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taken poffeffion of the island of Cayenne, on this coaft, at the mouth of the ri ver of that name, which is about forty-five miles in crcumference. It is very unhealthy; but having fome good harbours, the French have here fome fettlements, which raife fugar and coffee.

SURINAM, OR DUTCH GUIANA:

THE DUTCH SETTLEMENTS.

HIS province, the only one belonging to the Dutch on the continent of America, is fituated between 5 and 7° north latitude, having the mouth of the Oronoko and the Atlantic, on the north; Cayenne, on the cast; Amazonia, on the fouth; and Terra Firma on the weft.

The Dutch claim the whole coaft from the mouth of Oronoko to the river Marowyne, on which are fituated their colonies of Effequibo, Demerara, Berbice, and Surinam. The latter begins with the river Suramacha, and ends with the Marowyne, including a length of coaft of one hundred and twenty

miles.

A number of fine rivers pafs through this country, the principal of which are Effequibo, Surinam, Demerara, Berbice, and Conya. Efequibo is nine miles wide at its mouth, and is more than three hundred miles in length. Surinam is a beautiful river, three quarters of a mile wide, navigable for the lar geft veffels four leagues, and for fmaller veffels fixty or feventy miles farther. Its banks, quite to the water's edge, are covered with evergreen mangrove trees, which render the paffage up this river very delightful. The Demerara is about three quarters of a mile wide where it empties into the Surinam, is navigable for large veffels one hundred miles; a hundred miles farther are feveral falls of caly afcent, above which it divides into the fouth-welt and fouth-eaft branches.

The water of the lower parts in the river is brackish, and unfit for use: and the inhabitants are obliged to make use of rain water, which is here uncommonly fweet and good. It is caught in ciflerns placed under ground, and before drinking, is fet in large earthen pois to fettle, by which means it becomes very clear and wholefome. Thefe cilterns are fo large and numerous, that water is feldom fcarce.

In the months of September, October, and November, the climate is unhealthy, particularly to flrangers. The common difeafes are putrid and other fevers, the dry belly-ach, and the dropfy. One hundred miles back from the fea, the foil is quite different, a hilly country, a pure, dry, wholetome air, where a fire fometimes would not be difagreeable. Along the fea coaft the water is. unwhole fome, the air damp and fultry. The thermometor ranges from 75° to 90° through the year. A north-eaft breeze never fails to blow from about nine o'clock in the morning through the day, in the hottest fea fons. As the days and nights throughout the year are very nearly of an equal length, the air can never become extremely heated, nor the inhabitants fo greatly incommoded by the heat, as those who live at a greater diftance from the equator. The feafons were formerly divided regularly into rainy and dry; but of late years fo much dependence cannot be placed upon them, owing probably to the country's being more cleared, by which means a fice paffage is opened for the air and vapours.

Vol. IV,

P 2

Through the whole country runs a ridge of oyfler fhells, nearly parallel to the coaft, but three or four leagues from it, of a confiderable breadth, and from four to eight feet deep, composed of fhells exactly of the fame nature as thofe which form the prefent coaft: from this and other circumstances, there is great reason to believe that the lard, from that dillance from the fea, is all new land, refcued from the water by fome revolution in nature, or other unknown caufe.

On each fide of the rivers and creeks are fituated the plantations, containing from five hundred to two thoufand acres each, in number about five hundred and fifty in the whole colony, producing at present annually about fixteen thousand hogfheads of fugar, twelve million pounds of coffee, seven hundred thousand pounds of cocoa, eight hundred and fifty thousand pounds of cotton all which articles, cotton excepted, have fallen off within fifteen years, at least one third, owing to bad management, both here and in Holland and to other caufes. Of the proprietors of the fe plantations, not above eighty refide here. The fugar plantations have many of them water mills, which being much more profitable than others, and the fituation of the colony admitting of them, will probably become general; of the reft, fome are worked by mules, others by cattle, but from the lowness of the country none by the wind. The eflates are for the greateft part mortgaged for as much or more than they are worth, which greatly d. urapes any improvements which might otherwife be made. Was it not for the unfortunate fituation of the colony in this and other refpects, it is certainly capable of being brought to a great height of improvement; dyes, gums, oi's, plants for medicinal purposes, &c. might, and undoubtedly will, at feme future period, be found in abundance. Rum might be diffilled here; indigo, ginger, rice and tobacco, have been, and may be farther cultivated, and many other articles. In the woods are found many kinds of good and durable timber, and fome woods for ornamental purpofes, particularly a kind of mahogany called copic. The foil i perhaps as rich and as luxuriant as any in the world; it is generally a rich, fat, loamy earth, lying in fome places above the level of the rivers at high water, which rife about eight feet, but in moft places below it. Whenever, from a continued courfe of cultivation for many years, a piece of land becomes impoverished, for manure is not known here, it is laid under water for a certain number of years, and thereby regains its fertility, and in the mean time a new piece of wood land is cleated. This country has never experienced those dreadful fcourages of the Weft-Indies, hurricanes and droughts; from the lowness of the land it has not to fear, nor has the produce ever been destroyed by infects or by the blaft. In fhort, this colony, by proper management, might become equal to Jamaica, or any other. Land is not wanting; it is finely interfected by noble rivers, and abundant creeks; the foil of the be kind; it is well fituated, and the climate is not very unhealthy: it is certainly growing better, and will continue fo to do, the more the country sleared of its woods, and cultivated.

