desert, to quench their thirst on the return of the rains, is truly singular. Depons says, he has seen those animals bound and plunge into the marshes with so much avidity, and drink such a quantity of water, that from an appearance of extreme leanness, they seemed to become as it were dropsical, and died floating on the water in a few hours.

The effect is, however, different in some parts of Guiana. In those which are fanned and refreshed by the sea-breezes, the dry season is a delightful period, while, on the contrary, the rainy season is hotter and less healthy. Such is the climate of Cayenne, Surinam, Berbice, Demerara, Essequibo, of the countries situate between this river and the Orinoco, and from the Orinoco, continuing along the coast, as far as the lake of Maracaibo.

What has been here said of the dry and rainy seasons relates chiefly to Caracas. The climate of Cundinamarca presents great variety. The elevated Cordillera of the Andes, and the eternal snows which cap its summits, render this country, though it lies partly under the equator, subject to all the cold of the polar regions; whilst, on its low savannahs, the tropical heats are felt with all their ardour. The elevated plains between the ridges of the Andes enjoy a temperate and unvariable climate, and it is in these delightful spots that the European colonists have chiefly fixed their abodes.

SECTION VII.

ITS LAKES.

COLOMBIA presents both lakes which are formed by the rains, and those which are the mere reservoirs of the rivers whose waters they receive. A great number of the first kind are to be seen in the low lands in the vicinity of the Orinoco. The two greatest of the second kind are those of Maracaibo and Valencia.

1. The Lake of Maracaibo is a body of water of an oval form, lying in a north and south direction, and communicating with the Gulf of Venezuela by a very narrow channel. In length it is 150 miles, in breadth 90, and in circumference 450. There is generally a considerable undulation on its surface; and during some winds, particularly those from the north, the waves rise to a great height. Its waters are always fresh, excepting when violent storms force the salt waters of the Gulf into it. The depth of this lake is very great; and it is navigable for vessels of the greatest burden.

Owing to the vapours arising in the night after the great heat of the day, the shores in the immediate vicinity of its waters are unhealthy.

The goodness of the soil in the western part has induced some Spaniards, regardless of the insalubrity of the air, to fix their habitations there, in order to raise cacao and provisions. The southern extremity of the lake is uncultivated and uninhabited. The northern part is quite as hot as the other parts, but incomparably healthier. The city of Maracaibo is situate on the left bank to the west; and opposite are two villages, the one called Punta à Piedra, inhabited by Indians, the other Altagracia, occupied by Spaniards, upon the right bank.

When the Spaniards first landed in this country, they observed several villages built in the lake, which is the mode adopted by the Indians at present, considering this plan as the healthiest. The appearance of one of these little towns amid the waters, caused the Spanish adventurers to name it Little Venice, or Venezuela, which title was afterwards transferred to the whole province. Four of these villages still remain, and are under the government of a monk, who has a church, and the spiritual charge of these people. The principal employment of the Indians of these towns is fishing, and catching the aquatic birds which frequent the lake.

The produce of the interior is conveyed by the rivers which feed this lake to the town of

Maracaibo, and thence shipped for Europe or the adjoining colonies.

To the north-west of Lake Maracaibo is a vein, or mine, of mineral pitch, (used, by mixing it with grease, to grave vessels), which is of such an inflammable nature, that during the hot weather, and particularly at night, corruscations are seen arising from its surface, which have the appearance of quickly repeated lightnings. The Indians and Spaniards, who navigate the vessels and canoes of the lake, call them St Anthony's lanterns, or the lanterns of Maracaibo, as they serve them to steer by during the dark nights so prevalent in the torrid zone.

2. The Lake of Valencia, though not so extensive as that of Maracaibo, is far more beautiful and useful. Its banks are fertile and healthy, and clothed with the most luxurious vegetation.

This lake is situate three miles from the city of Valencia, and eighteen from the sea, from which it is separated by inaccessible mountains. It is of an oblong form, stretching north-east and south-west, is forty miles in length and twelve in breadth, and lies in a valley surrounded by very high and steep land, excepting on the west.

The valleys of Aragua form a narrow basin between granitic and calcareous mountains of unequal height. On the north, they are sepa

rated by the Sierra Mariara from the sea-coast; and toward the south, the chain of Guacimo and Yusma serves them as a rampart against the heated air of the steppes. Groups of hills, high enough to determine the course of the waters, close this basin on the east and west, like transverse dykes. We find these hills between the Tuy and La Victoria, as well as on the road from Valencia to Nirgua, and at the mountains of Torito. From this extraordinary configuration of the land, the little rivers of the valleys of Aragua form a peculiar system, and direct their course toward a basin closed on all sides, the Lake of Valencia. On the existence of these rivers and lakes, the fertility of the soil, and the produce of cultivation in these valleys, depend.

The waters of the lake are subject to the powerful influence of evaporation, and lose themselves, if we may use the expression, in the atmosphere. The aspect of the spot, and the experience of half a century, have proved, that the level of the waters is not invariable: the waste by evaporation, and the increase from the waters running into the lake, do not uninterruptedly balance each other. The lake being elevated 1000 feet above the neighbouring steppes of Calabozo, and 1332 feet above the level of the ocean, it has been suspected that there are subterraneous communications and filtrations. The appearance of new islands,