7 15 3 9 f A YISIT TO COLOMBIA, KS7 "^mm ^^^3^^ oisss & ]is§@» BY LAGUA^-RA AND CARACAS, OVER THE CORDILLERA TO BOGOTA, AND THENCE BY THE MAGDALENA TO CARTAGENA. BY COL. WM. DUANE, OF PHILADA. PHILADELPHIA : PRINTED BY THOMAS H. PALMER, FOR THE AUTHOR. 1826. Easteiin District of PEsifSYLvAsiA, to wit . BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the 5th day of Jane, in the fiftieth year of the Independence of the United States of America, A. D. 1826, William Duane, of the said district, hath deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as author, in the words following, to wit : " A Visit to Colombia, in the Years 1822 and 1823, by Laguayra and Caracas, over the Cordillera to Bogota, and thence by the Magdalena to Cartagena. By Col. Wm. Duane, of Philada." In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, intituled "An Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned." And also to the act entitled, " An act supplementary to an act, entitled, ' An Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the -times therein mentioned,' and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving, and etching, historical and other prints." D. CALDWELL, Clerk of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. ^' PREFACE. ' THE Visit to the Colombian Republic was made on behalf of ^ persons in the United States, having claims against the govern- ^ ment, of which other agents had not procured the liquidation. It / . I was supposed that I should be more likely to accomplish that ob- ject, and the business required that the first steps should be at Ca- racas. I proceeded thither, and thence across the Cordillera to Bo- gota, where I accomplished the settlement to a considerable amount. ^ The parties in seeking to outwit each other embarrassed themselves ; "^1. they however at length received the amount settled by me— but contrived to cheat me out of my commissions. The fact would not be noticed, were it not possible, that an entire silence might be con- strued into acquiescence in a transaction of transcendant knavery, meanness, and ingratitude. w Thirty years ago I became acquainted with some men of virtue Nj" and intellect, who wer^ preparing the way for that revolution in \^ South America, which is now realized. Those intimacies had, by *^ exciting my sympathy, led me to bestow more earnest attention on the history, geography, and the eventual destiny of those countries. I perceived the commercial and political importance of those rich V regions to the United States — countries possessing every thing that rj nature had bestowed on the other parts of the globe, and much more Avhich none else possessed. A new creation springing out of chaos ; inviting the republic, which had only a few years preceded, to com- municate its institutions, exchange its useful products, and promote a family of republics, whose institutions must eventually regenerate humanity. A free press enabled me to communicate my anticipations and conceptions, which I continued to make known, even though laughed at — and by persons too who are now as zealous friends^ as they were j^V PREFACE. before sceptical, hostile, and — worse. The generous love oi' liberty in a free nation, however, triumphed over insidious and open enmity to the new republics, and procured for my essays and my opinions a more rational reception ; the government of Colombia thought my efforts worthy of a vote of thanks ; and the kindness and hospitality which I experienced in a long journey of thirteen hundred miles, afforded me ample vengeance for the sneers of those who have now become the admirers of a revolution, which they before reviled or deprecated. No labour has been attempted in this work ; a mere conversational narrative, such as I should give to a circle of private friends, is all that I pretend to. I had proposed to comprise my volume within five hundred pages, but it has swelled to a hundred and twenty more ; and I find I have not said one half of what my opportunities and materials would enable rae to say — on the internal state of the country — its commerce, domestic and foreign — its constitution — laws and policy — its statesmen and its parties — finances— public economy — colonization — arts. I meant to have said something about the Amphyctions of Panama, with the origin of which I was ac- quainted before any other person now living in the United States — and I proposed to bestow a chapter on the grand work of the strait of Panama, to effect which I have made proposals to the Colombian government (sustained by capitalists) — and which, if accomplished, as I know it is practicable, would render the communication between the two oceans as free and more secure than the passage of the straits of Sunda or Gibraltar. When this sheet was going to the press, advices have been receiv- ed of a gust of civil war, at Valencia, in which the reputation of a hero of the revolution is involved. The occurrence is to be lament- ed, though the consequences carry nothing serious to the republic. The cause of this rumor may be found in the federative spirit— the spirit of party — and the blind passions of personal envy and personal disappointment, incident to all revolutions, and which are possibly necessary to complete the career of the revolution, and es- tablish the power of the laws, where the passions only had prevailed for so many ages. Circumstances dependant not on myself, will determine whether 1 shall publish any more on the subject. CONTENTS. PREFACE • .•..••• .••.••..••••••*•.«•..«•* Page 3 CHAPTER I. Voyage to Lagfuayra* ..••... •••••••••••••••••• •••• 9 CHAPTER H. Residence in Laguayra and incidents there •••••••••••••••••• • 24 CHAPTER m. Further anecdotes, and departure for Caracas ••#.•••••••••••• 37 CHAPTER IV. Caracas — first impressions— manners — oriental style of building •••#» 52 CHAPTER V. Plaza Mayor — market — college — library— ecclesiastical affairs ••••••• 69^* CHAPTER VI. Religious processions — visit to the country — military parades •••»•• • 87 CHAPTER VII. Bolivar's birth-day — musical party — a coffee plantation ••»•• •••..• 10 1 CHAPTER VIII. Departure, preparations for — hints to travellers •••••••••.. ••• 114 CHAPTER IX. Cross the Guayra — cavalcade — the route to San Pedro — San Mateo ••••»• 128 CHAPTER X. Sugar-mill at the Hacienda of the President Bolivar — pass of La Cabrera — Faez 143 CHAPTER Xr. Lake of Valencia— strategy at Naguanagua .....$•• «••««....••■•• 160 VI CONTENTS. CHAPTER XII. Grenadiers of Colombia— Senator Penalver— barbarity of Boves*** Page 177 CHAPTER XIII. Carabobo— Captain Spence and Morales 190 CHAPTER XIV. San Carlos— El Altar— buttress tree 204 CHAPTER XV. Barquisimeto — Alcalde — dismal plain — Tucuyo* ••..•#...»•..••••• 218 CHAPTER XVI. Humacaro Baxo — knavish Alcalde — wild country • 236 CHAPTER XVn, Obispos — Carache — Santa Ana — treaties there • 249 CHAPTER XVIII. Truxillo — Gen. Clemente — soldier's widow — Mendoza — Christmas day 262 CHAPTER XIX. Motatan river — Timothes — curate — tournament — Erica — the Virgin of Chin- chinquira • 286) CHAPTER XX. Hospitality at Muchachecs — Merida — Gov. Paredes — Sierra Nevada 294 CHAPTER XXI. Exido — Lagunillas — Natron Lake — turbulent Chama* »•• 307 CHAPTER XXII. Bayladores — agriculture — Col. Gomez — Gritja — ruse de guerre — Post-house atElCobre 32§ CHAPTER XXIII. Army magazines — Challomar — a bivac — Gen. Urdaneta — Capacho— Cucuta 336 CHAPTER XXIV. Fandango — Saltikal post-house — Indian rancho, happy condition — Pamplona 351 CHAPTER XXIV. Military depot — arsenal — nulitary drills — training horses — Volcan de Agua — ffood Franciscan ••• 372 CHAPTER XXV. Goitre — Capitanejo — bridge — videttes — Suata — Sefiora Calderon — Sativa 384 CONTENTS. Vll CHAPTER XXVI. Boyacca— traditions — Serinza — a French traveller* • •••• Page 399 CHAPTER XXVII. Santa Rosa — beautiful town and plain — hospitality — handsome population — Paypa — los diablos^azulos* •••••••••••• •••••••••••••• t 415 CHAPTER XXVni. Peeling winds — sublime wilds — Virgin of Chinchinquira, becomes a patriot — JjuU teazing •• ..••• ••• 428 CHAPTER XXIX. Fra, Garcia — Tunja — Senor Soto — education* • ••••••••• ••••• 442 ^ CHAPTER XX^. Suesca — Hacienda — plain of Bogota — approach to the city — Plaza Mayor* •• 455 jl CHAPTER XXXI. Cathedral — palace — market — Calle Real — artisans 471 » ' CHAPTER XXXII. Cataract Taquendama — Suacha — Franciscan monastery .»... 490 CHAPTER XXXIII. ^"Geog^phic sketch — political distribution of the Republic •• 501 CHAPTER XXXIV. JCongress of 1823 — state of the Republic, foreign relations 513 CHAPTER XXXV. AflPairs of interior •• 526 CHAPTER XXXVI. Financial Report — Report of the War Department — Naval Report 546 CHAPTER XXXVII. Leave Bogota — Quindiu, Guaduas, Honda — hints to travellers 569 CHAPTER XXXVni. Rapids — passage of the Magdalena — Mompox. * • •. 586 CHAPTER XXXIX. Leave Mompox — Teneriffe — anecdotes — Barranca Nueva — the digue — Tur- bajo — Cartagena. .• **• 602 APPENDIX.—No. L Fundamental law of Angostura, 1819 623 No. II. Fundamental law of Cucuta, 1821 625 No.III. Itineraries •* • ••*• 627 THE PLATES. The Pass of Cabrera, to face the title. The Fall of Taquendanw, to face Chap. XXXU. TISIT TO COLOMBIA. CHAPTER I. Embarcatlon, and reception on board. — A sister of Bolivar occupies same cabin. The mess a variety of cheerful and agreeable company. — Pass Sandy Hook, 3d Oct. — ^joined by the Vincador, our consort — make sail S. E. — character and force of both ships. — The horse latitudes — conjectures concerning. — Ship put in fighting trim. — Anecdote of Seiiora liol'.var. — See Sombrero 14th, afternoon — passed close to OrchiHa — glimpse of Cape Codcra. — Coast as approached Caravallada — historical anecdote of its spirited population. — Foundation of Laguayra. — The Sierra Avilia seen, and the Silla — aspect of the mountains in front. — Palm trees at Maquiteia — and town. — Casemates of Laguayra con- stantly beaten by the surf — prison and grave of patriots. — Anchor on 1 8th with fourteen fathoms cable out — salute, and salute returned. — The U. S. corvette Cyane, Capt. Spence — his manly conduct — land the 18th. — A harbour easily formed here secure against all storms. — Find acquaintances unexpectedly .-~ Kindness of American consul, and Commodore Daniels — introduced to Com- mandarit — quarters. — Oriental style of building and living. — Politeness of a friend. — Baggage not examined. — Mode of carrying ashore — paying porters. The Colombian Government, through their agent, Com- modore Daniels, luid purchased the beautiful corvette Her- cules, built by Mr. Eckford of New York, in the fall of 1822 : the Commodore, understanding I was about to visit Colombia, with his accustomed generosity, offered me a pas- sage, which was extended with the same kindness to my daughter Elizabeth, and stepson Lieut. R Bache, of the U. S. Artillery. We were at New York in time, and embarked at noon on the second of October, 1822 ; and the same evening anchored within Sandv Hook. lt> VI31T TO COLOMBIA, The experience and kindness of the commodore had anti* cipated every thing that could render our passage and ac- commodations pleasant. The state cabin had been apj^ro- priated to Stnora Antonia Bolivar and h«.r daui^hter Jose- phine; the other tvio births, one to Elizabeth, and one to myself. Young Pablo, the son of S(.n:)ra Antonia, and Lieut. Bache, were lodged in the two births next contigu- ous. The state cabin was also the mess room, and besides the Commodore and those above mentioned, the mi ss con- sisted of Captain Austin, who navigated on the part of the owners ; the ship's husband ; and such of the officers and passengers on board, in rotation, as the space would con- veniently admit. We had a great variety of characters, and (w hat does not always happen on board crowded ships) there was not a single squabble nor dispute during the vojage; good humor, and an unstudied disposition to afford every ser- vice that could be agreeable, rendered the passage rather a party of pleasure on a river than a voyage at sea in a ship of war, Capt. Austin, who was to deliver the ship at Laguayra, united the literary character with the seaman, and left no- thing on his part undone to contribute to the general comfort and pleasure. The officers who occasionally dined with us gave a diversity to our company, and there appeared to be no sort of contention but who should be most obliging and atten- tive. Our fare, to the hour we landed, was in every respect equal to what we should expect at the best hotel in New York ; and the wines were equally excellent and abundant. The first dawn of the 3d of October found us under top- sails outside Sandy Hook, of which we very soon lost sight. About 11 o'clock descried a sail, which proved to b^,the Vincador, Colombian sloop of war, Capt. Shannon, who had been cruizing for us several days. After the usual commu- nications between the ships, made sail our course to the S. E. till otherwise ordered. VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 11 The corvette being to be delivt red only at Laguayra, car- ried the btripes and stars. The Vincador, the colors of Co- lombia. The Hercules, which after her transfer took the name of Bohvar, carried twenty five 32 pounders, such as are usuuliy carried by U. S. corvettes; besides two brass 24 pound cannon on her forecastle. Her crew consisted of 220 prime seamen, principally of the crew lately discharged from the U. S. I'ngate Macedonian. The Vincador carried fourteen guns, and her ordinary complement of 150 seamen, besides the like number of vo- lunteers intended for other ships of the Colombian navy. On board borh ships there were several experienced naval officers extra, destined for the same service ; among whom were Lieut. Christie, formerly of the U. S. navy, Mr. Mur- ray, formerly of the British navy, Capts. Clerke, Swaine, &c. men experienced in naval and military service ; besides a number of tyros, candidates for appointments in the naval service. The weather was fair and winds propitious; nor had we a rough sea or foul weather during the passage, excepting the cobbling sea and hazy atmosphere in what the sailors denominate the horse latitudes. It would seem that this agitation of the sea and clouded atmosphere are produced by the encounter of adverse cur- rents. The waters of the great current of the Orinoco, which is the grand feeder of the Gulf stream, do not all flow to the westward, and between Cape Catoche and Cape An- tonio ; much of those waters are thrown to the N. E. and pass through the channels of the Windward Islands and the Antilles ; and I suspect that the warmth which is perceptible in those currents, brought from the regions beneath the equa- tor, meeting at those latitudes the currents from the N. W., which bring them within the cold temperature of the north, produce at once this short and broken sea, and the vapour which for two days excluded the cheering rays of the sun. IS VISIT TO COLOMBIA/ The sailors assi,^n as the origin of the. name horse latitudes, that it has been given by those who, in suppl) ing horses to the West India islands, here often encountering a more than usually rough sea, are compelled for safety to throw their cargoes overboard. I am not aware that this is the same maritime position to which the Spaniards give the name of El Mare de los Mulas. 1'his bickering ol tiie waves, which appeared trifling to persons accustomed to the sea, was coi^idered very rough weather by those whose first voyage it was. Our course was not materially interrupted, and the third day restored us to sunshine, and our dining table to a horizontal position, and the gallant ship again floated majestically on an even keel eight and ten knots an hour. Indeed, the passage resem- bled more the even movement of a steamboat on a spacious river, than that of a ship of war on the broad and often bois- terous Atlantic. Our consort never parted company, reporting alongside at sunrise and sunset, and sometimes exchanging visits; which to some of the passengers was very satisfactory, under the apprehension that wc might be overhauled by Spanish ships of war ; an apprehension totally unfounded, as there was no ship then in those seas of sufficient force to encounter us; and if there were, independent of the importance of our con- sort, our ship was completely equipped, and was soon after putting to sea prepared for such a contingency : our flag, it was reasonable to think, would have prevented a conflict ; but if the worst should occur, wc had a heavy broadside, an expe- rienced and intrepid ship's company, and about a dozen gal- lant ofliicers on board, each competent to command, and who had seen some rough service and given some hard knocks. The sailors disliking nothing so much as lounging in their hammocks, or on the spars, or the forecastle, and besides it being good for their health, the fine weather was used to put the ship in fighting trim. The routine of discipline, which VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 13 is that of the U. S. navy, in the distribution of duties and the assignment of stations, was soon accomplished, and every gun had its captain, gunner, and assistants. Gangs of board- ers were organized, and helmets, hangers, pikes, axes, and hand grenades distributed. The idlers (that is, all on board who are not of the ship's complement) were organized as marines, furnished with rifles, and assigned to the poop, forecastle, and tops ; and the spirit-stirring drum beat all hands to quarters. In an instant every thing was in a bustle, courses hauled up, matches liglued, water tubs placed, and every gun manned. The silence was as emphatic and im- pressive as the momentary agitation. The \\ov(\Jire ! was echoed by the roar of the guns ; and succeeded by the same impressive silence. The guns being scaled and reloaded, the sham-fight closed with a real frolic, — abundance of grog for the ship's company. To those who are unaccustomed to the " note of prepara- tion'* for military action, this mere semblance could not but be impressive. In the course of the preparation Seiiora Antonia requested the commodore to inform her where she was to take her station in case of an action ? The commodore, with per- fect presence of mind, assured her that she had not been ne- glected ; that no station on board in time of action was more important than the charge of the magazine, which was never entrusted but to the most worthy and confidential ; that this charge would be committed to herself, and Miss Josephine and Miss Elizabeth should be her assistants. She appeared for an instant satisfied, but the commodore adding ; that the ma- gazine was below the range of shot, and therefore perfectly out of danger, the countenance of the good lady, before per- fectly composed, appeared to be lighted up by indignation, and her eye sparkling, she exclaimed — " No ! no, Senor Commodore ! no quiero ! — mi nombre es Bolivar, y mi lugar es en frente del peligro.^'' No ! no, Mr. Commodore, this Hi VISIT TO COLOMBIA. must not be ; my name is Bolivar, and when there is danger my station is in front. It was the emotion of a moment ; the expression was ani- mated, and the effect electrical ; it was not until the commo- dore assured her of a station near himself on the quarter deck, in case of any adventure, that she was reconciled. To me the incident wa;> the more rem;irk iblc, b; cause vvhenthe sea chanced to be agitated in the horse lattudes at nii^ht, or the ship leaned with a stift" breeze, her hours were devoted to unceasing prayer ; the holy rosary was repeated, and the responses by her amiable daui^hter, as long as the ship was any way disturbed in its motion. On the evening of the 14th of October the island of Som- brero was distinctly marked on our starboard bow ; and we changed our course to the westward. On the morning of the 15th Saba rose ahead, apparently about the size and shape of an inverted teacup ; by one o'clock it was largely defined to the S. S. E. about ten miles, and as we passed at ten knots an hour, under our upper sails, the figure constant- ly changed. About five o'clock St. Christophers and Ne- vis were in sight, and, in the dim distance, St. Eustatia with its double summit S. W. The whole groupe of islands in that direction, bore the appearance of headlands to a conti- nuous continent, and as if stretching from S. E. to N. \V. This navigation is so well known, that nothing novel could be said about it ; what has been said is intended ra- ther to show the good judgment by which the track was cho- sen, the facility of the passage, and the short time in which it was performed. Our course lay by the northward of the celebrated ledge, at the extremity of which is Bird-island ; and then parallel with its west side, our course nearly south. On the 16th we heard the surges beat against the steep solitary rock of Orchilla, distant about three miles on our larboard ; the boisterous surf seemed to rage in eternal anger at its base. At half past four we had the first glimpse of VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 15 terra frma on our larboard bow. The atmosphere was loaded Willi a bleejjy vapor, which appeared like a curtain hung hori- zontally about one hundred feet above our topmast heads ; the space beneath dimly but distinctly lighted, so that we could discern Cipe Codera as if growing out of the sea as we approached land ; after some time it presented its rounded sumniit and steep north lace to the ocean ; and on the south side inclined i^radually to the margin of the shore, where the view was concealed by clouds of vapor of different light and shjde. The lake of Ticaragua lies to the eastward of Cape Codera a few leagues, it is an oval bason of twenty by fifteen mites, formerly open to the sea like the Cinegas of Maracaibo and La Hacha, but now only accessible in small boats. This Cinega receives the waters of many valleys, and particularly those of the Tuy and Caracas. The evapora- tion Irom these waters 1 presume intercepted the view, and gave the position an appearance of an inland gulph or the mouth of a vast river. A little farther west lies the dark base of the Sierra, which seems placed like a barrier against the ocean, which perjjetu- ally beats like a battering ram against its feet, and retiring only to return again with never exhausted force. The coast from Cape Codera to Laguayra, about eighty miles apart, has an ample curve, more apparently regular than real ; nor do the mountains rise so abruptly and precipitous within the Cape, as nearer to and in front of Laguayra. The coast is rugged and rocky, westward of the Cape ; farther west there is some space between the sea and many recesses in the line of mountains, upon which scenes of a highly picturesque char- acter are open to the sea : many small plantations covered with verdure, and trees too minute to tell their character or class ; rocky cliffs again appear ; and not less than seventeen small rivers issue from the Sierra, some of which carry boats two or three miles inland through those narrow valleys, that seem crevices in the mountain, and along the margin of 16 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. which are fine fields of su^ar cane and cacao plantations ; near Caravellada, the |)Osiiion at first selected lor a port on this coast, cultivation is more extensive, and the coast is composed of detached hills which bear their verdure to their summits. De Pons has {^iven a concise account of the cause of its abandonment, which becomes of more interest from the events that have since taken place, than when he narrated it, as it corroborates the declarations of intelligent men, that notwith- standin,s^ the iron despotism of the Spjnish government, and the more galling tyranny of its deputies, there was always in S. America a latent spirit which required only a spark to kindle it into a general blaze. Caravellada was established by Losada in 1568, and had a caljildo or corporation : the members of cabildos throughout America were elected by the people. In 1586, Roxas the governor undertook to di- vest the people of the right of election, and appointed alcaldes himself, ordering the four regidors to be arrested. The peo- ple assembled and came to an unanimous resolution to aban- don the place, and they fulfilled their engagement, retiring to Caracas, Vulentia, and other places. The affair being made knoun in Spain, the regidors were released, and the inhabitants invited to return ; they never returned ; but some of them selecting the position of Laguayra, it be- came the port of entry and clearance for Caracas, and has continued to be. The places of note west of Laguayra are Catia, Arrecifes, La Cruz, Coroni, Ocumare bay, Turia- mo, Barbaruta, and Porto Cabello. The veil which appeared suspended above us, now seemed to rise and expose the summit of the first ranges of the Sierra, holding vast fleeces of snow-white clouds behind them, and concealing ranges in yet greater elevation and remote succes- sion, which soon appeared in more distinctness, but still clad with clouds in the utmost distance. The line of the Sierra Avilla, which is the mountain that separates Caracas from the coast, was now clearly defined, but the Silla, like a coy VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 17 damsel of the region, still retired her head, scarcely con- cealed by a gauzy veil, the skirt of which flared in the air to the south-west. A brighter light above, and the shadows of the mountain upon the glassy waters followed, and pre- sented a most sublime spectacle — still further adorned by the lofty Silla, which had now cast its veil of clouds away, and exposed its double summit to the admiring visitor. Along the mountain foot a white vanishing line appeared — it was the beating surf, not yet to be distinguished by the ear. No level space for human foot was visible between the steep declivity and unceasing surge. Drawing still nearer, the eye is engaged by a brighter steady white line on the sea verge ; and behind, the appearance of a longer, higher range, of less distinctness — it is the long rantpart thi.t marks the port and the town of Laguayra, which seems stiick up against the face of the steep. Attracted to the right, a small promontory tlirust into the sea, appears covered with Palmyra palms, which half conceal housf^s in the rear, on higher ground. It is Maquiteia, a handsome village about half a mile west of Laguayra. Before the eye is satisfied in con- templating this refreshing tropical picture, the objects appear more distinct and enlarged ; but the face of the mountain between Maquiteia and Laguayra displays a dreary and deso- late aspect, of dusky and grey shades; projecting rocks and broken red and yellow soil, sterile and destitute of verdure, as if the ocean had been pelting at it for ages, and left it alike bare of fruits and of vegetation. There are however, scat- tered on distant spots, three or four species of Cactus, im- perceptible in the distance ; and some Agaves or American Aloes, have seized upon some " coi.^ns cf vantage," and with giant arms hold places in their ndtivc soil. The whole line of coast from Cape Codera is now dis- played, and west of Maquiteia, about three miles, stands Cape Blanco, but with less altitude than made it formerly remarkable : it was sometimes spoken of as the west horn 18 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. of a bay, of which Codf^ra was the east ; but without any other than a remote similitude. The Silla is now also more distinct, and the form of its summit, which has been named from a distant resemblance to a saddle, here gives its shape distinctly ; the eastern sum- mit being the highest, is said to resemble the fore part or pommel of a saddle, and the western or lowest summit com- pared to the cantle or hind part of the seat. The shore is no longer still nor silent, the roar of the beating surf is un- ceasing ; and there appears a space between the surge and the mountain which presents a picture as minute, busy, and agitated as an anthill whose inmates are disturbed. Men and mules are the actors in this busy scene ; a spacious causeway, the product of very great and judiciously applied labour, leads from the postern or Caracas gate to Maquitcia, and is also the high road to Caracas. As seen from the dis- tance, it appears no broader than a ribbon, though it is, in many places, 60 and 100 feet broad, and is constructed about ten feet above the ordinary water line. As the sun gained the south- west, the shadows of the Sierra slanted along the coast to the eastward, and left the horizon bright and clear, and, about two o'clock of the 18th, we came to anchor with 14 fathoms of cable out, in a posi- tion about equidistant from Laguayra and Maquiteia, and a mile from the shore. The three fortifications behind the town, the works in front, and the village of Palms on our right, were now perfectly distinct, and proportionably inte- resting. The warmth of the glowing sun, the bright at- mosphere, and the grove of palms, gave to me an Ori- ental resemblance ; and all appeared to more advantage, except the battered aspect of the Sierra, on nearer approach. The recess, or scooped out space of the mountain, in the rear of the town, eastward, seemed more depressed, than when seen from the distance, and the principal fortress on the shoulder of the mountain had the appearance of a regu- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 11) lar work. I did not attempt to visit either, the ascent ap- pearing to me rather difficult for goats. They appear less perpendicular on shore; but, for military purposes, their shot would not reach the anchorage, and could therefore be of no use, unless to batter an enemy in possession of the town, in the rear. The fortification on the margin of the sea, in front of the town, appears to have been originally a palanka thrown up to mask the main street, with which it runs parallel: the ram- part now is a well constructed curtain of masonry, without bastions, but it has a curved outward segment of a circle, of which the diameter may be seventy yirds, and the radius six or eight feet ; not sufficient to enfilade either flank with ef- fect. It is casematcd, the masonry arched and bomb proof; the surf eternally beats its foundation and dashes the spray over the rampart, which is without embrasures. The case- mates beneath, as may be presumed, are for ever dripping. It was in these horrible casemates, the gallant patriots of the revolution were incarcerated, while the Spaniards held the place ; and it was also the prison, often the grave, of men of virtue, before the revolution. Melancholy, however just, has been the retaliation ; had the deputy tyrants, who gave the example, been themselves the objects of retriliution, hu- manity would have no cause to lament them ; but experience appears not to have had any effect upon the Spanish chiefs ; who, persuaded and careful that retaliation should not reach themselves, from the precautions always made to insure their own escape, felt no concern nor sympathy for their country- men, involved in the consequences of their barbarity. There were but a few guns mounted ; a considerable num- ber had been transferred upon other service. The work it. self appears to more advantage on inspection, though the only skill manifest is the workmanship of the masonry and the casemates. I had assimilated the appearance of Funchal in Madeira from its road with that of Laguayra, by wluch many 20 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. years ago I had been deceived in the external appearance , but as Funchal proved to be very much worse on' shore than it promised at the distance, I found myself, by the false as- sociation, again deceived ; for Laguayra proved to be much better within than it appeared from without. But I am rambling into a description of what is on shore before I have yet landed. Upon coming to anchor the two ships saluted, and were answered from the citadel. The numerous ships in the road hoisted their colours, and in the van we recognized with particular satisfaction the U. S. Corvette Cyane, captain Robert Spence, who while we were at Caracas did so much honour to his flag, his country, and himself, by his prompt, manly, eloquent, and effective repulse of the outrageous menaces put forth in a proclama- tion, by the Spanish general Morales ; menaces which he dared not to realize thereafter. The hour of our arrival, and the bustle incident to entering port from the sea, rendered it prudent for the ladies to defer going on shore that evening ; but on the 19th in the morning betimes the custom-house barge was along-side, and Seno- ra Bolivar and her family were conveyed on shore, and the other cabin passengers, whom she invited, accompanied her. The landing at Laguayra has been held forth as unusually dangerous. Those who have had occasion to land at St. Helena or at Madras, would consider it as a matter of very little difficulty at the worst, and we landed without any in- convenience whatever. The mode of landing from boats in common, is upon a stairs, attached to the side of a long wharf, which is projected on piles 160 or 170 feet into the sea : the boatmen are skilful, they place the boat in such a position as to swing with the rising swell to the side of the stairs, and the passenger seizes the instant before the surf recedes to jump or step on shore. Some accidents have occurred, but more through inexperience in the boatmen, or want of self-posses> sion in the passenger, than any other cause. We landed in VISIT TO COLOMBIA. Si a manner such as I had seen practised in Sandy Cove, St. Helena, by the boats of some American whalers, one ol a company who made a party of pleasure round that island in 1795, where I was detained three months. Upon approach- ing the beach, the boat was rowed in, stern foremost, so as that the coming surge should carry her in full swing upon the strand. It was executed with skill ; the moment the boat touched ground the rowers cast their oars into the re- tiring surf, and held the boat to prevent her floating off. Before the surge could return, each boatman took a lady upon his arm, as a nurse would take a child, and placed her safe above the water line ; the returning surge brought back the oars, and the boat floated off with the retiring wave. The time surely cannot be remote when the citizens and proprietors of Caracas and its rich neighbourhood will per- ceive how much they are interested in forming a commodi- ous and secure harbour at Laguayra. Nature, which has prepared so much in the rough for man to finish, has provi- ded already one spacious mole in the little promontory of Maquiteia ; the materials for another are on the spot ; and a port capable of protecting a thousand sail of the line from the worst storms of the Caribbean sea, may be formed at a less expense of money than such a work could be executed so near a great city in any part of the globe. Having landed, we had the gratification to find, very unex- pectedly, several acquaintances and friends waiting to greet us, some of them from Caracas, fifteen miles distant. The respectable consul of the United States, R. K. Lowry, among the rest ; he had already fixed it, that Elizabeth should, during her stay, reside with her townswoman, Mrs. Lowry, at Maquiteia, and such arrangements had been made for ail our accommodation as left us nothing to wish for. Commodore Daniels, untired by the civilities rendered us on board, received us at the water-gate, and conducted us to the quarters of" the commandant, to whom he intro- S3 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. duced us, and by whom we were received with soldierly courtesy. Colonel appeared to be about twenty- eight years of age, tall, slender, and perfectly military in his costume and demeanor; he is one of the numerous youths who have been born at the right time to distinguish them- selves, under the e^c of liolivar, in the battles and triumphs of independence. This class of men, created by the revolu- tion, are by a sagacious policy placed in stations of confi- dence and honour, where the habits of military vigilance, or- der, and punctuality are acquired, and which will prepare habile men for the public service, to supply the places of the defenders of liberty, which the order of nature will ere long vacate among their seniors in the revolution. The quarters of the commandant are spacious ; they oc- cupy the north west angle of the line of defence, and are covered below by a breast- work of good masonry with em- brasures, which covers the postern gate and causeway on the west, and the landing on the north or sea front. A pas- sage of fourteen or fifteen feet forms a sort of covert way, and separates the rampart from the house, which is of stone, and two stories high, the lower of which is masked by the breast- works ; these are the offices for domestic uses, storage, &;c. The upper story is the residence, to which the ascent is by a double flight of spacious stairs at the west end, which terminate in an ample saloon, covering the west front and open upon the sea to the north ; the apartments, which are lofty, are entered from the saloon, and lie in the direction east and west — a verandah, or open gallery, fronting on the sea. The style of building, the pavements, the high fold- ing doors, the broad staircase, and the elevation of the apart- ments, with the naked timbers of the structure, brought to my mind the strong resemblances of what I had seen many years before in different parts of Asia. • After paying our respects, and partaking of the good Cata- lonian wine of the commandant, and the excellent sweetmeats VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 23 of his good lady, we retired to meet with fresh evidences of the hospitahty we were to receive without anticipating them. A friend had sent from Caracas, a well- trained grey mule, tastefully caparisoned with a handsome side saddle, which was to be for the use of my daughter during her stay at Ca- racas ; and upon this she made her first equestrian essay, by galloping off with a gay young party to Maquiteia, where she was received by her friend Mrs. Lowry. I had felt some disquiet for Elizabeth, looking to the long journey of thirteen hundred miles, which she was to perform on the backs of mules only ; but this first essay satisfied me, and the event justified the conclusion, for she made the journey with much less fatigue than 1 did. While we were paying our respects to the commandant, our baggage had, through the care of our worthy consul, been transferred to the custom-house, where, as a testimony of respect, it was exempted from the usual search, and de- posited in the stores of the consul. The manner of landing the baggage reminded me of the same kind of transaction at the ghauts of Pondicherry and Calcutta. Upon the ap- proach of the baggage boat to the landing place, a crowd of men and boys, of every shade of complexion and apparel, rushed forward in a tumult, and each seizing the article nearest hand, bore it away, until there was no more to carry, and deposited them at the custom-house ; where those that underwent examination were removed as the owner direct- ed. The mode of payment was in the same oriental style. The consul, who undertook to do for us as his experience and our want of it induced him, having provided himself with a sufficient sum in the macutimi, or silver currency, of the country, commenced with calling to him the porters who had brought the largest loads, and, in succession, handed each according to service a real, a media, or c/uartiUa ; the real is our disme or eighth of a dollar, the media is the half of a real, and the quartilla, a fourth of the real. I shall take some further notice of this currency in another place. 24 CHAPTER II. Delay at Laguayra at>Tccable. — Mules here perform the services of horset, cart";, coaches, aii'l wagons in other countries. — Enter the town by a short steep street to the main street — described — stores and other buildingii Asiatic style — ruins from Earthquake, 1812 — Military works — accommodation at Ho- tels — 'ixpciises — better than in any public houses in the interior — absence of musquitoes and flies — mixUire of ancient and modern furniture — absence of ■wlieel carriages — the want of roads — a carriage road and rail road proposed through the valley of Tipe. — Hail roads unsuitable to a large country. — Carts introduced at Petare. — Houses of stone unaffected by Eartliquake. — Public fountains abundant — good water. — Humboldt exaggerates — not im- moderately warm in October — more dependence on thermometers than is justifiable. — Madras, Calcutta, and Batavia, extremely hot compared with Laguayra — prevalence of diseases also exaggerated — no marshes nor marine vegetables contiguous. — Incident at Barbaruta. — Rival towns calumniate each other. — The effect of Spanish policy. — A whole country prospers by the prosperity of any of its parts. — Hints to visiters of the tropical regions. — Dif- ferent views of tlie great mortality in the Earthquake. — Appearance of the military — anecdote of two sentinels — soldiers compared with the sepahis of In- dia. — Laguayra may be made a spacious and safe harbour — the interests of Caracas and proprietors to estabhsh such a harbour. Though the voyage was but a party of pleasure, the novelty of the new country and manners, but, above all, the kindness of old and new friends, rendered the delay of one or two days agreeable ; which we must wait for the return of mules from Caracas, as is customary, on stated days. Tiiis invaluable animal performs all the services, which, in other countries, employ wagons, carts, coaches, postchaises, and even wheelbarrows, as well as those of horses for business or pleasure. Our shipmates too did not wish to separate with- out the participation of a cheerful dinner and a parting glass. I had therefore an opportunity to see the interior, as I had already seen the exterior of Laguayra. There are three gates of entrance to the town : that at the east of the works is seldom opened but for public uses, and VISIT TO COLOMBIA, 25 is not a thoroughfare. The principal entrance for strangers coming from sea, and for baggage and merchandize, is the water-gate. This gate has in front, upon the margin of the sea, a broad and spacious platform of stone masonry ; and the wharf, erected upon piles, extending into the surf, more than 160 feet in length. A short street or lane leads up from the water-gate towards the main street ; the custom- house is at the right side of the entrance, and a sort of picket guard occupies the left ; above, on the right, opens the pas- sage to the commandant's quarters ; and at the head of this short street commences the main street, which leads off to the eastward about half a mile. The continuation of the short entering street is about 30 feet broad, but is prolong- ing up the ascent, only reduced to about 15 or 16 feet, all admirably well paved. The houses on the main street, on the right side, and in front of the entrance, are principally occupied by merchanls's stores, and have the exact appear- ance of the Godoxvns or stores in the Asiatic cities ; long and spacious, admitting light only through the folding doors in front, and of one story ; thougli there are many houses in this range of two, and very good of their bt}le of struc- ture. There is a slight descent to the eastward in this part of the street, and the line is not direct, nor the breadth equal, it being in some places only twenty feet broad, towards the east end broader. The left side of the street, at the point of entrance, is also occupied by stores and dwelling houses, but the line is very much broken by ruins, which remain since the earthquake of 1812; in several the rubbish is thrown into the space between the remaining walls ; but the streets are all cleared. On the outer side, bounding on the sea, is the line of de- fence, a broad platform of good workmanship, separated from the houses by a parapet. The breast work in front is with- out embrasures, and extends more than a quarter of a mile, 4 26 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. the space between the line of the street being gradually more open, and leaving a convenient space for a parade, Ixtween the casemates and the rear of the habitations. Nothing need be added of description to what has been already noted of this work. The garrison was but slender, and barely suffi- cient to supply sentinels for the chief entrances, for the works, and for purposes of police ; a few guns remain on the platform, in rather an unsightly state, at least to those who are accustomed to the discipline and order of well re- gulated garrisons. What I have said of the stores, apj)lies to the general style of building, narrow streets, paved porches or entrances, paved pattos, or open squares within the gates, corridores on all sides of ihose squares : broad stairs of coarse masonry, of double flights, with a landing : high and long halls, and narrow and retired sleeping apartments, rude and cumbrous furni- ture, and naked walls, with tiled floors : — these points of oriental similitude are common, and applicable to all the places I have passed through ; and it is curious matter of fact, in elu- cidation of the influence of habits, and the spirit of imitation, that these forms should remain for so many centuries little altered from their Asiatic prototypes in Spain, which hold the same unaltered characteristics to this day. I may have occasion to notice the style of building more particularly in another chapter. The stranger Avho lands here is very fortunate, though he may not think so, when he enters one of the hotels at Laguayra, for in fact there is no other equal to them, in the whole line of the journey. There are two, one kept by a Frenchman, at whose table I partook of a well provided entertainment. He was not a novice in any part of his business, and his native talent had been much improved, by a residence in the British islands of the West Indies. The company was about thirty, and the table was covered with an abundance of excellent provisions, well cooked and displayed, and more than sufficient for double the VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 27 company ; the free circulation of the bottle, in the British West India fashion, was already before the dessert ; but the dessert was excellent, and the coffee introduced in the French mode was perfect. The expences are not so high as in the West Indies ; but as there is no tariff of prices, the eye and opinion of the fi- nancier, regulates the charges according to the apparent newness of the traveller, his real, or presumed opulence ; but, above all, by that principle of the economists, that demand governs price ; so that if there are ft w sliips and few stran- gers, the price is reduced to the demand ; but if there be many strangers prices rise. A stranger may, so far as the tabic is concerned, fare very well ; but he who has not made up his mind to dispense with a pallet and fresh sheets, after leaving Laguuyra, must re- solve to do so or go no farther ; for he will find no ac- commodations in a public house of entertainment equal to it, in the long range of near 2000 niiUs, which I visited. Comforts of this kind are to be found only in private dwel- lings. The climate is however an excuse for indifference ; the air is light, the respiration free, and favourable to plea- sant repose. I have heard there were musqiiitoes at La- guayra, but I declare that there, or in the whole rout of 1200 railes to Bogota, I saw no musquitoes, nor was I plagued with the common fly which annoy us d iring the summer season in northern climates. I lound musquitoes abundant on the Magdalcna, and flies for the first time at Curthagena. Neither is the furniture of any kind so good in the interi- or as at Laguayra, where contiguity to the sea has admitted articles not to be found in the interior, because neither will the roads admit, nor the mules be able to carry articles of bulk, or unusual weight. A bureau or a sideboard, a hand- some sofa, or a piano forte, must therefore be transported on the heads and shoulders of men. Some articles of this de- scription have thereiore remained, because the expencc might 2S VISIT TO COLOMBIA. be greater than the sacrifice. Mercantile men, therefore, should not send articles which are not transportable by mules, but in such boxes or packages as that two shall not exceed 250 pounds weight, which may be carried to Caracas for two dollars, more or less, as the circumstances determine. But these articles of modern taste do not appear to advantage ; an elegant sofa alongside a coarse plank table, the finest im- plement which had passed over it was the saw or the jack ; a mahogany toilette table and swinging glass with a joint-stool, the seat of which is higher than the table, are ill-assorted ; and the best chair to be found any where is that which is called the Windsor chair, put out of good company among us for twenty years, and very scarce in any part of South America till the revolution of 1810 opened the market. The absence of wheel-carriages produces at first a sense of deficiency without perceiving in what ; but roads must precede carriages, and I have repeatedly met on my route handsome pieces of artillery lying in a ditch, where they had been dragged by infinite labour, and could not be carried upon wheels farther. A road was many years ago proposed to be carried from Caracas to Laguayra through the Qiichra- da or chasm of Tipe, a small distance west of Maquiteia, which would admit of a fine wagon and coach road with a very slight inclination ; some part of it was begun, but it re- mains incomplete. A recent proposition has been made to es- tablish a rail road there, a mode of transport adapted only to short distances, and in the midst of a dense population and the arts ; not at all adapted to the position ; but where wagons and carts of an improved and suitable form would be infi- nitely beneficial ; and these have become, and must every day become more necessary in proportion with the inevita- ble augmentation of production and commerce. Mr. Alder- son. who resides at Petare, seven miles east from Caracas, has introduced some excellent carts made for the purpose in Philadelphia, and has employed them on his own plantation VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 29 and business, but it will be some time before he will have imitators, such is the force of inveterate habits ; until neces- sity or some rival impulse overcomes them. Near the east end of Laguayra the main street opens into an ampler breadth, and presents a portly church, remarkable for nothing in its architecture, but that, though much more ele- vated in its structure than any other building, it appears to have remained uninjured by the earthquake of 1812. The public fountains, such as are to be found in all the principal cities and towns, flow with abundance of limpid water, so conducive to cleanliness and health, and which many of the principal cities, such as Caracas, San Carlos, Truxillo, Merida, and Bogota appear to have been provi- dent in securing at the founding of those places, whose streets are constantly cleaned and refreshed by living streams flowing through the channels of their pavements. The celebrated Humboldt has contributed so much more than any other traveller to make the curious familiar with the southern parts of the new world, that it would appear ungen- erous and hazardous to dispute any observations he has made. But, under a persuasion that he would not be him- self displeased to see his ideas canvassed or his theories dis- puted with freedom and good will, I shall not hesitate to express my own opinions, though they may not concur with his. From what he has said of the temperature of Laguay- ra, compared with my own observations there and in other parts of the world to which he has referred, I apprehend he must have landed at Laguayra under circumstances unfa- vourable to an accurate judgment. His stay in Laguayra did not amount to more than three or four hours, for he landed on the 21st of November, in the evening, (Person. Nar. vol. IH. p. 381,) and was at Caracas the same day. He was indeed informed by some persons there that the yellow-fever had only ceased a few weeks ; and advised not to stay, by some one who stiiyed himself. His account, or 30 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. his theory of the heat at tliat place, are tlierefore not the re suit of his own observations or sensations, but formed upon the records of thermonietrical observations of others. It may be a sort of philosophical heresy to entertain but little dependance on thermonietrical data ; thouj^h they may serve for approximations to general inferences, the inequality and disagreement between instruments made and graduated in different countries, and between those made by the same artist, is such as to justify this incredulity. I have com- pared twenty different instruments of the same maker, in or- der to serve a friend who wished for the most perfect instru- ments, and am justified in the conclusion I make from that experience as well as from residence in some of the warmest climates of the globe. We landed at Laguayra the 19th of October, and if there could be any material difference in the temperature in the period of one month, it must in the or- dinary course be warmer in October than in November. We remained there three days, and in that time 1 have pre- ferrcd walking, at all hours, to riding, and have felt not so much inconvenience in going on foot from Laguayra along the paved causeway in front of the arid sierra to Maquiteia, than I have experienced in a like distance in Philadelphia in June or July. A parasol might be acceptable, but I felt no inconvenience without one. At Madras, or Calcutta, or from the pier of Batavia, a walk of that distance might be fatal. I could not but recollect Batavia as I walked along the mar- gin of the sea, but Laguayra is a paradise compared either with Madras or Batavia. No white man ventures to walk in the mid-day in the Asiatic cities mentioned without a chattah^ or umbrella, carried by a servant whose business it is. Besides this experience, the circumstances which are the usually ascribed causes of diseases on the coast, do not exist at Laguayra. There are neither marshes, stagnant waters, nor mangroves, to produce, by vegetation and dccomposi- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 31 lion, that foul or mephitic air, which is found productive of disease elsewhere : east and west of Laguayra there is a long naked strand perpetually cleansed and refreshed by the busy- action of the surf. There is a strong corroboration of the generally attributed cause of disease in the case of some changes which took place at Barbaruta, a town of some note near Puerto Cabello. This place had been frequently swept of its population by disease. The contiguous shore is co- vered with marine vegetable productions, a considerable space, where this mephitic air was generated, was covered with a great portion of excavated soil, which was placed there merely to be thrown away. The neighbourhood of this spot became salubrious ; while the adjacent shore, co- vered with marine vegetation, retained its usual noxious atmosphere ; which resembles that at Porto Bcllo and other places on the coast. The jealousy of commerce and avarice, which is not con- fined to those countries, must have had strong incentives under such a monopoly as that exercised by Spain in the countries bowed down by her intolerable policy. If any excuse could be allowed for this selfish spirit any where, it is where commerce was circumscribed, and its business a succession of scrambling, intrigue, and corruption. The idea could not enter into the conceptions of a people so cir- cumstanced, that the spirit of a monopoly is a self destroying spirit, or that the extension and augmentation of commerce is beyond the power of calculation to fix or measure ; and that the prosperity of several parts of a country must, by • the effect of example, consumption, reciprocal aid, and in- tercommunity of exchange, extend, progressively, prosperity- over the whole. The colonists, under Spain, maintained an, hostility of provinces and of towns — the government policy fomented this division ; and one town defamed the men of another, and carried the defamation to nature itself. Thus all were held forth as execrable, because each was believed. 32 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. Thus Laguayra, under the influence of Caracas, %vas held forth to be a much worse climate than Puerto Cabello ; and the latter, under the influence of Valencia, was misrepresented at Laguayra in turn. This spirit has not yet ceased ; the yel- low-fever has been reported to prevail by one and the other for the mere purpose of diverting consignments from their rival, when, in fact, the disease did not exist in either place. Travellers who have not visited the tropical regions will, however, be alarmed by such considerate friends as Hum- boldt took his report from, and caution will be requisite as to the regularity of the bodily habit, and abstinence from heating drinks, or more than sufficient food ; a secretion of bile more than common takes place in warm climates, accompanied by head ache, which gentle purgatives dissipate generally, but an emetic eflfectually removes ; and frequent bathing, particu- larly the tepid bath, is delightful and conducive to health. My observations in L.»guayra, and subsequently at Cara- cas and elsewhere, have induced opinions differing from Humboldt and others, on the great mortality which took place at the earthquake of 1812. I do not question the data as to the numbers, nor is it so important to the views I take, and which I shiill only glance at here, and dis- cuss more at Caracas. The impression on my mind is that more injury was produced by the materials of which the houses are generally built, than could have happened had the houses been constructed of stone. No house of stone has been disturbed at Laguayra. The late respectable consul of the United States, R. K. Lowry, lived, there at the time. The house he resided in was constructed of stone; an addi-t tion had been made to the stone building, in what is called pita, that is ordinary earth beaten to hardness with ram- mers. The additional and fragile part was crumbled to dust by the agitation of the earth ; the stone building remained, and himself in it, in entire safety. This subject shall be no- ticed again. VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 33 The appearance of the two or three officers, whom I saw at Laguayra, answered my expectations ; they appeared to feel and think like soldiers : my first impressions of the rank and file were not so satisfactory. I had arrived too sudden- ly, and was called upon by, the moment's view to form an opinion, which I found upon closer observation and reflex- ion erroneous ; an incident of a moment had perhaps super- seded my common mode of forming an opinion, by ta- king the con after I had given the pro. Passing through the postern gate on my walk to Maquiteia, I was accosted by both the centinels in the same cadence : " Will the excellent Se- nor have the bounty to bestow U7ia real?'''' There was none of the insolence of mendicity in the supplication ; but an air of confident persuasion, which seemed to say they were not ashamed to ask, but that it would be a shame for the Seiior to deny so small a bounty as wia real. 1 coubd not but smile at the novelty of the occurrence, and a train of ideas rushed upon me which brought before my mind's eye a brigade of Bohillas ^nd Patans, men of the same mixed variety of com- plexions, six feet high, and on whom the tailor and the mili- tary equipment- maker had bestowed all that neatness and el- egance would require to set off arms and accoutrements, which the daily inspection established in the most perfect or- der ; I began — or rather rapidly went on to compare the sturdy, chubby, broad shouldered, muscular, oval faced, bare footed veterans of Colombia, who stood before me ; in their platilla pantaloons and jackets, of which the quality could be only inferred through the stains of bivouacs, or the soiling of their only bed beside the earth, the cow-hide upon which they are used to slumber when they have it, and then it is luxury; the collars, cuffs, skirt facings of yellow, blue, or red, the ab- sence of many buttons without leave ; their leather caps, and close cropped, lank, black hair ; their shirt collars open, which had been probably washed at some distant time ; but the whole apparel soiled ; firelocks and belts that may have had some de- 5 34 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. termined colour, presented such a contrast with the Bengal Sc- pahis, *' in my mind's eye," that out of mere liberality I call- ed in a brigade of Madras Sepahis, men of their own stature, and took recruits to reconcile the disparity ; I was just dis- covering that these soldiers of five feet six inches had, in the Mysore campaigns, borne the marches in the ghauts with less fatigue, and greater alacrity, than those long legged Hindus- tances, whose heads were so much in the clouds that they disdained to look down on those sturdy soldiers ; a gentle touch on the arm, and a soft aspiration of Sehor ! — put the Sepahis to flight — and I began to remonstrate, that it was unworthy of soldiers to solicit — and talked of their dig- nity, and what was due to themselves — one of them, perhaps seeing my hand glide unconsciously to my pocket, asked, in a tone perfectly soft and conciliatory, though bearing a sort of rebuke — ** Is it worth the while of the worthy Seiior to hesitate about una real, with soldiers who have fought the battles of Colombia, and who have received no pay for six months, because the public treasure has been exhausted in the expulsion of the Godas .^" It was the logic of nature — and a professor of rhetoric would have made but a poor hand of it, if he attempted to do it better. Whether it was my obvious embarrassment, or my attempt to explain in rather imperfect Castilian, that produced a smile, I shall not pretend to decide, but, as I drew my hand from my pocket, they handled their arms and very gravely resumed their posts, and we parted with a bet- ter opinion of each other I am sure ; for, as I went along, I reviewed my first impressions, and perceiving that I had not taken proper ground in judging by the first appearances, I brought up my sepahis again for another contrast, and, travelling back to their first history, I found them to be not the defenders, but the hired enslavers of their country ; far- ther, that it was only the difference between seven and eight rupees that carried them from beneath the French standard, VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 35 to fight under the British, that they are never without the amplest accommodations, clothing, subsistence, quarters, and pay ; that when they march beyond certain bounds their pay is augmented ; and that vast bazars of subsistence, am- ple transportation, accompany them in all their marches, and that a suspension of pay for three months, would, perhaps, dissolve the British dominion. This was my renewed view of my six feet Rohillas and Patans, as well as my sturdy Tilinghees and soldiers of the Carnatic. But looking once more at those oval, cheerful, contented, chubby faces, and the fine symmetry of those forms which their worn and tarnished uniforms did not at all conceal, I tra- velled back with them also, only twelve years, when called from the plantations of cacao or maize, to the fortress and the plain, where to them a flash of gunpowder was as terrific as thunder ; see them scarcely trained, without experienced men to train them, formed into battalions, performing marches such as reduce those of Hannibal and Alexander to the common class of military achievements ; see them opposed to the ve- terans of Spain, who had but recently fought against the first soldiers of the age, the legions of France ; and behold them amidst privations and wants, without shoes, clothing, or pay, traversing the uninhabited plains, and the more dismal and dreary summits of the snow clad Chisga, encountering and conquering those veterans of Spain, in successive pitched battles ; not with the distant cannonade of artillery, nor the protracted details of a subde strategy, but like those of Ma- rathon and those of Zama, hand to hand, in close energetic conflict : armies at no one point, at any period, exceeding four or five thousand men ; and, at the same time, defending and vanquishing, at greater distances from their base of ope- rations than Paris is from Moscow. It was these men, and such men as these, created by liberty and the revolution, who were menaced — and the menaces realized wherever it could be accomplished upon the unfortunate captives— who 36 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. were menaced with extermination — and who, after sustaining a conflict of twelve years, have vanquislied, destroyed, or expelled 43,000 veterans of Spain, ^vho had threatened to exterminate them. I gave up the sepahis, the enslavers of their country, and reconciled myself to the soldiers of liberty, whose valour and whose blood gave independence to that world Columbus had discovered. At Valencia I was gratified to find, in the grenadiers of Columbia, men, in every per- sonal respect, equal to the finest sepahis of India. In thus rendering justice to m} self, by correcting an er- roneous and hasty judgment, I was led to ask if I had not sinned in the same way in speaking of Laguayra; perhaps it was only the censure of a passing thought, on seeing the port of entry of the beautiful city and rich country of Cara- cas, without a safe harbour ; which, at an expense compara- tively inconsequent, and by labour, and with materials, per- fectly at their command, might be accomplished with more ease and effect than in any part of the earth, near so important a city. But it did not consist with the policy of Spain to expend riches on merely commercial improvements. Car- thagena, and Puerto Cabello, and Puerto Bello, and St. Juan d'Uloa, were but as the gates of a prison by which mo- nopoly was to be sustained through force and terror. It could not be expected then that the republic, not yet re- leased from Spanish inroads, for Morales was then maraud- ing on the borders, and menacing Truxillo and Merida, and plundering the country near Timothes — for we afterwards passed within two miles of the Spanish outposts near Gritja : it could not be expected, after twelve years of a desolating war, that such an object could yet be proposed or accom- plished. But, if the proprietors of estates in the contiguous neighbourhood were to inquire into the effect of such a harbour, as would defend ships against the worst storms of the Caribbean sea, it would be found to be their best inte- terest, as it would treble the value of their estates, the de- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 3T mand for their productions, and multiply their commerce tenfold. CHAPTER III. The causeway leading to Maquiteia — a redan or outpost and barrack half way— • the east side of Maquiteia forms a cove, adapted to form the west jetec of an artificial harbour. — Flan of the village — the scite delightful. — Adventure of an evening at Maquiteia — musical performance on the lyre of the country — novelty of the dancing — civility of the people — a good ear and grace in dancing, uni- formly found among ail classes — a refresco of fruit presented by these hospit- able paisanas — they refuse compensation — delighted with the music. — Cape Blanco— effects of the earthquake of 1812 — the noUon of a bay formed by Capes Codera and Blanco fanciful. — Mules