the subject. It is not
the production of an obscure character, but
of one who possesses both the opportunity
and the practical ability of obtaining the best
information. The commencing observation
in the letter, is in consequence of some re
marks I had made respecting the way in
which I was to discharge my pecuniary obli
gations to him.

Port of Spain, 12th of August, 1818.
Dear Sir,
I have never made any doubt of your in
clination to repay the advances I have made
in your behalf; but / know, that with your
adopted projects, you never can pay one
farthing. With less genius and more com
mon sense, you might do very well here. I
do not mean to offend you ; but you are fol
lowing the councils of despair in going to
Angostura ; when, by a little — allow me to
repeat — a little common sense here, you could
do well. Mr. Gumbes is willing to enter
into a partnership with you, which would,
E

00 EXPEDITION UP THE
at least, at first support you. Think twice.
Remain where you are in preference to put
ting your whole trust on such desperate
remedies as you propose to use.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 51

CHAP. IV.
PASSAGE UP THE ORINOCO TO ANGOSTURA.
Sails from Trinidad and encounters a hurricane; — Enters
the Orinoco by a mouth which is little frequented; — Te
dious passage and warping of the vessel ;— Surrounded by
Guaraunos Indians ;— Description of these people ; — Con
duct of the Master of the vessel with regard to provisions ;
— Attacked by various kinds of insects ; — Fracas with an
old Spaniard ; — Put on short allowance, and bad conduct
of the Captain ; — Attacked by musquitoes ; — Further dis
play of the Captain's villainy ; — -A monkey killed and
eaten; — Tarantulas, centipedes, and scorpions; — Priva
tions on the passage, and consequent distress ; — Entrance
of the Grand River ; — State 01 exhaustion from want of
food; — Arrives at Barancas on the Orinoco; — Compels
the Captain to take in some provisions ; — Leaves Barancas
and arrives at Old Guyana ; — Some account of Guyana ;
— Leaves Guyana and arrives at Angostura.
I was barely allowed time to put any articles
I had on board, when we sailed with a fair
wind. Owing to the amazing rapidity of
the current, in the Gulf of Paria, we were
frequently obliged to come to anchor, to
prevent our being drifted entirely out of the
Gulf. e 2

52 EXPEDITION UP THE
On the 15th we encountered a hurricane,
accompanied by dreadful thunder, lightning,
and torrents of rain. There were a number
of passengers on board ; and, owing to the
smallness of the cabin not more than eight or
ten could get admission, while the remainder,
twelve in number, got among the luggage
in the hold till the violence of the weather
abated. In this state, I may say literally
packed together, with barrels, boxes, &c. &c.
we were obliged to remain for some hours.
There, very unexpectedly we were alarmed
by a sort of grunting like that of some
animal which I began to believe had found
its way into the vessel, but to our astonish
ment, in attempting to drive it out, we found
that it was only a black negro woman pray
ing most fervently for de great Massa in hea
ven to calm de wind. Every one seemed
willing to abate the poor creature's terrors by
representing the case as by no means dan
gerous, and that the storm would soon abate.
Still, however, she continued to call out " No
good for me massa — no good for you," and
then she went to work, confessed her sins,

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 53
and finished her business with a sort of
prayer, in a language which I suppose she
had brought from the coast of Guinea.
Our vessel stood the weather very well;
and, on the 18th at six o'clock, p. m. we
entered one of the mouths of the Orinoco.
This mouth was about the 5th or 6th to the
south of the Macareo, and, although very
narrow, was sufficiently deep for vessels draw
ing 10 or 12 feet. Even this narrow pass
gave some idea of the grandeur of this mighty
river. I drew a glass of the water, and drank
" to liberty and independence".
It was not without some concern that we
learned, from the master of the vessel
that he had never sailed up this mouth be
fore; and, reflecting on the late massacre of
mv worthy friend Colonel Macdonald and
others, by the wild Indians, and also on the
Spaniards, especially as the laws of Trinidad
would allow no arms on board, I thought
the experiment unsafe. It is true I had a
pair of pistols, which I had concealed in my
pocket; but what reliance could we place
on one pair of pistols, opposed by perhaps

54 EXPEDITION UP THE
hundreds of furious men armed with bows
and arrows, lances, and other weapons ?
After the first day, we found we had erred in
another respect, which was likely to render
our voyage to the grand river very tedious.
The thick and impenetrable foliage, of im
mense height, which crowded every inch of
both sides the river, prevented the breeze
from reaching our vessel, so that we found it
absolutely necessary to warp the ship, or
in other words, drag it onward by cords,
fastened to the trees.
On the 20th, at 6 a. m. while at anchor
a canoe appeared, which had just started
from a small creek in the bush, with about
twenty men, women, and children in it.
The master pronounced them Spaniards ;
and, instantly, all who could wield a weapon
of any sort grasped it, because we knew
there was no quarter given by these monsters.
The vanquishing of this assailant we thought
practicable enough ; but all our hopes were
destroyed, when upwards of forty more
canoes started from every brake and bush,
altogether containing perhaps four hundred
or five hundred persons of all ages. They

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 55
paddled up to us with the speed of a bird
on the wing, and instantly out vessel was
every where surrounded, while at least one
hundred of them were on our deck. We
were most agreeably surprised to find that
they were perfectly mild. They assured us
that the mouth we had taken had rarely
been passed, on the way to the grand
river before; because it was sometimes in
fested with banditti of the most blood-thirsty
kind, and that it was to prevent depredations
by such, that they went in such great num
bers. However, after the distance we had
come, we determined to take our chance,
and not return to take another mouth.
These people are of a sort of red colour, are
called Guaraunos, and are wholly naked, if
we except a little piece of cloth, about six
inches square, tied before them. They live in
families in canoes. From time to time, espe
cially when the river is low, they live in the
bush, and subsist by fishing and hunting.
We purchased from them for some rum,
straw hammocks which they call chinchoro,
reed-baskets, parrots, to which they give the

56 EXPEDITION UP THE
name of loro in this country, and monkies
which they call maraquito.
Many of these people are painted all over,
and some on particular parts of their body
only, with a sort of red nut, called Roocoo,
or Ruco. This painting serves two purposes :
it gives their person a singular appearance,
while it also prevents the bites of insect ver
min, of which there are millions here. Some
of them had their heads decorated with a
rude garland, formed of parrots' feathers,
while others had' figures of various shape
painted on their body and face. They are
very well shaped, but generally of small
stature ; yet occasionally we found some
most stupendous figures among them. Their
face is broad, or rather almost round, and
their head is covered with long black hair,
except over the face, where it is cut right
across. It hangs over their breast, shoul
ders, and back. Their eyes are small ; and
their shoulders round, from the use of
the paddle. They evidently had different
ranks among them ; and doubtless the various
kinds of painting on their body were marks
of distinction. These poor creatures re-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 57
mained with us about two hours, when they
paddled off, and entered the bush to follow
their various occupations.
In the present state of American and Spa
nish warfare, it is absolutely necessary, that
vessels of every description bound for An
gostura should be cleared for any other port
but that ; because the Custom-house officers,
of the various West India islands, will not so
openly interfere in these disputes as to clear
vessels for any Patriot port. Our schooner
was cleared for Demarara; and, till we en
tered this mouth of the river, nothing could
prove that the vessel was not bound for De
marara ; but, having once entered the river,
our destination for Angostura became evident.
Whether it might be caution in the Mas
ter of the vessel (who was a Dominica Creole),
or what could be his motive, I know not; but
most certainly we lived well while crossing
the Gulf of Paria : that is to say, we had
plain substantial food and plenty of it. We
had fish for breakfast and sometimes a little
coffee ; bacon or beef, or both, with fish oc
casionally for dinner : he also, at each meal,
sent us a wine-glassful, and sometimes a small

58 EXPEDITION UP THE
tumbler of rum or gin. This system of affairs,
however, underwent a very material change
when we entered the river ; for at no time
did they then serve out more than one-third
the quantity they formerly allowed. Think
ing there might be some mistake in such pro
ceedings, I determined to say nothing for a
few days, by which time I might be more
unequivocally convinced of the real disposi
tion and intention of the Master.
On the 2 1 st, at day-break, I was roused
from sleep by the biting of a sort of clumsy
black or rather very dark green flies, whose
wings were tipped with white. Wherever
they settled (but they seemed to give a de
cided preference to the heels) they darted
their proboscis through whatever opposed
them, and made the blood start from the
spot. These were soon joined by great num
bers of very large grey flies, most of them
nearly from one to two inches in length.
They were equally offensive as the former,
but much more quick in drawing blood.
To this infernal horde, an insect, very like the
wasp in Britain, but which is called here
Jack Spaniard, joined his sting and his bite.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 59
In short, it was the occupation of the day to
keep these insects from resting on one or
other part of the body, by which I was kept
in a sort of torture.
About sunset, these gentry fled to the
bush and we enjoyed half an hour's quiet,
when another cause of misery presented it
self, in the form of a cloud of musquitoes.
These monstrous tormentors are always most
troublesome during darkness; for when all
other animals and insects have retired to re
pose, the biting, blistering, and intolerable
itching which these repulsive animals pro
duce, are indeed enough to make a man mad.
On surveying these impenetrable forests,
filled with every kind of vermin that can
annoy the body or depress the heart of man,
and where you cannot approach any accessible
part but your whole body is covered with
them, I have often thought to how much mi
sery any traveller in these forests must have
been exposed: yet we scarcely, if at all,
find him note these pregnant sources of dis
tress as worth mentioning.
This day, one of the passengers, a com
plete old Spaniard, if physiognomy is ever to

60 EXPEDITION UP THE
be trusted, came up where I was sitting with
two Britons, who were also passengers ; and,
although I was riot sufficiently acquainted
with the Spanish language to know what he
talked of, I could plainly understand he was
offended. I called the Master of the schooner
to tell me what he wanted. It seemed that
he had taken it into his head, that I had then
been laughing at an antiquated old woman,
with a long hooked nose, studded over with
red and blue excrescences, whom he called his
wife. I declared to the Master that nothing
was farther from my intention ; that the
laugh he imagined to be directed at his
wife, was in fact at some curious tricks of a
monkey we had on board ; that if I had been
inclined to laugh at his wife I should not
have done it without cause ; and that his
present threats could not possibly have any
sort of effect.
On understanding what I said, his eyes
flashed with the most demoniac fury : I could
have almost imagined at the time that his
face would have given Milton a much bet
ter idea of the devil than he has. favoured
us with. Owing to this, I could not help

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 61
looking the man right in the face, and burst
ing into a fit of laughter. He now stamped
with his feet, grew more furious than
before, and ran and grasped a large folding
knife to poniard me I suppose, when several
of his own countrymen surrounded him and
kept him quiet.
Thus assailed, I darted into the cabin,
brought away my pistols on deck, and sat
down and deliberately loaded them with
slugs. This being done, I desired the Master
to tell the Spaniard that now I was prepared
for him, if he had any thing to say to me.
He again darted on his feet from where he had
been sitting, like a serpent from his coil; ut
tered a sort of convulsive laugh, which seemed
to shake his whole frame to its foundation ;
and, in this emotion, darted his hand into
his jacket-pocket in search of his knife, I pre
sumed, to stab me. In this state, he seemed
almost blind with passion ; he sprang forward
at any body, or any thing on which he could
fix his vengeance ; and, instead of me, he had
very nearly murdered one of the Englishmen
alluded to above.
He was again secured by his countrymen ;

62 EXPEDITION UP THE
when I declared to the Master and the others,
who were of this assassin's party, that if he
ever approached, under any pretence what
ever, within two yards of me, I should most
certainly shoot him. Thus our present busi
ness rested.
Up to the 22nd, every winding of the
river presented the same aspect of untameable
wildness ; and the immense number of creeks
and corners convinced me that this was ex
actly the place for another three-fingered
Jack. A man who might possess a clear
understanding of these creeks, or their con
nexion with each other, their depth, and the
hiding places in the bush, might continue to
plunder here without a chance of being dis
turbed. I doubt not of this river being
one day the nest of one or more of these
pirates. On the 23rd I awoke at midnight and
heard, very distinctly, the strokes of a
hatchet in the wood. I deemed it proper to
call the Master, when we were soon satisfied
of the fact, and, what was not so pleasant, it
did not seem more than a mile from us. We
watched till break of day, when we felt our-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 63
selves comparatively comfortable, and by
this time no noise was heard.
Our mode of living became now plain
enough. For the last three days, the Master
told us, that he had no more provisions on
board, except biscuit, and these we must use
with much caution, as he was afraid they
would not hold out till he reached the first
town on the grand river, called Sacapano.
Our allowance was served in the morning,
which was one biscuit and a small piece
each, perhaps one biscuit and a quarter, per
diem, and sometimes a very small propor
tion of bad rum, or execrably bad gin.
To prevent accidents, such as the above, I
had been advised at Trinidad, to lay in a
small private stock of fish, with a small ham,
and some spirits ; this I had done ; but
on demanding my supply from the Master,
he told me, with the most intolerable effron
tery, that all my stock had been used ! — in
other words, he had stolen it.
I had some powder and shot, of which,
although they had stolen a part, still they
left some ; arid this I resolved to use while
we might be at anchor, in shooting birds of

64 EXPEDITION UP THE
any kind. These, however, we found very
scarce, or rather very shy, as we could
scarcely ever approach near enough to have
a shot at them.
One day, however, I shot what the natives
here call the arooka, which is a large dark
coloured bird, larger than the English turkey.
Attached to this animal's wings is a curious
provision of nature: at each joint there is one
tooth of an inch and a half long, and another
about an inch long, on each wing, and exact
ly shaped like the point of a bayonet. There
can be no doubt of this being a very strong
and a very fierce bird ; and, by the strength
of his bill and neck, his feet and wings, I
think he might be very able not only to
act on the defensive, but also on the offen
sive. At any other time, I should have said
this bird is not fit for human use ; but we are
mere creatures of habit, and our opinions, on
these points, change with our situation. Al
though the animal smelt and tasted of rancid
fish, I made a very hearty meal of it.
On the 25th, night no sooner closed than
the air was filled with the screaming of thou
sands of every kind of animals, which ren-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. G5
dered the scene one of most perfect
wildness. We about this time saw various
Indian huts ; but whether their inhabitants
were wild or not, we could not say ; for.
owing to the heighth of the water, most of
them stood in a morass. Others, however,
a little more elevated, had evidently been
the recent habitation of some one, from the
greenness of the plantain-leaves with which
they were covered.
On the 27th, at night we came to an
anchor close to the bush ; and most cer
tainly there never was such a night for
musquitoes. The Spaniards, Mulattoes, and
Blacks, boast that these animals infest only
those possessed of European blood, but spare
their own countrymen. On this occasion,
however, Britons, Spaniards, Mulattoes, and
Blacks, were equally bit by them. I did
not hesitate to confess the misery in which
I was ; but the countrymen and women of
the musquitoes suppressed their feelings as
long as possible. Every one flew to the
smoking of segars, which is generally a
sure method of keeping them away for the
time ; but, on this occasion, the tobacco
F

6Q EXPEDITION UP THE
smoke, though rolling from every mouth in
clouds, had not the slightest effect. At
length, with one feeling, the whole company
started on their feet and almost roared in
agony. The spirit-bottle was produced, as
the last remedy ; and when we had all taken
what is called a musquito-dose, we en
deavoured to sleep. This, our dose with
the use of tobacco assisted us to do ; but
next morning our whole body exhibited one
mass of small blisters, from the millions of
bites we had received during the night.
The intolerable itching which succeeds the
bite of these bloodsuckers cannot be com
pared to any other feeling with which I am
acquainted. In this, their bites differ from
the black and gray flies, of which I have
made mention ; and perhaps this is in some
measure owing to the discharge of blood on
being bit by black and gray flies, while the
musquito bites, like the sting of a Jack
Spaniard, or wasp, cause an aching and
itching pain, without any discharge whatever.
We were now in the constant habit of
seeing serpents of all colours and sizes, either
swimming in the river, sleeping in the bush,

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 67
or twisted round the branches of the trees
which hung over our head.
I still found that no amendment was to
take place in regard to the provisions; and
this I had more reason than formerly to find
fault with, as there was, this afternoon, de
veloped a circumstance which had previously
been wrapped up in mystery. A piece of
sail which, every afternoon, had been hung
across' the fore-part of the vessel (for what
purpose I knew not, but supposed it was
put up to prevent the bad effects of an almost
vertical sun) — this sail dropped down, and,
to my mortification, I discovered the Master
and some of his countrymen making a hearty
meal on pork and biscuit. I flew into a
great rage, on finding myself thus used, and
swore that next day I should watch the cook,
and if he boiled pork I should be glad to
speak with the man who should deprive me
of my share ; that I submitted patiently
when I was told that no other provision but
biscuits were on board ; but that now I should
do it no longer. Instantly the whole party,
eleven in number (all of the mulatto tribe),
sprung on their legs, and muttered like a set
f 2

68 EXPEDITION UP THE
of monkies, a few vollies of curses ; said
something of landing me in the bush ; of my
being an English adventurer, going to join
a pack of lawless rebels ; and many other
phrases of a similar kind. To oppose such a
host was out of the question ; and I therefore
concluded by stating, that next day I should
let them all know what I should do.
On the 28th, there appeared a general
scowl on every face. I went close by the
bush, and shot a large red monkey, which
might weigh about twenty or twenty-five
pounds, and had it boiled for dinner.
We were obliged to use these animals im
mediately, because the excessive heat soon
hurried them to a state of putrefaction.
Feeling how much I was in the minority,
in regard to number, I deemed it policy
to show no inclination to quarrel, and there
fore di played the whole monkey cooked,
of which I invited them to partake. They
did so, and all seemed to wear a tolerable
face of good will toward each other. Still,
however, I resolved to be constantly on my
guard against such a set of villains, and
therefore never parted with my pistols.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 69
Next day we fell in with two canoes of
Guaraunos, from whom we got two fish, of
which there are abundance in the Orinoco,
called moroquoit, each weighing about twenty
pounds. These kept us all pretty well next
day. On the 30th, while warping, our vessel
along, close by the bush, we observed an
immense flock of tarantula spiders of a large
size. Several of them crawled up the side
of the vessel, and came 011 deck. It is
truly wonderful how a monkey treats these
venomous insects. The one we had on board
evinced various proofs of its sagacity : it eat
any kind of insect offered ; but on one of
the tarantulas approaching him, he screamed,
looked hard at it, and when some one shoved.
the tarantula nearer him, he sprung from
it, and took a rope's end, and beat it from-
him. This day we also had a visit from
some centipedes, which I think among the
most disgusting animals I ever saw.
On the 31st, on getting up from deck (for
here, in the midst of the heaviest dews and
pouring rains I ever witnessed, I slept every
night) I found a new visitor in the shape of

70 EXPEDITION UP THE
a scorpion. It had, the previous night, got
underneath a little piece of sail-cloth on
which I slept, and I had luckily bruised him
to death. Had he got fair play, he was
large enough to have killed any man. These
animals, if possible, are still more repulsive
than the centipedes.
I was this day favoured with a small bit of
fresh fish for breakfast, and about a table-
spoonful of gin ; and at dinner, with pork in
pretty liberal quantity. Being in the hold,
however, I picked up the shank of a raw ham,
which I considered a fair prize. I brought it
on deck and laid it aside for what might hap
pen. The former remonstrance had produced
an effect for one day, when we were again
put on the one and a quarter biscuit. The
shank of ham I therefore divided with two
other Englishmen ; and on it, and after
wards on soup made by boiling the bone
with some biscuit, we subsisted during two
days. On the 2d of September, we had another
warm conflict in words about provisions. I
now began to think the wretches had it not,
as they did not seem to cook. I, however,

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 71
let the Captain know what a scoundrel he
was to put to sea on a five or six weeks' voy
age with only one week's provision on board.
He replied that he was very comfortable with
the biscuit, and the other mulatto passengers
were so too ; that the English were all glut
tons, and could not live one week without
flesh !
We were now told by one of the canoe's
crew, that we were close upon Sacapano,
which is the first town we meet with on the
Grand River. The other two Englishmen
and myself had consequently a good deal af
conversation about taking the boat in the
night and rowing to Sacapano ; but, as in
all vessels, every board has an ear, the va
gabonds either heard us or had some suspi
cion of our design. The Master got up a pair
of old rusty pistols, and cleaned and loaded
them with ball. This was to keep us in
awe I suppose, which, however, it would not
have done, had they not adopted a more se
cure plan. They took every oar into the
hold, and even every piece of wood which
might be put to the purpose of an oaf, and
placed a sentinel over the hatch all night.

72 ' EXPEDITION UP THE
Thus thwarted, I resigned myself to my fate,
determined to have the Master arrested at
Sacapano. This day one of the Englishmen actually
fainted and fell flat on deck, doubtless from
want ; for I can safely say, that for 20 hours
before he had not eat a morsel. I ran to
the Master, and his brutal party, and de
sired them to let me have a little spirits to
revive him, at which they grinned a sort of
laugh, but not one of them would give a
drop. For myself, I am certain, that but for
the tobacco, which one of the Englishmen
had brought from Trinidad, and of which we
made segars, one or more of us must have
died. Drenched in dew and rain, with little
to eat and less to drink, I smoked profusely
of these segars, by the narcotic powers of
which I slept soundly. In this wet and soli
tary employment, I have often, on rolling
myself in my wet blanket, exclaimed, Come
here you feather-bed gentry and look ! I
shall ever entertain a high opinion of tobacco.
Not contented with rendering our existence
miserable, these rascals were determined to

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 73
enlarge their sphere of action. We observed
a very fine canoe lashed to the bush : this
they sent their boat for, and, after bringing it
alongside, they took it to the middle of the
stream and let it loose. Thus, the poor fel
lows who were in the bush, might not be
able to escape from it until chance sent some
one to their aid, or till they actually made
another canoe ! I most certainly did expect
that a large party of the natives, seeing their
property thus abused, would have attacked
and murdered every one of us next day ; but
a breeze sprung up and we set sail.
On the 4th, we anchored right under the
bush, where we were stung almost to death
by insects of every kind and of every loath
some shape. On the 5th, we entered the
Grand River at 9 a. m. It rolled on in a
most majestic and truly beautiful manner.
It was worth all the troubles I had encoun
tered, even to witness such a sight. This
entrance was about ten miles farther up than
Sacapano. I had not experienced any sort of uneasi
ness, except falling off in flesh and general

74 EXPEDITION UP THE
weakness till this evening, when standing at
the bows of the vessel, I felt as if falling
asleep; my feet became powerless and also
my hands ; and, to prevent my falling over
board, I sunk on a sail-cloth on deck. I know
not how long I remained in this state; but
I did not recover for several days. I now
found the biscuit fully enough for me, as my
appetite was almost entirely gone. During
these three days, I actually subsisted on se
gars and water, till the morning of the 8th,
when we had a red monkey, of which I eat
one mouthful.
On the 8th, we arrived at Baranca, or Ba
rancas, which was the first solid piece of
ground we had trod since our entrance from
the Gulf of Paria. This town was almost
wholly destroyed by the Royalists, and now
there remains a very few mud houses. Here
was a Commandant, who looked like a ser
geant : I did not choose to submit any com
plaint to such a man. There was plenty of
beef here, such as it was — coarse and without
any kind of fat^all of which they cut out to
make candles. A bullock of ordinary size
may be purchased here for six dollars ; but

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA'. 75
what I was most pleased with was, that all our
insect vermin had entirely left us.
On the 9th, preparation being made for
sailing, I asked the Captain if he intended to
put any provision on board, which he an
swered in a very evasive manner. They soon
after talked of heaving the anchor ; and there
might be perhaps about one day's provision
on board. This was no time to trifle. I
went to the bows with the other two Enp--
lishmen, and told them, that till more pro
vision was put on board, and that too for
our use,- as well as theirs, that the first man
who attempted to touch that cable should be
shot: We began to feel we had got some
advantage over them, as most of their peo
ple were standing on the beach to come on
board, and we also told them (for we were
within a few fathoms of the shore) that who
ever came alongside would be shot, , unless
they brought provisions with them, The
Master talked a great deal about its not
being his intention to sail without provision,
when we desired him to go ashore and prove
the truth of his words. He went, and brought
with him all the people and a whole bullock.

76 EXPEDITION UP THE
We sailed ; and on the evening of the same
day an Independent canoe came down the
river from Guyana, with eight paddles and
two officers. They -came along-side; and
one of the officers, on coming on board, found
his wife and one child, from whom he had by
the fate of war been separated for a conside
rable time. The men looked remarkably well.
They were well clothed in blue jackets, trim
med with red, and a cap like the British
marine cap. In front there was a srnall
yellow cockade, and immediately below that
a larger round yellow metal plate, about
2| inches diameter. On the inferior edge of
this plate is displayed the rising sun, above
which are seven stars, and below the sun
there is written round the margin, " Morir o
veneer," and on the upper part, " Venezuela "
Late in the evening we arrived at Guy-.
ana ; and next morning found Colonel Wil
son a prisoner in the fort. In Plate II. I have
given a drawing of Old Guyana.
The village of Old Guyana consists pro
bably of about 50 houses, the appearance of
which is poor and miserable in the extreme.-
It is situate in a valley close to the river's

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 77
edge, and on each side stands a fort, one of
which has three guns. The most poverty-
stricken village in England looks more re
spectable than this place, — but houses are not
of such consequence here as they are in Eu
rope. It is scarcely possible to enter one
without finding one or two persons ill
with ague and fever, from the damp situa
tion of the place, the want of medicine,
cleanliness, &c. As I here found the Ame
rican brig Helen, of Philadelphia, Captain
Steel, about to sail for Angostura, I left
the Peace schooner, and went on board of
his vessel. The Captain of the schooner,
however, would not allow me to take my
luggage ashore, unless I paid 25 dollars for
being nearly starved, and almost constantly
insulted by fifteen fellows, whose mere phy
sical force was more than sufficient to over
power us. The Commandant advised me to
represent our case to the Supreme Chief, as
his own power was too limited to give proper
satisfaction. On the 20th, after a pleasant voyage
from Guyana, we arrived at Angostura.
Two days before, however, the fever of the

78 EXPEDITION UP THE
country appeared in the Helen. One man
died of the black vomit, and was thrown over
board. A Mr. Townsend, from Dublin, was
also seized and died next day. We came to
anchor about one a. m. close in shore j and
had I remained till morning, I should have
been put under quarantine for six weeks ; but
the time of my life had arrived when I deter
mined not to stand on trifles, and, before the
harbour-master's visit, I leaped ashore and
thus made my escape.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 79

CHAP. V.

ANGOSTURA, AND OCCURRENCES THERE.
Description of Angostura ; — Climate of Angostura and
country around; — The Orinoco and its fish; — Anecdotes
of these and the Alligators ;— Contest with the Captain,
and settlement in the Author's favour ;— Interview with
General Bolivar, and application for accommodation, sub
sistence, &c. ; — Various houses obtained and taken away
again ; — Curious adventure in one of these ; — Golgotha
behind it; — Reflections on this war of extermination; —
Curious occurrence at Angostura'; — Strange treatment as
to his appointment; — Execution of General Piar.
Th e town of Angostura lies in lat. 8° some
odd min. The heat is from 70 to 80, during
the night, and from 88 to 92 all day. It is
situate close on the left or southern bank of
the Orinoco, on the side of a hill sloping
towards the river. The ground all over this
part of the country is of very unequal sur
face; and, as well as the bed of the Orinoco,
is covered with huge masses of dense stone.

80 EXPEDITION UP THE
The houses of Angostura are of two sorts :
the one built of stone, and the other of mud,
plastered upon bamboos. Among the better
sort there are many of them respectable
and, from their construction, much calculated
for mercantile convenience. These houses
are all roofed with tiles of various shapes.
The principal and most handsome of these
front the Orinoco, and run from east to
west. There are a few guns mounted in front
of these, but the river itself constitutes the
principal protection to the north. The next
protection is a laguna towards the east of
the town, which is supplied by the river
when full, and which continues even during
the dry season to contain a considerable
quantity of water. — In Plate I. (the Frontis
piece) I have given a drawing of Angostura.
Angostura is now supposed to contain a
population, amounting to about five thousand
persons, including all descriptions and ranks
of people.
The houses at the western extremity of
the town, as well as by the river-side, are
respectable in their appearance, airy and

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 81
commodious ; but these terms cannot justly
be applied to the greater part of the houses
and buildings which compose the town.
There are many situate in the heart of An
gostura, which bear the strongest indications
of neglect and age.
The streets are nearly all of equal width,
crossing each other at right angles, extending
in one direction parallel with the river, and
in the other ascending from the river-side
towards the summit of the hill, which is sur
mounted by a fort and look-out place.
The walls of the houses are composed of
stone and brick, with tiled roofs, and most
of them have whited fronts ; those of the
principal inhabitants being ornamented with
green balconies, something similar to the
virandas in England, help much to improve
the exterior appearance. The rooms of the
largest houses are, some of them, from 30 to
35 feet in length, 15 or 16 in breadth, and
as much in height.
At the house, for instance, formerly occu
pied by Admiral Brion, on ascending a wide
staircase you find a large square open in the
centre, round which the doors of the different

82 EXPEDITION UP THE
rooms are placed. On the right side, next
the river, are the rooms occupied by
Mr. Hamilton ; in front, the kitchen and
cooking offices ; on the left, an excelleflt
warehouse ; and behind, the rooms and places
of accommodation for the servants. The
stores are very large and commodious, and
occupy the lower part of the building.
The town is paved with flints, pieces of
rock, and limestone, which make it extremely
painful and unpleasant to traverse. In front
of about a dozen houses at the west end, and
opposite the House of Congress, or Palace, as
it is sometimes called, it is paved 'with red
brick, extending 6 or 7 feet in front, forming
thus an agreeable promenade.
This latter building, perfectly white, ex
cept the roof, having a raised centre, and two
wings, and the windows filled up with jea
lousies, painted a lively green colour, and
distinguished by a guard being constantly
mounted there, makes an extremely clean
and respectable appearance. A church to
the east, a chapel to the north, and a row of
houses to the south, form a considerable
square, of which this building occupies nearly

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 83
the whole of the western side. But the cen
tre is confused with s£one, rubbish, and
pieces of rock, which detract much from the
tout ensemble.
The church is a dismal-looking building,
much more resembling a prison than a place
of public worship. There is little attention
paid to Sunday here. There are two or
three very good shops in the town, for the
sale of dry goods, tea, coffee, &c. The
houses of the poor form the suburbs. The
barracks are situate at the eastern extre
mity, forming a tolerably long range of build
ing. The hospital is about three quarters of
a mile in the country — a large building sur
mounted with turrets.
The river narrows considerably opposite
the town, as its adopted name intimates. At
the distance of seven or eight miles, lower
down the river, at a place called Angostu-
rita, it is narrower still. I observe Humboldt
in his chart, calls a small village on the north
side of the river (the right bank), Angostura,
and placesSt. Tome, the capital, on the south.
There is also the same distinction in some
other books and maps that I have seen, and
g 2

84 EXPEDITION UP THE
it is probable that this is a correct difference,
if the word 'Angostura' can properly be
applied to any thing but the river itself.
Some of the oldest residents, and principal
members of the Congress, occasionally called
it New Guyana, but the general name is
Angostura. I should think the climate of this town
may be considered healthy, during the dry
season, from its local situation ; although it
is extremely hot. As the vegetation by
which it is partially surrounded, consists prin
cipally of bushes, it is in a great measure
freed from the miasmata, arising from the
decomposition of the air, which takes place
in these regions, particularly in the neigh
bourhood of woods and forests, as M. Hum
boldt states, and which he considers to be so
injurious to Europeans unaccustomed to the
climate. And although the heat during, the
greater part of the day, occasions, the ther
mometer generally to rise to 88°, a morn
ing and evening breeze, which occasionally
lasts all day, renders the temperature sup
portable, and sometimes pleasant. Accord
ing to all accounts the case is different in the

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. g5
rainy seasons ; at these periods the exces
sive heats, and violent rains, to which these
provinces are subjected, give rise to disor
ders, which most European constitutions and
habits will not bear.
Round Angostura and Guyana, the country
looks as if it never had been cultivated, and
at the former particularly so. Near both
places the Cashu-apple, wild cotton, plantain,
limes, and water-melon, form the greater part
of the productions of the country, and these
are offered by nature, unassisted by the hand
of man. Judging from the luxuriance with
which these grow, I should think that the
soil, with proper cultivation, would produce
whatever the purposes of commerce or luxury
could demand.
The perpendicular rise and fall of this
mighty mass of water, — the Orinoco, is from
60 to 70 feet. It begins to rise in March and
gradually advances till September, and from
September to March it falls.
In this river there is an immense quantity
of fish, especially when full. They are even
so plentiful that there is a singular practice
adopted by the boys for catching them, which

86 EXPEDITION UP THE
I should have scarcely believed without see
ing it. They tie three or four fish-hooks
close together, pointing different ways, and,
without bait, they attach these and throw
them into the river, from which they imme
diately pull them by sudden jerks, and thus
they very frequently hook a fish, sometimes by
one, sometimes by another part of the body.
A curious circumstance occurred during
the time Angostura was in the hands of the
Spaniards. The fish entirely left the river;
so that instead of it being possible, as at
present, to purchase a fish of 20 pounds
weight for a bit, (sixpence British,) it was not
possible to obtain one the size of one's hand
for less than a dollar. To account for this
may be difficult ; but the Patriot Padres at
tributed it to the hatred which the Blessed
Virgin entertained for the Spaniards (Catch-
upins as they call them in opprobrium, being
the name of a sort of itch of the country,
and also of a sort of louse produced by that
itch). I have taken it into my head that
want of subsistence drove them away; for,
before the town fell, the people had been re-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 87
duced to the greatest possible distress for
want of every kind of nourishment. No
sooner, however, had the Patriots taken pos
session than there was plenty of the refuse of
animal carcases perpetually flowing into the
river, and then the fish returned in their usual
abundance. This scarcity of fish may be
further accounted for simply from the rise
and fall of the Orinoco, as they are always
most abundant when the river is either rising
or about full.
The alligators here are often very large
and very plentiful. It is by no means un
common for these monsters to come close in
shore, among the bathers (and bathing is, I
think, used almost to excess among the peo
ple here) and carry one or more of them off.
About this time, while walking on my ter
race, I saw a little female child carried off
by one of them.
Meanwhile the schooner from Trinidad
arrived, when I represented to the Governor-
general, Valdez, the conduct of the Captain
to myself and the two other Britons. I also
applied to the Captain for my luggage, which

88 EXPEDITION UP THE
he most pointedly refused to deliver till he
received the 25 dollars, which I was equally
determined not to pay him. People in this
country do nothing in a hurry ; and, of
course, before I could extort any thing like
effective measures from the Governor, the
schooner was preparing to sail down the
river. At length, after perhaps at least
fifty applications, he referred me to a person,
whom I found to be a lawyer. Nothing can
be done by any man, on any kind of busi
ness, on the day you apply ; and, of course,
Mariana was his reply to my application.
This said word Mariana, is in eternal use ;
and they so continually address it to every
one, that it becomes extremely difficult to
know whether one ought to laugh at them or
hold them in contempt. Accordingly, after
this phrase had been repeated three or four
days, during which the schooner was de,-
tained, there was an hour appointed, and the
Captain attended with a whole troop of his
Mulattoes and Spaniards, while, owing to the
delays, the only two witnesses I could once
have produced, had joined their vessels and
sailed. My cause looked bad ; for all I had

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 89
to offer was my own bare assertion, while the
Captain's troop swore through thick and
thin, that they all lived well and were per
fectly satisfied. Judgment went against me,
with costs, amounting in the whole to 47
dollars, while all I possessed was two dol
lars. I was at a loss how to proceed; but
at length I resolved to address the Supreme
Chief as follows : September, 1818.

