banks of sand which run in different directions across, is very dangerous even for small vessels. At the mouth of the river there are three islands, which are valuable for their size, and for their high state of cultivation. Southward of these is a succession of other islands, which extend five-and-twenty, or thirty miles up the river.

The appearance of Leguan, the easternmost of the large islands, is very pleasing from the water. On the point facing the sea, there are eight windmills belonging to as many sugar estates. A sandy beach renders the landing good: the roads are finely shaded with orange and cocoa-nut trees; and the whole, being beautifully laid out, has the appearance of a gentleman's pleasure-ground. It is about six miles long, and three broad.

The earliest settlement on the banks of the Essequebo was made in the year 1698; but, owing to an erroneous idea, that the land adjacent to the sea was too low and swampy for cultivation, the colonists removed to higher grounds, nearly a hundred miles up the country, and where the soil was not so favourable as in many other parts. The land was granted to different speculators gratis, but with an express stipulation, that a certain proportion of it should be under cultivation in a given time. As a further inducement, a larger grant was promised in case the terms of the first were complied with. A governor was appointed, and a conditional code of laws was given by the Dutch West India company, subject to the approbation of the States General of Holland.

Coffee, cotton, cocoa, and indigo, were the articles first cultivated in Essequebo. Sugar was afterwards introduced, and the cultivation of cocoa and indigo was in a considerable degree abandoned. So great is the fertility of the soil, that, in some parts of the country, it has been known successively to produce thirty crops of what are called rattoon canes without being planted, whereas, in the West India islands, more than two are

never expected. Notwithstanding this the colony is not a very important one.

Both Essequebo and Demerara, as already stated, áre at this time British possessions. They are distinct colonies, but are comprised under one government. Each has its court of justice and subordinate offices; but there is only one court of police, which is held in Demerara, at Stabroek.

Spanish Guiana.

THE part of Guiana which is now possessed by the Spaniards, extends along the sea-coast, about ninety miles, from Cape Nassau to the river Oronoko; and the Oronoko is its northern limit for the distance of five hundred and fifty miles from the sea. On this immense surface there are said to be only about thirtyfour thousand inhabitants, of whom nineteen thousand are Indians under the conduct of missionaries. The latter, however, notwithstanding their zeal for making converts, have not hitherto penetrated to the distance of more than about thirty leagues from the coast. The soil of this colony is so rich, that it might be rendered more productive than all the other Spanish possessions. Yet such is the indolence of the inhabitants, that few plantations are to be seen in the interior, and these are, in general, ill cultivated. The proprietors, however, obtain from them provisions, and a little cotton and sugar. In this colony great numbers of oxen and mules are bred, many herds of which belong to the missionaries.

The capital of Spanish Guiana is San Thomas, a town situated at the foot of a small mountain, on the southern bank of the Oronoko, and at the distance of near one hundred and fifty miles from the sea. The streets are straight and paved; and the houses are, for the most part, built of lime and sand, and formed with terraces at the top. On these terraces the inhabitants sleep, during the seasons of the greatest heat,

and without any injury to their health. San Thomas was founded in the year 1764. The capital of the colony before this, had been situated nearer the coast, but as it had been successively plundered by the English, the Dutch, and the French, the inhabitants removed hither, as a place of greater security. San Thomas is, at present, defended by a fort on the bank of the river opposite to the town, at a place called Port Raphael; and through which there is a communication between Guiana and the Spanish provinces of Terra Firma, north of the Oronoko.

The climate of this place is tolerably healthy. The trade winds are very regular from the month of November to that of May; but during the remainder of the year they are interrupted by calms. In the months of August, September, and October, storms are frequent, and the wind sometimes blows with the violence of a hurricane.

The exertions of industry in Guiana are excessively fettered by the difficulty of communication between the different parts of the country. The rivers are numerous, but are in general destitute of bridges, barges, or ferry-boats. There are few roads, and such as exist are not kept in repair.

On the shore of the Oronoko, farther inland than San Thomas, there is a town called Cividad Real. This was founded in the year 1759, but little is known respecting it. Of late years, however, it is said to have fallen into decay.

In the south part of the colony there is a lake called Parima, an expanse of water of considerable dimensions, but little depth. On its north western bank is an Indian town, the supposed capital of a country which has been believed to abound in gold, and thence to have had the name of El Dorado. The original information, respecting the existence of such a country, was received from Indians, who stated that they had been there. Many attempts have been made by Europeans to discover the country, but hitherto without success.

In the year 1780, a wild Indian presented himself before the governor of Spanish Guiana, and asserted that he had come from the borders of Parima. As soon as the persons to whom he was introduced knew, or thought they knew, the country in which he had resided, he was assailed with innumerable questions; and to all these he answered, with as much perspicuity and precision as could be expected from a person, whose most intelligible language consisted in signs. He succeeded in making them understand that, on the banks of that lake, there was a city, whose inhabitants were civilized, and regularly disciplined to war. He spoke of the beauty of its buildings, the neatness of its streets, the regularity of its squares, and the riches of its people. According to the account that he seemed to deliver, the roofs of the principal houses were covered with either gold or silver: the high priest, instead of pontifical robes, rubbed himself with fat, and then his attendants blew upon him a quantity of gold dust, so as to cover his whole body; and in this attire he performed the religious ceremonies. The Indian, with a bit of charcoal, sketched on a table a plan of the city. The governor, deceived by the ingenuity of this man, engaged him to serve as a guide to some Spaniards, whom he wished to send into the country of which he had spoken.

Six Spaniards were employed in the undertaking. They set off, and were conducted nearly five hundred leagues towards the south, through the most frightful roads imaginable. Hunger, the swamps, the woods, the precipices, the heats, and the rains, destroyed some of them. When those who survived thought themselves within four or five days journey of the capital, and hoped, in a short time, to reach the end of all their troubles, and the object of their desires, the Indian suddenly disappeared. This event dismayed them. They knew not where they were; and after having, for some time, wandered about, they all perished except one. This man resolved to disguise himself as an In

dian. He threw aside his clothes, painted himself red with arnatto, and introduced himself among the Indians, by the knowledge that he had of many of their languages; and, after having continued some time with them, he found his way to the Portuguese settlements, whence, after a long detention, he was sent to Spain. He subsequently returned to Guiana, and died there in 1796, but was unable to give any account of the country which the Indian had pretended to describe.

Seventh Day's Instruction.

GUIANA CONCLUDED.

The Indians and natural Productions of Guiana.

IN Guiana there are several distinct tribes of Indians. These, like other wild inhabitants of America, are more or less of a red or copper colour. Some of them are described to be extremely cleanly in their persons, and of peaceable and happy disposition; but others are disgusting, both in their persons and manners. They have, in general, bushy hair, of a shining black colour, which the men wear short, but the women very long.

The Indians, who inhabit that part of the country which lies betwixt the rivers Essequebo and Oronoko, are called Caribbees. They are of middle stature, and are well formed. Their complexions are light, when compared with those of other Indians: their features are agreeable, and the expression of their countenance is remarkable for sprightliness. The ornaments of the men consist of crowns formed of various coloured feathers, and occasionally a sash of boar's or tiger's teeth worn round the shoulder. The chiefs of families sometimes wear the skin of a tiger. They also have bits of