arrive from Caracas — Consul antici- pates and provides an arriero — hints to travellers concerning mules, muleteers, and alcaldes — patiencia por force — for a long journey preferable to purchase prime riding mules — it saves money and time. — Prepare for departure — take leave of Commandant — innocent manners — fix rendezvous at Maquiteia. — De- parture — the zigzag road of Avila — compared witli that to Honda by Hum- boldt — a different comparison. — Ascend the Torrequemada — to the Salto — the Venta Grande — meet Senora Bolivar and friends there — dilemma as to accom- modation — relieved by a joke. — Coffee plantation on the Sierra — coffee tree described, and husbandry of — fortlet of Cuchilla, reflection produced by it — descend by las Vueltas. — The Silla unveiled. — Caracas seen — the first impres- sions — fountain on the road. — Enter the barrier of Pastora — ruin and desolation all round — street of Carabobo — rendezvous at Senora Antonia's — interesting spectacle — Elizabeth remains. — We accept invitation of Dr. Forsyth — meet Colonel Todd. The causeway which leads from the west end of Laguayra to the village of Maquiteia, I compute to be rather more than half a mile : it is a spacious platform, formed upon a compact and well constructed wall, facing the sea to the north, and skirting the steep Sierra on the south side. It is about forty feet broad ; and I must apprize the reader that I have not measured any thing, because I could not accomplish it perfectly, through the breaking of some instruments which 38 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. I carried with me. All the measures I shall mention, unless reference be specially made, must be considered as impres- sions on my judgment, from the habit of estimating eleva- tion and space by the eye. The causeway winds but very little, but it expands over a more ample space as Maquiieia is approached : the road to Caracas lying in a west direc- tion above the south end of Maquitcia, the main street of the village is open to that road, and runs north and south, about sixty feet broad, to the point of a promontory on which it stands, in north and south length perhaps half a mile, of which not a third is occupied by the village, and on the up- per or southern end, which is more than seventy feet higher than the sea, and fifty-six feet higher than the main street of Laguayra. About half way from Laguayra, a ravine in the Sierra sup- plies a rivulet which crosses the causeway beneath a well built single arch ; and the ground being more elevated here than at any other point between the two places, a picket or outpost was established formerly. The breastwork of the redan, and the platform, all of good stone masonry, remain, though now mutilated ; and excellent quarters erected for the troops still remained. The line of the strand curves off as Maquitcia is ap- proached, and the cove forms a segment of a circle ; if a bold pier were run out in a line to the north-west from the east ex- tremity of Laguayra, this promontory would form a beautiful flank to a harbour. The ground plan of Maquitcia is an in- clined plane from south to north, where its rocky extremity is beaten by the surf. The upper or southern end of Ma- quitcia is seventy-six feet above the ocean ; the main street of Laguayra about fifteen feet. The scite is delightful, and the laying out of a street so spacious and commodious is ascribed to Mr. Lowry, the American consul, who then resided there. Several houses in the style of the country, and well constructed, roomy, and commodious, are erected on that street ; and the VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 39 place promises to be as prosperous as it is delightful. The stranjjcr is surprized to find this village, so well adapted for a town, overlooked by those sturdy men who abandoned Ca- raveliada to defeat a tyrant. Several smaller streets are laid out crossing the main street ; but the village is most populous on the side of the road lead- ing to Caracas, at the upper end. The causeway is a de- lightful mornjng and evening promenade, and the space be- ing more open and more detached from the foot of the moun- tain than Laguayra, it has become a place of evening retire- ment after the business of the day, and, on account of its charming atmosphere, a place of delicious repose. On one of the delightful evenings spent at the American consul's, our seats were in the open air in front of the dwell- ing, and as the visitors drew off by degrees in order to enter the town before the gates were closed ; and as others retired to rest, lieutenant Bache and myself continued to enjoy the serenity and beauty of the night. Music of a very spright- ly kind attracted our attention, and it became more interesting in its successive changes ; we moved in the direction from whence it appeared to proceed, without any other purpose than to hear more distinctly ; it came from a small house beneath the Palmyra palm trees, on the main street, which, as we pass- ed, we were invited to enter with great civility, and seats were handed to us. The house was occupied by several females, and children of both sexes ; one of the young women resumed her lyre as soon as we were seated, and renewed her interest- ing performance. The instrument was of the form, but one- third less than the Irish harp, formed of a light wood, resem- bling red cedar, but closer grained. After some time the younger people stood up to dance, and we were no less amused by the ease and deportment of the dancers than by the novelty of it'* style ; it was a sort of pantomimic dance, not in active springs, or figures, or cuts with the feet, but a well cadenced pursuit and retreat. Other dances were per- 10 Visit to Colombia. formed by young girls and boys, all in admirable time. The young person who had first pcrlbrmed handed the lyre to another, who commenced with equal execution. These were short cantas, and, as usual, patriotic songs, in which Bolivar was not overlooked. The young woman, who had retired, now entered, with some others, carrying excellent and Ircsh iruit, as she said />or refresco : sweet bananas, delicious oranges, and several kinds of Iruit with which we were not yet acquainted, but of which we partook, as they were with unaffected civility handed round. Tiie dance was renewed, and the first female resumed her lyre, and new airs and new dances so won upon our time, that it was earlij before we could overcome our wishes to stay and see it out. We rose and tendered compensation for our entertainment ; but it was modestly refused, and we were informed that the pleasure we manifested to have received from their humble music was an ample compensa- tion. Whatever may be the superiority of science, over these harmonists of nature, I confess my gratification was as full and delightful, as any I ever experienced Irom the best com- bined orchestra. Possibly i)rcdisposition, time, place, and even the unexpectedness of the incidents, may have produced a more hvely effect, and enhanced the pleasure. I had ample opportunities in the course of my journey, to perceive the ge- neral aptitude for music and dancing, among all classes and in all parts of the country. A uniformly good ear, and the total absence of awkwardness in dancing are striking. Upon en- quiring concerning the harp, I understood it was a manu- facture of the country, and cost no more than five dollars ; had I been on my return, I should certainly have procured one, were it only as a remembrance of the evening's entertain- ment we experienced. It was my intention to have visited Cape Blanco, three miles west of Maquiteia, but other engagements prevented VISIT TO COLOMUIA. 41 mc. I however learned from the best authority, the parti- culars which 1 shall here narrate. Before the earthquake of 1812, presented an elevated bluft', on the summit of which had been erected a commodious pavilion, which served as a beacon to the mariner, an observatory and look-out- house. In the earthquake, this pavilion totally disappeared, leaving not a fragment to shew where it stood. The cliff appears to have opened, and swallowed the pavilion and summit of the headland, which now appears sixty feet depressed below its former elevation. A long kdge of rocks, which perched above the waves to some height, and to a considerable ex- tent, believed to be sixteen hundred yards into the ocean, underwent a change also ; the ledge, which before rose above the sea, is now beneath the surface, but reveals itself by a heavy foaming reef. Whatever may have been the influence of its former eleva- tion on the fancy, «hat Cape Blanco and Cape Codera formed the horns of a spacious bay, it is a merely metaphorical bay, like that of the bay of Bengal, formed by Capes Comoiin and Malacca, or like the Bay of Biscay. They afford neither shelter from storms nor anchorage, within the supposed line of their extremities. The 21st of October being the day of the arrival of mules from Caracas, our friend the consul had saved us the trou- ble of going in search of an arriero^ or master muleteer, and we prepared for our departure the next day. The trans- portation of all moveable objects being on mules, the stran- ger who has not some friend, such as we had, will do well to address himself to some of the resident merchants, whose civility and attentions are proverbial ; and whose experience is necessary to guard against the knavery of muleteers here, as in all parts of the world where they are numerous; and against which a perusal of Gil Bias will furnish some instructive ex- amples and precautions in relation to tliem throughout the eountrv. In all the cities, towns, and villages, the established 42 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. usages, which are law, require of the civil, or military autho- rity to direct the supply of mules, and it is the practice every where, unless the traveller upon a prudent calculation finds it more advantageous, as we did, to purchase mules at a high price, rather than risque the delays incident to the customary practices of muleteers, wherever they arc sure of impunity. In Laguayra, the merchant having it in his power to employ the muleteers, whom he requires for the carriage of his merchan- dize, holds an influence which the muleteer will not abuse ; as he might, if the stranger made his own bargain, without knowledge of the language or customs. Where the alcalde is applitd to in a city or a town, he issues his orders, but the traveller bargains for the price of the mule, for a distance named. If the muleteer be exorbitant, an appeal to the al- calde brings him to the accustomed rate of charge. But it sometimes happens on a long journey — that the alcalde will be himself the covered owner : and where he is not, being only a mere man, subject to the same surly temper, ill na- ture, or false idea of his own consequence, and he may sport with the patience, or laugh at the resentment of the person whom he wantonly injures, merely because he can do so. In every country there is some custom, some abuse to complain of, insolent, or negligent, or disobliging coach- men or boatmen, for which the remedy is often as bad as the disease ; in Colombia there is this perversity among muleteers and alcaldes, but I must acknowledge, I heard more of it from others, than I experienced myself — and on the few occasions, which happened to me, I had leamed, among other wise saws, the Spanish proverb patiencia por force^ and as a good appetite requires a good look-out before dinner, I learned not to fret when I found some of these ill- natured folks, likely to derive amusement from my re- sentment, and I recommend this course to other travellers. I also recommend the purchase of good mules rather than a dependance upon hire, where the journey exceeds five hun- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 43 dred miles, because, as you may have to feed the mules you hire, and they are changed at short stages, the hire soon amounts to the price of a mule, while if you feed your ovyn mule well, you have all the benefit in the journey, and you will obtain a better price for your mule when you part with him. We paid our respects to the commandant and Senora Bo- livar on the 21st, and to other friends in town. In our visit to the commandant, we had the pleasure of an introduc- tion to his lady and a venerable matron, her mother, whom we found enjj:aged at their needle work. The customs of every nation are the criterion of their own morals, which ought not to be judged by customs which differ from them, and are seldom more nor less moral one than the other. The lady of the commandant had playing at her feet a fine boy of about two years old. We were objects of curiosity to him, and his mother placed his hand in mine, and he was soon mounted on my knee ; he was stark naked. Some prudish people would reprobate this, and certainly I should prefer our own customs ; but Swift says " delicate people have nasty ideas," and 1 offer no other commentary ; it was no proof of false delicacy in the mother, for she had been so educated, and those who cannot stand the shock of such customs, should not visit any part of Asia or South America, where the nudity of a child carries no idea of indecorum. We made the rendezvous of our friends for four o'clock in the morning, at Maquiteia, where we slept: and at the appointed hour, after taking some chocolate, which our good Philadelphia friend, Mrs. Lowry, had taken care to have prepared, we took our leave, and moved off in a gay ca« valcade for the Sierra Avila. It is a custom of th(^ country for friends to come out to meet and to escort, on departure, those whom they esteem or respect. Humboldt's description of the road from Laguayra over the Sierra Avila to Caracas, leaves very little to be said by those who follow him over the same space, and if his works 4i VISIT TO COLOMBIA. were likely to be in every hand through whieh this produc- tion is likely to pass, it need be no more than noticed ; but as different persons may view the same objects differently, or find objects that may have been overlooked, I shall use the manner of his diagrams to show the elevation of the mountains, and describe places only as 1 saw them. Humboldt, in illustrating the steepness of this passage, states it to be infinitely finer than that between Bogota and Honda, which might lead the reader to suppose there was sofne resemblance, or some road leading to Honda. The only resemblance is that of steepness ; but that of Caracas, besides being only fifteen miles, and over an elevation of 6000 feet; whereas the distance to Honda from Bogota is nbout 84 miles from an elevation of 8000 feet. The Caracas road is paved in an excellent manner ; only about seven miles on the Bogota plain is paved, the residue of the route, not road, for in fact art or labour has done no- thing to make a road ; it is a path wrought by the hoofs of the patient mule, where it is not a ravine or a declivity dug out of the rocky sides of the Sierra Trigo and Sargente, where, excepting a gap or pass through the narrow crest of a ridge, man has done nothing. On the Caracas road there is no sort of danger, nor is the inconvenience of ascending or descending serious, as the road, besides being well paved, is cut into traverses, zigzag, which, though giving length to the course, make the ascent gradual and easy. This is not the character of the route to Honda, of which the descent is 7130 feet ; and, whether ascending or descending, it is more prudent to climb or to crawl than to attempt riding or jumping from rock to rock. There is some pleasure too in ascending the Sierra Avila, as the scenes around are sublime, and open, without the necessity of watching the steps of the mule, to the constant observation of the traveller. The pavement, in some parts of the ascent v/here we passed, had been broken up and ».i VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 45 in need of repair ; I learn that the width of the road has been since increased, some of the traversing lines better graduated, and the whole put into a perfect state of repair. To the mere traveller it is a delightful march ; to the inte- rests of commerce, a road through Tipe would contribute more to the interests of the city and the plantations too. The road to Caracas, before the ascent is commenced, leads rather to the south of west, and after passing about a mile, the obscurity of a strait and a broad travelled track appears to be a continuance in the same western direc- tion, it is indeed the route, lately completed, by the valley of Tipe, which intrepid horsemen sometimes prefer to the mountain road. At this point we turned to the left, and commenced the ascent, which continued over spaces of fifteen to twenty yards length ; leading first to the south-east, then winding south-west, and so alternately, one side or the other to the ascent. The first range of ascent is over rocks, the Torrequimada, or the burnt tower, why so named, is uncer- tain ; above this rocky range the road appears like a flat ditch, cut out of a whitish clayey soil, which shews the marks of the spade or instrument with which the sides were cut ; it was in this range, which is much more steep than that previously ascended, that the pavement was broken ; the clay bore the indenting of the mule's track, and where it was moist was slippery ; the traverses here were, besides being more steep, much shorter; and, this is the space, which, from a plantation on the west side of this ascent, is called Curucuti : this ascent overcome, which is the only part at all unpleasant, the ascent is less steep, the road more commodious, and the pavement in perfect repair. The next stage gained is denominated the Salto, or leap, a singu- lar appearance or opening in the mountain, about thirty feet broad at the summit, and diminishing, in the shape of a wedge, to 60 feet below. Over this chasm a drawbridge had been placed during the war, and a strong picket guard 46 VISIT TO COLOMIJIA. established ; tlic machinery for raising the platform has dis- appeared with the military guard, leaving the platform per- manent. A redan of good masonry, with a firm platform, remains upon the brow of the declivity, on die south side of the bridge, which is an usual halting place on account of the grandeur and beauty of the prospect. The steep which is overlooked by the battery, is a tremendous ravine, broken and wild, but covered with verdure, as far as the eye can discern, to its lowest depth ; the opposite side is less steep, and woody, so that the peasants have cleared numerous patches, upon which the coffee and the cacao are seen in minute distinctness, and the garden and the plantaiu patch around the thatched cottages. Looking to the north, the ocean is spread out, and, apparently, beneath the feet, the ships, not larger than their buoys, appear playing upon the restless but glittering wave. Maquitcia is distinctly seen, in its whole extent, and its palm trees diminished to the size of a honeysuckle. On the west side the mountain is not so steep, it is wooded to its base, only where husbandry has substituted plantations of cofTee trees, and their beautiful companions, bananas, which are always planted on the sunny side of the coffee tree, to mitigate the fervour of a too ardent sun, by its beautiful leaves of six and eight feet in length, by three to four in breadth, of a refreshing pea-green. The coffee plantations on the side of this steep are objects of cu- riosity to the traveller, especially who has not been before within the tropics ; the presence of springs of limpid water are indicated by the presence of a coffee plantation, as they do not thrive without it. Here a spring, trickling from a more lofty position, is conducted in rills along the sides of the mountain, above the upper line of trees, and having gained the extremity, retraces its course above another range, placed lower down, and so to the lowest range. The coffee tree was now in its full bloom and ripeness, exhibiting conical forms of about six feet diameter ; at two feet from the VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 47 ground, the branches extending horizontally like radii from the centre stem, which rises to eight or nine feet high, where the tops are split and a small wedge placed in them : expe- rience having taught that the fruit is better and more abun- dant, when the tree is thus stunted. The branches were loaded, like the arms of an Oriental beauty, with beads of eve- ry tint, from the palest green to emerald, yellow topaz, from these to the rose and all its shades and hues, to crimson, and the deepest ruby red, *' last stage of all," a confirmed chocolate brown, the sign of ripeness, and warning to the delicate finger where to pick. The fruit grow from the bark like beads, on the prolongation of the branch, of the size and shape of a cranberry ; where the husbandry' is good, the work of collecting the ripe fruit is performed by young persons, who, with delicate finger, learn to pick only those that are ripe, place them in small baskets, and, at stated pe- riods, carry tliem to the station where the process of prepa- ration is completed. Having satisfied curiosity, and had some little, though not indispensible rest, we continued our route, through natural hedges, and some scattered, but lofty forest trees, and it was eight o'clock when we reached the Venta Grande, or principal inn, more than 3800 feet above the sea. Here we unexpectedly found our friend Senora Antonia and her suite, and several friends who had come from Caracas to com- pliment heron her arrival. The Venta Grande was not suffi- cient to contain us all ; but the air was exquisitely exhilarat- ing, and it was more agreeable abroad than in the crowded house. The good lady had determined to surprise us, and give us a fresh example of the hospitality and courtesy of the country. I had addressed the posadera with a view to obtain breakfast for my party, but she had her lesson, and told me she had nothing to sell that day ; at first"! thought it was my defective scholarship in Castilian ; but SeSora Antonia, who had anticipated my object, continued the joke, 48 VISIT TO COLUMBIA. assuring mc, significantly, that money could procure nothing there — and then added, but there is plenty of chocolate, coffee, fruit, sweetmeats, cake, and wine, and pointed to the other ladies already busy. 1 was here introduced to several of her friends, and she renewed the intimation, before made, that Elizabeth must be the guest of Josephine while she staid at Caracas. We were soon on our way to the Cumbrc, or summit of the mountain, yet nearly 1000 feet above us ; our progress was not hurried, as the company was now very numerous, and formed into little squads for conversation ; several ladies had joined, of course there was much lively prattle and gaiety, which rarely prevails where they are not ; passing several cottages, and the Vcnta of Goyavo on the Cumbrc, where the muleteers were feeding their animals or themselves, we had reached the summit before the Silla had yet cast off its gauzy veil of clouds, in which it is concealed in the ^morning, and casts it off as the sun attracts it from the soutii in the forenoon. We passed a little fortlet called Cuchilla, placed on a point more elevated than our road. It had been established to guard the passes and paths which the adven- turous paisanos had found out during the existence of a military post at the Salto. The vicissitudes of human life were brought to mind by this fortlet of Cuchilla : while the war prevailed, and it was necessary to protection, it was visited by the passing traveller ; it was now passed with a casual and indifferent glance ; like the soldier of the revolu- tion, whose battles and whose blood had purchased inde- pendence, and destroyed his own vocation ; he is passed b}- u'ith indifference or disregard, by men who bowed obse- quiously to him, while there was danger. Our road, which had been so long zigzag, was now wind- ing, and shaded by lofty forest trees ; and at length the de- scent became perceptible, as we emerged from the shade ; the mountains in the south were revealing their summits. VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 49 range beyond range ; and the Silla stood exposed in naked myjusty, having just cast off her veil, which was flaunting to the south-west on a breeze, in the glare of the sunbeams. We were now on las Vueltas, or the back of the mountain, and descending eastward on a slope on the prolongation of its side, with a steep precipice on our right ; and the city of Caracas broke upon the view, and the whole west of the valley. It was prudent not to proceed, on the verge of such a steep, for to see and proceed too appeared dangerous ; and I accordingly halted to contemplate one of the most beauti- ful and interesting spectacles that probably is to be found on earth, lest passing it I should lose it and my first impres- sions for ever. We unconsciously resort to comparisons in order to strengthen and embody our ideas ; my first impres- sion carried me to that bird-eye picture of Babylon which many years ago I had seen as an embellishment of the Uni- versal History. Caracas, with its greatest streets descending from the north or mountain foot, to the south and lowest part of the valley, presented beyond a trembling light, such as would be shown by a stream of quicksilver flowing through a transparent tube, sparkling and playing with the sunbeams as it passed sensibly from west to east : it was the Guayra river, which has its sources in the valley between the moun- tain of Higuerota and Los Teques. The descending streets are crossed at right angles, and run east and west, forming manzanas, or blocks of buildings, of about 260 to 300 feet on each face ; the streets not more than twenty-five feet broad, some only twenty. The brightness of the hour displayed the streets very distinctly by their shadows ; and buildings more elevated than the dwellings were defined by their light and shade. In the west, in the south, and in the cast, the verdure and the harvests were brilliant ; the field of yellow sugar cane ; the lighter and changeable tints of the waving barley ; the grave green of the maize patch ; orchards of orange, not yet distinguishable but by their clumps and 7 50 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. grouping. On the right bank of the Guayra, below the city, the hills rose gradually, clothed in verdure to the tops ; at a point a litde to the eastward of the point of view, a curious sport of nature arrests the stranger's eye. It is a range of mounds, of such a form as that they seem to be rather the work of human labour than natural. They appear like a range of spacious caserns or warehouses, with angular roofs, the line of length ascending ; and their gavel ends also coped like their sides towards the city, and all covered with a rich velvet verdure. The city was still 2000 feet beneath me, and when I had finished my contemplation, my company had de- scended far below me. I hastened along the now more gra- dual descent, and as I had read of Elfuente de Sanchorquiz 4600 feet above the sea, I stopt to test the freshness of its waters, and found it limpid, and, as the day was not cold, placed in a very excellent position to slake the thirst of the traveller. I joined my friends when they were entering the barrier or gate of Pastora, where there was a custom-house. The desolation around from the earthquake is here more conspi- cuous than in any other place. It is at the north-west angle and most elevated part of the sloping plain on which the city stands ; the greatest inclination is to the south-east, but it inclines also, though not so much, to the east and south. The breadth of the plain north and south appeared to me about three and a half miles, it may be more ; looking to the westward, the ground appears to rise in that direction, and to be more depressed as the eye follows the course of the Guayra to the valley of Chacao, through the rich plantations which the eye distinguishes, to the village of Petare, seven miles east. We turned off to the east, after passing the gate of Pasto- ra, and entered the street of Carabobo, which descends south, and about noon, at the desire of Seiiora Antonia, rendez- voused at her casa ; we found abundant refreshments, and VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 51 had an opportunity to witness the cordial greetings of frienls, and the prevailing manners. It was really t jharming spec- tacle, to behold this good lady surrounded by crowds of friends of both sexes, old and young, congratulating her on her return to her native city. The liveliness of the younger senoritas and the solemnity of the seiioras, the peculiar em- brace of the matrons, the inquisitiveness of the young, and the assiduous suavity of the sedate ecclesiastic, in his black silk cassock and his broad brimmed hat ; the curiosity of the females about the North American young lady ; and the vi- vacity which pervaded the whole concourse in the spacious hall, was altogether a spectacle of which no form of expres- sion can convey a distinct idea. It was finally settled that Elizabeth should remain with her young friend ; and, at the invitation of Dr. Forsyth, an American merchant, long a resident there, Lieut. Bache and myself took quarters at his house, where he had previously ordered our baggage ; and where we were gratified to find Colonel Todd, the American ambassador ad interimy and his secretary, Mr. R. Adams, of Richmond, Virginia, who had been here some time, and were already preparing to pro- ceed for Bogota. 52 CHAPTER IV. Military music — excellent throujjhout the country — the Intendant Soublette — the office of Intendant unknown till introduced by Galvez — in 1777 — imitation of France — functions — more extensive than under monarchy — no Intendan- cies in New Granada nor in Chili, and why — convenient during the war — anecdotes of General Soublette — rises by merit — of Bolivar's staff — distin- guished at Cojede — defeats the Spanish General La Torre — difficulties of the station of Intendant in the revolution — his happy success and promptitude, is appointed Secretary of War in 1824. — Distinguished patriot famihes — Cle- mente — Tovar — Toro, &c. — First impressions of the city — streets — an inclined plane from north-west to south-east — Plaza Mayor — Valley of Chacao and plain of Fetare. — Rivers — ravines — aqueducts destroyed by earthquake of 1812. — Public fountains excellent — custom of drawing water — bridges church of Candelaria a heap of rubbish — bridge — city cleanly — pavements in the streets, gateways, and patios — excellent workmanship. — No side paths in Caracas — all round stone pavement — extended to the roads — an ingenious mode of improving a ravine without a bridge — Oriental style in all public works and private dwellings.