" Sir,

" I engaged a passage, in, the Peace
schooner, of Trinidad, from the Port of
Spain to Angostura, for which I was to pay
25 dollars. I was to live as the Captain did.
We sailed; but in less than a week I was
told by the Captain that the provisions
on board were exhausted; and, when I
remonstrated with him on the extreme im
propriety of his conduct in going a five or
six weeks' voyage with only a week's provi
sion on board, his replies were couched fn
the most abusive language. I was called an
English adventurer going to join a parcel of
lawless rebels, &c.
" For three weeks and a half more, I had

90 EXPEDITION UP THE
one biscuit and a quarter each day. I had
in Port of Spain, laid in a private stock of
provision and. liquors ; but on applying for
them, the Captain told me he had used them.
This matter has been unfairly deciut.. in a
Court of Law, and .much additional expense
incurred, and I now throw myself on the
protection of your Excellency to cause an
impartial examination of this affair."
The answer to this was very brief. An
aide-de-camp was instantly dispatched, and
I went with him to the vessel, when my
luggage was ordered ashore and put in my
possession, and both freight and law ex
penses set aside.
Having got this affair settled, and my
papers in my possession, I proceeded to bu
siness with the Government.
I now waited on the Supreme Chief, with
my appointment from Mendez, was received
very graciously, and desired to return in two
days. In the mean time, I made application for
lodgings and rations, when, to my astonish
ment, I received a verbal message from Go
vernor Valdez, that he could accommodate
me with neither, as he considered me as a

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 91
private individual only. I instantly addressed
the Supreme Chief by letter on this subject,
when I reminded him of my having delivered
all my diplomas, letters, publications, &c. as
mentiiiKetl in Mendez's letter of appoint
ment. I stated, that I had frequently applied
for the usual accommodation, subsistence,
&c. but had hitherto been quite unsuccessful,
and had, of course, been obliged to lay my
self under obligations of the most delicate
nature to my friends, by whose kindness
alone I had been supplied, and also pre
vented being obliged to sleep in the street.
I concluded by begging his Excellency to
reconsider these circumstances, to reflect on
the great professional sacrifices and inconve
niences I had already sustained, on account
of the Patriot cause, and to give orders re
specting such accommodation, &c. as might
be suitable to my character and professional
rank. This had the desired effect, and I had every
thing properly arranged. I got an immense
palace of a house, but no furniture. I kin
dled a fire in one of the large rooms, and
roasted my beef, and for a few days lived

92 EXPEDITION UP THE
undisturbed ; when one morning, about five
o'clock, a thundering noise came to my outer
door. I started from my hammock, seized a
pair of loaded pistols, and opened the door ;
when I found that this noise was occasioned
by an officer belonging to the guard of ho
nour, who told me the house was his private
property, and I must walk off. This was all
very reasonable, but not very pleasant ; and
I of course was forced to " take up my bed,
and walk."
My immediate application for lodgings was
answered as usual — "Mariana;" and, after
two days, I got another large house, plea
santly situate on the banks of the river. In
less than a week, however, a person called
here, and told me he had orders from the
Supreme Chief to make a printing office of
it. From this, accordingly, I was also pushed.
After a few more changes of this kindj I
got into another lodging, into which I entered
one night after dark, and groped about the
corners of the balcony for a hook to hang
my hammock upon. I succeeded, barricadoed
the doors, Sec. and went to sleep. Next morn
ing I found, what is very corrimon here, that

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 93
one of myv hammock -hooks had been used as
a hook for scragging the old Spaniards, for
the blood, &c. about it, left no room for
doubt. I found the back door led into a field,
overgrown with weeds and bushes ; and wish
ing to know as much of the immediate neigh
bourhood as possible, lest I should myself
awake some morning with a hole in my
throat (as I once heard strangely expressed
by a Hibernian) I surveyed all the exterior
of this house. Hundreds of skulls and other
bones lay in the field ; and at one spot, close
to my back-door, I thought I had got a
prize, as a good-looking hammock made its
appearance behind a bush. I laid hold of it,
but soon let go, on finding it contained the
body of some human being about half de
cayed. _
War, considered in an abstract point of
view, is certainly calculated to fill the mind
with horror. Perhaps in no country, and, I
believe, in no war, have such feelings had
freer scope than in this. Extermination seems
the determined object of each party towards
its opponent ; and the mouldering remains of

94 EXPEDITION UP THE
human nature, which every where present
themselves to your sight, prove with what
success they have hitherto effected their ob
ject. Travel where you may, into the bush,
or the mountain, or the plain, your sight is
perpetually arrested by piles upon piles of hu
man bones, of both sexes and all ages. Such
a survey will arrest the reflexions of the most
volatile : it will tell in language not to be
misunderstood, how frail, how unsubstantial
are all the projects and all the ambition of
man : it will inform him that such a shape
less heap once lived, thought, and acted like
himself; and remind him that the very sword
of war, which had reduced their mangled bo
dies to such a state, was now unsheathed to
mingle with the earth the blood of the few
who had hitherto escaped to mourn over
many a friend and relation.
I may here notice, that a few months after
the surrender of Angostura to the Patriots,
a black woman was observed to pass down
the river to the Islands, from which she
speedily returned ; and these missions at
length led to slight suspicions, as they seem
ed to have no motive in them. On the arri-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 95
val of this black agent at Angostura, from
one of these journeys, she was observed to
drop some papers, which she attempted to
snatch up with much avidity ; but informa
tion was given to the harbour-master, who
demanded the papers she dropped, and in
compliance with his order, she took them
from a parcel, in which there seemed to be
many more. He instantly seized the whole,
and carried them forthwith to Bolivar. On
Bolivar's perusal of these documents, he in
stantly rode off to his house, about two miles
in the country, and it was observed, that every
Creole, officers and men, were removed from
the various posts, where they mounted guard
about the town, and the whole of the guards
were then composed of the English. Nobody
was suffered to pass the citadel-gate without
a passport, and General Montillo rode round
the town at least twice every night.
It appeared that those papers threw some
light upon an intended revolt of Brion's sail-
makers, whose object was to murder all the
inhabitants connected with the Patriots, and
seize their property. They had the promise
of being joined by many deserters, who had

96 EXPEDITION UP THE
taken refuge in the bush, on a certain signal
being given, and also by many of the inha
bitants of the Royalist party. Eleven of the
sail-makers were instantly seized, and con
fined in a dungeon, and the black woman in
a cell by herself. None of them were ever
liberated, and none of them are in the dun
geons now. Those who are slanderers say
the woman was starved to death, and the
sail-makers murdered ; but of these facts we
can only guess.
At intermediate periods, while the above
events were proceeding, I received an official
letter, in which my medical appointment was
evaded, on the ground that no such office
existed, and an inferior one was offered me.
This I conceived to be but indifferent usage ;
and I refused to accept any appointment but
the one which I came out to fill.
I answered the letter somewhat as follows :
— That I had the honour of receiving his
Excellency's letter of the 10th instant, from
which it appeared, that the appointment of
Director General of the Medical Department,
did not exist in that army ; that I begged
leave to inclose, for his Excellency's informa-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 97
tion, the hospital regulations of the British
army ; and that I trusted these would shew
the necessity of such an appointment, which
existed not only in the British, but in every
other army in Europe ; and I finished this
letter by informing him, that ten years pre
vious to this, I should have refused a much
superior appointment to the one he now
offered me.
In addition, I proposed to call on the Su
preme Chief, and demand my passport, as I
should return to Europe, and prosecute Men
dez, who had acted such a base and iniqui
tous part toward me. Before I did so, my
friend Col. G  called on me, to whom I
related the whole affair; and he voluntarily
offered to do all he could in my favour. I
stated to him that I was not at all attached
to this province, which was poor beyond de
scription ; while the inhabitants were the
most haughty, treacherous, and dishonest
knaves in existence ; but that ] should take
my appointment in the kingdom of New
Granada, part of which (the. Varinas and
plains of Casanare) they were in possession
of. Next day, according to their method of
H

98 EXPEDITION UP THE
doing business, I received the following offer
of that which I wished them to give, and
which I accepted. REPUBLICA DE VENEZUELA.
SIMON BOLIVAR,
" Gefe Supremo de la Republica de Vene
zuela, &c. &c. &c.
Por quanto atendiendo a los servicios
y meritos del  , he ve-
nido en admiterle servicio de la Repub
lica y en nombrarle Director General de
les Hospitales de las Provincias libras de la
Nueva Granada. Portanto, ordeno y mando
a la autoridad a quien corresponda de la
orden conveniente, para que se le ponga en
posesion del referido Empleo guardandole y
haciendo que se le guarden y cum plan las
honras, gracias, exenciones, y preeminencias
que, como a tal, le tocan ; — y que el Inten-
dente del Exercito 6 Provincia donde fuere
a servir haga tomar cuenca y formar asiento
de este despacho en la contaduria del Estado.
Dado, firmado de me mano, sellado con el
sello Provisional de la Republica, y refren-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 99
dado por el Secretario de la Guerra en el
Quartel genl. de Angostura a 22 d. Octubre
de 1818, 8°. " Simon Bolivar."
Of the insurrection and the condemnation
of General Piar, which has been noticed
in all the English news papers, I need say
nothing. All I have to add is respecting
his death.
About 4 p. M. 16th October 1817, the
troops were in arms, and formed a square in
the Plaza de Armas. A party of men were
sent to his place of confinerrient in the same
square ; and in a short time he came forth,
dressed in a sort of cloak, his arms folded
across his breast. He walked with great
firmness to the centre of the square, formed
by the troops, where there was a chair placed
to receive him. He expressed a wish to see
Bolivar ; but this was refused him . He was
desired to sit while one stepped forward to
put a handkerchief over his eyes. This he
would not allow, observing that he wanted no
such ceremony ; he was not afraid to die.
On this being insisted on, he said, " Well,
h 2

100 EXPEDITION UP THE
well, do as you please." About twenty mus
kets were pointed at him, and the word given,
he shouted " Viva Patria," and every bullet
was lodged in his body. Shouts of Viva la
Patria, Viva la Republica, Viva Justicia, fol
lowed. Soon after he was taken into an un
finished chapel, and buried privately, and so
ended the life of this brave, but imprudent
man — I say imprudent, for had he not run
away, had he faced the accusations brought
against him, he would not have been sacri
ficed; but he ran away, and that act alone
gave his enemies some reason to conclude him
guilty. It was supposed that his death would
have been followed by the expression of
much dissatisfaction, if not even of revolt :
the reverse was the case, all was peace, all
quietness.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. ]01

CHAP. VI.
MANNERS OF THE PEOPLE.
Extreme laziness of the People ; — State of Marriage among
them; — Women and children smoking; — Rations at An
gostura; — Anecdote of Lord P  and Mr. H  ; —
Manner of killing Bullocks and cutting them up ; — Scar
city of vegetables owing to the laziness of the People ; —
Notice of the village of Soledad ; — Manner of living there
and at Angostura; — Mode of grinding corn, &c. ; — Con
duct at table; — Coarse feeding and consequent diseases ; —
The Women loose their front teeth by smoking, &c. —
Various insects infest the dishes, &c. ; — Money used at An
gostura ; — Habit of Gaming ; — Mode of dressing the hair ;
&c. — Mule equipage and stirrups ; — Mode of driving
Mules ; — Trade at Angostura ; — Practice of Law there ;
— Their religion and treatment of the dying; — An ac
couchement ; — Escape from an Alligator ; — Some account
of Colonel C  ; — Reflections on the Colonels sent
out ; — Creole notions of the English and of England ; —
Creole Aid-de-camps ; — Diseases at Angostura ; — Effects
of freedom on the Slaves, &c. — Robberies, &c.
The people here are Creoles of South Ame
rica, and native Indians. Every movement
they make, either corporeally or mentally,

102 EXPEDITION UP THE
exhibits the most perfect specimen of indo
lence I ever witnessed. Many of them will
rather starve than trouble themselves about
any sort of occupation ; and I sincerely be
lieve, that many, very many of them, were
they even provided with food, would suffer
a great deal rather than be at the trouble
of cooking it. In their walk, which is
generally slow, they, (and especially the
women,) roll from side to side, alternately
swinging each arm, as if by that to work
themselves forward with as little trouble as
possible. The Supreme Chief does not allow mar
riage, but lays no sort of shackle on those
who may wish to live together. What his
motives for this are, I know not. Some say
it is to prevent a man in the field from think
ing too much about his home, and thereby
omitting his duty. One circumstance I
could observe: he did not seem averse
to sanction the marriage of two classes of
people. I knew an instance of a license
being applied for by a man about 42 to
be married to a woman of about 70, and
it was instantly granted ; and one or two

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 103
others, in which when the man was about 50
and the female from 10 to 11 years of age !
Perhaps he did not think'such connexions
formed upon an attachment likely to last,
and, at all events, not likely to embarrass a
man in the hour of his military duty.
It does not appear that marriage imposes
upon the two sexes any moral restraint.
They not only visit each other indiscrimi
nately, mixing with each other at public
meetings, balls, &c. without regard to con
dition, but even a common intercourse exists
between them, notwithstanding the natural
barrier which they have imposed upon them
selves. The Women, in particular, dress very slo
venly, and every age and sex smoke segars,
often throughout the whole day. It is by
no means unusual to see children of three or
four years of age puffing away with an ap
pearance of gravity which is quite ridiculous.
A woman does not know in what way she
can shew you greater attention than by
lighting your segar, and after giving it two
or three puffs handing it to you.
Angostura town is not now in such want
as in former times ; and, were it not that

104 EXPEDITION UP THE
money is very scarce, every one would live
tolerably well. Even as it is, my allowance
at present (I sa^ at present, for bread is
sometimes not to be had,) is two good-sized
loaves, one half of which is sufficient to
serve me, a quantity of salt, and eight or
ten times more beef than I am able to use.
It is true the beef is lean; but I like it well
enough, at least till I can get better.
The people here have . various ways of
dressing beef; so that a well-furnished tjjable
often brings to my recollection a meeting
which took place between John Hagar%, the
Scotch Advocate, and Lord Polkemet, a
Lord of Session. Lord P. usually retired to
his country-residence during that part of the
year when the court does no business. John
H., equally idle, from a similar cause, went
to shoot; and happening to pass Lord P.'s
property, he met histLordship, who politely
invited John to take, or as he said tak a fa
mily dinner with himself, his wife, and daugh
ter. John accepted this invitation; and they
all assembled at the hour of dinner. There
was a joint of roasted veal at the head of the
table, stewed veal at the bottom, veal soup
in the middle, veal's head on one side of the

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 105
soup, and veal cutlets on the other, calf's foot
jelly between the soup and roast veal, and
veal's brains between the stewed veal and
the soup. " Noo," says his Lordship, in his
own blunt way, " Mr. H. you may very likely
think this an odd sort of dinner ; but ye'll no
wonder when you ken the cause of it. We keep
nae company Mr. H. ; and Miss B. here, my
daughter, caters for our table. The way we
do is just this : — we kill a beast as it were to
day, , and we just begin to cook it at one side
of the head, travel down that side, turn the
tail, and just gang back again by the other
side to where we began." Lord P.'s method
resembles that of dressing the came here,
only his Lordship's beast might sometimes be
a cow, sometimes a calf, and sometimes a
sheep, while ours is nothing but came, —
beef to breakfast, beef to dinner, beef to sup
per, and beef to breakfast again.
They have the same method of killing
their bullocks as in Spain. They tie the ani
mal's head to a stake, and thrust the point
of a long sharp knife between the two first
cervical vertebrae, and by thus dividing the
very source of motion, the animal drops dead

106 EXPEDITION UP THE
in an instant. Sometimes they bleed the
animal, and sometimes not ; but all of them
agree in one method of cutting up the meat.
No sooner has it ceased to breathe, than they
commence the skinning process ; and no
sooner have they skinned part of it than
that part is sliced off in the coarsest man
ner. Thus it is slashed, cut, and torn
asunder in every possible form; the unsalt-
ed part being used as pieces for roasting,
stewing, and boiling ; while the greater part
that remains is rolled in salt and hung for a
few days in the heat of the sun. Then when
dry they call it Tasso ; and this, with the
hides, form a great part of their merchan
dize either among themselves or with the
West India Islands.
Vegetables are very scarce, and this is solely
owing to the unsettled state of the country ;
nobody wishing to sow, as the probability is,
that he who sows may never reap. A little
village of Indian huts, on the opposite shore
of the Orinoco, called Soledad, which is in
the province of Barcelona, could supply
much vegetable matter ; but on one side the

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 107
people are too lazy to go for them, and those
on the other are too lazy to bring them to
market. The Indians on this coast are simi
lar to the Guaraunos, formerly mentioned ;
but they are a different sort of people, and
are called Caribes.
The people here, as in all the West India
Islands, drink very freely. Their breakfast
in general consists of beef and (if they have
it) wine or rum, and sometimes a cup of
chocolate or coffee. Having performed se
veral surgical operations in Soledad, and
being of course privileged to go there and
live as long as I pleased, I may here give a
sort of notion how they live in that village.
The breakfast is a large basin of beef, boiled
with plantains ; a large basin of stewed beef
and onions or garlic ; generally a large
basin of tripe, stewed with onions or garlic ;
and lastly, a piece of beef roasted over the
fire on a wooden spit.
It must be observed that this last is not
brought to table on a plate, but sticking hard
and fast to the spit on which it was roasted.
Anon comes a person, who, with one fist in

108 EXPEDITION UP THE
his side, and in the other hand the spit,
plants it on its point in the ground, some
what in the attitude of one of his Majesty's
beef-eaters. He steps round from person to
person, till all are served by cutting off what
they wish. The bread is generally made of
Indian corn, and sometimes rice. Besides
Indian corn, there is another kind of bread,
which they call casava. It very much resem
bles in appearance the oat-meal cakes used
in Scotland; but is almost tasteless. The
natives use it plentifully, and seem to prefer
both it and the Indian corn to our flour. The
drink is, not tea, but rum-grog, and very often
wine (claret) ; and I am sure the quantity
of liquids drank at this early period of the
day, would, in any colder climate, make a
man stupid. From the perspiration, however,
(the heat being almost always from 88 to 92,
or 94 of Fahrenheit,) its effects soon pass
off. Punch is served up at 11 o'clock, which
continues to be used till dinner-time. Din
ner is the same as breakfast ; and the evenino-
is passed in playing cards, smoking segars,
and drinking.
So far as I have penetrated South America

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. ]0g
I have uniformly observed, that the inha
bitants seem to have no idea of grinding
or bruising their materials, by means of any
other machinery than that which they pos
sess in the strength of their arms, aided by
a concave and convex stone to fit it, or by a
wooden mortar. On the surface of the con
cave stone they put their material to be
bruised, such as pepper, salt, coffee, &c.
and it is "almost incredible to what a fine-
ness they speedily reduce these substances ;
while their Indian- corn, rice, and such sub- t.
stances, are bruised in the wooden mortar.
After the corn has been bruised, and some
times the rice, they subject them to the
friction of the two stones, with a little water,
and thus they form the one or the other into
a dough for making bread.
The better orders of the people conduct
themselves at table with great regularity
and propriety;- as much so indeed as could
be expected in any country where the ad
vantages of European civilization have not
been experienced. Their plates at table
are always placed before you bottom upper
most, to prevent the insect vermin from
dropping into them. The middle orders of

HO EXPEDITION UP THE
people, however, seldom have even one knife
at table, and three-fourths of them have
nothing but their fingers as substitutes for
spoons, knives, and forks. The lower orders,
indeed, would apply them to no other pur
pose than as weapons of destruction to stab
each other.
From this coarse mode of feeding among
the great body of the people, and from the
^gross materials upon which they subsist',
stomachic complaints are very prevalent,
which are greatly increased by habits natu
rally indolent and unclean.
Smoking tobacco, especially in the form
of segars, is almost universally practised;
and almost all the women, who practise this
more than the men, lose their front teeth.
They have another disgusting habit, which
is, that of scratching themselves^ as if at
eternal warfare with their bosom friends,
which are here in great quantity.
The vermin, next to musquitoes and flies,
which are most unpleasant and even trouble
some, are the cock-roaches and ants. You
k cannot set a glass or cup out of your hand,
with any thing in it, but these repulsive

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. m
animals get into it. Another very trouble
some domestic plague is called the wood-slave,
very much like the common lizard ; and re
port goes, that should one of these fall on
any part of your body, it will fix itself so
hard, that it can be separated only by being
cut to pieces. There is still another pest,
and that is the weavel, which drops from the
roof of your apartment while you are in your
hammock, and bites you most unmercifully.
The money in use here consists of dou
bloons, half-doubloons, four dollar pieces,
dollars, and two, one, and half real pieces. In
this country, with daily intercourse with the
West India Islands, the money (except dou
bloons and perfect dollars) differs both in
name and in value ; while farther up the
Orinoco, as far as St. Fernando, the money
which passes there will not pass here. This
is very foolish, and often puts people to great
inconvenience. A gentleman came down
from Paez's army with twenty dollars of
Paez's money in his pocket, but, in Angos
tura, he could get no one to take them, till
at length one of the merchants here gave
him ten dollars for the whole, of which he

112 EXPEDITION UP THE
was glad to accept. From the islands, there-
fore, to South America, or from this to the
islands, no one ought to bring any money,
except perfect dollars and doubloons.
Gaming, especially on Sunday, is carried
on here to a great extent. This consists in
billiards and in cards ; and, while the outcry
of every one is poverty, poverty, were you
to walk into any of the huts, for instance of
Soledad, you would find the tables loaded
with silver and gold. I am not sufficiently
versed in gambling to give a minute descrip
tion of their games ; but, so far as I could
judge, they seemed very fairly conducted ;
so, indeed, as to prevent the possibility of
fraud. The people themselves seem to de
pend more on luck than on art, and certainly
wherever gaming is justifiable, this is the
most proper way of conducting it.
The women dress their long lank black
hair in two tresses, one on each side of the
head. Among the higher classes, they seem
to dress it in one twist, which they fasten with
a comb to the upper and posterior part of
their head, somewhat in the English fashion.
The lower and middling orders of the

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 1 13
people are eaten up with vermin ; and it
forms a considerable part of their day's em
ployment to cleanse each other from these
noxious insects. Even in front of their houses
you will meet with three or four (generally
women and children) at this delicate employ
ment. A stranger is apt to express his dis
gust at this proceeding in the public street,
in open day; but it only makes them stare
with astonishment at his ridiculous conduct.
In every country it is extremely difficult
to set aside habits, which have been long
adopted by natives. It is thus that the
people here will not admit of many modern
European improvements, even although they
may easily be proved by demonstration to
be superior to their own. In their mule-
equipage the stirrups are most conspicuous.
From the sides of the stirrups two pieces of
iron converge downwards to a point. Any
one, at first sight, would pronounce this ap
pendage to be extremely clumsy and even
useless. The Americans, however, maintain
its superiority to ours, because they can
sometimes use it as a spur ; and sometimes,
in riding over marshy ground, the cleft in
o

114 EXPEDITION UP THE
the iron prevents the animal from sinking
any deeper than the foot of the rider. Gam
bado's nose machine admits similar defence.
Their beasts of burthen are generally
mules, which are much surer footed among
the rocks and mountains, than horses. When
these animals are driven in flocks, they keep
together; but when in smaller numbers, the
halter of one is tied to the tail of the other,
and so on, and thus they proceed, leading
each other.
Excepting the trade which is carried on
in mules, bullocks, and hides, with the West
India Islands, there is little other commerce
here, but what is done at the card-table.
This almost total stagnation of commerce can
be easily accounted for, by cultivation being
wholly neglected, and the population, except
the few connected with the army, being al
most completely exhausted. The native In
dians, indeed, carry on a sort of business,
in the interior, in making very bad cheese,
rearing a few plantains, &c. which they
bring to the nearest town or village for sale.
The law as practised here is strictly Spa-:
nish, which seems to me rather odd, now

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. H5
that they have openly declared the dismissal
of every thing Spanish from among them.
A man may be arrested and thrown into
prison, without knowing who are his ac
cusers, or upon what charge he is committed.
This, in my opinion, bears a very striking
resemblance to the proceedings in an inqui
sitorial court. From this general outline of
their legal code, it is not to be wondered at
that no obstacle presents itself to the success
of any one in his appeal to a court of law,
who is either supported by powerful friends,
or is prepared by his pecuniary resources to
satisfy the desires of an avaricious and ex
tortionate advocate, and to purchase the
verdict of a corrupt judge.
The Catholic religion prevails here uni
versally, and the sovereign power and su
preme authority of the Pope are scrupulously
believed to their utmost extent. To enter
into a minute description of the ceremonies
and superstitions which their creed imposes
upon them, would only be a recapitulation
of subjects familiar to every one ; but I must
confess that I never could obtain a perfect
conception of the conduct of the Padre to a

116 EXPEDITION UP THE
dying person, till I had actually witnessed it.
There is a formal procession of the Padre
and a few of his satellites towards the house
in which the unfortunate person supposed to
be dying lies. The ceremony generally takes
place in the dead of the night ; and as they
approach to the house, there are placed at
intervals of considerable distance from six to
ten or twelve lanterns, with lighted tapers ;
some persons carrying images of Christ on
the cross, some the Host, or other emblems
of their religion. They thus move slowly
and solemnly along, praying without ceasing
for the departing soul of the dying man, and
at the same time the awful effect of the
scene is heightened by the occasional tolling
of the bell. Upon entering the house, they
formally take their places in the chamber,
and candles are held before the sick person's
eyes ; he is then urged with various inter
rogatories as to his resignation or fear of
death ; indeed, all manner of stratagems
seem to be devised sufficing absolutely to
frighten a man out of the few glimmering
sparks of life which remain. It may well be
imagined that but few survive this dreadful

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 117
visitation, almost severe enough to drive a
healthy man out of the world.
I was sent for to cross the Orinoco, to see
a woman in Soledad who was unwell. I went
in the common passage-boat, or as they call
it Bungo, which passes every two hours.
This Bungo is a long narrow canoe, where
every one must sit as steady as if nailed to
the seat, as the most trifling movement might
upset the whole concern.
On landing, I proceeded to the house of
the female, who shewed strong symptoms
of the hour of confinement being at hand.
When I entered the hut, she was surrounded
with women of all ages and colours ; the
apartment was entirely closed up, so as to
prevent the possibility of a free circulation of
air, and I immediately directed my attention
to the improvement of the patient's condi
tion in these respects ; till this was effected,
it was impossible she could feel that compo
sure which was necessary under such cir
cumstances. While attempting to clear the room of
such an assemblage of unnecessary attend
ants, I found others gained admission, which
occasioned me much difficultv and trouble.

118 EXPEDITION UP THE
Thus overpowered by numbers, so that I had
scarcely room to move, I found it necessary
to exert all my professional skill in assisting
the poor woman who was the object of anx
iety in all present. There was a very old
woman seated just before the patient, who
was a midwife for that part of the country,
crossing herself with great fervency, and in-
treating the immediate intervention of her
favourite saints on the important occasion;
and it was with difficulty that I could force
her to desist from interfering in the opera
tion, according to her established custom. It
was whimsical to observe with what wonder
and amazement she stared at me; but it was
surpassed by a sight rather novel for civiliza
tion, which on this occasion presented itself.
One of her daughters, a smart-looking girl,
not more than sixteen years of age, and
several others about the same age, stood
around us surveying the operation with the
greatest possible composure. One of them,
indeed, equally destitute of delicacy and
modesty, gave her assistance during the
whole of the time.
Of all the methods of dying, that of being
picked up by an alligator has ever appeared

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. ng
to me as the one I should wish to avoid.
While over at the village of Soledad, about
this time, I rose, as usual, about 5 o'clock ;
and the morning being delightfully cool, I
walked along the banks of the river with a
friend, a Mr. Thomas Self, from Devonshire.
I proposed having a bathe ; but he had been
taking medicine and preferred resting on the
shore till I had done. I had been there but
a short time when I observed a thing float
ing on the surface of the water, very like a
rotten piece of timber, at not more than three
yards from me. This was nothing more nor
less than the head of an immense alligator.
I made a spring and effected my escape on
shore, while the large ugly monster kept
swimming about as if disappointed of his
prey. About November, or rather December, the
breezes (which always blow from east to west)
set in, and it blows pretty fresh for about six
months, when it becomes calm. It is during
the calm season, that the thermometer is often
from 22 to 94 or even 96 ; while during the
breezes it is never so high. In the sun, the
heat is equally great ; but these breezes keep

i20 EXPEDITION UP THE
it comfortably cool in the shade — about 84
in the day and about 70 in the night. I
always hung my hammock in the open air;
and I have felt it as cool at times as the har
vest nights in England.
On my arrival at Angostura, I found two
of Col.  's officers, who communicated to
me much information, respecting the inso
lent and tyrannical conduct of their comman
der to various of his officers. It seemed as
if necessary to the existence of that upstart
to act toward some one with the greatest pos
sible despotism. His first attempts were
borne by them with great patience ; but a
repetition of such conduct disgusted even his
greatest and best friends, and they combined
together with a determined resolution to op
pose him. He was politic, sneaking, and de
ceitful ; and, by the skilful exercise of these
mental depravities, he had contrived to hold
his situation among them some weeks after
every one had determined that he should
either resign his situation, or they would
abandon him. The first of these they effected,
and turned him about his business ; while the
remains of the corps, both men and officers,

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 12i
nominated the next officer in rank to super
sede him. Thus expired the assumed power
of this pest to every one^ with whom he was
connected ; and thus, of course, this ill-ar
ranged and ill-conducted expedition got rid
of one of those commanders (more than one
of whom existed) who could grace no cause
under the canopy of heaven, and whose fall
will in this, or in any other country, follow
fast on his being known.
Had any sort of attention been paid to the
selection of proper men as Colonels of regi
ment, — had their moral reputation, or their
professional honour and skill, been strictly
examined, before their appointment, — had it
even been considered, for a moment, that,
during the late arduous struggle, in which
Britain was involved with the common foe,
few or none of these Colonels had ever seen
service, most certainly the cause in which
they embarked would have reaped much ad
vantage by their being rejected, — I had al
most said, by their being hunted into that
obscurity and contempt to which alone they
were justly entitled. Should the historian
ever condescend to give a detail of this Bri-

122 EXPEDITION UP THE
tish expedition, it will certainly appear to
have had no parallel, and nothing inefficacious
and base enough to compare it with in any
country or among any people.
I had at this time some conversation with
a gentleman, who had just arrived here from
Monagas's army. The account he gave of the
knowledge of the Creoles was curious. They
understood nothing beyond the spot on which
they are placed, or, at most, the other parts
of the country through which they have
passed. They hate every thing that bears
the name of a king ; but do not feel quite
inclined to place the King of England on a
similar footing with others of the same title,
because from England they have received
clothing, which they imagine comes by the
express command of the king. They have
no idea of the possibility of any thing either
good or bad proceeding from any country,
without its king's consent ; and thus they
mistake the speculative disposition of the
British merchant, for an exertion of the king's
power. They say the King of England sends
us many things, clothing, arms, and ammu
nition, &c. and therefore why does he not

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 133
send an army to take possession of our coun
try ? We would work and fight for the Eng
lish, and be, in every respect, their slaves.
England, in their way of calculating, lays
somewhere at a distance ; and London, they
think an island. In short, they are so per
fectly ignorant of these matters, that they
reckon the West India islands a part of Eng
land. They are very apt to ask whether you
are an English royalist or an English patriot ;
and, after labouring to lead their mind to a
true knowledge of your relationship with
them and their cause, you are obliged to
leave them as ignorant as you found them.
They are gifted with the power of speech,
and that is nearly all you can recognize in
them as human. When asked why they
do not prefer their own language to that of
Spain, they tell you that the Spanish lan
guage was spoken in South America long be
fore the country was taken by the Spaniards.
Indeed, it were endless to quote instances of
their ignorance.
An Aide-de-camp is generally a high fel
low in Britain, and so is a Colonel ; but here,
where I now write this, I observe the first

124 EXPEDITION UP THE
swimming in the river, washing his mule;
while the other, a little farther on, is busy
washing his shirt : I do not place this word
in the plural number as he very likely has
only one.
The diseases most frequent here are an ob
stinate irregular intermittent fever and ague ;
and bowel complaints with worms, from their
great use of animal food. Glandular com
plaints also about the neck are frequently of
enormous size on various parts of the river.
i What the ultimate effects of freedom
among the slaves here may be, it would be
difficult even to conjecture ; but, so far as
it has hitherto been demonstrated, such
freedom has evidently been injurious, not
only to themselves but to the peace and com
fort of others. In consequence of this libe
ration, such men as were able have gone
into the mountains and river sides, have
joined in parties with Sambos and other na
tives, and have become robbers and murder
ers; while those remaining in towns have
become extremely insolent, exorbitant, and
lazy ; and such of the women as could do

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. ]25
so, have become common and certainly most
abandoned prostitutes.
A party of these mountain-marauders,
about the beginning of December went into
a cottage where there were fourteen of a fa
mily, men and women. They put the ques
tion, what cause they espoused, and they
were told Patriots. Will you live and die in
the cause of Patriotism was the question;
which was promptly answered in the affirma
tive. " Well then," replied these monsters,
" die, you rebels ;" and they then butchered
all of them. The Commandant of the quarter
obtained a knowledge of this instance of the
butcheries perpetually committed in this
country, and went in quest of the marauders.
He met with them in the woods, engaged
them, shot three out of seven ; but two
escaped, and two brothers were taken pri
soners. They were tried and sentenced to
be shot. They were accordingly conducted
from the prison or guard-house in the Plaza ;
the eldest about 27, and the youngest not
more than 19 or 20 years.
This horrible procession moved slowly

126 EXPEDITION UP THE
along to the flag-staff on the top of the hill,
where there were two seats fixed to the
ground. Their eyes being blinded they were
seated, and twenty muskets were discharged
at each of their hearts. They were suffered
to remain in the same place for two days, in
order that the people might be intimidated,
and avoid those causes which had brought
them to their untimely end.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 127

CHAP. VII .
EXPEDITION UP THE ORINOCO.
Join the Expedition by desire of General Bolivar ; — Proceed
thereon; — Bullets forgot by the expeditionary army; — :
Message received by Bolivar; — Burning of a forest; —
Mode of catching turtle ; — Bathing in company with alli
gators, carrabee fish, &c. ; — Return to Palmar to take up
troops ; — Night-scene of the Indians and their fires, as seen
from the ships ; — -Arrival of General Monagas's troops ; — ¦
Dress, address, and character, of the General; — Descrip
tion of the Indian troops ; — Physiognomy of the Indians ;
— Their surprise at seeing a ship; — Creole and Indian
officers :— Mountains on the banks of the river infested
with robbers; — Anecdote of a Creole Captain and Major;
— Passage of the Bocas del Inferno; — Ruins of Las Pie
dras; — It's Commandant cruelly treated by robbers; —
Dinner with General Urdanetta; — Indian wounded by a
raya; — -Destruction of San Fernando by Paez, changes the
destination of the Expedition; — Resolves to proceed by
the Cabullari ; — An anecdote - of Colonel Macdonald ; —
Landing at Caycara and raggedness of the troops ;— Ver-.
min which infested them ; — Some account of Caycara; —
The launch drifts up a creek, and is afterwards in danger ;
— Route again changed from the Cabullari to the Arauca.
On the 18th December, Colonel  in
timated to me, that an expedition was about

128 EXPEDITION UP THE
to proceed to San Fernando, and if I wished
I might go with it. At the same time, he
stated that the Supreme Chief had expressed
a wish to do all in his power to render my
journey as comfortable as possible. I made a
request of some medicines, which were in
stantly granted, and in addition to them,
some money to purchase such other articles
as I might require.
On the 20th, myself and two other English,
and about 30 Creole officers, accordingly em
barked on board the Bombard, an old Spa
nish bomb, which the Patriots had captured
when they got possession of Angostura. The
rest of the expedition consisted of twenty-
seven launches and flecheros, in one of which
the Supreme Chief embarked, while General
Urdanetta went in another. There were but
few men besides those who were to work the
vessels up the River. In the Bombard there
were no guns ; but, in each of the small
craft, there was one and in some two, each
from nine to eighteen pounders.
In the course of the day, we learned that
we should take in troops, amounting to about
1200, being General Monagas's cavalry and

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 129
infantry, and also a few English commanded
by Colonel Rooke. In the evening, we an
chored off Palmar, a small village about four
miles inland, on the north side of the Orinoco.
Here, we were taught to believe, that the troops
waited for us ; but, after being detained se
veral hours, we found that they had pro
ceeded onward to the Bocas del Pao, which
enters the Orinoco a few leagues further up.
When we had proceeded about half way,
between Palmar and the Bocas del Pao, it
was whispered among us that a most morti
fying discovery had just been made, that we
had left Angostura without bullets ! We, of
course, came to anchor, close to a small
island, on the south bank of the river, and
dispatched a launch for these necessary im
plements in conducting a warlike expedition.
On the 21st, a launch came down the river,
and a messenger on board of her delivered
letters to Bolivar. He was received, as is
customary in this country, by a close em
brace, which, to a Briton, does not only seem
odd, but disgusting. For myself, I declare
I should prefer any affectionate male friend
of mine, rather giving me a blow in the face.
K

130 EXPEDITION UP THE
After perusing the letters, the Supreme Chief,
and the bearer of them again hugged ; and,
from this, we, at some distance, weie led to
believe that he had brought good news from
the army. Some such report was indus
triously circulated, throughout the fleet,
about General Sederio having gained some
advantage; but, like hundreds of other simi
lar reports, it soon sunk into nothing.
One thing I observed, that, after the above
arrival, great care was excercised to prevent
any kind of canoe or boat from passing either
up or down the river. To effect this the
more securely, one of our launches was sta
tioned on the opposite side of the river from
sunset till sunrise ; and orders were given
to our watch, which I suppose were given
to all, that if any hallooing or firing was
heard, in the night, on the opposite side, to
give the alarm.
This evening, after sunset, we were grati
fied by a most splendid spectacle — the burn
ing of an immense tract of growing wood,
probably about three miles from where we
lay. The view we had of this, was, of course,
only one side of the flame, and how far it

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 131
extended in the other directions, I cannot
even guess. What was visible to us I
think extended, without intermission, over a
space of at least ten or twelve miles. I can
imagine nothing so near this tremendous
sight as that of the whole of London in one
universal blaze, while the spectator had
a full view of it from Hampstead or High-
gate hills.
We had passed several immense banks
of sand, left uncovered by the falling of
the river, and on every hand, there were
plenty of others becoming larger every
day. In these we found thousands of tur
tle and turtle-eggs, of which we partook
in great profusion. The turtles go ashore in
the night, and deposit their eggs (sometimes
amounting to 40 or 50, or even more) about
one or two feet deep in the sand, where they
remain to undergo the process of hatching.
To catch the turtles they go ashore and re
main all night, and when the animals have
proceeded far enough frpm the water, their
return must be interrupted, and an attempt
made to catch the edge of their shell, and
throw them on their back. Extreme care
k 2

132 EXPEDITION UP THE
must, at this time, be observed to prevent a
scratch or a blow from their feet, or a bite,
which last is often extremely severe; because,
from the conformation and strength of their
jaw, they often wholly remove the part they
seize. When, however, they are thrown on
their back, they are deprived of all power of
escape, and can be easily conveyed wherever
one may wish.
Here alligators are very plentiful, and
many of them very large ; and it has oftener
than once amazed me that the natives, who
are so fond of bathing, almost along-side of
them, should so often escape their destructive
jaws. This can only be accounted for in one
way: the alligator does not. like to make
an attack, unless the individual be either
standing or swimming quietly, and the na
tives, aware of this, keep splashing about
in a most extraordinary manner. In swim
ming too they often engage with each other,
in a sort of aquatic fight, and thus tumbling
about, in every possible direction, they keep
the water in perpetual agitation ; while, in
addition to that, they howl and bellow like a
drove of bulls. I must confess, that bathing

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 133
in company with alligators would never fail
to destroy every pleasure I could reap from
that necessary operation, in every climate ;
but more especially in this, where the ex
treme heat of the sun absolutely blisters the
skin, unless it be protected from its rays.
Fahrenheit's thermometer, in the shade, at
this time stood, at 12 o'clock noon, at 90,
and, were it not that the nights are rather
cooler here than at Angostura, I believe we
should be unable to live with any degree of
comfort. Bathers are often annoyed by another kind
of fish, called the carabee, which is not so
easily kept at a distance as the alligator.
This monster is not large ; but it has a mouth
very capacious for its size. It fastens its
teeth on any part of the body, which it often
wholly removes, and generally leaves an ill-
conditioned ulcer, which is very difficult to
heal. To think wrong is generally the prelude to
acting wrong. We were now informed by a
messenger that the troops were not at the
Bocas del Pao, but at Palmar ; and, on the
25th off we set "back again" to that place,

134 EXPEDITION UP THE
and arrived there in a few hours. It did not
appear that rriuch dependence rested on their
ready embarkation, as all the vessels except
one or two, were hid among the bushes on
the banks of the river, to prevent the men
having any knowledge of our number, and
probably of their destination.
Night came, but no troops appeared, and
most of our Indians, on board the flecheroes,
&c. went on shore to cook supper. Their
numerous fires, placed at a little distance
from each other, some for cooking, and others
to scare tygers, or other beasts of prey, had
a pretty effect, when viewed from the vessels
at anchor in the river. The various cooking
apparatus, with the groups of naked Indians,
some squatting round the fires, others cook
ing, singing the wildest airs, &c. furnished
matter for the pencil of a Salvator Rosa.
On the 26th we learned that General Mo-
nagas had arrived at the village of Palmar,
with his troops. Instead, however of 1200,
he could bring only 400, and these were
almost all naked. They all, however, had
English muskets and cartouch -boxes. They
were solely infantry ; as his cavalry had ah

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 134
deserted. We were at the same time told
that a Colonel Rooke was at the Bocas del
Pao with 50 English; and that Marino was
also there with his guard of honour, consist
ing of from two to three hundred men. It
is difficult even to conjecture how the above
numbers may count, when we come up with
them ; for I have been so very often deceived,
since I have been in South America, by fa
bricated reports, that I have resolved to trust
none till I actually have them proved by de
monstration. This afternoon, one hundred and twenty of
Monagas's men were put on board the Bom
bard, and the remainder were distributed
among the small craft ; and, while preparing
to get under weigh, and but a short distance
from the shore, Monagas made his appear--
ance on the beach.
He was dressed in a blue jacket, white vest,
and trowsers, a cap made of a leopard's skin,
with one shoe entire (stockings were but of the
question) and the other so shattered that he
had been obliged to tie it about his ankle to
prevent its dropping off. Now that he was
about to be separated from his infantry, for

136 EXPEDITION UP THE
the purpose of endeavouring to collect his
run-away cavalry, he seemed very much af
fected. The vessels were about to sail, when
he waved his hand and all was quiet. " Sol
diers," said he, " l am about to be separated
from you, for the first time since we assem
bled for our country's good ; let me ear
nestly beg of you to be strictly obedient to
your superior officers, and firm in the hour
of trial: In one month you may depend on
my joining you, to share in your toils, and in
your glory." Again he waved his hand, and
was about to depart, when a call issued from
every throat of the 400 men for money to get
tobacco ! He stopt ; and, after musing for a
moment, as much as to say — Where am I to
get it ? he put his hand in his pocket, and
told them eight reals was the amount of all
the money he possessed, which was at their
disposal ; and he sent it.
General Monagas is about thirty-five or
thirty-six years of age, is stout, very well
made, and so extremely active, that very
few men in this country, can excel him in
hunting or in throwing the wild bull. His
forehead is high and broad, his eyes black

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 137
and of a dull expression ; but, when he is
animated, they become quick and piercing.
He was originally major domo, or manager
of a farm, and latterly he possessed a farm
of his own near Palmar. . He is married, and
very much attached to the quietness of do
mestic life. He prefers being much alone;
and he speaks very little in company, because
he feels sensible how much his education has
been neglected in early life, and he chooses
rather to be silent thari commit himself. This
I conceive to be a strong mark of his good
sense. He is a soldier merely from love of
his country, and wishes for peace only that
he may return to the cultivation of his farm,
and to the enjoyment of those domestic com
forts, of which the revolutionary commo
tions of his country have long deprived him.
He is General of both infantry and cavalry ;
and, in action, he is very animated. It is a
regular practice with him in the field, should
any of his men run, to cut them down with
his own hand. Yet, he is very unfortunate
in battle, and has many about him who, from
whatever motives I know not, are readier to
detract than to praise him.

