Venezuela ChAA
_2loS_
YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Bought with the income
of the
D. NEWTON BARNEY FUND

SKETCH
OF THE
PRESENT STATE OF
CARACAS;

IN CLOD INS

A JOURNEY
FROM CARACAS THROUGH LA VICTORIA AND
VALENCIA TO PUERTO CABELLO.

BY ROBERT SEMPLE,
AUTHOR OX TWO JOURNEYS IN SPAIN, &C, &C.

LONDON :
PRINTED FOR ROBERT BALDWIN, 47, PATEKNO&TEK"
ROW.
1813.

C. Baldwin, Printer,
Kfw Bridge-street, London.

PREFACE.

A HE following observations on the Ca
racas have been prompted by the inquiries
of my friends, and the knowledge of events
which have taken place since my departure.
During my stay in that country commer
cial objects chiefly engrossed my mind, and
left little room except for those general
features either in the natural or political
world, which were too obvious to be over
looked, and too striking to be forgotten.
The notes which I have preserved are few;
but letters written at the time by myself,
others received from my Brother, and my
own recollections, have supplied the rest,
I know Gray has said that " an observa
tion fixed on the spot is worth a cart load
of recollections," and nobody is more
aware than myself of the truth of this re
mark. But the following sheets are not

IV PREFACE.
composed entirely of recollections, neither
are they a cart load.
I could easily have extended to a far
greater length the remarks on political
affairs; and felt, indeed, strongly inclined to
draw the characters of some of the leading
men at present in Venezuela. Private
motives, however, prevented me from doing
the latter; and, with regard to the former,
having alluded to the great and leading
causes of all the revolutions in Spanish
America, I found so wide a field open to
me, that it was necessary to stop at once,
or prepare to enter into discussions which,
however compressed, would still be dispro
portionate to the rest of the work. I am
a traveller, and do but sketch as I pass
along, and never more so than on this oc
casion. I indulge the hope that the rules
of criticism designed only for finished
works will not be applied in all their strict
ness to the present performance.
I have added an appendix, containing a
few documents relating to the state of

PREFACE. V
public affairs, and illustrative of the mode
of thinking, and expression, ih this part
of America. The collection would have
been both more extensive and more in
teresting, but for the capture of a vessel,
on board of which were many papers to
my address. In spelling the word Caracas,
I have adopted the orthography of the
country ; because I think its greater sim
plicity is likely, in time, to render it uni
versally prevalent.
ROBERT SEMPLE.
London, April, 1812,

CONTENTS.

CHAP. I.
London to Curagoa.  Page i
CHAP. II.
Curagoa. — "Black Soldiers. — Stalactical Ca
vern. — "View of the Main Land. — Voyage
to La Guayra. — La Guayra. . .... .1*2,
CHAP. III.
Macuta. — Road to Caracas. — La Venta.*-*
Fort on the summit.— -Descent to the Val
ley of Caracas. — The Town. — Its Situa-
tion.-*-lnhabitantst &c. ........... 41
CHAP. IV.
Journey from Caracas to La Victoria. 64
CHAP. V.
La Victoria to Valencia and Puerto Calello. 83

Vlll CONTENTS.
CHAP._VI.
Return to Caracas. — General View.. . 108
CHAP. VII.
Civil War. — General Reflections  123
Appendix  155

SKETCH

¦ !-. ¦ OF THE
r*4 <

CARACAS.

CHAP. I.

London to Curagoa.
XjlOW melancholy is the life of a sailor!
From the first hour of embarkation his ha
bits and modes of life become essentially
different from those of his brethren on
shore. His habitation is not fixed, and
seems without foundation ; now leaning to
this side, now to that; acted upon by every
wave and by every breath of wind. Even
bis food is unnatural, engenders diseases,
and can be relished only through long
habit. Often for months he does not be
hold the cheerful face of woman, nor green
fields, nor cottages. So sad are the watery
deserts which he traverses, that a solitary
B

2 LONDON TO CURAGOA.
and sterile island becomes to him an object
of interest. At night he slumbers in a
narrow hammock, from which, in the midst
of dreams of home, he is often rouzed by
the sound of danger. Rushing upon deck,
he finds the vessel driving before the blast,
or laid down upon her side by a sudden
gale. The rest of the night is spent amidst
cold and wet, and darkness and storms.
Even the morning light is hardly welcome,
since it serves only to discover a turbulent
and boundless ocean, in which he may
posb*ibly ere long be overwhelmed, and no
sad memorial of him remain to tell his fate.
Yet to some, how pleasant is the life of
a sailor ! For ever roving about, he enjoys,
without care, thai variety which the Epi
curean so sedulously, and often so vainly,
seeks, as alone capable of giving a zest to
the pleasures of existence. The fruits, the
productions, the manners of distant cli
mates, become to him as familiar as those
of his own country. He sees nature under
every aspect : and the widely varying races
of mankind, the Chinese and the Negro,
the Indian and the Malay, are brothers

London to CURA90A. 3
with whom he has often conversed. It is
the duty and the pride of a sailor to strug
gle with the tempest which inures his
mind and body to fatigue and danger. But
storms do not always vex the surface of the
deep, nor do clouds always darken the
face of Heaven. Favourable breezes at in
tervals bear him smoothly along. He sees
the sun rise in all his glory from the eastern
waves, and disappear in the evening as in
a sea of fire. He contemplates with plea
sure the tropical clouds, the rich and splen
did colours of which bid defiance to the
art of the painter, and awaken to admi
ration even the rudest mind. He alone
with his level horizon can contemplate in
all its magnificence the starlight canopy of
Heaven, or the moon reflected on every
side from a thousand broken waves. Who
would not undergo a few hardships and
privations to arrive at the enjoyment of
objects so sublime? How pleasant is the
life of a sailor!
We sailed from Gravesend on the 27 th
August, 1810, and anchored on the even-
is 2

4 LONDON TO CURAqOA.
ing of the 28th near the North Foreland.
Having heard that several small vessels had
lately been cut out from these grounds,
we loaded our guns, and although so re
cently from London, began already to think
of danger ; we were in the midst of shoals
and sand-banks, but all was still, whilst
the light on the tower of the North Fore
land threw its gleam over the smooth sur
face of the water. The next day, after
passing the floating light off the Goodwin
Sands, we anchored in the Downs, and
landed the Pilot who had brought us from
Gravesend. On the 30th, the vessel being
still detained, I went on shore and visited
the .heights above Deal, from which are
fine views of the Bay where Julius Caesar
landed, of Ramsgate, Broadstairs, and the
white cliffs as far as the North Foreland,
crowned with its beacon. Innumerable
vessels were passing upwards with a fine
breeze from the south-west, and opposite,
the white cliffs of Calais and a long line of
French Coast were visible. All round
the chalk country appeared delightful, and

LONDON TO CURAQOA. 5
the corn was already generally gathered
into shocks ; but to this country and all its
charms I was about to bid adieu.
The evening was still. At eleven o'clock
the sea was perfectly calm, and the stars
were reflected as from an immense lake.
The lights, which not long before glittered
along the beach in the town of Deal, were
now mostly extinct. The silence of the
night was interrupted only by the sullen
sound of the waves breaking along the
pebbly shore, or the half mournful cry of
sailors shortening their cables at the turn
of tide. How many of them that are now
singing this farewell song shall see their
native country no more !
It is at such seasons, and in such situa
tions, that the mind of the traveller is most
keenly awakened to the remembrance of
.home and its indissoluble ties. He retires
to rest; but sleep, the friend of the disap
pointed and the melancholy, visits him not.
He returns to the deck, and views again
the pale stars, the water which reflects
their light, and the dark shore, and lis
tens once more to the rushing of the tide.

6 LONDON TO CURACJOA.
Perhaps he calls on the morning air to
breathe some portion of its coolness into
his bosom, and regrets that the heart of
man should be for ever agitated with an
ebb and flow, like the restless ocean.
But although regret and sorrow may last
for a night, joy cometh in the morning.
Good news ! the wind is fair, the anchor
is weighed, the sails are unfurled, and the
bustle, the noise, and the cheerfulness of
preparation, banish the sense of a too deep
regret. The bitterness of separation is
past. A hundred vessels are under weigh,
each striving to get before the other, and
the Amelia must not be the last. An armed
merchant vessel had agreed to be our con
sort for some days. Before mid-day we
were in the open Channel ; but the wind
being light, we made but little progress.
Several luggers appearing in the offing, we
fired off our muskets and loaded them
afresh. At midnight it fell calm, and soon
afterwards the tide turned against us. We
were then obliged suddenly to anchor in
twenty fathoms water, not far to the west
ward of the low point of Dungeness, the

LONDON TO CURACJOA. f
"light of which was clearly perceptible. At
four o'clock the tide again became favour
able, with a slight breeze, and we weighed
anchor. At eight we passed the white
cliffs of Beachy Head and in the evening
were off the Isle of Wight. Half way
between the two, there is a fine view of
both these points, frequently so interesting
to mariners. At night it again fell nearly
calm, and the tide being against us, we
made little or no progress until the morn
ing, when a fine breeze sprang up. At
mid-day, several vessels being in sight, we
noticed a small black lugger between us
and the land, which, after several suspicious
manoeuvres, boarded a small sloop bound
down channel. Soon afterwards the sloop
altered her course over to the coast of
France, whilst the lugger tacked and stood
directly towards us. As there was every
appearance of her being French, we imme
diately shortened sail to wait for our com
panion, and with great bustle began to pre
pare for action. Sails were stretched along
the quarters, the matches were lighted, the
small arms were brought upon deck, and

8 LONDON TO CTJRAQOA.
with various emotions we waited the result.
The luggerhowever apparently not choosing
to attack two vessels supporting each other,
passed astern of us, and stood away close
upon the wind. Presently an English brig
of war appeared in the offing, the lugger
again altered her course, the brig gave
chace, and our course .being nearly opposite,
we soon lost sight of them both.
At two o'clock we were abreast of the
Bill of Portland, the form of which we
could plainly distinguish, as well as the
cliffs Of St. Alban's Head, the first remark
able high land to the westward of the Isle
of Wight. The winds, however, continued
baffling and unsteady. In the evening we
saw the moon now about four days old.
Those only who have made a voyage know
with what interest this planet is regarded
at sea. A bright ornament to summer, a
substantial blessing in the long nights of
winter, the sailor watches its increase or
its wane with constant attention. This
night, however, it soon set, and left us to
calm and darkness.
At the dawn of day we beheld on one

LONDON TO CURAQOA. Q
side of us the entrance of Torbay, and on
the other to windward a lanre fleet, cer-
tainty not fewer in number than one hun
dred and fifty, bound down channel, and,
as we conjectured, a convoy with troops
destined for Portugal. Nothing could give
a stronger idea of the naval security of
England, than the sight of this forest of
masts in mid channel ; for, in reality, the
body of the convoy seemed like a wood,,
and, even the stragglers formed a long line
in the horizon. Towards the close of the
-day, however, it came on to blow pretty
strongly, and, night approaching, we soon
lost sight of them.
For two days subsequently we made very
little progress, and found ourselves on the
third morning only off Falmouth harbour
surrounded by fishing boats ; from one of
which, we were plentifully supplied with
ling, dories, bream, conger eels, and skait.
By degrees as the fogs of the morning dis
persed, we again discerned a large fleet
about four miles to windward of us stand
ing in for the land. At length, on the 6th
September in the afternoon, a fine breeze

IO LONDON TO CURA9OA.
sprang up from the northward, and we set
all sail. At five o'clock, we were abreast
of the Lizard, a point of land of no great
height, from which most vessels outward
bound take their departure, and which they
generally endeavour to make on their return
to England. On the top are two light
houses, and from the point a long and
broken ridge of rocks runs out into the
sea. On both sides the coast is steep and
rugged, so that should a vessel be driven
ashore here, it appears as if the crew must
inevitably perish. We soon left the convoy
far behind us ; and it was a noble sight to
see nearly two hundred vessels under full
sail, in a line astern of us. A frigate taking
us for a runaway from the convoy, fired two
guns, and made signals to us, but we were
soon out of sight. The breeze continuing fa
vourable, we waved our hats and bade Eng
land farewell. Next morning we were out
of sight of land.
From this period, the winds, although
sometimes very light, were almost constant
ly favourable. About a fortnight after our
departure, the appearance of the evening

LONDON TO CURA^OA. 11
clouds broken into a thousand beautiful
fragments piled upon each other, the warmth
of the air, and its regular current from the
north-east, all tended to shew that we were
now upon the verge, if not within the in
fluence of the trade winds. It is then that
the life of a sailor becomes comparatively
easy. Sometimes for weeks together the
vessel sails with a steady breeze, whilst on
moonlight nights we see her shadow with.
all her ropes, masts, and sails flying over
the smooth surface of the deep. Her track
as she glides through the waves is marked
by a long sparkling line of pale fire, which
she leaves far behind. It then becomes too
warm to sleep below. The most vivid
lightning plays about the horizon, and but
seldom accompanied with thunder or rain ;
the stars shine with unclouded brilliancy,
and the refreshing coolness of the night
air tempts the mariner to sleep on deck
under the slightest covering.
On the 8th October, thirty two days
after our departure from the Lizard, we
made the Island of Tobago. About sun
set the man at the masthead called out

12 LONDON TO CURACpA.
" Land a head," and soon afterwards we
could discern it from deck. As the moon
rose, we distinctly traced the rugged out
line of the island ; and before midnight
were close up with it.
Early the next morning Tobago appear
ed about twenty miles astern qf us, and we
were completely in the Caribbean Sea. In
a few hours we discerned Grenada to the
westward qf us, and Trinidad to the south.
The water appeared of a dirty green, such
^s marks the soundings in the English
Channel at forty or .fifty fathoms. The
islands of , Grenada and TqbagO are indeed
(Connected by a bank, but we could find no
bottom at;sixty fathoms. This appearance
of the water continued all day. At two
o'clQckwe were abreast of Grenada, which,
like Tobago, is high and mountainous, but
interspersed with vallies rich with cultiva
tion. In many spots the plantations ad
vanced almost frqm the sea shore to the
fSummits of the;hills, and afforded the most
charming views. Such it was by day ; but
at night the whole island presented an im
mense dark mass, crowned at the top with

LONDON TO CURAqOA. 13
pale clouds, through which, at intervals, the
lightning burst, now in swift zigzags, and
now in broad sheets of dazzling fire.
Since our leaving England, hitherto
we had been careless of danger. We
feared nothing in the broad and open sea
but the enemy's privateers, and even of
them we were troubled with but few ap
prehensions after passing the latitude of
Cape Finisterre. But now we were in a
more confined sea, and in a track abound
ing with dangers ; to mention which, as a
caution to others, is the principal object
of this sea narrative.
After getting within the great chain of
the Islands of the Antilles, which bound
the Caribbean sea in the form of a semi
circle to the North and West, we meet
in various parts with other chains of small
islands and rocks, many of them imper
fectly known and highly dangerous to na
vigation. One of these chains extends in
nearly a straight line from westward of
Grenada to the eastern point Of the Gulf
of Venezuela, and consists of the rocks of
the Testigos, or Witnesses, the Seven Rro-

14 LONDON TO CURAC^OA.'
thers, and of the islands of Blanca, Or-
chilla, las Rocas, Aves or Birds, Buenayre,
Curacjoa, and Aruba. We were aware of
these dangers, and kept a good look out j
yet early next morning we saw the Testigos
about ten miles astern of us, and bearing
in such a direction as to show that we must
have passed very near them in the night.
About nine o'clock we saw land, apparently
very high, which we conceived to be the
island of Margarita, on our larboard beam.
The water had now resumed its former co
lour, indicating no soundings. At mid-day
we saw the Seven Brothers, a cluster of to
lerably high rocks ; and about four o'clock
passed abreast of them.' They appeared
entirely uninhabited ; mostly steep all round;
and, although very moderate weather, the
sea broke against them with great violence.
Soon afterwards we saw what we supposed
to be Blanca, a long low island, which we
mistook at first for the shadow of a cloud
upon the water. From this island we took
a fresh departure, and ran on all night.
At day break on the ensuing morning,
we saw land at a great distance, upon the

LONDON TO CURA 90 A. 1$
larboard quarter in the form of a round
hummock, and after every examination of
our charts and journals, were much puzzled
to determine what island it might be; we
therefore hawled our wind and stood toward
it. By twelve, we made out other islands
to leeward ; and, by our observation, put
down the first we had seen as Orchilla ; it
now appearing in the form of high and
broken land. In the afternoon, we saw
what we conceived to be the Rocas, and
steered towards them. We soon made out
an island, apparently about half the size of
that which we had marked as Orchilla, and,
conceiving this to be the principal Roca,
kept at a good distance, in order to avoid
all danger of the numerous smaller rocks
and shoals which extend chiefly to the
south and south-east of it. The night
being clear with fine moonlight for some
hours, we stood on under easy sail, keep
ing a strict look out for Aves or Bird's Is
lands, a dangerous cluster in our track. We
passed the night in tranquillity, but the
day dawned just in time to show us that
we were close upon rocks and breakers,

)_6 LONDON TO CURAfJOA.
Immediately a great alarm arose, all hands
were called, and on heaving the lead we
found only three fathoms water. We
plainly saw the white rocks, with dark
patches of weed, beneath the vessel's bot
tom. Fortunately the wind, although very
light, enabled us to wear round, and stand
off the land with all sail set, so that by eight
O'clock we were clear of danger, and had
resumed our former course. It was pleas
ing to observe the change in the counte
nances of all on board at every fresh cast
of the lead, as we gradually deepened the
Water from three to five, eight, ten, fifteen,
and twenty fathoms. These rocks and
small islands form a pretty numerous and
extensive groupe, some above, and many
under, water. At night they are very dan
gerous ; for although there was no negli
gence on the part of the watch on deck,
and several were on the look out, yet in
ten minutes more we should have struck,
ah'd our vessel being very sharp, must soon
have gone to pieces. About nine o'clock
we saw what appeared as one long and low
island, broken into a number of sharp hum-
1

LONDON TO CURACOA. ' 17
mocks. This we conceived to be Buenayre,
and accordingly stood towards it ; but in
the afternoon were greatly alarmed to dis
cover it to be composed of several little
islands and rocks, with numerous breakers,
in various directions; and the sea, at no great
distance a-head, shewing a long tract of very
pale green. We once more put the ship
about in a great hurry, and now discovered
that these were the islands of Aves, and
consequently that we had been mistaken in
the proper names of the preceding, having
in our Journal marked the isles of Rocas
as those of Aves, and that of Orchilla as
the Great Roca. As it soon afterwards be
came dark, we stood off and on all night ; and
at day-break saw the rocks of Aves well
to windward of us. We then made sail
for Buenayre ; but the weather becoming
dark and rainy, we did not see it until
nearly mid- day. In the afternoon it cleared
up, and we discovered it to be a considera
ble island, with high broken ground at the
north, and joined to a long ridge of table
land. As we neared it, we observed a point
of very lbw land, running out far into the
C

\
18 LONDON TO CURA.90A.
sea. We imagined Buenayre and Curaqoa
to be now on in one to us, and looked in
vain for the opening between them. At
sun-set we saw land to the westward, but
thought it to be on the main ; we there-
fore lay-to all night, off and on.
At day-break of the fourteenth we made
sail, still thinking ourselves close to Cura-
90a ; but at length became convinced that
the high land to the westward was that
island, and therefore bore away directly
for it. At nine o'clock we plainly discern
ed it to be an island, appearing like a high
table land in the centre, with the land at
each end low, or broken into small hillocks.
By ten we found ourselves nearly abreast of
Little Curasjoa ; a very dangerous island or
flat of about a mile and a half in length,
and nearly level with the water's edge. On
this an English vessel, bound to Curaqoa,
had been wrecked about a twelvemonth
before, when just in sight, as it were, of
her harbour. A small sloop was anchored
near it, and we saw several men on shore,
with a small boat, apparently engaged in
looking for portions of wreck. At mid-

LONDON TO CURA90A. 19
day a fine breeze sprang up, and we soon
got up with the main island of Curaqoa.
The land along the shore appeared gene
rally in small rocky heights, but rising in
land to a flat summit of considerable ele
vation. Soon afterwards we were abreast
of the Bay of Fuske, of the ancient charts,
but now generally called the Bay of Cara
cas. The seat of Government was former
ly here. It presents a romantic rocky ap
pearance, and the sea running up, forming
channels in various directions. An old fort
upon the insulated point of a projecting
rock has a striking effect. The entrance
of the harbour of Curaqoa now became
visible, as also the suburbs or houses along
the beach, here called the Peter Moy.
Presently the pilot came on board, and or
dering us to keep close along the shore, we
soon arrived at the entrance of the harbour,
defended by a small fort near the water's
edge, and other batteries more elevated.
We then luffed up close to the wind, and,
without letting go our anchor, were soon
safe along-side the key, made fast by a rope
to the shore.
c 2

20 LONDON TO CURA90A.
It appears from the preceding narrative,
that there is great danger in vessels bound
for Curaqoa following the general custom
of running along the chain of islands and
rocks which have been enumerated. With
in my own knowledge three vessels have
been wrecked upon them ; one already
' mentioned upon Little Curaqoa, an Ame
rican upon the Isle of Aves, and a British
vessel upon Orchilla, towards which she
drifted in a dead calm, notwithstanding
all the efforts of the crew in their boats to
keep her off. As they stretch from east to
west, and consequently lie all very nearly
in the same latitude, the mariner, without
local knowledge, when once entangled
among them, cannot, from his solar ob
servations alone, determine exactly onefrom
another. The currents also in this sea
are not only very variable, but violent also.
In the course of a few dark hours a vessel
is swept down upon a danger which journals
and observations had concurred in placing
still far distant. On these accounts, it ap
pears, to me, that it would be far preferable
for vessels bound to Curaqoa to keep well

LONDON TO C¥RA90A. 21
to the northward, until near Buenayre ; or
otherwise at once t6 penetrate and keep
to leeward of the whole chain, even should
they see the main land of America. After
making Cape Codera, or the high moun
tains above La Guayra, the course is sim
ple, and the prevailing winds favourable,
for Curaqoa. The same observations will
apply to vessels bound to La Guayra : they
should endeavour, as soon as possible, to
get a sight of the continent of America, to
the eastward of the island of Margarita,
the passage between this island and the
main being full of danger, without an ex
perienced piiot on board. The reader, who
may be anxious to get to Caracas, will par
don this journal in favour of the motive
with which it was principally written.
Should it be the means of saving a single
vessel, or a single life, the end will be fully
answered.