— Interior of houses — style of building — materials — mortality of 1812, principally owing to materials called pita — process of building. Wherever there are military bodies and discipline, they are sure to make themselves heard. "While at break- fast the first morning after my arrival, my attention was at- tracted by the distant but approaching sound of " the spirit stirring drum and the ear piercing fife," whose clamorous concord became every instant more distinct and animating, I had supposed this kind of sympathy had long passed away ; I could hear the assemblee or even the generale beat, without, perhaps, any more emotion than if it was a solo on a jew's- harp ; but here were anxiety and strong throbs, which led me at once to the street whence the sound appeared to pro- ceed, and I once again felt an interest in the " Drum's sonorous sound Parading round, and round, and round." VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 58 Imagine a corps of twenty-four, half fifes, half drums, with their drum-major, in German or French style, and his staff of office, leading them in files of six in front, occupy- ing the whole breadth of the street, and pacing down the hill at more than quick-time: drums of better tone I had never heard, and the fifes were equally good ; but the style of the subject^ the novelty, the vivacit}', cannot be described ; a better musician would put the beats on a stave, and beat it off again ; but I put it unpremeditatedly into English syl- lables — which, however, they may impress the reader, con- tinue to speak the language of the drum to me — in this way, with a prelude of a half ruffle and a drag — R-r-r— ump'm, and bump'm, and blump'm, and stump'm, and thump'm, and blumb — R-r-r-and thump'm, and stump'm, and plump'm, and plump'm and blum — Da Capo. The excitement of the moment brought to mind the song of Frederick I. of Prussia, " O mine got, vot blud and tender." The motion was so rapid and the sounds so much in con- cord, that I thought nothing would be better adapted to arouse the feelings ; the beating, to speak technically, was so bold and intelligible. Our military music, within the United States, is, generally speaking, so dull and execrable, and our marching so much in the time of the 104th psalm, such as was in fashion when soldiers wore a coat of long square skirts and slash sleeves, and a Kevenhuller-hat, with such a tail as the monkeys on the Magdalena wear at this day ; with a bandolier ; a long matchlock, and a crutch to rest his piece upon, before locks were invented. Our usual morning and evening beats are better adapted to put men to sleep than to put them in motion. During the late war there were a few officers and fewer regiments who had ideas of military music ; but with the peace it began to tra- vel backward, and is now half a century behind the world : perhaps so it may be in Colombia when mihtary talents shall be no longer necessary, and the establishment becomes a 54 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. provision for men who could not gain a livelihood in any other way. I was induced to visit the parade where the different guards were turned off, and found the band of wind instru- ments were equal to the drums. Indeed, the excellence of the military music pervades the country. I had the batisfac- tion of forming an acquaintance with many of the officers, native and foreign, who were well disposed to be communi- cative. I was introduced by them to the Intendant General Soublettc, to whom it is the etiquette to be made known, caute determined upon the course that became a herb ; hav- ing ordered the whole of his own party to take a private path, which led through the hills towards Tulmero ; intimating that if he survived he should follow, as he was preparing to frustrate the enemy. They had not marched a mile in the mountains, when the Spaniards determined upon an assault, surrounded, and entered the magazine ; Ricaute alone stood to receive them ; he had so disposed of the powder as to ac- complish his purpose most effectively, and the Spanish officer was about to seize him, when he put a match to the train he had prepared, and perished with the whole of the Spa- niards who had entered the place, and came to be his captors. The line of march from Caracas inclined very much to the south of west, as far as Consejo ; the course by Victo- ria to San Mateo was still more westwardly and irregular ; on leaving San Mateo the direction was soon directly west, and by Tulmero, a great mercantile depot and aduana or custom- house under the monarchy, and containing at one period about 10,000 inhabitants : commerce has not wholly forsaken it, but the establishment of the republic has enabled every man to " smoke his own segars in his own way,'* unbur- dened by too much regulation. The road which leads to the left and to the south being the shortest by some miles, our mules took the shortest route, and moving off to the south, we avoided the inconvenience of ascending and de- scending steep precipices, and wound round the foot of the mountain, entering the neat but noiseless town of Maracay, in a north-west direction. This place was subject to a military commandant ; our kombre de provechero^ or man of service, was dispatched to seek quarters, but the commandant, who had also gone to Achaguas, by some means had heard of our coming, and before Vincent had returned, a subaltern officer approached us, and in a polite manner signified the absence of the com- mandant, but presented an order for our accommodation on 13d VISIT TO COLOMBIA. Senora Moreno in the Calle de Bolivar, and he was so oblig- ing as to pass with us to the house. The spacious gates of this casa were thrown open, and we rode into the patio^ or open court within the house, where we were received by two or three ladies in mourning;, of very respectable appearance and manners, who showed us every attention, gave us the two best apartments in the house, of which the windows open upon the Plaza or Great Square. They were particularly delighted with the Senorita Ameri' carta del Nor de. The usual routine of unloading baggage, putting up Iwmmocks, preparing the chocolate, procuring bread (and here it was to be had of fine quality), and in short the travelling meal ; the provision for the mules and such services, all took precedence of every other business, and when once done, left whatever time was to be spared to con- versation or any other occupation. Elizabeth had brought with her a well-assorted apparatus for needle-work and em- broidery, and when we arrived early in any place, where there was no opportunity or object worth walking to see, she opened her box and went to work, much to the admira- tion of the ladies, whose habits, though with exceptions, are yet too much Spanish in most parts of the country to derive any pleasure from such occupation. This town of Maracay, though we found it silent, and the streets without any idlers, but some of the drones in cas- socks, is celebrated for its industry ; indeed, the population of the east end of this valley, from the Tuy to Maracay, makes a strong impression ; the good order of their planta- tions, the exterior neatness of their habitations ; and, what was most striking to me, there were none of those mendicants which annoy by their importunity, and offend sometimes by their impertinence, the passing stranger, in all the cities and most of the towns we passed through. Here the best and neatest hammocks are manufactured from the cotton which grows on trees as large as our apple trees in all parts of Co- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 151 lomBia, in a temperature of about 70 deg. It is a perfectly republican town ; and their hammocks, counterpanes, and napkins are in demand and esteem from Cumana toMerida, and are sought at Bogota and Carthagena ; the inhabitants are also as much distinguished for their probity in dealing, their exemption from the stateliness and inane pride of the Spaniards, as for their good dispositions and industry. The good lady at whose house we quartered, had lost her husband and some other male relatives in the revolution ; and, as she expressed it, her towns people never thought they contri- buted enough to her pleasure and comfort. The mother and sisters of the good Seiiora, were solicitous to make our short stay as agreeable as possible, and nosegays, and some choice fruit were presented by them to my daughter, with a most interesting candour and desire to please. The government is provident in many cases of this kind ; those ladies are allowed an annual stipend, linder an implied condition of affording lodging to respectable persons whom the government may think proper to compliment in this way, by which I understood, that it was thus, through some means unknown to us, our arrival was anticipated and lodging thus provided. We departed from Maracay at half past five on the morn- ing of the seventeenth of November. The whole road from the banks of the Tuy to this place might be travelled by a boy on a velocipede, and it so continued to be level until we reached near Valencia. About half past eight we had tlie first delightful view of the lake of Valencia, as the sailors would express it, on our larboard bow; the sweetness of the atmosphere, its serenity and tempered light, with a slight ripple from a breeze on the expanded lake ; the mountains on each side receding and ascending ; at the base gradually curving until near the summit, their declivity or uprightness conveyed the idea of that kind of parabolic line, formed by the sides ot a large punch bowl, the lake itself did not seem 152 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. continuous, from this point, but as if composed of several lakes, from the intersection of promontories, and the apparent continuity of land, when, in reality, an island district Irom the shore filled up with the ground line in some places ; but which soon opened, when the position changed, as we advanced through the small hamlet of Tapitapa, along the winding beach of the lake, which, like the sea shore, was thickly pebbled. The coast of the lake here forms a cove locked in on the west, north, and east sides ; the east side being forest, in a gradually sloping line inclining to the lake, and its base forming a curve, along which the road trends on emerging from the immensely lofty trees that skirt the road from Maracay to Tapitapa, on the east ; the slope rises rapidly, and when two thirds of the semicircle of this cove are passed, it is a vast ridge, forming one of those spurs which characterise the whole chain from the Silla of Cara- cas to Barquisimeto, and of which more will be said in no- ticing the country round Valencia, or such other position as may invite elucidation. This lofty ridge, on the right, is extremely steep, but co- vered with forest trees of great magnitude and elevation, and the base of the mountain is covered with wild shrubbery and brilliant foliage ; the lake on the left during the semi- circuit presents a most enchanting spectacle ; 'the verdure of the surrounding banks, the blue canopy over head, contend- ing with the bright mirror of the lake, to impress each their peculiar hue on the other ; the commixture of colours, and glassy sparkling light, resembled the corruscations of the Aurora Borealis^ such as poetry might make a theme of, and if the poetry were equal in beauty to the object, would divest works of imagination of a great part of their interest. Ambling along this pebbled strand, charmed by the va- riety, grandeur, and multitude of objects, the lofty ridge ab- ruptly terminated, and opened a more extensive view of the lake beyond it ; but its abrupt termination, and its shaggy •> VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 453 sides and summit ceased to be interesting in a moment, and that instant produced a train of new sensations. The open- ing which exposed the lake, was just so broad as to permit a horseman to pass, and the opposite side presented an im- mense cone, rivalling the mountain in altitude, but without verdure of any kind ; it stood erect, a scarp of naked clay, of which the breadth, at the base, was not one third of the elevation, and cast its shadow on the trembling water ; such is its declivity, that it would seem hazardous for a goat to climb it ; a mule, with all its security and firmness of foot, could not ; but man has found his way in confidence to the summit, and established not only a dwelling, but a military work on its apex. A plate of this position, which is called La Cabrera^ fronts the title page. This position has been frequently made memorable du- ring the revolution. After the fatal earthquake of 1812, when the country was deprived of so many of its veterans, and their arms buried with them ; when 8000 stand compo- sed the whole armament of the republic ; and 2000 of these were not fit for service ; when the monks had been taught to preach and inculcate, that the earthquake was an indica- tion of Almighty vengeance against the revolutionists, and Monteverde, seizing upon the fanatic fears of the multitude, and their panic, compelled Col. Carabaiio to retire from San Carlos, Miranda, with only 2000 men, evacuated Valen- cia, and resolved to concentrate his forces at this distin- guished pass. Whether it be from the difficulty of access by the long and circuitous route on the skirt of the lake, from St. Joaquin to La Cabrera, every foot of which might be defended by a small force against a greater ; or the singular form of the cone, the security it afforded from its steepness against attack, and against shot from its elevation, it was se- lected with judgment, as the best position to repulse and ar- rest the march of Monteverde. But some men faithless to their country, who had traversed the mountains as smug- 20 154< VISIT TO COLOMBIA. glers, communicated to the Spanish general, that there was a secret path by which the defile of La Cabrera could be avoided. In consequence Miranda was obhged to move upon Victoria, which he gained before the enemy. But in the month of June following, Monteverde determined on a night attack, and before day-light surprised the patriots in Victoria. Miranda rallied them like a gallant soldier, and drove the enemy before him for more than a league, when the troops were called in, and the fugitive Spaniards were thus enabled to escape. It is considered, by men of good judgment, that if the pursuit had been continued with the same spirit that the attack was begun, Monteverde must have taken refuge in Puerto Cabello ; but that incident with others led to the fall of Caracas. La Cabrera was agaiu distinguished in 1816, when Bo- livar landed from the West Indies at Choroni and Ocumare ; general M'Gregor was then charged with the advanced guard, not amountmg to more than 500 men ; by rapid marches from an unexpected quarter, and taking precautions to intercept intercourse with Valencia or Caracas, he, by a skilful stratagem, surprised the Spanish picket posted at Cabrera, and, while they were carousing at the Posada^ at the foot of the cone, he occupied the place by scaling the ordinary path, and making the Spaniards prisoners ; he then pursued his march, and took Maracay and Victoria before the Spanish general Morales could arrest his progress. After the war of extermination had been proclaimed, the affairs of Colombia had become very gloomy. When the patriots were made prisoners, the practice was to publicly or- der them to be conducted to a depot ; but a private order was given to execute them on the way, for which a fit officer was always selected ; they were directed to be pierced with a a lance, in the first thicket they approached. Colonel Rivas, a friend of Bolivar, having fallen into the enemy's hands, his head was cut off by one of those Spanish monsters, placed in VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 155 a sack, and sent, after the Turkish fashion, to his insulted and afflicted friend. The flower of the army and the population were at this period undergoing a progressive extirpation ; des- pair had overcome minds of a weak temperament, and others of lax principles no longer hesitated to talk of reconciliation with Spain. Antonio Jose Paez, a native of the plains that border on the Orinoco, had signalized himself by his match- less intrepidity ; many persons having retired to the plains, he reproached those wavering men, and concluded by declar- ing, that if there could be wretches so abject as to abandon a cause in which so much blood had been generously sacri- ficed to give them freedom, they must not expect counte- tenance to their perfidy from him, nor the opportunity to corrupt others by their cowardice ; that he would not com- promise for a miserable existence the independence he had fought for ; he would rally all of his countrymen whose vir- tues were unshaken, and taking possession o(La Cabrera and the lake of Valencia, he would carry on an interminable war against the Spanish tyrants and all who should submit to subjection ; and there it would not be in the power of all Spain to dislodge him. Near this place an action, very desperate but decisive, was fought in 1818. The Spanish general Morillo, had been in the Llanos, or plains ; Bolivar formed a plan of campaign against him, with Paez and Cedenio as his lieutenants. Three successive actions were fought on the 12, 13, and 14th Fe- bruary of that year, and Morillo was olDliged to make a concealed retreat with a few horse towards the valley of Ara- gua. But the fugitive was pursued and overtaken with a body of fresh troops that had been marched to his support ; these were attacked on the 16th, and on the 17th; in this ter- rible attack, the royal troops were cut to pieces at Sombrero, a town on a branch of the Guarico, and about fifty miles north of Calabozo, where Morillo escaped by crossing the 156 VISIT TO COLOMBIA, Guarico to Ortiz on the right bank, and thence fled to Va- lencia. The lake is computed to be forty-five miles in its greatest extent, from east north- cast to west- so u.th- west, of a very irregular form, indented with little coves and bays ; and varying north and south from fittcen to twenty- four miles. The islands, which are many, are covered with vegetation, and some, with lofty trees, are very picturesque. The absence of boats, on a lake so ample, appears extraor- dinary. Colonel Todd, who preceded us a fortnight, obtain- ed a rude sort of canoe, in order to view the lake ; but the pleasure did not compensate the inconvenience. The geologists allege that the singular cone of Cabrera was, at one period, a continuation of the granitic promon- tory covered with forests, and known by the name of Puerto- chuelo, and that the valley was closed, until this defile was separated from the contiguous mountain. But there is also a prolongation still further towards the south ; a long range, partly rocky, and covered with vegetation, not so lofty as La Cabrera, but separated by a larger defile on the south side. As an object of great curiosity, it is here noticed ; the conjec- tures concerning its primitive form do not carry conviction to the understanding. Certainly, if supplied with boats for communication on the lake, it would be an invulnerable po- sition under such an officer as Paez. The constant pursuit, and the severity of those battles, day after day, with scarce time for rest or food, obliged Bo- livar to suspend further pursuit ; to call in subsistence, and refresh his troops. But Paez, meanwhile, was detached ' to repossess St. Fernando de Apure. As soon as the raarch of Paez was known in Valencia, Morillo renewed his opera- tions with the troops in Valencia, and all the wrecks of his force that had escaped from the plains marched eastward. Bolivar, with not fifteen hundred cavalry, and less than half the number of infantry, and part of these, as well as all the ca- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 167 valry, armed with lances only, had cantoned his troops, with his advance, in the villages of Guacara, and St. Joaquin— some fresh troops occupied the pass of La Cabrera, and his main force was at iMaracay, La Puerta, and Vittoria. Morillo lost no time, aware that every hour would augment Bolivar's strength ; that Cedeno and Paez, who were absent, might be ordered to rejoin the Libertador. The pickets, at Guaycara, were ordered to retire deliberately upon St. Joaquin, and to defend this pass, and, if necessary, to retire and make a stand at Cabrera. From the 13th to the 17th of March, was an unintermitting course of actions ; I passed over the scene of these conflicts, with a full recollection of these historical events, as I had before known them through authentic channels. It was evident that the warfare here must have been a war of detachments, or guerillas, as the nature of the ground did not admit of the combat of troops with an extended front, but was admirably adapted for de- fensive war and ambuscade. In those conflicts on the plains, Morillo received a thrust of a lance which pinned his body to the ground, and it was believed that he had perished, as the soldier who had strick- en the blow related the fact, and had left his lance in the body of the royal chief. Though the wound was not mor- tal, it compelled Morillo to devolve the command on Gene- ral La Torre, a gallant and experienced soldier, but an hon- ourable character. The renewal of the war had reached the plains, and Paez and Cedeno rejoined the Libertador. La Torre had advan- ced to Ortiz, on the Guarico, and there he was attacked, his position stormed, and the avenues between Ortiz and Va- lencia having been pre-occupied, the royal chief retired to the plains and occupied Calabozo. This campaign had such signal influence on the affairs of the revolution, that I have not hesitated to narrate such events as were connected with this memorable pass of La Cabrera. But it is not in those. 158 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. battles alone, so full of event and powerful in their conse- quences, that La Cabrera is remarkable. Morillo, as soon as he was able to take the field, marched to the south-west, crossed the Aguare, with an intention to attack Paez, who was in that quarter covering the supplies from the plains, and intercepting those destined for the royal force. General Paez took a position on the spacious plain of Coxede, near the confluence of the small streams Aguyral and San Pedro with the river Coxede, a few miles south of San Carlos. The position commanded the highway be- tween the plains from which the Spanish armies drew cattle for their subsistence ; and its occupation much embarrassed the Spanish army. Morillo determined upon a movement through a defile on the left of the Colombian position. Paez had at the same time resolved upon a movement upon the right of Morillo, and the two operations were going on at the same instant : as these dispositions on both sides led to consequences which neither contemplated, the casual discovery by^ each, that the other was in motion, deranged the plans of both, and led to a conflict, in which the valour of the troops, and the military talents and resources of the commanders, must determine the issue. Perhaps no battle of the revolution was more desperate or sanguinary ; it was a series of manoeuvres, determined by the position and the coup d'oeil of the commanders. The Spanish chief selected a position from which he could direct his operations. The Colombian chief gave a general order to the chiefs of his di- visions, to maintain a certain line, and to move upon each of the enemy's columns, front and flank, at the same time; Paez himself holding two columns of cavalry lancers to co- operate. Soublette, who was chief of the staff", in this battle acquired and merited great distinction. The conflict was of several hours' duration, and so fatal to both sides, that the battle ceased from loss of men and fatigue. Morillo found VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 159 it necessary to retire upon San Carlos, though he claimed a victory. Paez remained in possession of the field, and had to inter the enemy's dead. The great object of covering the source of supplies from the plains was effected, and the Spanish army disabled from prosecuting military operations for some time. The battle of Coxede is therefore considered as one of the most important in its consequences, as well as the most sanguinary ot the revolution. As Paez was the hero of this victory, and his intrepidity and self-possession the principal impulses of the triumph, it may not be impertinent to state in this place an anecdote, . which, though it relates to the campaign on the plains near Calabozo, shews the impression entertained by the Spaniards of the formidable character of this chief. Many attempts had been made to assassinate the President, by the Spanish emissaries ; an attempt was made for a similar purpose on Paez. The nature of the country, a very warm climate, as well as the deficiency of resources, rendered the appearance or apparel in both armies very much alike : this rendered it sometimes difficult to discriminate between the soldiers of either force. A party had been selected on the plains, who were to use the facility which was given by these means to deception, and they were directed to rendezvous on the bank of a rivulet, at a short distance from the camp or bivouac of Paez. Some emissaries, who found treachery to their country a motive for assassination, had ascertained the tent or hut of the general. A slight hut had been occupied by the general's hammock, and some friends occupied other births; the do- mestics and orderlies were at hand. A small sprightly boy, Antonio, had a sleeping place there also ; this boy had rambled along the margin of the rivulet, and night coming on, he was alarmed by some voices very near him, and listening more at- tentively, heard enough to induce him, with instinctive dis- • cretion, to return precipitately, and reveal what he had heard. Paez instantly changed the countersign, selected a few officers, 160 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. with orders to move circuitously, and concentrate as near us possible on the point designated. The picket was directed not to interrupt the entrance of any stranger ; and so well was the Spanish party entangled, that the emissaries entered the general's hut, and found it empty, only the moment be- fore they were seized. Not one of the party escaped, and some of them revealed the whole design ; others were de- tected as deserters, and they were, by a sentence of a court martial, disposed of as traitors and assassins. That intelli- gent and prudent boy, Antonio, the adopted son of General P:;ez, is the youth who is now admitted for his education at the United States Military Academy, West Point, CHAPTER XI. Xake of Valencia — road along its coast — the soil invades its bed and grows tobacco — St. Joaquin — Guacara desolated — warm day — halt to refresh — dipt hedge of lime trees loaded with fruit — St. Diego — aspects of the Plain and Lake — confidence of the people restored — figure of the Mountains — sudden appearance of Valencia — the Glorieta Bridge — the Patriot Officers work as "bricklayers on this bridge — the present Commandant of Valencia, Col. Urslar, so employed — difference in appearance from Caracas — the military numerous —the Plaza Mayor or Great Square — house of Senor Penalver — hospitably received — quite at home — female curiosity — amiability — ideas of travelling — the Commandant — Gen. Paez — good breeding and amenity — evening vi- sit at Col. Urslar's — the tatoo beat off in superior style — Anecdotes of Col. Urslar — commands the Grenadiers of the Guard — Bolivar negociated his ex- change — happy military self-possession — by strategy counteracts Morales at Naguanagua — nature of the gpround at and near Valencia — military operations and stratagems — evolutions and partial action — arrival of Paez — Morales de- feated- — effects of the battle of Naguanagua. Upon entering the pass of La Cabrera, the lake opened to the eastward to an extent not anticipated, and the shore on the south side, with the mountain range in its rear, ' capt with clouds which threw a shade over the distance that VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 161 gave a strong relief to the brightness which intervened and extended over the lake. The detached promontories which now revealed themselves as islands, were exquisitely beauti- ful. After passing to the westernmost side, the lake appear- ed to extend very far to the north along the base of the ridge of Puertachueloy and our road lying along the shore more than two miles; it was, however, comparatively a small in- let, perhaps three miles from the opposite side, to the cone of Cabrera, and narrowing as we approached its northern ex- tremity, round which, and along the opposite shore, the road still continued. At this northern extremitv of the inlet, the soil, from the elevations by which it was surrounded, had en- croached upon the ancient bed of the lake, and some fine to- bacco was now flourishing where the water formerly flowed. Our course was very variable from Tapatapa, a hamlet of comfortable houses which we passed on coming to the strand of the lake; it was first south-west, then west — west-south-west, and south ; we entered the pretty village of St. Joaquin about nine o'clock, and did not halt till we reached Gua- cara a quarter before twelve. Our course had now been west to this place, where the day being more sultry than we had yet experienced, we halted. This place was in a state of impoverishment, and the desolation of war ; we passed along the principal street which we had entered, without perceiving any house in which the accommodation of even a temporary rest was eligible ; we turned the angle of the street to the south, through which a stream of pure water rambled, and finding a shop in which " cocks and hens, and all manner of things," were exposed for sale, we were ac- commodated in an angle of a room, the greater part of the other end being occupied by a billiard table ; some of the poultry and the eggs, onions, rice, sugar, and some fruit, and small baskets we purchased ; our chocolate was prepared while a hollaca of stewed pork, peeled potatoes, with spices and onions, was under way. The pulperia was very com- 21 162 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. municative, and indulged her curiosity in turn ; but she was perfectly obliging, and her charge for what she sold wus so small, that I was apprehensive she had wrongt-d herself ; but she insisted on the hermosa senorita (lovely female) taking some fine oranges for what we had overpaid her. The population, if there was any at Guacara, besides a itw old men, and some females, did not appear ; and until we had entered this place, there was not, on the ground we had passed over, any appearance of poverty, though there were some wrecks of the war. In the morning, about four miles before we reached Guacara, we saw a beautiful dipt hedge in front of a flourishing plantation ; it resembled in form those yew hedges so much in vogue half a century ago, or those dipt quicksets which are seen in the state of De- laware, but neither yew nor hawthorn could rival it for beau- ty ; it was composed oi lime trees, and the Jruit in every stage of growth were abundant, pale and deep green, pale and saffron yellow ; a civil domestic, who was as curious in his admiration of us as we were of the hedge, ingenuously pluck- ed a couple of dozen, and handed them to us, highly gratifi- ed as it seemed that they were acceptable. After leaving Guacara, at some distance, we passed through a small, but not so impoverished a place, called Guaco, and being not very distant, we proceeded slowly along through St. Diego ; permitting our mules to take their ovr n impulse, and at half past five crossed the plain, upon which the principal street of Valencia opens its rising length. On the line of our approach to Valencia the whole way from Tapatapa, we had the mountain ridge on our right, nearly parallel with the road, only where the limbs thrown out from the mountain side rendered it preferable to make a small circuit rather than climb its sides. The lake was constantly on our left, at times intercepted to the view by plantations in prosperity or in ruin ; many were in the latter condi- tion ; though we saw, in the course of our journey, that VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 163 some had been already redeemed, and were undergoing the preparation for cuhure, or in actual production. Many- houses that bespoke former sumptuousness, were in the state in which the war left them ; contiguous to one of these unal- tered ruins, the ground had been handsomely fenced with saplings, six feet high, and four or five inches apart, laced near the head and base with those natural ropes [bejuca) which grow in such variety and abundance in the ever-present for- ests. Within the fence an elegant picture of an indigo patch was distinctly seen through the fence, the green tops of the plants, just rising above the ground, forming long selvidges, at about six inches apart ; but this newly restored plantation appeared like a gap in the long line of wild vege- tation, which rose round it on all sides ; several roads or lanes led towards the lake, which was about from three to four miles on our left ; but in other places the scene of hus- bandry was pleasing, as well for the activity as the gay as- pect of the cultivators, who, when sufficiently contiguous, generally gave us a complimentary nod and smile, and some phrase of satisfaction which wc could not distinctly under- stand. Confidence every where appeared, which I had not expected, because Morales was at that moment desolating and plundering the country contiguous to Maracaibo, and menacing Truxillo, Merida ; and Puerto Cabello, only twen- ty-two miles from Valencia, was still occupied by the Span- iards. So confident had the people become, after Morales had been defeated at Naguanagua, within sight of Valencia. The road, as we approached Valencia, was at the very skirt of the mountain, which threw out many limbs in a fantastic, and yet a sort of uniformity of projection, present- ing between them, nooks or recesses, in which towns or vil- lages constantly appeared. As we came within a short dis- tance of Valencia, one of those promontories thrust its pro- longation across the line of our march ; it was covered with shaggy forest trees, and its sides steep, and the extremity i64 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. on the plain exhibited a vast body of stupendous rocks, which appeared to threaten all things beneath their shadow, but were held together by the thick twining limbs of some giant sycophants, which entwined the rocks, resembling ivy in the manner of vegetation, but of greater magnitude ; wc were under the necessity of winding round this rude pro- montory, which was between two and three miles from the city, which now broke upon us, in a very impressive pic- ture. The line of the great ridge had receded with the south-west side of this savage declivity, which presented an arid face, furrowed by deep ravines. At the distance of four miles, a spacious verdant plain, which inclined on our left to the lake three miles distant, and to the low plain of Naguana- gua on our right, presented the numerous horse and foot paths which led to and concentred in the city, indicating a considerable population. We had crossed the plain, better than a mile, when a spa- cious street opened upon us, in its length sloping towards us ; and a lively rivulet cast out numerous rills, winding towards the valley on our right ; a bridge of unusual neat- ness crossed the rivulet, and nearly as broad as the street, of which it was the eastern extremity ; a spacious semicircular platform was constructed on each side, over the arch, with benches of masonry, of excellent workmanship, and covered with a coat of lime plaster, wrought in great perfection. It was the Gloriete^ the work set on foot by Morillo, but wrought by patriotic hands ; in the execution of this work, Morillo employed the officers of the Colombian army, whom the fortune of war had placed in his vile hands. They were brought from their prisons in irons, and with irons on their legs ; they were compelled to execute this work, under the charge of miscreants whose orders were any thing but hu- man ; in this warm climate, for the sun's rays are more ar- dent here than in any part of the valley of Aragua or of Cara- cas, they were compelled to make the mortar , carry loads of VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 165 brick and stone on their shoulders, and execute their task in the mid- day heat. We viewed the workmanship with pe- culiar gratification, not knowing its history ; but we had some compensation for the pain with which we heard its history narrated by a colonel, who was one of the constructors of the Gloriete, whom