138 EXPEDITION UP THE
These squalid troops presented a very
motley group. They were of every age, from
eight years to fifty, or even more. Some
were completely naked; some had a hair
rope bound round their body, to which was
attached a piece of cloth, behind and before,
which passes between the thighs, called
Yayuco or Guayuco ; some had a jacket ;
some, a kirid of short pantaloons, of very
coarse linen ; some a cap ; some, an old hat;
some, a hat made of straw ; but none of
them were completely clothed ; while all of
them had a knife or dagger hid about some
part of their body. They were all furnished
with muskets.
Almost all the foreheads of these men are
narrow and flat at the temples ; yet, contrary
to the doctrine of Gall and Spurzheim, they
are the most cunning thieves alive ; and no one
among them will trust even his brother. The
upper and back part of their head is extremely
clumsy ; the eyes are, in almost all, cunning,
dark, and sharp ; the cheek-bones are gene
rally broad (often amazingly so) and high, in a
great measure resembling the Scottish ; but
the general expression of the whole face is so
various, from the mixture of the hundreds

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. l^g
of tribes among themselves, that to describe
it minutely, it would be necessary to give
almost every single individual. One circum
stance appears almost invariable : — the Eu
ropean Spaniards, and their immediate de
scendants, differ from the Creoles and natives
in being high in the forehead.
Many of these men, and not a few of their
officers, had never before been on board a
ship : and, of course, to such men every thing
seemed strange and even unaccountable. —
The action of the helm, in regulating the
vessel, attracted much of their attention, and
one of their own officers endeavoured to ex
plain it to them. He said that, on horse
back, the bridle pulled the horse toward the
hand of the rider ; but, when the helm of
a ship was pulled, the vessel veered to the
opposite side. They saw the fact and be
lieved it ; but still they could not understand
the principle.
I subjoin a sketch of one of these naked
monsters, in Plate III.
There is very little distinction between the
Indian and Creole troops and their offi
cers, as they very often associate together,
game together, and even mess together. I

140 EXPEDITION UP THE
have an Indian for a servant, to whom I give
the remains of my coffee, (when coffee is to
be had), and to this he generally adds some
water, cold or hot as is most convenient, and
divides it with a captain or two, who eagerly
swallow it up, grounds and all !
On the 1st of January 1819, we had ar
rived within two days sail of Caycara, and
had a full view of some high ground on the
left bank of the river. Mountains similar to
these are very frequently met with on the
banks of the Orinoco, and are all infested
with robbers and murderers, who, from the
high ground, can see a great extent of the
country, in every direction. They are thus
able to compare their own strength with
that of those on their passage up the river;
and their successful attack always ends in
the robbery and murder of every one opposed
to them.
At this time two of the Creole officers, a
captain and a major had picked up (stolen) a
tooth-brush, and sat down to endeavour to
find out the use of it. One end of the brush
was furnished with hair, and the other end
with a sponge. With the hair they tried to

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 141
brush their whiskers ; but it would not do,
and they left off exclaiming Caramba ! They
then fixed their ingenious attention to the
sponge end ; but with the use of this they
were equally unacquainted. At length a
brilliant thought entered one of their heads,
and he pulled a flint and steel from his pocket,
thinking he could strike fire, as they do in
lighting their segars ; but, after many unsuc
cessful attempts, he found that impossible !
and, on seeing the laugh against him, he
coolly remarked, that he knew it would not
do, but it was a mere experiment.
On the 3rd we passed the Bocas del In
ferno.— I subjoin a sketch of that place in
Plate IV; where the vessel is dragged on
ward by the people on the top of the rocks,
and the arrows mark the passage, as well as
the current of the whirlpools.
During the dry part of the year, this chan
nel contains the greater part of the stream of
the Orinoco ; the other channel being dan
gerous to pass in consequence of the rocks, in
the bed of the river, at low-water. At such
times the rapidity of the current is not only
dreadful to behold, but highly dangerous to

142 EXPEDITION UP THE
the flecheros. They save much time, how
ever, by passing through it, to get higher up
the river. It can be passed only during a
smart breeze, and that, too, often assisted by
the men ascending the rocks, and hauling the
vessel along. This rapid portion of the
current is nearly a quarter of a mile in length,
and from one hundred and fifty to three
hundred yards broad.
About a mile further up the river, we an
chored at a town called Las Piedras, which
had been almost wholly destroyed by the
Royalists about three years before. This,
like almost every town on the river, is situate
immediately behind a place very difficult of
navigation, owing to the immense masses of
rocks scattered about the landing-place. I
went on shore, and, after walking about three
or four hundred yards, arrived at the spot on
which the town once stood. I could not look
without much concern, on such masses of
waste and desolation. Not more than a
dozen mud-houses, or rather huts, remain of
that which, before its destruction, stood on
more than a mile square of ground, and
those which had once been the principal

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 143
streets were now completely overgrown with
wild brush-wood, and masses of running
weeds, so that only a very narrow foot-path
remains, of streets which were once about
fifty feet wide. At the upper part of the
town was that which was had once been a
very fine Plaza, now quite overgrown with
weeds, and at the corner of which stood a
chapel of considerable size, now nearly level
with the ground.
The Commandant of the town had been
wounded by one of the tribes of robbers and
murderers. We went to see him and found
the poor fellow in bed with both his legs
completely shattered to pieces, by a shot or
shots he had received about fifteen days be
fore ; amputation was proposed, as the only
chance he had of preserving his life ; but he
would not on any account submit to it,
and we reluctantly left him to certain death.
It is a common practice with these villains,
to enter any of the 1 owns or villages, and rob
every one who has any thing ; and this un
fortunate Commandant, having been rather
troublesome to these banditti, they placed
him in the stocks, and, while he lay there,

144 EXPEDITION UP THE
shot at his legs with a blunderbuss ! Of how
much pain and incalculable misery, would
these monsters have saved this poor fellow
had they pointed their blunderbuss at his head
instead of his limbs.
We returned to the river, where we met
General Urdanetta, who asked several of us
to dine with him. His launch was hauled
close up to the shore, which we imagined was
to be our dining- place. The General, how
ever, took me by the arm, and we walked
along till we came to a prominent, smooth
rock, where the cloth was laid for dinner.
Here our repast was served up in very good
style, and we partook of it, sitting round the
cloth, not on seats but on the stone. Ge
neral Urdanetta is one of the few men in this
country, who really deserves independence,
for, in the strictest sense of the word, he is a
liberal and gentlemanly man.
Next morning one of the Indians, while
bathing, received a wound, on the foot, by a
fish called the Raya or Raga. Such wounds
produce. excessive pain, and are said, by the
Indians, to impart by absorption, poisonous
effects to the body. The fellow (as is cus-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 145
tomary with all the natives of this country
when either slightly or severely wounded)
howled most dreadfully. What is worse, the
more you seem to pity these people the more
they howl. He was instantly surrounded by
his countrymen, who most fervently invoked
each his favourite saint to .send him relief,
so that their chattering resembled the noise of
as many fowls in a poultry-yard, The saints,
however, seemed not to be in good humour
that day, as none of their solicitations were
attended to. One fellow took his leathern
charm-bag * from his breast, and held it fast
over the wound; which he of course deemed
a certain cure. The surgeon took the charm-
bag and dashed it on the ground, which
caused the whole tribe to join chorus with
the wounded man in the most noisy and
beastly howl I ever heard. The part was
burned with caustic, and fifty drops of lau
danum given, by which means the pain
• This bag has deposited in it, by the priest who sells it,
a piece of the umbilical chord of some exemplary character,
the hair or toe-nails of some one of the virgins, &c. ; and this
bag, which is a charm for every thing, is not unusually trans
mitted from age to age, as long as it will hold together.
L

L46 EXPEDITION UP THE
ceased in less than half an hour, i think
it was wrong to pay so little regard to the
bag; and, I dare say, had the man not re
covered so soon, these people might have
been tempted to give the surgeon a convinc
ing proof of this.
On the 4th we all got under weigh, but
not before we learned that our search after
the murderers was quite ineffectual.
On the 6th, a few miles below Caycara we
came to anchor, where we learned that Ge
neral Paez had judged it necessary to destroy
St. Fernando. Many were our conjectures
respecting the reasons which must have in
fluenced him to adopt this step ; but all these
ended as they arose, in mere conjecture, for
no official cause was communicated to us. St.
Fernando, of course, was now no longer the
object of our expedition, and not only that
was abandoned, but also our passage up the
Apur6. This rather looked as if the repub
lican possessions in these quarters were be
coming less extensive.
Next day it was announced to us that we
shpuld proceed to join Paez by the Cabullari.
The very name of this river "made me sad and

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 147
sorrowful : it was in it that my worthy but
unfortunate friend, Colonel Macdonald fell a
sacrifice to the savage barbarity of one of
those hordes of robbers and murderers, so
frequently met with, both on the Orinoco and
its neighbouring streams. As a man, he was
mild and gentlemanly ; as a soldier, bold, in
trepid, and resolute : he has left few to equal,
and none to surpass him. It may be recollec
ted that he left the flechero, and went on shore
for the night ; but, very unadvisedly, dressed
himself in his regimentals, which these mon
sters no sooner observed, than they marked
him out as their prey. They did not, however,
shew any disposition to attack him till next
morning, after he had gone on board the fle
chero, and was fairly under weigh. The plan
which had been organised during the night,
they now began to put in execution. About
fifty canoes at once started from the bush,
filled with these murderers, armed with bows
arid arrows ; and the master of the vessel ad
vised Macdonald not to fire on them, but
either into the water, or in a contrary di
rection, which would convince them of his
peaceable disposition. The pistols were,
l 2

148 EXPEDITION UP THE
therefore, fired into the river, which these sa
vages no sooner observed than they all
quickly paddled up to the flechero, and, when
they approached, discharged a flight of ar
rows, which wounded several people on board.
Resistance seemed absolutely necessary, and,
by the time the canoes had got along-side
the flechero, Macdonald drew his sword, and
desired all who could to follow his example.
The havoc commenced, and Macdonald with
one English officer, (whose name I never
learned) before they were overpowered, and
absolutely cut to pieces, performed the most
tremendous deeds. Although assailed on all
sides with lances, bows, and arrows, cutlasses,
and other missile weapons, Macdonald killed
eight, while the other officer destroyed six.
A little Indian boy, who saw them all over
powered, leaped into the water, and endea
voured to swim into a very narrow creek,
close at hand, which he did while these mon
sters were busily employed, collecting the
various articles in the flechero. This boy
was the only being who escaped. He re
mained for some time in the creek, and, as
if by the immediate interposition of Provi-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 149
dence, he observed a small canoe close at
hand. Into this he leaped, and by the same
creek (for he was afraid to go into the Cabul
lari) he got into the Orinoco. Here he ex
pected to meet some of the other flecheros,
which he knew were following the one in
which Macdonald was murdered. He, how
ever, missed them, and after suffering great
hardships, and being almost starved, he at
length reached Caycara. When this bloody
catastrophe was made known to Bolivar, he
instantly dispatched various parties in search
of the murderers ; but all was in vain, for,
in this country, especially on the banks of
these rivers, the means of escape from jus
tice are very numerous, while those of detec
tion are extremely few.
We proceeded to Caycara, where the
whole of our troops landed, on a sand
bank, or rather an island, opposite that
town ; and certainly a more ragged set
of beings I never witnessed. The native
officers and troops were much in their
usual way, and nakedness was nothing
to them ; but the whole of the English
party, for Colonel Rooke had now joined

150 EXPEDITION UP THE
us with about thirty officers and men, ex
hibited a wardrobe dreadfully deteriorated.
Scarcely could we muster one pair of shoes
among us, and we were thus obliged to
walk on the burning sand till our feet were
literally blistered, and swollen to a prodi
gious size. Some of Rooke's officers still
preserved two legs to their once gold-laced
pantaloons ; while others were fully as ragged
as Octavian in the play of the Mountaineers.
When we assembled together to cook our
beef, every one, in tolerably good humour,
cracked his joke on our ragged appearance.
To add to our miserable condition from
want of clothing, the repulsive vermin, which
abound throughout the land, had increased
so amazingly among us, as completely to
overpower our spirits, and rob us of our
cheerfulness. It may very naturally be asked,
why did we not get rid of them ? The an
swer is as plain as the question — it was im
possible. The whole surface of the country
seems to be overrun with them. We could
not walk, sit, or lie down, but we were
covered with them ; and had these gentry

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 151
remained quiet, we should not have attemp
ted to disturb them, but they bit without
mercy. Caycara, which, but a few years since,
was a town of considerable extent, has only
four or five houses or rather huts remaining*
and two of these are wholly composed of
dried bullock skins. The town was reduced
to this state by the Patriots, when it was last
in possession of the Spaniards.
On the 9th we sailed in a launch ; and, in
the forenoon, passed the very high hills
we had seen further down the river. In the
evening we parted from our neighbouring
launches, and by the stupidity of our helms
man, drifted a considerable distance up a
narrow creek and directly on a sand-bank,
the bushes beyond which are infested by
hordes, who rob and murder every one
they can overcome. It Was now pitch dark,
and our situation was far from being enviable,
as these fellows had doubtless, during the
day, been looking out for launches which had
parted, and consequently we every instant
expected to be assailed by them.

152 EXPEDITION UP THE
The same ignorance which had brought us
into this awkward predicament seemed likely
to keep us in it ; for our skipper, possessing
all the stupidity of South American Creoles
(and that says a great deal) also possessed all
their stubbornness (and that likewise says a
great deal), and therefore would not be ad
vised in any one point. We did not think it
prudent to fire, in order to intimate our situ
ation to our friends, lest we should give in
telligence to our robbing neighbours, that we
were there, and also that something was
wrong; and therefore we (four Britons besides
myself) prepared for the worst. We had ad
vised the skipper to throw out a rope on shore,
and make his men warp us along ; this he re
fused, observing it could be of no use ; and
continued to employ all his hands in pushing
the launch, sometimes to one side, and some
times to the other, but never forward.
We possessed a fowling-piece, a rifle, and
three pair of pistols. These we loaded, and
determined to oppose every force which might
come against us. Our chances, however,
depended more on their cowardice, than
either on our number or our arms. A rust-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 153
ling was heard in the bush, and we fired off
one of our pieces, as near as possible to the
place. We kept a very sharp look-out, but
heard no more. Now the skipper became
so alarmed that he condescended to beg of
us to say what he should do. We still per
sisted in the warping plan, at which we all
leaped ashore and assisted ; and, after pass
ing about a mile, through the most cut
throat looking places I ever saw, we reached
the main bed of the river, where we found
another launch, and, with it, we kept com
pany. By this time it was about one o'clock in
the morning, and we went ashore and roasted
some tassago, ate a hearty meal, with plenty
of the Orinoco wine, i. e. water, and then
retired to rest. In the morning we overtook
our friends and proceeded on our journey.
We had frequently run on shore on sand
banks, to the no small danger of our being
upset, and here the river is two miles wide,
with a rapid current ; but this day ( 10th) we
thought it all over with us. Our launch was
heavily loaded, and the skipper run directly
on a very prominent bank of mud, which

154 EXPEDITION UP THE
kept the vessel hanging on its precipice, and
we feared every minute that it would be un
der water. We had two empty demijorums,
each of which would contain about four gal
lons. One of these I seized, and the other
was laid hold of by one of our countrymen ;
and should our launch upset we determined
to stand by these till we might providentially
be drifted to some part of the coast. From
this perilous state, however, we were relieved
by the arrival of two of our launches, and we,
once more, started on our way.
When we came up with our companions,
we found our method of getting to Paez was
again altered, from the Cabullari to a nar
row river called the Arauca, by which we
were to proceed to Caugral. At the mouth
of this river we anchored ; and now that we
were about to leave the Orinoco, we com
puted our distance, from the Grand Bocas to
be about 1400 miles.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 155

CHAP. VIII.

EXPEDITION UP THE ARAUCA.
Clothing supplied, and danger of the native troops running off
on such occasions ; — A tiger killed ; — Immense number of
alligators, centipedes, &c. ; — Scene of the Indians and their
night-fires ; — Tormented by new kind of musquitoes, and
the author's plan to avoid them; — Arrival at Caugral ; —
News of the arrival of a British force and Bolivar's depar
ture to receive them ; — Creole dishonesty and its supposed
cause; — Its exercise on the present occasion ; — State of the
troops who had not been clothed ; — Ludicrous scene on
the first distribution of the clothing from England ; — Cre
ole ignorance, conceit, selfishness, and laziness ; — Their
manner of eating; — Manufacture of tassago; — Some ac
count of the Samuro vulture ; — Paez enjoined by Bolivar
to shun an engagement till reinforcements arrive ; — Infor
mation of the Spaniards, its cause and their advance.
In the course of the day, clothing was libe
rally supplied for all hands, and our troops
soon assumed a very fine appearance. About
six hundred naked troops was stationed a few
miles off, who were also clothed, and they re-

156 EXPEDITION UP THE
mained with us during the night. It is evi
dent that the Supreme Chief was much afraid
of desertion, among our new-clothed troops ;
and on such, or any other occasion, Bolivar
never trusts a guard of his own countrymen,
but selects the English. It was so on the
present . occasion ; and although many at
tempted, none got away.
A little before sunset I walked with my
fowling-piece, near the borders of the bush,
with an intention of shooting some of the
birds which are here not only plentiful but
beautiful, and without end as to their variety.
Indeed from either the mineral, vegetable, or
animal kingdoms of South America, a most
splendid museum might be formed. Placed
as I now was, however, that task was beyond
my power; for had I collected specimens
of each, I should have been obliged to leave
them in the desert. Six or twelve months,
previous to leaving this country, may be very
advantageously employed in such a task.
Walking along I observed a tiger, of a
small size, and, without reflecting that my
piece was loaded with small shot only, I
fired at him. The shot evidently took effect,

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 157
for he growled and capered about, which was
warning enough for me to be off as fast as
possible. He pursued me to the very outer
most skirts of the bush, near which place a
considerable number of our men lay on the
sand, with fires in every direction to cook
their victuals. I arrived where our mess was
stationed, and reported what had happened ;
and one of our friends and myself took some
ball cartridges, and proceeded after the tiger.
He soon made his appearance, or at least one
of the same kind did so (for they are very nu
merous), and my friend fired and killed him.
By this time, however, darkness was fast ap
proaching, and neither of us judged it pru
dent to follow our prey, and, by the following
morning at day-break, all was bustle in pre
paring to sail up the river.
At this place the quantity of alligators
exceeds belief. Where I sat, in our launch,
I could count upwards of forty, each nearly
twenty or twenty-five feet long, and smaller
ones without number, all lying on the sand
bank. We here changed our launch for a smaller
to suit the depth of the Arauca, and I now

158 EXPEDITION UP THE
got into a most miserable one, with four other
English officers ; but we were obliged to put
up with it, as the shallow water and sand
banks are very frequent and require a small
boat. Centipedes were here crawling about
in great plenty, so that we were obliged to
look very sharp. We were also visited very
plentifully by musquitoes of a very large size.
We always collected our vessels and re
mained together for the night; and on this
occasion our boat did not arrive till about the
last of the squadron, when the scene which
presented itself to us was quite enchanting,
Under the trees there were at least thirty large
fires, partly for cooking; and partly to keep
off insects and wild beasts, and these fires,
gleaming through the foliage, rendered more
brilliant by the darkness of the night, pro
duced a singularly wild effect.
Here we found a new kind of musquito,
at least it was new to many of us, which was
not scared either by our fires or tobacco
smoke. Till the 19th we were assailed
by these tormentors, not only during the
night but the whole of the day; aiuL, for
the last five nights, none of us ever attempted

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 159
to sleep. We watched each other even
during the day, and with all our attention,
these vermin continued to bite us till we were
in one universal blister.
On the 19th, fatigued for want of rest,
when we came to anchor for the night,, we
were still more dreadfully annoyed by the
musquitoes, and I resolved to try a new plan.
These insects do not rise high in the air, but
are generated and remain near the wet banks
of the river. I found a tree in the neigh
bourhood, which I examined, and found,
what is uncommon in this country, no ver
min, such as ants, &c. I ascended nearly
to its top, with a cord, this I attached
firmly to the branches, and then fixed it
round me, so that I could not fall, but sit
with safety, although not with much com
fort. It was, however, with me here as with
many in various situations in life : — I could
estimate the nature and extent of my plea
sures, and my difficulties, merely by compa
rison : and, certainly, although the being tied
to the top of a tree as a sleeping place was
not very agreeable j it was far preferable to
being among swarms of hungry musquitoes,

160 EXPEDITION UP THE
where I had previously lodged. I enjoyed
several hours sleep and awoke considerably
refreshed. On the 20th, we reached the village of
Caugral, which is situate on the south bank
of the Arauca, and about two leagues from
St. Juan de Pierre, which is on the opposite
side. Caugral is about 300 miles up this
river. Next morning an express-boat arrived from
Angostura with an account of a reinforce
ment of 4500 English troops at the mouth of
the Orinoco. The Supreme Chief himself,
so deeply interested in every thing which is
likely to bring this sanguinary struggle to a
conclusion, on receipt of this information,
actually burst into tears.
The Chief, with General Urdanetta, in
stantly set off for Angostura to receive them,
and left the command of the cavalry to Paez,
and that of the infantry to Ansoategui. He
left us all in tolerably high spirits, and as
sured us that there was bread enough in the
store to last till his return. His departure,
as on all former occasions, was the signal for
the commencement of confusion and depre-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 161
dation, by those in whom he placed trust.
Wherever he is, some sort of order is present.
Surrounded, however, by such super-eminent
perfidy, every one striving who shall surpass
his neighbour in the most shameless and out
rageous injustice, he finds it convenient to look
after every thing, from the distribution of
the most trifling article, to the regulation of
the highest duties of the state.
These habits of dishonesty, with various
other bad qualities, which the South American
Creoles so amply possess, may be rationally
accounted for. It was ever the policy of the
Spanish Government, to keep them in the
greatest possible dependance, and suffer them
to be galled with the chains of the most un
principled oppression, by the very worst and
most despotic tyrants whom they could send
from Europe. Such a disgraceful system put
it beyond their power to obtain any thing
but bad treatment, except by stratagems or
dishonest means. Thus, insuperable barriers
were constantly placed in their way, to pre
vent the cultivation of the higher qualities of
the mind; while the necessary exercise of such
bad habits rendered them neither honour-

16^ EXPEDITION UP THE
able, nor in any way ornamental members
of society.
' I do not mean that every individual of this
country comes under the above denomina
tion ; for among them, are men of highly
cultivated minds, and of such principles that
they would spurn at a dishonourable actiori ;
and it is solely by the exertions of such men
that the present revolution has been carried
on with the success which it has hitherto ex-
-perienced. The habits of the middling orders
of the people, are, in general, the most ob
jectionable, nay, often even disgusting ; and
these are not unfrequently placed in situa
tions of trust. It was thus that on the second
day after the Supreme Chief's departure, in
stead of having plenty, we were told that the
bread was exhausted, and nothing was served
out but tasteless came, without salt or any
kind of vegetable matter ; and there was
nothing to drink but water, which was ex
tremely bitter.
The appearance of every one who had not
been clothed, and of those whose clothing had
been worn off, was now truly shocking.
Colonels without shoes or stockings, and

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 163
scarcely a rag on their back, were without
number. In short, I firmly believe, such
scenes of misery never appeared in any other
country, or among any other people. Yet a
great proportion of the subjects of such suf
fering do not regard it with such feelings
because they have never known any thing
better. The first arrival of the clothing from
England, produced some odd amusement
enough It came to Angostura ; and the
first experiment, in clothing the troops, was
made on the opposite bank of the river, at
Soledad. Never did infant survey with more
astonishment and satisfaction, the trap
pings of its doll, than did these individuals
contemplate the mighty alteration about to
be made in their persons. The clothing,
for a limited number, being served out, they
did not know how to use them. Some put
their legs in the arms of their coat, and
brought the skirts up, and buttoned them
round their loins. Others tied the arms of
their coat round their loins, while the skirts
were allowed to hang before like an apron.
Others again tied the legs of the pantaloons
M 2

164 EXPEDITION UP THE
in the same manner, allowing the upper part
of them to bang before like the skirts of the
coat. Simple as dressing one's self in a pair
of. wide pantaloons and jacket is, it was
amazing how much trouble it caused to teach
these stupid fellows how to put them on.
It was also attempted to make them wear
shoes; but this was soon abandoned, as they
could not walk a step in them. In short,
a more corrupt, stupid, mean, beggarly, and
dishonest set of beings, chained in ignorance,
and swayed by superstition and the most
gloomy bigotry, never existed in human
shape. Corruption and extreme ignorance are
indeed, such prevalent features in the Ve
nezuelan character, that they know nothing
of their own, nor of any thing connected
with any other country. I have been
asked, for instance, how we could do with
out mules in England, when any circum
stance occurred to prevent a supply being
sent from South America. They suppose
that nothing good exists in any other coun
try, except South America, and that every
other country is served from that source. An

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 165
officer in the army asked me (for they are
continually asking questions) if we had any
women in England! "No, no," replied I,
ironically, " we plant the people there as we
do potatoes or cabbages ! " He seemed" to
feel that he had committed an error, and he
corrected himself by saying, that he 'meant
any women except those who went from
South America! On every other subject,
similar mistakes are perpetually committed.
These people are also very selfish, are habi
tual gamesters, and are lazy beyond any set
of men I ever saw.
They all seem to take a particular delight
in assuming a squeaking tone of voice, and
they even laugh at foreigners, who cannot
imitate them. A fellow attacked me one
day on the high importance and beauty of
.this squeaking quality of voice in singing,
and that too in a tone of high exultation. I
remarked to him that in some parts of Eu
rope, it was very common to meet with
singers with this peculiarity of voice, which
is of too effeminate a character to sound well
in a man : many people among the upper
circles, nevertheless, experience much enter
tainment from men possessing such voices. —

166 EXPEDITION UP THE
He turned on his heel. I heard no more of
him. To witness an eating-scene among certain
classes of these barbarians, is disgusting in
the- highest degree. Should they have any
variety of articles, they do not take the
trouble to cook them separately, but beat
them all up into one mess, which they inva
riably eat with their fingers. These messes
are usually composed of rice, or barley, or
plantains, or casava, or some other farina
ceous matters when they, have them, boiled
with tasago (pronounced Tasso).
Tasago is made as follow^: when the peo
ple kill a bullock, they cut off the muscles
from their attachments, which in the eyes of
an European seems a most disgusting process.
When these parts have all been separated,
they are rolled in salt (when they have it,
and when not they must wholly live on fresh
beef), and hang them up in the sun to dry.
When these parts have thus become as hard
as a rope, they constitute the national food of
South America and also of some of the West
India Islands, especially Trinidad. It is asto
nishing what use may do: — at first I could

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 167
not look on this stuff: since that I have lived
on it for months.
The refuse, after this tasago-making pro
cess, is ravenously devoured by a bird called
the Samuro. The Samuro is peculiar to
South America, but is sometimes found in
the neighbouring islands, such as Trinidad.
It is of the vulture breed, about the size of
a rook, is black, except the points of the few
last feathers of each wing, which are white
underneath, and it has a black leathern head
and neck. It is a most useful bird, because
it destroys every description of putrefying
matter, which otherwise would irievitably
produce disease. Wherever bullocks are
slaughtered, or any sort of animals die, there
are always thousands of Samuros hovering
about, and the quantity of animal flesh they
can consume is truly astonishing. A friend
of mine who is a sugar-planter in Trinidad,
about seven miles from Port of Spain, told
me that his estates are seldom visited by these
animals, and when he sees any of them, he
instantly concludes that some of his cattle
must be dead or dying. On such occasions,
he rides round, to ascertain the state of af-

168 EXPEDITION UP THE
fairs, and is never deceived in his conjec
tures — he is sure to find a bullock, a mule, or
a horse either dead or dying ; and no sooner
is the animal dragged out into the field, than
the air becomes almost black by these sooty
visitors. It is said, that there always accompanies a
flock of the Samuros a king and queen, but
I have never been fortunate enough to see
either of them. Those who have seen them
say that the sovereigns are white ; the king
having a red bunch of feathers on the top of
his head, and the queen a bunch of yellow
feathers ! When the whole tribe approach a
dead carcase, in a space of time inconceiv
ably shorti, the whole, except the bones, is
entirely devoured.
Paez is stationed in the neighbourhood of
St. Juan de Pierre, with his division of horse
and infantry, amounting to about 3000 men.
On the Chief's departure, he made Paez a
General of Division, and commanded that
he should not engage the enemy, or even
shew his force, if he could possibly avoid it,
till his return with the reinforcement

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 169
The Spaniards have always earlier and bet
ter information than we have, because they
do what we cannot — they pay for it, and, of
course, they were soon in possession of infor
mation respecting the reinforcement. It was
reasonable to expect, that they would bear
down upon us with all dispatch before our
supplies could arrive, and, on the 23d, we
learned that they had reached within three
leagues of St. Juan de Pierre, which was im
mediately abandoned, and the troops and
inhabitants came over to this village.

170 EXPEDITION UP THE.

CHAP. IX.
MILITARY AND OTHER OPERATIONS:
Station and state of the expeditionary troops ; — Scene of cook
ing, &c. in an Indian hut ; — A Spanish Spy has his head cut
off; — Mode of performing this operation ; — Mode of swim
ming mules, &c. ; — Utter confusion among the troops ; —
Indian Colonel and his troops ; — Jiggers ; — Camp-scene in
the wilderness at night ; — Bad provisions ;— Sleep and ex
traordinary mode of awaking from it ; — Reflections ; — Ut
terly degraded character of the Creoles, and mode in which
they must be treated ; — Again, of their ignorance, conceit,
selfishness and laziness;— their cunning deceit, pantomimical
religion, and hysterical sensibility ; — Their filthiness ; — Ar
rival of Morillo at San Fernando, and instant flight of Co
lonel Figararo; — Being sent to Old Guyana; — Retreat
talked of; — Venezuelan retail dealers, and an anecdote of
them ; — A fight between Indians with knives.
Colonel Piggot's riflemen (formerly
Campbell's, while the former acted as his
major) were stationed in a large savannah,
behind this village, while Paez kept the St.
Juan's side of the Arauca to watch the

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. I7I
enemy. Colonel Piggot has certainly been
unceasing in his exertions ; and has not only
deserved, but received the thanks of the Su
preme Chief for having brought his corps to
such a superior state of discipline.
On the 25th, skirmishing with the ad
vanced posts commenced, and we heard the
firing ; but we had not yet learned the
strength of the Spaniards, nor had we heard
any thing material from Paez. Here we
were ready, at a moment's notice, to obey
the chances of war. " Had Paez succeeded
in repelling the enemy, wo should have re
mained where we were, and in a month we
might expect to have an engagement, which
would probably decide the cause either for
the Patriots or Spaniards ; for now the coun-v
try was so_depj)pulated, that such an engage
ment would go close to the extermination of
one or the other party.
I became now a good deal accustomed
to the habits of the Indians, and to the
wretched and miserable state of their lousy
straw hovels ; but I could imagine the sur
prize of one newly imported hither from
London, surveying the one in which I now

172 EXPEDITION UP THE
sat. There were three of us now of a mess ;
and we had just assembled, every one to take
his share of trouble in cooking our beef: —
one kindling the fire before the door ; another
washing the flesh, for it is almost always
served to us all over sand ; while a third is
erecting a sort of temporary table to eat our
breakfast upon. We were all dressed as
common soldiers, and our knapsacks formed
our chairs. The Indians were collecting
round us, to see us eat, (a custom they are
very fond of,) and this I as one should
most willingly allow, but these wretches,
like the Creoles, cannot sit together without
lousing each other.
Thus we have a scene presented to us every
day, at eating time, of at least from eight to
sixteen or more, searching each others heads
for vermin ; and it is of no use to speak to
them for they think us brutes, for objecting to
such an ancient custom. All this will appear
to a London citizen bad enough, and more
than sufficiently disgusting. Indeed so ac
customed are they to this sort of amusement
that two or more Indians or Creoles cannot

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 173
sit together, at any hour of the day, without
busily engaging in this employment.
On the 26th, three of the enemy were sur
prised on the other side of the river ; two
killed and one taken prisoner. The prisoner
stated, that the Spaniards had six thousand
men; and they understood we had one
thousand only.
The same day one man came over, who
said he had deserted from the Spaniards, and
wished to serve in the Patriot army. He
seemed a shrewd fellow, with a cunning black
guard expression about his eye, which ren
dered him an object of suspicion. He put a
number of questions to those about him, re
specting our strength, discipline, stores, &c.
&c. which induced us to believe that he
had been sent over as a spy. Next morning
put this matter beyond a doubt; for, this
fellow being watched was detected attempt
ing to re-eross the river, when he was seized.
On such or similar occasions, there is but
little ceremony observed. The fellow was
at once marched away to have his head taken
off.

174 EXPEDITION UP THE
This is a process at which many of the
South Americans are extremely expert. The
prisoner stands up — sometimes they indulge
him by allowing him to kneel, when anon
comes a fellow with a sword, and probably
with a segar in his mouth, who plants a
sweeping cut on the back part of the neck,
and this always kills, and not unfrequently
entirely separates the head from the body at
one blow.
The principal part of this day was occu
pied in swimming mules, horses, and oxen
across the Arauca, with the intention to pre
vent them falling into the hands of the enemy.
I do believe the number brought across must
have, exceeded 30,000. To those unaccus
tomed to such sights, the crossing of horses,
troops, &c. from one to the other side of the
river, is curious. The men mount the ani
mals, and generally carry their saddle on
their head. After the horse is driven into
the river beyond his depth, the man slips off
behind, seizes the horse's tail, and partly by
swimming with one hand, and partly by the
assistance of the horse, he gets to the oppo
site side.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 1 75
Every thing was now bustle, and I am
sorry to say, in utter confusion. Orders
were given and contradicted, and given again,
with a rapidity portentous of no good. All
hands were employed in making ramparts of
mud and branches of trees, close by the
shore, and iri digging trenches ; for " the
cry is still they come." Whatever arms,
ammunition, &c. were not in iriimediate use,
were put on board the launches to be sent
down the river if necessary.
A Colonel of some mounted Iiidians, had
been galloping about with his naked troops,
for two or three days; and I had regularly
observed, that the said Colonel had been
most regularly drunk from morning till night.
The Colonel himself was clothed in an Eng
lish private infantry's coat and cap, and a
pair of coarse linen pantaloons, now docked
about half a foot above the knee ; while his
legs and feet were wholly uncovered.
His troops were of a very dark, dirty brown
colour, with thick, black, lank hair, and car
ried lances about 14 feet in length, and these
are the only instruments, either of attack or
defence, which they use. They were painted

176> EXPEDITION UP THE
on various parts of the body and face, every
one according to his own taste, generally
with stripes or figures of various kinds, and
of a very deep brilliant crimson colour.
They almost always have pins stuck
through their lips ; and not unfrequently
through their nose ; while their ears are
pulled down with large heavy ear-rings.
, I advanced to one of these fellows, who
was painted most profusely, and touched one
part of the crimson paint, which was easily
rubbed off. The fellow imagined my face
painted also ; and he rubbed his finger over
my cheek, and looked as if he expected to
find his finger coloured. Finding it un
stained, however, he advanced again, and I
allowed him to rub still harder ; but not
being able to effect his purpose, he muttered
something in his own language, to his painted
brethren, when they all set up a sort of howl,
which had nothing human in any note of it.
The Colonel seemed to have few, if any,
words of command. He arranged his troops
in various ways, by certain signals which
they all seemed to understand. At other

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 177
times he leaped into his saddle, and galloped
off like the wind ; when, in an instant, they
were all after him. The principal use of
these troops is to take up deserters and mur
derers in the woods, at which they are very
expert. The musquitoes were not nearly so trouble
some here as lower down the river ; but sand
flies, ticks of a very large size, ants, centi
pedes, and various other most offensive in
sects, were troublesome beyond the power of
description. Among these I must not omit mentioning
the jiggar. These same jiggars play the very
devil: they are almost invisible, and exist
in millions in these banks of sand, which
form such a great part of this country, near
the Orinoco and its branches, especially
where the manure of cattle has been depo
sited. They penetrate the skin, generally,
but not always, about the feet ; and the first
symptom is a most intolerable itching, which
abates when a small pustule appears, with a
black speck in its centre. The only chance
of relief is by dissecting this pustule out of
N

178 EXPEDITION UP THE
the part, without breaking it. The pustule
is a small bag, containing a great number of
young jiggars ; and, should the bag be broken
in cutting it out, the young ones fix on some
of the neighbouring parts, and thus, by form
ing new bags of their own, at length cause
most extensive and foul ulcers. On the jiggar-
bag being extracted, either whole or broken,
the natives fill the cavity with the ashes of
smoked tobacco; and I have found that any
kind of vitriolic or caustic substance an
swers every good purpose.
This evening I felt but little inclination to
sleep ; and, after swinging my hammock, as
usual, under the trees, I sat down outside of
my hovel. In this position of affairs I was
insensibly led into a train of reflection. My
hut was near the side of the river, close
by the trenches and ramparts ; and every
breeze that sounded in hollow murmurs
among these temporary battlements gave a
certain indescribable solemnity to the scene.
The wild howl, of the Indian song, which
broke on the silence of the night, from
upwards of twenty different groupes, all as-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 179
sembled round their fires, the lowing of
thousands of bullocks, the neighing of as
many horses, the braying of mules, the clash
ing of arrris, and the watch-word passing
along the various parties of soldiers, on their
stations, gave to the natural gloominess of
the scene, something more calculated to
depress and produce sadness, than to cheer
the mind.
Every succeeding day, we must expect this
to be the scene of the most merciless slaugh
ter ; it being, on both sides, a war of com
plete extermination. Thus circumstanced, we
were starved in the midst of plenty — I say
starved in the midst of plenty — for our allow
ance was nothing but fresh beef of a very in
ferior quality, without bread or vegetables of
any kind, and without salt or any kind of con
diment, while the water (our only liquid, ex
cept poisonous aqua-ardente which we could
not afford to purchase) was thick and of a
shocking taste.
No one, unless subjected to it, can imagine
any thing more disgusting than the continued
use of bad fresh beef, without salt or bread.
N 2

ISO EXPEDITION UP THE
Harassed by reflections on the above cir
cumstances, and by the comparison of my pre
sent situation, with that of many of uiy coun
trymen iri other parts of the world where no
such distresses assail, I dropped asleep. The
imagination thus unfettered by judgment,
I dreamed that the last fifteen years of my
chequered existence, with all the occurrences
during that time, had been entirely removed.
Iri conformity, however, with the ridiculously
miraculous occurrences so often predominant
in dreams, I thought that the South Ameri
can expedition alone remained unobliterated ;
for it stood full forward, and held a conspi
cuous positiori, amid the general wreck. In
other words, I dreamed that I had returned
from that field of slaughter — that I lived
where I did in 1803 and 1804 — that I had
received, on my return, the congratulations of
my friends— had escaped from scenes of
butchery, to those of tranquillity and comfort,
which I then and still believed my native land
alone capable of bestowing— that I had
once .more renewed, and hailed with tran
sport the return of those moments of thril-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 181
ling pleasure, which once filled my heart
with the most exquisite emotions. When
every obstacle was thus removed to future
years of all that could render life desirable —
wrapped in wonder and amazement, how all
this had been so unaccountably and even un
expectedly brought about— I was awoke by
something which struck me on the face, by
which I fell to the ground.
When I applied my hand to my face, I found
the blood flowing in considerable quantity ;
and I discovered that I was not where I was
in 1803 and 4, but in the wilds of America
in 1819- I thus soon experienced the unsub-
stantialness of any thing but my misery;
and, after procuring a light, from one of the
neighbouring hordes of Indians, I found that
the blow I had received, was of no material
consequence, being inflicted by one of the
large bats, so common in this country. Al
though, on the present occasion, I had much
reason to repine, in having the cup of enjoy
ment thus dashed from my lip, it was useless
to cherish reflections, which might do harm,
but could not possibly do good. I there-

