476
MISSION o r
SANTA BARBARA.
violations, that remind us o f the fortified camps ( t h e p r e t e n d e d cities o f vast e x t e n t ) o f the ancient and m o d e r n n o m a d tribes o f Asia. In the oriental plains o f South A m e r i c a , the force o f vegetation, the heat o f the climate, and the t o o lavish gifts o f nature, have opposed obstacles still more powerful to the progress o f human civilization. B e t w e e n the O r i n o c o and the A m a z o n I heard no mention o f any wall o f earth, vestige o f a d y k e , o r sepulchral t u m u l u s ; the rocks alone show us (and this through a great extent o f c o u n t r y ) , rude sketches which the hand o f man has traced in times u n k n o w n , and which are c o n n e c t e d with religious traditions. B e f o r e I quitted t h e wildest part o f t h e U p p e r O r i n o c o , I t h o u g h t it desirable t o m e n t i o n facts which are i m p o r tant only when they are considered in their c o n n e c t i o n with each other. All I c o u l d relate o f o u r navigation from Esmeralda to the mouth o f the Atabapo would be merely an enumeration o f rivers and uninhabited places. From the 24th t o the 27th o f M a y , w e slept b u t t w i c e o n l a n d ; o u r first resting-place was at the confluence o f the Rio J a o , and o u r second below the mission o f Santa Barbara, in the island o f Minisi. T h e O r i n o c o being free from shoals, the Indian pilot pursued his course all night, abandoning the boat t o t h e c u r r e n t o f t h e river. S e t t i n g apart the time which we spent on the shore in preparing the rice and plantains that served us for food, we took but thirtyfive hours in going from Esmeralda to Santa Barbara. The c h r o n o m e t e r gave me for the longitude o f the latter mission 7 0 째 3 ' ; we had therefore made near four miles an hour, a velocity which was partly o w i n g to the current, and partly to the action o f the oars. T h e Indians assert, that the c r o codiles do not g o up the O r i n o c o above the mouth o f the Rio Jao, and that the manatis are not even found above the cataract o f May puros. T h e mission o f Santa Barbara is situated a little to the west o f the mouth o f the Rio Ventuari, or Venituari, e x a mined in 1800 by Father Francisco Valor. W e found in this small village o f o n e hundred and twenty inhabitants some traces o f i n d u s t r y ; but the p r o d u c e o f this industry is o f little profit to the n a t i v e s ; it, is reserved for the m o n k s , o r , as they say in these countries, for the church and the c o n -