1 he rivers abound with fish, fome of which are good; at certain seasons of the year there is plenty of turtle. The woods abound with plenty of deer hares, a d rabbits, a kind of buffaloe, and two fpecies of wild hogs, one of which, the peccary, is remarkable for having its navel on the back.

The woods are infefted with feveral fpecies of tigers, but with no other ra venous or dangerous animals. The rivers are rendered dangerous by alligators, from four to feven feet long, and a man was a fhort time fince crushed between the jaws of a filh, but its name is not known. Scorpions and tarane

las are found here of a large fize and great venom, and other infects without number, fʊme of them very dangerous and troublesome. The torporific eel, the touch of which, by means of the bare hand or any conductos, has the effect of a trong electrical fhock. Serpents alfo, fome of which are venomous, and others, as has been afferted by many credible perfons, are from twenty five to fifty feet long. In the woods are monkey's, the floth, and parrots in all their varieties; alfo forne birds of beautiful plumage, among others the flamingo, but few or no finging birds.

Paramaribo, fituated on Surinam river, four leagues from the fea, north latitude 6o, well longitude 55° from Greenwich, is the principal town in Surinam. It contains about two tho fand whites, one half of whom are Jews, and eight thoufand lives. The houfes are principally of wood, fome few have glass windows, but generally they have wooden fhutters. The reets are fpacious and fraight," and planted on each fide with orange or tamarind

trees.

About feventy miles from the fea, on the fame river, is a village of about forty or fifty houfes, inhabited by Jews. This village, and the town above mentioned, with the intervening plantations, contain all the inhabitants in this colony, which amount to thee thoufand two hundred whites, and forty-three thousand flaves. The buildings on the plantations are many of them coflly, convenient, and airy. The country around is thinly inhabited with the native Indians, a harmlefs friendly race of beings. They are, in general, thort of ftature, but remarkably well made, of a light copper colour, ftraight black hair, without beards, high cheek bones, and broad fhoulders. In their ears, nofes, and hair the women wear ornaments of filver, &c. Both men and women go naked. One nation or tribe of them tie the lower part of the legs of the female children, when young. with a cord bound very tight for the breadth of fix inches about the ancle, which cord is never afterwards taken oft but to put on a new one, by which means the flesh, which fhould otherwife grow on that part of the leg, increases the calf to a great fize, and leaves the bone below nearly bare. This, though it must render them very weak, is reckoned a great beauty by them. The language of the Indians appears to be very foft. They are mortal enemies to every kind of labour, but nevertheless manufacture a few articles, fuch as very fine cotton hammocks, earthen water pots, baskets, a red or yellow dye called roucau, and fome other trifles, all which they exchange for fuch articles as they fland in need of.

They paint themfelves red, and fome are curiously figured with black. Their food confifts chiefly of fish and crabs; and callava, of which they plant great quantities, and this almoft the only produce they attend to. They cannot be faid to be abfolutely wandering tribes, but their huts being merely a few cross sticks covered with branches, fo as to defend them from the rain and fun, they frequently quit their habitations, if they fee occafion, and ef tablish them elsewhere. They do not fhun the whites, and have been ferviceable against the runaway negroes.

The river Surinam is guarded by a fort and two redoubts at the entrance, and a fort at Paramaribo, but none of them of any firength, fo that one er two frigates would be fufficient to make themselves mafters of the whole ⚫olony.

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The colony was firft poffeffed by the French as early as the year 1630 or 40, and was abandoned by them on account of its unhealthy climate. the year 1650 it was taken by fome Englishmen, and in 1662 a charter, grant was made of it by Charles II. About this time it was confiderably

augmented by the fettlement of a number of Jews, who had been driven out of Cayenne and the Brahis, whofe defcendants, with other Jews, compofe at prefent one naif of the white inhabitants of the colony, and are allowed great privileges. In 1667 it was taken by the Dutch, and the English having got poffeffion about the fame time of the then Dutch colony of New York, each party retained its conquest; the English planters most of them retired to Janaica, leaving their flaves behind them, whofe language is fill English, but fo corrupted as not to be underflood at firft by an Englishman.

CHAP.