182 EXPEDITION UP THE
fore, washed the blood from my face, and
went to my hammock, with many sincere
hopes that I might renew those, or some
thing like those, illusory phantoms, which
had lately afforded me such exquisite trans
port. Trifling as this affair will appear in the
eyes of many, it had a wonderful effect on
me. I felt quite restless and unable to com
pose myself to sleep, for several hours. Dur
ing these dark, dreary, and lingering hoursr
my thoughts and reflections were turned to
times long past, and to those far-distant
friends, who, perhaps, at that moment, were
anxious in their conjectures respecting my
real situation. Every thought seemed to
add a sting to the grievance. I was led to
draw a comparison between those peaceful
hours of my early life, and the scenes of tur
bulence and disquiet, in which I had been
and still was involved ; and the result of
these sad ruminations was decidedly in fa
vour of the times, which had been too often
wasted and not enjoyed ; while that futurity
I had so often and so anxiously contemplated,
as the source from which all I wished should

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 183
spring, had arrived, loaded with anxieties,
and troubles, and even wants of almost every
description. The mind thus harassed and exhausted,
by such a contention of feelings, it would
have required the possession of more philo
sophy than I could boast, to reflect on
my situation, without the most afflicting
emotions. It was impossible not to feel
myself a forlorn being, in a foreign, track
less desert, from which it was extremely-
probable I should never return, and where, in
the lingering hour of sickness, there were so
very few, if any, on whom I could calculate
for the common offices of humanity, or for
a single sigh of compassion.
The coldness of the night roused me, and
I felt it necessary to wrap a blanket round
my shoulders, and walk myself into some de
gree of warmth. By the bye, I would advise
those, who may travel in Venezuela, at least
so far into this extremity of it, to provide
against these cold nights. Although the
days, from ten in the morning till four in the
afternoon, were intolerably hot (sometimes
96 or 97 of Fahrenheit's scale) yet from ten or

184 EXPEDITION UP THE
eleven at night till four or five in the morning,
it was as cold as an English October. I had
two old blankets, and with these .1 fell to
work and made a sort of shirt, with long
sleeves, and a hood of the same attached to
the neck, which I found of very great benefit.
I had but little sleep before break of day,
when I was roused by fellow (a Creole cap
tain I believe) who wished me to sell him a
real-worth of rum. When such requests were
made to me at my first entrance into the
country, I usually got into a mighty passion,
and sent the applicants off with half a dozen
hearty curses; but of late I had learned
much, and, among other pieces of informa
tion, 1 had been taught to take, these things
easy. I found that their own officers were in
the habit of selling rum, cheese, &c. and, of
course, they, had some reason to think the
English did the same.
The Creoles, being all excessively ignorant
and intolerably conceited, will take no ad
vice ; because the very act of offering it
shews a superiority in the adviser, which they
cannot endure. Yet none of the lower, and
very few of the higher^ orders of the people,

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 185
know their age. They are, indeed, so little
superior in intellect to their four-footed bre
thren, the mules, that they are fit for nothing
but beasts of burden or slaves. Give them
what you will, and they expect more. All
ranks of them ask for any thing without the
slightest hesitation ; and, when they have
asked all they can, they will then steal to
any extent; and that, too, in a way so dex
trous as to entitle them to the character of
proficients ! But, keep them in subjection —
oppose every thing they do or say — hold
them at defiance and in the most perfect
contempt,  then with an affected obse
quiousness and sneaking servility, they will
fawn and crouch about you like a spaniel*;
but in these moments keep your eye on their
• dagger !
To exist among any class of individuals,
* " Tender-handed touch a nettle,
And it stings you for your pains ;
Grasp it like a man of mettle,
And it soft as silk remains.
'Tis the same with all(these^creatures, VV^ "
Use them kindly they rebel ;
But be rough as nutmeg-graters,
And the!1 rogues obeyjyou well."

iA^vX^X<n.ML

186 EXPEDITION UP THE
in any part of the world, an attempt must be
made to conduct your measures, as they con
duct theirs. To cherish the generous feelings
of the heart — to cultivate honour, honesty,
friendship, liberality, and science, among
such people, is not only waste of time, but is
almost to a certainty calculated to ensure the
displeasure and even rancour of those with
whom you must necessarily associate. The
qualifications which can alone lead to success
are those of a directly opposite nature, and
especially the perpetual exercise of every kind
of cunning and deceit. Morality is banished
from among a very great proportion of these
people ; and,' as to religion, while it is through
out a mere pantomimical farce, the priests
are, with few exceptions, prompters and
stage-managers. Their professions consist of
nothing more or less than a fantastical,
methodistical, canting exhibition, in which
neither practical virtue, nor practical mora
lity, are suffered to exist ; but in which the
most laughable bigotry is combined with an
affected, hysterical, and truly mechanical sen
sibility, which, with more than a mother's

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 187
care, they nurse in the deepest recesses of
their unprincipled hearts.
Their general habits, as already hinted,
are filthy in the extreme. Smoking to
bacco, from sunrise till sunset, is the constant
habit of man, woman and child, while they
spit, any where and eve,ry where, without
any kind of attention even to that degree
of cleanliness which may be often found
among the brute creation. In regard to
their periods of eating, a great proportion of
them have no regular times, but eat when
ever they are hungry, which is every hour or
two ; and, in their drinking, they exhibit
habits equally disgusting.
On the 1st of February, we received intel
ligence that Morillo had arrived at San Fer
nando, and joined his army. Of course
something must be done without delay.
Colonel Figararo, one of the Patriot Colonels,
was stationed on the bank of the Apure,
with three hundred dragoons, to watch the
movements of the enemy, and to da all he
could to prevent their crossing that river. In
two days after, forty of the enemy crossed,

188 EXPEDITION UP THE
and after them fifty more, without opposi
tion ; which Figararo was no sooner made ac
quainted with than he ordered his troops to
make a precipitate retreat toward Caugral.
On his arrival there he was instantly divested
of his command, and sent to Old Guyana.
This sending to Old Guyana, or to Mar-
garitta, is neither more nor less than sending
a man to be murdered. Indeed, should a
man sent to either of these places ever arrive
there, it is rather uncommon, as the sentence
itself is one of execution, which generally takes
place on the way, and, ten to one, if he is not
thrown or pushed overboard, and drowned in
the river. But Figararo is rich, and will
probably escape this time, as he did once
before when he acted the coward.
Owing to the above movement of the
enemy, we were all in bustle and confusion,
and nothing but retreat was talked of. I
applied at the shop for a piece of cheese, and a
little rum (aqua-ardente), lest we should have
difficulty in procuring such articles on our
retreat. The retail dealers here have not the
most distant idea of selling any article but
in very small quantities, such as a small wine-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 189
glass of aqua-ardente, for which they charge a
quarter dollar, or about two ounces of the
very worst cheese I ever saw, for which they
charge a real.
It is remarkable that these men are inca
pable of the mental effort required in cal
culation, a very palpable proof of which I
shall here detail : — A person purchased some
cheese which amounted to about sixty dollars ;
and this purchase was made of three different
people, all of whom had an equal share — that
is the sixty dollars were to be divided into
three equal parts. Every one of these three
persons calculated how this division was to
be made ; but no two of them could calculate
alike : there generally was a difference often
or fifteen dollars ; and to offer advice was out
of the question, for it would not be taken.
At length these ingenious gentlemen effected
a division, with which they all seemed satis
fied ; but still there were twenty dollars left,
which they were wholly at a loss how to in
corporate with the other three portions.
Having completely failed, they, by general
consent, agreed to throw for the twenty dol
lars with dice; and this was accordingly done.

190 EXPEDITION UP THE
This amazing sterility of intellect, often
gives the wholesale dealer a decided advan
tage over his customers ; while the retail
dealers as often get the advantage in their
turn. A mistake of this nature happened
on the occasion stated above. The purchaser
condescended (strange to tell) to ask a friend
of mine if the money was all right; when it
was found that the three wholesale men had
taken ten dollars less than they had bar
gained for, which my friend advised him to
return; but he snatched up the money,
mounted his mule and rode off, highly de
lighted at the success of this act of disho
nesty ! The South Americans are ingenious
in nothing but thieving.
Should these retail merchants be asked for
a quart bottle of rum, or a pound or two of
cheese, they will shrug their shoulders, and
recommend you to the protection of some
one of their saints or evangelists, because
they would set you down as mad ! In serv
ing any one with any quantity, beyond the
smallest, they must (as usual) have their own
way — they must deal the articles out in real
pieces : otherwise they could not fail of com-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 191
mitting blunders. It is altogether useless,
and mere waste of time, to reason with them,
or to attempt to prove that different weights
or vessels may be constructed, which would
at once lesson labour, and give the purchaser
the article in one piece, rather than in fifty or
more. Convince them you cannot : you
may, with equal chance of success, endeavour
to reason the fury of the hurricane into
calmness. I therefore found it necessary to
comply, and take the articles as they choose
to give them.
In passing on to my hut, I had an opportu
nity of seeing, for the first time, a fight be
tween two of the natives, with knives. They
were both dressed in a habit, very commonly
worn in this country, viz. a blanket, with a
hole cut in its centre, through which they
put their head, while the blanket covers their
arms, and hangs over the upper part of their
body. In these conflicts, they brandish
their knives, and run at each other like mad
bulls ; and, on the present occasion, I could
observe, that the object of both was to stab
his opponent, about the under part of the
belly ; which, if effected, the knife is so held

192 EXPEDITION UP THE
that they can cut the wound upward, so as
to allow the whole intestines to tumble out.
For a long time these two monstrous barba
rians, cut and thrust at each other, with the
greatest possible fury ; and the wounds they
received in their hands, in grasping their op
ponent's knife, and in their arms, actually
Covered a great part of their dress with blood.
Neither of them were killed ; but they both
became so much exhausted as scarcely to be
able to stand upright. They were, at length,
separated ; as I understood, to renew the
fight when they had sufficiently recovered.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 193

CHAP. X.

RETREAT OF PAEZ TO CAUGRAL.

Description of Paez's Dragoons ; — Paez's Guard ; — Remarks
on dressing in red in Guyana; — Appearance of the Spa
niards and their firing; — Consequent bustle, confusion, and
plundering among the troops ; — Quarrels between the Bri
tish and Creoles ; — The Passes by which the Spaniards
could cross ; — The activity of Paez ; — The author and an
other Englishman look for a residence in the bush ; — Its
great inconvenience, &c; — Its injury to health; — Anzoa
tegui the commander of the infantry prepares to retreat, but
assures the British officers that he will not.

The retreat, from the opposite bank of the
Arauca had now commenced; and I had
an opportunity of minutely inspecting the
dragoons as they rode up to cross over
to Caugral.
Their horses were of a small size, and the
greater proportion of the dragoons were as
o

I94 EXPEDITION UP THE
naked as at the moment they were born. Some
of these carried a carbine; and others had
a carbine and a lance measuring from twelve
to fourteen feet in length. Some of them,
however, wore a blanket with a hole in the
-centre, and a pair of loose coarse linen pan
taloons, or rather breeches, for they reached
to the knee only, while their legs and feet
were quite uncovered. These blanketeers,
too, generally wore an old straw hat, or
a cap made of the skin of some indigenous
animal, because they were commissioned
officers. When Paez's guard of honour, however,
appeared, matters assumed a different aspect.
This guard consists of full three hundred
men, picked from the whole army, and
mounted on the best horses the country can
afford. They have every appearance of Eng
lish troops ; and are always, like their brave
leader, panting with anxiety for the contest.
They wear the same kind of cap used by the
English dragoons, a red jacket, turned up
with yellow, blue cuffs and cape, and blue
pantaloons with yellow seams. They fight

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 195
wholly with the lance; and these three hun
dred men are fully equal, in the field, to one
thousand of any other troops of the Patriot
army. This dressing in red, however, is most cer
tainly improper in a country situate as this
at present is ; because the wild bullocks no
sooner fix their eyes on any thing of that
colour, than off they set, full speed, to gore
him who wears it. I do not recollect having
heard of, nor have I witnessed, any fatal ac
cidents, from this cause ; but I have frequently
seen very bad wounds inflicted by these ani
mals, the cause of which could be attributed
to nothing but the animal's aversion to the
red colour. A man on horseback wishing to
lead one of these ferocious animals, from one
place to another, requires only to carry a red
blanket or a jacket in his hand, and thus he
often leads the bull to slaughter, without the
use of the lasso, over a space of several miles :
should the animal overtake, and put the
man or his horse in danger of being gored,
he has only to throw the red cloak over the
bull's head, and he instantly stands still. This
o 2

I96 EXPEDITION UP THE
method, too, of arresting the progress of the
bullock, is often adopted, when they are go
ing to kill him.
On the 3d, the Spaniards made their ap
pearance opposite Caugral, all dressed in
white. They immediately commenced firing
their musquetry, which they always do on
first sight of their opponents, even although
a mile or two distant ; like Bob Acres, they
probably think there is merit in bringing
down at a long shot. Very few of our men
were killed.
A general order was now issued for every
one to Tetire, except the soldiers on actual
duty ; this was immediately followed by that
bustle and confusion, which always com
mences on the dismissal of regularity and
order. The soldiery, and I am sorry to say
many of the British, took advantage of the
confusion, which they had been active in
promoting, and carried off aqua-ardente and
other articles, with which several of them
rendered themselves not only unfit for
duty, but incapable of acting in any way
which might entitle them to the character
of men.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 197
The most guilty are seldom without some
sort of apology for their conduct, however
atrocious, or some sort of explanation, which
may assist in removing that stigma of guilt of
which they themselves feel secretly ashamed^
When accused of the above dishonourable
and dishonest proceedings, by those who had
lost their property, they retorted by accusing
the Creoles of public peculation, in regard to
biscuits, rice, &c. which was solely intended
for the use of the army, but which they had
taken and sold for their own private emolu
ment and private use. I believe that both
the crimination and recrimination had their
origin in truth.
The English further accused the Creoles of
falsehood and deception, in holding out pro
mises to them, which they had neither incli
nation nor power to fulfil ; and in enticing
them into a country of poverty, wretchedness,
and every kind of misery which certainly
has no parallel in the history of nations. The
retort by the Creoles consisted chiefly in one
point, which, as is very often the case with
these people, exhibited a considerable propor
tion of the most contemptible ignorance:

198 EXPEDITION UP THE
They told the English that no deception had
been practised on them, for they had been
promised nothing ; but had been purchased
for the mules and bullocks sent from South
America to Britain, to come out and fight for
the liberation of Venezuela ! and that in
England they knew all the people were starv
ing, being without regular supplies of bul
locks, &c. from this country ! ! !
There were three points, at either of which
it was possible for the Spaniards to cross the
Arauca ; one at Caugral, one about a league
below, and another about a league above
that place. At Caugral we were fortified,
having six great guns for the defence of the
place, and we did not think they would at
tempt to cross there, in the very face of our
great guns ; of course, the passes below and
above occupied the principal part of our at
tention. Of these passes Paez had the entire com
mand; and the extraordinary activity of that
little man was almost super-human. The
Spaniards knew several of the Patriot Gene
rals by their back , but, they say, that Paez
they always know by his face. Almost per-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 199
petually on horseback, with neither shoes
nor stockings, with, indeed, nothing to cover
him but coarse linen pantaloons, and a jacket
of the same (and all that from choice), he
seemed every where present. Roused by that
ardent spirit and matchless intrepidity which
becomes more daring and, desperate in pro
portion to the dangers that surround him,
he was incessantly galloping from division to
division, animating his men and officers.
His conduct has not only gained, but will
probably continue to hold, the undivided
respect, admiration, and undaunted assist
ance of every one under his command, from
the highest to the lowest in his division.
In common with those whose services were
not immediately required, one English officer
and myself kept together and prepared to
proceed about two miles into the bush, to
look for a residence. We determined to stay
near the body of the army, and see how mat
ters would turn ; although a great propor
tion preferred going several leagues down the
river. Now, however, the firing of the enemy
was much more frequent, and so near that
the shots reached the branches of the trees

200 * EXPEDITION UP THE
on which we hung our hammocks : we there
fore left the place. We did not returnitheir
fire ; and consequently every one proceeded
into the bush except those in Caugral on
immediate duty.
We then took up our temporary residence,
as near 'General Ansoategui as possible, in
order that we might watch his movements ;
and, for this purpose, we selected and cleared
a part of the bush near that in which he
-lived. By this alteration of our position we
immediately experienced the unfortunate pri
vation of wholesome water, an article of all
others most necessary to our comfort. We
were removed to too great a distance from
the river to receive our supplies from it, and
we were compelled to procure for our use the
water which we found in a stagnant pool, in
our immediate vicinity, whence our horses,
mules, and bullocks also supplied themselves,
and *where they resorted for a defence from
the heat of the weather: as, however, every
one else suffered this misfortune in common
with ourselves, we were forced to submit
to it.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 20 1
This last change for the worse, in addition
to the fresh, lean, and tasteless beef, without
salt or bread, had a sudden and great effect
on our health. Men in the midst of plenty,
surrounded by no wants but such as their
ambition and their other restless passions
create, may smile at or even stigmatize our
habits of eating and drinking, as the coarsest
and most vulgar of our tastes ; but place
such men where I now sit, I am much mis
taken, in my judgment of the human mind,
if they would not very soon learn to consider
that from the indulgence of such vulgar pro
pensities, much comfort and much pleasure
may flow. My digestion soon became so de
ranged, that the day passed without yielding
any kind of pleasure, and the night in a sort
of disturbed sleep which yielded no refresh
ment, but was often filled with dreams of
the utmost horror. To these were soon
added bowel-complaints and great general
debility. I observed the general's servants now bu
sily employed in arranging and loading
mules with his baggage, which gave me rea-

202 EXPEDITION UP THE
son to believe that he was in possession of
some sort of knowledge which rendered such
proceedings necessary. .Certain articles of
some value entrusted to me, with the re
mains of my wearing apparel, were what I
possessed ; and although I frequently ap
plied to the general for a servant, he con
trived to prevent my getting one, in common
with all other foreigners ; though on such ap
plication, no Creole whatever, had any kind
of difficulty in obtaining as many as he
wished. I next applied to know what steps I should
pursue, or how I should move the articles I
had, should the Spaniards succeed in crossing
the river ; and the answer was that there was
plenty of time. Next day I again applied
even after almost every one had moved from
the place where I was ; when I was told that
the general had said that neither he nor any
one else should move from that spot, but
rather die than quit it. My reply was, that
I could die with as light a heart as any of
them ; and my only reason for being rather
urgent about the mules and servants was,

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 203
lest I should be left without the means of
removal, when every one else was supplied
with that, by which he might protect himself
and property.

204

EXPEDITION UP THE

CHAP. XI.
UNPARALLELED, DISASTROUS, AND FRIGHTFUL,
RETREAT TO THE MOUTH OF THE ARAUCA:
The Arauca crossed by the Spaniards ; — Mules refused by
Anzoategui, and others purchased ; — The enemy's fire
approaching, and miserable condition of the mules which
fall in the rear ; — Immense savannahs burning by Paez's or
ders; — Distressed by the heat which issued from them, and
blackened by the clouds of soot ; — Numerous aged and
helpless beings escaping with the retreating army ; — The
mules completely exhausted and others refused ; — Drops
behind from the darkness of the night, ignorance of the
way, falling of luggage, &c. ; — A dreadful night of light
ning, thunder, burning savannahs, howling of animals ; —
Route obstructed by plains of bamboos, brushwood, &c; —
Overtaken by other fugitives; — Reaches the army asleep
in a wet savannah ; — Roused, ordered to proceed, and
cattle stolen ; — Covered with galipatas from sleeping among
wet grass ; — Hands hard and swollen, and nails separating
from fingers ; — Finds other mules, and rides off galipatas
and all ; — Passes an immense savannah ; — Party of Indians
going to hunt ; — Desert of burning sand ; — Millions of
sand-flies there ; — Experiences the horrid sensation of ex
treme thirst ; — Drinks from a pond, water thick with mud
and vermin ; — Renovated by a small quantity of coarse
ardent spirit; — Numerous parties of fugitives winding

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 205
along the mountains ; — Mules lay down and will proceed
no further ; — Others procured, of which some also give in,
and some luggage thrown away ; — Ill-treatment of the
British- in the distribution of beef; — Tormented by vermin,
exhausted, emaciated, and affected with disease of the feet
and legs; — Throwing the wild bull in these plains; —
Catching, and stupid and cruel mode of breaking the wild
horse; — Thousands of animals driven before the army; —
Dress and mode of riding of the drivers, &c. ; — Cattle now
regularly stolen ; — 111 treatment of the British ; — The want
of all vegetable food being extremely distressing, a running
plant used on which the monkeys fed ; — Even that not to
be found ; — Arrival at the mouth of the Arauca, and some
tobacco procured.
The following morning, at day-break, a mes
senger arrived at our bush, and told us we
must instantly set off, as the enemy had
crossed the river in the night, and were bear
ing down upon us with all speed, our whole
troops had left Caugral and the neighbour
hood, and were at that moment on the retreat.
It was reported, he said, that there were
8000 men and four field-pieces.
Our situation was now far from being en
viable, and I instantly set off to search for the
general, to receive orders from him that I
might be furnished with servants and mules.
He got into a mighty passion, and after

206 EXPEDITION UP THE
swearing three or four times, told me it
was too late. I said I was assured by him
two days before, that there was " plenty of
time;" that yesterday he and all of them
would " die before they quitted the spot;"
and this morning I was " too late" in applying.
I do not exactly know how I looked on ex
periencing this unmerited and galling injury ;
but I suspect it was neither a look of entire
satisfaction nor of unbounded respect for the
worthy general.
He sent one of his Aide-de-camps after me,
to say if I should apply at a place, which he
named, where government mules were kept,
I should receive two. Off I posted, and did
as I was directed. I consequently got two
mules ; but they seemed, what they proved to
be afterwards, quite useless. I had them,
however, conveyed to our bush, where I found
my friend in great consternation for my ab
sence, more especially as the enemy was fast
approaching, and every one except ourselves,
had moved onward.
We now went to work to load our mules ;
but we found they would not do, and we
were obliged to abandon every such attempt,

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 207
and have recourse to some plan by which
we might procure mules or horses, or any sort
of animal fit for use. There being no pay or
emolument of any kind allowed us, my sole
resource was to procure animals for the very
little money I had, and, that being exhausted,
to dispose of my clothing to purchase more.
I had obtained two pack-saddles, and I soon
procured two mules and two horses, misera-r
bly lean, but the whole cost me only one dol
lar ! Never having before attempted to pack
such articles, we both were much at a loss
how to accomplish it; and, after we had
done our best, it was but a clumsy business.
We were now very near the enemy's fire,
and I. believe had we been detained another
half hour, we could scarcely have failed of
being taken prisoners. Our troops had now
got more than a league before us, and we set
off to overtake them. The miserable condi
tion of our animals prevented the possibility
of quickness in our movements ; and thus we
passed slowly along, more like the melancholy
solemnity of a funeral procession than a re
treat from a blood-thirsty enemy.
Paez had ordered the immense savannahs

208 EXPEDITION UP THE
to be all burned as we passed them, to pre
vent the enemy obtaining forage for their
horses ; and as we were considerably in the
rear, the excessive heat which issued from
these places, was extremely distressing. Nor
was this all ; for the soot, which was driven in
clouds, from the burned grass and shrubbery,
rendered us all over filthy, and as black as
African negroes.
From the immense herds of cattle, of all
descriptions, which were driven onward, for
the use of the army, I had some hopes that
I might find a ready exchange for the bad
cattle. But, no : — on enquiry, I was told
that these animals were all private property,
and belonged (which was a lie) to this or the
other colonel or general, and could not be
had on any account.
The objects which now began to obtrude
themselves on our sight, who were endea
vouring to make their escape with the army,
presented a most humiliating spectacle. Old
women and men, bent down by age, want,
and former years of galling oppression,— wo
men, with perhaps two children in their arms,
—and children from two to four or five, all

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 209
in tears, following their wretched parents,
were every where to be seen. Many of these
miserable creatures, I am sure, could not
continue such exercise, in such a country,
and exposed to wants and hardships of every
description, for even a few hours. I should
think it extremely probable, that they could
not escape being overtaken and murdered
by the Spaniards ; or if they did, the ap
proach of night would most certainly leave
many of them dead among the grass.
We stopped for half an hour about sunset,
and again about eight in the evening, to
allow our cattle some grass ; but no one
could inform us if we should remain for the
night, and, of course, we could not unload
our cattle, although by this time they were
nearly exhausted.
In less than an hour, the General's order
arrived for us to continue our retreat, when I
again applied for fresh horses or mules, with
a servant or two to assist me, but no notice
was taken of my request. I mentioned the
condition of the two mules which were given
me, and how impossible it was for them to be
made use of ; and that I had been obliged to

210 EXPEDITION UP THE
purchase the meagre and exhausted animals
I now hacL, in order that I might escape be
ing taken prisoner. The answer was, that
the general could afford no assistance, as;
(which was not true) the horses and mules
were all employed. I met with various of
my countrymen who were all equally unsuc
cessful in their application for horses. The
answer to all was, that the general could not
give us either horses or mules, and that we
must all endeavour to get on the best way we
could. With the imperfect packing, the luggage
perpetually falling off, the darkness of the
night, our total ignorance of the tract our
troops had taken, and the inability of our
cattle, we dropped fast behind, till at length
we entirely lost our way in the wood ; exposed
to the certainty of being murdered by the
natives, even for the sake of our property,
should any band of them fall in our way,
before we might be fortunate enough to over
take the army.
It was a dreary night : the thick clouds
lay close and heavy on the earth ; and the
impression made on my mind was so indelibly

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 211
fixed, that I am sure neither time, change of
situation nor circumstances of any descrip
tion, can efface it. It was a night so calcu
lated to startle the boldest, and humble the
most vain and volatile, that I question much
if any future circumstance can ever make
me smile when I think of it. The awful ap
pearance of the numerous burning savannahs,
many of them covering several miles, in one
universal blaze, — the gleaming of the forked
lightning, — the tremendous bursts of thun
der—and the screaming and howling of
wild beasts in the bush, all conspired to make
us sad and silent ; and thus we paced on not
knowing whether we were going the right or
wrong way, and without scarcely ever ex
changing a word with each other.
Throughout the interior of Venezuela, ex
cept in the immediate neighbourhood of An
gostura, there are no roads ; and even near
that place they are very bad, being often
obstructed by large masses of rock. Jour
neys, such as our present, were, of course,
often interrupted by plains of bamboos, or by
low brush-wood, interspersed with trees of
immense size, through which we were obliged
p2

%\2 EXPEDITION UP THE
to cut our way, that we might be enabled to
proceed; unless, indeed, we were fortunate
enough to fall in with some track which, in
the wet season, is full of water, but in the
dry, is either a bed of mud or sand. The
only other tracks were those of wild beasts,
in their passage to and from the rivers, or idle
savannahs of burning sand.
About three in the morning, we very for
tunately were overtaken by some people who
were flying from their homes to put them
selves under the protection of the army. At
first, we conjectured they were robbers ; but
we really were so jaded and miserable that
we scarcely cared what they might do with
us. Perhaps they might have eased us of our
burdens and murdered us, to prevent our ap
pearing against them, had we not taken an
early opportunity of telling them, that the
articles we had were stores belonging to
Paez : and thus we eseaped. They seemed
acquainted with the country, and we followed
them, without shewing ourselves so much at
a loss as we really were.
In a short time we overtook the army

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 213
where they were resting till sunrise. They
were in a very wet savannah, where they had
been asleep for more than an hour. I and
my companion in wretchedness did the best
we could in unloading our cattle, when, ex
hausted with fatigue, we sunk among the wet
grass and fell fast asleep.
By five o'clock, we were roused and ordered
to proceed: but our cattle had been stolen
while we slept.
Day soon broke on us ; and I found my
self covered over with millions of those in
sects called galipatas. They have a great
resemblance to the most noxious insect that
infests the human body when a proper atten
tion is not paid to cleanliness; they stick so
close to the skin, and bite so unmercifully,
that such torture alone is sufficient to make
a person distracted. They are very com
mon in the savannahs of this country, and
I believe, have their origin in the trunks
and branches of decayed trees, from which
they sally forth in legions, whenever any
living creature approaches their habitation.
I again applied for assistance, mentioned

214 EXPEDITION UP THE
the loss of my cattle, and assured the gene
ral that we should be obliged to leave our
luggage behind and walk, unless proper as
sistants were allowed. " Nothing could be
done," was the answer.
By this time our hands were swelled and
painful, and, in many parts, as hard as a
mule's hoof, so that we were scarcely able to
pack our luggage ; while two of the nails of
one of my hands, were evidently separating
from my fingers, and several of the rest were
greatly injured. I consequently left the most
weighty part of our luggage in the bush, which
gave us great relief.
Finding on the route that we should get no
cattle from Ansoategui, I in despair went into
the bush to endeavour to find some; and, in
this instance, I was fortunate in falling in with
a negro, who, for a trifle of money assisted
me. We got three mules, with which I re
turned and packed the little of what remained
of our articles on one, when we mounted the
other two and rode off (galipatas and all)
after the army, which we soon overtook.
In the forenoon, we" entered upon an im
mense savannah, quite dry at present, but

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 315
which, in common with all these amazingly
extensive plains, was, during the wet season,
completely covered with water. I even then
could observe considerable quantities of grass
and mud, among the branches of the trees,
left there last season, which I think must
have been at least fifty feet above the sur
face of the ground on which I then stood.
In the skirts of the savannah were about
twenty naked Indians, going out to shoot,
with bow and arrow. Having no particular
place of residence, they always carry their
families along with them, and stop for the
night where they find it most convenient. To
one unaccustomed to such sights, these crea
tures have a very singular appearance. They
are wholly naked, man, woman, and child,
except the Guayuco ; and most of them,
especially the females, have a quantity of
cord tightly bound round their ancles and
wrists, which, I believe, is put there early in
life, and never removed. It is owing to this,
that their ancles and wrists are often so ex
tremely small that one would conclude the
former incapable of supporting a full grown
body.

216 EXPEDITION UP THE
The landscape was now occasionally very
pretty ; but more commonly it presented an
endless track of burning sand and dust, filling
the atmosphere at every blast of hot wind,
and rendering our clothes and persons most
uncomfortably filthy. Such plains, indeed,
might justly be called regions of sterility and
poverty, where barrenness, want, and misery,
vied with each other for predominance.
In these burning fields were millions of
sand-flies, an extremely small insect that
fixes on the skin and bites most unmercifully.
These bites, by scratching or rubbing them,
are easily reduced to sores. Almost every
animal, from the smallest insect, to the
largest quadruped in this country, is carni
vorous; and, very probably, they are driven
to this by the total want of any thing to eat,
except flesh of some kind or other. There
is neither fruit, grains, bread, milk, nor ve
getables, nor indeed any thing but carne.
It was in this desert of sand that I expe
rienced the indescribably horrid sensation of
extreme thirst. All other miseries are nothing
to this. The throat and mouth, foul and
parched by the heat of the climate, the pro-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 217
fuse perspiration, and the quantity of sand
which almost choked us, can admit of no
kind of description. It was to me a memo
rable and afflicting period of my eventful
existence. There was not even the bark or
leaves of trees or grass to be found to
moisten the mouth, and the unaccountable
anxiety about the throat and stomach, from
such a state of thirst, can never either be
known or understood but by those who have
had the misfortune to feel it.
After a whole day passed in this condition,
without a drop of water, and exposed to the
scorching sun which renders drinking almost
indispensable every hour at most, we came to
a small pond, the water of which was quite
thick with mud and vermin ; but, for myself,
I aver, I never used liquid of any kind from
which I derived a twentieth part so much
comfort. There was a soldier who had
dropped behind, and who had a small quan
tity of aqua-ardente in a quart bottle: I gave
him a shirt for about two table spoons full of
it. The renovation I experienced from this
coarse and extremely bad spirit, was truly

218 EXPEDITION UP THE
miraculous ; and I am convinced that, in such
a country, exposed to such hardships, it would
not be the least benefit a general could be
stow, on those under his command, to allow
each persoh a biscuit, and a small propor
tion of spirits every day.
In whatever direction I could now look,
there were various parties of every age and
sex, winding along the tracks of the barren
mountains, to join the army for protection.
Former times have left a lasting impression
on the minds of the survivors of the atroci
ties which these Spanish barbarians have un-
blushingly committed, and of the necessity
of this retreat ; and, till this sanguinary con
flict has ended, they must annually be either
subject to their brutality, or leave their homes,
and brave the perils and hardships insepara
ble from a country circumstanced as this now
is. Robbery, rape, and afterwards murder,
were the invariable habits of these monsters.
But let me turn from such dreadful reflec
tions, at the bare thought of which humanity
shudders. Relieved as we were by throwing away
part of our luggage, yet, our horses being

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 219
regularly stolen every night, or replaced by
worse, if possible, than those we had, and
it being extremely difficult to get others fit to
walk, I despaired of getting on, when we
came to a plain, where there were some hun
dreds of horses and mules. I made applica
tion for six ; but was refused, because they
said' they could not catch them before the
troops would be again on the march. The
Creoles, however, were even then getting
whatever quantity they chose to name.
The troops marched, and we endeavoured
to follow them ; but, after marching about
two miles, two of our three mules lay down,
nor could we make them stir again. Here
we were stopped, without any prospect of
getting on, when a mule-driver passed, with
three horses and two mules ; and for two of
each I gave three dollars and some wearing
apparel, and set the exhausted ones at large.
From the state of our hands we now had
another hard struggle in packing our luggage,
on the back of our new cattle ; and, after
proceeding about another three or four
miles, two of our cattle gave in, and would go
no farther. We packed the remainder of oui

220 EXPEDITION UP THE
baggage on one horse, and threw away what
we could not take; while we rode on the
other two.
Disgusting as the fresh beef had become,
we were now not a little alarmed to find it
(our only food) served us very sparingly, and
with a great deal of reluctance — another of
the many instances, which might be adduced
of the degree in which our countrymen are
hated by the Creoles. When, however, we
could come up where they were killing a bul
lock, we went deliberately to the place, and,
with the greatest composure, began to cut off
a part without paying any attention to the
man who had the distribution of it. "Que di
vision ?" said the fellow ; but we took no no
tice either of him or his question. " Que divi
sion, carago," exclaimed he, in a louder voice,
but still we continued to cut ; and generally
by this time, we had carago 'd him half a
dozen times, which settled him, and off we
marched with our beef. I often afterwards
found this a very convenient way of proceed
ing; and accordingly had recourse to it
when necessary.
From dirt and perspiration we were now

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 221
covered by every kind of personal vermin,
though we had just effected the destruction
of the galipatas. I also became extremely
faint, exhausted, and emaciated, so that it
was with much difficulty I could mount my
horse. The malditus, which is an eruption
of foul blotches and ulcers, about the feet and
legs, with great swelling about the feet and
ancles, became very troublesome, so that we
got on very slowly and in great misery.
In one of the immense plains, we had an
opportunity of seeing them hunt the bull,
which is one of their national amusements,
of which all their generals and other native
officers are extremely fond, and at which
many of them (especially Paez) are very
expert. The bull is let loose, and one or
more men, well mounted, gallop after it at
full speed. When .they come up with the
animal, still in full speed, the hunter falls to
one side of his horse, so as almost to touch
the ground, and seizes the bull's tail. Some
of those not so expert, depend on their own
strength, and the strength of their horse, and
thus they drag the bull till they tumble him.
Others, much more expert, no sooner catch

222 EXPEDITION UP THE
the tail, than, by a sudden twist, they ac
tually seem to raise the animal from the
ground and tumble him right on his back, by
which he often receives such a hard fall as
prevents him making another run.
The breaking of the wild horse and mule
too is practised in these plains. It is truly
amazing how rapidly a horse or mule may thus
be trained from the wildest to the very tamest
state. The method of catching these animals
is often carried to the greatest possible pitch
of dexterity.
The lasso is a rope made of bullock's skin,
generally several fathoms long, and this, with
a loop at one end, the Creoles coil up and
carry in the right hand, while the other end
of the lasso is either held in the left, or, if
mounted, fixed to the saddle. When they
have determined to catch any particular ani
mal, either singly or among a flock and that,
too, often when at full speed, they fling the
coil, and ten to one, they put the loop over
the animal's head, although they are the
whole length of the lasso distant.
Thus caught in the plains, or mountains,
the animal will suffer neither halter, bridle,

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 223
saddle, or any other belt, strap or covering,
to touch him; and, never having been
mounted, he who might attempt to get on
the animal's back cannot fail of being thrown.
The people, therefore, first contrive to throw
the horse, and, while down, they hold him
fast till a bridle and saddle are put upon him.
The breaker then bestrides the saddle, seizes
the bridle, and he and his beastly associates,
all armed with bludgeons, fall to and beat
the poor animal, especially about his head,
to make him get on his feet, while he must,
of necessity, lift the rider as he rises. The
unfortunate brute, snorting and neighing,
often makes many unsuccessful attempts to
rise ; and, by these fellows, he is often actu
ally knocked down, by blows from bludgeons,
which he receives on the head.
This taming system is unrelentingly per
sisted in, till the poor animal gets on his feet,
often so exhausted that he is scarcely able to
stand ; but, should he possess strength to
run, they then place him between two fresh
horses, when all three set off at the gallop,
still keeping the taming, one pent up between
them, till he actually sinks to the ground.