TI

CHAP. II.

Curagoa. — Black Soldiers. — Stalactical Ca
vern. — View of the Main Land. — Voyage
to La Guayra.- — La Guayra.
J. HE island of Curaqoa is situated in 6q9
26' west longitude, and 12° north latitude,
extending in its general direction from N.
W. to S. E. about forty miles. The hills
are of moderate height, and the low land
inmost parts near the coast seems formed of
a coral rock, on the surface of which a ve
getable mould is thinly scattered. The
harbour on the south-west side is formed
by a deep inlet of the sea, capable of ad
mitting the largest vessels almost close to
the shore; narrow at the entrance, and
widening- afterwards into a kind of small
lake, interspersed"" with shoals. At the
head of this lagoon, but rather on the
eastern side, is a steep hill, on the top of
which is placed Fort St. George, the guns
of which command the whole harbour.
The town is principally on the eastern side

CURA90A. 23
of the entrance, stretching from that along
the sea beach, and some of the branches
of the lagoon. There is a constant com
munication from side to side in small flat
boats, which ply incessantly. The resi
dence of the Gove <-nor is on the right of
the entrance, and near the water's edge.
Here are also the principal batteries, which
defend the harbour. The streets are in
general narrow and dWy ; nor is there a
single private house which can be called
elegant. This island formerly belonged to the
Spaniards ; and, when taken by the Dutch,
was finally ceded by the former, probably
on account of its extreme insignificance,
when compared with the immense coun
tries which they still retained. It has now
been for some years, for the second time, in
the possession of the English ; and the na
ture of the population is such as might be
expected from this successive change of
masters, joined to its situation with res
pect to the continent of America. I was
agreeably surprized at several plantations
not immediately in the vicinity of the

24 CUBA90A.
town, to hear Dutch spoken by the masters
and slaves as at the Cape of Good Hope.
But in the town the jargon is complete, and
betrays the mixture of the various races
from which it sprang. No two languages
can be conceived more dissonant than. Spa
nish and Dutch ; one the loftiest and most
sonorous, the other the meanest of the
dialects of modern Europe ! These form
the basis of this strange compound, which
is farther enriched with corruptions of
English and French, and of words imported
by African Negroes, or originating among
the Creoles themselves. Spanish and
French are spoken by the better classes,
but in all common occurrences this pape-
miento, as it is called, forms the language
of conversation among the lower ranks of
colonists in the town.
Curaqoa being little more than forty or
forty-five miles from the nearest part of the
main land, is well situated for intercourse
with the whole of the neighbouring coast,
and as such, in my opinion, will always re
main of importance in a comme Jal point
of view. It was imagined that the declat

CURA90A. 25
ration of independence by the province of
Venezuela, by opening the ports of the
continent to a direct, trade, would operate
to the disadvantage of Curaqoa, or rather
supersede the necessity of such a depot al
together. This may no doubt be true in
some degree ; but recent occurrences have
shown that no advantages of soil or situa
tion can recompence the want of a stable
and efficient government, and the conse
quent insecurity of life and property.
Whatever property may be adventured to
Curaqoa, is at least safe so long as British
laws and British power protect it. But no
sooner do we pass those strongly marked
boundaries, than we tread on unstable
ground, and unfortunately those who have
considered the subject most attentively,
are the most doubtful as to the result.
Curaqoa as a West India Island may be
reckoned healthy ; those destructive fevers
which are so prevalent among the Antilles,
being here but little known, even upon the
low situations pear the coast. This I think
may be attributed partly to the moderate
height of the hills in a great part of the

26 CUKA90A.
island over which the winds blow with
fcw interruptions, and partly to the general
nature of the soil, the basis of which is a
spungy and frequently a calcareous rock,
which speedily absorbs all moisture. The
wind blows for some hours almost every
day with great freshness from the sea,
and agitates the waters of the lagoon,
which might otherwise stagnate and be
come a fruitful source of disease. A num
ber of little creeks and bays here afford
also bathing places free from the dread of
sharks, which do not penetrate into the
lagoon, although they are often seen close
to the shore, near the entrance.
The regular defence of the island was
at this time entrusted almost entirely to a
black regiment, the, eighth West Indian,
which had been stationed here upwards of
six months. I saw it under arms, and was
struck by its steadiness and appearance; at
the same time, that a long line of black
faces, in the English military dress, pro
duced a singular effect. Previous to its
arrival the inhabitants were in the utmost
dread of such defenders, and witnessed the

CURA90A. ".7
departure of the last European battalion
with the most gloomy forebodings. Such,
however, had been the discipline and 2;ood
conduct of these black soldiers, as to funn
a striking and most favourable contrast
with their predecessors. Robberies, quar
rels, and drunkenness were far less frequent
than before, and the inhabitants, instead
of apprehension and mistrust, were be
coming inclined to regard them as the most
peaceable regiment they had yet seen.
The remembrance of the horrors of St.
Domingo, however, still haunts the mind
of every colonist of the West Indies.
Twenty thousand Frenchmen, scattered in
all directions from that island, have spread
universally the melancholy tale of their
sufferings, and the apprehensions of a si
milar fate. In the hurry of alarm, and in
the midst of prejudice, the atrocities com
mitted at St. Domingo are attributed to
the negroes, merely because they were
black men, and not because they were ig
norant slaves, suddenly made free. It is
forgotten that colour has nothing to do
with the question, and that atrocities at

28 CURA90A.
least equal, and proceeding from the very
same source, were committed at Paris,
Nantz, Ljons, and Toulon. To a person
fresh from Europe, these apprehensions,
and this repugnance to black men, appears
the more striking, as he often looks in vain,
amidst a motley crowd, for a single coun
tenance in which traces of a mixture of
Negro descent are not visible.
The general inequalities of the face of the
country are such as to render the exercise of
riding agreeably diversified, without being
fatiguing. In some quarters deer abound,
and parties are frequently made from the
town for the purpose of shooting them.
The most striking natural curiosity usually
shewn to strangers is a stalactical cavern,
at the distance of about two hours mo
derate ride from town, and which I visited.
The road is excellent, and bordered for the
most part with hedges of aloes and different
species of euphorbium. In coming to the
open country, we notice several groupes
of manchineel trees adorned with beautiful
but poisonous fruit, and under the shade of
which it is almost death to sleep. We

CURA90A. 2Q
carefully avoided touching them in passing,
lest some drops of moisture should be
shaken from the leaves upon the skin,
which almost immediately cause heat and
pain ; and if they fall into the eye, may se
riously injure that organ. At length we
arrive at broken ground, and turn a rocky
ridge, in the perpendicular face of which is
the entrance of the cavern. A neighbour
ing garden, the house belonging to which
appears now almost deserted, although
once in the most splendid Dutch, taste, af- ¦
forded shade to ourselves and our horses.
We climbed up by a narrow and rugged
path to the mouth of the cave, preceded by
Negroes with split canes to serve as torches,
and found the roof and the sides already
blackened with the smoke of former visi
tors. The entrance is narrow, but the
cavern widens as we proceed, and at length
rises in several parts into natural irregular
vaults and domes. In the centre of one of
the largest of these, is an opening upwards
to the light, through which it is said, that
animals, and even men, have been preci
pitated and lost. After stumbling through

30 CURA90A.
gloomy passages, assisted only by the glare
of torches, the effect produced, when we
arrive at this dome, by a long stream of
pure light, shooting down into the gloom,
is singularly pleasing. Upon the whole,
however, this cavern is, in my opinion, by
no means to be compared with that of St.
Michael at Gibraltar, which, in the gran
deur of its first opening, the height and
thickness of its enormous stalactical pillars,
and the depth and variety of its hitherto
untraced windings, is far more interesting
to the general observer. I was informed,
however, that Baron Humboldt had viewed
this cavern with great attention, and as
cribed to it a very high degree of natural
interest, from which I infer either that
he had never visited the cave of St. Mi
chael, or that he had here seen more than
my limited knowledge of natural history
permitted me to discover.
The;ea shore which was at alittle distance
below the garden where we reposed, inte
rested me fully as much as the cave which
we had come to examine. For two or three
hundred yards before reaching the sea, we

CURA90A. 31
climb over bare honey-combed rocks, wholly
devoid of vegetation, and the crevices of
which being filled with salt water, indicates
to us the amazing rise of the sea in tem
pestuous weather. It being now calm, I
advanced to the edge of the rocks, and saw
about ten feet beneath me a clear depth of
water, which wo,uld enable a first rate ship
of war to touch the very spot on which I
stood. Such appeared to be the nature of
this iron bound, coast, as far as the eye
could reach on either side. Even calm as
it was, the sea in many parts rose with a
sudden and unaccountable swell against
this rocky wall, and dashed its spray with a
thundering noise high into the air. Having
sufficiently viewed this sublime but some
what desolate spectacle, I joined my com
panions beneath the shade of their orange
and lime trees, where they lay reposed : To
our cold provisions were added fruit from
the surrounding trees, and wine cooled in a
little stream which ran near us. When the
heat of the day had abated, we mounted
our horses, and reached town when the
stars had already begun to appear.

32 CURA90A.
Several lofty portions of the main land
of America are visible from Curaqoa, from
which it is distant, as has been observed,
little more than forty miles. The most
striking is Cape St. Anne near Coro ; and
the whole affords an interesting spectacle,
either when clear and appearing like a ridge
of mountainous islands ; or when capped
with clouds, from which the lightning con
tinually bursts. Even to the casual ob
server, the Fight is interesting; but infinitely
more so to him who has formed a thou
sand romantic ideas of that wonderful con
tinent, and is hourly expecting an oppor
tunity of transporting himself io it.
After about a fortnight's residence at
Curaqoa a schooner offered for La Guayra,
in which I embarked. We sailed in the af
ternoon of the 1st November, with a fresh
breeze, and stood close hawled on the
"j^tJ)oard_tack all night. At six o'clock
next morning we were so close over on
the main as to discern the breakers, on a
, long ledge of rocks called the Keys, when
we tacked, and at sun set were close under
the island of Buenayre, having also a view
1

BUENAYES. 33
of the Table Land of CuraqOa to leeward.
This island is mountainous, and apparently
more agreeably diversified than Curaqoa,
but inhabited only by Indians, and a very
few Europeans. A Governor has his resi
dence here, and reigns absolute monarch
over this little kingdom, which produces
nothing except a few cattle, goats, large
quantities of poultry, and of late years a
considerable quantity of salt. At sun-set
we again tacked, and all night stood over
towards the main land ; which, however,
we could not distinguish at day-break, on
account of thick mists. About eleven
o'clock we saw very high land, which our
Captain knew to be near the entrance of
Puerto Cabello, when we again tacked and
stood off. At length, on the morning of
the fourth day after leaving Curaqoa we
saw Cape Blanco, the white tower of the
church of Macuta, and La Guayra placed
at the foot of lofty mountains, which rose
behind it with an almost perpendicular as
cent. At mid-day the breeze failed us
before we had got under the guns of the
batteries, at which time we discovered to
D

34 LA GUAYRA.
windward a vessel of warlike appearance,
bearing right down toward us. This
alarmed us not a little, fearing it might be
a Spanish ship of war appointed to block
ade La Guayra ; but on nearer approach we
discovered it to be an English merchant
man, and, as we afterwards found, from Tri
nidad. At 2 o'clock we had anchored, when
the health boat came along side, and after
the usual questions* we were conveyed
ashore, and for the first time I placed my
foot on Spanish America. Senor Escalona>
the Commandant of La Guayra, being ab
sent, we were carried before his deputy,
an ignorant and weak man, at the first
glance, and which was not belied by sub
sequent acquaintance. His foolish self-im*
portance in examining us was laughable,
, displaying all the weakness of an upstart
' suddenly raised to office. He insisted upoa
seeing some of our original English pass
ports ; and, when told that we had none>
neither were they ever used at home, he
gravely told us, that whatever it might have
.been, no Englishman hereafter should leave
England without a passport. This beha-

LA GUAYRA. 3*5
vidiir was the more striking, as forming a
contrast to the character of Escalona,
whose knowledge and urbanity place him
in the first rank of the talents of this coun
try. Our examination being finished, we
were released from the soldiers who had hi
therto attended us, and repaired to a mi
serable Posada, or inn, which, however,
was the only one in the place, where we
found shelter for the night.
The population of La Guayra is reckoned
about eight thousand, of all colours. Of
these comparatively few are Europeans, or
even white Creoles, by far the greater pro
portion being people of colour. The town
is irregularly and badly built, the lower
street in a line parallel to the beach, and
most of the others stretching up the steep
side of the mountain, at the foot of which
the town is built, and along the high banks
of a ravine in which flows a small stream.
After heavy rains this becomes for a short
time an impassable torrent, and has some
times even overflowed its lofty banks, to
the great danger of the lower part of the
town, as is testified by an inscription on
d 2

36 LA GUAYRA.
a large stone inserted in a house whither it
was carried by the water. The only public
building of any consequence is the custom
house, which stands a little within the
water gate, and is large and commodious.
This is necessary, as every package imported
or shipped must be brought here for exa
mination. They do not rely, as in; England
or the United States, upon the oaths of the
merchants, but open eyery package, and
appreciate :tjhe value according to which the
duties are to be pjud. This, however, is
done with politeness, and generally with
lenity. The. church of La Guayra has in
it nothing remarkable, nor is there indeed
in the whole place an object worthy of de
taining the traveller a single hour. A line
wall, close to the sea, and flanked by bas
tions, forms the defence on that side ; and
on several of the heights above the town
are forts and batteries, which from their
elevation command the whole anchorage ;
and, if in proper order, and well manned
must render all attacks by sea dangerous
if not impracticable. The port itself is a
mere roadstead, open to the North and East,

LA GUAYRA. 37
and slightly sheltered to the West by Cape
Blanco, which forms a small curve, and is
so called from the light colour of its rocks.
But for this small cape, La Guayra could
have no pretensions whatever to be called
a port, and even with it these pretensions
are very slight. Vessels anchor in from
six and seven to five-and-twenty and thirty
fathoms, according to their distance from
shore, with a bottom generally of white
sand, in which anchors quickly settle.
The worm is very destructive to the bot
toms of such vessels as are not coppered ;
and thereis almost constantly a swell, which
is sometimes so violent as to prevent all
intercourse with the shore for several days
together. It is a singular spectacle when
the air is perfectly calm, to see upon the
beach a continued line of high breakers,
which succeed each other incessantly, and
descend with a roaring which is heard far
up the vallies. On account of this surf
the wharf of La Guayra, which is of wood,
and upwards of one hundred and sixty feet
in length, stands in need of continual
repairs.

3,8 LA GUAYRA.
It is at the end of this wharf, on his,
very first landing, and, indeed, when he
cannot yet be said to touch the shore, that
the stranger sees a proof of the liberality
with which nature has in these climates
provided food for man, both in the ocean
and on the land. He sees men who throw
-out their lines armed with a bare hook
which they draw in with repeated jerks.
After several trials, perhaps at the very
first, a small fish is brought up, transfixed
with the point of the hook, to which it
is speedily and more securely fastened, and
then again thrown further out into the
water. This living bait is irresistible. In
a very short time a larger fish, seldom
weighing less than three or four pounds, is
dragged through a shoal of smaller ones,
which lately fled before him, and the fish
erman has soon gained another day's sub
sistence for himself and his family. The
heat at La Guayra is generally violent
but- at this season it was far from being
so oppressive as I had been taught to
expect. The air was refreshed with regular
breezes from the sea, and the nights were
fully as cool as in the open island of Cu-

LA GUAYRA. 39
raqoa. Owing to this comparative cool
ness no epidemic diseases prevailed ; and,
during the five months that I remained in
this country, Lc Guayra might vie with
any settlement in the West Indies, in point
of healthiness. It is far otherwise in the
summer months; The heat reflected from
the hills is then to Europeans almost in
tolerable ; and the fever makes dreadful
ravages among those who have not been
long inured to the climate.
Owing to these causes, I staid no longer
in La Guayra than my business absolutely
required. As the use of carriages for the
transportation of goods is here unknown,
all bulky packages imported for Caracas
must be divided into smaller portions, to
admit of being carried on the backs of
mules. This repacking is troublesome,
and might be attended with great risk of
loss to the merchants, if the carriers, who
are in general possessed of some property,
were not answerable by law for any deficien
cies. Each mule carries on an average about
one hundred and eighty pounds weight, al
though a load of two hundred weight is
very common. Indigo and cotton are

40 I-A GUAYRA.
made up in parcels of one hundred Spanish
pounds, packed in skins, when they are
called serons, and weigh, upon an average,
more than an English hundred weight.
Two of these, balancing each other, are
very commonly the load of a mule, the
charge for which, from La Guayra to Ca
racas, varies from a dollar to , a dollar and
a half. The packages are fastened on the
backs of the mules by thongs of raw hide,
which draw the girths so tight as to appear
to a stranger likely to interrupt the breath
ing of the animal, although nothing can
exceed the adroitness of the muleteers in
adjusting the loads. When all is arranged,
the mules set off, following each other in
a long line ; after which, a very little at
tention on the part of the muleteers is suf-
cient to preserve the whole in good order.
The traveller, just landed, is treated in
much the same manner as a bale of goods.
He is placed upon a mule with a clumsy
and inconvenient kind of Moorish saddle
and stirrups, such as are used in Spain, and
his spurs, his whip, and his patience, are
generally all of service to him before reach
ing Caracas.

