434
ESMERALDA.
the V e n t u a r i as far as that o f the P a d a m o ; the Caribbee prevails on the L o w e r O r i n o c o ; the O t t o m a c , near t h e confluence o f the A p u r e , at the G r e a t Cataracts ; and the Maravitan, o n the banks o f the R i o N e g r o . T h e s e are the live o r six languages m o s t generally s p o k e n . W e were surprised t o find at Esmeralda many z a m b o s , mulattos, and c o p p e r - c o l o u r e d p e o p l e , w h o called themselves Spaniards (Espaùoles) and who fancy they are white, because they are n o t so red as the Indians. T h e s e people live in the m o s t absolute misery ; t h e y have for the m o s t part been sent hither in banishment (desterrados). Solano, in his haste to found colonies in the interior o f the c o u n t r y , in order to guard its entrance against the Portuguese, assembled in the Llanos, and as far as the island o f Margareta, vagabonds and malefactors, w h o m justice had vainly pursued, and made them g o u p the O r i n o c o to j o i n the unhappy Indians w h o had b e e n carried off from the w o o d s . A mineralogies! error gave celebrity to Esmeralda. T h e granites o f D u i d a and Maraguaca contain in o p e n veins fine rock-crystals, some o f them o f great transparency, others coloured b y chlorite o r blended with actonite ; these were mistaken for diamonds and emeralds. So near the sources o f the O r i n o c o w e heard o f nothing in these mountains b u t the p r o x i m i t y o f E l Dorado, the lake Parima, and the ruins o f the great city o f M a n o a . A man, still known in the country for his credulity and his love o f exaggeration, D o n A p o l l i n a r i o D i e z de la Fuente, assumed the p o m p o u s title o f capitan poblador, and cabo militar (military c o m m a n d e r ) o f the fort o f Cassiquiare. This fort consisted o f a few-trunks o f trees, j o i n e d t o g e t h e r by planks ; and to c o m plete the deception, a demand was made at Madrid for the privileges o f a villa for the mission o f Esmeralda, which b u t a hamlet with twelve o r fifteen huts. A c o l o n y c o m p o s e d o f elements altogether heterogeneous perished by degrees. T h e vagabonds of t h e L l a n o s had as little taste for labour as t h e natives, w h o w e r e c o m p e l l e d t o live " within the sound o f the b e l l . " T h e former f o u n d a m o t i v e in their pride t o justify their indolence. I n the missions, every mulatto w h o is n o t decidedly b l a c k as an A f r i c a n , o r c o p p e r - c o l o u r e d as an I n d i a n , calls himself a S p a n i a r d ; ho b e l o n g s to tho gente de razon, — the race e n d u e d with reason ; and that reason (sometimes, it must b e admitted, arrogant and indolent)