224 EXPEDITION UP THE
Then he is broke indeed. There is seldom
any thing more required, for the spirit of the
animal has been destroyed ; and he generally
continues a spoiled horse throughout the
remainder of his life. Every feeling of
humanity revolts at a sight of such shameless
and vile brutality.
I was amazed to observe the thousands of
animals which these people were driving
athwart these plains, to prevent their falling
into the' hands of the enemy. All the dri
vers were dressed in English clothing (such
as the non-commissioned officers use) ; and
men, women, and children, wore pantaloons.
All the women sit on horseback, as the men
do, and when, as is very common, a man
and woman are on one horse, the female
sits before the man.
It was now impossible to rest for the night,
without having our cattle stolen ; and in the
morning it required not only judgment, but
more personal labour than I could then exert,
to know how we could procure more. I de
termined, however, to apply to the general
no more ; resolved rather to give for cattle
all the little money I possessed, and also to sell

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 225
my clothes, rather than appeal at a tribunal
where so much antipathy was shewn to every
one of my countrymen. It was truly dis
tressing to have our comfort thus destroyed,
and even our lives made the sport of such an
oppressor, who is at once armed with power,
and altogether destitute either of pity or re
morse. But the torture of Britons was his
amusement, and that of many other native
officers ; and all their proceedings' toward
them imperious, malicious, and unjust.
No man will ever live long under such
sway without being convinced, that the noble
principle of liberality will never be acquired
quickly or at an advanced period of life.
Like every other stable and lasting principle,
it must be engrafted on the human mind,
while surrounded by circumstances which
will allow it to steal on us by almost imper
ceptible advances ; and its first fruits are ra
ther exhibitions of its presence, than a studied
and formal shew of its possession. At any
age, if possessed of means, a man may easily
learn to be thoughtless and ostentatiously ex
travagant, or indiscriminately expensive and
vulgarly profuse ; but none of these have any
Q

226 EXPEDITION UP THE
thing to do with that liberality, which raises
a man as far above those of his species, who
do not possess it, as humanity is elevated
above the most despotic tyranny, or the most
delicate feelings of the heart above that fe
rocity of character which is always an atten
dant on the uncultivated brutality from
which I had lately suffered such accumulated
distress. Every hour now proved to us the great
want we laboured under in having no kind
of vegetable food ; and this was rather in
creased than moderated, on seeing the new
baked cakes of Indian corn or mais, and
also loaves of new wheaten bread, boiled rice,
&c. carried to and from the General's table.
My digestion was now in the greatest state of
derangement, while general debility scarcely
ahowed me to stand upright. Observing,
therefore, some monkies feed freely on a run
ning slender plant, which attached itself for
support to the neighbouring branches, I ga
thered some of it, and boiled it. It was a
bitter morsel, but it was vegetable, and I
contrived to make several meals of soup with
it, from which I derived great benefit.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 227
As we passed on, this plant was not, to be
found. I certainly, however, derived a con
siderable accession of strength from these ve
getables ; for, although new difficulties and
misfortunes were now following each other
in rapid succession, yet I could bear them
better than I felt capable of doing some days
before. It seemed, indeed, as if by some
magic spell every unfortunate occurrence
gave rise to new and more vigorous powers
to endure it; but this was of short duration, for
soon my digestion became as bad as before.
We now arrived at the Arauca, which we
crossed, and in two hours more, came to the
mouth of that river, where, in going up, Ge
neral Sedeno's men had been clothed. Here
I was enabled to procure a little tobacco,
which, although it was scarce and expensive,
while I possessed little to procure it, yet it
afforded me much comfort. Let the easy
citizen, surrounded by such means as may
render existence pleasant, smile at the praises
I feel inclined to bestow on this vegetable,
which, but lately, I considered the most nau
seous and disgusting substance that it was
possible for any human being to use. We
Q 2

228 EXPEDITION UP THE
are mere creatures of habit: deprive us by
little and little of our comforts, and we
soon learn to place that 'first in our estima
tion, which, on former occasions and under
more favourable circumstances, we were not
only careless about, but for which we enter
tained the most rooted dislike.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 229

CHAP. XII.
STATE OF EXTREME DISTRESS AT THE MOUTH
OF THE ARAUCA.
Island at the mouth of the Arauca to which they were to re
tire; — The British ordered to pass last; — Scene on cross
ing to it ; — Skirmishes with Spanish infantry ; — Vegetable
food still wanting, and carnivorous voracity of the Creoles ;
— Purchases at last two biscuits which should have been
served as rations ; — Alarm of tigers raised by Creoles, to
plunder the fugitives ; — Ordered to return to Caugral, in
consequence of a report that the Spaniards had re-crossed ;
— Recross the Arauca, ordered to halt, and suffocated with
sand; — Anecdote of an Irishman; — Dreadful bowel-com-i
plaints prevalent; — Ordered to return to the Island, on
hearing that the Spaniards had not re-crossed at Caugral,
but fast approaching ; and consequent scene of confusion ;
— Reflections on such proceedings ; — Starvation and de
bility ; — Extreme thirst, inability to crawl to the river, and
fraud of a Creole who is paid to bring a little water ; —
Relieved by an Irishman with coarse spirit; — Prepare to
cross to the Island, and mode of conducting mules; — Anec
dote of the Creoles and the yoking of horses or mules ; —
Crossing to the Island now unnecessary, the report of the
Spaniards advancing being untrue ; — Takes up residence

230 EXPEDITION UP THE
in the bush, and advised to return to Angostura, but leave
refused ; — Reflections on the seduction of British troops
into such a country ; — Various and harassing reports ; —
Incapability of the Creoles to liberate themselves ; — Pass
port to return at last granted ; — Difficulty of finding a
vessel; — A flechero at last found; — Sinks on the sand,
unable to reach it, and is carried on board ; — State when
on board ; — Sad reflections ; — Recovered by nourishment.
The Arauca discharges itself into an arm or
branch of the Orinoco, here about a mile in
breadth, which assists in forming the island,
to which we were now retreating. Paez, on
former occasions, took possession of this is
land when driven to the greatest extremities,
because there the Spaniards (having no vessels
on the Orinoco) cannot follow him. Orders
accordingly came from the general that the
boats should first convey the emigration to
the island, and that none of the English were
to pass till they received further orders.
Here about a dozen of us, and one English
soldier's wife with two infant children, were
left on a very large bank of sand, as hot as
fire, without any kind of shelter from the sun's
rays ; and, for some time, we were at a loss
what to do. I advised the poor woman to
go into one of the boats, with her children,

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 231
which she did; but the master insisted on
her leaving it. The wretched woman, fell
on her knees and implored of this man to
give her a passage on account of her infants,
as they were both dreadfully scorched with
the heat, and she was afraid the youngest of
them would die; but commiseration was un
known to the inhuman mind of this monster,
and he peremptorily ordered her to quit the
boat. There was one of the English gentlemen,
who spoke tolerable Spanish, and he told the
master that the poor woman was very unwell,
that most of us were in the same condition,
that he was a medical man, and that it was
at his peril, therefore, if he refused to admit
us into his boat. He talked of having posi
tive orders to prevent the passage of the
English till the emigration had all got to the
island ; but the brute did not seem to be sure
if these orders extended to the sick, and
finding him thus wavering, we took posses
sion of the boat which we would on no ac
count leave. We thus effected our escape
from these unsheltered burning sands to the

232 EXPEDITION UP THE
island (called the island of Urbana) which
is always sheltered by the thickest foliage.
Paez continued to guard our retreat, and
had several skirmishes with the Spanish in
fantry ; but their cavalry, which we under
stood were very bad, never made their ap
pearance. Still we were deprived of every kind of
vegetable food; and, by the insolence of the
Creoles, even the tasteless carne was obtained
with difficulty. The very great quantity of
fresh beef, which these fellows consume, is
truly wonderful. There were four of them,
partly Indians, and partly Creoles, stationed
in the next bush to me, and I hesitate not in
saying that they scarcely ever ceased eating
fresh beef from day-break till bed-time, with
which they were plentifully supplied by their
countrymen ; yet they were lean and sickly
in appearance.
This evening there were a few biscuits of
fered for sale, at half a dollar each, two of
which I purchased, and consumed with a de
gree of pleasure, far beyond what I ever
thought I should experience from eating a

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 233
dry biscuit. These were the very biscuits,
which had been stolen at Caugral, and sold in
this island when they ought to have been
served out as rations, according to the in
structions of the Supreme Chief.
About 9 o'clock at night, after we had
gone to rest, we were alarmed with a howl
and cry, which issued fronvvarious parts, of a
tiger having made his appearance among the
hammocks. This produced great alarm, espe
cially among the women; and, as it is always
right to defend ourselves, we drew our swords,
and loaded our pistols, while the women ran
in every direction, scarcely knowing whither.
After some time, we found that there were
indeed tigers in the neighbourhood, but none
among us at the time. Some of the vil
lainous Creoles had raised the cry to terrify-
as many as they could, while another party
watched the places which had been evacuated,
and stole every kind of property they could
lay their hands on. They tried the experi
ment a second time, but we collected together,
and gave the whole party a sound beating,
which settled the tiger.

234 EXPEDITION UP THE
I had been here but four days when I felt
greatly improved in health. I was now able
to walk ; and I looked forward to no very
distant period, when my health would be
completely restored. On the fifth day after
our arrival, however, a general order was
given for us to return to Caugral, as the Spa
niards, finding themselves short of provi
sions, had re-crossed the Arauca at that
place. We accordingly re-crossed the arm of the
Orinoco, and, after two hours ride, also that
part of the Arauca, which we had formerly
passed. There we got orders to proceed no
further for the present; and we remained
almost suffocated with sand.
A son of Hibernia came up to my ham
mock and remarked that " a, single misfortune
never came alone ;" and that want of proper
food, and of a little grog, while our throats
were filled with sand, and as dry as a chim
ney, was a clear proof of his assertion. "For
the first fifteen days of the first week, after
I came into this country," added he, "I lived
well enough ; but ever since, my stomach and
bowels have been in the devil's own uproar,

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 235
and I believe were I to swallow the whole
riot act, it would not quiet them !"
Here bowel-complaints, accompanied with
discharges of blood, became dreadfully ex
tensive, while we had no kind of medicine,
which might be of service in relieving them,
and while, too, we were obliged to continue
the use of the very means by which they were
produced. After two days, the General issued an order
that we should instantly return to the island ;
and this we understood arose from official in
formation which he had received, that the
Spaniards had not re-crossed at Caugral, but
were only a few leagues distant, and bearing
fast down upon us. Here again commenced
another scene of the greatest possible disor
der. This I allowed to subside before I at
tempted to re-cross the river, which I con
trived to do about an hour before sunset.
Such proceedings in any country, but espe
cially in a country like this, in such a state of
warfare, appeared so ludicrously contemptible,
so like skirmishing among a parcel of school
boys, or a battle in a puppet-show, that little
as any of us were in a laughing humour, we

236 EXPEDITION UP THE
could scarcely refrain from shrugging our
shoulders, and giving some exercise to our
risible faculties, — not from merriment, but
from feelings of the highest indignation, in
being obliged to be acting members in
the farce. We were unable to consider
ourselves as any thing better than wretched
fugitives, or exiles, worn down with sick
ness, and oppressed by the deepest sor
rows of the heart, while wandering over a
barren country, exposed to overwhelming dif
ficulties and privations, — our sole reward, the
scoff and scorn of many, and the pity of
none. My appetite was now far from being keen ;
and this was so far well, as a day and a half
had elapsed since I could procure any thing
to eat. With frequent faintness, great pros
tration of strength, and great wasting of the
body, I now felt careless about moving, and
sunk down on a bank of burning sand, from
which 1 scarcely had a wish to rise any more.
Every one was of necessity busily employed
in looking after his own affairs, and endea
vouring to prevent his little property from
being stolen. I felt dreadfully thirsty ; but

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 237
could not crawl to the river to get water,
although but a few fathoms from it. My
voice was nearly gone ; but I took a quart
bottle and made signs to an idle Creole that I
was very bad, and wished him to step to the
river and fill my bottle : he looked at me
with perfect unconcern. I took a quarter
dollar from my pocket and offered it to him
with the bottle to get me the water : and this
had the effect of moving him. Off he went,
but I never saw either him or the water.
Two hours after, I was roused by the Hiber
nian, who had got a small quantity of aqua-
ardente, for some clothing, of which he gave
me a share ; and this acted like a charm. I
told him about the Creole, and he instantly
ran to the river and brought some water.
" The devil ride through purgatory on these
fellows,"said he, on his return : " there is not
one of them would give even a dying man a
drop of water : they can do nothing but steal."
He said and did all he could, in his own rough
way, to lighten the weight of my troubles. I
was sorry so soon to part with this specimen
of eccentricity; but he was ordered to join
Paez's division.

238 EXPEDITION UP THE
We once more proceeded to the shores of
the Orinoco, in order to cross to our old quar
ters in the Island. Before we set out, I
procured three good mules, which I pro
posed to take with me to the island. I con
trived to mount one, and tied the other two,
according to the country custom ; that is,
the head of the second was tied to the tail of
the one I rode, and the third to the tail of
the second. It is in this way, we often find a
dozen or more, led by one person.
The Creoles, indeed, had no idea, till the
English came among them, that either horses
or mules could travel any other way, or everi
pull any load forward, unless the burden
was fixed to the tail. When the first
pieces of light artillery arrived in Vene
zuela, they actually tried to drag them by
the tail of their horses. They gaped with
amazement, and wondered at the extent
of our absurdity, when they saw the
horses yoked to the carriages ; and when the
horses set off at a brisk pace, taking the guns
along with them, with the greatest ease and
steadiness, they burst into repeated fits of the
most ungovernable laughter. They confessed

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 239
that the plan was "almost as good as their's ;"
but they could not understand how the horse
could move, for they should rather have be
lieved him capable of flying, than moving at
such a pace, when so completely locked up in
harness, &c.
Next morning, after our arrival at the Ori
noco, we learned that the intelligence re
specting the Spaniards being close upon us,
was not true ; and, therefore, that our thus
turning our back by such a vague report (for
the General was known by his back among
the Spaniards) had been unnecessary. Now
we accordingly stopped, and did not re-cross
to the island, but sat staring at each other
like a parcel of fools.
" Quoth Ralph, how great I do not know,
We may by being beaten grow ;
But none who see where now we sit,
Will judge us overgrown with wit."
We took up our quarters about half a mile
in the bush ; and still I continued to lose both
health and strength. It was suggested to
me, by a friend, that I should endeavour to
get a passport for Angostura, till the reco-

240 EXPEDITION UP THE
very of my health, as I was now so reduced as
to be quite unable either to advance or retreat
on horseback. I did so. But I might as well
have recounted my sufferings to a stone : not
the slightest notice was taken of my request,
although, two days after, a flechero with
twenty-eight sick Creoles was sent dowrt to
Angostura. Here, then, in a state of disease
was I exposed in the bush, surrounded by
hordes of the most cut-throat fellows I ever
saw. As I lay in my hammock, and saw so many
miserable wretched beings (mostly British,
for they soonest suffer in this dreadful climate,
and are worst treated) crawling along, I ex
perienced feelings of horror and indignation,
that they should have been led, under the
falsest promises, from their homes and from
their friends, to encounter such unheard-of
afflictions, while the most insulting apathy
and contempt were shewn them in all their
distress. It was sad to reflect on such a sub
ject; but it was too evident that systematic
duplicity, gross deception, fraud, and oppres
sion had been practised on us all. It was a
melancholy spectacle to see so many of those

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 241
once fine enterprising young men, shrunk
and withered to mere walking skeletons,
almost overpowered by their hourly increasing
miseries, struggling patiently with a combi
nation of disappointment and disease, and
that too without a single consolation in those
sufferings, which have neither name nor pa
rallel in the history of the world. These
hours and the trials they brought with them,
are too dearly recorded, not only on mine,
but on many a wretched heart, ever to be
forgotten. 
Previous to my arrival in South America, 1
had looked to that country as the best field
for the encouragement of talent, and the re
ward of industry^ Under a republican form
of government I considered these as sure of
meeting with patrons ; for, however other
forms of government may be corrupted, a re
publican government generally finds it neces
sary to establish its own permanence by the
liberal encouragement of every talent, and the
fair reward of every service.
Every hour in the day now had its report :
one was that the Spaniards had actually re-
crossed the Arauca at Caugral, and were re-
R

242 EXPEDITION UP THE
treating to Calabozo, which had been taken
possession of by the Patriots: — another was
that they had defeated Paez and were fast
approaching us. It was now stated that
the English reinforcement amounted to three
hundred men only, instead of four thousand
five hundred, arid that the remainder had
gone to Margaritta ! — that the three hundred
were hourly expected up the river ; but that
the Supreme Chief intended to remain in
Angostura, till some other supply which he
expected should arrive there from Britain.
Unless, indeed, some other power take up
this cause, the natives themselves will never
effect their freedom. The present contending
armies are nothing better than two large par
ties of banditti, each afraid of the other ; and
in their present method, or rather total want
of method in their warfare, they may con
tinue this daily assassination for many years.
Now that I found the Supreme Chief not
likely to be here soon, I made another at
tempt to obtain my passport, which, after a
number of pretences and delays j ihe worthy
General at length granted. Perhaps I might
have had fewer difficulties in obtaining it,

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 243
had I sunk so far below my own estimation,
as to flatter his- vanity or panegyrise him for
virtues and valour, and a thousand other qua
lities which he never possessed, or even knew
farther than his dictionary explained their
meaning ; but he committed a gross mistake
if he conceived me capable of cringing with
servile compliance and submission to any
living being. In this, as on all other occa
sions, I never was a slave to adulation ; for
my very nature revolted at every appearance
of the baseness and meanness of sycophant
submission. Here another difficulty presented itself: —
there were no vessels going to Angostura for
some time. Moreover the place I was in had
been surrounded by putrid carcases, which so
contaminated the neighbouring atmosphere,
that it became shockingly offensive. On this
occasion I had an opportunity of seeing a va
riety of birds of every kind ; for being, in
common with every sort of animal here, all
carnivorous, they flocked to the dead car-*
cases for support.
At length I unexpectedly had intelligence
that a flechero was about to proceed to Angos-
r 2

244 EXPEDITION UP THE
tura. It lay a mile distant, and was ready to
depart. I got a friend to pack up the few
remaining articles I had, and he and a boy
carried them down to the flechero, while I,
scarcely able to stand upright, for I had used
no sustenance but water for two days, was
obliged in this forlorn and disastrous condi
tion, to walk or rather crawl to the flechero,
the best way I could.
When I arrived there, they were shoving
off, and s6 exhausted was I, and so com
pletely was my constitution shaken to the
centre by the ill-treatment I had received,
that I sunk down on the sand quite unable to
move further — I was carried on board.
In this state I remained exposed to the
burning sun for more than an hour, when the
master of the boat, and another, assisted me
to that part of the vessel which was covered.
These people had little in their power ; but
they were very civil in accommodating me
with a place to rest in.
In the afternoon we stopped to cook. I
alone remained in the boat, and the master
sent from on shore to say, that dinner, or
supper, or whatever they might call it, was

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 245
ready, and asked me to partake of it with
them. I felt quite unable to rise; and never,
indeed, till now did I feel a thorough convic
tion that I was about to end my woes and
life together. My sight was greatly injured,
so that I could see but very indistinctly ; there
was continually a most distressing ringing in
my ears ; and I was quite unable to articu
late a word that could be heard but at a few
yards distance. I was a monument of wretch
edness, and my whole frame was in a sort, of
involuntary agitation, which continued gra
dually to exhaust me. Alas ! what a large
portion of the most heart-rending misery
and complicated woe had I lately been
doomed to endure! I was distressed when I
lay down, and a most oppressive faintness al
most overpowered me when I attempted to sit.
I took a retrospective view of the tedious
and melancholy hours I had lately spent,—
hours which might find their punishment in
living, and their relief in dying ; and now that
the value of life had dwindled into nothing,
the terrors of mortal dissolution no longer
frightful, I sincerely wished to be relieved
from this accumulated load of misery.

246 EXPEDITION UP THE
I do believe that this state arose solely from
want; for, in a short time, the boy came
with some boiled tasago and sweet potatoes,
and the very appearance of the potatoes gave
me a sort of new existence. Ill as I was, I
devoured them most greedily, and sent for
more, with which I was accommodated. The
effect of this vegetable matter was truly
wbnderful. I almost instantaneously felt
strengthened in a remarkable manner ; and,
in about an hour, I could walk ashore with
out much difficulty, certainly with much more
ease than I had done for many a day. I
purchased some of these potatoes from the
Indians.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 247

CHAP. XIII.
DESCENT OF THE ORINOCO TO ANGOSTURA:
Arrival at Urbana, and its poverty ; — The flechero returning,
the author proceeds in a gun-boat ? — Procures some bad
bread and sweet potatoes ; — Trick of a priest to procure
the latter ; — Difficult navigation of the river ; — Indian
fires seen among the woods ; — Attempted attacks of In
dians ; — Recruited by vegetable food ; — Search on shore for
turtles' eggs; — Neglect to use shoes ; — Description of the
priest and his female companion ; — Thefts of the former ;
— Anecdote of these ; — Reverie and danger ; — Scene
witnessed from the river at night, and reflections ; — Women
round a fire by the river side ; — Indian village on the bank
of the river ; — Ferocity of the fish in the Orinoco ; —De
scription of the Chief of these Indians ; — Meets a friend
ascending the Orinoco ;— Receives provisions from him,
which the priest steals ;— Arrival at Caycara ; — This a
wretched place, infested with sand-flies ; — Rocky mountain
seen on the Orinoco ; — Arrival at Las Piedras ; — Meets a
Patriot gun-vessel, and good treatment by the master ; —
Arrival at Muitaco, &c. ; — Goes on shore in search of eggs,
and finds the grave of an English officer, whose body had
been dug up and devoured by animals ; — Reflections, &c. ;
— Arrival at Angostura ; — Conclusion.
We proceeded down the river and next
morning very early arrived at Urbana

248 EXPEDITION UP THE
The reports I had heard of this place were
dreadful ; but it was impossible to exaggerate
there. No fresh beef was to be had, nor any
kind of vegetable matter, except the sweet
potatoes, and these were scarce, and not to
be got within twenty miles. Nothing, in
deed, could be found but tasago in a small
quantity, and that, too, by far the worst, the
most mouldy, and abominable stuff I ever
saw. The flechero, in which I had come thus far,
now received orders to return to the place
she left, when I came on board of her ; and
I was at a loss to know how to proceed. At
length I found that the only conveyance
was an open boat ; and in that accordingly I
now took up my station.
Before we set off, there was a report cir
culated that some wheaten bread would be
baked, and ready for sale in two hours ; and
so uncommon was this occurrence in this
wretched place, that every one stopped to
purchase some of it. By this time I had had
several meals of sweet potatoes; and, having
improved greatly by them, I also determined
to endeavour to get some of the bread: I

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. £49
accordingly sold a pair of pantaloons and two
shirts ; and when it was, at length, announced
to be ready for sale, every one flocked to the
shop. It was divided into loaves, of one and
two reals each. Those for one real were the
size of my four fingers put close together, and
besides that, the flour was so musty that to
smell it was enough to take away any ordi
nary appetite. Placed, however, as I and
several others were, we had nothing but the
expensiveness of it to object to.
I proceeded on board with as many loaves
as I could afford to purchase, and some of
the sweet potatoes. There I found a priest
with a lady whom I considered his wife, the
soldier's wife and her two children, previously
alluded to, and some Creoles and their
wives. The priest, in a tone of voice much suited
to his calling, now assured me that the sweet
potatoes often contained among them some
which were of a poisonous nature, and
strongly advised me not to eat them. I was
sadly disappointed at this report, especially
as I had derived great benefit from their use ;
but considered this friendly intelligence, from

250 EXPEDITION UP THE
such a seemingly respectable source, to be im
plicitly depended upon. I accordingly threw
them on the sand bank ; but, in a short time,
I found the priest had gone on shore to. rest
on the sand, and had placed, himself near
where the potatoes lay. By a little close ob
servation of this fellow's physiognomy, I be
gan to doubt him; and my conjectures
were confirmed when I found that he had
picked up all the potatoes, and carried them
on board in his pockets, while he kept poking
at the sand as if he had covered them. Had
it not been for his profession, I should have
taken them from him ; but I was too weak
to stand resistance, and I did not wish to be
the first peace-breaker. I, therefore, let him
escape. I regretted the loss of these pota
toes exceedingly, as no more could be got at
Urbana ; and we were on the point of sailing.
The second evening after we left Urbana,
we got near a place much frequented by rob
bers and murderers, where we were obliged
to remain till next day at sunrise, owing to
the extreme difficulty, and often very great
danger, in sailing among the shoals during
the night. The rocks scattered every where

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 251
in the bed of this mighty river, may be
avoided by buoys fixed to them ; but the diffi
culties which can never be guarded against,
are the immense trees tumbling down the
river, and the floating sand banks which are
perpetually altering their situation. These
evils will probably long remain before even
an attempt be made to guard against such
formidable obstructions to its navigation.
We came to anchor near the middle of the
river, in order to have time to oppose, with
success, any attempt which might be made
to surprise us. The fires were distinctly ob
served, twinkling among the bushes, which
had been kindled by these villains ; and occa
sionally we imagined we saw a good deal of
bustle about them. There were eight of us,
however, and a boy. Each had a musket,
with one dozen rounds of ball-cartridges ; and
four of us a pair of pistols each.
Very early in the morning, when faintest
traces of light appeared, we observed a canoe
hovering about ; and, as this came nearer
and nearer, we saw that it contained nine
men with plenty of lances, fire-arms, &c.
We hailed them to keep at a distance ; but

252 EXPEDITION UP THE
no notice was taken of that, and they conti
nued to hover about and approach us. We
weighed anchor and set sail, as day-light
began to appear more distinctly, when these
fellows seemed to stand on still less ceremony,
and employed their paddles with considerable
success to come up with us. We all stood
prepared with our pistols; and, when they
came within shot, we fired the whole of them,
gave them to the boy to reload, and snatching
our muskets, showed them what they might
expect. Two of their number fell in their
canoe ; but whether from fear, or by being
wounded, or even shot, we could not ascer
tain. They paddled towards the shore, and,
in a minute darted into a creek in the bush
and disappeared.
The same day, we observed another canoe,
with twelve men; but we were divided in
opinion whether it was the one we had seen in
the morning. They pretended to be fishing,
although the master and pilot assured us there
were no fish of any kind near that part of the
river. We resolved to look sharply after
them; but having kept nearly up with us,
though at a respectful distance, for some

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 253
hours, they passed into a narrow branch of
the river and disappeared.
We were now in the habit of obtaining
some sort of vegetables almost every day,
such as casava, plantains, &c. upon which
I entirely subsisted ; and, being naturally pos
sessed of a strong constitution, the strength I
gained by their use was almost approaching
to the miraculous.
We came to anchor, after sunset, off an
immense bank of sand ; and, even before
day-break next morning, we started to go
ashore to get turtle and alligator's eggs, and
also the eggs of aquatic birds. In a short
time we had collected an immense quantity
of each. We had only to trace the tracks
of the turtles and alligators along the sand
for a short distance, till we arrived at a spot
of apparently loose sand, on the removal of
which we found very great quantities deposi
ted about a foot beneath the surface of the
sand. The turtle eggs are very good eating;
but the alligator's have such a taste and smell
of musk, that few people admire them. The
aquatic 4 birds make a little round cavity in
the sand, in which they deposit their eggs.

254 EXPEDITION UP THE
These do not, in general, possess any fishy
flavour, and are very good when either boiled
or fried.
On coming on shore, I had not observed
the ceremony of putting on shoes ; and,
after procuring eggs enough, and having got
into the shade of a thick bush, about a quar
ter of a mile from our boat, I was told
we were about to sail : I attempted to get on
board, but by this time so dreadfully scorch
ing was the sun, that, when I attempted to
walk over the sand, I might as easily have
walked on heated iron. I made a precipitate
retreat to the shady side of my bush, till a
pair of shoes were brought me. In going
along I put my hand to the sand, from which
I was obliged quickly to remove it, otherwise
it would have been blistered. The nights,
however, are extremely cool, and it is quite
impossible to sleep without blankets.
I began now to discover that our fellow-
passenger, the priest, was a sort of a thorough
bred blackguard. The soldier's wife knew
him in St. Juan de Pierre, where he bore but
an indifferent name. He was about forty-
five or fifty years of age, of a stout athletic

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 255
form, and possessed of a countenance of a
very odd cast. When he spoke he never
looked any one in the face. He always shut
one eye, on such occasions, and looked with
a keen and designing cunning with the other.
He seemed (although a priest) extremely ig
norant, and extremely impudent. In short,
he was a prominent character in whatever was
mean or sly, The woman with him was the
wife of a lieutenant in the patriotic service,
going down to Angostura. The priest and
she slept together like man and wife ; and the
disgusting familiarities he was perpetually
practising on her, before every one on board,
and without the slightest attention to decency,
made her as well as him equally abhorred and
detested. His extreme lewdness, with every
woman he could lay his hands on, could not
fail of being disgusting in any one ; but for a
priestj at his advanced time of life, it was
indeed shockingly repulsive.
One of the Creoles had some aqua-ardente
in a demi-jorum, and the priest watched
when he thought every one asleep to fill his
bottle from the demi-jorum, of which he
drank heartily, and carried the remainder to

256 EXPEDITION UP THE
his sleeping-place. He also in the night,
(for he was nightly watched) stole a quantity
of our mouldy tasago, with which he filled
a trunk and a large bag.
Now the place where I slept was close by
the mast ; and, in a hollow place, by my side,
the water collected as it filtered through the
seams of the vessel. This hollow of course
reached to the bottom of the vessel, and there
was room enough in it for two or three men
to secrete themselves. One night I was awoke
by something tugging, as if my blanket was
in the way of being moved off. I instantly
suspected something, and looked towards the
place where the priest slept : although it was
very dark, there was light enough for me to
observe that he was not there. I next looked
into the hollow, mentioned above, where I
perceived something moving ; and, convinced
that it was the priest endeavouring to steal
my blanket, I asked the boy (for both he and
the priest knew a little English) if there were
any dogs on board, to which the boy answered
in the negative. I had previously provided
myself with a hard rope's end ; but all was
quiet for the last minute. I remarked, how-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 257
ever, that I was sure there was a dog, or
some other filthy animal in that hollow ; and
recollecting the potatoes the villain stole from
me, I fell to work with the rope's end, which
made the priest roar out most lustily. I, of
course, begged his pardon; and hoped he
would excuse me for mistaking him for a dog.
Thus ended his attempt to steal my blanket.!.
We then all retired peaceably to rest.)
Next evening was the sixth since we left
Urbana. As it approached, I felt strangely
and unaccountably, depressed. As I sat si
lent and solitary, reflecting on what had
passed, and what might yet probably be my
fate, watching the last rays of the sun, shoot
ing his lengthened beams along the barren
mountains, I sunk into a sort of reverie, in
which I remained for some length of time.
I was roused by the rushing of water, as if
it were falling among rocks. The sun had
set for some time ; and there was a death
like solemnity in the scene.: The master,
(Patron as they call him) and pilot seemed in
great consternation. The one asserted that
the rocks were close in shore; and the other
that they were near the middle of the river,

258 EXPEDITION UP THE
discernible only when the water was low.
There was a still calmness in the air, which,
in this climate, is very common for ar few
hours after sunset. The rushing sounds be
came louder and louder, which proved we
were dropping nearer the spot. Our oars
were put out, and every one on board gave a
hand to assist ; but still we made little, if
any thing, against the suction. I suggested
to the patron the propriety of securing our
selves by the' anchor ; but, in conformity with
the custom of his countrymen, on receiving
advice, he refused to do it. At that moment,
a sudden breeze sprung up, which was taken
advantage of. We set 'sail, and in ten mi
nutes it again became quite calm, but not be
fore we had got past the rocks, as the sounds,
which had "lately occasioned 'some alarm
among ^ us, were*1 now dying away in c the
distance. The moon was now in its first quarter ;
and, in a short time, it left us in the moist
impenetrable darkness.' Nothing was seen
but the twinkling of fires among the trees
on the r mountains; and they seemed] like
specks on the pitchy face of night. These

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 259
were the haunts of the robbers and murder
ers, who for many a year will continue to in
fest the banks of this river.
As I cast an eye, ardent, anxious, and fear
ful, on the surrounding gloomy scene, there
was something indescribably awful in its ap
pearance — something which, under any cir
cumstances, would have made the most vola
tile sad and thoughtful — something which,
for my own part, produced sensations in my
mind, which I do not recollect to have ex
perienced on any former occasion. I tried to
compare these feelings with others which I
had experienced in my journey through this
weary world ; but in the whole catalogue of
my former miseries, I could bring nothing to
compare with the present. In many instan
ces, indeed, it were as difficult to set limits
to, or to account for . certain depressions of
mind, as it is to convey, by description, the
real nature of such states. To feel these,
with that exquisite acuteness, that thrilling
sensibility, which their possessors experience,
is indeed but. the fate of very few; and it
might perhaps admit of considerable disputa
tion,, whether a person of cold insensibility
s 2

260 EXPEDITION UP THE
and selfish pursuits, or alive to the most deli
cate emotions of the heart, is really possessed
of the greatest proportion of worldly enjoy
ment. It is most certainly easier to judge of
what may readily be comprehended, but of
which we are comparatively more careless,
than of those solitary occurrences which
shoot athwart the mind, when our destiny is
the subject of our reflection, and the deep
solitude of the surrounding scene our only
associate. My present state was altogether different
from those revolting throes, which the prac
tice of ingratitude for favours received raises
in the heart. It had no resemblance to those
disappointed hopes, so often the attendants of
the sanguine enthusiast, and of the total
wreck of that friendship, which had been
wrung from the inmost recesses of the heart,
by the unhallowed grasp of duplicity and
fraud. Neither did it resemble the entire
failure of those sensations which the heart,
unsullied by unworthy pursuits, can alone
feel, for the object of unmixed love and af
fection. In short, nature seemed to assume a
peculiar and altogether new character: — it

O RINOCO AND ARAUCA. 261
seemed as if shrouded and contracted, and
in a stillness more solemn than that of the
tomb, it had, with frigid indifference, fallen
asleep to me.
I rested but very uncomfortably ; and was
roused by day-break, to observe five or six'
women round a fire, close by the river side.
The non-appearance of men among them,
looked odd ; and, after we had proposed to
go ashore, we, on second thoughts, declined
doing so, as in all probability, the men had
hid themselves on our approach, and might
prove too strong for us, should we leave our
boat and go ashore, as we generally did with
out arms.
About three or four leagues before we
came to Caycara, we observed a village, which
we did not see on going up the river. It
was close in shore, and consisted of about
fifty huts. There seemed several people
walking about, but they did not interfere with
us. One of the men on board said, he be
lieved it had been built and was inhabited by
Spaniards. We proposed to go ashore armed,
and to use force only if we were compelled;
and we were the more encouraged to do this, as

262 EXPEDITION UP THE
another of the men said it was only an Indian
village, where the inhabitants lived by catch
ing turtle. We therefore landed, and found
the inhabitants were Indian fishermen, poor
and wretched. They had considerable variety
of fish, and only one good-sized turtle, which
the master purchased for a quarter dollar.
It is a curious fact that almost all the fish
in this river are provided with natural instru
ments of defence or attack : — their nose,
their teeth, their fins, or their tail, are the
usual seat of these ; and while many of them
inflict a simple wound only, others cause ex
cessive pain and high inflammation.
* The chief of this horde of Indians, made
his appearance ; and from him I purchased
some turtle, which they were cooking, and
also some ma'is bread, which was a great treat.
This chief was dressed in a very coarse check
shirt, with about a hundred holes in it, which
I doubt not was exhibited only when com
pany visited him. This, with a pair of very
coarse linen pantaloons, or rather breeches,
for they reached no lower down than his
knee, was all his dress, except a straw hat
and white feather. His skin was of a dirty

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 263
brown colour, and he walked bare-legged and
bare-footed. '
On leaving this village, we met a flechero,
going up to the army, and I found in it a
friend of mine from Angostura, who informed
me that the Supreme Chief had passed up
the river with 300 men, and that 2500 had
gone round by Margarita. I was disap
pointed at the Chief having left Angostura,
before my arrival ; but it was useless to repine.
As we did not see him, it is likely he passed
us in the night.
My friend gave me a dozen large biscuits ;
and on learning that I had neither rum nor
sugar, he also gave me some rum and papil-
lion, as they call it. This is put up in small
loaves of soft, and often very black sugar,
cast in a mould in shape like our English loaf-
sugar, but not weighing more than from one
to two pounds each. I proceeded to secure
the biscuit and sugar, when, on turning round
to get the rum, the little boy, belonging to
the soldier's wife, said the priest took it from
him, after the gentleman in the boat gave it
to him to carry to me. My friend's boat
had passed on, and I applied to the priest

264 EXPEDITION UP THE
for the rum ; but the old practical thief de
nied ever having seen it, although the boy
confronted him, and insisted on his having
taken it from him. He called God to wit
ness that he never saw it !
Two hours after sunset we arrived at Cay
cara. There the priest with the lieutenant's
wife left us ; and carried with them all they
had been able to steal from the vessel, and
from every individual in it.
Next day, about twelve o'clock, we pro
ceeded on our passage, feeling a sort of com
fort in having it in our power to leave such a
wretched place, with its poor inhabitants,
where I question much if even the priest
would have any field for the exercise of his
talents. We went ashore, as usual, in the
afternoon to cook some tasago ; and there
found the sand-flies uncommonly trouble
some. One breeze blew legions of them
away ; and the same breeze replaced them
with a new set of hungry ones, which bit us
without mercy.
Before sunset we sailed near one of those
immensely high masses of rocks, one piled
over another, till they are lost in the clouds.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 265
On many of these, in various parts of the
river, there appear pieces of immense size,
placed on the very top, or some part of the
precipice, and seemingly raised there, by hu
man ingenuity, assisted by a power, with
which we are at present wholly unacquainted,
for the purpose of appalling and terrifying
those below. I possessed no means of ascer
taining their height. Between the bases of the
mountains and river, the space is covered
with low brush-wood at low water, but over
flowed at high-water. Banditti haunt the
river sides at the former, and retire among
the mountains at the latter period.
These and many more, on the banks of the
river, bear some resemblance to the Scottish
scenery, described by Dr. Johnson, in his
Tour to the Hebrides. " They," says he,
" exhibit very little variety, being almost
wholly covered with dark . heath, and even
that seems to be checked in its growth. What
is not heath, is nakedness a little diversified,
by now and then a stream rushing down its
steep. An eye accustomed to flowery pas
tures, arid waving harvests, is astonished and
repelled by this wide, extent of hopeless ste-

266 EXPEDITION UP THE
rility. The appearance is that of matter
incapable of form or usefulness, dismissed
by nature from her care, and disinherited of
her favours, left in its original elemental state,
or quickened only with one sullen power of
useless vegetation. Regions mountainous
and wild, thinly inhabited, and little cultiva
ted, make a great part of the earth, and he
that has never seen them, must live unac
quainted with much of the face of nature."
We were now arrived at Las Piedras ; and
I passed on to the town, to enquire for the
Commandant, whom I formerly stated, as
having been shot at by the robbers, after they
had put him in the stocks. As might have
been expected, he died a few days after our
visit to that place, in our passage up the river.
We sailed ; and, in the evening, were hailed
by a Patriot gun- vessel at anchor. We went
along-side of her ; and I remarked that the
captain was almost the only Creole I had seen
who acted with civility to the English. He
asked the master, whom he had on board, and
if there were any English ; and he was told
that there was an officer and a soldier's wife.
He desired me to come on board his vessel,

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 267
and partake of what he had, and he sent
some spirits and water to the soldier's wife;
and that too without taking any notice of
any of our Creole passengers, except the
master ! He informed us of Bolivar's ap
pointment as President of Congress, and spoke
in high terms of the speech he had delivered
on that occasion.
On the 7th of March, we came to a
village called Muitaco, about a mile from the
coast. It had once been of considerable
extent, but now its remains were about 50
mud houses, scattered quite irregularly, upon
more than a mile square of ground. The
people seemed wretchedly poor, having no
thing but some cakes of casava.
We were now drawing near the conclusion of
our voyage ; and although for seventeen days
I had been perpetually exposed to the scorch
ing sun by day, and heavy dew by night, I
felt astonishingly improved in health. With
the exception, indeed, of a few days after
my first arrival in Angostura, I had now
constantly slept in the open air for nearly
seven months ; and, of course, had become
used to it.