41

CHAP. III.
Macuta. — Road to Caracas.— -La Venta.—
Fort on the summit.— Descent to the Vol
ley of Caracas. — The Town. — Its Situa
tion. — Inhabitants, &c.
X HEARD much of the badness of the
road between La Guayra and Caracas, and
even that it was trusted to as a defence to
the capital, in a military point of view. In
order to examine it more closely, and be
the better able to appreciate the nature of
such a defence, I determined to go to Ca
racas on foet. Such a thing had never ber
fore been heard of in a European of any
respectability, in consequence of which I
isuppose it was that I was stopped at the
gate. My Mulatto guide, among other
articles, carried a portfolio containing some
drawings after Morland, which seemed to
give great alarm to the sable-coloured
officer on guard. He in consequence or
dered me to stop, until the portfolio had
been submitted to the inspection of the

42 MACUTA.
Commandant, who happened to be in La
Guayra; and immediately sent word that I
might proceed. For about a mile the road
continues along the shore until we reach
Macuta, a neat and pleasant village, also
close upon the sea, where most of the
richer inhabitants of La Guayra have
houses. Here the mountains recede a lit
tle from the shore, and leave a small open
ing, certainly better adapted for the situa
tion of the port than the rude spot on
which it has been built. I have little doubt
that Macuta will one day surpass La Guayra
jn size, as it now does in neatness and re
gularity. Having passed through Macuta, the road
turns to the left, and we immediately begin
to ascend. The soil is at first a deep clay,
or a rich mould, and so continues to a con
siderable height ; the road is therefore
payed in many parts, without which it
would, in rainy weather, be wholly impas
sable. In the steepest parts it ascends by
zigzags; but sometimes it is so narrow,
that two loaded mules cannot pass each
other ; and the banks are high and steep
pn each side. Woe betide the traveller

ASCENT, 43
who in these passes meets a line of mules
loaded with planks, which stretch trans
versely almost from side to side. He must
either turn about his horse's head, or pass
them with the utmost caution, at the risk
of having his ribs encountered by a long
succession of rough boards, which at every
swerve of the mules scoop opt long grooves
in the clayey banks.
We continue constantly to ascend. On
the road was the stone body of the statue
of a saint on a miserable low sledge, which
had been with great difficulty brought thus
far, when the project seemed to have been
abandoned in despair, as it continued here
for several months. The head, we were in
formed, had already reached Caracas, where
it was impatiently waiting the arriyal of the
body to be joined to it, and reared on high
as an object of veneration to surrounding
multitudes. The stoppage of this statue
marked the increasing difficulties of the as
cent. From clay, the road changes in
many parts to rugged rock which appears
not merely to have been thus purposely left,
but to have been formed into its present
state. At the height of about a thousand

44 ASCENT TO
feet, we begin to breathe already a lighter
and cooler air ; and, turning back, enjoy
the view of Macuta and the coast beneath
our feet. We see the white breakers along
the shore, and hear their noise, which now
sounds like a hollow murmur among the
woods which begin to crown the steeps.
Opposite to us is a high and steep bill, co
vered with vegetation, and all the deep hol
low between is dark with trees. Here and
there spots are cleared away, plantations
are formed, and the experienced eye can
distinguish the various hues of the fields of
coffee, sugar, or maize. We pass also from
time to time two or three miserable huts,
where the muleteers are accustomed to stop
and refresh themselves. In this manner
we continue to ascend, the mountains still
rising steep before us, till we arrive at a
draw-bridge over "a deep cut made across the
narrow ridge upon which we have been ad
vancing. On each side are deep valleys,
clothed with tall trees and thick underwood
through which there is no path. This
point is defended by two or three guns and
a few soldiers, and forms the first military
obstacle to the march of an enemy. In its

LA VENTA. 45
present state it is by no means formidable,
but a very little care might render it so.
Having passed this, the steepness increases,
so that the mules, and even the foot travel
ler, can only proceed by crossing obliquely
from side to side ; and even that is attended
with difficulty after rain or heavy dews, on
account of the smooth round stones with
which the road is paved. But the great
and enlivening change experienced in the
state of the atmosphere removes all diffi
culties. Never within the tropics had I
before breathed so pure and so cool an airr
Instead of the stifling heat of the coast,
where the slightest exertion was attended
with profuse perspiration, I walked fast for
joy, and thought myself in England. It was
four o'clock in the afternoon when I left
La Guayra, and it was now become dark
when I reached La Venta, or the inn, a poor
house, but well known upon the road as
being about half way between Caracas and
the Port. It is situated at the height of
about 3600 English feet above the level of
the sea, at which elevation the heat is never
oppressive. Here, having supped and drank
3

46 LA tENTA.
large draughts of delicious cold writer, I
repaired to sleep, unmolested by heat or
musquitoes. Being still warm with my
walk and .my supper, I cared little that the
frame on which I lay down was unprovided
with a single article of covering; but, about
midnight I awoke, shivering with cold, and
astonished at a sensation so unexpected.
At three o'clock, being a fine moonlight
morning, we resumed our journey, having
still a considerable distance to ascend, al
though the worst of the road was now past.
In an hour we had passed the highest point
of the road, and proceeded along an uneven
Tidge of two or three miles before begin
ning to descend towards the valley of Cara
cas. On the summit of the highest hill
above the road is a fort, which completes
the military defences on the side of La
Guayra. This fort is only visible from cer
tain points somewhat distant, as we wind
close round the base of the hill on which
it stands, without seeing any vestiges of it.
When we had passed the ridge, and were
descending towards Caracas, the day began
to dawn. Never had I seen a more inte-
5

VALLEY OF CARACAS. 4"
resting prospect. A valley, upwards of
twenty miles in length, inclosed by lofty
mountains, unfolded itself by degrees to
my eyes. A small river, which ran through
the whole length of it was marked by a
line of mist along the bottom of the val
ley ; while the, large white clouds, which
here and there lingered on the sides of the
hills, began to be tinged with the first
beams of light. Beneath my feet was the
town of Caracas, although only its church
towers were visible, rising above the light
mist in which it lay buried. Presently the
bells began to chime, and I heard all their
changes distinctly, although following the
windings of the road I had still four
miles to descend, whilst in a straight line
the distance did not appear more than one.
At the foot of the hill is a gate, where a
guard and officers are stationed, to examine
the permits for merchandize, and some
times the passports of strangers. Within
this is an open space before reaching the
town, which we entered about six o'clock.
After passing the first rows of houses, I
was struck with the neatness and regularity

48 CARACAS.
of most of the streets, which were well
paved, and far superior to any thing I had
yet seen in the West Indies. In the prin
cipal Posada, or inn, kept by a Genoese, I
found every accommodation that could be
here reasonably expected ; and indeed for
some days the constant sensation of refresh
ing coolness in the mornings and evenings,
as well as throughout the night, was of it
self a luxury which seemed to have all the
charms of novelty, and left no room for
petty complaints.
Santiago de Leon de Caracas, the capital
of the whole Captain Generalship of Cara
cas, is situated in long. 66° 46' west, and
lat, 10° 30' north, at an elevation" of nearly
2000 feet above the level of the sea. The
valley towards the head of which it is placed
extends nearly east and west more than
twenty miles, and Varies in breadth from
four to six or seven. It narrows towards
the west, where it is almost entirely shut
in by hills, which along the south side of
the valley rise by gradations above each
other. Those on the north side, on the
contrary, form one bold and continued

CARACAS. 49
range, separating the valley from the coast,
and rising at one point, called the Peak of
La Silla, or the Saddle, to a height of more
than eight thousand four hundred English
feet above the level of the sea. It is close
at the foot of this northern side that the
town is placed. The ground on which it
stands slopes regularly down to the Guayra,
a small river which bounds it on the south,
and with which three other streams afters-
wards unite and run through the whole
valley, in one channel. Although Galled a
river, it would, in North America, be con
sidered as no more than a brook, being
every where fordable near the town, ex
cept after heavy rains, when it runs with
great rapidity, but subsides almost as sud
denly as it rises. Of the three streams
which join the Guayra, the Catucho is the
most useful to the inhabitants, as from it
they derive the principal supply of water for
the public fountains, of which there are
several, as also for private houses, many of
which are furnished with pipes and re
servoirs. Besides its inclination to the
south, the ground slopes also to the east,
E

50 CARACAS.
and is consequently, upon the whole, ex
tremely well calculated for contributing to
the health and convenience of a large town.
After a heavy shower of rain every street
pours a muddy torrent into the Guayra, or
the Anauco ; but in a few minutes all is
again dry, and we find the whole town
suddenly rendered cleaner than could be
effected by the utmost labour in any other
not similarly situated.
The streets are in general about a hun
dred yards apart, and as they intersect
each other at right angles, the whole town
is by this means divided into square por
tions, called Quadras. When one of these
is left unoccupied by houses, there remains
of course a Plaza, or open square, occu
pying the same space as the Quadra. This
construction is abundantly simple, and is
perhaps the best that can be adopted for a
large town, where the nature of the ground
admits of it. It is upon a similar plan
that Philadelphia is built ; but the want of
open squares renders that otherwise beau
tiful city somewhat too dull and uniform.
There-are several squares in Caracas;

CARACAS. 5 1
but none of them worthy of notice, except
the Plaza Mayor, or great square, where
the market for fruits, vegetables, fishj and
other smaller articles, is held. The east
side is principally occupied by the cathe
dral, the south by the college, and the
west by the public prison. Within these is,
as it were, another square, formed princi
pally by ranges of low shops, which, how
ever convenient in a commercial point of
view, entirely disfigure the whole. The
principal fountain discharges itself in the
middle of the north side. In this square
may be seen the fruits which we have been
accustomed to consider as peculiar to very
different climates, all brought from the
distance of a few leagues. The banana,
the pine apple, and the sapadillo, are min
gled with the apple, the pear, and the ches-
nut. The potatoe and the plantain, fresh
provisions which seem to belong to the
temperate zones, and those kinds of fish
which are peculiar to tropical seas, are here
offered for sale on the same spot. It has
been observed of the United States of
North America, that, in the different states
e 2

92 CARACAS.
of society, they present, in the succession of
space, what seems to belong only to dif
ferent periods of time. Here, on the con
trary, it may be observed that, in ascending
from the shore of the* ocean to these ele
vated and temperate regions, we experi
ence in a short lapse of time what seems
to belong only to long intervals of space ;
and pass in a few hours from the torrid
to the finest climates of the temperate
zones. The Cathedral of Caracas is heavily
built, and the interior construction is
badly planned ; as, during the celebration
of mass, a great proportion of the num
ber of people which the church is capable
of holding cannot see the priest ; a most
essential point where the ceremony con
stitutes so essential a part of the de
votion. The length of the cathedral
is about ninety yards, by twenty seven
in breadth. It is supported by twenty four
pillars, without beauty or proportion ; but
its brick steeple contains the only public
clock in the town, and may thus compensate
by its utility for what it wants in elegance.

CARACAS. 53
Next in point of importance, and su
perior in the richness of its ornaments,
is the parochial church of Alta Gracia,
which was built chiefly at the eXpence of
people of colour, and to which they seem
to have contributed through emulation.
It is by far the most splendid church in
Caracas, and does some honour to the
zeal of the contributors, if not to the taste
of the architects, or of those who had the
direction of its ornamenting.
The church of La Candelaria gives name
to the quarter of the town in which it
stands, and was built by the settlers from
the Canaries, called here Islenos, Or Island
ers. Besides these, there are two other
parish churches, St. Rosolia and St. Paul,
three monasteries for friars, two nunneries,
and three hospitals, of which one is for
lepers alone.
The population of Caracas is upwards of
forty thousand, of which about one third
are whites. Among the remainder are a
very few Indians; but themixture of Indian
blood is general. Almost all the handi
crafts are carried on by freed-men of co-

54 CARACAS.
lour, who are in general ingenious, but
indolent and indifferent to the highest de
gree. They promise, without the smallest
intention of performing, and appear per
fectly unmoved when reproached with their
falsehood. But indifference on this score
is not peculiar to this class alone.
The College is the only public institution
for education ; and hither all the youth of
Caracas of the better classes are sent for
that purpose. The routine of education
is such, as it may be supposed to have
been in Spain, two hundred years ago : a
few common Latin authors, catechisms,
and the Lives of Saints, being the chief
studies. A free mode of thinking is, how
ever, rapidly spreading among the young
men, and may hereafter produce the most
important effects.
The barracks, which stand above the-
town to the north-west, are large and com
modious. They are of a square form, ca
pable of holding two thousand men with
ease; and, from their situation, might com
pletely command the town, were they not
overlooked by neighbouring heights, The

CARACAS. 55
view from them is extensive, over a great
part of the valley, and a delightful prome
nade might be formed in front of them,
with very little trouble and expence.
No part of Venezuela was so obstinately
contested by the Indians with the original
adventurers in this part of South America,
as the valley of Caracas. The number of
its tribes, and their high reputation for
valour and intelligence, seem for a time to
have deterred the Spaniards from making
any attacks upon acountry, the fertility of
which had, however, greatly excited their
cupidity. The first attempts were made
from the island of Margaruita, and repeat
edly failed. At length a greater force was
collected, the city of Valencia was built as
a point from which to proceed, and the
attack was made on the side of the valleys
of Aragoa and the mountains of St. Pedro.
After several desperate actions, in which
the discipline and the fire-arms of the Spa
niards uniformly prevailed, the unfortunate
Indians Were dispersed, and the former pe
netrated to the valley of Caracas. Here
they erected the small village of San Fran-

56 CARACAS.
cisco, on the site of which the town of
Caracas now stands. This last was begun
in 1567; but ten years afterwards, the in
habitants were still engaged in wars with
the natives of the valley. The history of
these expeditions, from their commence
ment, is not without interest, although
too long to be here inserted. The name
of Guaycaipuro, a gallant Cacique, is still
remembered in these valleys, and I have
heard his name pronounced by Indians
with enthusiasm. When every other means
had failed, he ordered the forests to be set
on fire ; thus displaying a desperate and
sublime, but ineffectual resistance.
For a long time, Coro was the principal
town in the province, until, by degrees,
the superior advantages of soil and climate
gave Caracas a decided superiority, notwith*
standing its inland situation. In 1636 the
Archbishopric of Venezuela was transferred
from' the sandy shores of Coro, to the de
lightful valley of Caracas, by the flight of
the Dean andChapter; their Prelate having
given them the example many years before.
It was not, however, until 1693, that this
3

CARACAS. 57
transfer was finally ratified by the Spanish
Government. The inhabitants of Coro
protested in vain against this desertion of
their Pastor. The pious father, as far as
regarded his own convenience, had good
sense and power on his side ; but justice
was certainly on the side of the complain
ants. The effects of this transaction, how
ever, are still felt, and a deadly animosity
exists between the two cities, for which
I fear much blood will yet be shed.
The elevated situation of the valley of
Caracas, and the purity and lightness of
the air, have a material effect upon the
physical and moral character of the inha
bitants, and distinguish them advanta
geously from the natives of the coast. As
the original Indians here were celebrated
among the surrounding tribes, the same
may be affirmed of the present race of
Caracas, that they are superior in quick
ness of perception, in activity and intelli
gence, to the inhabitants of most of the
other towns in the province. But the
great want of a solid education, and the
blind subjection to an ignorant priesthood,

58 CARACAS.
render all these natural advantages of small
avail. That high Spanish sense of honour
which reigns in some breasts, is, in too
many others, supplanted by a mere blus
tering appearance, which ends only in
falsehood and deceit. Even this hollowness
is not always covered by mild manners, ©r
a plausible exterior, and high examples may
be seen of great rudeness, joined to great
insincerity. I shall not here speak of the
political or general sentiments of the peo
ple of Venezuela. That is a topic worthy
of being treated separately, and involves in
it many extensive and important consider
ations, not only respecting this, but other
countries ; not only for the present, but
for distant periods of time.
It remains here to speak of the women
of Caracas. In them perhaps the Spanish
character appears with less alteration than
among the men; and their dress and man
ners are exact counterparts of what we
see in Old Spain. Here, as in Spain, their
principal morning occupation seems to be
going to mass, dressed in black, with their
mantillas over their heads, their feet par-

CARACAS. 59
ticularly ornamented with silk stockings,
and flirting their fans which they keep
constantly in motion. On this occasion,
a female slave, frequently more beautiful
than her mistress, follows her, carrying a
small carpet on which she may kneel at her
devotions. This carpet is a great mark of
distinction, and is only allowed in the
churches to white women ; on which ac
count, perhaps, they are particularly proud
of having it thus borne in procession, at a
slow pace, through the streets. It is in
contemplation, however, to abolish the
restriction ; and, as a begmning, during my
stay, special leave was granted by a public
ordinance, to the women of a coloured fa
mily in a distant town to make use of
these carpets. This innovation, slight as
it may appear, excited great dissatisfaction
among the higher classes of Caracas, and a
proportionate eagerness and hope qf change
among the coloured families. It is a de
licate question how far the characteristics
of rank should be carried in a well ordered
society ; but when nature has made obvious
distinctions, and those distinctions have

60 CARACAS.
been acted upon for centuries, a new legis
lator should touch them with a trembling
hand. Whether these rights ha- e been since
any farther extended, I have not learnt.
Upon the whole, the women of Caracas
are handsome, sprightly, and pleasing. To
their natural charms they know how to add
the attractions of dress, and of graceful
motions. They are uniformly kind and
affable in their manners ; and whatever
faults an Englishman may frequently ob
serve in their domestic conduct, these are
not more than may be traced in the man
ners of Old Spain.
There is a tolerably large theatre in Ca
racas, but it is poorly ornamented, and
seldom well filled. The actors are taken
from the lower ranks, who pursue their
several occupations through the day, and
in the evening tread the stage. Consider
ing this circumstance, their performance
is entitled to be treated with lenity, and,
in general, the audience are not difficult
to please. Patriotic songs are occasionally
brought forward, and the singer is fre
quently not only applauded, but rewarded

CARACAS. 6l
with pieces of money cast upon the stage.
This circumstance is sometimes attended
with inconvenience ; and I have seen a
hero obliged to stoop to avoid a friendly
dollar thrown at his head. The other prin
cipal amusements are billiards, cards, and
music. In this last the people of Caracas
have an excellent taste, and are making a
rapid progress, although it has not been
extensively cultivated among them, until
within these last twenty-five years. I much
doubt whether in any city of the Anglo-
American States, this delightful science
has arrived to nearly the same perfection
as here. To this the religion of the coun
try has greatly contributed, as both solemn
and sprightly music are daily employed in
aid of its rites. Indeed, in Roman Catholic
countries, the ceremonies of religion, as
they are generally- practised, may well be
ranked among the amusements of the peo
ple, or rather they form the very first class.
Cards and billiards occupy only a few ; but
gilded images, carried about in procession ;
churches adorned with vessels of gold and
Silver, and dazzling with lights ; streets

62 CARACAS.
illuminated ; the firing of guns and the1
ringing of bells ; all these united form,
indeed, a brilliant show, which interests all
ranks, from the ancient Spaniard down to
the negro imported yesterday. In vain
would reason propose the sincere and hum
ble worship of the heart as more acceptable
to Heaven than all this pageantry. It will
be found almost universally that man seeks
to please himself in his mode of worship
ping God ; and frequently thinks himself
most devout when he is most gratifying
some hidden feeling, wholly unconnected
with the professed object of his veneration.
To those who require no temple built with
hands, no vested priest?, no smoke of
incense, no solemn sounds of organs, to
excite their devotion, the valley of Cara
cas affords an ample field for meditation
or piety. To be so far above the level of
the sea, and yet to behold mountains
above us lowering to the clouds, to see
this grand valley in the evening, or at the
dawn of day, when diversified by a thou
sand lights and shades ; or under the mild
light" of the moon ; or when a magnificent

CARACAS. 63
dome studded thick with stars seems to
rest on the summits of the mountains
round ; then it is that nature speaks di
rectly to our hearts, and all human edifices,
with their little pomp and splendour, are
entirely forgotten, or remembered only to
be despised.

