The district of Biriquite, which is attached to Choco, lies along the coast of the Pacific. In it is the village of Noanamas, inhabited chiefly by Indians, and situate on a river of the same name, 170 miles north-west of Popayan. This country was discovered by Pizarro, who called the natives Pueblo Quemado (the burnt people). It is thinly inhabited by some Indian tribes, who, as is the case with their neighbours in Darien, are perfectly indepen, dent,

ŞECTION XXVIII.

PROVINCE OF SANTA FE DE ANTIOQUIA.

THIS province, also called Antioquia, is bounded on the north by Carthagena and Darien; on the east, by Choco; on the west, by Santa Fé; and on the south, by Popayan.

It consists almost entirely of mountainous land, having part of the central ridge of the Andes, which divides the valley of the Magdalena from that of the Cauca, within its limits. The mountains of this country attain the greatest elevation of any of the three parallel chains in this part of the Andes. They reach the period of perpetual congelation, and in some of their summits greatly exceed it. Indeed the

whole country is so thickly surrounded with these mountains, that those who are not strong enough to travel on foot, or dislike being carried on the backs of men, must pass their whole lives within its bounds.

It is famous for its mines of gold, &c. Gold is found in veins in micaceous slate at Buritoca, San Pedro, and Arenas, but is not worked on account of the difficulty in procuring labourers, as the province is accessible only on foot. Gold is also collected in grains in great abundance on the alluvial grounds of the valley of Santa Rosa, the valley de la Trinidad, and the valley de los Onos. It is chiefly found by Negroes, employed for that purpose, and sent to Mompox, which is the great mart where the gold found in this province is disposed. of. The gold of Antioquia is only of nineteen or twenty carats fineness, and it has been computed that 3400 marcs of this precious metal are annually exported. The silver of Cundinamarca is chiefly produced in this province at Vega de Supia, a mine which has been lately discovered twenty leagues from Carthago. Quicksilver, that precious article in a mining country, is occasionally discovered in Antioquia; as sulphuretted mercury is found in the valley of Santa Rosa on the east of the Rio Cauca.

The number of Negroes who inhabit the gold district of the valley of Cauca, is said to be 8000, who are dispersed in small villages near the mining stations.

The capital of this province is SANTA FÉ DE ANTIOQUIA, in 6° 48′ north latitude, and 74° 36' west longitude; but from the situation of the country so little is known of it, that it is impossible to give any correct description of it.

SECTION XXIX.

PROVINCE OF SAN JUAN DE Los Llanos.

THIS province, which is the most easterly one of the kingdom of New Grenada, is bounded on the north by Varinas and Merida; on the east, by Varinas; on the west, by Santa Fé and Popayan; and on the south, by the government of Quixos. Its limits are not accurately defined, the name signifying the Province of the Plains, which extend their dreary surfaces to an immense length in these regions; some of those on which numerous herds of cattle are. fed, being more than 200 or 300 leagues in length.

The Rio Meta, the Vichada, the Casanare, and several other fine streams, flow through these plains, many of them taking their rise in the main chain of the Andes, and others in the branch called the Cordillera of the Cataracts of the Orinoco,

The capital of this province is SAN JUAN DE LOS LLANOS, at the distance of 50 miles eastsouth-east of Santa Fé de Bogota, in 3° north latitude, 73° 26′ west longitude. It was formerly celebrated for the gold found in its neighbourhood.*

This town contains very few inhabitants.

The northern portion of the Llanos is sometimes styled the province of Casanare, of which Pore is the chief town, situate in a hot climate and unhealthy situation.

1. The city of PORE, or SAN JOSE DE PORE, is 133 miles north-east of Santa Fé de Bogota ; 82 south of Pamplona, and in 5° 40′ north latitude, 72° 13′ west longitude.

It contains about 500 inhabitants.

Its territory produces cacao, maize, yucas, plantains, &c.

The rivers and lakes furnish abundance of fish, and are the means of transporting the goods of New Grenada to Caracas and Guiana.

It has some trade in dressed leather, manufactured by the inhabitants from the skins of the numerous herds of cattle which feed in the plains, and from those of the venados, or deer, with which the province abounds.

The other places in the province or district of Casanare, are chiefly missionary and other villages, along the banks of the rivers which flow from the Andes of New Grenada to the Orinoco.

SECTION XXX.

GOVERNMENT OF POPAYAN.

POPAYAN is bounded on the north by the Llanos de Neiva; on the west, by Choco and the Pacific; on the east, by the government of Quixos; and on the south, by that of Ataca

mes.

This country, which is subordinate to the presidency of Quito, contains several districts; Cali, Quatro Ciudades, Timana, Guadalaxara de Buga, San Sebastian de la Plata, Almaguer, Caloto, San Juan de Pasto, El Raposo, and Barbacoas.

The departments of Popayan, mentioned above, of most consequence, are Pasto, which is large and fertile; Cali and Buga, lying between Popayan and Choco, thriving on account of the trade they mutually carry on; and Caloto, which is fertile and rich, though the most subject to earthquakes: none of these however deserve the names of provinces.

The country of Popayan possesses, from the extent of its surface, a very unequal climate : the district of Barbacoas being on the seashore, is extremely hot, whilst in the interior, on the mountains, the cold is excessive; but Popayan, the capital, enjoys a temperate climate, and an eternal spring.