268 EXPEDITION UP THE
Two days before our arrival in Angostura,
we went on shore to cook breakfast. It was
on an extensive sand-bank, and I wandered
to some distance in search of eggs. I found
the master on the same pursuit. He was
standing by a hole, dug in the outer margin
of the sand, which he said had been the
grave of an English officer, going up to join
the army. It was quite empty ; the body
having been dug up and devoured by the
four-footed inhabitants of the woods.
Such a sight was highly calculated to ex
cite sensations, which the usual visitations of
death fail to produce. Very probably in this
place was lately deposited the body of one
who had been bent on enterprize, and ardent
in the pursuit of honourable fame. Youth
ful enthusiasm perhaps induced him to leave
his native land, relations, friends, and pro
bably ties, which the heart of feeling, of de
licacy, and honour, alone can know. He had
nearly reached the place, where his conduct
might raise him in the estimation of those
he loved, and waft his renown to those far-
distant shores, where many an anxious heart
beat high for the success of his heroic deeds.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 269
Like the bud, nipt by an untimely frost, he
was cut short in his career, ' and sunk pre
maturely, without a relative or friend, to do
him the last mournful offices of humanity, or
to pay that decent respect to his mortal re
mains, which habit and the principles of our
religion, teach every one to respect.
1 stepped into the grave, being attracted
by a slip of paper, which was nearly covered
with sand, in hopes that its contents might
lead to some truths respecting this hapless tra
veller, but it furnished none. It seemed to
be part of a letter, written in English ; but
dampness, or some other cause, had so obli
terated the characters, that I could trace only
a very few unconnected words. Led into a
train of reflections, I remained at this me
lancholy spot much longer than I ought, and
was roused by one of the men who had been
in search qf me to inform me that the fle
chero was then under weigh.
The clouds which lately lowered over me
now began to pass away, for we soon got
within sight of Angostura, the appearance of
which I hailed with emotions of considerable
pleasure. In that town I had many friends;

270 EXPEDITION UP THE
and, although the time was but short since I
left it, it had been slow and lingering, and
often, very often, I greatly felt their absence,
when bending . under that load of the most
depressing, heart-sickening suffering, which I
had ever encountered, and that too, exposed
to the insulting brutality of the people with
whom I had been obliged to associate.
There are many in Angostura who detest the
very appearance of a Briton ; but there are
also some who admire them for their open,
generous and benevolent character, and for
that valour which has, and, I trust long will
continue to lead them through the perils of the
fight, and crown them with unfading honour.
When the foregoing cursory remarks will lose
what alone can give them a short-lived exis
tence—their novelty ; when they have been
looked over, laid aside, and forgotten — when
they have been swept down that rapid, that
overwhelming current of envious oblivion,
which effaces so much and spares so little —
when of him who has here attempted to pour-
tray what he has. seen, and what he has suf
fered, all the toils, and all ; the troubles, have
ceased — when he has passed to that, land of

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 271
forgetfulness, " that undiscovered country
from whose bourne no traveller returns;" it
will then fall to the lot of the historian to in
form future generations, of the nameless hor
rors of these times ; but he must soften the hi
deous features of the tale, for, even if a true
relation could be given of them, it never
would be believed that such scenes, so re
volting to humanity, could have occurred
among beings who wore the stamp of human
nature.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 273

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS

BY THE EDITOR.

As the following remarks on the influence of
the American climate bear also on the United
States, they cannot but interest the British
reader. To show, therefore, that similar
ideas have been impressed by the evidence of
facts on other minds, the Editor begs leave to
quote the following passage from Humboldt,
the most enlightened traveller of the present
day. That writer, it is true, does not on this
point take quite so extensive a view, and his
generalizations are more limited ; but still
they corroborate the Editor's remarks.
" In China and Japan, those inventions are
considered as recent, which have not been
T

274 EXPEDITION UP THE
known above two thousand years : in the
European colonies an event appears extremely
old, if it date back three centuries, or about
the period of the discovery of America.
" This absence of memorials, which cha
racterizes new nations, both in the United
States, and in the Spanish and Portuguese
possessions, is well worthy of attention. The
void has not only something painful to the
traveller, who finds himself deprived of the
most delightful enjoyments of the imagina
tion ; it has also an influence on the greater
or less powerful ties, which bind the colonist
to the soil on which he dwells — to the form
of the rocks surrounding his hut, and to the
trees which have shaded his cradle.
"Among the ancients (the Phoenicians and
the Greeks, for instance) traditions and na
tional remembrances passed from the mother-
country to the colonies ; where, perpetuated
from generation to generation, they never
ceased to have a favourable influence on the
opinions, the manners, and the policy, of the
colonists. The climates of these first esta
blishments beyond the seas differed but little
from those of the mother-country. The

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 275
Greeks of Asia-Minor and Sicily were not
strangers to the inhabitants of Argos, Athens,
and Corinth, from whom they boasted their
descent. A great analogy of manners con
tributed to cement the union which was
founded on religious and political interests.
The colonists frequently offered the first fruits
of their harvests in the temples of the metro
polis ; and when by some sinister accident
the sacred fire was extinguished on the altars
of Hestia, messengers were sent from the far
ther part of Ionia, to rekindle the flame at
the Prytaneion of Greece*. Every where,
in Cyrene, as well as on the banks of the
Mseotis, the inhabitants carefully preserved
the traditions of the mother-country. Other
remembrances, equally fitted to affect the ima
gination, were attached to the colonies them
selves. They had their sacred groves, their
tutelary divinities, their local mythology, and,
what gave life and durability to the fictions
of the first ages, they had poets, who extended
their glory as far as the metropolis itself.
* Clavier. His. des premiers temps de la Grece, t. ii, p. 07.
t. 1, p. 188.
T 2

276 EXPEDITION UP THE
" These advantages, and many others, are
wanting in modern colonies. The greater
part are settled in a zone, where the climate,
the productions, the aspect of the sky, and
the scenery of the landscape, differ alto
gether from those of Europe. The colonist
vainly bestows on mountains, rivers, and
valleys, those names, which call to his re
membrance the sites of the mother-country :
these names soon lose their attraction, and
have no meaning with the generations that
succeed. Under the influence of an exotic
nature, habits are generated, that are adapted
to new wants ; national remembrances are in
sensibly effaced ; and those that remain, like
phantoms of the imagination, have neither
" a local habitation nor a name." The glory
of Don Pelagio, and of the Cid Campeador,
has penetrated even to the mountains and fo
rests of America : the people sometimes pro
nounce these illustrious names ; but they
form no other notions of their existence than
that of heroes belonging to some vague pe
riod of fabulous times.
" This foreign firmament, this contrast of
climate, this physical conformation of the

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 277
country, have a more decided effect on the
state of society in the colonies, than the ab
solute distance of the mother-country. Such
is the improved state of modern navigation,
that the mouths of the Orinoco and of the
Rio de la Plata, seem more contiguous to
Spain than in former times Phasis and Tar-
tasus did to the coasts of Greece and Phoe
nicia. We even observe, that, in regions
equally remote, the manners and traditions
of Europe are more habitually preserved in
the temperate zone, and on the ridges of the
equatorial mountains, than in the plains of
the*torrid zone. Similarity of situation con
tributes in a certain degree to maintain more
intimate* connexions between the colonists
and the metropolis. This influence of phy
sical causes in the state of infant societies is
particularly manifested, when it concerns
portions of people of the same race, who
have been recently separated from each other.
In traversing the regions of the New World,
we imagine that we find more traditions, a
greater freshness in the remembrances of the
mother-country, wherever the climate permits
the cultivation of corn. In this point of view,

278 EXPEDITION UP THE
Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and Chili, resem
ble those elevated plains of Quito and New
Spain, which are covered with oaks and with
firs. " Among the ancients, history, religious
opinions, and the physical state of a country,
were linked together by indissoluble ties.
The colonist must have renounced the faith
transmitted to him by his ancestors, could
he have forgotten the aspect of the sites, and
the ancient revolutions of the mother-coun
try. With modern nations, religion no
longer wears — if I may use the expression, a
local tint. Christianity, in furnishing new
ideas, and opening a wider range to the ex
ercise of the intellectual faculties — in declar
ing, that all nations of men that dwell on the
face of the earth are made of one blood, and
members of the same family, has weakened
every exclusive sentiment, and has spread
through both worlds the ancient traditions of
the East with those that are peculiarly its own.
Nations of different origin, and discordant
idioms, have received from this common in
stitution common remembrances ; and the
establishment of the missions, after having

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 2?9
laid the foundation of civilization in a great
part of the New Continent, has given to cos-
mogonic and religious ideas a marked pre
eminence over remembrances that were
merely national.
" But this is not all ; the American colo
nies are almost all founded in countries,
where the generations that are extinct have
left scarcely any trace of their existence*. At
the mouth of the Rio Gila, on the banks of
the Missouri, in the plains that extend to the
east of the Andes, traditions date no farther
back than a century. At Peru, Guatimala,
and Mexico, ruins of edifices, historical paint
ings, and monuments of sculpture, attest, it
is true, the ancient civilization of the natives ;
but in a whole province we find very few fa
milies, who have just ideas relative to the his
tory of the Incas, and of the Mexican princes.
The native has preserved his language, his
dress, and his national character ; but the dis-
* If these effects in modern colonists were produced by
difference of climate alone, the natives might still have their
traditions, &c. But they have few or none; ~and the univer
sality of this want, Humboldt might have seen, could arise
only from a mind-destroying climate.

280 EXPEDITION UP THE
appearance of the quippus, and of symbolic
paintings, the introduction of Christianity,
and other circumstances, which I have else
where developed, have gradually extinguished
historical and religious traditions. On the
other hand, the colonist of European race
disdains whatever relates to the conquered
people. Placed between the remembrances
of the mother-country, and those of the
country where he first drew his breath, he
considers both with equal indifference ; and
in a climate where the equality of seasons
renders the succession of years almost im
perceptible, he abandons himself to the en
joyments of the present moment, and scarcely
casts back a look on the times that are past.
" What a difference also between the mo
notonous history of modern colonies, and the
varied picture exhibited by the legislation,
the manners, and the political revolutions of
the colonies of the ancients ! Their intellec
tual culture, modified by the different forms
of their government, often excited the envy
of mother-countries, and, by this happy rival-
ship, arts and letters attained the highest de
gree of splendour in Ionia, in Graecia Magna,

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 281
and in Sicily. In our days, on the contrary,
the colonies have neither history, nor na
tional literature. Those of the New World
have never had powerful neighbours, and
there the state of society has undergone only
imperceptible changes. Without political
existence, these settlements, formed for com
merce or for agriculture, have taken but a
passive part in the great agitations of the
world. The history of modern colonies af
fords but two memorable events—their foun
dation, and their separation from the mother-
country. The first of these events is rich in
remembrances, which essentially belong to the
countries occupied by the colonists ; but, far
from recalling to mind the peaceful progress
of industry, or the improvement of colonial
legislation, acts of violence and injustice only
protrude themselves on the scene. What
charm can those extraordinary times present,
when, under the reign of Charles the Fifth,
the Castilians displayed more courage than
virtue? and when chivalrous honour, like the
glory of arms, was sullied by fanaticism and
the thirst of riches ? The colonists of mild
character are freed by their situation from

282 EXPEDITION UP THE
national prejudices, and appreciate at their
just value the exploits of the conquest. The
men who figured at that period were Euro
peans ; they were the soldiers of the mother-
country ; they appear as strangers to the in
habitants of the colonies ; for three ages have
been sufficient to dissolve the ties of blood.
Among the conquistadores, no doubt, some
upright and generous men may be found ;
but, mingled iri the mass, they have been
unable to escape the general proscription.
" I believe that I have indicated the prin
cipal causes, which in modern colonies have
dispelled national remembrances, without no
bly filling their place by others relative to the
country newly inhabited. This circumstance,
we cannot sufficiently repeat, exercises a
great influence over the situation of the colo
nists. In the stormy times of a political re
generation, they find themselves isolated, like
a people who, renouncing the study of its
annals, should cease to derive lessons of
wisdom from the misfortunes of preceding
ages." Whatever truth these observations of Hum
boldt may possess, has its foundation in the

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 283
following simple principles which have escaped
his observation.
Heat of climate encreases sensibility in
proportion to its degree. Now it is a physi
ological law, that when one faculty is greatly
encreased, it is always at the expense of
other faculties which are correspondingly di
minished. Hence, whenever sensibility ex
ists in a high degree, the other two faculties
of the mind — reasoning and volition — are
found in a diminished proportion. This is
founded on the obvious truth, that every ma
chine (which the brain in this case is) per
forms one species of action better than it can
perform many ; and the same is true of all
the animal functions.
Moreover, heat of climate has a direct
effect, not only in exciting sensibility (the first
of these faculties), but in suppressing the ex
ercise of volition, the last of them, and in
rendering exertion absolutely painful. Hence
when reasoning, the intermediate faculty, is
at all employed by the natives of hot climates,
it is always to obtain its* ends by a meaner
cunning and a shifting finesse, and never by
that nobler exercise of the faculties in which

284 EXPEDITION UP THE
are displayed candour and ingenuousness, pa
tience and perseverance.
Thus it is, that in hot climates, reason
ing and volition are sacrificed to sensibility.
Now, from this excessive sensibility, it will
be seen that all the other faculties of the
mind arise in tropical regions. Sensuality
and selfishness spring from it at once; and
laziness and meanness are as inseparable from
the former of these, as conceit and obstinacy
are from the latter ; while fickleness, fraud,
and treachery, are the agents which such a
mind can easiest employ.
Universal history, as well as physiological
principles, declares the truth of this state
ment. In no age, have tropical climates displayed
to us nations illustrious for their knowledge,
their virtue, and their valour. If even the
southern shores of the Mediterranean have
ever possessed polished inhabitants, they were
merely colonial, from temperate Asia, Phoe
nicia, Greece, or Rome ; and they have at
last yielded to the influence of climate.
Such regions may for a moment be free :
they must for ages be colonial and dependent.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 285
At one time, the Tartar from the mountains,
by the directest route, and at another, the
rulers of the ocean, by a more circuitous
one, have exercised the sway of Hindostan.
Nature has as surely destined the indolent to
obey, as the active to command. And it is
well that she has ; for with indolence there is
neither knowledge nor any other good ; while
with activity there is both the capacity and
the probability of all.
In fact, a zone in the ancient world, west
of the Indus and north of the Mediterranean,
includes every region on which the sun of
science has ever shone, and we would say —
ever will shine, if we might judge either
from the preceding physiological principles,
or from the historical and practical fact, that
while other regions have slept in the darkness
of unbroken night, various spots of this zone
have been irradiated again and again. Reli
gious men may conceive that this impugns
the beneficence of God ; but it no more does
so than the analogous fact, that some spots of
a garden are more favourable to vegetable
life than others.
Why did not America discover Europe ?—

286 EXPEDITION UP THE
Because she had not the intellect or the in
dustry to conduct a sail or a rudder. A
wretched canoe with crawling paddles, con
structed in imitation of the vermin with' which
she teems, was the most ambitious of her
achievements. The same cause which made
her ignorant and indolent, will keep her so; so
long as her soil and her climate are the same;
If the reader desire to know what the Euro
pean colonists of America will become, he
has only to enquire what the aborigines of
America are. Before these crossed the
Strait of Behring, they were not what they
now are ; climate has made them so ; and
climate will exert the same influence on their
successors, whether from the east or the west,
and whatever the vanity they may cherish.
The Tartars of India are lost in the Hindoos,
the Greeks of Egypt in the Copts, the Phoe
nicians of Carthage in the Arabs of the Desert.
Man opposed to great natural causes, is like
an atom before the tempest.
True it is that the aborigines of the British
Isles were blue painted savages in the time of
the Romans. But it is not less true, that the

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 287
Roman writers every where bear testimony of
the extraordinary beauty of their persons,
and surprising capacity of their minds —
omens no where recorded of the New World.
Now it is to the generally moderate tempe
rature, yet extreme variability of the climate,
and to the frequently boisterous ocean sur
rounding the British Isles, that are owing, in
a greater degree than is generally imagined,
the fine physical organization, the intellectual
resource, and the invincible courage of the
fifteen millions of men who inhabit them.
Moral circumstances may modify the in
fluence, of physical causes ; but they never can
entirely prevent their operation. A fertile
soil and genial air must naturally produce a
beautiful race of men ; a variable climate su--
peradded to these, must create those necessities
which excite in such men intellectual resour
ces ; and an ocean uncertain and often tem
pestuous surrounding them, must produce that
familiarity with danger which teaches men to
despise it. Now, from intellectual power and
personal courage spring knowledge, and in
dependence, and love of liberty, and the de-

288 EXPEDITION UP THE
termination to preserve it. Such men may
be slaves for a moment : they must for ages
be free. ¦
Such are the heaven-favoured inhabitants
of the British Isles. But, happily for huma
nity, these high bequests are not bestowed
on them for themselves alone. Excelling in
docility, ingenuity, perseverance, and bra
very, they are, by a happy geographical posi
tion, brought into contact with the most do
cile, ingenious, persevering, and brave of the
inhabitants of Europe : and as Britain is in
a great measure commercial, — as beneficial
commerce can be carried on only with nations
which are rich,— and as despots and slaves
are generally poor, while freemen alone are
opulent, it becomes most obviously the in
terest of Britain that the continental nations
should be free.

But to return to America, and first to the
United States in particular.— The con
sideration of the national character of the in
habitants of the United States, so far as it has
yet been developed, has been inaccurately,
as well as imperfectly, appreciated. A ques-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 289
tion of natural and moral history has been
obscured by the passions of political party,
with which it should have nothing to do ; and
the advocates of democracy or of monarchy
have exalted or vilified a people of whom po
litical enthusiasm utterly disqualified them
to judge. A dispassionate consideration of the origi
nal mode of colonization of the United States,
of the more distinguished men who have il
lustrated their history, and of the influence
of their climate on their inhabitants and their
institutions, seems not ill calculated to throw
some light on this question.
In reflecting on the original colonization
of these States, we cannot help remarking
that associations of transported felons were
but unpromising seeds of a future moral and
virtuous people. The mental organization
and habits of men are propagated, as well as
their features. The Romans who sprang
from an association of robbers vexed the
world with their robberies, till the moment
when their institutions and their name were
swept from the face of Europe; and the
United States' men (we wish neither to ho-
u

ogo EXPEDITION UP THE
nour nor to disgrace them by the comparison)
have their origin, more or less partially,
from persons similarly expatriated. This
propagation of organization and crime may
be lamentable, but it is not untrue ; and it
vindicates that awful sentence, so often
carped at by infidels, by which the sins of the
fathers are visited upon the children, unto the
third and fourth generation. This theme,
however, is far from being a grateful one;
and as the time is passed when the United
States' men might, like the ancients, have
claimed gods, instead of criminals, as their
progenitors, or have wrapped their origin in
fable, we will hope that the blending of good
organization and habit will at last completely
neutralize the bad. — Let us pass to a more
agreeable subject.
The more distinguished men who have il
lustrated the history of the United States, it
is worthy of observation, seem no longer to
have successors. They appeared chiefly at
the period of the assumption of independence ;
and they assuredly had about them more of
British character than any of the United
States' men of the present day. Franklin, for

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 291
instance, was an Englishman in every respect
but the accidental place of his birth. His
immediate progenitor was English ; and his
education, his intellectual organization, and
even his physiognomical character, were en
tirely so. How little, amidst such circum
stances, must be the influence of mere place
of birth, when affecting a single individual, or
a single generation, every naturalist knows.
With regard, then, to Franklin and the few
other great men whom America could once
boast, we unhesitatingly say, that she owes
their greatness to English organization and
English blood. With a more extended po
pulation, she can now boast of fewer illustrious
men. A brief consideration of the influence of
climate will shew, that the farther the inha
bitants of these States descend from their
British origin, the less will they retain of the
British, and the more will they acquire of
that Indian character which this all-power
ful influence is unceasingly impressing on
them. God has, by the gentle and insensible in
fluence of climate, given to the African,
v 2

292 EXPEDITION UP THE
amidst his burning sands, that dark surface
which, modern chymistry has taught us, most
rapidly radiates heat ; and he has, by the
same admirable influence, maintained, among
all the tribes of mankind, life, and health,
and happiness. Hence the complexion of
the skin deepens as we advance from northern
regions to equatorial ones — subject only to
trifling exceptions from elevation of land,
contiguity to the sea, the course of winds,
and similar great yet subordinate causes.
With this increase of colour, increase the de-
gree of sensibility, subtility, and artifice, and
decrease muscular power, energy of action,
openness of character, &c.
The red man of. America, though of modi
fied colour, in this respect obviously ap
proaches the African; and to him are the
British settlers on his soil every day approxi
mating by the powerful, yet gentle, insensi
ble, and salutary influence of climate.
Already, after a few generations, has the
Anglo-American acquired that sallow com
plexion, that peculiarity of features, that
" austrum quasi spirans vultus," (which, in
the children of European parents born in

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 293
equatorial regions, we call Creole) and that
vanity and subtility of character which dis
tinguish the Indian, and which, by the same
unceasing influence, must increase in every
successive generation, till no trace of distinc
tion is left between them. The United States
may, therefore, produce their great men —
men relatively great ; but they will be men
rather of Indian than of British genius.
They will as vainly look for their Franklins
and their Washingtons, as they do for those
living prodigies of ancient days whose bones
only are turned up in their soil.
The same reasons, politically viewed, will
satisfy the inquirer, that America never can
be the rival of Britain, as some people vainly
suppose. The more populous she becomes—
the more remote her people are from European
origin, organization, and mind, the more will
they be a feeble and colonial race, and less
formidable in every political relation.
We are anxious to state this, because it is
a great political truth, and not because Up
per Canada becomes every day more essen
tially American, and may ultimately be
wrested from us by the United States — or

294 EXPEDITION UP THE
because a province, whose frontier of 800
miles is opposed to some of their most fertile
and thickest-settled territory, close to all their
military resources, open throughout to sud
den inroad, and cut off, during more than half
the year, from all communication with the
mother-country, cannot long be held by us,
— or because Quebec, the key of the St.
Lawrence, might, by 20,000 men, with a
well-appointed battering train, and under
proper dispositions, be compelled to capitu
late within a fortnight after trenches were
opened, almost all its works being comi-
manded, and the ramparts of the whole line
of defence from the St. Lawrence to the
Charles, being enfiladed from the opposite
shore of the latter river, — or because, after
the loss of Canada, New Brunswick and
Nova Scotia could not be maintained, and
the defences of Halifax being turned towards
the sea, that naval arsenal, once turned,
would fall an easy conquest, — or, in fine, be
cause thus in the Western Hemisphere may ter
minate the power and the militaryinfluence of
Britain. These are motives of mere national
interest, and can have nothing to do with the

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 295
present question, especially as we are very
sceptical about the benefit accruing from
these possessions, and should little regret
their loss.
In a national point of view, however, it is
certainly not unfortunate for us that this
change of national character must ensue, —
that the United States, increasing in popu
lation, cannot continue to fight us with our
own renegade seamen, — that with men picked
from these, they cannot man fleets as they
have manned a few single ships, — and that
these States must infallibly split into smaller
ones. A federal republic, in extent equal to all
Europe, cannot long hold together. The
local interests of the States, and the ambi
tion of powerful individuals, must sow the
seeds of division. A line drawn from the
mouth of Chesapeake Bay to the head of it,
and thence to Fort Pitt, at the head of the
Ohio, forms two divisions, of which one
constitutes the Northern, the other the
Southern States : the former being commer
cial, and the latter agricultural, are utterly
opposed in interests. Nay, even subordinate

296 EXPEDITION UP THE
subdivisions of these States must take place.
Louisia , Kentucky, Tenassee, and the Flo-
ridas, must become independent. The States
on the sea coast from New England to Cape
Florida must in time also divide ; and the
great rivers which flow from the Apalachian
chain into the Atlantic ocean must become
the frontiers of independent States.
Though, however, the United States thus
present nothing formidable to Britain, and
though a writer, who seems to know them,
says of her people that " they are ever-
craving, never gratified ; sturdy, impudent
beggars; too proud to acknowledge an obli
gation, but sneaking, sly, and circumventing
in obtaining the substance of it ; guided
solely by interest, and condescending to any
meanness to appease power which they can
not resist, though vain, shameless, hectoring,
fierce, and insolent, where chance gives them
a suitable opportunity to indulge them
selves ;" yet in a commercial point of view,
these States are of the very highest impor
tance to us, since we export to them almost
as much as we do to the whole of Europe.
Nor should this be our only motive for

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 29/
cultivating the relations of amity with the
United States. M. de Talleyrand, in his ex
cellent Memoir, has observed of the Ameri
cans, that " all their habits assimilate them
to the English. Identity of language is a
fundamental relation, on whose influence we
cannot too deeply meditate. This identity
places betweeri the men of these two coun
tries a common character, which will always
make them attach themselves (se prendre) to,
and recognize each other. They will mutu
ally think themselves at home when they tra
vel into each other's country. They will have
a reciprocal pleasure in the interchange of
their thoughts, and in every discussion of
their interests. But an insurmountable bar
rier is raised up between a people of dif
ferent language, who cannot utter a word
without recollecting that they do not belong
to the same country — between whom every
transmission of thought is an irksome labour,
not an enjoyment — who never come per
fectly to understand each other — with whom
the result of conversation, after the fatigue
of unavailing efforts, is to find themselves
mutually ridiculous."

298 EXPEDITION UP THE
Such being the case, Let us ardently hope
that peace between the two countries will be
lasting.

To South America in particular, the
preceding reasons are still more applicable, be
cause the causes which they develope are still
more powerful in tropical regions. But we
have here to consider the practical conduct of
the South American government. On that
subject, we will not venture beyond the evi
dence of facts ; yet the testimony of the pre
ceding pages, and the following extracts of the
reports of all the recent writers on the subject
of Columbia and its Government, will go far
to justify the epithet of "the villain's home"
which an indignant writer has happily applied
to America in general.
/ Of the CHIEFS and the POLITICAL
STATE of COLUMBIA, the author of
an account of a voyage in the Two
Friends, says—" Bolivar, whose devotion
and amor patriae we had been taught to
admire as a splendid imitation of the heroic
and noble Romans of the best ages of that
Commonwealth, was described as a mere

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 299
bravo, coarse, cruel, arbitrary and vindictive,
devoting to destruction all who opposed his
power or questioned the policy of his measures ;
alike insatiable in ambition and vanity, sacri
ficing the advantages of victory and the pur
suit of successes, to the parade of celebrating
a triumph. Disgusted with the system of
one less formidable to his enemies, than dan
gerous to his friends, whose darling passions
menaced with destruction their legitimate
hopes, and the objects of their co-operation,
the respectable leading characters of Vene
zuela had retired from the contest, leaving
to the worst part of the insurgents the issue
of a revolution, which had dawned with the
brightest promise, but now foreboded the
most distressing results. Fortress after for
tress submitted again to the power of Spain,
while provinces followed each other in rapid
succession, seceding from the cause, aban
doning the wild, trackless, and extensive de
serts of the interior, to the irregular bands
of insurgents. — The mass of the population
of the Spanish Main, though well endowed
by nature, were described as yet unprepared
both by habits and feelings, for the enjoyment

300 EXPEDITION UP THE
of rational liberty and independence ; blind,
bigoted and infatuated, they were rendered
the ready victims of the priesthood, and
the instruments of designing men. — The re
volting cruelties that disgraced both sides
of the contest, and the vacillating character
of the people, presented formidable and in
surmountable difficulties to the progress of
independence." Major Flinter says, " The people of South
America demanded concessions from Spain,
and withheld their assistance at a moment
when their mother country was engaged in one
of the most glorious struggles that the page
of history record.* ; when, with the excep-
of Cadiz, the whole of the Peninsula was
occupied by the legions of Bonaparte ; and
this most ungrateful offspring, most ungene
rously took advantage of the moment, when
the sun of its parent's glory was on the verge
of setting for ever— when her limbs were fet
tered by the chains of despotism, to strike
the fatal blow and consummate her fall.
Great as may be our enthusiasm in the cause
of liberty, yet, purchased at the price of
honour and gratitude, it loses much of its

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 301
splendour. — They (speculators from England)
do not join a disciplined army, enthusiastic
in the cause of liberty, but a horde of naked
savages, prowling in search of plunder, sub
sisting on the precarious food, derived from
the spontaneous productions of the forest,
and headed by a set of wretches, who would
disgrace a gibbet. But even should those
who have arrogated to themselves the ill-
placed title of patriots, succeed in expelling
the Spanish party out of the Caraccas, the
consequence will be, that a government will
be established on the same principles as that
of St. Domingo, with many chiefs, exercis
ing the most despotic sway over their slaves,
and engaged in continual hostility with each
other." Of Bolivar, Colonel Hippislev says,
" The smallness of his stature, and the mean
ness of his figure and physiognomy, would
rather create contempt than respect; nor
would he seem entitled to command obe
dience to his orders, if the fire of his eyes, in
sudden gusts of passion, and moments of
displeasure, did not tell you, that Bolivar
himself knew, and felt that he could not

302 EXPEDITION UP THE
only threaten but execute vengeance. He
possesses neither gratitude, honour, liberality,
sympathy, nor humanity; yet he pretends
that his heart and disposition are congenial
to all those sentiments, and constantly act
in unison. — Personal courage he is gifted
with, even to a fault. He has, however,
never yet achieved any action worthy of re
nown, or equal to the real intrepidity with
which he is endowed ; because reason, judg
ment, and even necessary discretion, have
been wanting.— We has neither talent nor
abilities for a general, and especially for a
commander-in-chief. The numerous mistakes
he has made throughout the whole of his
campaigns for the last eight years, have nearly
desolated the provinces, and annihilated the
population. The repeated surprises he has
experienced from the enemy (already se
ven), prove my assertion, and bear me out
in declaring, that any one of them would
have disgraced a corporal's guard. — Tactics,
movement, and manoeuvre, are as unknown
to him as to the lowest of his troops. All idea
of regularity, system, or the common routine
of an army, or even a regiment, he is to-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 303
tally unacquainted with. Hence arise all
the disasters he meets, the defeats he suffers,
and his constant obligations to retreat when
ever opposed to the foe. The victory which
he gains to-day, however dearly purchased,
(of which his list of killed and missing, if he
calls for or keeps such details, must evidently
convince him), is lost to-morrow, by some
failure or palpable neglect on his part. Thus
it is that Paez was heard to tell Bolivar,
after the action at Villa del Cura, that he
would move off his own troops, and act no
more with him in command ; adding, ' I
never lost a battle wherein I acted by myself,
or in a separate command ; and I have always
been defeated when acting in concert with
you, and under your orders.'— Ire victory —
in transient prosperity— he is a tyrant, and
displays the feelings and littleness of an
upstart. He gives way to sudden gusts of
resentment, and becomes, in a moment, a
madman and (pardon the expression) a black
guard ; throws himself into his hammock
(which is constantly slung for his use), and
utters curses and imprecations upon all
around him, of the most disgusting and dia-

304 EXPEDITION UP THE
bolical nature. In defeat, in danger, in re
treat, he is perplexed, harassed and contemp
tible even to himself, — weighed down by
disasters, which he has neither skill nor
strength of mind to encounter, to lighten, or
to remove. In this state, he appeared to me
at the retreat to and from San Fernando,
when he looked the image of misery and
despair." But the greatest crimes of this man are
his murders ; and of these the most atrocious
are those of the great and good Miranda and
General Piar.
Of Miranda, Colonel Rafter says," He
had quitted Caraccas, while the Royalists
were entering it, and on the evening of the
29th of July, he also arrived at La Guyra,
with the intention of sailing next morning,
in an English schooner, called the William,
on board which, all his baggage and effects
had been previously embarked. That night,
he supped with Bolivar and several other
officers, who appeared quite happy to have
him among them, and conversed with free
dom on their approaching separation, and
their hopes of meeting again in happier

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 305
times. Miranda retired to bed, where the
pleasing ideas excited by the near prospect
of escape were soon interrupted by the en
trance of Bolivar and attendants, armed,
who placed him in arrest, and confined him
in a dungeon in Fort Collorada, by order of
Don M. Casas, military commandant of La
Guyra, who immediately declared for Mon-
teverde, (a circumstance of which Bolivar was
well aware) and delivered the place into the
hands of the Royalists the next morning.—
Miranda was sent from La Guyra to Puerto
Cavello*, and afterwards to Porto Rico,
whence he was transferred to the prison of La
Cartaca in Cadiz, where he died some time
after, not without strong suspicions of foul
means having been made use of to effect it.
The circumstance of his arrest has thrown a
deep shade on the fame of Bolivar, and has
placed, in a strong and glaring point of view,
the base ingratitude of his countrymen.
Of Piar, Major Flinter says, " This
man was a mulatto, a native of the island of
* At La Guyra, Miranda was chained in a dungeon, where
he had nothing but straw to lie upon, and where he was fre
quently up to his ancles in water. X

306 EXPEDITION UP THE
Curacoa, and had been actively employed in
the insurgent service, since the commence
ment of the revolution, and was noted for
being brave and persevering : he accused Bo
livar of cowardice, and refused to serve under
him, and in consequence with a large body
of people of colour, he detached himself from
his command, and acted independent of his
orders. — Bolivar finding the great influence
which Piar was likely to obtain among the
people of colour, meditated his destruction ;
he sent many emissaries among Piar's troops,
for the purpose of assassinating him, which,
however, they were never able to effect. Bo
livar therefore resorted to stratagem : he
addressed a letter to Piar, couched^ in the
most friendly terms, offering to bury every
past occurrence in oblivion, and impressing
upon his mind the imperious necessity of
uniting their forces to oppose the Spaniards,
and requested an interview, in order to concert
measures for combined operations. To these
terms Piar readily assented, and forthwith
repaired to the head-quarters of Bolivar,
without attendants, and unarmed. The mp-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 307
ment he arrived, Bolivar ordered him to be
seized and secured, and to be immediately
shot." Colonel Hippisley says, " Bolivar gave him
the form of a court-martial, by which he was
tried, and condemned to be shot ; and the sen
tence was carried into execution two months
previous to our arrival. The chair on which
the unfortunate general sat when shot, is left
as a memento for public inspection."
Of the Character of the Army,
Mr. Hackett says, " The patriot forces
were reduced to a state of the greatest po
verty, totally devoid of discipline, and not
one-fourth provided with proper military
arms, the remainder being compelled to re
sort to bludgeons, knives, and such other
weapons as they found most readily procura
ble. — In clothing they were still more desti
tute and deficient, in most instances merely
consisting of fragments of coarse cloth
wrapped round their bodies, and pieces of
the raw buffalo hide laced over their feet as
a substitute for shoes, which when hardened
by the sun's heat, they again render pliant
x 2

308 EXPEDITION UP THE
by immersion in the first stream at which
they chanced to arrive. — A blanket with a
hole cut in the middle, let over the head, and
tightened round the body by a buffalo thong,
has been frequently the dress of the officers ;
and one of them who witnessed the fact,
assured me that such was actually the uniform
of a British Colonel (R  .) who was at that
time in the Independent service. Whilst
these gentlemen thus described the patriot
habiliments, they commented in the strongest
language on the impolicy and imprudence of
proceeding to serve in conjunction with an
army barefooted and in rags, provided with
such splendid uniforms as we had been
obliged to procure ; and ridiculed the strange
contrast which our dresses and those of the
patriots would exhibit in the field ; observing,
that such clothes would be alone sufficient to
excite the jealousy of the natives, to whose
eagerness for their possession, we should almost
inevitably become a sacrifice. — The Indepen
dent armies march in hordes, without order
or discipline ; their baggage consisting of
little more than the scanty covering on their
backs. They are totally destitute of tents,

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 309
and in their encampments observe neither
regularity nor system. The commanding
officers are generally mounted, and likewise
such of the others as are able to provide
themselves with horses or mules, the latter
of which are in great plenty. — In every oc
currence a total want of system in the leaders
was evident : each merely made the cause a
pretext or cloke for his own private views :
there are no laws or regulations to bind them,
or even to control their inclinations, each
possessing absolute arbitrary power, without
a sentiment of honour, justice, or humanity."
The Author of an Account of a
Voyage in the Two Friends, says, " The
most formidable part of their troops were
irregular bodies of cavalry, wrapped in
blankets by day, which served them for co
vering at night ; their services, like those of
the cossacks, better calculated for the de
struction of a dispersed enemy, than to pro
cure a victory. Their equipments were in
every way wretched : shoes were known only
as luxuries to the superior officers of the
army, while the inferiors were reduced to the
necessity of swathing their feet in the reek-

310 EXPEDITION UP THE
ing skins of their slaughtered animals. Li
berty was the delusive war-cry, while the
chieftains exercised the authority of despots
over their wretched dependants, character
izing the warfare as rather that of partisans,
than of patriots."
Colonel Hippisley says, " Sedeno's
cavalry were composed of all sorts and
sizes, from the man to the boy ; from the
horse to the mule. Some of the troopers
with saddles ; very many of them without :
some with bits, leather head-stalls, and reins ;
others with rope-lines, with a bight of the
rope placed over the tongue of the horse as
a bit : some with old pistols hung over the
saddle-bow, I cannot call it the pummel,
either incased in tiger-skin or in ox-hide
holster pipes, or hanging by a thong of hide
on each side. As for the troopers themselves
they were from thirteen to thirty-six or forty
years of age — black, brown, sallow com
plexion, according to the casts of their pa
rents. The adults wore large mustachios,
and short hair, either woolly or black, ac
cording to climate or descent. Mounted on
miserable, half-starved, jaded beasts, whether

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 311
horse or mule, some without trowsers, small
clothes, or any covering except a bandage of
blue cloth or cotton round their loins, the
end of which passing between their legs,
fastened to the girth round the waist ; others
with trowsers, but without stockings, boots,
or shoes, and a spur generally gracing the
heel on one side ; and some wearing a kind
of sandal made of hide, with the hairy side
outward. A blanket of about a yard square,
with a hole, or rather slit, cut in the centre,
through which the wearer thrusts his head,
falls on each side of his shoulders, thus co
vering his body, and leaving his bare arms at
perfect liberty to manage his horse, or mule,
and lance. Sometimes an old musket (the
barrel of which has been shortened twelve
inches) forms his carbine ; and with a large
sabre, or hanger, or cut-and-thrust, or even
a small sword, hanging by a leather thong to
his side, together with either a felt hat, a
tiger-skin or hide-cap, on his head, with a
white feather, or even a piece of white rag,
stuck into it, these troopers of the legion of
Sedeno appear complete, and ready for action.
— Paez's cavalry are much superior in point of

312 EXPEDITION UP THE
dress, appearance, and good condition of their
horses. There are none of them so naked as
some of Sedeno's legion ; but they consist of
some without boots, shoes, or any body co
vering, except their blanket, which is the ne
cessary appendage to the general uniform."
Mr. Brown says of their Navy, "On their,
(the gun-boats) coming alongside, we were
surprised to find that they were manned en
tirely by wild and savage-looking Indians. —
We were here reinforced by two large boats,
on board one of which was Commodore Dias.
— The people in these boats presented, if pos
sible, a more savage and fantastic appearance
than those of our own. They were of both
sexes, entirely naked ; their bodies and long
strait hair were daubed all over with red
ochre ; their arms and legs were bound round
with string made of the fibres of the cocoa
tree, and plaited in a variety of figures. This
is done while in their infancy, and occasions
their limbs to swell above the bandage, which
produces a very singular appearance."
Of their Army, he observes, " The troops
that we found here (at Old Guyana) pre
sented the most miserable appearance, the

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA.

313

greater part of the privates being not more
than thirteen or fourteen years of age, and
tottering under the weight of their muskets ;
they were principally blacks ; some of them
wearing a uniform, and others having only a
piece of linen round the loins. They had ob
tained these uniforms from the military
stores brought by the brig Hunter, from
England. The motto on their caps, veneer
o morir, did not seem well calculated for
such a wretched-looking set of beings. — The
rifle corps (of Bolivar's guard), in number
about two hundred and seventy, were all
Sambos. They were equipped in the rifle
accoutrements, and were all of very low sta
ture. So limited was the extent of their en
thusiasm in the cause, that a great part of
these men had been compelled to march in
irons, to the place of embarkation. They
were little better than wild Indians ; and the
women that followed them were naked, and
most disgusting objects. They had been
forced from their native missions into the
service, and numbers of them had already
deserted. — An officer has but a poor prospect
in going with these kind of troops into the

*

314 EXPEDITION UP THE
field, and cannot possibly expect to obtain
any credit, as they will throw away their
arms upon the least failure of their attack,
and will precipitately retire in the greatest
disorder. Their disposition is such, that they
would much rather carry a large piece of
sugar-cane to employ themselves on the
march, than their muskets, of which they
try to disencumber themselves on the first
opportunity. — General Bermuda's division,
presented, if possible a more wretched ap
pearance than any I had hitherto seen ; the
greater part of them wearing a pair of coarse
trowsers, but destitute of every thing else,
except that some of them had the remnants
of a straw hat. They were all in possession of
muskets ; and a few of them had a bayonet
and a cartridge-box slung on their bare backs
with a piece of string, the bayonet exposed
without its scabbard. The men were prin
cipally blacks of St. Domingo, or runaway
slaves from the colonies, who had thus ex
changed their lot for worse than slavery,
being enticed by the deluding sound of in
dependence and liberty, of which, in fact,

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 315
they only enjoyed the name, for they were
still governed with barbarity and despotism."
As to their character, he further says, " I
will insert a short account of this review, as
it will give some idea of the troops of Mar
garita. With the exception of one battalion
of two hundred men, they were destitute of
any uniform, and I may say almost of cloth
ing. — The order in which they arrived was
two and three deep. Father and son were
together; and following close behind, in the
interval, was the grandson, carrying their
provision, 8Cc. A great number of them
were without muskets; and very f ere of those
that had them, were in possession of the
bayonet belonging to it. Our laboratory
tent* was pitched at the end of the square,
at the door of which was placed a large table,
covered with a crimson velvet cloth -f, richly
decorated with gold. — TheGovernor (General
Gomez), and Arismendi, took their seats at
* This is a large tent, which is always attached to an artil
lery dep6t, for the artillerymen to make up their ammunition,
and fill their shells in.
f This was evidently a prize taken out of some church.