64

CHAP. IV.
Journey from Caracas to La Victoria.
THE Captain Generalship of Caracas
extends from Cape de la Vela on the west
to that of Paria on the east, and includes
Maracaybo, Venezuela, which forms the
centre, Cumana and the island of Marga-
ruita on the east, and Guayana to the south.
The whole is bounded on the north by the.
sea, and on the west by the province, or,
as it is called, the kingdom of Santa Fe :
and all the arrangements for the defence
and government of this great extent of
country were formerly entrusted to the go
vernor of Caracas.
Along the whole of this coast the ports
are few, and generally bad. La Guayra,
the port of Caracas, as has been already
observed, is little better than an open road,
and has evidently been chosen through
necessity alone. Maracaybo has a bar,

CARACAS TO LA VICTORIA. 6a
Over which Vessels drawing more than ten
feet water can seldom pass : and Puerto
Cabello appears to be almost the only place
which really deserves the name of a general
harbour. On this and other accounts I became
desirous of visiting it, more especially as
the road to it leads through some of the
most interesting parts of the province of
Venezuela. One of my countrymen bound
to Curaqoa accompanied me. We carried
with us a free Mulatto, who took charge
of the mule ; on the back of which was
my companion's trunk, and our hammocks.
About the fifteenth of January, 1811, we
set off before day-break, but having fine
moonlight, taking our course to the west
ward. A kind of hoar frost covered the
srround, and the air was so cold that, until
the sun rose, our feet and hands were be
numbed, and our Mulatto trembled all
Over. Three or four miles from Caracas
we see a small village, lying on the other
side of the Guayra, pleasantly situated in
a recess among the hills, and distinguisha
ble by the white tower of its church, like

66 CARACAS TO LA VICTORIA.
that of Macuta on the coast. This was
originally an Indian village, and it still re
tains the name of one, although very few,
if any, original families are now remaining.
It stands upon a small height, at the foot
of which extends a large and fertile flat,
capable at all times of being irrigated, and
which is generally covered with Otaheitan
sugar-canes. About two leagues from Ca
racas we pass through a straggling village,
with its church, on a small eminence, ca
pable of being converted into a good mili
tary post for the defence of the road. The
valley of Caracas now narrows rapidly, and
the space between the hills seldom consists
of more than the flat through which the
river flows, evincing by its level surface,
that after heavy rains it is frequently cover*
ed with water. After some time we leave
the sma]l heights, and descend upon the
Guayra, which we cross and recross seve
ral times, until, having passed a little
stream which falls into it, we approach La*
Aguntas, a few houses at the foot of the
mountains, which we now prepare to as
cend. This post is between three and four

CARACAS TO LA VICTORIA. 67
leagues from Caracas, and a good Pulperia
affords the traveller the means of rest and
refreshment. Pulperia is the name given
in this country to establishments which are
at the same time shops, farms, and inns,
such as they may be, adapted to the state
of society in the province. They are gene
rally kept by natives cf Biscay, or Catalo
nia, who begin their career in this country
with selling victuals, liquors, cloths, and
iron, or whatever they can collect, at the
same time. In the towns it is easy to trace
the prosperity of the owners, in the gra
dual change which takes place in these col
lections. The proportion of manufactured
goods increases by degrees, until at length
they form the whole, and the master be
comes a respectable merchant.
As the heat of the sun had not yet be
come oppressive, we determined to proceed
Without stopping at Las Aguntas. The
road soon became steep and rocky ; but as
we ascended we were amply repaid by the
grandeur of the prospects which every step
opened to our view. We continued to as
cend for upwards of four miles, when we
f2

68 CARACAS TO LA VICTORIA.
reached the summit of the first hills, which
shut in the head of the valley of Caracas,
from which we soon after looked back for
the last time on the town, presenting at
the distance of twenty miles a singularly
interesting appearance, at the foot of lofty
mountains. The spot from which this
farewell view, or, if we are approaching
from Valencia, this first glimpse, of Cara
cas is obtained, is called Bona Vista, and
is marked by a single miserable Venta. The
road from thence leads over the high
grounds, and we find ourselves in the midst
of a mountainous country, the valleys of
which are deep, dark, and solitary, without
rivers, and the sides in general but partially
covered with trees. To the south-west the
ridges gradually ascend, and terminate in
a lofty peak, the tummit of which appeared
like a black spot far above the clouds. By
degrees our road led us through a wood
composed of lofty trees, such as are com
mon in the West-Indian islands, having
got clear of which we at length began to
descend about ten o'clock into a valley,
near the bottom of which is scattered the

CARACAS TO LA VICTORIA. 69
miserable hamlet of San Pedro, composed
of fifteen or twenty houses, with an unfi
nished church; which, however, serves the
country for many miles round. A clear
stream, nearly the size of the Guayra, runs
through the bottom, near which was fought
the great battle with the Indian Chief,
Guaycaipuro, which cleared the way for
the Spaniards to the valley of Caracas.
Having now completed upwards of seven
leagues of our journey, we stopped to rest
our horses, and repaired to a Pulperia close
to the stream. Here we procured some
boiled meat, cake&of maize, and eggs, and
for our drink water, or guarapo, a liquor
made by mixing coarse sugar with water;
in twenty-four hours it begins to ferment,
and soon becomes a very palatable beverage
if drank when fresh. It increases in
strength by keeping, "but acquires a harsh
taste unpleasant to a stranger, but then
chiefly relished by the Indians and Mulat-
toes on account of its greater power of in
toxication. It is- generally made in great
jars, like those used for oil, and buried in the
ground up to the neck. Fresh materials

70 CARACAS TO LA VICTORIA.
are added to the -, dregs of the old, which,
hasten the fermentation. This is the uni
versal drink, as a luxury, ot" the great mass
of the inhabitants of the country, and, ,is
by them generally preferred, even to wine, ,
About mid-day I followed the course of
the stream, tyi I found a sequestered spot,
shaded with trees, where I bathed. The
day being cloudy, I was astonished to find
the wafer exceedingly cold at this hour,
and between the Tropics ; not reflecti hg(
that San Pedro is at a still greater elevation
than Caracas, * Being farther refreshed by
two hours1 sleep upon the ground, towards
three o'clock we again set off, accompanied
by the owner of a coffee plantation, who
joined us at the Pulperia. ' He had come
himself to gamble, and brought his wife
and sister to attend mass ; which they had
done regularly everyday for a month ; and
having thus said the proper number of Ave
Marias, and laid in a sufficient stock of de
votion, they were preparing to return with
it to their solitary habitation, where they
might probably remain another year with^
out seeing a church. After ascending from

CARACAS TO LA VICTORIA. 71
San Pedro, which we begin to do immef-
diately from the banks of the river, and
riding about two leagues, we begin to have
a view of the country on the other side of
the chain of thehills we are passing, and
soon afterwards the descent commences.
We first, however, turned off from our
road into a deep valley, where lay the coffee
estate of our companion, and which we
found to be but ilewly commenced ; and
surrounded on evely side by woods. ^ The
young coffee plant were all shaded by low
frames, covered yth a species of fern,
which effectually jxcluded the heat of the
sun, and is alwaypiecessary, we were told,
for the first year. I The house commanded
a view over all th/valley, where there was
not another hurrp habitation to be seen ;
the land, with ittle cultivation, yielded
every vegetable iecessary for subsistence ;
and the neighboring woods abounded with
deer, which oci'sionally, as we rode along,
burst through ie thicket. Here, it might
be thought, ^independent man, married
to a young anbeautiful woman, the peace
ful monarch/ all around hirr^ might pass.

72 CARACAS TO LA VICTORIA.
a life worthy of envy. , ;; But the human
mindj it would appear, requires or relishes
more powerful stimulants than the calm
beauties of nature. Our companion was
already dissatisfied with his lot, which af
forded such few varieties,! and had frequent
recourse to gambling, with the nearest
planters, in order to agitate his soul with
the strong alternation of hope and fear.
Besides deer, I ws credibly informed
that a species of uniorn is found among
the woods on the mouitains of San Pedro.
Several colonists menioned having heard
of such an "animal ; bu in Caracas a native
of Old Spain, a young man of respectabi
lity, assured me positiv:Iy that once, when
shooting with a party « these mountains,
one of his companions killed an animal
which he narrowly inspeted, more resem
bling a very large goat thn a deer, and hav
ing only a singlehorn ex*tly in the middle
of the head. I could iot refuse yield
ing belief to this account, diich was repeat
ed to me at various tires, without the
smallest appearance of exaction, or the
idea of there being any thi* extraordinary

CARACAS TO LA VICTORIA. 73
in the circumstance. It is probable that a
very few years will either bring forward un
deniable proofs ofthe existence of this ani
mal, or .afford just grounds to suspect the
truth of all the narrations concerning it.
Having at length reached the summits
of this great chain of hills, and preparing
to descend on the opposite side, we enjoy
most beautiful views ofthe green cultivated
valleys at a great distance beneath us.
The long and rapid descent is reckoned to
be nearly four leagues from the summit of
the hills to the Coucuisas, a name said by
some to be derived from the tribe of Indians
which formerly was established there ; and,
by others, from the aloes with which it
once abounded. Night, however, sur
prized us, before we were half down the
' mountain, and we stopped at a small
house, where we thought ourselves happy
in procuring green maize for our horses
and mules. The whole plant is cut down
and given to them, nor is there any green
food which appears to yield them so much
sustenance. For ourselves, two fowls
were speedily killed and cooked, and cakes

74 CARACAS TO LA VICTORIA.
of maize made warm ; but the whole house
afforded only one small table, and neither
chair, nor stool, of any kind. We there
fore followed the fashion of the country ;
and when supper was brought in, hung
our hammocks sufficiently low to serve for
seats, and placed the table between: us.
When we reclined, we might have passed
for two Romans on Triclinia, had they
not been continually swinging to and fro
with the slightest motion. Our seats were
likewise our beds. These kind of houses
here are almost wholly devoid of furniture.
The lower classes sleep on mats, spread on
the earth floor, and the better sort have~
hammocks. Every traveller is supposed to
carry his hammock with him ; and for his
accommodation, nails or hooks are fastened
into the walls, sometimes so insecurely
that he runs considerable risk of coming
to the ground in his sleep, head or feet
foremost, as it may happen.
On the spot where this hut now stands,
there is a tradition of a Spanish prisoner
having beenkilled, and eaten, by the native
Indians, during their wars with the first

CARACAS TO LA VICTORIA. 75
adventurers. His fate was unknown to his
companions, until one of his fingers, which"
was distinguished by a scar, was found
among the ashes. This was all that re
mained ofthe unfortunate Marques ; but
the hut still retains his name, and marks
the spot where he suffered.
After hearing this, tale, which was here
related as if it had beep an important event
in history, I went out to breathe the cool
air, before betaking myself to my ham
mock. The night was calm ; but on the
summit of many a dark mountain round,
distant fires were blazing, which had been.
lighted to clear away the ground, and which
cast a pale and trembling light upwards to
the clouds. It appeared as if ancient times
were suddenly recalled, and that armies of
Indians were advancing in all directions
again, to make a sacrifice to their gods of
us unfortunate Europeans.
About three o'clock in the morning, we
again set out, and continued our descent,
guided by the light of the stars. This part
of the road we found in some places more
steep1 and rugged than any in our whole

76 CARACAS TO LA VICTORIA.
journey, being indeed more difficult to
pass than the worst between La Guayra
and Caracas. Here a catastrophe befel my
unfortunate companion, somewhat similar
to that of Timothy Crabshawe, in one of
his midnight wanderings with Sir Lancelot
Greaves. I was suddenly surprized by the
sight of his horse, which appeared at my
side full of glee but without his rider.
Alarmed at-this phenomenon, I halted, and
heard the sound of " stop my horse" re
echoing through the woods, and soon found
that my friend, passing too closely under
one of the trees, had encountered a bough,
where his horse proceeding from under
him had left him swinging in the wind. At
day dawn, we reached Las Coucuisas, con
sisting of a few scattered houses, at the
bottom of the hill. Of these, the princi
pal was a Pulperia, before the door of
which a number of Indians and other tra
vellers, proceeding to Caracas, were col
lected, waiting till jt should be opened to
prepare themselves for climbing the moun
tains, from which we had just descended.
Among the Indians, were many young
2

CARACAS TO LA VICTORIA. 77
women of pleasing features, who were
going together in parties, to seek for work
in the coffee plantations, where they are
employed in picking the berries. They
told me that in the low countries, their
usual wages were about two reals, or one
quarter of a dollar per day, besides a small
quantity of provisions ; but that in the
high lands of Caracas, they would not work
during the coffee season, under three reals,
on account of its being there so extremely
cold. The men who accompanied them
were in general strongand stout, but though
large, yet not so well limbed as the Indians
of North America. Their colour was of a
yellowish cast, inclining to copper; their
hair long, coarse, and black, growing low
down upon a narrow forehead : the nose at
the point suddenly becoming sharp, like
that of a person worn out by long illness ;
the eyes black, melancholy, and inexpres
sive ; the lips thick, and the mouth some
what large. The general air of these In
dians was heavy, sad, and sullen. Some
of them, while they rested their burthens,
amused themselves by blowing into a spe-

78 CARACAS TO LA VICTORIA.
cies of flute, if it can be so called, without
doubt one of the rudest ever sounded by
the human breath. They consisted of sin
gle joints of cane with one longitudinal
opening in the side, too' long to be covered
with the whole palm of the hand, when
applied to it. They blew into the upper
part of this aperture, and according as they
covered more or less of the lower part
with their hands, was the tone somewhat
varied. The sound was like that of the
wind sighing in the forests, or among
rocks: sometimes rising almost to a scream,
and then dying away into a whisper. This
alternate rise and fall constituted the whole
of the music ; which, excepting the drum
of the negroes, consisting of a solid piece
of wood, beat by two sticks, was the rudest
I had ever heard. It seemed, however, td
afford infinite satisfaction to those for whose
ears it was designed ; they listened in si
lence, and when the performers reached
the height of screaming, all eyes were
turned towards us, to see if we were not
yet touched by such master pieces of me
lody. At length the doors of the Pulperia.
opened, and the music ceased.

CARACAS TO LA VICTORIA. ?9
Each of these Indians carried a burthen
of a great weight. They in general con
sisted of a kind of tall round basket, or
cage, formed of cane and rushes, upwards
of six feet in height, with a conical top,
and divided into five or six stages full of
fowls. I tried to lift some of them, and
could not estimate their weight at less than
two hundred English pounds. It is in these
cages that the Indians bring every kind of
fowl to market, as well as monkeys and
parrots, carrying them on their backs, sup
ported by a broad strap which goes over the
forehead. In this manner they travel over
mountains and valleys, more than a hun
dred miles to Caracas, with poultry. The
boys begin with small cages, gradually en-
creasing the size and weight, until they are
able to carry the largest, on which point
there is great emulation amongst them.
Close behind the Coucuisas runs the
river Tuy, in a narrow valley, through
which is the road to Victoria. This stream
here rather more considerable than the
Guayra of Caracas, flows first to the west
ward, but afterwards winds round the hillsa
5

s

80 CARACAS TO LA VICTORIA.
and falls into the Guayra, which it greatly
augments, and renders navigable for ca
noes. At the Goucuisas we pass this ri
ver, or rather go splashing along its bed
for about fifty yards, when, after a short
ride on its bank, we pass it again. In this
manner we cross or wade along the bed of
the river, more than twenty-five time's in
the space of two leagues, with the water
generally up to the girth of the saddle ;
such is the narrowness of the valley, and
the steepness of its sides. At some places
only fertile spots have been banked in and
cultivated ; but no attempt has yet been
made fo form a road along the side of the
hills, although all the objects of commerce
between Caracas and the valleys of Aragoa
and Valencia pass this way. In other
points of view, although not highly pic
turesque, the natural beauties of this val
ley are yet sufficient to compensate the
traveller for its inconveniences. Some
times the river, divided into several chan
nels, runs through among the trees, which
border the sides of the valley ; then, sud
denly uniting into one, it pours along a

CARACAS TO LA VICTORIA. 8*1
clear and rapid stream over a bed of
Smooth rounded stones. Here and there
are scattered huge trunks of trees, which
have been brought down by the torrents,
and now forrri bridges over some divisions
of the stream. The steep sides of the
vallej are generally green, or covered with
weeds, amongst which we can notice
trees, on which are large bosses of plas-
terered earth ; the nests of a species of ant,
furnished with long winding passages of
the same material, by which to reach the
ground. At length the valley widens ;
We leave the river, and proceeding along
the side of the hills on our right, enjoy
for some time a view of it as it flows amid
various flourishing plantations. In other
parts it is concealed from us by tall reeds
or canes, which grow along the banks to
the height of twenty-five or thirty feet,
and are swayed to and fro by one impulse
of the slightest breeze. Not far from
this, we arrive at El Consejo, sometimes
called Mamou, consisting of about two
hundred poor houses ; but which indicate,
by the new appearance of many of them,
G

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

S3

CHAP. V.
La Victoria to Valencia and Puerto CabeUo.
JLA Victoria is a scattered town, situated
mostly in a plain, and interspersed with gar
dens and trees ; so that it is not easy to form
an accurate estimate of its extent, until after
traversing it in every direction, and viewing
it from the surrounding heights. Some of
the principal streets contain houses equal to
those of Caracas, and the general appear
ance, although irregularis pleasing, convey
ing the idea of something between a town
and a very large village. The principal offi
cers of the militia of the neighbouring val
leys of Aragoa reside here, thus making it
as it were a seat of Government, and con
tributing materially to form the manners
of the inhabitants, such as they are. A
large Plaza, or publick square, is marked
out, but the houses are not yet completed.
On one side stands the principal church ;
which, although not finished, is, in its inte-
g2

84 LA VICTORIA TO VALENCIA.
rior, beyond comparison the most beautiful
and best proportioned public edifice that I
saw in the whole country. Its form is ob
long ; and, besides being large and lofty, a
simplicity reigns throughout the whole,
which contrasts most favourably with all
the other churclhea of the> province. Tlaii
beauty will, perhaps, however vanish in. at
great degree; with the growing prosperity
of the townv Its walls and pillars will be
come coveredi with pictures; . gilded statues*
of saints, and altars* of aj^reat; variety of
forms adorned with lamps and- candlesticks.
Yet even/ then, in my opinion, the interior
ofthe ehurchof La Victoria will remain an-
honourable monument to the memory of
the architect by whom it was planned. >'
A river as large as the Tuy runs> near
the town; and supplies abundance ofiwater
for the purposes«of irrigation. The plan
tations. round are in general well cultivated^
and I here, for the first time, saw1 the specta
cle, so novel and so interesting to an Euro
pean, of wheat and the sugar cane growing
close together. The wheat, which was still
green-, appeared, as fine, as any I had ever

LA "VICTORIA TO VALENCIA. 85
seen in England, and was not separated,
even by the slightest trench, from extensive
fields of Otaheitan sugar caries, by which
it was inclosed.
La Victoria was originally a village peo
pled with Indians, whom the missionaries
had collected together; but the goodness of
the soil, and the advantages of situation,
rapidly collected settlers from every part,
until very few descendants of the first In
dian families now remain. The population
is about eight thousand souls, among which
are many Creole families of distinction.
The love of gaming, so general in all the
colonies, is here carried to great excess.
At the Posada where I stopped, parties as
sembled for that purpose, from morning to
night; and I daily witnessed all the agitation
which this miserable passion excites. The
most violent quarrels and even bloodshed
were sometimes the result, but in general
the anger of the parties was satisfied with
horrid imprecations and the most desperat%
threats. Although generally very healthy, La Vic-*
toria suffered about six years ago from a

86 LA VICTORIA TO VALENCIA.
destructive epidemic disorder, which raged
throughout the vallies of Aragoa and the
plains of Valencia. Those who were taken
ill seldom escaped, and their fate was soon
determined. It frequently commenced its
attacks by the head, the patient dropped
down without the least previous complaint,
and sometimes expired in less than an hour.
So numerous were these instances, that per
sons were employed to go about the streets
to collect the bodies of those who died thus
suddenly, and carry them away for intern
ment. I was shown a servant of the Posada
who, being subject to epileptic fits, had
dropped down in the street, and been car
ried away with the dead. The bodies were
arranged in the church previous to inter
ment, while the priest repeated the usual
prayers; in the middle of which the epilep
tic man recovered from his trance, and got
up as suddenly as he had fallen down. The
priest was disconcerted and dropped his
^jook ; while the congregation, no less
alarmed, hurried out of the church, or fer
vently crossed themselves as being unable
to move.