we had the plea- sure to know in Colonel Urslar. He now commanded in Valencia, and had but a short time before given the Spa- niards a signal defeat at Naguanagua, within three miles of Valencia on the north side : the action was witnessed from the streets, and even from the Gloriete^ being the last attempt made by the Spaniards on that city. We continued to ascend the sloping street, and it being Sunday, the appearance of our costume attracted many a bright eye, and particularly the rosy- cheeked member of our party. We also glanced at the beauties of Valencia, as we had heard they were more proud than the ladies of other cities ; they did not appear as fair as their country-women at Caracas, but their features were striking for regularity — and they seemed to know they had eyes — with which perhaps their brilliancy made them acquainted. Whether it was that they put on their best apparel and their best smiles and dimples, for the sabbath-day, it is certain they looked lively and interesting. The barracks stand on the left of the street, and the offi- cers appeared to have just left parade, and gazed with as much apparent curiosity as the ladies — and put questions, such as are asked every where in such cases, but which none of them could yet answer. The prolongation of this street continues the whole length of the city, and about half-way its length forms the south side of the Plaza or great square. Our courier Vincent had already found the residence of the respectable patriot Fernando Peiialver, a senator of Colombia, which stood in the continuation of the street, which forms the west side of the Plaza. The church is on the east side ; 166 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. the north occupied by spacious dwellings, and the west side with some spacious houses two stories high, one of which at that time was military quarters for the staff, and holds a melancholy but signal place in the history of the revolution. It was half past five when we rode up to the ample gates, which were instantly thrown open, and we entered the neat portal to the patio ; where we were cordially received by Seiiorita Penalver, the niece of the respectable owner, who conducted Elizabeth, and invited us to a spacious saloon, and ordered refreshments. The domestics of Colombia, in families like this, are diligent, obliging, and punctual ; or- ders do not require to be repeated, and the hospitable usages ^re so well understood, that orders are never necessary. We were already at ease, and treated like old acquaintances. Se- fior Penalver was at his plantation, about ten miles south, and restoring it from the dilapidation which his virtues had earned from Spanish vengeance ; he was a widower, and his niece, and a daughter of eleven, were the only inmates ; his nephew, Ferdinand, a noble youth of sixteen, was with his uncle. Our mules had been carried to the coral, forage ordered, and, as night came on, a crowd of the pretty faces, perhaps some of whom we had seen on our way, thronged in, some of whom, in the simplicity of their hearts, with witty mirth enquired whether the bonita Senorita purchased the colour on her cheeks at the modista's^ or had it in the natural way ? The company for the whole evening was numerous, and of both sexes ; and as we were not profoundly ready and conversant in la lengua Castellana^ the good nature of the young ladies was exercised, in the desire to understand as well as to encourage the Senorita Americana to hablar. I have no where seen people more cheerful and innocently gay, or unaffectedly solicitous to render themselves agreeable and useful, than the ladies whom I have had the pleasure of knowing, in their families, in Valencia. This disposi- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. i&7 tion indeed prevails every where, and I have not seen more than one or two in the country, who from their demeanour could be suspected of affectation. The good Senorita took my daughter to her own cham- ber, and lieutenant Bache and myself had each a chamber assigned to us. The first night's rest, and the first morning's intercourse, made us as much at home as we could be where usages and language were not the same. It was Monday morning, the 19th, and the climate was sensibly warmer than that of Caracas ; the freshness of the air, after a balmy night's repose, bid us be up and doing very soon. The journey had been rather desultory than fatiguing or rapid, and might, with good horses, be accomplished in two days without any fatigue. But mules being the only mode by which baggage is transported, and in a country where there are neither taverns, inns, nor beds on the road, and their own. kitchen and couch, food and raiment, are indispensable to those whose habits are foreign, the sober passage upon mules is the best adapted to the actual state of the country ; for, al- though the route from the foot of Cuquisias owes nothing to art for the construction of a road, yet the unbroken level of the plain of the valley of Aragua may be travelled on a velocipede ; there are no wheel carriages any where in the country, and, if there were, they could not, without some im- provement of the mule- path, pass even between Victoria and Valencia ; and, after passing the field of Carabobo^ the path is scarcely safe on horseback, and mules alone afford con- fidence and security. I had scarcely prepared my face and apparel for the day's intercourse, when the military commandant. Colonel Urslar, was so obliging as to tender his good offices, and placed in my hands letters fowarded to him from Caracas, and one from General Paez, intimating a wish that I should remain a few days, and that before Thursday he intended to be in Valencia. His chief of staff, Colonel Newberry, repeated the same wish, 16S VISIT TO COLOMBIA. and I assented. The general, however, had received orders to concentre a force at Tulmcro, and to pursue a plan which had in view the expulsion or capture of Morales — and I had not the pleasure of the proposed meeting. Monday was, therefore, devoted to the household gods, and the inter- course incident to that innocent curiosity excited by the first visit of an American young lady to their beautiful city ; and we had much reason to be gratified, as well by the numbers, as by the courtesy and unreserved familiarity of the ladies whom we had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with. There was no ceremony or constraint, beyond the mere ci- vilities of reception and the complimentary adios at depar- ture ; and, notwithstanding some deficiency on both sides of our respective languages, our occasional stumbling over the moods and tenses, genders and persons, cordiality became our ready interpreters, without for an instant disconcerting us by that grin of inanity and indubitable folly, which so often, in some other countries, treats the stranger with vulgar and stupid sarcasm or satire, for no better reason than that the stranger's knowledge of the vernacular tongue is not equal to that which the native has no other merit in knowing, than that of being habituated from infancy to its use ! Many military gentlemen, foreigners and natives, were our visitors, and I had the satisfaction of acquiring the esteem, and its manifestation in practical good offices, of the worthy veteran Colonel Urslar, then in command, during the ab- sence of General Paez. The mid-day was devoted to the perusal of my letters, and answering letters to be dispatched by a friend, who was to proceed the next day for Caracas, and the evening carried us, on the invitation of his good lady, to Colonel Urslar's, where we found a number of agreeable persons of both sexes; and entered into entire sympathy with the worthy colonel's excellent suite of military musicians, and the style in which they beat off" the tatoo from his quar- ters at nine o'clock. Indeed, I never heard a finer corps ot VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 169 drums and fifes. We spent the evening agreeably, had the Usual chocolate with coffee served around, cake, sweetmeats, and those who chose it, liqueur or claret ; and retired, as is usual, about ten o'clock. Colonel Urslar is a native of the left bank of the Rhine, I think of Alsace, that country so fruitful of able and gallant soldiers. The wars of the French revolution, which had made him a soldier, left him a reduced captain, at about twenty-five years of age. The difficulty of the times, and of forming new habits, led his mind to the new world, where a field for renown and fortune appeared to be prepared for the disbanded soldiers of Europe ; he arrived at Angostura, in 1817,and the discernment of Bolivar placed him in the rank of major. He was thenceforward engaged in all the battles and inarches which occurred in the plains, at Coxede, Victoria, in the two battles on the same glorious field of Carabobo, at Boyacca, and was distinguished alike by the discipline of his regiment of grenadiers of the guard, to which his talents had promoted him, and by the hardiness and cheer- fulness with which he endured the privations of those inde- scribable conflicts — for months without a shoe, and often re- duced to the ordinary Osnaburg shirt and trowsers, and a straw hat, in common with the rank and file ; rarely mount- ing a horse, though entitled, by his rank, to do so; prefer- ring, by his example, to inspire his corps with respect and confidence, and to assure discipline, without the imputation of having spared himself in the discharge of his duties. In passing the handsome bridge on our entrance to Va- lencia, I noticed the labours prescribed for the Colombian officers. The fortune of war had made Urslar a prisoner to Morillo, and the colonel repeatedly pointed out to me the positions and the parts of the structure to which he had con- tributed his manual labour, nearly destitute of clothing, and without hat or shoes, bearing a manacle and a burden, ex- posed to a fervid sun, but a most scorching and more in- -22 170 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. sufferable and constant vituperation and insolence from the Spanish soldiery ; and, sad to say, not from the humblest 6f the troops, who rather compassionated than aggravated the evils of their condition. The history of his campaigns would interest any man of sensibility, and would afford an example and an illustration of the hardships borne by the Colombian army, such as have probably never been endured and overcome in any part of this globe. On more than one occasion he was marked out for military execution, but rescued by some casualty, which he said bore an appearance of miracle ; he was, however, at a favourable moment seized upon by Bolivar, who appreci- ated his worth, exchanged, and restored to his companeros the grenadiers ; and a few months before we reached Valen- cia, he had the gratification, by skill and intrepidity, and the reputation he held in the estimation of the enemy, to out- general Morales at Naguanagua, and lead to the defeat of his veterans with a handful of raw troops. Morillo having secret communications from the city of Valencia, stating that the force in garrison at that city had been reduced by detachments to Caracas, which had been menaced for that purpose, resolved to march from Puerto Ca- bello for Valencia with 1200 men of his best troops. The first intimation of his approach was the appearance of his ad- vanced posts on the heights above Naguanagua, about four miles distant, and in full view of the city. Valencia stands upon the summit of ground not suffi- ciently elevated to be denominated a hill ; on three parts of the ground, that is, the south, east, and west sides of the circle, the streets decline in a gradual line from the Great Square, which is the most elevated position. The ground on the west side is not embraced in this range, being itself a gradual ascent from the Great Square, to the foot of one of those characteristic points resem- bling promontories, which overlooks the whole city and VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 171 plain, at a few yards from a suburb ; all the streets, like those of all the towns and cities we saw, intersect each other at right angles. The lofty mountain ridges of the chain presented themselves on the north ; the lake of Valen- cia to the south, and extending to the full capacity of naked vision to the south-east, the plain sloped in a gentle descent from the line of approach from the eastward to the lake, and from the same road line had a more steep descent towards the west and north-west, or mountain side. The whole of this circle was commanded by the view from the Great Square. The mountain ridge on the north presented its bleak and arid sides to the south, an apparent but broken semicircle or half moon, of about two miles diameter, from east to west, and three miles depth from south to north, of which the mountain spurs in front and rear of the city, formed the extremities or horns of the crescent, between which the city stands elevated, and the space between is occupied by an irregular platform or flat valley ; beyond this the vast body of the mountain protrudes and bellies in, within the line of the half moon formed by the superior ridge. This body, which appears like a mountain which had slidden down from the side of the Paramo, bears the name of Naguanagua, and a small village immediately at its base bears the same name. The common track to Puerto Cabello lies over this lower plain and protruding mountain, and takes the usual winding course of ascent. common to such steep and rugged declivi- ties. Some huts occupy little platforms, on the points where the direction of the path is changed : and the track becomes indistinct from the city, as soon as the summit or ravine on the north-east side of this lower mountain is passed. The appearance of the royal force, at only four miles dis- tance, spread consternation in the city. There was no ex- pectation of such a visit, and but few troops ; but the com- mandant was to perform his duty ; and his first measure was 172 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. to put the drums and bugles upon immediate service. The regular beats of discipline and alarm were arranged, and re- gularly performed, as if he had five thousand men ; while the whole population was called forth to sustain their homes and families. So long as the royal troops lingered on the sides of the mountain, halting at every angle to bring up strag- glers, — as not more than one person at a time could descend or ascend through the greatest part of the way, — so long did the tardiness of the royalists afford time to put muskets in the hands of men and boys, who had never before handled fire-arms ; such as had horses or mules he ordered to come forth, and formed into squadrons with lances, and taught them, in the very act of presenting themselves on the face of the city, in sight of the enemy ; he taught them to march by files, and face to the front or flank ; to break off at com- mand and form again ; and, being all expert horsemen, he made them move rapidly into sections of eight and twelve in front, and to wheel in the same order. These drills of the few militia and the regulars were kept incessantly in mo- tion, by having two parts at rest and a third at exercise, and in small divisions at the extremities and centre of the north face of the city. Both forces were thus in view of each other two days, distant about three miles ; the royalists, as soon as the night of the third day came on, descended to the small valley and the village in silence ; and in the morning ap- peared drawn up in order of battle, in the plain below. The patriots were immediately formed in line ; their regulars, amounting only to three hundred men, forming an advanced corps, took a conspicuous rising position on the left, or on the enemy's right flank ; while the militia were formed into two columns, a hundred yards in the rear of the right flank of the regulars ; the cavalry, and even the inhabitants who came only as spectators, were persuaded to assemble, and form a line on a platform oblique to the Spanish left, with an assur- ance that their presence was all that would be required. VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 173 Meanwhile, couriers had been despatched to seek General Paez, who was on his march, to advise him of the exi- gency, and the presence of the enemy ; stratagem was thus resorted to, in order to induce the Spanish commander to believe that General Paez, with a strong division, and the grenadiers of the guard, was on his march, and hourly ex- pected. This display, in the face of the Spanish force, had all the effect that was proposed ; and other incidents, to which the circumstances gave rise, contributed to make a strong impression : for the Spaniards, instead of marching directly to the city, which they could have done, halted, and assumed a corresponding position on the base of the mountain, where they could not be attacked in front. Colonel Urslar had been previously so much indisposed, as not to be able to march with General Paez, as was expected, when the ge- , neral left Valencia ; and though he put every thing in mo- tion, and saw all the dispositions he had directed, it was not supposed, by the Spanish chief, that he was at that time in Valencia. Before the dawn of the next day the patriot troops were ordered to descend, and appeared on the verge of the valley, within a mile and a half of the enemy. The citizens, who were only ostensible soldiers, continued posted to the right, on the brow of a ravine, which lay obliquely to the right of the patriot line, and closed the path, which extended 2X2ir€spectful distance, upon the left flank of the enemy ; answering every purpose of an efficient force in reserve, and actually prevent- ing communications by emissaries ; the left of the patriot line was covered by the steep inaccessible declivities of the western horn of the natural crescent. By a predisposition it was contrived to be communicated in the Spanish camp, that Paez was expected ; and Urslar, having overcome his indisposition, by the exertions he had found it necessary to make, appeared in his usual conspicuous uniform, and on his well known roan charger, in the plain in front of the 174 VISIT TO COLOMBIA* enemy. A fugitive from punishment, who had been a do= mestic of Urslar, had been taken into the service of Morillo, and was the first to make known to the Spanish chief the presence of Urslar, whence it was inferred that he had ar- rived by forced marches, and that Paez was not far off. The royalists had no cavalry, they would have been more per- nicious than useful on the ground they occupied ; but, in order to profit by the absence of Paez, and accomplish the destruction of the force drawn from the city, they sent guerilla parties into the valley near the village. A small squadron of about ninety volunteers, mounted, and with lances only, and and some expert Colombian marksmen, were precipitated into the plain, and succeeded in cutting off many of the Spanish cazadores, and compelling those who escaped to fall back upon the village. At the same moment that this evolution was so happily accomplished, the regulars were thrown out in loose order, with directions to form at a spot designated, and visible from their position, and be prepared there to move in column under the smoke of their own vollev — Urs- lar led this column in person, formed them as proposed, commanded the fire, and led the charge with a muscjuetoon, which he discharged as the signal for the bayonet ; the mi- litia were directed bv skilful subalterns who understood their chief, and as the main attack was directed on the right of the Spaniards, and their left had been disconcerted by the havoc committed among their light troops, either through panic or surprise, or a persuasion that the patriot force was more than superior in numbers, and that the troops under Paez were al- ready present, they fell back ; the prompt and compact move- ment of the centre was equally successful. The brunt of the conflict, however, was on the right, which Morales himself commenced — the Spaniards were once rallied, and formed to attack the gallant battalion under Urslar, who had already formed his column on a natural jettee projecting from the mountain ; this position had the advantage of fire, and was VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 175 adapted to fatigue the enemy, if he should attempt to ascend ; but an accidental approach of the squadron of cavalry from the left, placed the Spanish right in such a position as to enable the cavalry, by an easy evolution, to charge their left flank ; and this they were ordered to execute, while the in- fantry, passing from the jetteey attacked the right of Mora- les' line — who did not wait for the close encounter, but re- tired in good order up the declivity beyond the village, where they were suffered to remain unmolested in consequence of the closing of the day. The citizens, who had rendered such good service by their bare appearance, were now ordered to return to their repose ; and a courier announced that Paez would be in the field early in the morning. He arrived at midnight; his troops had bivouaced on the plain, seven miles from the city, where they were furnished, by the ac- tivity of the citizens, with every comfort that they required. Before dawn the patriots were in motion, and a select corps had scaled the heights and taken a position, unseen, in the rear of the Spaniards, separated by a deep and steep ravine. But the attack was made consentaneously on the village and on the heights upon the enemy's rear ; the resistance was, as Urslar nobly acknowledged, unquestionably daring and valorous. The patriots, either from the difficulty of the ascent, or from design, retired by the west of the village, and there formed ; the Spaniards, elated by this mistaken ap- pearance of discomfiture, again moved down to the plain in good order ; but they had scarcely passed the west side of the village, when Paez, who had posted his lancers on the east, charged upon their left flank and rear at the same in- stant, and the struggle was short but sanguinary : the battle of Naguanagua became a victory which merits admiration ; two hundred of the Spanish troops were made prisoners with their arms; three hundred remained on the field dead or wounded ; and much ammunition was taken ; Morales re- tired to the Sierra with the remains of his force, and pro- 176 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. ceeded with celerity to Puerto Cabello, about twenty miles, by the road of La Trinicera. The defeat was signal in every respect ; the Spanish force never after appeared in that quar- ter. Valencia had suffered preeminently by the war, and the brutality of successive commanders ; the recollection ol the butcheries and perfidies this city had suffered, under every chief, from Monteverde and Morillo, to Boves and Morales, rendered this victory a subject of just and general congratulation. The valour and judgment which had, with a small handful of regulars, not three hundred in number, directed by a man of experience and intrepidity, maintained the position, baffled a veteran, and held him in check with so much skill and success, were justly appreciated. Urslar, as he merited, had the thanks of the general, and possessed, as he merited, the esteem and love of all classes. We found him in possession of these most grateful of distinctions and honours, as high in the public estimation as in the devotion of his gallant grenadiers, whom he had so often led to vic- tory. He had a short time before our arrival married a lady who appreciated his worth. 177 CHAPTER XII. Grenadiers of the Colombian Guard — compared with other troops — resem- blance of Bengal sepahis — general ideas of the militaiy of Colombia — foreign troops cannot act in Colombia — nor they in a cold climate. — Privations of the war — the roads — useful precautions to travellers. — Our party augmented by a ■ Sergeant of Grenadiers as a guide — character- — anticipations of roads — delay at Valencia — cause. — Dr. Murphy — Senor Peiialver. — Horrible treachery and massacre by Boves — Dr. Pena evades assassination. The grenadiers of the guard, with a band of wind in- struments, and a corps de tambour^ equal to any I had ever heard, seduced me to the parade, where I had the gratifica- tion of seeing miUtary movements and discipline to my taste. This corps is acknowledged to be the best in the service, and was as much distinguished for its valour in the field as its character in quarters, and generous esprit du corps* On parade, and in motion, they presented to my eye a very strik- ing resemblance of some corps of Patau sepahis of the Bengal army. The greater number about five feet ten inch- es in height, some about six feet, none, apparently, below five feet eight ; the prevailing complexion, a weather-beaten fair or brunette, with some bloom ; about two of ten, brown or darker shades ; and one or two in a company with crisp- ed hair ; these appeared to be selected on account of sta- ture and robustness. In no part of the world are the people, generally, more athletic, muscular, and fine formed, than in Colombia ; the grenadiers appeared as if picked for models ; in fact they were a selected corps. The hair lank, black, and cropped, features generally handsome, some, particularly the pioneers, of hard features ; their aspects cheerful ; and none seemed to be above twenty-five, nor under eighteen years. These were my first impressions : there may have been some 23 178 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. younger men, and even some as old as thirty'; but a very large portion of the Colombian troops, in all parts, seem to be under twenty years of age. The grenadiers were, there- fore, the more remarkable and imposing, but I never saw a like number of men in finer health, nor so uniformly har- dy and athletic. The select regiments of Patans, Ouriahs, and Rohillas, of Hindustan, are perhaps taller, but with rare exceptions, and not so round or full, though of equally handsome visages, and equally susceptible of the highest discipline ; but they could not sustain the marches and privations which a Colombian army undergo with alacrity, and without a murmur. The grenadiers would have furnished excellent models for an Apollo, or a Perseus. Their perceptible characteristics, self- satisfaction and energy. This corps too had their light uni- form.s well preserved, and it was the only corps 1 had the opportunity of seeing who were uniformly well shod. Their training was a modification of the Prussian and French sys- tems, and their movements in elastic triple time, which gave an ease and grace to their motions, and prepared the habit for an increased celerity of movement. Their arms and accou- trements were in good order. The inverted conical leather corded cap, with a quitasol^ or shade over the eyes, a tri- co- loured cockade and a small tuft, composed the head-dress, in ordinary; but, on extraordinary occasions, they were pro- vided with the lofty mitre-shaped bear-skin caps, with large tassels, and a platted cord, such as were worn by the French grenadiers, having a gilt grenade in front, as well as on their coat collars, and the skirt facing. They marched in perfect time, and wheeled with precision on tlie shortest lines. Of their faculties for war, the state of their discipline and the victories in which they had participated, at Coxede, Ca- rabobo, Boyacca, and in numerous minor conflicts, but, above all, the constancy and fidelity they had displayed in circum- stances most appalling and disastrous, had given them a very VISIT TO COLOMBIA, - 179 high reputation ; indeed, if their conduct be contrasted with the condition of the population from which they were drawn, at the commencement of the revolution, their discipline and character altogether present a most extraordinary example, and the evidence of what may be done by a mild system, and the example and familiar intercourse of officers with their comrades : for this is the Colombian system ; neither blows nor stripes are permitted ; they could never succeed there ; they never succeed any where to make soldiers that can be relied on. The facility with which such men were converted into victors and veterans, must be a grateful subject of reflection to the friends of freedom : men who, in 1810, trembled at the flash of a thimble-full of gunpowder, and contemplated a firelock as a demon, became so indifferent to the fire of battle, that they have frequently attacked the artillerists at the muzzle of their guns, with the bayonet ; often by charges of cavalry, carrying no weapon but the lance. It may be pertinent to remark, here, in relation to some notions which prevail as to the horrible consequences of a whole people being rendered so susceptible of military enterprise ; the truth is, that the troops of Europe are incompetent to make any durable impression in those countries — within forty- miles of the ocean they must perish of the climate — beyond that distance, of hunger ; they must retreat or starve. On the other hand, the Colombian troops could not sustain the rigors of a cold climate. They are happily adapted to the defence of their own country, and invincible to all the world, when conducted as they have hitherto been. Indeed the whole population, and both sexes, have undergone a change of character, produced by the duration and savage character of the war, as carried on by the Spaniards. The frequency of peril, has taught them caution as well as courage ; they do not now apprehend danger when there is none, and are prepared against it when it happens. 180 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. In reference to the disinterestedness and constancy of the native troops during the revolution ; — the vicissitudes of mili- tary marches, and the scantiness of subsistence, were not the only traits of fortitude and fidelity — none of the armies of Co- lombia had magazines for subsistence, nor hospitals, nor even pay or clothing ; a whole army has been without a single shoe, or a second shirt. The climate rendered the want of tents not so great an inconvenience, but clothing of some kind was of absolute necessity — and that necessity could not be supplied for many months together. Occasionally one or two reals a week were issued, some weeks not even a real ; an occa- sional arrival, from the United States, brought a few suits of clothing ; but the credit of the government was low, and the artifices of the Spanish agents in the United States, who, by what means is not certain, had secured many presses in the United States, produced discredit, by pouring forth calumny on the revolution and its leaders, and represent- ing the cause as not only desperate, but despicable. These odious doings cost many lives ; and interfered materially, not only with the supplies, that would otherwise been have furnished, but on the government of the United States. The wants and sufferings of these people were proportion- ably aggravated, and in contemplating their constancy, and their triumphs, admiration is augmented, as the par- ticular facts are discovered. The troops, nevertheless, did sometimes shew symptoms of discontent and disappoint- ment ; but there is no instance of their disobedience to or- ders, or refusal to meet an enemy ; even their miseries were forgotten in the presence of an enemy, whose barbarity was perhaps a very powerful spring of action, and cause of uni- on among the native troops. Danger seems never to have been apprehended, when they had officers who were brave and kind to them, and whose talents were known, and cour- rage exemplary ; with these the roar of artillery, and the re- verberations of the Andes, made " cheerful music." Thev sometimes developed faculties adapted to particular service VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 181 in an extraordinary manner. The riflemen of the valley of the Cauca, I have been informed, were equal in coolness and precision to our own ; and their cavalry, where the country was adapted to their operations, had no superiors — they were as expert horsemen as the Arabs or Persians, and of more resolute courage than the Tartars ; for daring and dexterity, in the use of the lance, and the management of the horse, perhaps they have no equals. Those who have not traversed the Andes considerably, can have no adequate conception of the marches and servi- ces of the armies ; nor of the unfitness of European troops, to strive against them. It was the boast of the soldiers of the revolution of North America, that the path, over which they marched, was frequently stained by the blood of their shoeless feet ; and it was too true. But in Colombia there was neither a shoe nor a road any where, the prepared work of art; the best, which occasionally offered, was a track beaten by the feet of mules, on a level, or on a yielding mould ; and the range of military action, was not always, as at Carabobo and Boyacca, on a highway ; but on the sides or summits of rocky steeps and precipices, where wheel carriages were never seen, and could not move. The coun- try east of St. Carlos is comparatively level ground ; after passing the battle ground of Carabobo, it is a broken and ever varying wild, unless where the population is somewhat numerous ; cultivation and the pasturage present some scenes rescued partially from natural rudeness. All the rivers rise in these vast mountains, and the routes of armies, as well as travellers, are directed to the loftiest ridges, because it is on- ly by that course the crossing of the torrents is to be avoid- ed. I have been placed on many occasions in positions, in which, if I had not been so fortunate as to have obtained an experienced and expert guide, I should have gone astray, or been entangled in ravines, and precipices, from which ex- trication would seem hopeless. 