fury. His scheme, however, was completely frustrated, and he most unexpectedly found, that himself and all his men were in danger of total destruction. The rebels had attacked and destroyed several of the rangers who had been detached on different services; and, at length, they had surrounded their assailants, most of whom were either sick or wounded, and nearly destitute both of ammunition and provisions. Instead of proceeding he was compelled to retreat; and, in the afternoon of the ensuing day, he returned to Barbacoeba, the place of general rendezvous; but in a most, wretched condition. The whole detachment was nearly worn out by fatigue: some of the men were in a state of starvation, and others mortally wounded. All the slaves were employed in carrying the sick and lame in hammocks slung on long poles, though these poor creatures were scarcely able to support themselves.

Here the troops were again safe, and a very important service had certainly been rendered to the colony, by the destruction of this nest of enemies. It is well known, that when the rebels are once driven away from any capital settlement, they never think of returning to live near the same spot. And so it happened in the present instance. From this period their depredations became much less frequent than before; and they soon afterwards retired into the interior of the forest, whence they were unable to commit much injury, and where they could not easily be joined by negro de

serters.

Most of the remaining particulars related by Captain Stedman, of the proceedings against the rebels, are very uninteresting. The following occurrences, however, are deserving of notice. On one occasion, during their march, they were surprised to see an immense number of ants, of black colour, and each nearly an inch in length. These ants, Captain Stedman says, are so numerous and so powerful, that they will in a short time pillage a tree of all its leaves, which they cut in pieces, each about the size of a sixpence,

and carry under ground. It was very entertaining, he says, to see a whole army of them running in the same direction, each with a piece of green leaf, held in a perpendicular direction, in its mouth; and intended for use either in the formation of its nest, or for the nourishment of its young ones.

On the 21st of September, Captain Stedman was sleeping in his hammock, at a station near the river Cottica, when, about four o'clock in the morning, he was suddenly awaked, and was excessively alarmed to find himself weltering in blood, and yet without feeling any pain. He instantly started up, and, with a fire-brand in one hand, and all over besmeared with gore, ran to the surgeon. The mystery was soon explained. He had been bitten by a bat of immense size, and of the species called, vampyre or spectre bat. These singular animals suck the blood from men and cattle whilst they sleep, and sometimes even till they die. The manner in which they proceed is said to be very wonderful. Knowing, by instinct, says Captain Stedman, that the persons they are about to attack are in a sound slumber, they generally alight near the feet. Here they commence their operation by a fanning motion with their wings: they then bite a piece out of the tip of the great toe, so small that the head of a pin can scarcely be inserted into the wound. Through this orifice they suck the blood until they are obliged to disgorge. They then begin again; and thus continue sucking and disgorging till they are scarcely able to fly. Cattle are generally bitten in the ear, but always in places where the blood flows spontaneously. Captain Stedman, by the recommendation of the surgeon, applied some tobacco ashes to his wound. Afterwards, on examining the ground, he observed several small heaps of congealed blood round the place over which he had slept; and from these it appeared, that he had lost at least twelve or fourteen ounces of blood. Not long afterwards he killed a vampyre bat, and found it to measure thirty-two inches

and a half from the tip of one wing to that of the other; and some of these animals are said to measure more than three feet in extent.

On the 16th of October, Colonel Fourgeoud entered another rebel settlement. This had been deserted, but the attention of the troops was excited by a house that had been erected for one of the chiefs. It was elevated considerably above the ground, that the owner might the better observe all around him, and had two doors, that he might more easily escape, in case of surprise. Near the house were some baths, in which his women had been accustomed to wash themselves every morning and evening, for there was no river in the vicinity of this settlement.

In their march, on the following day, the troops. passed some ant-hillocks, that were upwards of six feet in height, and, without exaggeration, more than a hundred feet in circumference. Some time after this, among other plagues, the whole place of encampment swarmed with locusts, which appeared in most formidable troops, and devoured all the vegetable pro

ductions around. These insects were of a brown colour, two inches in length, and shaped like grasshoppers. They did not fly, but crawled by thousands on the very tables and seats, as the men sate at dinner; and at night they tormented them, by crawling in scores over their faces.

Colonel Fourgeoud, and most of his remaining troops, returned to Paramaribo before the end of the year. Here they were joined by Captain Stedman on the 3d of January following. Some further operations against the rebels were undertaken; the account of which it would here be uninteresting to recite; and at length, after seven campaigns, the troops were ordered to be finally withdrawn from the colony. In consequence of this order, Captain Stedman, with such of the troops as then remained, embarked for Europe, on the 29th of March, 1777.

So destructive had the climate, and exposure to the

unwholesome atmosphere of woods and marshes of this country been to the Europeans employed there, that, of nearly twelve hundred able-bodied men, who had sailed from Europe, not one hundred were restored to their country, and their friends.

Sixth Day's Instruction.

GUIANA CONTINUED.

Berbice, Demerara, Essequebo, Spanish Guiana.

THE small colony of Berbice is situated west of Surinam, and is bounded on the east by the river Corantine, and on the west by the Demerara. Its extent, towards the blue mountains in the interior, has not been ascertained. The foundations of this colony were laid by the Dutch in the beginning of the seventeenth century. About the year 1626, a merchant of Flushing, whose name was Van Peere, sent some ships to this part of South America. These carried out Europeans, who formed a settlement on the shore, for the purpose of trading with the Indians, and collecting produce. The cultivation of the land was subsequently attempted, and with considerable success. With some interruptions, it continued in the hands of the Dutch till the year 1803, when, with Surinam, Demerara, and Essequebo, it was surrendered to the English, by whom it has since been retained.

The river Berbice, from which the colony has its name, is about a mile and half broad at its mouth; and, nearly in the middle of the entrance, there is an island, called Crab Island. A bar or bank of sand, which extends from east to west across the mouth of the river, prevents vessels of heavy burthen from entering, and renders the navigation dangerous. On this

account few ships rendezvous here, but make the port of Demerara their anchorage, whence their lading is shipped in smaller vessels, to be conveyed to Berbice. A similar procedure is adopted in exporting the produce of the colony. The river is wide but shallow, and is navigable for small craft to the distance of about two hundred miles from the sea. On its banks nearly a hundred plantations have been formed. These are chiefly cultivated for the produce of sugar; but they also supply coffee, cotton, chocolate, and other articles.

Berbice is estimated to contain about forty thousand inhabitants, of which only two thousand five hundred are whites, one thousand are free people of colour, and the remainder are negroes. Its government is separate from that of Essequebo and Demerara; but, with some exceptions as to general rules, its laws are the same.

The capital of the colony is called New Amsterdam. This town is situated on the eastern bank of the river, and near the place where the Caije river falls into it. In laying it out the Dutch paid every attention to convenience. Each allotment appears to be an island, having ditches or trenches round the houses. These are filled and emptied every tide, by which means all the filth and dirt of the place are every day carried away. Each lot consists of a quarter of an acre of land, which not only allows space for the free circulation of air, but also for every house to have a kitchen garden. The houses are generally of wood, and seldom more than a story and half high. They are very long and narrow, with galleries on each side, for the inhabitants to walk and smoke in. Most of them are covered with a thatch formed of the large leaves of palm trees. The government house, and the buildings attached to it, are constructed of brick, and in the European stile. In the year 1798, there were two taverns in this town; and, at one of them was a table d'hote, or public dinner, every day, for the convenience of travellers, and of planters coming from the country.