LA, VICTORIA TO VALENCIA. 87
Having stopped a few days at La Victo
ria, we prepared to continue our journey,
and set off before dawn for San Mateo,
distant about two leagues. Between the
two, the road crosses a small ridge, from
which we obtain the first view of the lake
of Valencia, and of the grand plain in which
it lies. This view may be classed among
some of the most magnificent in nature.
We beheld at break of day, a rich plain
extending before us to the westward more
than fifty miles, a long regular line at a
great distance which marked the lake, and
the horizon bordered with high mountains.
After descending from this little height we
?aw no more of the lake until after passing
the straggling villages of San Mateo and
Tulmero, and approaching Maracai, when it
appeared again not far from us. The plan
tations in the neighbourhood of San Mateo
are mostly of sugar canes, and those around
Tulmero, of tobacco.
After halting at Tulmero, which i3 two
leagues and a half from San Mateo, we
arrived at Maracai in the heat of the day,
a farther distance of three leagues and a

88 LA VICTORIA TO VALENCIA.
half over an open country, or covered only
with bushes, which afford shelter to a vast
number of small deer. We were struck
with the appearance of Maracai, which, as
We had been informed, was, forty years ago,
no more than a hamlet. It is now a town,
containing nearly ten thousand inhabitants;
the principal street through which the road
passes is more than half a mile in length,
and many of the houses are built of stone.
It stands near the eastern end of the lake,
but not immediately upon it. Charming
plantations extend from it in all directions,
and there is a general air of prosperity, and
still more of activity, which I was puzzled
to account for, until I learned that work wa^fr
here chiefly performed by free labourers,
and the use of slaves for the great purposes
of society, comparatively speaking, but lit
tle known.
We were conducted to a decent Posada,
and our Mulatto, without asking any ques
tions, having slung our" hammocks as a
matter of course, we followed the general
example of thus resting for two hours
during the heat of the day. In the after-

LA VICTORIA TO VALENCIA. 89
noon we pursued our journey. Soon after
leaving Maracai we began to have occa
sional views of the lake through the trees
and bushes- which border the road ; and
having proceeded about three leagues, and
passing a few houses called Tapatapa, we
arrived at La Cabrera, or the Goatfold ; where
stood a Pulperia, and a few houses at the
foot of a small calcareous hill. As the sun
was just about to set, we ascended this emi
nence by a winding path formed by the nu
merous goats which browze upon it, and
enjoyed from the top a view the most beau
tiful that can be imagined. The hills at
La Cabrera advance into the lake, and thus
enable us to see nearly the whole of its ex
tent. This beautiful sheet of water, which
is upwards of thirteen hundred feet above
the level of the sea, and was called by the
Indians the Lake of Tacarigua, extends
about thirty miles in a direction from
E. N. E. to W. S. W. and appears to be*
about twelve in its greatest breadth. It
resembles Loch Lomond in the number of
small islands scattered over its bosom,
amounting to twenty-seven ; but the moun.

§0 LA VICTORIA TO VALENCIA.
tains which surround it, although desert,
have not the wild and rugged character of
those which border the Scottish Lake. The
southern side, even viewed at this distance,
is highly picturesque, the water approach
ing close to the foot of the hills; which,
being covered with forests of mimosas and
broad-leaved bananas, have a softness and
luxuriancy which cannot be surpassed. At
both ends of the lake, the country is level,
soon terminating to the eastward in the
hills which shut in the valley of La Victo
ria, but extending to the south-west beyond
Valencia farther than the eye canVeach.
The whole of this grand scene was now
enriched with all the soft tints which the
sun, just sunk below the horizon, could
impart in this delightful climate. The tops
of the highest mountains still glowed with
fire, but a purple light reigned in the val
leys, and a soberer tint was spread over the
^surface of the lake. Upon it, appeared at
a distance a small solitary sail, being the
first that in the knowledge of man was here
ever spread. From a knowledge of * this
circumstance we viewed it with some inte-

LA VICTORIA TO VALENCIA. 91
rest, as the germ of future improvement ,
and utility.
At length the prospect became indistinct,
and we descended to the house. The
small canoes of the fishermen were drawn
up on the beach ; but we observed black
moving spots upon the lake, which, we were
afterwards informed, were the heads of
bavas, a species of crocodile, three or four
feet in length, which are here very nume
rous, but harmless. In the interior of the
country, they are found in very small lakes
and ponds, where they are frequently seen
sleeping with their heads above the sur
face. Having reached the house, we found
Our supper prepared, of fish fresh from the
lake, and were afterwards presented with
cocoa made very sweet, and with draughts
of guarapo. A shed, supported by posts,
and open on three sides, was allotted to us
for the night. Our hammocks were fast
ened from side to side, and we enjoyed, as
we lay, the brilliancy of the stars, until
gradually lulled to sleep by the monoto
nous sound of the small waves which fell
upon the shore.

92 LA VICTORIA TO VALENCIA.
Nothing can shew more strongly the
great room for improvement in this coun
try, than the simple fact to which I have
alluded, of boats, with sails, having never
yet been used by the inhabitants of the
borders ofthe lake of Valencia. Although
separated from the sea by only a single
range of hills, and using small boats on
the lake for the purpose of fishing, it is
somewhat singular, that in the course of
more than two centuries, none of them
should have thought of using a sail. A
native of Biscay, settled in Valencia, had
now first tried the experiment, and it
formed no small part of the conversation
of those who were assembled at the Pul
peria of La Cabrera.
We set off, as usual, before break of day.
From the eminence of La Cabrera, the
preceding evening, we had flattered our
selves with a charming ride along the bor
ders of the lake, to Valencia; but in this
we found ourselves disappointed. Except
some partial glimpses through the trees,
in descending frorn the small heights of
La Cabrera, we were soon confined to a
5

LA VICTORIA TO VALENCIA. Q$
road, bordered with trees and bushes,
which seldom afforded openings towards
tlie lake. When they did, it was tantaliz
ing to see; ourselves so close to this beau
tiful sheet of water, but prevented from
enjoying the view of it, by tangled bushes
and reeds. At the end of five leagues,
after passing the small hamlets of Mariara,
Agua Blanca, Cura, and San Joaquin,
the former of which has- a neat little white
church, we arrive at Guacara, a straggling
village, containing, as I should suppose,
about four thousand inhabitants. The
houses^ are almost universally low and? •
mean; but bear the appearance of increas
ing* in number. Here we rested, the heat
becoming oppressive. We procured in the
village bananas, eggs, and cakes of maize,
on which we breakfasted, and then rested
in our hammocks till the afternoon. From
Guacara to Valencia, is a distance of four
leagues, through a country mostly open,
and constantly level. The whole of the
immense plain of Valencia presents indeed
every appearance of having been formerly

94 LA VICTORIA TO VALENCIA.
covered with water. It is in general level,
up to the very bases ofthe surrounding
hills, and the soil has every appearance of
being formed by sediment. As we ap
proach Valencia, the road winds near the
foot of some high and steep rocks, forming
.here a kind of pass : directly after which
we have a view of the town, situated upon
small slopes, and open on every side. Be
fore entering it, we cross a small stream,
which runs at the foot of the first of these
slopes, and are immediately in the town,
the appearance of which has nothing
striking. Some of the streets, itris true,
are tolerably well built; but the houses
are in general low and irregular. On the
eastern side of the great square, stands
the principal church, by no means equal
to that of La Victoria, either in its size
or proportions. Into this square, General
Miranda, and the troops of Caracas, pene
trated in an attack made some months
subsequent to the time of my being there,
but were repulsed with great loss, by the
fire from the windows and the tops of the

LA VICTORIA TO VALENCIA. Q5
houses, and obliged to retreat to Guacara.
As yet no blood had been spilt ; but all
was silence, mjstrust, suspipion, and alarm.
The Posada, where we stopped, was
kept by a Biscayan, and a considerable
*umber of his countrymen assembled in
the evening, to drink and gamble. When
no native of America was present, they
complained bitterly of the hardships of
their situation. Suspected without a cause,.
closely watched, and continually liable to
insults; they were ill-treated, merely for
being natives of Old Spain, and supposed
to be therefore inimical to the cause of in
dependence. They had almost all been
many years in the country ; were married,
and had establishments, either commer
cial or agricultural, where they had in
troduced many* improvements, and one
of them was the proprietor of the boat on
the lake, which had excited so much atr
tention ; they had declared their resolu
tion to take no hostile measures, and to
be bound by every legal restriction; but
the patriotic party was not satisfied. Many
of their friends had been already obliged

Q6 LA VICTORIA TO VALENCIA.
to quit the province j qf those who re
mained, others were preparing to follow,
and not one, could , consider himself as se
cure in his property, or even in his life. As
they constituted the most active class of
citizens in Valencia, their forced seclusion
from business sufficiently accounted? for-
the dullness which reigned throughout
the place. Instead of the bustle, which
usually prevails in all towns and villages^
in, hot countries, after the sun is gone
down, we had passed as through a town
half deserted, where the people met toge
ther in groupes, at the corners of a few
streets, to whisper and surmise fearful
chapges. Valencia stands about three miles to the
westward of the lake to which it gives-
name, but which is still sometimes known
by its. ancient Indian appellation of Tacari*
gua. It was founded about the year 1556
by Alonzo Dias Morena, principally with
the view of forming a station, from
which to advance against the valley of
Caracas. Its advantageous situation, how
ever, as a point of communication be-

VALENCIA TO PUERTO CABELLO. Q?
tween Puerto Cabello and the inland
towns, has given it a rapid progress in
improvement. The present population
amounts to about ten thousand souls,
among which many are of the immediate
descendants of Biscayans and Catalonians.
Hitherto, our journey from Caracas has
been along the southern side of the chain
of mountains which stretches from the
Gulph of Paria to the westward of Car-
thagena, and forms a lofty barrier between
the interior of the continent and the sea.
To reach Puerto Cabello, we must cross
this chain, at the base of which, on op
posite sides, lie Valencia and its port, with
different elevations, but in the same rela
tive positions as Caracas and La Guayra.
From Valencia, over the plain, to the foot
of the Sierra, is about four leagues, when
we find two or three houses, and a small
guard. Immediately afterwards, we begin
to climb a steep ascent of two leagues,
until near the summit, we reach a small
Venta, kept by a Biscayan, where travel
lers usually halt. There is a delightful
view from this Venta, and from a neigh-
H

98 VALENCIA TO
bouring height, on which a brass cannon',
miserably mounted, is planted, rather, it
would seem, to communicate signals, than
for the purpose of defence. From this
height, we cast our eyes over great part of
the plain of Valencia, and of the lake,
which we see between the rugged summits
of intervening hills; while, to the west
ward, we behold plains, bordered by moun
tains, stretching out farther than the eye
can reach. Soon after quitting this Venta,
we reach the summit of the ridge, and
enjoy a last view of Valencia. During the
whole ascent,, few or only stunted trees
are to be seen ; but immediately that we
peach the top, we find ourselves in a forest.
Our guide told, us, I know not with what
truth, that tigers were sometimes seen in
this part of the road. At this intelligence,
we drew out our pistols, the only defence
we had,, and proceeded with them in our
hands. The possibility of an attack from
so formidable an enemy, seemed to increase
the deep shades of the surrounding woods.
J had never before passed over a roadi,
which, without affording very extensive
3

PUERTO CABELLO. g9
prospects, was yet so calculated to in spire
grand and gloomy ideas. The view was
bounded by high mountains, except to
wards the north, which afforded at intervals
a partial glimpse of the sea. All around
were peaked hills and deep vallies, clothed
with trees. At every step we seemed to
be descending, still more and more, into
an immense amphitheatre, on the summit
of which the clouds rested. The silence
of the forest was broken at intervals, by
the cries of unknown birds, and, as we
descended still.more and more, by the fall
and the rushing of water on our left. We
looked down, and beheld an immense
chasm, at the bottom of which, the tallest
trees appeared small, and where a consi
derable stream, by its windings and changes
of form, gave unceasing variety to the
views. Sometimes it appeared below us,
like a long narrow lake of great depth,
terminating at one end in a noisy caspade.
Sometimes it rushed along through a deep
channel of solid rocks, which it had evi
dently worn for itself, in the course of
ages, or strayed amongst huge blocks of
h2

I0O PUERTO CABELLO.
granite, which interrupted its course. The
first objects which we saw to break the
wildness of the scene, were solitary huts,
formed of branches of trees, plastered with
clay, surrounded by a little spot of cleared
ground1. TheSe huts gradually increased
in number, and improved in appearance as
we descended, until they terminated at
length in handsome houses and planta
tions. We passed the torrent by a bridge,
still in an unfinished state, and found that
the scenery had here lost none of its in
terest. I have sCen many glens, but none
to equal this, Which winds from the sum
mit of the lofty mountains almost to the
sea shore. At length we left the woods,
and after a continued descent of five
leagues, came in sight of Puerto Cabello,
situated in a flat close to the sea, amidst
marshes, full of mangrove trees, and over
flowed with the tide. We were struck with
the mean appearance of the houses, which
were all low, and in many instances, seemed
little superior to the huts we had passed
in the woods. In the whole place we could
not find a Posada, and were fortunate ul

PUERTO CABELLO. lOl
having letters, which procured us an asy
lum in a private , family. Here we soon
forgot the fatigue of our journey, and were
enabled, during a week's residence, to make
our observations on the port and the neigh
bouring country.
Puerto Cabello stands upon a small neck
of land, which has been cut through, and
thus formed into an artificial island. A
bridge crosses this cut, and affords entrance
tathe original city, which is small but to
lerably well built and fortified. The har
bour is formed by a low islapd to the north
west and banks covered with mangrove
trees, which shelter it on every side. It is;
deep and capacious. An excellent wharf,
faced with stone, allows of vessels of a
large burthen being layed close alongside
of it ; and as they can be easily and se
curely fastened to the shore, anchors are
here seldom necessary. To this circum
stance, in which it resembles the harbour
of Curaqoa, Puerto Cabello is said to owe
its name, as implying that vessels may there
be secured by a single hair. The island is
strongly fortified ; and the batteries, being

102 PUERTO CABELLO.
low and mounted with heavy cannon, are
capable of making a good defence. To
wards the land the works are riot so strong,
and the whole is within reach of bomb-
shot from the first heights to the south
ward of the town, some of which are for
tified. This harbour and La Guayra form a
striking contrast. Here vessels lie, as in
a small smooth lake, while the waves break
high upon the outside of the island and
along the shore. In return for this, the
worm makes great ravages in the bottom
of such ships as are not coppered. In no
part of the world is it more destructive ;
and a small vessel left unattended, in a very
few months would founder at her moorings
from this cause alone.
The plain in which Puerto Cabello stands
is bounded on the south by mountains, and
on the north by the sea, and is no where
more than two miles in breadth. To the
west a small river descends from the moun
tains, and empties itself into the sea. To
the south-east of the town the flats are an
nually flooded by the rains ; and the exha-

PUERTO CABELLO". 103
lations from them are very probably the
cause of the destructive fevers which so fre
quently rage here in the summer and au
tumn months. Few strangers can then visit
this port with impunity, or at least without
great danger; and there have been instances
of vessels losing the greater part of their
crews in a very short time. This, how
ever, has not prevented the rapid increase
of the place, which was. originally confined
within the works upon the small peninsula,
out of which no houses were for some time
allowed to be. built. At first low huts were
erected, under the express condition of be
ing demolished in case of an enemy's ap
proach ; and in a long interval of years,
during which no hostile force appeared,
these huts were gradually enlarged and in
creased. The suburbs now exceed the
town .in population and extent, but still re
tain their low and mean appearance, and
are subject to the original stipulations in
case of danger. A great proportion of the
houses have no upper story ; and the popu
lation being almost entirely coloured, a

104 PUERTO CABELLO.
stranger is more apt to consider the whole
as a large Indian village than as part of an
European settlement.
About a league to the westward of Puerto
Cabello is the small bay of Borburata, used
as a port previous to the establishment of
the former. The road to it leads across the
marshy plain of Puerto Cabello to the side
of the hills, along which it winds for some
time, until it again crosses a sandy flat, and
brings us to the opening of the valley of
Borburata. The bottom of this valley is
level, or very gently sloped, towards the
sea, and consists of a deep rich mould,
every where covered with banana trees, mi
mosas, triplaris, and plantations of sugar,
coffee, and cacao. The latter are easily
distinguished by the tall erytrines which
shade the cacao theobroma, and are cover
ed with clusters of red flowers. As they
rise with a straight stem, they permit a free
circulation of air beneath, while their tuft
ed tops effectually exclude the scorching
rays of the sun. Houses and clusters of
huts are scattered about among the trees

PUERTO CABELLO. 105
and a kind of church marks what may be
considered as the centre of the village of
Borburata. A small stream serves to irri
gate the numerous plantations. The po
pulation is entirely a coloured race, in which
is a great proportion of Indian blood. The
air of the valley is moist and hot ; and
snakes abound, in the luxuriant herbage
which every where covers the soil. One of
these crossed my path, and another, large
and yellow with dark spots, lay basking be
neath a bush, into which he glided on my
approach. Mountains, covered with wood,
inclose this fertile flat on every side, except
a small opening towards the sea. Here,
lower down was formerly the principal port
on the coast. Vessels drawing ten or
twelve feet water can anchor in a bite near
the shore"; the bottom is a fine white sand;
and Borburata is still the chief port from
which the mules, horses, and cattle, of Ve
nezuela, are exported to Jamaica, and other
islands of the West-Indies,
The population of Borburata, as might
naturally be expected from its formation,

106 PUERTO CABELLO.
is decidedly in favour of the new' system of
government. That of Puerto Cabello was
long of a more doubtful cast, until the ex
pulsion of almost the whole of the native
Spaniards, who were there established either
in publick or private situations. Even yet
they were supposed to have left behind them
many adherents, attached by long habits of
intercourse, or by near family ties. A
strong but secret party exjsted, more for
midable from its comparative knowledge,
and extensive connections, than from num
bers or power, from which last indeed it
Was almost entirely excluded. The neigh
bourhood, and the frequent intercourse
With Curaqoa, afforded regular information
as to the real state of affairs in the Euro
pean peninsula, and thus enabled them to
detect, and secretly to expose, the falla
cious accounts so frequently current of the
retreat and embarkation ofthe English, and
the final and compleat extinction of the
Spanish cause. Their enemies, on the
other hand, supplied by numbers and vehe
mence what was deficient in correct infor-

PUERTO CABELLO. 107
mation ; and as they continued daily to ac
cuse and send away the most eminent off
their opponents, one party increased in
strength in proportion as the other was gra
dually losing all traces of its former ascen
dancy.