316 EXPEDITION UP THE
this table, and the question was put to each
of us as we passed singly in rotation, if we
had any complaint to prefer ; and our names
were entered (as citizens) in the military
books. Our answer was not very conso
nant to our feelings; yet it would have been
to no purpose to have uttered a complaint, as
that would have only rendered our situa
tion more unpleasant, and perhaps seriously
grievous. — This tedious process (in perfect
harmony with the trifling and prosing cha
racter of these people) lasted until two
o'clock, and in the afternoon we were ordered
out to manoeuvre. After going through the
brigade duties, with great credit to our re
cruits, the cavalry and infantry were ranged
in order of battle, and we opened a brisk
fire upon them. At length the cavalry, ela
ted with a scene so unusual to them, charged
our guns, thinking to throw us into confu
sion ; but they met with so warm a recep
tion, that the results of it occasioned us the
greatest mirth for some time, as it fully
proved the mettle and discipline of their
animals. They commenced the attack, and
were greeted with the discharge of our

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 317
guns in all directions ; each piece firing in
dependently. As soon as the smoke cleared
away and rendered objects distinguishable,
we perceived a great number of horses lying
in the dust in front of our guns, apparently
deprived of all motion. At first we were
tempted to believe that we had done some
serious mischief, but in a short lapse of time
we were agreeably undeceived ; for it proved
that the close connexion they had had with us,
had not been so interesting, or redounded so
much to their honour, as they had antici
pated. — The next day the whole of the troops
were reviewed by General Arismendi and
Admiral Brion ; and the salutes, &c. custo
mary on these occasions, were performed by
the Independents, though in a manner which
would have appeared highly ridiculous to
any British regiment.— The artillery, which
was manoeuvred by drag- ropes, was preceded
by Governor Gomez, in advance of whom
were two ragamuffin drummers. Imme
diately in our rear followed the infantry ;
and, to close the line of march, the impreg
nable cavalry I have mentioned. In this
order we marched in ordinary time past the

318 EXPEDITION UP THE
Generals, to whom we paid the usual com
pliment. As soon as the whole of the troops
had passed, the artillery (after making a long
circuit) were ordered to take up their origi
nal ground, where, we untimbered and fired
a salute, which closed this grand review."
He further says, " General Urdaneta, Ge
neral Valdes, and their staff arrived about
this period from Angostura. The former was
to command the expedition from this place,
destined for the Main, and composed of the
British troops, artillery, and a battalion of
natives. No sooner was the arrival of these
two generals known, and the errand they
came upon, than our native artillerymen, to
the number of one hundred, took their arms
and deserted to the mountains, resolving not
to proceed on any expedition from the island,
saying that they should be served in the same
manner as Marino's men (never suffered to
return) ; but that it might be very well for
the English troops to go, as they had no tie
to keep them. So much for the zeal, enthu
siasm, and sentiments of nearly five thousand
of the republicans ! — General Gomez (late
Governor) was ordered to attend the expe-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 319
dition, in command of a party of the natives,
and preparations were made for that purpose
on the part of the British. Yet our brigade,
and in fact the whole of the natives destined
to depart, still continued in the mountains,
and bade defiance to all orders that were is
sued for their immediate mustering. Through
such conduct, and by this reluctance to per
form their duty of leading the way to the
thickest of the battle, they opened a fine
prospect to those who were to march into
the field with them. The sons of Margarita,
who had been held up as the heroes and li
berators of the New World, fled to the
mountains when summoned to the onset, and
basely refused to accompany their allies, the
British, to the opposite coast !"
Of their Brutal Mode of Warfare,
Mr. Hackett says, "Nor should I omit re
ferring to the exterminating and ferocious
principle on which the war is carried on ;
each side being so enfuriated against the
other by a long train of barbarities and cold
blooded slaughter, as to render it almost ne
cessary for those who actually engage in the

320 EXPEDITION UP THE
struggle to divest their minds of every feeling
of humanity, and prepare themselves to be
not only witnesses of, but participators in,
acts of the most revolting and indiscriminate
brutality. — Unhappily the work of death
terminates not with the battle, for on what
soever side victory rests, the events which
immediately succeed those sanguinary strug
gles are such as must cast an indelible stain
upon the Spanish- American Revolution. The
engagement is scarcely ended, when an in
discriminate massacre of the prisoners lakes
place; nor is the slaughter only confined to
the captives; the field also undergoes an in
spection, when the helpless wounded are in like
manner put to the sword. It is a melancholy
truth, that the sanguinary and ferocious cha
racter of the warfare, which has reflected
lasting disgrace on the contending parties on
the continent of South America, also governs
the proceedings of the hostile navies ; the
indiscriminate destruction of prisoners, is
most generally accomplished by compelling
the ill-fated captives to pass through the
ceremony, which is technically called walking
the plank. For this purpose, a plank is

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 321
made fast on the gangway of the ship, with
one end projecting some feet beyond the side ;
the wretched victims are then forced, in suc
cession, to proceed along the fatal board, and
precipitate themselves from its extremity into
the ocean; whilst those who, instinctively
clinging to life, hesitate prompt obedience to
the brutal mandate, are soon compelled, at
the point of the spear, to resign themselves
to a watery grave, to avoid the aggravated
cruelties of their inhuman conquerors."
Mr. Brown says, " During the time we
were at Angostura, I one afternoon, in com
pany with another officer, went about two
miles from the gates, and proceeded to a
part where the advanced posts of the Royalists
had been stationed, at the time of the attack
made by the Patriots on this place, in the be
ginning of 1817- On our road to this post,
in order to see its situation, we passed through
a field of remarkably high grass, which rose
above our heads ; here we were surprised
by the appearance of a great heap of human
bones : on searching farther we discovered
in different places several hundred skeletons,
some of which were quite perfect. This was
y

322 EXPEDITION UP THE
evidently the place where the last effort of
resistance was made by the Spaniards ; and
upon a strict examination we were convinced,
from the marks we found upon two-thirds of
the skulls, that they had been dispatched by
their conquerors in cold blood, after being
made prisoners, and left unburied amongst
the killed of the Patriots, to feed the wild
beasts and zamoras (or black vultures). On
our return we passed the burying-ground of
the citizens of Angostura, which is about a
mile from the town, and close to a convent
now converted into a hospital ; here we wit
nessed another sight still more horrid than
the one we had left. A number of these
black vultures were tearing the body of a
recently buried man out of his grave, and
had already devoured the flesh of his legs ;
they continued their shocking feast until we
came close to them, and they then unwil
lingly hopped a few yards out of the way,
evidently bent on resuming their meal as
soon as we should pass.. A native who was
coming from the hospital, gave us to under
stand, with the greatest unconcern, that this
was a very common scene, as a body never re-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 323
mained under ground many minutes after
it was committed to the earth. The manner
in which they bury them is by digging a hole
about one foot deep, and spreading in it the
hide of an ox lately killed ; the body is then
placed naked on the hide, a little earth is
thrown over it as a covering, and it is thus
left to be torn up in a few minutes by the
beasts and birds of prev."
Major Flinter says, "During my re
sidence in the province of Caraccas, at a very
critical period, I had not only an opportunity
of observing every part of the country, and
the disposition of its inhabitants, but also the
conduct of the Spanish government , towards
the natives ; and I do not hesitate a moment
in declaring, that it was always humane and
conciliatory, whilst, on the contrary, the In
surgent leaders have continually endeavoured
to outvie each other in acts of barbarity. — The
line of conduct pursued by the Patriots
in murdering all the prisoners who had the
misfortune to fall into their power, compelled
the Spanish commander to give no quarter,
and many unfortunate men perished on both
sides." v 2

324 expedition up the
Of the Wretchedness of the Coun
try, Mr. Hackett says, " The informa
tion received from the Officers in the Pa
triot-service to whom I have just referred,
was to the following purport : they assured
us, that in consequence of the extended du
ration of the war, and the exterminating
principle upon which it had been conducted,
the country in general displayed one uniform
scene of devastation and wretchedness. —
The sufferings which the Independents un
dergo during their campaigns, from the diffi
culty of procuring food, are most severe ;
mules' flesh, wild fruits, and some dried corn,
which they carry loose in their pockets, fre
quently constituting the whole of their sub
sistence : and we were confidently assured,
that the army under General Bolivar has even
often been for days together dependent for
support solely upon the latter description of
provisions and water. Pay was now totally
unknown to them, in consequence of the
utter exhaustion of their resources ; and,
however successful they might eventually be,
there existed no probability whatever, that
they would even then possess the means of

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 325
affording pecuniary compensation to those
who may have participated in the struggle.
— I dined several times with the General (he
is second in command to Bolivar) ; there
were usually several of the Chief officers at
table. The dinner always consisted of bread,
fish, and execrable rum and water, (there
was not a bottle of wine in the island). The
table was set out under a shed at the back of
the remains of a house ; they never in ge
neral are able to muster a plate between two ;
if not, a saucer or earthen pan answers the
purpose. We were at no loss for knives and
forks, as they generally make use of their
fingers in preference."
Mr. Brown says, "For the first three
weeks of our stay at Margarita, the officers
dined at the table of the Commander-in-chief,
General Arismendi, when we certainly fared
better than we had at Angostura ; though
very little ceremony was observed at this
military banquet, as the fingers, in general,
are the only knives and forks used upon these
occasions." Colonel Hippisley saj»s, "I had to
lament, two days after, the relapse of several

326 EXPEDITION UP/ THE
of the men, and of two or three -of the of
ficers, who, though not entirely laid up, were
by slight feVers and loss of appetite, reduced
in strength, and losing ground daily. I was
myself much weakened by heat, and want of
proper food. I could not partake of the
beef, which from want of being properly
blooded when killed, and being instantly
after cut, or rather pulled to pieces, and
thrown quivering into the boiler, looked hor
rible. The feeders of a dog-kennel in Eng
land wouldhave been ashamed to take horse
flesh so mangled to their brute charge. Those
men who had preserved their health were
attacked slightly, and this proceeded from
the effect of fetching water from the river,
and exposed to the extreme heat of the sun.
I was obliged therefore to get them all struck
off garrison-duty, and even to discontinue the
daily drills. — Nothing but carrion-beef could
be obtained for either officer or man."
Major Flinter says, "Rendered fierce
and inhuman by the perpetration of a con
tinual series of enormities, they are now be
come a race of savage barbarians, and their
country a frightful desert."

orinoco and arauca. 327
Of the Pestilential Nature of the
Climate, Mr. Hackett says, "These par
ticulars appeared to us in themselves conclu
sive, against both the policy and propriety
of engaging in the Spanish- American war;
but they were further enforced by a conside
ration, which many will probably regard as
entitled to most serious attention, although
one which alone certainly would not in the
slightest degree have influenced our deter
mination. Few need be informed of the
strength and peculiar character of constitu
tion, which are requisite for enabling Euro
peans to resist the destructive effects of a
tropical climate, even when enjoying every
advantage which wealth or luxury can bestow ;
but if thus naturally injurious, under circum
stances the most favourable towards correct
ing its malignity, how infinitely must its vi-
rulency be increased by the extreme fatigue,
deficiency of nourishment, and inadequacy of
clothing, suffered by the Independents during
their predatory campaigns. Being destitute
of tents, or change of dress, they are invari
ably exposed to every vicissitude of weather
in a country where the transitions are sudden

328 EXPEDITION UP THE
and extreme. After getting drenched with
heavy rains, they have no other resource, than
that of allowing their dripping garments to
dry upon their backs, under the influence
of a scorching sun. — The troops, continually
in the open air, and devoid of any protec
tion from the weather, are necessarily exposed
at night to the heavy fogs and dews, which
in the West Indies are so dreadfully destruc
tive to human health; and the severity and
hardship of their campaigns, in every respect
infinitely greater than can readily be con
ceived, by those who have been only sub
jected to the privations usually encountered
by a British army in the field. Even the
natives themselves sustain serious injury and
sufferings ; but the uniform testimony of
every individual acquainted with Venezuela,
concurred in assuring us that a campaign in
that country, under such circumstances, could
not otherwise than prove more fatal to Eu
ropeans, than even the sword itself."
Colonel Hippisley says, "The utter
want of a commissariat, and the intolerable
heat of the climate, involve a complication
of miseries which no European constitution

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 329
can withstand ; and the author has to lament
the death of the great majority of his com
panions, who perished, like infected lepers,
without sustenance and without aid from the
unfeeling wretches in whose behalf they fell."
"Major Flinter says, " But now let
us look to the other disheartening circum
stances, which oppose them in their aerial
views : few European constitutions are able
to resist the effects of the climate, aggrava
ted by a continual exposure to the scorching
rays of a tropical sun during the day, and
the heavy dews of the night, which prove
more fatal to an European army than the
sword. Added to this the extreme difficulty,
and even, sometimes, the impossibility of
procuring a morsel of the most common
food ; and in the event of being wounded,
which is probable, and in case of sickness,
which is almost certain, there is no hospital,
no surgeon, no medicine, no nurse, no com
fort, nothing to administer consolation or to
procure relief. These are privations which
the spirit of a soldier could hardly surmount,
even when lead on in an honourable cause,
or in the service of his country."

330 EXPEDITION UP THE '
Such is the nature of the country, the peo
ple, and the government, for which British
blood and treasure have been poured out. Let
us inquire how they have obtained such sacri
fices, and the return they have made for them.
Of the Deception and Fraud em
ployed by their Agents in order to pro
cure these, Mr. Hackett says, "It is upon
the latter gentleman (Mendez) therefore, ex
clusively, that the responsibility must rest,
of having excited hopes which he must have
known would never be , realized ; of having
guaranteed the performance of conditions,
the fulfilment whereof he must have been
aware was impracticable ; and of having in
duced those desirous of embarking in this
destructive enterprize, to believe that their
services would be joyfully and gratefully ac
cepted by the Independent Generals and their
armies ; whilst he, at the same time, could
scarcely have been ignorant, that the strongest
hostility was manifested by the Patriots to
the admission of foreign assistance; and that
the jealousy of the native troops of those
few British officers who had been tempted ac
tually to join their armies was so rancorous,

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 33 1
as to subject them to the perpetual hazard of
assassination.— My anxiety is to warn my
countrymen of the fallacy, of those hopes
they have been led to entertain ; to explain
to them the true character of the enterprize,
the estimation in which their services will be
held, and the imminent hazard they must
inevitably encounter from the jealousy of the
natives. — We indeed concurred in one strong
feeling of dissatisfaction and displeasure, but
our indignation was exclusively directed
against that individual in London, by whose
hollow and faithless engagements we had
been all equally ensnared."
The Author of an Account of a
Voyage in theTwo Friends, says, " We
bad waited at our hotel (at St Thomas's) with
some impatience, the appearance of the ac
credited agent of Venezuela, when a gentle
man who had previously arrived upon the
same unfortunate enterprize, and under simi
lar instructions, came to inform us that no
such agent was to be found on the island ; nor
had there been one from the republic. The ob
ject of our enterprize soon circulated through
the town, and many of the merchants and

332 EXPEDITION UP THE
other respectable residents, hastened to relieve
our minds from the pains of fruitless expecta
tion, sympathizing in our distressed situation,
and lamenting the deception that had decoyed
us from our country to embark in a cause
BOTH DESPICABLE AND DISHONOURA
BLE. This intelligence came upon us like a
clap of thunder, involving in darkness and
destruction our golden day-dreams, and pro
strating in the dust all our brilliant anticipa
tions. This splendid republic, which the vivid
imaginations of its agents had displayed in
all the seductive colouring of pomp and glory,
was now reduced to a few bands of itinerant
free-booters, calling themselves Patriots and
champions of their country, a distinction to
which they were as much entitled as the
roving marauding Arabs of the desert."
Mr. Buown says, "Before I close this
narrative, in which it has been my object
to show the contending parties in that
impartial light which is consistent with
truth ; I beg leave to state, that my incite
ment to offer to the public perusal a journal
of sufferings in which I was so great a sharer,
was a wish, in some degree, to remove the

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 333
ignorance and uncertainty, which on my ar
rival in London seemed to prevail, relative to
the affairs in Spanish America, and to expose
the delusions still practised by the interested
agents, employed by those persons now mate
rially concerned in the success of the patriots
of South America, who, well aware of the
unprecedented misery that awaits the volun
teer, still hold out to him the alluring promise
of speedily accumulating a fortune and mi
litary preferment."
Of the Ill-treatment of the Bri
tish who have served the Independents,
Mr. Hackett says, " Already enthusiasm,
seductive promises, or disappointed hopes,
have induced a considerable number to em
bark for the purpose of attaching their for
tunes to that of the South- American Inde
pendents ; and of those a great proportion
have either actually perished, or unable to
procure the means of returning to their na
tive land, are probably at this moment wan
dering friendless and destitute among the
West India islands dependent upon the bounty
of the humane and charitable. A few, in
deed, not equally devoid of resources, or to

334 EXPEDITION UP THE
whom sympathy for their sufferings induced
some kind-hearted seaman to afford a gratui
tous passage, have returned to Europe —
warning examples to those who may at this
moment be preparing under a similar delu
sion, to engage in the same hopeless specula
tion. — Of the few thus rescued from impend
ing misery, it was my good fortune to be
one. — On referring to these gentlemen for
information relative to the estimation in
which foreign aid was held by the Indepen
dents, and how far our services would be con
sidered of value, they stated that the Patriots,
in general, were decidedly adverse to the in
troduction of other than natives into their
armies: arms and ammunition appeared the
only supplies they were desirous of accepting;
that the introduction of British officers, par
ticularly, had always excited greater jealousy
and dissension amongst the native troops,
than their most zealous exertions could pos
sibly make amends for ; and to so violent a
pitch had their jealous feelings carried them,
as to subject foreigners, attached to the Pa
triot-service, to perpetual hazard of assassina
tion ; and rendered it prudentially necessary,

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 335
that they should, on retiring to repose, place
themselves under the protection of sentries
on whose fidelity they could depend. — That
similar sentiments were entertained by Gene
ral Bolivar himself, was strongly manifested
by the total indifference with which he treated
a dispatch, which had been forwarded to
him through his Agent, Mr. Guthrie, some
time previous to our departure from Saint
Bartholomew's, apprising him of our arrival
in the West Indies, our strength, equipments,
&c. This dispatch Mr. Guthrie assured us
was personally delivered to General Bolivar,
who, however, never condescended to return
any answer. The letters of introduction with
which numerous individuals had been fur
nished -by Don Mendez, were treated with
like indifference ; and their bearers, instead
of procuring the commissions for which they
had stipulated, were compelled to accept
whatever rank he thought proper to confer on
them ; and have in numerous instances, been
even degraded to the situation of common
soldiers in his army. — Their obstinate hosti
lity to the admission of foreign aid, can in a
great measure be accounted for from a con-

336 EXPEDITION UP THE
fidence in their own numerical strength, and
the obvious weakness of the mother-country.
They encourage a probably well-grounded
conviction, that, however the contest may be
protracted, success must ultimately attach
itself to their party ; and an anxiety to enjoy
the entire fruits of their triumph, has created
this aversion to the admission of foreigners,
whose services, they cannot but know, are
proffered rather from motives of personal
aggrandizement, than any particular solici
tude for the emancipation of South Ame
rica." The Author of an Account of a Vov-
age in the Two Friends, says, " The
narrator has left untouched, the merits of the
original question, between the Insurgents of
Spanish America, and the parent-state, fully
aware of his incompetence to determine a
subject of such grave importance, merely
animadverting upon the conduct of the cause,
and its probable progress, with the view of
explaining his motives, for dissuading his
countrymen from giving implicit credit to
the specious promises and false representa
tions of interested individuals.— To detail

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 337
this infatuated enterprize, to describe the mi
series of my comrades, and our disappoint
ments, is the object of the present narrative,
hoping at the same time, that it may deter
others from becoming the victims of credu
lity, and the devoted instruments of wicked
and unprincipled men, who would willingly
make the bodies of their generous allies steps
to their ambition and power. — Out of eighty
passengers on board the Two Friends many
have sunk under their accumulated sufferings
to rise no more ; others, whose minds were
not sufficiently strong to encounter the frowns
of fortune and the desolation of their hopes,
have, from the despondency of feeling, and
pressure of misfortune in the loss of reason, lost
the sense of calamity. Some were doomed to
wander about the West India islands in ab
ject misery, exposed to the destructive in
fluence of climate, and the horrors of famine,
until the generous kindness of Admiral Har
vey induced him to furnish many of those vic
tims with passages to England. In my pro
gress through the United States of America,
I have seen those who are, perhaps, destined
by this calamitous adventure, to eternal

338 EXPEDITION UP THE
separation from that home dear to every
Englishman : scarcely twenty-two have
joined the cause of South America, and
many of that unfortunate number were of
the least respectable, whose misfortunes, fol
lies or indiscretions had concurred to impel
them to self-banishment from their country,
and to seek, in the dangers of distant and
destructive climes, relief to the misery, and
refuge from -the pains of retrospection. — We
were at first willing to ascribe to exaggeration
those gloomy and disgusting descriptions;
but the numerous victims of that ill-fated
contest, who were here, maimed in the ser
vice of the insurgents, and abandoned by
them without succour and without support
because they had ceased to be useful, at
tested too strongly the facts we had collec
ted. — Arismendi, aware that the Two Friends
had on board four pieces of cannon, sent to
demand them, at the same time directing the
people of the ship to assist in the construc
tion of a battery to receive them. — In the
mean time the Captain of the Two Friends,
quitted Margarita, and proceeded up the
Orinoco, to demand from Bolivar, the pay-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 339
ment of the two hundred dollars, for each
passenger, promised by Mendez, and to ob
tain a commission for his ship, to cruize un
der the Venezuelan flag, leaving instructions
with those, to whose care the vessel was con
fided during his absence, to await his arrival
one month ; if he failed to> return in that
time, they were to depart with the ship from
Margarita. — No sooner had the people suc
ceeded in the erection of the battery, and
landed and mounted the guns, than Aris
mendi, in the plenitude of his authority and
the characteristic honesty of his partisans,
demanded that the provisions on board the
Two Friends, should be delivered for the use
of his garrison. This requisition being re
sisted, he directed the guns of the battery,
which they had so recently constructed,
to be turned against the ship, to enforce
his orders : with difficulty the crew succeeded
in getting under-weigh, but not until after
they had received considerable injury, and
were in danger of being entirely destroyed. —
During my tour through the United States
of America, I met several officers, both Ame
rican and English, who had quitted in se-
z 2

340 EXPEDITION UP THE
crecy and disgust the armies of the Insur
gents. Many had been wounded in their
battles, but were abandoned, without pen
sions and without pay, to the misery of
want, since they had ceased to be useful. —
This jealousy of the merits of their suppor
ters, the most illiberal and disgraceful, ex
tends to exclude them from the higher ranks
of the service ; and so far does this spirit in
fluence the Republican leaders, that they
receive with suspicion, and treat with con
temptuous neglect, every effort to improve
their discipline and resources, when recom
mended by foreigners."
Colonel HiPPisLEYsays, "He ventures
to think that the example of the first English
colonel, who led a force to the aid of the Pa
triots, — that the simple narrative of the dif
ficulties, privations, and insults to which he
was subjected, — that the sufferings of his
fellow-soldiers, his own unexampled ill-treat
ment, and the base juggling by which his
just claims have been defeated, would suffice
as a warning to such of his deluded country
men as are inspired by feelings similar . to
hose which embarked him in this ungrate-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 341
ful service. — ' I again made application for
money," says he, " and urged it with every pos
sible exertion, particularly when I found that
the officers were selling even their clothing, to
obtain it for absolutely necessary expenses.
I was assured by the Intendant-general that
every endeavour to obtain a supply should
be made, and he undertook to promise that
some pay should be forthcoming before we
left Angostura. I had been obliged to part
with many of my own articles, some of which
were indeed superfluous, in order to meet
my immediate wants.— -The Governor Mon-
tillo had ordered a parade of all the British
in the garrison, at least those who composed
Colonel Wilson's, and the first Venezuelan
Huzzars. It was for the purpose of swear
ing-in the officers and men of each regiment,
and receiving their oath of fidelity and at
tachment to the Republic of Venezuela. All
the men of the Red Huzzars refused to take
the oath, or in any other way to bind them
selves, unless they received at least a part of
the eighty dollars per man, guaranteed to
them by Don Mendez, in London, and which
was to be paid to them on their arrival on

342 EXPEDITION UP THE
the shores of the Main. A few of the first
Venezuelan Huzzars came forward to be
sworn, and when they were called upon to
advance and kiss the colours, all but six re
fused ; giving the same reason as the non
commissioned officers of the other corps.
With my own people, I admitted the justice
of their claim, and I gave them my solemn
promise that I would support it with all the
energy in my power; but in a way that
should reflect no dishonour on our conduct
as men and soldiers ; that I would remon
strate in their names, and in the names of
their officers, on the hardship of our situa
tion, and on our distresses and wants ; and I
also assured them, that if the means of the
Republic were so scanty, and the actual de
ficiency of money so certain and acknow
ledged, provided the governor could only or
der the officer two hundred dollars to be
issued for the present, that I and the others
would freely share a certain portion with the
non-commissioned officers, until they each
received payment of their own.— General
Montillo was puzzled what to do at the mo
ment ; he therefore commanded the main-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 343
guard to be augmented, and privately di
rected some of the native artillerymen to
take possession of a brass nine-pounder,
which stood nearly opposite the government-
house. — In consequence of a note, request
ing an audience, I had an interview with the
general. I produced my accounts with my
signature, and vouched for, under the hands
of the pay-master, and the quarter-master of
the regiment. The items were perfectly ex
plained to him, the cause which occasioned
such expenditure, and the amount of the
sum total. His reply was worthy of himself
— full of subtilty, evasion, deceit, dishonour,
and base ingratitude. ' The amount might be
perfectly correct : he did not doubt its accu
racy on any point ; but where was Mr. Men-
dez's signature ? -Could I produce his order
for the payment? Why did not Mr. Men
dez advance the money in England, or ob
tain credit for it amongst the regular mer
chants there ?' Having then twirled up his
mustachios, and looking fierce, he repeated
these questions. I told him that I had ad
vanced the sum there specified on the faith
and integrity of the Republic, and on the

344 EXPEDITION UP THE
solemn assurances from Mr. Mendez that
every shilling I so advanced would be paid
me, even with interest ; that Mr. Mendez
stated the Supreme Chief of the Republic
to be possessed of too much honour to dis
pute the payment of any sums expended in
their service, and so authenticated. ' Tell
the General,' I added ' that it is true I have
not Mr. Mendez's signature annexed to this
account, because we both thought it unne
cessary, as I bore about me an instrument
signed by him,' and witnessed by his secre
tary and confidental friend in England, gua
ranteeing to me the repayment of all my ex
penditure on behalf of the Republic, and I
hold the same now in my hand for the gene
ral's perusal. It contains also a guarantee
that I should be paid two hundred dollars on
landing. I should be glad to receive that
sum now, and so would my half-starved of
ficers and men the sums respectively, and in
like manner guaranteed to them. With regard
to the general's second question, I should
answer with equal truth, that Mr. Mendez
could not obtain credit in England for 10/.
in cash. Neither banker nor merchant there

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 345
would advance him any money, until they
heard that the goods already furnished on the
credit of the Republic were paid for; and I
should take care, whether I lived or died,
that the history of my wrongs should find
its way home.— Independent of my own two
hundred dollars, I had advanced to many of
the officers money on account of their equip
ments, to be paid out of their promised pay
on arriving in South America. I had gua
ranteed the payment of several of the trades
men's bills for them, and made myself liable.
The eighty dollars per man had been in part
mortgaged for these expenses and risks ; and
was I to lose my name and character for
honour and honesty at home, in consequence
of not making the promised remittances ? I
trusted, therefore, that the general would not
suffer me to sustain so severe an injury. It
would be a species of such cruelty and fraud,
that I felt convinced he would only require my
statement to be made clear to him, to induce
him to grant me immediate redress. — I further
expressed that 1 should be satisfied if he would
order me to be furnished with a certain num
ber of mules on account, and release me and

346 EXPEDITION UP THE
my friends from the guarantees we had given
in England on behalf of the government. I
did not then ask the general for the arrears
of pay ; I asked him only for an allowance
to keep my officers and men from starving,
and an order for the mules, that their pro
duce might be transmitted to England to my
agent there, to be distributed amongst my
creditors.' — Before I rose, he said, ' if Mr.
Mendez would sign my statement, he would
order immediate payment.' — We zvere now
at the height of distress. The men were lite
rally starving, and.naturally discontented. —
I had sold every thing I could dispose of
Bolivar himself had bought my cocked hat
and feather, and my cap ; my aiguillette he
lost : although he wished to purchase it, yet
he did not like to express such a desire to
me. The two hundred dollars I never re
ceived, and it was very galling to behold the
generals and native officers of rank living
uncommonly well, and the British officers
and men, to whom the government owed
such considerable arrears, starving, or strip
ping themselves naked to purchase the ab
solute necessaries of life. — I found that I had

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 347
been the dupe of two artful, designing crimps
at home, and had ventured my all upon the
hazard of a die, with the odds so consider
ably against me, as to render it next to an
impossibility for me ever to retrieve myself.
It was impracticable therefore to remain in
such a service, and under such a Republic,
with such an illiberal and ungrateful charac
ter as Bolivar at its head, without pay, with
out allowance, without the necessary supplies
for the exigencies of nature — subjected to all
the horrors of famine and distress, and ex
posed to misery, disease, and assassination ;
without the hope of ever being able to trans
mit the smallest portion of the hard-earned
emoluments (so solemnly engaged for) to
creditors or relations at home — together with
the distress and anxiety of mind occasioned
by the recollection that the bills I had nego-
ciated in England were becoming due, and
that my liberal friends, who had guaranteed
the payment of others for my use, would be
called upon to perform such obligations. I
determined to return to England, leaving it
however in the power of Bolivar to recall me,
or even then to retain me in the service of

348 EXPEDITION UP THE
the Republic, a willing volunteer, by dis
charging the obligations I held against the
government, and by affording to my unfor
tunate companions in arms the means of
procuring the actual necessaries of life."
Mr. Brown says " He feels it a duty
which he owes to his countrymen, to exert
his humble efforts for the purpose of prevent
ing them, by all the means in his power,
from precipitating themselves into that mi
sery from which, after a tedious period of
sufferings, he has succeeded in extricating
himself.— 'In an unlucky hour I resolved to
contribute my feeble efforts towards the
emancipation of an oppressed, and, as I then
imagined, a deserving people.— The brigade
having been disbanded, because our dis
patches to General Bolivar were not acknow
ledged, though forwarded at considerable
danger and expense, to the patriot army,
then about eight hundred miles up the river
Orinoco, I was left destitute in a part of the
world to which I was an utter stranger ; and
my only resource was to join Colonel Camp
bell's corps of riflemen , who, I understood , were
resolved to prosecute their voyage at all ha-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 349
zards.— Commodore Jolie, a Frenchman,
and second in command under Bryon, had
been dispatched with three schooners and a
brig, to cruize in the colonies, for the purpose
of collecting a number of sailors to man the
Victoria and the rest of the fleet, which were
nearly destitute of men : more than a third,
of their companions having been carried off
by sickness, and the residue having quitted
in disgust that service in which they had risked
and suffered so much, without the smallest
recompence.—l attended the interment of
one of our English soldiers, who was a Ro
man Catholic. To prevent infection, as soon
as he had ceased to breathe, he was tied up
in his blanket and removed out of the bar
racks into the air. Colonel G. then ordered
me to acquaint the commandant of the vil
lage of his decease, in order that a shell
might be instantly made to bury him in.
This was refused ; and we were directed to
inter him immediately in the best manner we
could. Indignant at this disrespect of a
British soldier, Colonel G. dispatched a na
tive officer, named Gonsalvas, who had been
admitted into the brigade in order to be in-

350 EXPEDITION UP THE
structed in the artillery-duties, to request
the priest would, as the deceased was a ca
tholic, see that the usual ceremony was
performed. The answer we received was,
that the priest would at a future time put up
his prayers for him, but that at present we must
lose no time in committing him to the earth
Accordingly, without further solicitation or
permission, we dug a hole behind the
church, and there deposited the body. The
natives loudly protested against this proceed
ing as a sacrilege. We had nearly filled up
the grave, when I perceived Gonsalvas has
tening to the spot, attended by a party of na
tives, bearing two immense and unwieldy
earth rammers. They approached the grave,
and were proceeding to take out the earth
already returned to its original place. From
this unaccountable and infamous step I pe
remptorily desired them to desist, and we
were upon the point of giving them a rough
salute, when a messenger from those bigotted
fanatics, as also another from the command
ant, insisted upon our compliance with their
commands. As it would be fruitless to make
any further opposition, I ordered the detach-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 351
ment to their barracks, and quitted these
uncivilized brutes, whose countenances ex
pressed a grin of satisfaction at being able
to act with impunity. They took the whole
of the earth out again, and having sprinkled
it about an inch deep over the body, two of
them took their stations at the head and feet,
and commenced breaking the bones of the de
ceased until they had pounded them to a jelly.
This is their barbarous and savage manner
of burial; for they never raise their graves
above the level of the ground, consequently
all must go into the smallest space : to effect
which, the body is pounded in the manner
I have described, after which several heavy
stones are placed upon the grave, to prevent,
as they say, the defunct from visiting the
earth again. — The house or hut in which I
was quartered, with Lieutenant B. (who had
been ordered to the Norte, from Juan Greigo)
was situated about twenty paces from the
church. A numerous and dirty family resided
in this hovel, which contained three miserable
apartments, destitute of the least appearance
of furniture, with the exception of two or three
filthy hammocks, in which they were con-

352 EXPEDITION UP THE
stantly swinging. One miserable room was
allotted to the use of my companion and my
self: a feeble light was admitted through a
wooden grating at the end of this apartment;
but in order to render objects distinguish
able, we were obliged to throw open our door
communicating with the apartment occupied
by the family. The floor was of mud or
clay, on which I laid my bed, which was a
straw mat, to purchase which I had sold
some of my remaining things. It was now
completely worn out by a long encampment
at Juan Greigo, where it was exposed in ge
neral with every article in my possession to
the nightly rain, which penetrated my old
and tattered tent as it would a sieve. One
evening, about a fortnight after the inter
ment of the artilleryman I have mentioned,
I seriously apprehended, from a violent pain
in my head, (that being the first symptom)
that the fever had at last seized me ; and I
accordingly, by the advice I had often re
ceived from my friend (the French doctor),
took a copious draught of lime juice, as hot
as I could well bear it, in order to produce
perspiration and check the disorder, which

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 353
it will frequently do if taken in time ; but
without success. By midnight I was in a
raging state of delirium, which continued
with little intermission for seventy-two hours,
and at the expiration of that period the fever
arrived at its crisis. The breaking out of a
wound in my leg, which had been healed up
too quickly, and which with several others
had originated from bad living, and the ve
nomous bites of musquitoes, gave a favourable
turn to the disorder. — After the malignancy
of my fever had subsided, and I was pro
nounced out of danger by Dr. Monkhouse,
who had occasionally attended me, Admiral
Bryon, being then at Norte, did me the ho
nour of a visit; and, upon entering the room
and seeing my miserable situation, exclaimed
with apparent astonishment, " Good God !
Captain Brown, have you no other than that
wretched mat for your bed ? And is this the
only place that can be procured for an inva
lid, and an officer in the service of the Re
public ? Have no wine and other necessaries,
so essential for you, been sent by the order
of General Arismendi ?" These inquiries I
answered in the negative ; he expressed his
2 A

354 EXPEDITION UP THE
sorrow at such neglect, and promised to send
me a hammock and a sufficient supply of
those things which were indispensable to my
recovery immediately. As I did not enter
tain a doubt that he would keep his word, I
made an effort to return my respectful and
grateful thanks for his kindness : yet no
sooner had he quitted my quarters than the mi
serable situation in which he had left me was
forgotten, and the dictates of common huma
nity, together with the promises which, even
if he had not made them, itwashisduty to have
seen fulfilled to us, were disregarded. Hitherto
I had entertained a good opinion of Bryon,
but this act, with his subsequent behaviour,
entirely changed it, and confirmed me in
the belief that no confidence could be re
posed in his most solemn protestations. — One
morning, in returning to my pallet from
the bed-side of my friend, I perceived
through the wooden grating, four of our ar
tillery-men bearing the body of my faithful
servant to its last abode in the fields ; the
priest having issued a peremptory order
that the heretics, as they termed the Eng
lish, .should not be buried in consecrated

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 355
grounds. — As I recovered from the fever, my
leg got gradually worse ; and I resolved to
take this opportunity of soliciting my pass
port from the service. Accordingly I ad
dressed to Bryon, then commanding the ar
tillery, in conformity to Bolivar's orders, a
letter couched in terms of regret at being
under the necessity of demanding my dis
missal from under the Independent standard,
in consequence of the impaired state of my
constitution, and expressing my opinion that
it would be a long time before I could so far
re-establish my health, if I remained in
South America, as to render my service of
any benefit to the Republic. I also begged
his excellency to take into his consideration
the time I had been under the standard of
liberty, without receiving any emolument
from the government ; adding, that, as he
must be well aware that I was destitute of
all resources, in a pecuniary point of view,
I trusted he would afford me some assist
ance in facilitating my passage to my native
country. — The answer I received from Bryon
was, that every thing I had demanded should
be complied with, and that I should be sup-
2 a 2

356 EXPEDITION UP THE
plied with the means of paying my passage
to England as soon as I was sufficiently re
covered to proceed. To these promises on
his part, Colonel Gilmore and Lieutenant-
Colonel W- were witnesses ; and he likewise
testified to them his regret that Captain
Brown's health rendered it necessary for him
to return to Europe, but added, that care
should be taken that he should not leave
Margarita without being afforded ample
means to ensure a passage to his country. —
As soon, therefore, as I could with safety
mount a horse, (for the hire of which,
arnounting to a dollar, I was obliged to sell
some article or other) I proceeded to the Ad
miralty, in order to have some conversation
with Bryon relative to my departure. He re
ferred me to his Secretary, Colonel Richards,
who returned me my memorial (requesting
my dismission), in the margin of which was
written a note, purporting that all my re
quests should be fulfilled, &c, but as no
money was then in the Treasury, I must post
pone my departure a few days. — I again
hired a horse to Juan Greigo, and waited
upon Colonel Richards, to see if I could now

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 357
procure any money ; but my astonishment
was great when he informed me that nothing
Could be done until the Admiral returned.
I then demanded an audience of General
Arismendi, and requested him to point out
some manner in which I could hasten my de
parture ; as I was given to understand by a
medical officer, that if I did not speedily
procure proper attendance, and adopt a dif
ferent diet, I should inevitably lose my life,
pr must suffer a limb to be amputated.
Arismendi said he could do nothing for me
in a pecuniary way, unless I had some proofs
of Bryon's promises. This I informed him
I would give him, but that I had left the ne
cessary document at Norte, and that I would
produce it in a very few hours. I accord
ingly returned to Norte with alacrity, and
in great spirits, thinking that I had now
settled every thing, and was in a fair way of
bidding adieu for ever to this ungrateful and
wretched set of people. I stopped at the
quarters of Colonel G. (who was confined to
his bed) and stated to him the reason of my
hasty return. He also, in order to render
every thing secure and satisfactory beyond