XXX.

THE ABORIGINAL INDIAN POSSESSIONS.

To the

AMAZONIA.

W. of Brafil is a contry of very great extent, but very little known, which bears the name of Amazonia. It may be faid to extend from 4° N. to 17° S. and from 50° to 70° W. longitude, from Greenwich. Many fabulous ileries have been related of this country being inha bited by a race of warlike women, who were governed by a queen, fimilar to the ancient flories of fuch a nation inhabiting a diflrict of country on the borders of the Black fea. It has been afferted that this female community enurely exclude men from their fociety, and that fuccellive generations are obtained by occational commerce with neighbouring nations, and the female chaidren procured by fach embraces are bred up by the mothers, but that the males are fent to their fathers. The Spaniards when they first invaded the country, received thefe romantic fictions from fome Indians, who reprefented thefe herecines as extremely expert, brave, and formidable in war, and having themselves met with fome women on the confines of Amazonia, who were remarkab y intrepid and daring, as well as fkilful in the ufe of weapons of war, the relation was tranfinitted until it became received as a faft; however, its falfehood is now apparent, for M. de Condamine, who travelled into thefe parts, made the fulleft refearches into this relation, and obtained the molt fatisfactory proofs that it had no foundation in truth,

PATACO

PATAGONIA.

ATACONIA is fituated between 35° and 54′′ fouth latitude its length is eleven hundred miles, and its breadth three hundred and fifty: it is bounded north by Chili and Paragua; caft by the Atlantic ocean; fouth by the traits of Magellan; weft by the Pacific ocean.

The climate is fiid to be much colder in this country than in the north under the fame paralels of latitude, which is imputed to the Andes, which pafs through it, being covered with eternal fnow it is almoft impoffible to fay what the foil would produce, as it is not at all cultivated by the natives. The northern parts are covered with wood, among which is an inexhauftible fund of large umber; but towards the fourh, it is faid, there is not a fingle tree Marge enough to be of ule to mechanics. There are, however, good paftures,

which feed incredible numbers of horned cattle and horfes firft carried there by the Spaniards, and now increased in an amazing degree.

It is inhabited by a variety of Indian tribes, among which are the Patagons, from whom the country takes its name, the Pampas and the Coffores : they all live upon fish and game, and what the earth produces fpontaneously: their huts are thatched, and, notwithstanding the rigour of the climate, they wear no other clothes than a manile made of feal kin, or the fkin of fome beaft, and that they throw off when they are in action: they are exceedingly hardy, brave and active, making ufe of their arms, which are bows and arrows headed with flints, with amazing dexterity.

Magellan, who fift difcovered the ftraits which bear his name, and after him Commodore Byron, have reported. that there exifts, in these regions, a race of giants; but others, who have failed this way contradict the report. Upon the whole we may conclude, that this flory is, perhaps, like that of the female republic of Amazons.

The Spaniards once built a fort upon the ftraits, and left a garrifon in it to prevent any other European nation palling that way into the Pacific ocean; but moll of the men perished by hunger, whence the place obtained the name of port Famine, and fince that fatal event, no nation has attempted to plant colonies in Patagonia. As to the religion or government of these favages, we have no certain information: fome have reported, that these people believe in invifible powers, both good and evil and that they pay a tribute of gratitude to the one, and deprecate the wrath and vengeauce of the other.

Terra del Fuego

Is the fouthernmost part of South-America, and is feparated from the

The

continent by the ftrait of Magellan. The point of land on the fouthernmost extremity is called Cape Horn. Thefe iflands extend the Magellanic coaft from E. to W. about four hundred miles, and were thought contiguous to the continent, till Magellan difcovered and failed through the traits that part them from it. The ftraits are about 100 lagues in length from the Cape of the Virgins at the eaflern entrance to Cape Defire at the western end. breadth is various, it being in fome narrows but a league wide, and in more open parts five and feven leagues over. There are many safe harbours running into the continent, where fhips may fafely ride at fingle anchor in any weather. On the S. E. fide of the islands which form this ftrait is StatenIfland, in about 55° S. lat. and between it and Terra del Fuego runs Strait Le Maire, which is about 7 or 8 leagues in length. The paffage into the South Sea or Parific Ocean, is now generally performed through Strait le Maire, an then doubling Cape Horn.

Terra del Fuego is in general very mountainous and rough. The inhabi tanis, to whom Mr. De Bougainville, a very judicious traveller, gives the name of Pecherais, live milerable. Deprived of what renders life convenient, they fffer the extreme roughness of the most dreadful climate in the world. Thele favages are fhort, ugly, meagre and carry an infupportable flench a bour with them. They are almoft naked, having no other dress than wretched feal-fkins to wrap themselves in, their women are bidious and little regarded by the men. They fubfift principally on fhell fifh.

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