108
CHAP. VI.
Return to Caracas. — General View.
AFTER ten days' residence at Puerto Ca
bello, I prepared to return to Caracas, leav
ing my companion, who waited for a vessel
bound to Curaqoa. On the 6th February,
1811, I set off, attended by my trusty Mu
latto, and soon lost sight of the unhealthy
flat of Puerto Cabello. In two hours I
was amongst woods, and water-falls, and
mountains, and clouds ; and looked down
with undiminished pleasure on the dark ro
mantic glen which had so much delighted
me in my descent. From the summit of
the mountains I once more enjoyed a view
of the extensive plain of Valencia, and des
cended to that ill-fated town. I saw again
the pass of El Morro and the village of
Mariara, where civil bloodshed was first to
take place. Once more, I traversed the
banks of the lake, and enjoyed from the top

RETURN TO CARACAS. 10^
of La Cabrera a view which, as the sun dis
appeared, acquired new charms beneath the
mild light of the moon. I again admired
the thriving appearance of Maracai, and
on the eminence which divides La Victoria
from the plains of Valencia took a distant
and farewell view of the lake.
From La Victoria, through El Consejo,
I descended into the valley and bed of the
Tuy, which I again traversed upwards of
five and twenty times before reaching Las
Coucuisas, at the foot Of the mountains
which separate the vallies of Aragoa from
that of Caracas. On the summits of these '
mountains I once more felt the grateful
influence of cold, once more saw vallies
dark and deep without rivers or lakes, and
viewed Caracas at the distance of twenty
miles, presenting an appearance the most
beautiful and interesting. I descended to
wards this charming valley with a mind full
of all the wonders I had seen ; and, finally,
having left a brother in Caracas, I entered
my residence there with feelings somewhat
similar to those which a traveller expe-

HO GENERAL VIEW.
riences when after a long absence he visits
his native home.
Thus have we traversed a small but inte
resting portion ofthe Continent of Ameri
ca, Every where we have found a fertile
soil, and, except in particular spots upon
the coast, a pure and healthy air. Even
the unwholesomeness of these situations is
compensated by their exuberant fertility,
and by the gradual adaptation of the inha
bitants to the atmosphere in which they
live. With little labour man here earns
an easy subsistence, and the industrious
European has never failed to acquire in
time a certain portion of opulence and ease.
Let us recapitulate some of the more ob
vious particulars, and add others' as they
may occur to our remembrance. We will
then examine what has retarded, and long
will retard, the progress of this country
towards that perfection which some of its
admirers so ardently contemplate.
We land at La Guayra, A heavy surf
breaks along the shore, and we are obliged
to watch the swelling of the waves to leap

GENERAL VIEW. 11V
Upon the wharf. Flocks of grey pelicans-
float upon the waves, from which they rise
at intervals, and then plunge down upon
their prey. We notice the fins of sharks
above the water, whilst people are careless
ly swimming near the wharf, and are told,
that, by a sacred charm, these voracious
fish have no pqwer to do hurt between the
two small capes that shelter the road of La
Guayra. When we are farther credibly
informed, that accidents never do occur ;
being hereticks, we attribute it to the con
stant noise of the breakers, and agitation
of the water. From La Guayra to Puerto
Cabello, high mountains border all the
coast ; rising, generally, immediately from
the sea. At intervals, rich valleys open,
and the sides of the mountains are covered
with the finest trees, whilst their opposite
slopes towards the interior are bare, or
covered only with inferior timber. The
average height of this chain of mountains
is about four thousand five hundred feet
above the level of the sea, although the
peak, which rises to the eastward, and be
hind La Guayra, is upwards of eight thou-

112 GENERAL VIEW.
sand feet high. In this town, closely con
fined by steep hills, we do not stop longer
than is necessary to taste the tropical fruits;
or perhaps to visit a wild glen which bounds
it to the eastward, and to bathe in the cool
stream, which there pours down from the
hills. We pass the pleasant village of Ma
cuta, a mile from La Guayra, and soon
look down upon it, from the height of a
thousand feet. We ascend, and, on the
mountain tops, the European breathes with
delight, the cool air of his native country
between the tropics. We go on foot, and
Smile at the idea of a bad road forming a
defence to a great Country. How charm
ing is the view of the valley of Caracas at
the dawn of day, when the mists slowly
rising unveil the prospect, and linger in
the form of white clouds on the tops of
the surrounding hills ! We descend to the
town, and pause anew to make our ob
servations. Four leagues to the eastward of Caracas,
on a gentle eminence, from which springs
gush forth, stands a pleasant village, ori
ginally inhabited entirely by Indians. To

GENERAL VIEW. 113
the westward, on the other hand, on the op
posite side of the Guayra, in a small recess
of the mountains, a white church tower,
surrounded by huts, points out an esta
blishment, formed by the Missionaries. All
throughout the valley are plantations of
sugar, coffee, and maize. Irrigation is
well understood, and its general use is fa
voured by the nature of the ground, which '
constantly slopes towards the east. The
water is led in channels, from the upper
parts of the stream, along the sides ofthe
hills, and afterwards distributed throughout
the fields. The same system is practised
at the plantations on the Tuy, near Las
Coucuisas, at La Victoria, and in the vallies
of Aragoa. The use of the plough is un
known. All work is done with the spade
and the hoe, and chiefly by slaves. The
lighter work is performed by Indians, ant!
free labourers, which last class is increasing
rapidly. Maize and plantains form the
basis of their food, to which are added,
beef and garlic. The maize is generally
eaten in the form of cakes, being first
soaked, deprived of the husk, and then
I

114 GENERAL VIEW.
ground, or rather rubbed into a moist
paste, by means of a roller, and a smooth
curved slab of stone. This operation falls-
to the lot of the women. Beef seldom ex-:
ceeds two pence sterling per pound, al
though sometimes, for several days toge-.
ther, there is none to be procured, owing
to the want of regularity in the supplies
from the interior, or the droughts in sum
mer, when herbage cannot be procured
along the road. The meat, when meant
to be kept, is, in a manner, torn in long
slips from the bone, soaked in strong
brine, and then hung over poles in the
open air, to dry. At every butchery, flo«ks
of carrion-vultures, of a disgusting appear
ance, regularly attend, and being seldom
molested, become nearly tame. To them
is committed the task of picking the bones,
and removing all the offals, which other
wise, with the indolence of the inhabitants,
would, in this climate, soon become into
lerable. Poultry is scarce and dear ; a
Spanish dollar being frequently the price of
a common fowl. Mutton is unknown.
Although this country has been colonized

GENERAL VIEW. US
for nearly three centuries, the sheep has
hot yet beert introduced upon these moun
tains, where it could not fail to multiply
rapidly; The flesh of goats is used instead;
ivhich, although sufficiently palatable when
young, can never be compared for flavour,
delicacy, and nutriment; with that of the
sheep. Fish are seldom procured good at
Caracas. It is a journey of six or eight
hours for a slave from the coast ; which,
in this climate, when added to other ne
cessary delays, seldom fails to deprive them
of their flavour. The mode of cooking is
entirely Spanish, oil and garlick being ne
cessary ingredients in most dishes, and
both being imported, in large quantities,
for that purpose. There is a dispensation
from the Pope, for eating meat in Lent,
and on fast days, on account of the dif
ficulty of procuring fish, in many parts of
the interior. At the close of all entertain
ments, great quantities of sweetmeats are
used, of which the Creoles are exceedingly
fond. In lieu of sweatmeats, the common
people use coarse sugar, in the form of
loaves, called papelon. It is also customary

Il6 GENERAL VIEW.
at feasts, even at the best tables, for the
guests to pocket fruits and other articles,
as I have witnessed to my great surprise.
Although, generally, a sober race, on these
occasions they drink liberally of strong
liqueurs, , in bumpers, to each other, or to
favourite political toasts ; a custom which
they appear to have borrowed from the
English. This they do standing up; or
walking about, recurring to the table, at
intervals. Meantime the ladies sit mingled
with them, or in a contiguous apartment,
the doors of which are open. The conversa
tion is free; for an Englishman, frequently
too much so. Every thing" may be said,
provided it be but slightly covered. A
very little ingenuity is accepted as an apo
logy for the grossest allusions.
In a word, the general manners and
customs of the province are those of
Spain, by no means improved by crossing
the Atlantic, or by the mixture of Indian
and Negro blood with that of the first
conquerors. It may be laid down, as an
axiom, that wherever there is slavery, there
is corruption of mariners. There is a re^

GENERAL VIEW. 117
action of evil from the oppressed to the
oppressor, from the slave to his master.
Hqre it has been weakened, by the gene
ral mildness observed towards domestic
slaves; but it has not been destroyed, and,
even should slavery be finally abolished, its
influence over private life will long be felt.
After great debates, the importation of
slaves has been forbidden by the new legis
lature ; although many still remain of opi
nion, that they are necessary to the pros
perity of the country. During my stay
at La Guayra, a vessel arrived from the
coast of Africa, with negroes : but as she
had sailed previously to the passing of the
prohibitory law, they were allowed to be
landed, and were sold immediately, at more
than three hundred dollars each, upon an
average. In general, the owners of slaves are little
anxious how they are supported, provided
they perform the usual offices, and make
their appearance on certain occasions of
ceremony. This is a great source of dis
honesty. Whenever a slave can by any
means make up the sum of three hundred
6

118 GENERAL VIEW.
dollars to his owner, he is free. He is not
even obliged to give this sum at once, buf
may pay it in single dollars, or half dollars,
until the amount be complete. A slave
has also the liberty of seeking a new mas
ter, and may go about to sell himself.
These, and other regulations, tend, in
some measure, to alleviate the, evils of
slavery, and still more to evince, by their
beneficial effects, how much preferable
would be its complete abolition.
Almost, the whole commerce qf the
country is carried on by European Spa
niards, and by Islenos, Or Islanders, from
the Canaries. They buy and sell, are £he
merchants and the shopkeepers, in all the
towns. A spirit of union, and frequently,
an impenetrable provincial dialect, binds
them together, and gives them great ad
vantages in all their transactions. The
European, who expects to see a number of
purchasers in competition, is frequently
surprised to find only one- or two, until
the bargain being completed, the whole
who were interested in it, appear. The
natives of the country, so far from consi-

GENERAL VIEW. 119
dering this transaction of their affairs by
strangers as a reproach to their indolence,
turn it into a source of national pride.
" The Americans," say they, " have no
need to go to Europe ; but it plainly ap
pears, that. Europeans have need of us.
We are not, like them, obliged to hawk
our commodities over half the globe. Our
rich and abundant products draw them hi
ther, and convert them into our servants,"
In this manner reason the Chinese, vain
of their supposed superiority over all man
kind. And in this manner might argue
the savages of the South Seas, who behold
Europeans visiting them, but who never
visit Europe.
The manners of the towns, and in the
interior, differ greatly, or rather they be
long to different periods in the progress of
society. After passing the great chain of
mountains which borders all this coast,
from the gulph of Venezuela to that of
Paria, we come to immense plains, devoid
of trees, known by the general name of
Las Llanos, or the Plains, Beyond them
are other ridges of high mountains, which

120 GENERAL VIEW.
the traveller beholds rising gradually above
the horizon, like land when first discovered
at sea. These plains afford pasturage to
innumerable cattle, the proprietors of which
reside in the great towns, leaving them to
the care of slaves, or people of colour.
Hence a* population is rapidly forming of a
character wholly different from that of the
immediate descendants of Europeans, or the
natives of the coast. A bold and lawless
race, accustomed to be always on horseback
and living nearly in a state of nature, wan
ders over these plains. Among them are
many professed robbers, who render travel
ling dangerous, and are already beginning
to form into small bands. They live almost
entirely on the flesh of cattle, without re
garding to whom they belong ; killing an
animal at every meal, and after satisfying
their hunger, leaving the remainder of the
carcase to the birds of prey and the wild
animals of the desert. These men are well
known, and frequently pointed out in the
villages, but the inefficacy of the laws leaves
them at liberty, until someact of uncommon
atrocity excites the attention of the magis-.

(GENERAL VIEW. 12!
trates. Even after being seized, they fre
quently make their escape, either through
the carelessness of their keepers, or the
delays of justice ; and return with increased
avidity to their former mode of life. In
the villages and Small towns thinly scatter
ed over these plains, great dissoluteness of
morals prevails. The mixture of races is
a source of endless corruption, to which
are joined a climate inducing indolence and
voluptuousness, and the total absence of
all refined methods of passing time away.
The highest delight both to women and
men, is to swing about in their hammocks,
and smoke qigars. Gambling to excess,
and tormenting of bulls, are their principal
amusements. Religion has no beneficial
effect upon their morals ; if they commit
sins, they confess them and are forgiven.
To all this is joined an apathy which is asto
nishing. Liveliness forms no part of their
character ; on the contrary, they generally
speak in a mild and drawling tone, which
gives the highest idea of indifference, and
almost of a disinclination to the trouble of
opening their mouths. When a little ani-

122 GENERAL VIEW.
mated, however, this softness in the voice
of the women, it must be confessed, is not
unpleasing, until its monotony becomes
tiresome to the ear of an European.
I have not entered into a detail of the
various races which people this country, as
they are composed of the same materials
which exist in all the Spanish colonies of
South America ; and have been frequently
and accurately described. Over all, as is
well known, until very lately the European
was considered as preeminent, frequently
without any j ust cause. Next in rank were
the Creoles, or descendants of European
parents, and then a long succession of the
various shades of mixture with Indian or
African blood. The late revolutions in
this country have abolished some of these
distinctions, and seem likely in time to de
stroy still more; the probable consequences
of which are worthy of serious attention,
and which we shall now proceed to consider.

123
CHAP. VII.
Civil War.-r—General Reflection?.
jD ROM the beginning of the insurrection
a strong party appears to have existed in
all parts of South America, determined to
carry every thing to extremities, and not to
Stop short of a declaration of absolute in
dependence. This determination was but
thinly veiled in the various proclamations
which were issued ; and from the violent
invectives which they contained against the
ancient Spanish government, the result be
came early evident to every unprejudiced
mind. The professions of attachment to
Ferdinand the Seventh, as to* the common
monarch of the Spanish dominions, were
cold and theatrical. The public mind was
prepared step by step for bolder measures,
and, aUength, on the 1st of July 1811, the
Congress of Venezuela came to the resolu
tion of declaring their provinces wholly in-
3

124 CIVIL WAR.
dependent of every foreign power, and re^-
nouncing all allegiance to the Spanish Mo
narch. When we consider that the 4th
of July is the day which the inhabitants of
the United States celebrate as the anniver
sary of their independence, we cannot
regard this coincidence of dates as altoge
ther accidental. The decree was not pro
mulgated until some days subsequently.
. This step was so far decisive as to bring
to the test all those holding public em
ployments, who were averse to the mea
sure. In consequence, many men of ho
nour and abilities resigned their offices ;
others demanded passports to quit the
country; and the Spaniards and Canary
Islanders, losing all hopes, formed con
spiracies in Caracas, Cumana, and Barce
lona. The plots were discovered. Ten of
the ringleaders were executed : and subse
quently five more at once in Caracas.
Many of the remainder were conveyed to
unhealthy prisons, excluded from the
light, and where all communication with
their friends was cut off. Those who had
not been implicated, alarmed at what they

CIVIL WAR. 125
witnessed, and exposed to daily insults,
hastily disposed of their property, and every
vessel bound to the United States, or to the
neighbouring islands, was fiyed with these
men, thus twice exiles. By this means a
formidable body is gradually accumulating
at Puerto Rico, Cuba and Curaqoa, from
which, dismal accounts are spread in all di
rections of the cruelty and injustice of the
new government of Venezuela. Nothing
appeared to me more remarkable than the
tameness with which such numerous and
respectable classes of men suffered them
selves to be sent away from a country,
which they had so long enriched by their
labours; Had they united together to as
sert their privileges, and acted with com
mon prudence and courage, the existence
of the new government would have been
endangered, had it attempted violently to
oppress them. On the contrary, they first
suffered their numbers to be thinned, and
their spirits damped by the seizure and exile
of their principal members, and then at
tempted insurrections which exposed the
whole to just suspicion, and involved them

126 CIVTL WAR;
in one common ruin. Now when away
from the scene of action, they are loud arid
rancorous in their expressions of revenge,-
and exult in the hope 'of one day seeing
the authors of their misfortunes punished.
But it js now too late ; they have thrown
away all their advantages, and the day of
their power is past. The French nobility
and royalists would have totally changed
the character of the revolution, had they
remained at home. As soon as they passed
the frontiers, they became confounded with
the common mass of enemies, and possess
ed no more power than any other equal
number of armed men.
Early in the revolution of Caracas, the
Junta, formed for temporary purposes, urged
the assembling of a general congress. The
President of this Junta, Don Martin Tovar
y Ponte, was respectable for his patriotism,
and for the immense property staked by his
family on the issue of the revolution ; but
he had no ambition to act a higher part
than that of having taken a post of great
responsibility in time of danger. After the
congress had been assembled, it soon be-

CIVIL WAR. 127
came evident that a body of representatives
so collected was unfit for wielding at once
the legislative and executive powers. The
latter was therefore placed in the hands of
three men, supposed to be the most Capa
ble of using it with effect, and at the same
time with moderation. It was said, how
ever, that before many months had elapsed,
the congress wished to reclaim this danger
ous and tempting gift, and had already ex
perienced how much easier it was to bestow
power than to resume it. Be this as it
may, the Triumvirate certainly gave greater
energy and promptness to public measures,
and would doubtless have carried on the
system of Government with still more ef
fect, but for the frequent interposition of
one of those self-constituted bodies, which
arise in times of ferment and confusion, and
in which alone they can exist.
This is a heterogeneous assembly calling
itself the Patriotic Society, which regularly
meets to harangue on political topics, and
frequently to discuss with very little reserve
the measures, or what, according to them,
ought to be the measures, of their own

128 CIVIL WAR.
government. A considerable number of
Frenchmen are members of this Society,
where they frequently appear conspicuously.
The whole indeed bears strong marks of
French origin, and has a close affinity to
the memorable Jacobin Club, both in the
wildness and extravagance of the harangues
which are frequently delivered, and in its
influence over the measures of government.
About six months after his arrival, General
Miranda was elected President, and imme
diately introduced as members four Mulat-
toes, to the great satisfaction of all lovers
of real equality. Nothing farther 'need be
said of the composition of this club ; nor
will it after this be a matter of surprize,
that the conduct of England should be a
subject of frequent reprehension. So far
has this been carried, that shortly before
the declaration of absolute independence,
a regular deputation from the society was
suffered to pronounce before the congress,
a long philippic against the tyrants of the,
seas. It is hardly possible to impute this
step, so highly and openly impolitic on the
part of the congress, to any other cause

Civil War. I29
than the fear of offending the Patriotic
Society by a refusal. Yet were it not for
the interference of Great Britain, all the
ports of Venezuela would have been strictly
blockaded by Spanish ships of War from
Puerto Rico arid Cuba; an interference,
the propriety of which we shall hereafter
discuss. In this country, after the examples which
we have witnessed of the pernicious influ
ence of political clubs, thus constituted,
it is unnecessary to say any thing farther
of the Patriotic Society of Caracas. Its
power is already great ; what effects it may
hereafter produce is uncertain, although
it can hardly fail to become a powerful tool
in the hands of skilful ambition. Violent
demands were at one time made against
the members of the first Junta ; but, for
tunately, without leading to any farther
consequences, than a few idle speeches.
We must now turn to the still more un
pleasant theme of civil war, and to narrate
some of the first effects of those precipitate
declarations, which Venezuela will probably
long have cause to repent. K

130 CIVIL WAR.
Among the first measures of the aew
government, was the sending an armed
force against the city of Coro, which had
refused to join their cause. This force,
commanded by the Marquis del Toro, was
beaten by the Coreans, with considerable
loss. To lighten the disgrace, the Mar
quis absurdly insinuated, in his public dis
patches, that the enemy had been directed
and armed by the English. After this
check, affairs remained quiet for some time,
and the army of the West was seldom men
tioned. When the congress, at Caracas, de
creed the independence of the Provinces,
all were not prepared for so decisive a mea
sure, which seemed unnecessarily to tear
asunder the ties which still rendered Spain
to many an object of respect, and, under
its present circumstances, of pity. The
kingdom of Santa Fe, or Cundinamarca,
still lingered in its attachment to Ferdi
nand the Seventh. Guayana continued
loyal ; whilst Valencia, occupying so im~
portant a position on the lake, to which it
gives name, openly proclaimed that Mo
narch, and was joined by an entire bat-

CIVIL WAR. 131
talion of Pardos, or people of colour. In
July, 1811, General Miranda marched
against that city, with what troops he had
collected, expecting to be reinforced on the
march. He passed the mountains of San
Pedro, and descending into the valleys of
Aragoa, advanced to La Victoria, through
a country, generally friendly or quiet.
From the heights of La Victoria, he des
cended into the immense plains of Valencia./
At the little village of Mariara, where the
road passes close to the lake, the first
blood was spilt, in this second civil war.
The Valencians had equipped several small
gun boats, which had taken their station
here, and were concealed by the bushes,
and tall reeds, which grow along the banks
of the lake.* The officer, commanding the
advanced guard of the Caraquenians, * had
neglected to reconnoitre, and the troops
were advancing in columns, when they re
ceived several unexpected and well aimed
discharges. They succeeded in driving
away the gun-boats, but not without some
loss, and met with no farther opposition,
* Los Caraquenos, or people of Caracas.
X2