182 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. There are certain peculiarities in the track that must of necessity be travelled, which, though stated here in advance of the experience by which they became known, may serve to show the reader what difficulties the traveller, as well as the soldier, had to overcome. The route generally through the populous countries is traced by the mules, on soils whicli receive the impression of their feet ; in thickly wooded re- gions, or in the savannas, where the rapidity and rankness of vegetation give a velvet sward that bends elastic to the tread, or grass so tall as to rise above the rider's head, the track is seldom visible below. In sudi cases the guide is like the pilot on a coast, he looks out for some headland ; and the waving lines and fantastic forms of the summits of the Cor- dillera, show peaks, which, like land-marks seen on the ocean, tell the bearing or direction of the route. The experience of the commandant at Valencia, and an examination of our servants, had pointed out the necessity of our having some better guide than either of them. A Serjeant of the grenadiers, who had been somewhat disabled in the feet, was attached to him as an orderly, and having consulted the serjeant, he was proposed to us as a guide ; he had travelled the route five times before, and we gladly ac- cepted the favour, and with gratefulness, though far short of the thanks we afterwards found to be justly due. Our guide had been attached to the commandant since 1817, and he wore the yellow ribbon and medal of Carabobo at his button-hole ; he was a vigilant and faithful soldier ; 41S we proceed he will be better known ; it is merely enough to say here, that he was an Englishman of Suffolk, and had been a seaman at the battle of the Nile ; he had the dry humour of an Irishman of the same class ; and the same never-ceas- ing flow of animal spirits, vivacity, and inclination to mirth : upon occasions, such as the apparent inextricability of a savan- na, forest, dry river bed, ravine, or bleak paramo, I was accus- tomed to provoke his drollery for pastime, and as it was the VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 183 only compensation he was allowed to receive, I endeavoured to make up in confidence and kindness for the good which he most cheerfully and unceasingly rendered to the very last moment of separation. I was accustomed to ask of him : " Serjeant, have we not lost the road?" " What road?" asked the serjeant; " there is no longer any king's highway in this country ; they have all become republicans." " But republicans must travel." " Well then, look at that peak to the south-west." " What, the highest peak of all ?" "Ay, colonel, the very highest of all." " I suppose our route lies near that?" " Near it, colo- nel ! yes, faith, over the very tip-top of it." "This is not the first time that I observed our road lay over the highest places." " Faith, colonel, you may take it as a rule, that, if any mountain higher than another lies in your way, your road lies over that ; it was the way with the Indians, and the way with the Spaniards after them ; and it is, as you see, the way still." ** I suppose, after the war is closed, there will be bet- ter roads, and over shorter spaces ?" " That, colonel, is none of my business; I belong to the grenadiers of Colom- bia, and when they give us our arrears of pay and allowance of land, I may be able to talk about that." According to the theory of our military conductor, the policy of impassable roads, or of no roads, belonged to the aborigines ; being in constant conflict, they had for purposes of defence, as well as oiFence, selected the most elevated and difficult paths and passes, from which they could discover an approaching enemy, or descend upon him by surprize, or annoy an assailing force, by rolling ponderous masses of rock down the the line of approach ; a stratagem repeatedly practised, with terrible success, against the Spaniards, du- ring the revolution. The policy of the Spaniards, he said, had adopted the plan, to prevent communication between adjacent provinces. The theory was plausible ; indeed the only communication permitted between Bogota and Caracas 184) VISIT TO COLOMBIA. was that of the correo or postman, which took forty days to perform ; stations were assigned, at which the runners were changed, and as the package was often light enough to be carried by a pigeon, the labour was not very great, nor the speed expedient. Private individuals obtained permission to travel, with difficulty. I have introduced these particulars here^ because they serve the double purpose of illustrating the marches of ar- mies, and preparing the traveller for the roads he is to sur- mount. Our stay at Valencia had been prolonged, from respect to General Paez — but he had been ordered on service in a different direction ; an accident, however, made my stay eleven days. The commandant, in his desire to afford me and my companions every gratification, intimated that the lake could be seen to advantage from the terraced roof of an adjacent house, which stood on the corner of the Pla- za, now occupied as a barrack. On the twentieth, we pre- pared ourselves with our glasses, and ascended, and here it was that I found a terraced roof, such as are found on all well constructed houses in India. The lake lay between three and four miles to the south-east of us, and the prospect was cer- tainly grand ; the Serrania of Ortiz^ which runs in an apparent line from east to west, on the south side of the lake, appear- ed like a changeable silk scarf in the distance, a sort of van- ishing and returning niirage ; while the lake, changing from the aspect of a broad sparkling sea of quicksilver, appeared diminished into a narrow gnlph, of which the extremity was imperceptible. The mountain ridge, which separates the valley from the sea, when we looked along the lake, seemed to present shadows of an ochreous hue, interspersed with dusky green, and from which a scintillating transparent va- pour appeared to rise, which seemed to give substance to the atmosphere. VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 185 After gratifying our curiosity, we were about to descend. The stairs (unfortunately for the occasion) were not the Gothic double flight of ponderous brick, but of wood, with four landings. Some of these landings had been stript for fuel, by the cocineros of the barrack, and more apprehensive for Elizabeth, than careful of myself, I for an instant for- got that the landings were stript, until I found myself seat- ed on the ground floor beneath the stair- case, through which I was carried by my own weight ; my first impression was to halloo — " all's well," though I found myself not quite well enough to stand upright, and crawled on all fours from my place of deposit. I was a little stunned, and so much bruised, as not to be able to mount my mule before the twenty-eighth. The accident was more than compensated, by the acquaintances it had procured me, and the kindness it produced ; it procured me the intimacy of Senor Pefial- ver, who, hearing of my arrival, had returned the very eve- ning this accident occurred. The physician of the division of the army stationed at Va- lencia, on hearing of this accident, called upon me of his own kindness, and I had the benefit of his skill, and the gratifica- tion of his intercourse. Dr. Wm. Murphy is a native of Sligo, in Ireland ; he was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, studied medicine, and took his degree there. As a catholic, and a man of talents, his own country was the last in which he could expect to prosper, or to live in quiet without base- ness, and Colombia presented to him a field where his qua- lifications and virtues promised to place him on equal terms with men of virtue and worth. A townsman, youthful com- panion, and college friend. Dr. French Mullery, similarly circumstanced, associated* with him in the emigration, and both had risen to the rank of surgeon -major in the military establishment. I met Dr. Mullery afterwards at Barquisime- to. Both these gentlemen were held in the highest estima- 24 186 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. tion, as well for their professional merits, as the exemplary integrity ol their social character, if words could convey sufficiently the sentiments with which these worthy Hiberni- ans inspired me, I should not be so sparing of my expres- sions of esteem and gratitude for their generous and disinter- ested attentions to me and to my family party, as Dr. Mul- lery significantly described us. Obliged to remain four days in a reclined position, I had ample" opportunities from the kindness of Seiior Penalver to converse on every kind of subject — the revolution ; the bar- barity of the Spanish chiefs ; the ruinous effects on families ; the early distractions and parties arising out of unsettled views ; the inexperience of free government ; the force of lo- cal predilections ; personal ambition ; jealousy of men with better talents ; the remams of Spanish attachments, which nothing could have completely eradicated but that very bru- tality and ferociousness, which characterized every governor and officer of Spain, from the commencement to that very hour when Morales was spreading desolation, and accumu- lating by plunder a fortune, to be transferred to Europe, where he meant to retire as soon as it amounted to what he deemed competent to his future designs. The characters of men of eminence, living and dead, were happily and perspi- cuously reviewed, and the proud prospects which the revolu- tion presented for posterity, but which had cost so much misery and ruin to the generation that had accomplished it. I learned that he was the only survivor of seven brothers; the rest had perished in war or by assassination ; one niece, and one nephew of sixteen, and a daughter of eleven, were all who remained of a numerous family ; their estates had been de- solated ; he had been in voluntarj'' exile from his home, and his niece had suffered all the hardships incident to a flight by sea, in which she had visited the West India islands, return- ed by the Orinoco, and thence by land to her native home; VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 187 and who, in doing the honours of his house, left us nothing to wish but that it were possible we should never be sepa- rated. In the various interesting transactions related while I was thus delayed, was a horrible act of deliberate perfidy and as- sassination by a Spanish general : the campaign of 1814 was most calamitous to the republic ; the wants of the army could be supplied only by its separation into divisions, to equalize subsistence on different parts of the republic ; the Spaniards had distributed their forces under a number of partizan chiefs; and it was deemed by the republican chiefs the safest policy to meet them in that mode of operation which they had pre- ferred, a guerilla war. But the result to the patriots was disastrous : in the plains, in Coro, and other places, they suf- fered defeat. The ferocious Boves entered Caracas in 1814, and the casemates of Laguayra became the prison and the grave of many generous men. The siege of Puerto Cabello was obliged to be raised. Valencia yet held out with suc- cess, though not without disaster ; every thing after the first battle of Carabobo, 28th May, 1814, appeared to reverse their good fortune, and it became necessary for Valencia to capitulate upon a proposition very plausibly made by Boves. The utter disregard of treaties and promises which had uniformly characterised the Spanish commanders, led to the insertion of an article in the capitulation, which the Valen- cians hoped to find more solemn and binding when sancti- fied by their most sacred solemnity. It was agreed that the capitulation should be ratified at high mass to be celebrated in the front of both armies, where, in the presence of the sacred emblem of the divinity, each should swear upon the host to observe the conditions faithfully. The solemnity and the oath having taken place, the city was surrendered to the royal authority. 188 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. The calm which now succeeded appeared auspicious : a disposition began to be manifested which preferred submis- sion to the further prosecution of war. Alas ! this calm was but the precursor of a sad catastrophe. The custom of cele- brating important events by festivity and feasting pervades Spanish America. The city was tranquil, and the remem- brance of past evils had lost some of their acuteness. To give testimony of his satisfaction at this quiet state of things, Boves signified that he would give a grand entertainment. Notifications were circulated, and all the principal persons of both sexes were invited to a splendid supper and ball : it was even hinted that absence would be construed into dis- loyalty ; the effect was such as was intended. Upon festive occasions, where the company is numerous, it is customary with private families to borrow from each other their plate and other conveniencies. On this occasion it could not be supposed that the Spanish general was pro- vided with plate for the table to supply such a concourse. Every family was eager to contribute whatever remained un- plundered ; and they were the more eager, as it seemed to promise more favour. There were few articles of plate re- maining in any- private house after this contribution ; and the feast was accordingly sumptuous. The day was spent in consolements and condolements, regrets for past afflictions and compliments that they were terminated. The evening seemed too long, and night too hasty, to the dancers. The music already enlivened the halls, and the streets exhibited a social holiday. In one saloon the youth of both sexes " tripped on light fantastic toe," in another the flask circu- lated with unsuspecting freedom. The females were nearly all left to dance alone, such was the attraction of momentary conviviality — a few only refrained from the indulgence — in the midst of this double career of enjoyment, the folding doors are suddenly thrown open ; soldiers occupy them with their sabres and bayonets, and a general massacre of the men VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 189 instantly takes place, amidst the shrieks and cries of females in the adjacent apartments — wives, mothers, daughters for- get their own safety and rush into the midst of the mas- sacre, vainly seeking husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers — whom they find bathed in their own blood, and in the ago- nies of death. It would be fruitless to offer any commentary on such an atrocious deed. It will occur to every one that the mas- sacre reduced the plunder of the plate borrowed for the fes- tivity to a petty outrage. Some subaltern officers, who were not among the guests, had the honest imprudence to avow their execration of the deed — th^;y were not long concealed from the tyrant Boves, and were unceremoniously executed, along with some soldiers, who had uttered similar indigna- tion, on the very spot where the solemn mass had been per- formed in ratification of the capitulation. Among the few who were so fortunate as to escape the general assassination, I had the satisfaction of being intimate with one at Bogota. Stnor Miguel Pciia, one of the judges of the Supreme Court at Bogota. This gentleman was among the guests invited ; whether from a distaste of ca- rousal, or some movements which he happened to notice, which induced him to caution, he had retired to the lower apartments, and contrived to obtain the habit of a monk, in which he found no interruption ; and intuitively made his way to an adjacent mountain, and to a village on the oppo- site side, where he awaited to ascertain the truth or error of his apprehensions, which, when he found realized, he lost no time in retiring out of the range of apprehension. He con- firmed the story to me at Bogota. The narrative here given was made from memory, after a casual relation by a contemporary resident ; some incidents have escaped my memory of an aggravating kind ; but I prefer stating substantially what I heard to risking an imper- fect or mistaken point in a transaction sufficiently detestable and abhorrent. 190 CHAPTER XIII. Aguas Callientes — prepare for marching — charges for mule hire — our party augmented — depart the twenty-eighth — charming country — vast range un cultivated — description of our party — proper to travel armed — it is the cus- tom — aspects of the country — promontories issuing into the plain — divergen- cy of the route — towns on the line of march — the iield of Carabobo — conduct of Morales — quarrel of the Spanish chiefs — La Torre retires — Morales' conduct — manly declaration of Captain Spence — towns on the road — warm climate — travel by night — Palmas — river Portugueza — accommodations at Palmas — good-natured fat acalde— some particulars of the customs — style of building — recollections and comparisons — sr.ioking — the custom abating. Before the accident which detained me at Valencia, 1 had contemplated an excursion to the Aguas Callientes^ or the warm springs, in the neighbourhood of Puerto Cabello, which is about twenty-two miles from the city ; but it would have been impracticable, the Spaniards holding Puerto Cabello still, and a picket from Valencia being posted at the princi- pal pass in the mountains, with absolute orders not to permit any person to go or come between the two places. Lieut. Bache, however, obtained a passport, with a view only to visit the springs, his curiosity being excited by the descrip- tion of Humboldt ; but the picket would not permit him to pass ; and he returned, though he was compensated by viewing the ground of the battle at Naguanagua, and the steepness of the cordillera, over which the route to Puerto Cabello lies. Having so far recovered, as to be able, with some altera- tions in the seat of my saddle, to mount my mule, it be- came necessary to provide mules for the baggage and ser- vants. The charge, for a single mule, from Caracas to Va- lencia, about 107 miles, was five dollars ; the demand made for nearly the like distance to Truxillo was ten dollars each mule ; at first sight, this seemed like extortion, but Colo- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 191 nel Gomez, formerly an aid of President Bolivar, satisfied' us that the nature of the country made the difference justifi- able. We had experienced, from every officer of the Co- lombian service, the kindest attentions, and Colonel Gomez took upon himself to provide an ariero who would accom- pany us : the master muleteer was somewhat better than his man, though he played us some tricks, but none that were so important as to require a report to the Colonel — and we found the route, as the Colonel described, such as war- ranted double the demand for mules of that from Caracas to Valencia. Our good friend, the commandant of Valencia, actuated by his good wishes and his experience, as noticed in the preceding chapter, had discovered, from our servants, Vin- cent and Pedro, that although they both professed to be so well acquainted with the country, as to undertake to be our guides, neither of them had ever been farther south or west than Truxillo ; and proffered us his orderly sergeant, who- had five times passed the whole route, to accompany us^ The sergeant, of whom I took notice before, whose pas- sion was rambling, and who had become so much natural- ized to the climate, food, and people of the Sierra, was so well known, every where on the road, that this little jaunt, of 1300 miles, was as welcome to him as a party of plea- sure, and the whole addition to our expence was the hire of another mule ; the commandant making it a condition that he should receive nothing — and in truth, it was not ne- cessary as to the sergeant, for he considered the permission to go with us as a favour to him. This addition to our cavalcade had many very useful effects ; he knew every bo- dy, every where ; he knew where to procure what we want- ed, and always on cheap terms ; and without him, it is mo- rally certain, we should not have been able to find our way in three months, nor to manage the knavish dispositions of our two hired asistie?ites* A sergeant or a corporal is as 192 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. proud of his rank, and tenacious of his command, as a ge* neral ; accordingly I placed him in command of die rest of the suite, and as when mules are hired, a muleteer accom- panies every three or four mules, to provide their forage, load and unload, and take charge on their return, we had now the arieroy who rode his own mule, and his servant mu- leteer, who walked, attached to our corps, so that the ser- geant was in his element, and conducted things as if he was on military service. When mules are hired, the subsistence of mules and attendants is comprehended in the hire. We had been eleven days at Valencia, and had obtained the esteem and good will of many estimable persons of both sexes, of whom we took leave on the 27th November, par- ticularly the gallant commandant and several officers of the grenadiers, and our amiable friend. Dr. Murphy. Our mules being punctual, (a rare case,) we were mounted at the dawn of the 28ih, and found, as customary, a party of our friends already prepared to escort us out of town. The venerable and worthy Ferdinand Ptiialver was the last who left us, at the distance of nearly ten miles, leaving such impressions of his liberal and cultivated mind, and practical virtues and prin- ciples, as can only cease to be felt along with the cessation of every faculty. It was not until the converse with our friends had ceased, and we, were at ease to look around us, that I could bestow any attention on the beautiful plain and country through which we were passing, nor the number of our cara- van. Our sergeant led the van. Lieutenant Bache and his sister followed, and I came next ; then the three mules with baggage, and the spare mule, the ariero and his man, and last of all our two domestics — eleven mules, and six in our party, besides the muleteers. Our sergeant had caparison- ed his mule and himself in the military style of the coun- try, with a good bridle, but an enormous bit and snaffle, with some ornaments, though faded, which shewed it had at VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 193 some day kept good company and seen some service. His saddle was a Spanish peak and high pommel, formed upon a powerful saddie-tree, which threw out, above the mule's haun- ches, two firm limbs, which saved the mule from rubbing; and, at the same time, carried his valise, which contained a good stock of powder, ball, and some flints ; a tinder-box, steel, and matches ; what he called a kit, being a collection of various mechanical implements, nippers, plyers, gimlets, chissels, files, hammers, a vice, turn-screw, cork-screw, awls, knives, needles, from a sail-maker's needle and palm- thimble, to cambric, of which he had some assorted papers ; with ladies' thimbles ''\for love tokens;''^ besides tapes, bobbins, scissors, and buttons and buckles of various de- scriptions. A blue military short coat, with standing collar and yellow buttons, at one of which, on his left breast, was suspended the yellow ribbon and silver medal of Carabobo ; his pantaloons, of Russia ; a black stock ; quarter-boots, with one spur, the rowel of enormous prongs, sufficient to put an elephant in action ; his black belt bore a stout cu- chilla^ or sword, broad, heavy, and sharp, of twenty-seven inches; his holsters carried a pair of pistols, and on the right side a short Prussian rifle hung to a running swivel attached to the saddle ; on his head, at times, a leather in- fantry cap, with a long plume of feathers and beautifully coloured with the cochineal, the indigo, and the turmeric of the country, and a cockade of the same three colours ; at other times, when in a city such as Merida or Tunja, his grenadier's cap appeared; and when mounted, a lance of ten feet, to which was attached a stout line, wound round the shaft, the other end in a slip-knot attached to his upper arm ; the ferule of the lance resting in an iron socket attach- ed to his stirrup ; over his saddle he carried, in suitable folds, a good blanket, which was to be his coverlid by night, his romero when it rained. I have enymerated the provident care of the sergeant, be- 25 194 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. cause, in the course of the journey, very few articles of what he had laid up were found superfluous, and some were of very great convenience in a country where there are no arts or trades of any kind, but the merely agricultural, ex- cepting in the great towns, and even there not many nor good of their kind. I had provided myself with convenient articles, such as a hammer, small vice, some files, &c., and I would advise the carrying of a small hatchet or tomahawk in good order, at the saddle bow, as in the luxuriant valleys and passing through the bamboo thickets, such an article will be found of much convenient use. Though we had not any just cause to apprehend any design upon us, we followed the practice of the country, in arming ourselves, each of us having a good sabre, and pair of pistols ; the natives of the country who are met on the road are usually armed, some with muskets, or musketoons ; this perhaps is the conti- nuance of an old custom, or it may have arisen out of the war, which generally casts forth some unfortunate beings on the highways. The knowledge of the language is above all things the most necessary. Our sergeant spoke it with more fluency than correctness, and more vivacity than is usual to Englishmen, and never failed to make himself understood, and nine times out of ten agreeable. When he found a su- percilious or a knavish alcalde, or a pilfering muleteer, he was not so agreeable, for he not only took care to make known his own importance, and his ribbon and medal of Ca- rabobo, but the importance of the Coronel de los Estados Uni- dos del Norte to whom he was attached by the commandant of Valencia. We now rambled in a desultory chain, Indian file, over the plain of Valencia. Leaving the city, the road leads nearly south, and a gentle descent towards the lake, which we passed in a line obliquely to the westernmost extremity, the ground rising as the lake receded, where the road led more westwardly, and rose to the right and left into the VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 195 ridges which bound it on both sides. It was noticed on en- tering Valencia, that at the termination of the city, on the west end, there was one of those promontories, which shoot out Hke great arms from a long sea-coast chain ; from the west side of this projecting point, a chain of mountains more depressed, not one third the height of the mountain of the coast, throws its prolongation to the south-south-west, and extends thence beyond Varinas : from the front of this range of depressed mountains, issue a multitude of rivers of various magnitudes, so that they intersect the plain, their direction be- ing generally to the south-east and east, and rendering the pas- sage to the greater Andes impracticable for half the year, and inconvenient the other. The route which travellers pursue is, for a considerable distance, along the summit and across the beds of many of those rivers and ravines. The greater Corde- lier, which proceeds out of that which passes to the east in front of Merida, and is therefore called the Paramo of Merida, is here in sight, its dark base separating the verdant horizon from the gloomy clouds, which for a great part of the day hide its loftiest line. To give a familiar idea of their position, the promontory behind Valencia west, may be presumed to repre- sent the point or summit of the letter A, and the depressed range from which the rivers issue south-east to form the right line of the letter ; leading to Varinas, the greater Andes are re- presented by the left line or continuity of the Merida Paramo. Now the road from Valencia, instead of pursuing the right line towards San P'elipe, or the left line leading towards Va- rinas, turns abruptly to the north-west, at a point correspond- ing with the cross-line at the intersection of A, where a ridge, a little more elevated, pushes across, and terminates near Bar- quisimeto. The villages and towns in succession from Valencia, arc Tucuito, Carabobo, Chirgua, Las Hermanas, Tinaquilla, Pal- mas, Plomera, San Carlos, thence San Jose, La Cey va, Quebra- da de Camouraka, Tinaco, where the road abruptly breaks oflf to the north-west, by Camarocate, Caiesita, El Altar, Ba= 196 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. ladera, Gamalotal, Lamorita, Rastrajos, Caudares, toBar- quisimeto. Tucuito, though it be the first town, is not the first habi- tation ; the town stands on the left side of the river Guata- paro, which has its sources in the ridge west of Valencia, and on its sides a beautiful valley, with many handsome plantations. Having crossed the Guataparo, the ground has a gentle ascent to some distance, when it becomes level, flanked with fine forests. A ravine is darkly visible through the deep shadows of foliage always verdant, it being the now dry bed of a rivulet, that, at a different season, is overflow- ing. Crossing out of this ravine, the side is steeper than the descent ; gaining it, the traveller issues out of darkness into broad sunshine. The sergeant immediately galloped off" an ascending ground, which opened in beauty and grandeur before us ; he placed himself, with his lance couched, wait- ing to display the positions, and, looking round to mark every point, waited our approach ; I believe it was only a suspicion, for I thought I saw the sergeant eye his yellow ribbon and his medal, with his dark blue eye more bright than usual ; in fact, this was the field of Carabobo, and like my uncle Toby's aid- de-camp, he was now placing himself in a position to besiege Dendermond once more. We fol- lowed him, after viewing some decayed bamboo huts at the opening of the thicket by which we entered ; these, he told us, wer£ the tents of the Spaniards* picket guard the night before the battle; and he went on to relate where the line was formed, where the reserves were placed, where Bolivar, and where Paez, where the British legion, and where the gre- nadiers of Colombia, were placed, for he was there among them ; where this evolution took place, and that charge " made a finish of the fight." I returned to the bamboo bivouac, and found the stones which formed the hearth, and the ashes of the fires whereat they cooked, many of them, their last supper ; the country VISIT TO COLOMBIA.. 