358 EXPEDITION UP THE
a doubt, wrote a letter to General Aris
mendi, wherein he said that in addition to
the undoubted accordance which Bryon had
placed in writing my memorial, he and Lieu
tenant-Colonel W. were also witnesses as to
Bryon's verbal assurance to them, that I
should be allowed ample means for returning
to England, and that he begged His Excel
lency General Arismendi would expedite my
departure, as His Excellency must necessarily
see the dangerous state to which I was reduced.
With this letter and my memorial, I re
turned to Juan Greigo, and dismounted at
Arismendi's house from my horse, now jaded
by this second journey in one day to Juan
Greigo. I delivered to General Arismendi
the proofs he had required, as to what I had
already mentioned, as also the letter of Co
lonel G. Fortunately Lieutenant-Colonel W.
was with Arismendi, and protested that
Bryon had repeatedly made those promises.
My surprise and indignation were conse
quently great when Arismendi, who now
saw that there was sufficient proof to autho
rize him to pay me a sum of money, (even
on Bryon's private account, without men-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 359
tioning my just claims on the Republic,) de
clared that he could not grant me even my
passport, and that I must memorialize the
Supreme Chief (Bolivar), then at Angostura.
These words, which were delivered with a
kind of malicious smile, as if he gloried in
rendering an heretic miserable, were to me
as a sentence of death ; for I knew it would
be at least six weeks before I could gain an
answer from Angostura, even if an opportu
nity should immediately present itself to send
my memorial, which at that time was not in
the least to be expected. Lieutenant-Colo
nel W. attempted to remonstrate with Aris
mendi on the certain result of my detention,
but without effect ; and I retired with him
with no very enviable feelings, and as may be
expected, with sentiments far from favourable
towards him who had caused them. Yet this
was not all that I had to suffer; for from
that time my rations, as well as the wretched
pittance allowed me, were withheld ; and had
it not been for the fortunate resource I had
in a gentleman, at the Island of St. Thomas,
on whom I drew a bill, which was cashed by
a brother-in-law of Jolie's (Monsieur Peno),

360 EXPEDITION UP THE
who had connexions at that island, I must
have inevitably perished for want. I returned
to Norte, and repaired to the quarters of
Colonel G — , who expressed great sorrow
and indignation at the treatment I had ex
perienced, and protested that if my passport
was not granted, he would demand his own,
as it was an affair that now interested every
Englishman.— Arismendi, however, was in
exorable ; and from the time I had demand
ed my passport, he evinced the greatest ab
horrence of me, though previous to that time
he had shown me most decided marks of con
descension and affability. Thus it is with
most of the native characters of the Republic,
who, while an Englishman will remain a
willing slave to their caprice and tyranny,
may sometimes greet him with a smile,
though nothing more can be expected from
them. My only chance of effecting a de
parture from this service, for which every
day tended to increase my dislike, rested on
the hope of Bryon's speedy return ; since, as
the colonel justly observed, he was bound in
the most sacred bonds of honour, to do away
with all impediments that might be thrown

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 36I
in the way to prevent my immediate depar
ture. — I received my passport the next morn
ing, and immediately repaired to Bryon to
inform him of it, according to his desire. He
received me with coolness ; and perceiving
me waiting for some reply, he demanded in
a surly manner if I had any thing further to
say to him. Stung to the soul by so mean
an evasion, I replied, — " Yes, admiral, you
cannot possibly have forgot the pecuniary aid
you promised me in order to procure a re
turn to that country, in quitting which I
have sacrificed so much to contribute the
little assistance in my power to the service
of the Republic ; and the compensation for
all my sufferings and privations is now the
probable loss of a limb. You are aware of
my present situation, and my utter inability
to procure those indispensable necessaries of
which I am entirely destitute ; and you know
also that since the time of my demanding my
passport, I have been deprived of the small
pittance and wretched rations, until then al
lowed me ; and had it not been for the assist
ance I obtained from a friend, I must ine
vitably have perished for want." I was now

362 EXPEDITION UP THE
upon" the point of retiring, when he said that
he would endeavour to procure me my ar
rears of ration-money, as he was not aware I
had been deprived of it. — I now quitted him
without replying to his latter promises, and
repaired to Colonel G — , then at Juan Gre
igo; to whom I related the infamous treat
ment I had experienced from Bryon, and
gave vent to those invectives against the Re
public, which its ingratitude and the con
duct of most of its chiefs drew from me, and
which I had with difficulty suppressed while
in the presence of Admiral Bryon. — The
Traveller brig was to sail that afternoon, in
order to escape the embargo. General Ur-
daneta sent me an order on the commissary
for the arrears of my ration-money, which
my urgent and destitute situation perempto
rily demanded that I should accept. These
few cut dollars I could not procure in time ;
and had it not been for the kindness of Lieu
tenant-colonel W — , who gave me a part of
the sum, and made himself responsible to pay
for the few necessaries that I had procured as
a sea-stock to St. Thomas, I must have em
barked without it. Colonel G— kindly pro-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 363
Cured for me two or three soldiers' shirts, as
my baggage, with respect to articles of ap
parel, was now reduced to what I had on.
After bidding farewell, and receiving the
sincere wishes of Colonel G — , Lieutenant-
Coloriel W— -, and a few other officers, from
whom I had experienced the greatest kind
ness, I embarked on board the Traveller, and
with a sensation of joy beyond description
found myself once more under the protection
of the British flag. — Part of the troops raised
by Colonel English, who had entrusted them
to the command of Lieutenant-colonel Blos-
set, and their utmost strength did not ex
ceed four hundred : these deluded men dis
embarked the day after their arrival, in full
expectation of receiving their promised bounty
of eighty Spanish dollars each private, and
two hundred dollars the officers. They al
ready fancied their fortunes made on setting
their feet on shore in a country which they,
as well as ourselves, had been given to un
derstand was absolutely inundated with
money. Their disappointment was conse
quently great when they received for their
rations a little salt-fish and bad biscuit, with-

364 EXPEDITION UP THE
out any mention made of their bounty or
even pay. They were crowded into old tents,
and under trees exposed to the scorching
heat of the sun, and with difficulty did they
procure their wretched rations. On the first
evening of their landing, the men discover
ing the manner in which they had been de
ceived, became clamorous in their complaints,
which had nearly led to serious consequences,
as they broke out into open mutiny ; and
were with difficulty appeased by a promise
that their situation should be speedily bet
tered, and that they should receive part of
their bounty immediately. The Angostura
scene was now acted over again by their of
ficers, who were obliged, in order to enable
them to procure common necessaries, to send
out their servants with their apparel for sale,
for which they could get but a trifle in ex
change, as the inhabitants of Margarita are
not much overburthened with money. The
troops under the command of Lieutenant-
colonel Blosset, presented a most wretched
appearance ; they were destitute of all mili
tary clothing or appointment, which they
gave us to understand was to follow them ;

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA, 365
they were for the most part in rags, and
those that had any thing tolerably decent,
were compelled to part with it to purchase
food, as their present rations were so differ
ent from what they expected, that they could
not, like us who were now inured to patrio
tic living, consent to subsist on them so long
as it was possible, at the expense of stripping
themselves to their last article of apparel, to
procure any thing more congenial to their
former manner of living.— The fever soon
spread among the new comers ; and the hos
pital half-way between Juan Greigo and
Norte, which had been appointed for them,
was shortly filled with sick, numbers of whom
breathed their last only a few days after their
arrival in this ill-fated country; in which
they had formed sanguirie expectations of
shortly accumulating a fortune. — After an
encampment of about fourteen days at Juan
Greigo, they were ordered to Pampatar ; on
their arrival at their new quarters nothing
but dissension took place ; and continual
alarms pervaded the breasts of the inhabi
tants as to what might be the result of the
discontent manifested by Los Ingleses, as

366 EXPEDITION UP THE
they termed the British troops, at their shame
ful reception and treatment."
Major Flinter says, "The losses which
this country is sustaining, both in the de
struction of her subjects and in national re
putation, are passed over in silence : we
know and we receive daily information, that
our sons, our brothers, and our countrymen,
are still falling victims to their own credu
lity, in placing belief in the promises of the
Patriot agents ; and that they are most mi
serably perishing by hundreds, through sick
ness and famine, in the midst of these noble,
great and exalted South American Patriots,
by whom they are looked upon with hatred
and contempt, and left to perish, like so
many lepers : and neither affection, huma
nity, nor national pride, stops for a moment
to inquire, whether they are victims to the
glory and welfare of this country ; to the ad
vantage and prosperity of South America ;
to the means of promoting some great ob
ject; or whether they are not merely the
tools, the mercenary soldiers, of captains of
banditti; of men devoid of principle and
honour, whose sole object is plunder."

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 367
Of the Infidelity of the South Ame
ricans to all Engagements, and of
the base and villainous defence which they
make against their fulfilment, the following
is a substantial proof, extracted from the
Morning Chronicle of 17th May, 1820.
Court of King's Bench, May 16.
THOMPSON V. DEVEREUX, ESQ.
This was an action brought by a ship-
broker of Liverpool against the defendant,
General Devereux, a gentlemen of some cele
brity, to recover commission and brokage for
procuring freight, in order to carry out to
Venezuela troops under the defendant's com
mand, in aid of the Spanish Liberales of
South America, at the rate of 3/. a-head per
man. Mr. Chitty conducted the plaintiff's case,
and Mr. Scarlett the defendant's.
On the part of the plaintiff general evi
dence was given, that he was employed by
the defendant as his agent, for the purpose
of hiring ships to carry out troops to assist
Bolivar, Captain-general and Supreme Chief
of the Venezuelan forces in South America,
in the month of June 1819- The case prin-

368 EXPEDITION UP THE
cipally rested on the evidence of a charter
party of the ship Hannah, and it appeared
that a Mr. Macnamara was also one of the
defendant's agents at Liverpool.
On the part of the defendant, it was sub
mitted by Mr. Scarlett, that the plaintiff
could not maintain his action at law, for by
the 9 Geo. 2. c. 35. and the 29 Geo. 2. c. 27.
it was declared to be felony for any subject
of this country to enlist any of His Majesty's
subjects in aid of any foreign potentate, and
therefore it was unlawful to hire any vessel
for the purpose of carrying into effect such
unlawful purpose. He admitted that the late
Foreign Enlistment Act did not comprehend
the present case, inasmuch as it was anterior
to the passing of the law.
The Chief Justice ruled that the objection
was well taken, and therefore directed the
plaintiff to be. non-suited.

A precisely similar case or two have since
occurred, in one of which Messrs. Herring
and Richardson were parties. But it is use
less to dwell on these cases : they are per
fectly notorious.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 369
Of their future conduct to the few
WHO MAY SURVIVE IN THEIR SERVICE,
Mr. Brown says, " This courageous dispo
sition (of the Llaneros) does not extend to
the people of Guyana, who are a pusillani
mous race, yet very proud and haughty, and
remarkably jealous of foreigners, whom- they
consider as interlopers and needy adven
turers. The religion that is inculcated to
them by bigoted fanatics alone, teaches
them to despise the heretics, as they style
the English. Consequently if they now show
so much indifference to Europeans, how wall
¦they comport themselves when they are soli
cited to recompence them for past services,
should they eventually succeed in establish
ing their independence? — In the event of the
success of the Republic, a British subject is
to receive a grant of land equivalent to his
arrears of pay, &e. This land will most pro
bably be given him in a part of the country
in which the natives would refuse to settle ;
and the person put in possession of it, would
be compelled to employ a party of Indians
to reside on his estate, to protect him from
the depredations of the savages and wild
2 B

370 EXPEDITION UP THE
beasts. Yet still will this portion be estimated
at a considerable value, and the incumbent
will be liable to all the inconveniences of a
separation of many leagues from a civilized
settlement. As to promotion, is it not na
tural to imagine that the preference will be
given to natives ? That such is the inten
tion is manifest beyond a doubt, from the
following declaration of their chiefs : — ' We
do not want officers, but men who will carry
the musket, and act in obedience to those of
our countrymen whom we shall be pleased to
appoint to command them/ — The natives
already, while nothing is in their power,
evince great jealousy of the British, whom
they call heretics : what then can an officer
expect, when he shall demand his promised
reward, and be dependent on the smiles of
these now ungrateful people, who, as the vo
lunteer was led to expect, were groaning
under a yoke of misery, and whom the
Royalists ruled with a rod of iron ? Yet what
is now their situation and great change ? —
The Indians, of whom the army is princi
pally composed, are taken from their native
missions, and torn from the bosom of their

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 371
families, to co-operate in the cause of free
dom ; of which, after all their services, they
only retain the empty sound. — It will be evi
dent on a moment's consideration, that the
Republic is greatly involved not only for
supplies received from England to a serious
amount, but also from speculators in the
United States of America, and in the West
India Colonies, the engagements of the lat
ter having been formed at a period when
Englishmen had not yet embarked fortunes
in the cause. These speculators, aware of
their danger, but now too late to retreat, still
assist them, in hopes that additional supplies
may speedily terminate the affair in their fa
vour, and realize their hopes. The Patriots
have arms in their hands, to which they are
unaccustomed, and of the use of which they
are entirely ignorant. In an official and
public dispatch from Morillo, that general
observes, that Spain has no occasion to send
arms and stores to the Royalists ; as Eng
land supplies them abundantly through the
medium of their enemies, who upon all occa
sion throw them away to facilitate their flight
from a steady charge of disciplined troops.
2 b 2

372 EXPEDITION UP THE
Major Flinter says " From the know
ledge I have of the people of South America,
I most confidently assert, that they will
never cordially unite with people of different
customs and habits to their own, but, more
particularly, people whose religious princi
ples are so very opposite, to emancipate
themselves from Spain. And however great
and liberal the advantages held out to them,
and brilliant the consequences, they will
consider them to be too dearly purchased at
the hazard of their religion. The people of
"every country possess prejudices, which have
been handed down from one generation to
another, but no antipathy is so strong as
that which results from the difference of
religious opinion, which it is difficult and
dangerous to eradicate. These are obstacles
which the Anglo-auxiliary patriots will meet
with at the first onset, from the opinion of
the people whose cause they espouse.
Of the MUTUAL JEALOUSY OF THE
South Americans, and of even the most
FAVOURABLE RESULT OF THEIR WAR
FARE, Mr. Hackett justly remarks, "At
present the original or Indian natives, and

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 373
the South American Spaniards, have united
their exertions for the subversion of the Roy
alist power ; but it is only a mutual feeling
of hostility against a common enemy, which
has induced these two distinct classes to join
their interests, and suspend the sentiments.
of jealous enmity with which they are ani
mated against each other ; and it is generally
apprehended, that should their combined
strength succeed in the present struggle, the
contest will immediately assume another cha
racter, and South America become the seat
of hostility between its white and black po
pulation." Such are the representations of all the
writers who have had any connection with
South Americans. To crown the whole, it
may be observed, that there is scarcely one
British merchant who has aided them, who
has not been thereby ruined. Yet when the
creditors of these bankrupt, imprisoned, and
ruined creditors of this contemptible Repub
lic have received its public debentures, they
are treated precisely as the original creditors
were, as is evinced by the following adver
tisement :

374 EXPEDITION UP THE
REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA.
The undersigned, Don Francisco Antonio Zea, having irr
his capacity of Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipo
tentiary from the Republic of Colombia granted to the Credi
tors of the said Government certain Debentures in payment
of their respective claims, bearing an interest of 10 per cent.
per annum, the 1st instalment of which becomes due on the
1st of May next, hereby informs the holders of the said de
bentures that the said Government has not been able as yet to
remit to the Committee appointed for that purpose, in London,
the funds necessary to the payment of the said instalment. This
delay is the unavoidable consequence of the great changes-
which have lately taken place, the Seat of Government having
been removed from Angostura to Cucitfa, and the march and
countermarch of troops having for a time interrupted the
communication with the sea-ports, but which has ultimately
led to the conclusion of an armistice from which a happy ter
mination of the war may be expected. The undersigned has
much satisfaction in informing the Creditors of the Republic
of Colombia that he has received despatches from his govern
ment, giving him the most positive assurance of the prompt
remittance of the aforesaid funds which the aforesaid military
movements had retarded.
FRANCISCO ANTONIO ZEA.
Paris, April 25, 1821.
The whole conduct of these men is one
tissue of ignorance, imbecility, apology, and
fraud ; having, however, their first founda
tion in the physical circumstances of climate,
&C. described at the beginning of this paper.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 375
Moore, indeed, has perfectly pictured
America in the following lines :
And look, how soft in yonder radiant wave,

The dying Sun prepares his golden grave ! —
Oh great Potowmac ! oh you banks of shade !
You mighty scenes, in Nature's morning made,
While still, in rich magnificence of prime,
She pour'd her wonders, lavishly sublime ;
Nor yet had learn'd to stoop, with humbler care,
From grand to soft, from wonderful to fair !
Say, were your towering hills, your boundless floods,
Your rich savannahs, and majestic woods,
Where bards should meditate, and heroes rove,
And woman charm, and man deserve her love !
Oh ! was a world so bright but born to grace
Its own half-organiz'd, half-minded race
Of weak barbarians, swarming o'er its breast,
Like vermin gender' d on the lion's crest?
Were none but brutes to call that soil their home ?
Or worse, thou mighty world ! oh ! doubly worse,
Did Heaven design thy lordly land to nurse
The motley dregs of every distant clime
Each blast of anarchy and taint of crime,
Which Europe shakes from her perturbed sphere,
In full malignity to rankle here 1
The picture is completed in those which
follow :
All that creation's various mass assumes
Of grand or lovely, here aspires and blooms ;
Bold rise the mountains, rich the gardens glow,
Bright lakes expand and conquering rivers nuw ;

376 EXPEDITION UP THE
Mind — mind alone, without whose quickening ray,.
The world 's a wilderness, and man but clay,
Mind — mind alone, in barren still repose,
Nor blooms, nor rises, nor expands, nor flows !
Take christians, mohawks, democrats and all,
From the rude wig-wam to the congress-hall,
From man the savage, whether slav'd or free,
To man the civiliz'd, less tame than he !
'Tis one dull chaos, one unfertile strife
Betwixt half-polish'd and half-barbarous Fife ;
Where every ill the ancient world can brew,
Is mix'd with every grossness of the new ;
Where all corrupts, though little can entice,
And nothing's known of luxury, but its vice.
T. Moore.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA.

377

Minute Account of the Navigation
of the Orinoco in a Journal of
a Passage up that River to An
gostura.
Saturday 6th February.; — Rainy morning
with very light, airs of wind. Ship on her
way to the Orinoco. Soundings by the lead
as we proceeded, just keeping the shore in
sight 10, 9, 8, 7i, 6 and 6i fathoms. Dis
cerned the mouth of the Guyama River at
9 o'clock : almost calm at 10. At 12 the
Captain took an observation of the sun, mak
ing the latitude of the Guyama river 8°. 36'
very nearly in a direct line with it at the
time. Our chart lays down the coast from
Cape Nassau to Cape Sabanita, at least 25
miles more to the westward than it ought to
be, and Cape Sabanita an equal distance
further to the south than it actually is. It
is thus named " A new and correct general
Chart of the West Indies, including the
Gulf of Mexico and Bay of Honduras, col
lected from the surveys, journals, and as-

378 EXPEDITION UP THE
tronomical observations of the most cele
brated navigators, by William Heath, 1801."
Only four miles south of the Orinoco, and
about 26 east of it. On tasting the water
about 12 miles distant from the shore, in a
direct line with the Guyama river, found it
still very salt. Tried it also last night about
30 miles further south, and found it also
very salt, although much different in its co
lour to the sea generally, particularly to the
waters that compose the Western Ocean.
Calm at 12. A pleasant breeze springing
up, about 3 the ship began to get a-head
again at the rate of 6 or 7 knots. A hand in
the chains sounding, gave us the depth of
water as we drew in towards the land, steer
ing W. 10, 9, 9i, 8, 7, 6, 5 fathoms, and
about 6 o'clock, when the land was just
fairly in sight, about 41 fathoms, in which
we brought up for the night, probably about
12 miles distant from the shore. The cur
rent strong enough here to keep the ship-
stern to wind, setting directly out to sea.
Slime and froth on the surface of the water
coming in lines from the N. W. : no doubt
from the Orinoco.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 379
Sunday 7th. — Weighed about 9 with a
light breeze and strong current from the ri
ver, setting directly out to sea rather inclin
ing to the southward. Water still changing
its course as we approach, first steering W.
and then as the water becomes shallow (^
less 4 and 4 fathoms) steering W. and by N.
and W. N. W., the land just clearly in sight
and the people at the mast-head now able to
discover Cape Sabanita. Great numbers of
round black seeds about the size of a trap-
ball floating from the river with the current.
Heavy sudden showers between 9 and 10.
Weather rather close but not particularly op
pressive. Orinoco about 12 miles distant
Soundings by the deep 4. Tasted the water
and found it fresh and pleasant as that of
the Thames, softer if possible. At 11 shal
lowed our water to 3-| and 3 fathoms, sandy
bottom, put the ship about, now laying
S. S. E. regaining the mud bottom. It is
now evident that we are a short distance to
windward of the mud bank, and 3 or 4 miles
to the southward of its point. Can discern
the situation of the mud bank very clearly
from the light colour of the water over it.

380 EXPEDITION UP THE
Put the ship about again to get to the north
ward of the point and gain the other side.
Ran about f of an hour, and having point
Barima bearing S. W. and S. i S. bore up
and ran towards it, having 4 and 3^ fathoms
water. Ship steering S. S. W. | W,, the
mud bank to windward, and point Barima
now straight a-head. Soft bottom. Water
on the bar a different colour to the main
stream ; same as the mud bank. Soundings
3i fathom. Bar just a-head. Now on the
bar. Soundings as we proceeded 3 fathom,
l less 3, 3, £ less 3, 3, i less 3, 2^, £ less
3, 2f, I less 3, 2£, \ less 3. Ship now ly
ing S. S. W. 2^ fathom, £ less 3', now S.
and by W.|W. ± less 3, S. and by W. ±
less 3, 2^. Island Cangrejos to leeward
bearing W. S. W. Main land now bearing
S. S. E. soundings 3 f., now over the bar,
the latter 7 or 8 miles in length. Trees
floating down the river. Crab island bearing
W- and by S. ; keep her away S. W- ; sound
ings 3£ f. ; bottom hardening ; 3i f. ; keep
her away rather more to southward ; keep
her S. W- ; soundings S\, \ less 4, deep 4,
4i, 4ij f. (sail a-head) 5, £ less 5, keep her

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 3gl
up ; (another sail a-head) 5 f. soundings.
About 5 o'clock having come up with the
first vessel, which we found to be a pilot
cutter stationed here to look out for the ships
expected from England; they hailed us and
recommended our anchoring, which we im
mediately did in 4 fathoms water. Four
persons came on board, one of whom being
a pilot, and the others having departed, we
weighed again immediately to take advan
tage of the tide, which was now setting up the
river. It was about 4 o'clock, when we again
weighed anchor and proceeded up the river
with a pleasant breeze : ship steering nearly
W., and the soundings 6 and 6^ f. at 6.
o'clock. Some time after 7 f-, approaching
the island Cangrejos, distant about 2 miles.
Island now a-beam ; soundings 7i, 7^, 8,
7i f. Ship going W. N. W. 8J f. at 9 and
10 o'clock as we advanced ; the current
now running down at the rate of about 2
miles an hour. Keeping extremely close to
the right bank, often not more than 200
yards distant ; we deepened our water to 9,
10, 11, and Hi fathoms. Contiriued all
night going gently a-head against the cur-

382 EXPEDITION UP THE
rent until about 5 in the morning, when we
anchored; current running down at the rate
of from 2 to 3 knots per hour.
Monday 8th. Fine morning but hazy
over the land, which is extremely near us ;
heavy dew rising from the trees, and squalls
of rain occasionally. The river here about
the width of the Thames at Richmond. Large
trunks and boughs of trees floating down the
river. Current running down here between
2 and 3 knots. Weighed anchor at 20 min.
past 9, wind aft but light. Weather warm
but not oppressive. Steering S. and by W.
At 11 standing over towards the right bank
close in shore. Scenery excessively rich and
beautiful. Great variety of trees, cocoa
nut, palm, bananas, myrtles, &c. &c. ;
parrots of the most beautiful plumage flying
among the woods as We pass ; lower part of
the trees under water ; no possibility of land
ing. Great number of white and great he
rons seeking their food upon the banks and
in the water. Man in the rains sounding,
depth of water 7\ and 7i f- ; close over to
the left side | less 7 and 5 f. ; standing over
towards the right bank' i less 6, 7, and

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 383
llif. From one to two o'clock ran down a
reach about 3 miles long, direction by com
pass N. and S . round the point the river
tends E. and W. Ship steering W. and by
N. W. and N. and by S. River extremely
serpentine, continually coming into reaches,
many of them not more than three miles
long. Now in rather a long one, about 8 or
10 miles in length. Direction W. and by
N. and by E. and by S. Ship steering W-
with a pleasant breeze. Weather delightful.
Trees resembling laburnums on the shore,
and branches of myrtle floating down. Roar
ing of wild beasts heard in the morning.
Ship going W. N. W. at % past 4> ; depth of
water 6, 4, 7i, 10i and Hi f. ; course W.
S. W. at i past 5. At 6 going S. W. and
by W. Anchored about 7 in the evening,
not more than 30 or 40 yards from the left
bank. People fishing.
Tuesday 9th. — Weighed at 9, ship stand
ing toward the opposite point ; steering W.
and by N. Anchored again at half-past; not
wind enough to stem the current. Weighed
again a little before 11 ; steering N. W. to
wards the right bank N. W. and by N. Cur-

384 EXPEDITION UP THE
rent stronger ; depth of water £ less 10.
Anchored. Weighed again at i past 12.
Now at a point of river, high ground round
the point, saw it last night looming over the
surrounding trees. Course W. S. W. Di
rection of this reach about S. S. W. and N.
N. E. ; beautiful view. Birds fishing on the
banks as large as swans, white necks and
heads, black bodies, and red legs. Sound
ings 3i, 3i, 4, ^ less 5 f. Anchored at 2.
Weighed at 3. Soundings 5, i less 6, i
less 7, 7 f- Ship lying about W. and by S.
5 f. Very showery all day, with breezes
and calms alternately. People successful in
fishing. Birds of the most beautiful note
and plumage enliven the scenery of this
charming river. Numerous aloes growing
along the shore. River here from 3 to 400
yards wide, and some of the reaches not
more than f of a mile in length. Evening
cloudy and much disposed to rain, but cleared
away considerably as night advanced ; per
fect calm. Ship at anchor all night. Now
about 18 miles from Sacupana, and 110
from Guyana, according to the pilot's cal
culation. River continues extremely serpen-

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA.

385

tine, and the banks lined with trees of many
descriptions, roots under water. Fish abun
dant. A man overboard in the evening
found great difficulty in stemming the current
although a good swimmer. Current return
ing at the rate of from 2 to 3 miles an hour ;
slackened considerably at night. The pilot
states that when we arrive at Sacupana the
Commandant will, upon requisition being
made to him, send us fresh beef and fruit on
account of the Republic, and without charge
to us. Very hot in the evening. River here
about 300 yards wide. Water muddy thus
far ; branches and roots of trees continually
floating down.
Wednesday 10th. Weighed £ before 6.
Rainy morning with light airs of wind. Pi
lot heaving the lead ; depth of water 6 f.
Ship steering W. and by N. and W. and by
S. ; a reach here not more than 3 or 400
yards long. White birds continually on the
banks. Water of the Orinoco particularly
mild and soft ; clear when seen in a glass,
but in the river it looks as muddy as the
Thames. Trees on the shore covered with
ivy and vines ; colour of the vegetation ex-
2 c

386 EXPEDITION UP THE
cessively luxuriant. Some trees resembling
weeping willows, but larger and higher. We
have begun since yesterday morning to have
a bank on each side : formerly the lower
part of the trunks of the trees were entirely
under water ; no possibility of landing. High
land a-head— probably Sacupana. Trees on
it still looming over those immediately be
fore us, and smoke (or dew) rising from it.
Course W. i S. Nobody sounding ; some
times quite close hauled to the wind, and at
others directly before it, owing to the ex
tremely serpentine part of the river. An
chored again a little before 10 in 11 f. water.
No wind. Weighed again a little before 11
M'ith a light breeze and frequent and heavy
showers. Course W. and by S. Anchored
at 12. and weighed again a little after with
a pleasant breeze. A tolerably long reach
extending about 3 miles E. and W. with a
river running to the N. about § of the dis
tance up. Made another short angle to the
S. S.W- and then another tolerably long reach
extending W. and by N. and E. and by S.
Heavy showers preceded by breezes. Ship
for half an hour going 4 or 5 knots against

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 337
the current, and then going a-stern with
calms. Brought up-. At the last angle not
able to obtain soundings with 13 or 14 fa
thoms of line out. Steering W. i S. and W.
when again under weigh. Generally calm
during and immediately after the showers.
Anchored again at \ to 4. Weighed between
7 and 8 with a very little breeze. Ship ly
ing W- and by S. ; made 3 or 4 miles, and
then anchored for the night at 9 o'clock.
Thursday 11th. Weighed about 6.
Almost calm, but the current slackened, as it
did also yesterday totvards evening. A short
reach and point a-head. Course N. W. and
by N. ; a shoal at the point ; keep out from
it. Great River just round the point. Water
3\. i less 4. 4i. 5. 5± 6. | less 7- 7- 61 f.
Keep the mid-channel. 6. 5^. 1 less 5 f. —
Next reach tends S.W. very warm morning.
About a mile and half from the point, the
water is so deep near the bank, that a very
large ship might ride beside it as by a wharf,
in perfect safety.
We have not yet seen the main stream of
the Orinoco. Now in the other reach. Ship
going W. and by S. River widening and a
2 c 2

388 EXPEDITION UP THE
plantation a-head on the right bank. Water
i less 5, near the mid-channel, but rather in
clining to the right bank. Deep 4i. 3 f.
Keep her away. A tolerably long reach
opening from a narrow space: the Rio
Grande before us. Strong current. Keep
the mid-channel 5^ f. Shallow water near
the right bank. Ship steering W. and by N.
Soundings to the Great River deep, 4. 41.
i less 5. 5. 5i- 6. 6i- 7 f. deepening as we
approach. At one corner where the branches
join on the left side is an old mansolut — on
the other the point terminates the islands
which have hitherto separated us from the
Great River. The stream through which we
have passed now points nearly E. S. E. The
Rio Grande E.N.E. £N. astern. Near Sa-
cupana. Grounded between 4 and 5 o'clock,
but having braced round the yards, the ship
wheeled off again immediately, deepening
her water to 3i- 4. 4i. 5. 6. and 7 f. in a
few minutes, keeping over towards the left
bank. A pleasant breeze springing up helped
us on to Sacupana.
Fine breeze. River about a mile in breadth.
Course W. and by S. 5. 6. and 7 f. water.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 389
Fresh breeze during the night. Ship going
7 and 8 knots. Kept the mid-channel. In
some places water 14i f. deep.
FiiiDAYl2th. Weighedin the morning at 4
with alight breeze. Ship going a-head 2 and 3
knots. Three Indians on board for the use of
the pilot in sounding as we have no boat. Keep
ing the mid-channel. Strong current. Passed
a small island situated in the middle of the ri
ver. Ship steering W. iS. breeze continues.
Keeping still the mid-channel N.W. and W.;
now inclining to the right bank. River rather
narrowed. Ship steering W. and by N. No
soundings with 14 or 15 f. line out ; now 5 less
10. deep 9 f. W. and by S. 10J- f. A long
reach tending W. and by N. 6 or 8 miles
long. Drawing near the Pass which is situ
ated at the end of a reach extending nearly
E. and W. and the river branching off at the
end in various directions. One branch tend
ing S. W. Soundings as we approach the
point 7- 6. 5. 4. deep 4. £ less 3. 4. 5. and
6 f. in which we anchored for the night ; the
pilot not considering it safe to proceed fur
ther in the dark. Now about 5 leagues from
Guyana. Kept over towards the right bank

390 EXPEDITION UP THE
and anchored near it. Pilot gone out with
the canoe to sound and find the deepest
water for the ship. Current very strong here,
equal to 31 knots. Islands a-head. People
successful in fishing. Pleasant breeze at
evening and at night. No rain to-day. River
rather widening ; about a mile and quarter in
breadth here. Very hot at mid-day. Nearly
the same description of vegetation here that
we have seen all along. A long reach this,
nearly E. and W., then tends about W.N. W.
and E. S. E.
As far as Barancas there are three or four
hours back current daily ; but beyond that
place it is invariably down, excepting where
the windings of the river form an eddy
tide. Saturday 13th. — No wind — not able to.
weigh before 9 o'clock, when a pleasant
breeze sprang up. At 10, while advancing
to the Pass, we grounded in 13 feet water,
near the mid-channel. Braced the yards
round, and got her off again with the assist
ance of the current in about 10 minutes.
Kept more over to the right bank, and deep
ened our water, (see the map) now round the

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 391
point in 10 fathoms. Mountains in the dis
tance, one near Guyana, shape resembling
that of the roof of an English barn. Plea
sant breeze. River rather narrower ; steering
S. S. W- Water shallowing. Ship now pas
sing another bar. Soundings 3. i3. £4 f.
steering S . W. Several islands right and left.
6i f. Preserving the mid-ehannel for about
4 miles, with 4i- 5. and 6 f. water. Saw the
cascades of Piacoa on the side of some of the
mountains before us. Came to a point near
Guyana, where the river takes E. & W. and
N.S.w .
N. & S. directions  | • Keeping the wes-
tern branch, which is the main river, we ob
served the Fort of Guyana upon a hill, and
presently had sight of the village. Fired a
salute of 1 1 guns, when opposite the fort, and
anchored about a quarter to 4 o'clock. It rains
here very much ; more frequently than at
Angostura, and is considerably cooler. The
breeze sets in here about 10 in the morning,
and the river rises and falls daily about a foot.
Sunday 14th. Showery all day.
Monday 15th. Showery all dav, with
strong breezes and frequent squalls. Many

392 EXPEDITION UP THE
wild cotton trees round this place, and abund
ance of wild fruits. Scenery in the country
here rural and pretty; but nothing very ex
traordinary. Very little timber here fit for
felling and exportation.
Wednesday 17th. Captain now deter
mined to go up in the ship — great difficulty
in procuring a pilot.
Thursday 18th. Made sail about half-
past one with a pleasant breeze. Ship steer
ing W. S. W. Strong current and rocks
above the surface of the water on the S. side
of the river. Hilly country on that side, but
not so on the north. Ship going S. W. i W.
and then W. and by N. — a tolerably long
reach. Course now W. and by N. still. —
Gravelly hills on the right-hand, and a green
island and rock near the left bank. Keep
ing close over to the right bank to avoid a
shoal which run off the island, a branch of
the river tending N. E. and by E. on the
right side of the main stream. Rocks a-head
with a ripple running over them. Rocks
also on the right side running into the river
forming a point — an awkward passage. —
Soundings 4 f. (in addition to 13 feet allowed

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 393
on the lead line for the ship's draft of water)
in the channel, but very shallow on each
side. Helm from one side to the other as
quickly as possible. Keeping away almost
N. N. W. At the passage in one part no
bottom, with 4 f. line in addition, &c. —
Keeping over to the right bank 4 f. Stand
ing down a long reach passed a small green
island in the mid-channel, and the mission of
St. Miguel on the left hand. This reach,
from 12 to 15 miles in length, and more than
a mile wide, terminated by an island, on the
right side of which is the channel for ships to
pass ; and on the left the Caroni River dis
embogues into the Orinoco — the water of the
former river much clearer than that of the
latter. Remarkable separation of the two
waters in the body of the Orinoco. Island
Faxardo nearly in the mid-channel, rather
inclining to the left side. Ship now steering
S. W. and by W. Fine breeze and good depth
of water. Current not particularly strong
here. Ship going near 5 knots against it.
At the further end of the island a small arm
of the river, tending in-land, with two or
three islands about its mouth, and a rock

394 EXPEDITION UP THE
not far distant. Brought up near the island
about 7 o'clock in 7 f- water, near the right
bank. Friday 19th. Weighed at 6, with a light
breeze. Ship steering S.W. and by S. Keep
ing the mid-channel, passed several huts on
the banks. Several islands in the mid-chan
nel, and towards the left bank passed to the
right of all of them— tops covered with
patches of bushes. Ship steering nearly W.
River continues its width, winding towards
the north. Less trees on the right bank-
vegetation a sun-burnt appearance, much
duller and less green than any we have yet
seen. Almost calm. Current not particu
larly strong. Sun very hot. Came to a
rocky point which forms a bay to the right.
A branch of the river here tending S. S. W.
rather narrow entrance— -a shoal opposite.
Soundings 3 f. 4. and no bottom 3i- 4£ 4.
and no bottom in addition, &c. Keeping the
mid-channel . Ship steering N . W . an d by W .
Awkward place in the mid-channel, most
probably a rock, under the surface of the
water. Passed on the left side. Ship now
going N. N. W. round a point. Course now

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 395
W. and by N. Pleasant breeze. Sandy
beach on both sides approaching the Pass
of Mamo. Keeping close over to the right
bank towards the point — no soundings yet
with 4 or 5 f. line out in addition, &c. —
W. and by S. Very hot in the sun. 3i f.
Sand stretching a considerable way across
the river right a-head. Water on the Pass
^ less 3, &c. &c. Broad sandy beach on the
left side. When near the point hauled to
wards the south, running parallel with the
sand. Keeping that course until over the Pass,
which is the case when the river on the north
side is well opened. Ship now steering W. 1 .f
2i. 21 3i. in addition W. and by S. Went
over the Pass about one o'clock W. and by N.
Trees and vegetation here not near so thick
and luxuriant as they are lower down ; par
ticularly below Sacupana. Fine breeze.—
Came to a place where the river is not more
than half its usual width ; but widens again
immediately, forming several bays in the left
bank. Vegetation continues to diminish as
we advance. On the right there is scarcely
any appearance of it; and the left bank not
much better. The current runs with great

396 EXPEDITION UP THE
rapidity through the narrow channels, form
ing quite a sea, occasioned by the opposition
of wind and current. The river forms many
narrow passages from hence to Angostura.
Course W. and by S. At the last strait
is a considerable rock, which is to be passed
on the left hand, keeping quite close to it,
as there is another shoal close to the bank,
formed by a branch of the river, which
tends in-land on the right side. There is
also a small rock between the former and
the land. Course S. W. Rocks inland and
abundance of them in the water. Country
rather a barren appearance here on both
sides. Rocks on the right bank continually,
and frequent straits. Soundings 3. 2. If.
2i- 3. 2f. 3£ f. in addition, &c. Small
island on the right, sandy beach on the left
21. 1 f. in addition, &c. S. W- and by W.
At dark anchored on the left bank, near a
strait called Angosturita, about 8 miles
distant from the capital. The pilot unwil
ling to proceed further on account of the
rocks, which continue to render the naviga
tion dangerous by night.

ORINOCO AND ARAUCA. 397
Saturday 20th. Weighed between 5 and
6 in the morning, (the ship having grounded
during the night) and proceeded towards An
gostura with a pleasant breeze. Passed seve
ral rocks right and left, and some rocks and
islands in the mid-channel. The island we
left upon our left hand. As there is abund
ance of water from Angosturita to Angos
tura we did not sound. About 7 we saw the
town with a telescope very distinctly, and
severals schooners and sloops lying at anchor.
The back part of the town is so elevated that
it may be seen at a considerable distance,
say 8 or 10 miles. The river does not wind
here quite so much as formerly. We an
chored about 10 o'clock.

tiif, end.

PiiiiU-d by S. & R. BliNTLEY,
Dorset Street, Salisbury Si|imre, Luuilon.

\

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