132 CIVIL WAR.
till they reached the Morro, a round
height and pass, which, in a great measure,
commands Valencia. Here the Valenciaris
made a stand; but, after a desperate resist
ance, were forced to retire, leaving several
pieces of cannon, and their chief engineer,
in the hands of the enemy. They rallied
at the entrance of the city, but were soort
attacked, and driven into the great square,
where they again rallied, and were again
dispersed, with the loss of all their artillery.
The triumph of the Caraqueniaris now
seemed complete, and they were congra
tulating themselves On their victory, when
a shower of balls, from the flat roofs and
strongly grated windows of the neighbour
ing houses, convinced them fatally of their
mistake. They attempted to penetrate
into the houses, and to advance against
the barracks, where most of the battalions
of people of colour were posted, but were
everywhere repulsed. At length, after be
ing in possession of the town for ten hours,
they were obliged to retreat, leaving behind
all the artillery which they had previously
taken ; several prisoners, and upwards of

CIVIL WAR., 133
two hundred rnen killed, or badly wounded,
including several officers. They did not
stop till they arrived at Guacara, a dis-,
tance of more thari four leagues. In this
affair both parties appear to have fought
with courage ; but the pepplet of colour,
on the side of the Valepcians, with peculiar
animosity. General Miranda exposed him-,
. self considerably, and gave fys prdejs, with
coolness. He escaped unhurt, but several
individuals of, the inpst respectable families
of Caracas were killed or maimed. The
number of the assailants was upwards of
two thousand six hundred, whilst the high
est reasonable efitirnate did not rate then-
opponents at more than, seven hpndred
armed men.
Such was the commencement of th,^
civil war of Venezuela, in which the justice
of the attack upon Valencia seems more,
dcjubtful, even than its policy. Were not
human nature every where the same, we
might be struck at seeing the Caraque-
nians, in the very infancy of their republic,
refuse to others the same liberty of .enur
ing their; form of government, which they

134 CIVIL WAR.
had so zealously asserted for themselves ;
and that their first act should be an attack
upon their brethren, merely for adhering
to their lawful monarch. Such, however,
appears to have been the history of man,
in every age, alternately oppressing and
oppressed: but always generous in granting
to his fellows full liberty of thinking the
same way as himself.
As reinforcements continued to be sent
from various quarters to the Caraquenian
army, whilst pone joined the Valencians?
it soon became evident which way the
contest, for some time at least, was to ter
minate. In little more than a fortnight,
General Miranda was enabled once more
to advance, with upwards of five thousand
men, whilst the enemy, chiefly through
the desertion of the whites, were reduced
to less than five hundred.
On the 8th August, he drove in all the
advanced posts, and fixed his head quar
ters at the Morro, close to Valencia.
Taught by former experience, he pro
ceeded with caution against a town, still
better prepared than before for making an

CIVIL WAR. 135
obstinate resistance, entrenchments having
been thrown up in the great square, and
in the various avenues to it. From the
smallness of their numbers, however, the
Valencians were soon obliged to abandon
the suburbs, and concentrate themselves
in the great square, where, being attacked
on eight different points at the same time,
they were at length closely hemmed in.
Here, being without water and provisions,
they surrendered at discretion, on the 13th
August. Th^e small flotilla, which had
been equipped with so much labour, on! the
lake, was also given up. Thus ended, for
the present, the war with Valencia; but
civil rancour had not subsided. According
to public accounts, plots and conspiracies
either shortly afterwards took place, or were
imputed to the inhabitants of this unfor
tunate city as a ground for proscriptions
and executions. Whatever may be the
present state of things, it is evident that
the seeds of hatred and discontent must
be deeply and. widely sown. Caracas ap
pears to have assumed too much to herself,
and, under false ideas of promptness and

136 CIVIL. WAR. j
energy,' to h^ye pursued a cpnduct which
may bear ,^e imputation, of rashness, and
cruelty, Y^ha,t right, i.t may be said, has
that city tQ dictate l,aw§i tp Coro and Va
lencia, and, in case of their refusal, to,
march armies , against them ? The right
of force, it will be answered, and of sound,
policy, which, after thp steps Already taken,
render i,t necessary, as rnueh as possible,.
to shut the door, against the introduction;
of foreign troops., ( Be it, so; but ce,ase,
then in congresses and, patriotic societies
tp declaim against Europe, for vindicating
acts of bipod, by the laws, pf policy ; ancl
do not be surprised if, by th[e. sapie ru,leaj a
foreign force should justify its intrusion
upon the territory of Caracas,
Whjle, 4hese occurrences were taking
place in Valencia, the army of Coro, bad
gdyanced, but too late, for its relief, as far
as San Felipe pn the west ; and the Guaya-
nese were extending their incursions,
nearly to Calvario, pn the east. The Go
vernment of Caracas, sensible of the ne
cessity of great exertions, instituted a tri
bunal of vigilance, which paid domiciliary

CIVIL WAR. 137
visits, and ordered arrests, upon the slight
est grounds of suspicion. The theatre was
shut, to prevent all assembling' of the peo- .
pie; and parties, balls, and concerts were no
longer heard of. All the male population
was armed, and regularly exercised; and
it became fashionable for those of the
greatest distinction to sleep at the barracks.
To go, opt of town, even for a few miles,
a passport was necessary. The liberty of
the press was established, provided religion
be not directly touched upon, nor any thing
inserted, Which may be deemed subversive
of the system of Venezuela. A lavy was
also published, abolishing torture, which
however, of late years, had been wholly
disused in the Spanish Colonies. The title.
of citizen became general, and all heredi
tary titles were dropped, even although
congress had passed no decree to that ef
fect. To all these obvious imitations pf
the early measures of the French Revolu
tion, was added another,, on the part of
Government, of later times. In the eighth
number of the Publicista, edited by the
Secretary of State, by order of congress,

138 CIVIL WAR.
appear the notes of the Moniteur, and
Cobbett's reflections on the speech of the
Prince Regent, at the opening of Parlia<.
ment. The speech itself is left out.
General Miranda, although at the head
of the Patriotic Society, and of the army,
did not escape the effects of that spirit,
which, in times of popular commotion, it
is so much easier to excite than to regulate
or restrain. After the capture of Valencia,
he was denounced to the executive as
having acted most despotically and tyran
nically ; and from the childish impetuosity
of his temper, it is probable, that the charge
was not wholly without foundation. A
great part of the complaint may, however,
fairly be attributed to those wholesome re
strictions, which, in his greater experience,
he would find it necessary to enforce; but
which might appear harsh and useless to
the new champions of liberty. He was
also accused of imprudence in his first pre
cipitate attack upon Valencia, which was
compared to that of Whitelock on Buenos
Ayres. It is evident, however, that these
denunciations of Commanders in Chief

GENERAL REFLECTIONS. 139
cannot be of long continuance. Should
they be carried much farther, they must
quickly lead to anarchy, or despotism.
Meantime, the injury done to the country,
by the unsettled state of affairs, has been
infinite. Exclusive of other evils, men were
withdrawn from agriculture in all directions,
and sent by force to the army ; in conse
quence of which, many valuable crops,
particularly of indigo, were left to perish
on the ground, for want of hands to gather
them. Such have been some of the par
ticular effects of the revolution in Vene
zuela. Let us now endeavour to trace it
back to the common source of all the late
insurrections in South America.
The Colonies of the various European
nations, settled in the new world, serve to
display at once the influence of national
character derived from language and habits,
and the alteration induced by difference
of climate and circumstances. Howevei?
changed from their native stock, they differ
still more from each other, and are easily
traced through all their ramifications, to
the great sources from whiqh they are

J40 GENERAL REFLECTIONS.
derived. No study can be more interesting
to a philosopher, than the pursuit of these,
diversities. He will trace manners and
laws which now mark the inhabitants pf a
great portion of South America, through
Spain, up to the tents of the Arabs; and
the freedom which reigns in the United,
States, through Englapd,' to the forests, pf
apcient Germany.
As long as the different European co
lonies formed constituent parts of the
empires by which they were founded, their
history was involved in that of the parent
state. But the revolt of the Anglo-Ame
ricans was the beginning of a new system.
It was then that the revolutions of Caracas,,
Mexico, and the River Plate; commenced.
It was then, that the real wars between
Europe and America began, wars to which,
in some shape or other, the present gene
ration will see no end. Had the English
colonists been unsuccessful, their failure
might have retarded, but could never have
prevented, the final emancipation of Ame
rica from the direct authority of European
governments. ,v But the issue of their

GENERAL REFLECTIONS. 141
Struggle holds out an «xample of success,
too brilliant not to be imitated, and too
rnomentous in its consequences ever to be
forgotten. The magic sound, of liberty has
gone forth throughout the whole American
Continent, and its effects are likely to be
the more tremendous, from the general
ignorance which . prevails as to the true
import of that mighty word. Could the
Spaniards drive the invaders from their
Peninsula, they would exclaim, that they
at length were free, although they might
still remain slaves to a bad internal govern
ment, and to superstition. In like manner,
the colonists call themselves free, when
they have dispossessed their ancient masters
of their power, and placed it in other
hands, although the mode of using that
power may remain essentially the same.
At present, they look no farther. Men
are taken up and handcuffed, and sent to
the army to fight for liberty, as they were
in former times to defend the glory of their
Monarch and of Spain. The old weights
of the machine are taken away, and others
substituted ; but all the springs, and inte-
3

J42 GENERAL REFLECTIONS.
rior movements, remain the same. Should
Senates, and Congresses, and Juntas, rule
with despotic sway, in what respect will
they be preferable to governors, and cap
tains general ?
The Patriots of South America are, on
all occasions, fond of appealing to the
United States, as an example, and seem
inclined very closely to imitate the form of
their constitution ; in both of which they
are perhaps erroneous. The maintenance
¦of a particular constitution depends more
on the general feelings and spirit of a peo
ple, than upon the mere form itself of that
constitution ; in which respect, there is as
great a difference between the English and
Spanish Americans, as in their domestic
manners. Liberty, to be truly supported,
must be truly understood, and England
has only purchased that knowledge at the
expense of much blood, and centuries of
internal warfare. Any nation which should
adopt the form of the English constitution,
without some portion of its dear bought
experience, would not therefore be free.
In like manner, the .circumstances under

GENERAL REFLECTIONS. 143
which the Anglo-Americans asserted their
independence were widely different from
those in which the colonists of Spain were
placed. England was in a situation of un
exampled prosperity. Her power was
dreaded, or her name respected, throughout
the world. The last war, in which she had
been engaged, had been glorious and suc
cessful ; and France, in the demolition of
the harbour of Dunkirk had submitted to
one of the most humiliating conditions
that had ever been imposed on a conquered
nation. Yet, in the face of all this power,
the English colonists did not hesitate to
take up arms, in defence of what they con
sidered as their native rights. After all
appeals had been made in vain, they de
clared themselves independent, before they
weFe certain of the support of a single fo7
reign nation, and thus braved the whole
colossal power of Great Britain, which
they, more than any other people, had
been accustomed to admire and respect.
The circumstances under which the
Spanish colonies have" declared their in-

144 GENERAL REFLECTIONS.
dependence form a striking contrast to
the former. While the Monarchy of Spain
was entire, every species of tyranny and
oppression was submitted to. Looms and
vineyards were destroyed, lest they should
interfere with the industry of the mother
country, in this instance, falsely so called;
and when Miranda landed in Venezuela
with an armed force, professing that he
came to break the chains of the colonists,
not one joined his standard, nor was the
smallest movement made in his favour.
But no sooner was Spain perfidiously robbed
of her Monarch, and her territory overrun
by hostile armies, than the spirit of insur
rection began to break out. In proportion
as her difficulties increased, the American
Patriots continued to take bolder measures; ;
and give hints of their final determination.
At , length, when Spain appeared plunged
in the lowest depths of misery, short of
total subjugation, and when even her ene
mies might have shed a tear over her mis
fortunes, the colonists throw off all the
flimsy veils of attachment to a common

GENERAL REFLECTIONS. 145
monarch, or a mother country, and de
clare their absolute and complete indepen
dence. It appears, then, that the Patriots of
Spanish America have no just grounds for
making a comparison of their conduct with
that of the founders of the United States.
The circumstances throughout are totally
and essentially different. Their cause,
however, is not, on that account, the less
just ; 6r rathdr, it may fairly be asserted, to
be more so, in proportion as the wrongs
and oppressions, which the Spanish colo
nies have suffered, are infinitely greater
than were ever attempted, or even imagined,
towards the English. But even this will
hardly account for the different conduct of
the contending parties, for which we must
have recourse to the marked difference of
the English and Spanish characters, as ex
emplified both in the mother countries and
their colonies. During the fierce civil war,
of seven years' continuance, which ended
in the establishment of the United States,
scarcely a single individual perished on
¦either side, except in battle. An honour-
L

146 GENERAL REFLECTIONS.
able and decisive testimony of the general
humanity of the English character. In
Spanish America, on the contrary, in the
- short space of three years, we have seen
murders, under the name of legal execu
tions, precede and follow the slaughter of v
battle. Streets and private houses have
been stained with blood; human heads
suspended in cages, at the entrance of
great towns ; unwholesome prisons cram
med with victims ; and the charge of per
fidy and cruelty urged by both parties,
and with equal justice.
, Within these few years, a new spirit has
arisen in America, which is spreading with
the rapidity of a religious fanaticism. I
mean an affectation of total independence,
as Americans, in every respeet, not merely
politically, but even to a fastidiousness of
acknowledging any obligations to Europe.
We revisit with delight the shores of Greece
and Italy, and think it nq disgrace to ac
knowledge all the benefits derived by our
rude forefathers, and even by ourselves, from
these great sources of taste and science.
Not so with this modern and numerous

GENERAL REFLECTIONS. 147
sect of Americans, who iri spite of Com
mon sense, would fain persuade themselves
and others, that arts and sciences, liberty
and laws, are indigenous to the new world.
Hence the proposal seriously made in the
United States of adopting a new language,
or changing the name of the present to
that of the Freedonian, that they might not
any more be under the sad necessity or
speaking English. Hence the pity with
which the Spanish Americans affect to de
plore the fate of the Aborigines of their
country, and in all their new constitutions
invite the Indians, hitherto treated with so>
much contempt, to a nominal participation
of their privileges. In numerous and in
creasing instances, this spirit rises to a spe
cies of fanatical hatred against Europeans,
who are termed ferocious, cruel, and perfi
dious, whilst the Americans are magnani
mous, mild, and just. In others, this bit
terness is vented against the subjects of the
parent state solely. Thus the English are
denominated freebooters, tyrants, and ruf
fians, by their descendants ; and the Spa
niards by theirs are contemptuously called
l2

148 GENERAL REFLECTIONS.
Godos, or Goths; and all the cruelties com
mitted since the days of the first conque
rors are heaped upon the heads of the pre
sent generation, while the term of Madre
Patria, or Mother Country, is used sneer-
ingly, and by way of reproach.
From a consideration of this spirit, so
prevalent, and so powerful, we are irresis
tibly led to conclude that America catt
never again be permanently brought under
the dominion of European powers. That
period has passed, or is fast passing away ;
and although much blood yet remains to
be shed, the divisions established by nature
must at, length prevail. They are deceived,
however, who thence conclude that the era
of American happiness shall immediately
commence, and that henceforward liberty
and peace shall form a recompense for what
they affect to term the Iron Sceptre of three
Ages. But these ages were ages of peace,
and rapid improvement in population and
agriculture. The greater part of the vast
-continent of America acknowledged one
Sovereign, spoke one principal language,
and enjoyed internal quiet. Now the scene

GENERAL REFLECTIONS. 149
is to be changed. Feuds have arisen be
tween provinces, and towns, and villages,
and have been followed by bloodshed. Re
venge rankles between Mopte Video and
Buenos Ayres ; Caracas and Valencia and
Coro ; Mexico and numerous interior
towns. The Creoles have supplanted the
European Spaniards; for a short time every
inferior rank feels elevated in the scale, but
how long will they remain contented with
a single step ? and what will be the conse
quences of restraining them in their desire
of advancing farther ? These are not diffi
cult to foresee. Discontent and civil war.
America will become divided into a vast
variety of petty States and Governments. A
boundless field will be opened for talents
and exertion, and European Warriors will
repair to a country where rewards almost
equal to those of the first conquerors await
them. As individuals, they will arise to
eminence and power, but Europe, as a
whole, is about to lose her despotic sway
for ever. The immediate descendants of
Europeans in America hear without emo
tion of the land of their forefathers. They

150 GENERAL REFLECTIONS.
acquire mountains, and streams, and forests
of their own, which are endeared to them
by early recollection ; and every soldier
transported to effect conquests in America
becomes a source pf increase to the coun
try which he is sent to subdue.
It is evident therefore that the various
revolutions in the European colonies in
America have originated in principles and
are affected by causes which are common
to all. It has been, and is every where, the
native population, struggling for the pos
session of power against foreigners, who,
by appealing to arms, have irreparably weak
ened the ties which so long gave them a
powerful influence over the minds of the
colonists. In Spanish America, it may be
said, that the slave has dared to lift his
hand against his master, and in most in
stances has not merely escaped unpunished,
but has met with high rewards. The exam
ples have been too numerous and too tempt
ing, not, in time, to be universally followed;
and then what power can retain in subjec
tion this immense continent, which in
cludes so many climates, and will ere long

GENERAL REFLECTIONS. 151
be peopled by numerous and powerful na
tions ?
What has been the conduct of Great
Britain towards the Spanish colonies, dur
ing the important period of a few preceding
years ? What has been her language at a
crisis, which must have so great an influ
ence on the future destinies of the new
world, already deeply stained with blood ?
Simply this ; " Let us trade with you." All
our negociations in South America may be
reduced to this proposition as their great
end and object. We make general and
cold protestations of our anxiety to recon
cile the colonies to Spain ; we hope matters
will not be carried to extremities, whilst
they are slaughtering each other ; and rea
son upon the subject with a precision which
is truly admirable. But talk of our com
merce, and we are all fire. "Whatever may
happen among yourselves," says our Admi
ral in the River Plate, "I hope British
commerce will suffer no interruption." The
Spanish Government declared the ports or
Venezuela in a state of blockade, and con
trived to send a naval force to render this

153 GENERAL REFLECTIONS.
decree not altogether inefficient. The com
manders of this force were soon given to
understand, that the British trade was not
to be disturbed. But if we interfered be*
fcween an armed Spanish force and her co
lonies for the benefit of our trade, why did
no British messenger of peace appear on
the plains of Venezuela to prevent, or at
least to mitigate, the fate ofthe unfortunate
city of Valencia, and attempt to arrest the
progress of civil war ?
We must not therefore be surprized,
whatever be the issue of the present distur
bances, if the conduct of Britain should
hereafter be attributed rather to the calcu
lating prudence of a commercial people,
thap to the magnanimous forbearance of a
great power. Our interference in the af
fairs of Spanish America has, in general,
been too obviously selfish, as far as it went,
to render us the friends of either party.
The idea of not interfering at all was great
and noble, but it should have been strictly
pursued, or abandoned only for ohjects of
the first necessity. The temporary suspen^
sipp of a strict intercourse between Cura^

GENERAL REFLECTIONS. 153
«joa and the rebel ports of Venezuela was
not a subject to call for the interference of
Ihe British naval power.
There are two means by -which a Euro
pean nation may acquire great political in
fluence in the affairs of the New World,
without exercising a direct authority over
any part of it. The one is by sedulously
cultivating the friendship of such states
already formed, or hereafter undoubtedly
to be formed, as may seem most likely from
their situation to have a decided preponder
ance in the future destinies of the rising
nations of the West. The other is by oc
cupying certain important points, which as
yet are neglected or but thinly settled,
either by treaty or purchase, and establish
ing colonies there on principles wholly dif
ferent from those which have hitherto been
pursued in forming foreign settlements.
By granting them every assistance, and at
the same time disclaiming all authority or
interference in their internal regulations, it
would be easy to erect states decidedly par
tial to the mother country in every essen
tial requisite, and between which and the

154 GENERAL REFLECTIONS.
surrounding colonies permanent jealou
sies would naturally and inevitably arise.
Through them it would be easy to gain a
decided influence over great portions of the
continent without the odium of direct in
fluence, and to open a vast field to the ex
ertion of European talents without the dan
ger of their being converted into weapons
of hostility against the country from which
they arose.

