is covered with forests, and infested with jaguars, and other wild beasts.

The river is navigable for light vessels, but the harbour is exposed to the north wind.

SECTION XXI.

PROVINCE OF CARTHAGENA.

THE next province, in passing eastward from Tierra Firme, is Carthagena, so named from its capital. It is bounded on the north by the Spanish Main; on the east, by the great river Magdalena; on the south, by the province of Antioquia; and on the west, by the river and province of Darien. Its extent from east to west may be computed at fifty-three leagues, and from north to south at eighty-five.

This space is covered with mountains, savannahs, and forests.

The small ridge of the Andes which divides the bed of the Magdalena from the river of Darien or Atrato, loses itself in this province : it is no where of any great elevation.

The great plains or savannahs are those named Zinu, Zamba, Tolu, Mompox, Barancas, &c. all of which are highly fruitful valleys between the ridges of the hills.

The Magdalena and the Cauca are the most important rivers in this province. The Cauca flows partly through Carthagena, and joins the Magdalena below Mompox.

The settlements of the Europeans and natives are chiefly on the coast, or in the valleys.

The hills and rivers are supposed to have formerly furnished much gold, with which a trade was carried on with the neighbouring countries; and gold is said to have been so plentiful, that the natives were always ornamented with trinkets composed of that metal.

The soil of this province is very luxuriant, especially near the capital, where it produces every thing in the greatest abundance.

The country produces indeed neither wheat nor barley, but maize and rice in great plenty. Of the maize they form a kind of bread called bollos, which is used both by the natives and Europeans. The Negroes chiefly make use of the cassava bread, made from roots, whilst the opulent families use the flour of European wheat, imported from Spain. Sugar-cane plantations are very common; and rum is distilled in small quantities. The cotton tree is cultivated; and the cacao of Carthagena is said to excel that of the Caracas, both in its size and goodness.

Besides melons, grapes, oranges, dates, and fruits of other climes, the pine-apple, the plantain, banana, papaws, yams, mameis, sapotes,

&c. grow here in great luxuriance, and afford during the whole year a great part of the nourishment of the people.

The banana and plantain, like the pine-apple, are the produce of a shrub. The banana is a fruit something resembling in shape and appearance a cucumber: they are roasted, sliced, and served with brandy and sugar. The papaws resemble a lemon with a green rind, very juicy, and of a gentle acid taste: this fruit grows on a tree. The guanabana resembles a melon in appearance and taste, but grows also on a tree. The sapote is round, and about two inches in circumference, with a loose thin rind of a brown colour streaked with red, the inside of a bright red, and containing a little juice of a viscid nature; but as this fruit consists in its edible parts of many tough fibres, it is far from excellent. The mameis are of the same colour with the sapotes, only rather lighter; their rind adheres more firmly; they also contain a hard stone, and are in taste not unlike a plum. The sutiles or limes, are well known their chief use is in cooking, the meat used by the settlers being always soaked in their juice, if intended to be roasted; or the juice is put into the water if it is to be boiled, by which means the flesh is so softened, that it can be thoroughly done in an hour at farthest. The country abounds in tamarinds, and produces all the other fruits common to the West Indies.

The want of oil is felt occasionally in Carthagena, as well as that of wine, when the supply from Spain does not arrive at the expected times. The inhabitants make use of tallow candles instead of lamps, and hog's-lard for most of the things which oil and butter are required for. The tables of the higher classes are served with great splendour.

The trees attain an immense bulk, and form by their shades pleasing scorching rays of the sun.

retreats from the The mahogany or

acajou, of which the canoes of the natives are formed, the white and red cedar, the maria, the balsam tree, which yields an oil-the celebrated balsam of Tolu, (so called from a town where it is gathered), the tamarind, the medlar, the sapote, papayo or papaw, guayubo, cassia, palm, and mançanillo, are a few of the species whose wood, fruit, or sap, are so precious. The mançanillo derives its name from the Spanish word mançana, an apple, the fruit. resembling the European apple in shape, colour, and taste, but being of a poisonous nature the juice of this tree is so acrid, that it blisters the skin of those employed in felling it, and it is reckoned dangerous to remain under its shade after a shower, as the droppings of its leaves have the same caustic quality. The palms are of many different species, and form, by their broad and spreading leaves, elevated on lofty trunks, the great beauty of the

scenery of these, the produce is chiefly cocoanuts, dates, and palm-wine. The sensitive plant grows to the height of a foot and a half in the woods of Carthagena.

In its vast forests, numerous tribes of wild animals are found. Of these, the jaguar or tiger, and the American leopard, are very destructive to the cattle and domestic animals : the former grows to an amazing size, and is extremely ferocious. Wild boars, foxes, armadilloes, squirrels, deer, rabbits, and monkeys, are produced in great plenty, most of which are eaten by the Indians and Negroes whenever they catch them. The cattle and swine of this province are very numerous. Their flesh, when salted, forms the principal article of commerce and of food.

Wild geese are caught in the lakes by means of an entertaining stratagem. In the places they frequent, the Indians put calabashes or gourds, which constantly floating on the surface of the water, cause no alarm to the geese, and when they are sufficiently accustomed to see them, the Indian gets into the water at a distance from the flock, with a gourd over his head; he then advances amongst them, and draws them by the legs under the surface, until he has procured as many as he wants.

The birds of this province are both numerous and beautiful. Amongst them, the toucan with its large bill, the gallinazo vulture, which