1117 people, who do not, as in some other countries, destroy wan- tonly for amusement, liad even spared this bamboo ruin. The fragments of earthen-ware, the charred fire- wood, were there too — and time only, which has not respected Palmyra or Persepolis, had alone made an impression on it. Perhaps there was some pride in this forbearance of the Colombians ; it may have consoled some friend of one who had fallen on that field, or some orphan, some widow, or some parent,, who had been a guest at Boves' bloody entertainment in, Valencia; to such persons this ruin would yield console- ment, as an emblem of Spanish power, in its desolation. I confess, upon examination of myself, it was not the mere ruin that induced me to return to it a second time ; but sympathy with those to whom the emblem would carry con- solation. If a military man were to search the world for a field of battle, for any number under 10,000 men, no finer position could be found. Rising out of the ditch, at the entrance, the burst of light, after the dusky thicket that is passed through^ for an instant produces a halt, and a most picturesque and extensive field opens upon the eye, ascending about a quar- ter of a mile, where the sergeant had posted himself with his face to the south ; he showed all parts of the field of battle. From his position in front, the ground slopes, for half a mile,, gently to the entering place or the bivouac, and is level there for three or four hundred yards, when the ground rises more abruptly, and seems to consist of a succession of rising plat- forms, covered by very thick woods and wild shrubbery; and farther on, the trees more open, and farther still, the deep and dark boundless forest rising to a mountain height : on the right or west there was a long and more rapid descent, and at the distance of a quarter of a mile from where he stood, was a remarkable dry ravine, about fifty feet broad and forty feet deep, the water- scooped sides exhibiting a mass of angular stones, and abruptly opening from the sod a perpendicular 19S VISIT TO COLOMBIA. Steep. Behind him, at about eight hundred yards, com- menced a range of hills, covered with verdure, of the shape of large stacks of hay, the intervals exposing other conical hills ; and behind these a deep shady forest. Every thing could be seen from this spot: the sergeant was eloquent, and I have no doubt accurate, in his narrative. The Spanish General La Torre, who had succeeded Mo- rillo, commanded in this action ; Morales was his second. The latter, monster as he was, displayed, on this occasion, the firmness of a soldier, and the talents of a commander ; he collected as many of the flying Spaniards as he could, and formed them into four heavy platoons, of which he formed a hollow square, placed himself in the centre, and kept up a running fight until he passed beyond Tucuito ; some of the cavalry of Paez pursued the fugitives with the lance to the neighbourhood of Valencia. This victory had a signal influence on the revolution ; and led to a rupture between the two Spanish chiefs, for which both had been some time prepared. The emissaries of the latter had spread abroad insinuations to the disparagement of La Torre, intimating that he had connived at the defeat ; that having married a lady of Caracas, he meant to remain in Co- lombia ; and that he was at heart a democrat. Morales in fact aspired to the command himself; La Torre was dis- posed to sustain the humane compact for regulating the mode of war agreed upon between Bolivar and Morillo ; Morales was opposed to it, and in favour of an exterminat- ing war. His ferocious disposition, and his license of in- discriminate plunder, had made Morales the favourite of the Spaniards and renegado Colombians, who sought to persuade themselves, that with due energy the republicans would be either forced to lay down their arms or be exterminated. La Torre was a polished generous soldier, and looked to a recon- ciliation by a magnanimous policy. Morales was as unprin- cipled as Morillo, and as sanguinary as Boves, and above VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 19® all, was determined to secure a fortune by plunder at all events. The attacks on La Torre's honour and reputation were made known to him, how they wert prepared and circu- lated, and left him no alternative, but to send Morales home in irons, or to resign ; his generosity forbid the first, and when his resignation and the causes were unequivocally as- signed in Spain, he was appointed to Puerto Rico. Among the stratagems of Morales, he caused, through one of his agents, formerly a resident of Caracas, imputations, such as above noted, to be published in some gazettes of the United States, and those gazettes were sent to Madrid as proofs of the allegations! Morales, upon the retirement of La Torre to Puerto Rico, broke the treaty concerning the conduct of the war, and carried on a scene of ravage and plunder along the seaboard, spreading alarm from the gulph of Paria to Cartha- gena, and carrying desolation to the borders of Merida and Truxillo ; at Bayladoros, when we reached that place, the in- habitants had fled to the Sierra with their cattle and movea- bles ; we were within two miles of the Spaniards, who were at Las Puentas when we arrived at Gritja. Morales in 1822 issued a furious proclamation of sanguinary menaces ; which being directed against all persons of foreign countries who should visit Colombia, Captain Spence, of the United States navy, promptly issued a declaration, that the United States would not submit to such menaces against their citizens who visited Colombia, and in such spirited and magnanimous terms, as to induce the tyrant to refrain from executing his menaces. We passed through Chirgua the 29th of November, and thence to Los Hermanos, aud Tinaquilla. The mid-day sun was more ardent than we had felt it since we left Valencia ; we therefore had moved at half past four o'clock in the morning, and were at Tinaquilla by seven o'clock, where we break- fasted on our own chocolate, and had an abundance of fine oranges, alligator pears, and delicious bananas. The fervor of the sun on the naked rocky declivities had not abated, at 200 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. four o'clock, p. M. ; but we determined to proceed, and, de- scending by winding and abrupt rocky passages, we gained the gravelly dry bed of the small river Tinapon, which flows into the Tinaco, and so darkened by rich vegetation that night seemed already to have come upon us, and gave to our path the temperature of a subterranean vault. Emerging from this abyss, we ascended by winding ravines and shelving rocks, and it was already night when we gained the bank on which stj^nds the village of Palmas. The river whose bed we tra- versed is a contributor to the Tinaco, which is itself a tribu- tary to the spacious river Portugueza. The alcalde of Palmas, a dapper, greasy looking, fat little man, belied his externals more than can well be imagined without experiment ; he required no messenger, and, although it was eight o'clock at night, and more than usually dark for the climate, he had my bridle in his hand the instant I halted, and answering his own questions, for he made no pause to bear, said — " the Seiior shall have accommodations, the best of the village — and whatever he can possibly want." It was wholly unnecessary to reply, as he had anticipated every thing •which a traveller needs ; and we followed this good-natured semejante of the governor of Barrataria, who led us to a cot- tage of no great compass, where the cocks and hens were already at roost on the brace beams of the thatched roof, which appeared to have been japanned with the best black- ing, or like the inside of a smoke-house. After dislodging the poultry over the spaces to be occupied by our hammocks, which we were under the necessity of suspending in irregu- lar angles, and not parallel as customary, for the space would not admit of three in a row, we left our sergeant, who had, with great pleasure to himself, and to our advantage, taken upon himself the duty of hanging up Miss Elizabeth's ham- mock in the best place, and that of the colonel in the next contiguous position. The floor of our apartment was rather uneven, as not much pains had been bestowed on it for per- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 201 haps the last six months, or years, to sweep it, or to level the inequalities, in some of which water, not very pellucid nor fragrant, appeared to have been some time undisturbed. We repaired, therefore, to the corridor — the grey haze had become somewhat more transparent, and some handsome formed trees had risen in the caprice of nature on the green slope, reproving by their brightness and beauty the negli- gence of the waking dreamers, who vegetated in the rank- ness of their own manure within doors. The practice of constructing cottages in all the warm cli. mates, exposed to rain or inundation, has a strong resem- blance. The scite and dimensions of the ground plan being measured off with a line, or guessed off by the eye, a bank of earth, raised about two feet above the natural platform, is prepared, with different degrees of dexterity, skill, or indif- ference ; in the warm regions the inappreciable bamboo fur- nishes the uprights at the angles of the proposed structure, and the jambs of the door- ways; the temperature instinctively determines the elevation ; where the atmosphere is subject to cold damps, rains, or winds, the roofs are low ; where the heat is uniform, or sometimes ardent, the height of the house would serve as a kind of comparative thermometer. So, where the heat is constant, mats of the palm, and other abundant materials, form the thin partitions within and with- out, but every where the roof, thatched or tiled, presents a colonade, a veranda, or, in the language of the country, a corridor fronts or surrounds the house, and this is more or less spacious, in proportion as the wealth and inclination to obtain comfort by accommodation prevails. This corridor was, in fact, only a continuation of the sloping line of the roof, beyond the upright partitions ; and either a continua- tion of the rafter-like timbers of the roof, resting their ends on a line of upright posts, beyond the wall or partition of the house, or an addition subsequently made. As this de- scription of the cottage-architecture will serve for all parts of 26 203 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. the country, allowing for the circumstances to which we have referred, the description has been the more circumstantial, though the example was one of the very worst I had seen. The place we took outside was the raised bank, which form- ed a continuation of the platform within, and afforded a seat upon which the sergeant, with an untiring attention and an- ticipation of our comfort, placed some dry hides to interpose between our garments and the floor. Here we had an excel- lent chicken stew, some good potatoes, apios, sweet yuccas, and an abundance of eggs, and arepa^ or bread of Indian corn, to which keen appetites gave a delicious and enviable flavour; and as we had brought a small supply of wine, as much as our means of transport would admit, we were here sufficiently fatigued to derive all the benefit and pleasure it could afford. Our little oval alcaldi appeared to delight in our good spirits, laughter, and fun, in which we were ac- customed to indulge on the sights we had seen, or in the mind's eye, I could not but contrast, in this kind of cogitation, the ha- bitations at Palmas, with the light, airy, ever clean bungalows of Hindustan ; where filth never remains an inmate, nor the garment ever soiled ; where the pure sweet mat covers the commonest floor, where no garment is worn that does not testify to its snowy purity. The taste and luxury of smok- ing was not less striking. In Hindustan, as in South Ame- rica, all persons smoke, every man, every woman, every child ; in South America, the luxury is in the acrid aroma of the tobacco, augmented by the perfume of the vanilla. In Hin- dustan, it is the poorest people only who smoke the cherut^ (or cigar,) in its raw state ; the waterman, who carries his goat-skin leather bag full of water all day at a cent a bag ; the bearer, who travels with a human load on his shoulders, in a palankeen, from morning to night, or after, at two hun- dred cents a month, refines in the luxury of smoking, and embalms his tobacco with aromatics or assafostida, and di- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 203 vests it of acridity by passing the vapour he inhales through pure water — and, when he can, through rose-water. A fe- male, of the same relatively humble station, would scarcely use a cocoa-nut for this purpose ; art and ingenuity had made smoking not only inoffensive but salubrious, by means of what is called a hooka, which, I make no doubt, will find its way, along with commerce, to the plains and cities of the Andes, when, instead of concealing the cigar from the conse- Joj they will be proud to exhibit its elegance, and smoke with him — con-amore — out of the same pipe. But we are yet in a world that has been locked up three hundred years. Be- fore the Colombians have reached an equal national antiquity with the children of Bramah, they will, perhaps, abandon cigars, and adopt the hookah. It is but justice to say of the lovely women of Colombia, that they applaud the ladies of the United States for not adopting this custom from the men : it continues to be the custom in South America to hand cigars, as it is in India to hand beetily or a nosegay, or to pour rose-water on the hands of visitors. At the public and private assemblies and feasts at which I was a guest, both in Caracas and Bogota, and at the theatre, where smok- ing was formerly general, it is no longer in practice. In some private houses the practice of smoking is continued, and 1 have been sometimes so well clouded or smoked, that with a little aid of the imagination I might presume that I was on my way to the seventh heaven of Mohamed ; vi^here nothing could be seen except it was the black eyes of the angels, peeping and twinkling like stars through the clouds. 204 CHAPTER XIV. Leave Palmas — Tinaco — hospitality there — kind manners — abundance of fish— Tisitors, their kindness — move before sunrise — bivouac — march in the eve- ning — storm approaching — take shelter — oriental customs — a frail habitation — oil-cloth cloaks beyond value — men and mules huddled in a small space — heavy rain — delightful sleep — San Carlos — very Asiatic looking city — churches resemble mosques — female peepers — latticed windows — military command- ant, his lady and her sister — amiable frankness — their excellent chocolate — ■ good cream — wheaten cakes — sweetmeats — apprize us of bad roads — pas- sed St. Jose — Ceyba — fine-flavoured cow's milk — a venerable widow — Caye- sita — El Aitar, a remarkable pass — obliged to climb it — Humboldt's Jicua gigantica or buttress tree — Bejucas — rio Coxede, here called rio Claro — some notices of fig-trees. After sleeping, fearless of impending showers from the roosts above us, and indifferent to the little pools of un- gracious scent beneath our hammocks, — we were on our mules, before the dawn could reveal what more was to be seen ; the alcalde, with his chubby, good-natured face, and his japanned leather breeches, was as punctual as his pro- mise (a very novel occurrence among some of that species)* Some bottles of fine cow's milk were ready for delivery, a basket of eggs, and some indifferent oranges, which he ex- cused for not being as good as they should be, because, he said, he did not make them. — The roosting, milk, eggs, and all, did not require a dollar to pay the whole reckoning — and in Palmas, I question, if we could be found better for a thousand. It was on the morning of the thirtieth, and we had a long warm ride over the elevated ridge of Palmeria. As good- natured alcaldes are, in this part of the country, rather scarce, we pushed for the handsome and gay village of Ti- naco, or, as some of the inhabitants named it, Tanac, stand- ing on a brilliant river of the same name, which is a VISIT TO COLOMBIA, 205 tributary to the Portugueza and Apure. As we rode along the street of entrance, a military officer, who had just come to the gate, seeing us a little dusty, perhaps languid, po- litely invited us to enter ; the gates being thrown open, our grenadier, without stopping to enquire what we should do, made his salute, and rode promptly into the patio ; and we, " nothing loth," were soon unhorsed, our mules placed in the coraly with a rich service of young sugar cane ; oar cook gave us our chocolate, almost as soon as our ham- mocks were slung up, and we took our breakfast, while a gay cantaristat in an adjoining apartment, strummed her gui- tar, and sung a lively air, unconscious of so many strange listeners. This town was neat, the quarters clean and commodious, and, though the sun shone so bright and warm, the air was quite sweet and elastic ; the bed of the river, just in sight, was throughout almost as white as snow^ composed of pebbles, against which the sprightly stream seemed to sparkle. The sergeant, who knew what was peculiar to all parts of the route, procured a basket, and was not absent five minutes, when he returned with it near- ly full of fish, much resembling the winter perch of the Delaware, and these added variety to our day's dinner. Fruit was abundant and fine, and, unless it was for the use of our attendants, we rarely sought beef or pork ; the poul- try being every where fine, and the eggs and chocolate al- ways a ready and pleasant repast, in quarters, or in the forest, or on the cool paramo. Several of the most respectable citizens of both sexes honoured us with a visit of courtesy, and I remarked how solicitous they were not to appear too inquisitive ; the young folks, in the usual ingenuousness of their years, pressed us to stay a week at least, and assured us that our time should be made agreeable ; some sent fine bananas and pine apples, others, some small, but fine flavoured oranges, as eviden- ces of their earnestness for our stay ; we were not behind 206 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. them in expressions of thanks and respect, and refused, with an assurance, that good inclinations were not wanting, but that our stay could not be protracted. We took the op- portunity to lay up in some baskets, arepa bread, rice, sweet bananas, some raspadura or cakes of sugar, some bottles of fresh milk, a small basket of limes, plenty of young onions, a dozen of Uve fowls — and closing our evening with choco- late and arepa — we were in our hammocks before nine o'clock, determined to rise before the sun. On the first of December, at three o'clock, A. M. we were in motion, and had made considerable progress by eight o'clock, when we halted under the shade of a lofty forest, on a bank, from which issued a limpid stream. We hung up our' hammocks, resolved to rest and refresh during the heat of the day. By the aid of the sergeant's magazine of flint, steel, and matches, a fire was soon blazing in front, and our chocolate was soon frothing. Our limes, which were excellent, enabled us while they lasted to make a be- verage of lemont.de, with the aid of the raspadura^ and some tortiimas^ that is, bowls made of the shell of the calabash ; no traveller goes without a tortuma, for the convenience of drinking on the road. We had a pleasant nap in the shade, while the heat abroad was more than usually ardent ; our mules had alongside a rich pasture, and were well refresh- ed by three o'clock, P. M. when we moved off the ground. We soon emerged from the forest upon the open sloping plain ; the ridges on our right were much diminished by dis- tance, those on our left obscured by clouds ; a delightful green sward, with a few dispersed clumps of low thicket, some i^w trees of various figures and elevation, were scattered over the plain ; the green sod was ornamented with wild flowers and flowering shrubs, some of which were familiar, and the greater number strangers to us ; the atmosphere, however, soon became humid, and the air close and sultry, the clouds appearing ready to burst in the south-east. An VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 207 ©pen cottage, or caravanserai, which had been once inhabited, but now tenantless, stood on the road side ; I determined to take sheher there from the evidently approaching storm, not- withstanding the anero's unsought advice, and accordingly rode in beneath the roof, and mules and all followed in suc- cession. The usages in Colombia, and all South America, in rela- tion to the traveller, and accommodations on the road, corres- pond remarkably with those of Asia. The duties and func- tions of alcaldes are exactly those of the cauzis of Hindustan. Whether it be custom or institution I had not inquired, but in the villages, and often on the road where there is no vil- lage, but where some pulpureia, or huckster's shop is usually established, the traveller finds a shed, that is, a roof thatched, without any side walls but the posts which sustain the roof. In the peninsula of India, places of this kind are called choul- tries, in the west of India, serais ; whence the Persian cara- vanserais. There had been a pulpureia at this place, but its debris only remained, and it had been so long since the hand of repair had touched our choultry or caravanserai, that the palm leaf thatch had suffered the light and the rain to find more places of admission than between the pillared sides. We proceeded as usual to hang up our hammocks, so that we should (as much as possible) escape the pelting of the storm. Bipeds and quadrupeds were all huddled beneath this fragile roof. Our trunks were ranged end to end on the leeward side, on which the sergeant, with his saddle for a pillow, and his velice as shelter on the outside, placed him- self, and the others on dry cow hides, one serving to sepa- rate the body from the floor, and another, like the roof of a house, to cast off the rain : and as each had his blanket, they lay down with perfect indifference to the approaching rain, of which the sprinklings gave warning. The mules and their associate muleteers had the farther end of the serai to them- selves, and their panniers, ropes, and provender formed a line of demarcation between them and our hammocks. The 208 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. oil-cloth cloaks were on this occasion of particular value ; we placed them over our hammocks, so that, when the rain came on heavily, though it poured tlirough the thatch abundantly, we remained perfectly secure and dry ; the rain was little more than mizzling when the grey light came on, and we finished a repast, in order to close all baggage for an early march, but the skies soon became troublous, the thun- der roared and reverberated among the mountains, and the clouds poured their force with all the volumes of tropical tor- rents ; but we went to sleep without any more discontent than if we were snug in Philadelphia, and slept later than we intended ; the air was so sweet and exhilarating, we did not awake till past six o'clock on the morning of the 2d Decem- ber, and having a beautiful clump of trees and odoriferous wild plants close to our hospidage^ we had our trunks brought out and arranged for a comfortable meal, seasoned by a fine appetite, of chocolate, eggs, and arepa bread. We were mounted, and crossed the Oropu, time enough in advance to see San Carlos rising before us, embowered in lofty trees and shrubbery ; the domes and turrets of its churches, in as- pects so oriental and picturesque, that the idea of an Hindu pagoda seemed so real, and the whole picture so like Futty- ghur in Hindustan, that for an instant I was at a loss to say whether it was an illusion or a reality ; the narrow streets and llie intervals between houses, and the exuberance of vegeta- tion, particularly the banana and other tropical plants, that I could not persuade myself that I had not been there before. The houses soon became continuous, though the streets were still not more than ten to twelve feet broad, and we sauntered along the pavement, admiring the very striking Asiatic style of the houses and churches ; the lozenged lat- tice closing small windows, which did not however conceal the eyes of curiosity peeping through them. Here too the military commandant was in advance of our wishes, and we were conducted through an ample patio, bounded on every m VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 2^ side by a handsome and spacious corridore, in which the fif- teen inch tile was more than usually well dressed and laid. The inconvenience incident to my accident at Valencia, r^-n- dered it necessary to halt this day, as, though I caret ully avoided complaint, I suffered much pain before we reached Barquisimeto. > The rank of the commandant here was that of major, at]d his lady and her sister introducing themselves with an amia- ble frankness, we soon became perfectly familiar. They did not enquire about our concerns ; but were very much delighted to learn (I suppose from the serjeant) that the young lady, who left home in a feeble state of health, was restored to the full bloom of heahh and robustness, and in excellent spirits, by the air of Colombia. They compli- mented us with some uncommonly fine chocolate, and what we had not for some time seen, good cream, wheaten cakes, and sweetmeats ; fine fruit never omitted. They wished ms to stop a week, and apprised us of the difficulties of the roacJi particularly the pass of El Altar ^ and the winding valley lead- ing over the plains to Barquisimeto. On the 3d we passed through the village of San Jose, three miles from San Carlos, and the village of Ceyba ; be- yond which the road turns off at Camaroukata to the north- west ; we sought refreshment without success at a Posoda in Camaracata, or Camaroukata — for our muleteers and guide differed as to the name : we were more fortunate in procur- ing some cow's milk, which a venerable old lady, in deep mourning, milked into the calabash bowls for us, and of which we had more than three or four quarts, for which she asked no more than a media, that is, a sixteenth of a dollar. The abundance and excellence of the article made it so cheap, that I feared she wronged herself, and I inferred from her attire and the downcast eye, and air of melancholy abopt her, that adversity had dealt hard with her, that she had been stricken by the war, and had, perhaps, to mourn tlie compa- 27 UIO VISIT TO COLOMBIA. nion of her youth ; she seemed to be gratified in serving strangers, and this gratification seemed to be all to her, and the value nothing ; for when asked the price, she seemed not to seek even thanks, but looked as if to learn whether or not we were pleased j and when she named a price, and re- ceived what she asked, it seemed to be with reluctance, and as if she would refuse, but feared to offend by an appearance of false pride ; we thanked her from our hearts, and sug- gested that the compensation was not enough ; to which she replied only by a negative turning of her head, continu- ing to look at us with silent kindness for a time ; and while a tear found utterance, her eyes were fixed upon us, as if she had lost some one, husband, son, or daughter — and the cur- rent of tender feelings gushed out as we bid her adieu — she stood immoveable, with her eyes fixed upon us as we con- tinued our way, to a considerable distance ; I turned often round, and she still was there ; her attitude unchanged ; and when we turned the last angle which was to separate us from her view for ever, I returned a few paces back to look, and still she stood fixed, musing upon that sorrow which we were solicitous, but could not ask her to unravel. I learned, farther on, that she had lost her husband, who was a Frenchman, and her youthful son in battle. We reached Cayesita the 3d, and barely halted to procure some guarapa for our attendants, prior to passing El Altar. After winding through a long and shaded mazy alley, over- arched with rich foliage and thick forest trees, the lane of gravel washed by a shallow, but limpid rivulet, the spread- ing sides of which were garnished by an abundance of the finest water-cresses, (of which we took care to bring some away) we slowly crawled along, over pebbles beautifully rounded, and of different degrees of brightness, yellow, white, brown, and red ; we were at last ascending, to our left, the path still only fit for passage^ in Indian file ; sud- denly breaking from the covert, we could discern the ariero VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 311 and his man, on the summit of a steep rock, hauling up by ropes the last trunk of our baggage. We had ordered on the baggage an hour before our departure, expecting that they would, gain the valley before us ; in a few minutes we found the road occupied the whole way across by a lofty vertical rock, seeming to say, " thus far shalt thou go, and no farther." The muleteers had been under the necessity of unlading the mules, and we must of course follow them. At the first view it would seem as if we had come the wrong road, but the fact was not so, for there was no other ; and it seemed unaccountable, that no one should have made a road at either side of this rock, which it appeared could be done with no other tools than an axe and a spade ; but every one must pass the same climbing passage. Our sergeant, to whom this place was familiar, dismounted, and leading his mule to the foot of the rock, it was climbed without hesitation ; we also dismounted, and our mules ascending with no more difficulty, we followed the mules by stepping where they had stepped ; for myself, I looked down with amazement when I gained the top. It was near an hour before we could proceed forward in our descent to the valley, which, as soon as it opened upon us, presented a prospect in every way different from any prospects we had already seen. Before I left Caracas, I had read in Humboldt's Personal Narrative, Vol. IV. p. 75, of a tree, which he calls a new kind of fig-tree, and he names ''^Jicus gigantea, from its attaining the height of an hundred feet ; and in the moun- tains of Buenavista and Los Teques, the Jicus nymphafo- lia.^"^ The description he has given of this new Jicus^ in- duced me to seek it as we passed the mountains whereon he described it as growing with its stupendous buttresses, but I suppose it escaped me in the midst of those clouds in which the mountains were involved at the time I passed. The ardour of the sun in passing the plains and the slopes, tempered by numerous rivers and streams, and forests ex- 2fS VISIT TO COLOMBIA. ciudmg air, and retaining moisture, made the difference of temptratiire agreeable, when compared with the sultry close atniohphere ot this valley, where the magnitude of the trees was such as I had not seen before on any part of the route. The two immense trees at Maracay, which he names Tm- mangy are great curiosities, and my young companions saw them with admiration ; to me, however, they were less ob- jects of curiosity, because, as magnitude has relation to some measure, the Zamang was diminutive by my standard of ad- miration, which was the banyan tree of Hindustan. Though disappointed of seeing the buttress tree on Cu- quisias, it was the first which attracted my attention in this valley of El Altar. In this sultry, deep solitude, surrounded by perpendicular walls of mountain rock, this buttress tree, by Humboldt called Jicus gigantea, flourishes in lofty lux- uriance, with mighty buttresses, which seemed so pow- erfully sustained as to defy all force but actual dissolution. The elevation of many was more than 150 feet, and the shaft of the tree of fantastic shapes from eight to ten feet diame- ter ; but a horizontal line three or four feet from the ground, taking the outer lines of two opposite buttresses, would give double that diameter. The soil of the road, or ravine, lying across the roots of those trees, was washed away by succes- sive floods, and the roots themselves, larger than ordinary tiitees, lay in all directions, sometimes two feet above the earth, sending forth numerous lesser roots ; which com- pelled the traveller to wind round those trees in all directions, from the difficulty of passing over them ; and the valley ap- peared covered with a monstrous net of these stupendous roots. The buttresses are well described by Humboldt, re- sembling in their forms masses of wood, having their outer base line five, six, or seven feet from the vertical stem of the tfiie,'^ tyith intervals between, showing the upright stem, and composed of compact timber, a growing part of the tree, without separation from it, only that the buttress-shaped part VISIT TO COLOMBIA. S18 has the sloped line, from five to six or eight feet from the ground, and extending outward to five, six, or seven feet at the base. Tlie branches of this tree proceed in a horizontal direc- tion from the stem, at twenty to thirty feet from the ground, and often not lower than fifty or sixty feet ; but in this val- ley, the Bejucas^ a kind of a giant vine, throw their elastic limbs from branch to branch, and from tree to tree, sending down limbs of different thicknesses, from the size of a twine, to three and four inches in diameter, descending the trunk of the buttress tree capriciously, and sometimes inju- riously to the traveller ; sometimes they appear with a hang- ing curve like a slack rope, sixty or a hundred feet above ; again they are found, firmly embracing two contiguous trees, and stretched between, at two, three, five, or eight feet above the ground, so that the foot passenger, and the man on horse or mule, is sometimes tripped, or drawn off the horse or mule. In such cases, a sharp tomahawk or hatchet would open a passage, over dry ground, where, to avoid it, there may be a necessity of crossing a mire or pool, of which the depth or danger is not seen. The trees of other species, some oaks and ash trees in the same valley, look like shrubs, along side the Jicus giganticus. The Rio Coxede or Rio Claro, flows on the right side of this valley, having its sources in the great Cordillera, which is a conti- nuation of that of Merida. Its upper streams commence about twenty miles west of Barquisimeto, and pursue a course, generally north-east, to near El Altar, where it sud- denly winds to the south, or a little curving to the west of south, when, in the latitude of Aurare, it takes a decided course a point east of south, it unites with the Tinaco, and with the Rio Portugueza, which descends into the Apure. This river derives considerable celebrity from the sanguina- ry battle fought there, in which, more than five-hundred men on each side were put hors de combat. Without any other pretensions to knowledge of the natural 214 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. sciences, than that of a general reader and casual observer, my pursuits have made me more conversant with books than botany ; the name given, by Humboldt, to this tree with large buttresses — -jicus gigantica, has added to some difficulties and incongruities, which, among others, have casually taken away the pleasure looked for in seeking knowledge. The fruit, so well known in all temperate climates, is by Botanical writers named Ficus CaricGy from the country from which it is supposed to have been derived. Now the ordinary signification of the wavcvg Jig. tree \s ** a tree that bears figs.'* The mode of classification by the flowers, will not sanction this appellation to other trees, and this contradictory mode of denomination is not calculated to afford true knowledge, nor induce respect for the science. Among the trees which are named J?/7wj, the number is considerable, and the dissimili- tude remarkable — such as fall under recollection and refer- ence at the moment, are the following : — 1. Ficus, Ficus Carica, Fig-tree. fthe Indian fig-tree,") , , 2. Ficus Indicus, \ the arched fig-tree, I the banyan-tree Ithegodtreef J of Hindustan. 3. Ficus Indka, S"*""^ paradisiaca, the banana. ' I musa sapientum, the plantain. 4. Ficus infemalis, Palraa Christi, Castor-oil plant. 5. Ficus Indicae granis. Cactus cochinillifer, J^^chineT/c* f s' 6. Ficus Cactus ofiun-'} r> ^ ^. -i-. • , , .