APPENDIX.

Extracts of Dispatches from General Mi
randa.
JHLAVING to-day arrived at this encamp
ment, and observed the different positions
occupied by the troops of the army sur
rounding Valencia, we saw, with pleasure,
that the enemy were confined to one part
of the city, having been beaten yesterday
evening, and this morning early, on dif
ferent points, by the divisions which, un
der the command of Lieut. Col. Jose
Marti, Don Antonio Flores, Don Jose
Rodriguez, and Major Don Miguel Cara-
bano, attacked them in the valley of Palotal,
and on the heights of El Puto and Agua
Blanca, which our troops took after a suf
ficiently obstinate resistance, the enemy
leaving on the field of battle twenty five
killed and upwards of seventy-five prison
ers, with two pieces of cannon, in our

156 APPENDIX.
possession. Our troops have already forced
their way into one part of the city, towards
the quarter of La Candelaria, where we
observe several buildings set on fire by
them, probably to avoid being annoyed
from them by the enemy. To morrow,
at break of day, we shall reconnoitre their
positions more closely, and the operations
already commenced shall be carried on with
vigour andunanimity*- Our loss in killed and
wounded amounts to 1 officer, 1 Serjeant,
4 privates killed, and 6 wounded. May
God preserve your Excellency many years.
Head quarters at El Morro, opposite
Valencia, 9th August, 1811; 8 o'clock at
night. To the Secretary of the war department.
Francisco De Miranda.
» No. II.
This morning, at day-break, as noticed
in my former dispatch, we made a general
reconnoitring of all the points of the city
of Valencia, in which our troops are now
established, in order to cut off all commu
nication with the country, and blockade it
3

APPENDIX. 157
completely. We observed that the enemy,
vigorously followed up by our light infan
try, were confined to the centre of the city,
having abandoned to us all the suburbs, to
gether with another piece of cannon, and
eighty-four prisoners. The well-directed
fire of our artillery against the market
square, and the scarcity of all kinds df
provisions, caused by the blockade, has oc
casioned considerable desertion amongst
the enemy, more than fifty having this
day come over to our army. Among these
we had the satifaction of seeing Don Fran
cisco Salias, who, whilst acting as our aid-
de-camp, on the 23d of last month, re
mained prisoner in Valencia. According
to his account, he owes his liberty to the fa-
mousEusebio Colmenares, alias El Catire,*
one of the principal chiefs among the in
surgents of Valencia, who presented him
self, at the same time imploring the par
don of his past offences, in consideration
of the service he had done us, in procuring
* This famout Catire was a noted highway robber 5
and no* 1 believe holds the rank of Serjeant in the
Caraquenian army.

158 APPENDIX.
the liberty of Salias, and what he still could
do for his country. For this he solicited
no other recompence than the oblivion of
his past conduct, which it appeared to me
useful and convenient to grant. The ad
joined official letter of the chief engineer
will show you the works thrown up by him,
on the 8th and 9th, against the great
square of Valencia ; and although we have
to day observed the enemy working with
the greatest activity, in making new ditches
and entrenchments in the principal streets
leading to the great square, I should by no
means be surprized, from the diminution
of the troops defending it, reduced now to
a small number, from the great desertion
that is observed amongst them through
all the .outlets towards the country, that
we should find it evacuated in two or three
days. God preserve your Excellency many
years. Head quarters at El Morro, opposite to
Valencia, 10th August, 1811; 8 o'clock
at night.
To the Secretary of the war department.
Francisco De Miranda.

APPENDIX. 159

No. III.

Considering that the measures, which
we had taken for the blockade and capture
of Valencia were now complete, we resolved
upon a general and simultaneous attack by
all the troops which, for this purpose, had
been drawn together from different parts of
the province. This attack commenced at
2 o'clock yesterday afternoon, on eight dif-
ferentpoints; whichdistractingthe attention
of the enemy rendered the resistance less
vigorous. It lasted, however, till nightfall,
when our troops, having driven the enemy
into their last entrenchments in the great
square, we remained in our positions till
day-break, the troops taking some rest
during the night. At dawn, the attack
re-commenced in the same order, and on
the same points, with still greater vigour; so
that, at ten in the morning, the enemy,
whose supply of water we had cut off} pro
posed terms of capitulation. These were
denied them, until they should lay down
their arms, as we had formerly experienced

160 APPENDIX.
the violation of a solemn Capitulation,
They were, therefore, Obliged to submit,
leaving to our discretion the terms of hu
manity and generosity with which I propose
to treat them, our troops taking possession
of the square, arms, and artillery, at twelve
of the day, when we entered it, and the
Venezuelan flag was displayed. The flo*
tilla, composed of four or six small armed
vessels, which infested the lake of Va
lencia and its vicinity, surrendered also to
the arms of Venezuela yesterday, at four
in the afternoon, after a short negotiation,
delivering up at the same time their ar
tillery, arms, vessels, and other stores, and
implements of war. Thus all the people
and towns, which I found in a state of in
surrection and war with Caracas, on the
2 1st of July last, when I arrived in this
part of the country, are now subdued or
pacified. In a subsequent dispatch, which
shall be sent off to-morrow, will be men
tioned the small number of our killed and
wounded in this warm action, which co-
vered our troops with glory and military
virtues. Col. D. Simon Bolivar, who, as

APPENDIX. 101
Well as his Companions, has distinguished
himself in the various functions committed
to his charge, in these patriotic labours ;
as also my aid-de-camp, Capt. D. Francisco
Salias, who, after a severe imprisonment,
is restored to his country, will inform your
Exeellency of some other particulars, which
the shortness of time does not permit me
to mention at present. God preserve
your Excellency many years.
Head quarters at Valencia, 13th August,
1811. To the Secretary of the war department.
Francisco De Miranda,

No. IV.
Extract from the Government Gazette of
10th August, 1811.
SURRENDER OF VALENCIA.
The insurrection of this city is an event
that has occupied the attention of the go
vernment, and attracted that of Caracas
M

}6'2 APPENDIX.
and the interior towns. In effect, it was
necessary to shew that the wicked Corta-
barria, the agent destined by the Regency
of Cadiz to re-establish the Spanish ty
ranny in America, seeing that it was im
possible to restore it by means of deceit
and flattery, had put in action other means,
which, although slower, as he says, are not
therefore inefficacious. This malignant
man has introduced into the Venezuelan
territpry, artful emissaries, who, seducing
and corrupting some of the inhabitants,
have lighted up the flames of discord, by
gross falsehoods and vile calumnies, which
some incautiously believed, and others
upheld through malevolence. The minds
of the inhabitants being thus disposed, it
was spread throughout Valencia, that in
Caracas there was no religion, that they
did not baptize their children, and that the
Reverend Father in God, the Archbishop,
was wounded and a prisoner, with other
puerilities,impostures, and falsehoods, main
tained by those very persons, who, from
their ministry, were bound circumspectly
to investigate the truth, and to undeceive
1

APPENDIX. 163
the people; in so important and delicate a
matter. From a criminal ignorance, from
a disorderly ambition, and, above all, from
the effects produced by the rancour of our
enemies, they found means to gain the
ascendancy over the minds of the unfortu
nate Valencians, to such a degree, as to
bring them into a rebellion as afflicting to
Caracas as fatal to its instigators, who
are about to be sacrificed to the public
security, and to the honour of the Vene
zuelan Confederacy, greatly compromised
by the sedition of Valencia. For this it
was necessary to take up arms, and present
our forces before that unfortunate city with
no other object than to cause knowledge
and truth to be respected, and thereby to
free it from the horrors of anarchy, which
is the patrimony that now remains in Ame
rica to the agents of the Spanish govern
ment. Nothing was farther from Caracas
than aggression and war, since nothing was
farther from its government than the ob
stinacy and insane fury with which Cor-
tabarria's Chiefs had resolved to sacrifice
to their ambition the simplicity and ig-
m g

164 APPENDIX.
jiorance of the unhappy Valencians. Our
troops set out from Valencia, expecting that
reason, truth, and the ties of fraternity,
would have more power than the sword,
grasped by the hand of justice, in despite
of the impulses of friendship. The go
vernment was preparing for amnesty and
oblivion, ^ trusting that the triumph of our
arms in Valencia would be as speedy as
pacific, and that, on the return of an ex
pedition, dictated by the general good, the
conquered would come, arm in arm, with
the victors, to chaunt before the Tutelar
Deity of Venezuela hymns of reconciliation,
under the auspices of independence. All
this was frustrated by the dark designs
with which Cortabarria and his agents
tried to embitter the delights of our liberty,
which they now found themselves unable
to destroy ; and the sedition, commenced
in imposture and bad faith, had recourse
for its support to calumny, perfidy, and the
dissolution of every social right. The
factious seizing the reins of government,
and this being composed of as many per
verse and ignorant persons as had suffered

APPENDIX. l65
themselves to be seduced by the malific
genius ofthe Pacificator of Venezuela, the
city was given up to disorder, and to the
insolence and depredations of a soldiery,
released from all subordination, and in
flamed by the promise of a recompence
out of the property of the pacific citizens,
who had shut themselves within their
houses, fled to the mountains, or taken
refuge under the banners of Venezuela. In
the horrid silence of a deserted and desolate
city, the partizans of tyranny had founded
their empire, and nothing was seen in
Valencia but blasphemies against Caracas,
precautions and decrees of horror and per
fidy, and the calculations, by which the
seduced soldier prepared to divide the pa
trimony of his fellow citizens, in recompence
for having prostituted himself to forward
the sanguinary purposes of the enemies of
his country.
Such were the evils, which the army of
Venezuela proposed to itself to prevent,
when it arrived at the advanced guards of
Mariara, where the first blood of the war
riors of independence was shed by the gal-

]66 APPENDIX.
ley slaves of tyranny. Even after this lit
tle triumph, the commanders of our forces
still aimed "at reconciliation, restraining
their resentment of the injury, and despis
ing the temptations of victory and superi
ority. For this were two capitulations
agreed to, dictated by fury, accepted by
good faith, and violated by perfidy, till at
length the solicitation of some virtuous,
and now undeceived inhabitants of Valen
cia, made it necessary to draw near with
the army, to restrain the disorders of anar
chy, the licentiousness, pillage, and bruta
lity, which' alone gave impulse to the Valen-
cian sedition.
Preceded by moderation and conviction,
the hosts of Venezuela traversed the de
lightful vallies of Aragoa. The contagion
being weak, in proportion to its distance
from the principal focus, it was easy to
undeceive and bring over to our Cause
those, who, to their grief, found themselves
separated from it through fear or weakness.
Victoria and Maracay, incorruptible in their
fidelity, had already stopped the progress of
the evil, from which, very shortly, were

-.APPENDIX. l67(
freedSan Joaquin, Guacara, andlosGuayos;
but the intrepid vigilance of our military
commanders was not content with this,
and almost at the same time, were wrested
from the combined conspiracy the ports of
Ocumare and Cata, intended to facilitate
the landing of troops brought in Cortabar-
ria's vessels, or the flight of the iniqui
tous agents of the ruin of Valencia. With
all these advantageous combinations, the
conquerors of union and peace arrived in
the vicinity of Valencia, and the troops
halted at the advanced post of El Morro,
waiting the result of the last capitulation,
violated, as well as the others, which with
their answers are in possession of the pub
lic. Honour and safety, now twice endan
gered by generosity and moderation, dic
tated the attack and capture of the Morro,
and the troops animated with this fresh
triumph, suffered themselves to be carried
_ by the impulses of glory, and the desire
of peace, as far as Valencia, believing that
their presence and their previous successes
would suffice to undeceive their misled fel
low countrymen, toterrify their barbarous

168 APPENDIX.
and unnatural seducers, to re-estahlish or
der, conquer tranquillity, spare bloodshed,
and limit all the evils of a civil war to the
trifling and indispensable attacks at Mari-
ara and El Morro. The occurrences in the
great square of Valencia will be a record
to eternity for America, to remind her of
the last days of the gloomy dominion, sub
stituted by Spain to the iron sceptre of
three ages, to deform the philanthropic re
volution of Venezuela, superior to the im
potent efforts, and the prophetic combina
tions of the diplomatic incendiaries, sent
by the Regency to set the new world in
flames. There was seen the valiant and
generous American, impelled by the desire
of liberty to be sacrificed by his own bre
thren, serving under the satellites of Ty
ranny, headed by the very men who have
devoured our substance, and sustained and
encouraged by the ministers of the holy
religion which is venerated by Venezuela
as the tutelary deity, and impregnable bul
wark, of its liberty and justice, From the
convent of Saint Francis, proceeded the
ihalls which cut short the. glorious career of

APPENDIX. I69
the Caraquenian warriors, which mutilated
chiefs, the honour and hopes of our coun
try, which covered the patriots with grief,
and committed all the patricides that have
excited the just vengeance of the govern
ment. Every house was an arsenal, whence
rage and perfidy, goaded on by the Euro
pean band, sacrificed with impunity the pa
cific soldiers, who believed Valencia to be
already under the empire of law, justice,
and liberty, which brought them from their
hearths to perish within the precincts of a
town of Venezuela, even by the hands of
those who form a very worthy and interest
ing part of our confederacy. Such is the
barbarous revenge taken by those, who are
now convinced that we can never return to
be their slaves. Pressed on all sides by in
gratitude and perfidy, and exposed to the
danger of being uselessly exterminated,
our troops resolved to abandon the city to
its fate, whilst the army, now undeceived,
prepared to enforce respect to what unsus
pecting confidence had hazarded. The first
chastisement that Valencia suffered, was
the withdrawing of the army. The revolt-

170 APPENDIX.
ed, grown insolent with the ephemeral tri
umph of treachery, made the populace be
lieve that our prudence was cowardice, and
that the perfidious efforts of despair Vvere
valour and energy. Whilst the troops of
liberty were preparing to regain the mo
mentary losses which the honour, the tran
quillity, and the glory of Venezuela had
suffered in the great square of Valencia,
sedition set loose all its resources, and dis
played all the horrors of anarchy. In the
mean time, an unbridled multitude plunder
ed, insulted, and destroyed whatever the
discipline of the Venezuelan army had res
pected. Every day a new government was
formed, the principals calumniated each
other, they forged new impostures against
Caracas, they dictated captious and ridicu
lous conventions and capitulations, while
trenches were dug, the flat roofs of the
houses converted into esplanades, and can
non placed) at tlie entrance of the streets.
Emissaries dressed m the habits of St,
Francis were sent to stir up the neighbour
ing cities ; one partizan was substituted for
another, those who were deposed fled ;

APPENDIX. 171
robbery and murder were incited ; the bor-r
ders of the lake were infested by a flotilla
ofthe conspirators; the money was buried;
the prudent part of the community emi
grated ; and the rebels defied the army
with insults, sarcasms, calumnies, and im
postures. In this horrible situation remained the
ill-fated Valencia, until the 13th August,
when the army resolved to put an end at
once to an example, as fatal to America,
as it was deplorable to Venezuela. Attack
ed at eight different points, even yet the
rebels relied upon their obstinacy; until
confined to the great square, they attempt-
ed-to restrain our fury by new capitulations.
Garaquenian blood, shed on that very spot,
even yet smoked under the shade of an
other capitulation violated at the Morro;
nor could moderation again with propriety
endanger glory sacrificed in vain to frater
nity. The capitulation was rejected, but
the door was not closed to generosity to
wards the humble, and those who repen ted-
bf their misdeeds. The Venezuelan flag,
at length displayed in Valencia by the cham-

\1% APPENDIX.
pion of the Columhian army, was the place
of refuge and the rainbow of peace, which
shone in that city after so many days of
horror, bloodshed, and devastation. Under
protection of the philanthropic measures
taken by the Venezuelan General, the good
now returned to their peaceful homes ; the
excesses of the wicked were restrained ;
the misled are pardoned ; the suspected
disculpate themselves ; and to the empire
of the laws, of justice, and of national
chastisement, are given up the authors-
and promoters of misfortune, which will
last in Valencia only so long as she delays
to bury it in oblivion, by the conduct which
Caracas expects from her, after the repropf
which has been given to the Valencians, by
truth, reason, and energy. Until the facts
be collected, the various circumstances
arranged, and light thrown upon all, by the
extraordinary tribunal of justice, established
at head quarters in Valencia, when a cir
cumstantial manifest shall be drawn up, as
is due to the public of Venezuela, and to
that of all America, on so important an
occurrence, this impartial sketch may suf-,
2

APPENDIX. 173
fice to prevent the surprize which malice,
the sole resource of our enemies, might
cause in such as were unacquainted with
the origin and the consequences of the
fatal imprudence of Valencia.
No. V.
In the Gazette of the 23d August, Ge
neral Miranda informs the government,
that he had published in Valencia the fol
lowing dispatch, which produced the best
effects, in inducing the inhabitants to re
turn to that city. PROCLAMATION.
The General in Chief of the Armies of Ve
nezuela to the Inhabitants of Valencia.
The horrors of war have ceased. To
the confusion and tumult, in which this ill-
fated city was found, have succeeded tran
quillity, order, and justice. Perverse men,
impelled by their passions, profaned the sa
cred name of religion, and armed you
against your own brethren, to aggrandize

174 APPENDIX,
themselves, and satiate their pride and am-*
bition at the cost of your blood. The
army of Venezuela came to chastise them,
and those wicked authors of your misfor
tunes cowardly fled, leaving as victims to
the fury of war, those who, led astray, had
embraced a party contrary to reason, to
religion, and even to their own happiness.
Inhabitants of Venezuela, power and jus
tice have triumphed. Return then to your
firesides, there you will find that protec
tion which you can expect only from your
compatriots. Husbandmen, who have been forced by
faction to quit your rural employments,
return and fertilize the soil that must main
tain you. And you who, under the faith of
our promises, have laid down your arms,
resume again in security your accustomed
-occupations. The sword of justice is un
sheathed only for the iniquitous and the
guilty.
Signed Francisco De Miranda,
General in Chief.
A true Copy.
Signed, Charles Soublette.

APPENDIX, 175
The dispatch goes on to say, " We have
decreed, respecting the inhabitants, that
such as have taken a principal part in the
late revolution shall be kept in arrest.
Those who have not borne arms may re
turn in peace to their former occupations ;
and those who have borne arms against us
shall be incorporated in our Veteran Corps,
to fill the vacancies occasioned by our loss
es. — The troops arrived from Puerto Ca
bello and San Carlos, to co-operate in the
capture of Valencia, have began their march
on their return to their respective places."
No. VI.
. The Congress, as soon as they had deter
mined on independence, sent a dispatch to
the Governor of Trinidad, announcing the
circumstance ; to which the following an
swer was returned.
« Trinidad, 3d August, 1811.
By the Schooner Mercury, of this port,
I have had the honour to receive your Ex
cellencies' dispatches of the 6th ult., which
inform me, that on the 5th July the repre
sentatives of Venezuela, met together in

176 APPENDIX.
Congress, have declared their provinces
absolutely independent, and that the pro
mulgation of this declaration was to take-
place the following day with due solemnity.
As this important event was neither fore
seen nor expected by his Majesty's govern
ment, I have no orders prescribed . to me
as to the conduct I ought to pursue in so
critical a conjuncture, and nothing there
fore remains for me to do, but to send with
out delay copies of these dispatches to his
Majesty's Ministers, that they may be pre
sented to the King for his consideration
and determination. In the mean time, our
commercial relations may proceed as usual,
experiencing on my part the same atten
tion and protection as heretofore.
I have the honour to be, with the highest
consideration, your Excellencies' attentive
and obedient Servant, '
Signed, William Munro.
To their Excellencies the Supreme Execu
tive Power df the Provinces of Venezu
ela, in the City of Caracas.
THE END.

C.BaUwin, Printer, Hew Bridge-street, Lon4o*.