^.g ^ Cactus opuntia, Pnckly pear. 7. Ficus ei^antica of > _ Humboldt, 5 Buttress-tree. 8. Fig-tree of Tana, of the New Hebrides, mentioned in Fos- ter's Cook's Voyages, vol. ii, p. 334-392. There are some others, as the Ficus Sativa^ Ficus aridoy &c. but not one of the above bears the least resemblance, in magni- tude, foliage, flower, fruit, or figure, to the Fici^ Carica. The VISIT TO COLOMBIA, 215 second, or banyan tree, bears a small red berry, about the size of a red currant : this tree is happily described in the ninth book of Paradise Lost, though I am inclined to think, from a striking error in Milton's description, that he has confounded the banyan with the banana, giving the banyan tree all its magnificent limbs and extension ; and, instead of its own small laurel-like leaves, he has given it the beautiful leaves of the banana : the passage is as follows : There soon they chose The fig-tree, not that kind for fruit renowned, But such as at this day to Indians known. In Malabar or Decan, spreads her arms. Branching so broad and long, that in the ground The bended twigs take root, and daughters grow About the mother tree, a pillar'd shade : There oft the Indian herdsman shunning heat. Shelters in cool, and tends his pasturing herds At loop-holes cut through thickest shade : thoae leavet They gathered, broad as Amazonian targe, And with that skill they had together sewed. The tree so well described in other respects, than the leaves broad as Amazonian targe, is exact, only that Milton implies it bears no fruit. How came Milton to be mistaken ? He was in fact misinformed of the natural fruit and leaves of the tree, as he was of the geographical distinction in the same elegant description, for Malabar was part of the Dccan when he wrote. Perhaps the mistake was produced by the banana being also named Jicus indica, which really bears " those leaves as broad as Amazonian targe :" botanical science, in Milton's time, was yet scarcely in its infancy, and India and its products little known to literature ; he confounded two plants, taking the broad leaves of the one for those of the other. Here then the error may have arisen, and has been confounded, from his authority, by naturalists generally. The banana and plantain are only species of the same ge- nus ; in every thing they are exactly the same, but in the dif- S16 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. ferent magnitude and flavour of their fruit : the banana is a sweet luscious fruit, and when ripe is superior in richness to the fig ; it is of the consistence of a soft butter pear, but without acid : the fruit is not produced single like the com- mon fig, or the apple, flowering and coming to maturity on de- tached branches or single stalks, but in bunches, side by side, from a thick elastic and strong strap-like membrane, issuing from the head of the plant j for it is not in the botanical sense a tree ; its growth is from the elevation of ten to fifteen leet, but its stem is not wood ; there is no wood in any part of the plant. The root, when divested of the numerous shoots which it throws out, appears like a yam ; the roots planted are placed in rows at ten feet apart ; from this root se- veral suckers rise, but they are timely arrested in order to se- cure the stem that is preferred. From the eye of the growing sucker, a small tube shoots up resembling the rolling of a fine pea- green China paper on a round stick ; when about three or four feet high, another tubular roll issues through the first, and thus it continues to produce new tubes till it gains its natural height ; as the plant elevates itself from within the first tube, and the second, and so to ten or to fifty are expanded, it throws out beautiful leaves of eight to ten feet long, and three to four feet broad, which bend outward, giving the figure to the plant : the base of the stem is formed of a green, pithy, fibrous, vegetable substance, in which the stem of every leaf has its share. It is an annual plant, and there are more than twenty species, only differing in the sweetness or insipidity of their fruit. The great plantain, sometimes called miisa sapientum, produces a very large, and, when raw, insipid fruit ; but it is used for food in various shapes ; roasted in the embers, it becomes an agreeable food, much resembling the sweet potato ; boiled with meat cut up into short pieces, it boils like a potato, and is much preferable to the yucca. The bearing ligament of this plant shows frequently fifty to sixty plantains of ten to sixteen inches long, and two inches VISIT TO COLOMBIA. S17 thick, each weighing from one to four pounds. The fruit of this plant is the main food of seven-tenths of the people, who arc not opulent, in all parts of South America, where it thrives ; it is more generally an article of transport and sale than any other in the country ; every road presents mules la- den with plantains ; I have met fifty in one drove with no other lading ; every pulpureia deals in them, and it composes the principal stock of the shop. The name of musa paradi- siacOf is perhaps derived from some traditional prejudices, among which are the use of the leaves, as Milton describes them serving as garments for mother Eve in Paradise ; ano- ther tradition is, that the sweet banana was itself the forbid- den fruit, but whether emblematic from its shape, or what other allusion, cannot need inquiry. It is a mistake, also, that the tree is cut down to get at the fruit ; that is not neces- sary, though it decays annually. These remarks are more than I intended ; similar remarks as to the misnomer Jicus would apply to every other tree so named. We continued our march in this entangled, tiresome, and sultry valley, having the Coxcde on our right for several miles, the thickets unsubdued concealing the river, and rank with the luxuriance of the cane and the palms, of which I discerned several date trees. Here I saw first a plant which rises only in a single leaf nearly as large as the banana, thence denominated the wild plantain ; it is used for packing cof- fee, cacao, and other articles in bales. This digression, though not entirely called for, serves nevertheless to make better known some of the natural productions of Colombia. 28 S18 CHAPTER XV. Knter a rich country — Baladera — Gamalatol — Santa Rosa — opulence and change of manners — Barquisimeto — wade the river — ascent — pious alcalde — remain in the street — exhibited two hours — relieved by a military man passing — Dr. F. Mullery — the commandant's quarters — who is absent — a present of fruit from the village opposite — Senor Lara — alcalde finishes his oraciones — and finds an un-christian like cause of offence — feel indisposed — notice of Barqui- simeto — military depot at Santa Rosa — country adjacent — rich in products — commandant — malice of the pious alcalde — interview with the commandant — and find him a warm friend — alcalde bites his thumb — anecdotes — shock of an earthquake — march 10th December — dismal plain — fit theatre for Milton, Vir- gil, or John Bunyan — Quibor — find a pure atmosphere — birds of plumage and song — paroquets and cacao — the linnet of Europe here — the perfume of the locust blossom reveals its presence, yet unseen Tucuyo its river and rich valley — halt in the suburbs — a sombrero manufacturer — hospitality — en- ter the town — received in the commandant's quarters — his lady's kindness — her orgeat — and medical treatment — visited by Dr. Leonardo, the friend of Dr. Mullery — he commends the lady's prescription, and why — visitors — travel carried in my hammock by peons. Our first place, after passing La Bocca de la Montana, was Baladera, a small village engaged in cultivation ; thence we proceeded to Gamalatol, and here was very perceptible more business and bustle than I had seen since we left the valley of Aragua ; the route from the valley to the road was a continued but not a rapid ascent, and we began to feel the delight of a soft fanning breeze, while our track changed to a descent as we passed through the small hamlet of La Muri- ta by Restrajos to Caudares, from whence to the bed of the river Coxede, which here takes the name of Santa Rosa, the descent is more steep. It was a festival, and the young folks were displaying their finery, not a spurious shew, but, though gay in colours, and more like the fashions of other countries, the whole place gave evidence of more than usual industry, activity, and opulence. It was observed, as VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 219 we approached this place, that the children, even to the youngest, were clothed, and in a neat and tasty manner. Many young ladies, with their beaux, were dressed in silk of bright tints and in a most excellent taste ; though there is no part of Colombia where the females are not remarkable for their small feet, of which I don't know why they should not be proud, and I suppose that it is in the same frank spirit they are not so coquettish as many young persons, who, with the same inclination to display, affect not to know it. The neat- ness of their silk shoes, laced in the sandal fashion, and the saucy breeze ascending from the adjacent river, displaying more of their silk stockings than they seemed to intend, could not but attract the eye of the traveller sauntering along, and he must be a stoic who could not afford a smile on per- ceiving the pleasant disorder of the pretty Senoritas; it would be a sort of miracle if they did not laugh too, on seeing, by the strangers' significant leer, that their con- fusion was understood. Indeed it was not possible but to admire their graceful and elastic gait, or to feel pretended re- sentment, when they sought to be revenged by laughing louder at the dusty wayworn figures that smiled at the wan- tonness of the breeze. We had intended to see more of this lively place, but, on enquiry of a civil gentleman whom a touch of his hat led me to ask the distance to Barquisimeto, he pointed to it on an elevated platform not far from the bank of the river, on the opposite side. But he was not content with wordly civility, he invited us to halt and rest at his house, and welcome, and that we should find that place much more comfortable and agreeable than at the other side of the river ; we were grate- ful and thanked him, though we declined, and he accompa- nied us to the usual fordingplace, and told us how to pass over. Our sergeant was, however, well acquainted with the ford, and we parted with this generously-disposed Colom- 220 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. bian, who knew no more about us than that we appeared to be strangers. The breadth of the bed of the Coxcde, at this place, is nearly a mile across — perhaps the day's ride augmented the space, — and presents a mass of rounded stones, none very small, and some of considerable size ; the water, at this sea- son, was low, and was divided into several narrow currents. The sergeant, as usual, led the van, and though the streams were sometimes strong and washed our stirrups; but, having gained the left bank, we had now to ascend a steep slope, which had been cut since the earthquake, and which we all agreed could not be less than half a mile up to the plateau. There New Barquisimeto stood at some distance on our right, and while we made our way to the main street, the sergeant galloped oft' in search of the alcalde, and quarters. He found the alcalde's house, who was out on church affairs ; we had therefore to wait ; and we did wait for about two hours, seated on our mules, and cracking jokes at each other and at the ideas entertained by the crowd which gradually collected round us. It was the second occasion, on which civility and hospitality, every where else so voluntary and kind, was want- ing ; it was literally wanting ; for our march had been rapid for three days past, and the inconvenience to which I was subjected by the fall at Valencia, rendered any other than a sitting position desirable ; nor were my young companions indifferent to rest, though they made a joke of their enter- tainment at Barquisimeto. We enquired for a posada, there was none ; we enquired for the military commandant, he was out of town ; so we made merry with the prospect of lying in the street. Were it not fit, that incidents such as occurred here, should not be unknown to others who may travel in the same track, I should pass over the folly and disregard of the char- acter of his country, and even his town, exhibited by the VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 221 alcalde of Barquisimeto. Our sergeant followed this pf- ous magistrate to church, and made such intimations as he supposed likely to prevail ; but his answer was " they must w.ait." We had no alternative but to wait; as la paciencia vince todo, or, as Sancho Panza has it, patience is a plas- ter for all sores, we had to try the panacea, much to the amusement of some ladies, within some adjacent iron bars, who, as we did not distinctly see them, I set down as nei- ther so beautiful, nor so well dressed, nor with such pretty satin shoes, nor, above all, such neat silk stockings as those on the other side of the river; and in the ill-natured mood of the moment, I insisted they were jealous of the roses on Elizabeth's cheeks, which the removal of her chip hat and the dust seemed to have exposed merely to vex them. Af- ter all, it was more ridiculous to be vext, than for those stran- gers to gape at strangers, especially a female, of a distant coun- try ; who was, in fact, at the same moment making fun of these curious incognitas, with her no less funny brother. The piety of the alcalde was not yet exhausted, though our philosophy had almost run out, for the grey light was not very distant ; good magistrates compensate for many things by being pious ; like charity, it covers a multitude of sins; it was therefore not wonderful that he would not be disturbed at his oraciones, though the business of his magistracy stood still — In the midst of our exemplary pa- tience, a gentleman in military uniform was passing on the opposite side of the street, he crossed and accosted us in English, enquiring if he could serve us ; his uniform led me away from my point, but I enquired if he knew Dr. Mul- lery — " I am that person," said he, " and you must be Colo- nel Duane." We were in an instant acquaintance, though they were the first syllables we had ever exchanged — he moved on with " follow me." The sergeant, who had just returned from the third or fourth siege of the alcalde, took the word from the doctor as quickly as if he was going to 222 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. Storm a breach ; and was at the heels of the doctor in a mo- ment ; we followed down the street, and a pair of folding gates flew open, and presented a spacious patio^ into which we all followed, and leaving the charge of the mules to the servants, and our shooting utensils to the care of the ser- geant, the doctor conducted us into a spacious chamber, where a long table covered with green cloth stood, and a young officer busy in writing. The young gentleman had but a word from the doctor, when the room was cleared, and two sleeping apartments adjoining, shewn to us, and our ham- mocks were immediately hung up ; while Pedro had already found his way to the fire-place, and in a few moments fur- nished us with a welcome cup of chocolate. This house belonged to the government, and was the head quarters of the staflf, and the commandant Colonel Manrique then absent was daily expected home. It was in the same quarters Colonel Todd lodged when he was on his route to Bogota ; and we found letters here from his se- cretary, Mr. R. Adams. The doctor left us, with directions to the sergeant to call on him for whatever we wanted ; who took the opportu- nity to shew his ribbon, and then to remind the doctor that they had been on service together ; that he was Sergeant Marcus Proctor y oflos Grenaderos de las Gardas Colombia- nos — attached as orderly to Colonel D, of America del Norte^ by the commandant of Valencia^ Coronel delos Grenaderos. In half an hour every thing was in order, and we soon sat down to an excellent fricasee and some good bread, and fruit from the other side of the river, ordered by Seiior Lara, a resident of the opposite village, who very soon after entered, and I recognized in him the civil gentleman who wished us to remain at his house. He apologised for intru- ding, but having heard of Colonel D. before, and one of our servants, who had stopt in the village, having told him whom we were, he had ordered a little fruit, and determined VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 223 to make himself known, as he had for many years been ac- quainted with the history of the person he came to see. Mr. Lara was by birth a Spaniard, but a man of education and liberal principles, and had distinguished himself in the cause of Colombia. I had no expectation to find any one in a po- sition so much secluded from the ocean, who knew any thing of me, and was truly surprized to find him intimately ac- quainted with my former political and military concerns, and had been for many years. His intercourse was constant while I remained, which I was compelled to do, and fortunate to find a skilful and friendly physician, under whose care I was com- pletely restored. The alcalde at last finished his business in the concerns of another world ; yet the dignity of the magistrate was offended by our accepting any quarters but through him, and signified that we must remove instantly. As the man was either a fool or a knave, I determined to play the old soldier with him, and pleaded, what was really true, that I should not be able to leave my hammock for three or four days, which threw him into a rage. It would have been an unequal contest. My fluency in his language was not such as to authorize a war of words, I therefore simply signified I was not able if I were willing to move, and that there I should remain till Colonel Manrique returned. Seiior La- ra had sought to restrain him, without consulting me, and though he was quieted he was not satisfied. My indisposi- tion really required the immediate care of Dr. Mullery, who I felt satisfied would not have placed me where I was with- out a perfect confidence in the commandant. In a few days I became so far recovered as to go abroad, and we fixed upon the 11th for our departure. We had, during this time, an opportunity of seeing and hearing all that concerned Barqui- simeto. On entering the town the streets were actively occupied by muleteers and mules, and a multitude of ill- clad boys. The streets were about twenty feet broad, well Sa* VISIT TO COLOMBIA. paved, and although this place had been founded and built since the earthquake ol 1812, it had already the appearance of an old tovv n. The plateau upon which the town stands, seen from the river, presents a steep perpendicular bank to the river, while on the right side the descent to the river is a gentle slope. The surlacc of the earth after ascending the platform was without grass, some coarse wild plants formed some tufts, and solitary thistles were dispersed here and there, exhibiting the only verdure ; looking to the west and south and south-west, the absence of verdure, and the presence of a discoloured grey sooty surface, prevailed all round, only where the shadows of objects here and there ris- ing abrupt, served to make the spectacle more desolate, but seemed still more desolate when the eye was turned to the eastward, where perpetual verdure and luxuriance :gratified the eye. On our left, as we entered the town, in a line oblique to the verge of the plateau, the sergeant pointed our attention to the sciteof the city, which suffered total de- struction in 1812. Nothing of walls or any object more ele- vated than mounds of earth formed by the ruins of the pita^ of which the whole place was built, now remained ; and these were only real graves which had sloped into their then shape, from the irregular masses of the buildings overthrown, and in which the inhabitants, as well as a battalion of nearly se- ven hundred men, were entombed. The only alteration in this heap of ruins, were some attempts made to penetrate the tombs where persons resided who had the reputation of riches ; the summits of those heaps rounded by rain, or their intervals filled up, are all that remains of the city, which was said to contain eight thousand inhabitants. Those alone es- caped who were engaged abroad on business, or at the plan- tations in the valley ; for at Barquisimeto, or on the plain thence to Quibor, near Tucuyo, the cactus, of perhaps twenty species, constitutes the only vegetation. The ruins arc about two miles west of south from the new town. The VISIT TO COLOMBIA. S25 mountains to the north-west and west, at the first glimpse, had the apix-arance of chalk, and produced the first idea of snow ; but, on closer looking, they were too dull and mot- tled, and in fact chalk or natural lime. About three miles north of the town, near the margin of the plane, is the town of Santa Rosa, which I did not visit ; it was, after the earth- quake, and at this time, a military depot and magazine. Seen at a distance, its appearance was handsome, and per- haps owed an air of cleanliness to a free use of the material so abundant in the adjacent mountains. It has a monastery, of which I heard no good, and made no further enquiries, as what 1 heard, from authority above misrepresentation, would not bear painting. The valley on the east side of the Coxede (here called Santa Rosa) is uncommonly rich in plantations of sugar, cacao, coffee, and other productions. The cacao of Barquisimeto is reputed to be equal to any that the country produces, and by some to be superior in richness and flavour to all others ; though not having a di- rect access to a port, from which the valley is bounded by that loity cordillier, which separates it from that of Mara- * caibo, and the arid plains of Coro, the product of Barqui- simeto reaches a market under some other name. San Fe- lipe and Puerto Cabello formerly carried off much of it, and the little ports on the gulph of Triste. The passage of the paramos made the transport too expensive, and the war had given the activity of the valley, on the west side, another direction ; peace restored, this valley will not be behind any in production or enterprise ; and, under all the evils of war, these happy people appear to have surmounted the general distress with more effect than any I had an opportunity of seeing. The very great ignorance which still prevails in other countries concerning Colombia is more particularly applicable to this part of it ; and it is the more remarkable, because its manners and industry are said to have received 29 336 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. an advantageous improvement from a number of foreigners.;' who some years ago were cast there by accident, and prefer- ing it for its seclusion from the sea-coast, fixed their resi- dence there, and bringing with them experience, and pro- ducing emulation by their successful example, have en- riched their posterity, and given them the character and the esteem which they merit. On the night of the 8th the commandant arrived. He had not been apprised of the occupation of his quarters, and it being late, he did not disturb us. The alcalde, however, waited on him early in the morning, and made a doleful re- port on our occupation of the quarters without the alcalde's authority ; and, as it appeared, did not hesitate to embellish his representation with some fiction, mingled with asperity, against those insolent Inglesias ! In the mood produced by this complaint, the colonel found Dr. MuUery, lieutenant Bache, Elizabeth, and myself, at our morning chocolate. The doctor soon perceived that the commandant was disturbed by something, guessed that the alcalde must have been raising a storm in his own puddle, and at once introduced us severally to him ; after a few ex- pressions of civility, he asked my name again, as if to be as- sured, and, on my stating it, was somewhat surprised by his asking, ** Arc you Colonel Duane to whom Congress voted thanks at Cucuta, in 1821 ?" I replied in the affirma- tive. He said the alcalde had been making an unnecessary disquietude; hoped we would think nothing of it, and begged we would make ourselves at ease, and we should have whatever we wished and the place afforded ; and inti- mated that he would wait on us the next day. He came however in the evening, and I was fully compensated for the alcalde's authorative incivilities, by the pleasure of this amiable soldier's acquaintance. I found him frank and communicative, particu) Hy on ancient and modern history, and military affairs, the rt.olutions of the age, and the su- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 22T periority of the representative form of government ; and, though he was devoted to the existing constitution, and con- sidered it as best adapted to the circumstances of the country during the war, he preferred, as he said Bolivar himself pre- ferred, the federal form for a period of peace, and offered some ideas which were bold as they were novel to me, but irresis- tibly true. He said he owed me some thanks, as well for my friendliness to Colombia as a politician, but as a military man, and was in possession of several of my military publi- cations ; and referred to a memoir which I had written, (and which was translated into Spanish by my friend M. Torres,) and circulated through Colombia ; he was the only person whom I had an opportunity of knowing, who had that me- moir, and which I was solicitous to obtain, as I had not re- served one. We spent some hours on the 9th together, and were to have corresponded — fate has denied me that satisfac- tion. I intimated to him, that being now perfectly restored by the skill and kindness of Dr. Mullery, I should depart the next morning (10th), instead of the 11th before proposed. His character appeared in a new and endearing light ; he ex- pressed an apprehension that the improper behaviour of the alcaldi had induced this intention, and entreated me not to attribute that conduct to any other cause than his egotism. I satisfied him that his own conduct and esteem had erased every kind of dissatisfaction ; and before we parted he sat dow^n and wrote a letter to the commanding officer at Tucuyo, our next halting-place, and Dr. Mullery wrote another to Dr. Leonardo, a gentleman who had studied medicine, and visited the hospitals and lectures at Paris, London, and Edinburgh. These letters were very useful to us subsequently. Colonel Manrique was considered as among the most ac- complished officers in the Colombian army, he was under thirty at that time. Maracaibo, having been surprised by Morales and a superior force, it was the fortune of Colonel Manrique to be placed in command, and to expel the Span- 2S8 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. iards, for which he was promoted to the rank of General of Brigade, which many said he should have had before ; soon aft< r I parted from him, the severity of the duties, and the exposure which was unavoidable, broke down his fine per- son and constitution, and Colombia was soon after deprived of one of Us best heads and liberal hearts. The attentions we had experienced from Dr. Mullery, above all others, the kindness of Mr. Lara, who daily sup- plied us with ananas and bananas, narangas and nisperos ; and the civilities of the worthy commandant, made Barquisi- meto, which was far from interesting in itself, very agreeable. Our amiable friend. Dr. French MuUery, the companion and countryman of Dr. W. Murphy, whom we knew at Valencia, had been also his fellow- student. His talents had obtained him general esteem, and his professional skill caused him to be appointed to the army which passed the isthmus of Panama to Peru. His professional duties, which rescued hundreds from the grave, exposed him in passing up the Chagres, and deprived Colombia of a man of rare merit, and his friends of one who was always sure of esteem where known. On the 5th of December, at twenty-five minutes before four o'clock, A. M., we felt a very sharp shock of an earth- quake ; I had reclined on my hammock with a book, and Elizabeth was also reading. The sensation was felt by me, as if a person had passed beneath my hammock and given it two rapid shakes. Lieutenant Bache, who was in the cor- ridor, felt it at the same instant, but it could not have occu- pied four seconds, and nothing further occurred. On Tuesday, the 10th of December, we left Barquisime- to, and entered upon its arid and inhospitable plain : our first course was ascending and through a village, such as John Bunyan might imagine for the residence of despair and desolation, and from thence our route was due west. No words can convey a distinct and expressive picture of this VISIT TO COLOMBIA. S2D plain, or the vegetation that covers it, or of the mountains which are first seen in the north-west, composed, apparent- ly, of chalk, with here and there some tufts or creeping rib- bonds of the thorny cactus ; there were some patches which seemed to afford grass, but it had the hue of the chalk it barely grew upon ; vast ravines cut the sloping sides of these mounds of chalk, and presenting on one side the brightness of the sun's rays, and on the other the shadow of the impending bank, formed the only exceptions to its wretched monotony. Our route lay about fifteen miles from these mountains, but narrowing to a valley, of which the south-east side at first thinly clad with forest, as we proceed- ed became as chalky on the left as on the right side, till the plain below became narrowed to about six or seven miles. The whole surface, on each side of our path, was a dense thicket of cactus, impenetrable to man or beast. Even the ground on which our mules trod was overgrown with a dwarf species, I believe the creeping cents ; to fall upon which would be as injurious as to fall upon a flax-dresser's combe The cactus of three or four species are abundant on the Sier- ra in front of the sea at Laguayra, and in other places where the soil will produce nothing else ; but on this plain I per- ceived varieties with which I had no previous acquaintance. Humboldt, I believe it is, who likens a species of cactus to a large candelabra ; there is some, but it is an imperfect simili- tude : this species is a tree with a stem or stock of twelve to twenty inches diameter ; about four or five feet from the ground, it throws out lobes covered with stars of five points, in the centre of which a long thorn projects to some part of the edge of the first, another and another lobe grows in capricious flatted figures, so as to present no leaf nor limbs, but such thorny cakes of vegetable substance, as compose the co- chineal cactus, opuntia, or prickly pear ; these strange-look- ing limbs protrude from the stem to the height of ten to twenty feet, and, from the absence of foliage, seem to be the 230 VISIT TO COLOMHIA. remains of trees that had undergone the scorching of fire. Others of this thorny tribe, spread in long ribbons of about two inches wide and half an inch thick, covered with the like five-pointed stars and thorns. I have estimated some which 1 have fixed my eye upon and followed above sixty yards, and then without seeing whence it sprung or termi- nated. The common grovelling cactus, or opuntia^ was abundant along the skirt of the thicket, which appears to have been a road cut across this miserable plain, that w^ould have spared the poets the exercise of invention, in describing the borders of hell and the valley of sin or death — by the fit- ness of its lonely desolation. As when heaven's fire. Hath scath'd the forest oaks, or mountain pines. With singed top, their stately growth, though bare. Stands on the blasted heath .... .... The causeway to hell-gates, On either side, disparted chaos. The heat was ardent, as we ambled through this lane of dreary uniformity, where man, nor beast, nor bird, nor brook to assuage thirst was seen. The soil, stript by the feet of the mules, appears like a compound of grey ashes and chalk ; and where, after we had somewhat farther advanced, some patches of the soil were bare, the earth had sunk some ten or twelve feet in a compact mass, its surface whole, and the steep edge of the unsunk soil perpendicular ; the sur- face sunk, shewing about three hundred yards by fifty, be- low the former level. Wondering much to see human dwellings, after we had marched twelve miles through this dismal avenue, and our usual stock of water in our fiaggons of calabash, which we constantly carried, each at the pommel of his saddle, the dust and heat, the impression of such a desolate place, induced us to turn into Las Horcones (probably from horcone^ a rope of onions) — though certainly there was no place in VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 231 sight where onions could vegetate — we found water here as scanty as with ourselves, and were very glad to find that there was some guarapa, fresh fermented, of which we made refreshment, and learned that we had ten miles yet to ride before we should meet a rivulet. We had derived some benefit from our halt, but with such a long march before us, we pushed on for Quibor, which we reached some time before night. The village any where else would be unsightly ; but after our day's ride, it appeared gay and comfortable. A fine stream passed through the village, and our appetites for food, rendered a refreshment of tajo or dried beef, though dressed with gar- lic, not unpalatable ; fatigue had left us without curiosity to see more of Quibor, than our line of march, so disposing of our last bottle of wine, we retired to our hammocks before night, and before the sun rose, we had left Quibor in our rear. After passing Quibor a few miles, the cactus disappeared, our route was an ascent, and led to a low range of verdant mountain, and amidst fine hedges, where we once more found birds of beautiful plumage and song, which were so abundant before we reached Barquisimeto, that they ceased to be as interesting ; though the screams of the paroquets, and others of the parrot kind, swarm v/here the cacao is cul- tivated, here they became more interesting. Here I saw the linnet of Europe, and recognized its note before I saw it. We were ascending now through a shaded lane, cooled by rills of pure water, the appearance of luxuriant grass covered with dew drops, very much resembling parts of Eu- rope, as well in the shrubbery, as in its temperature ; and the perfume of the rich locust blossom, made itself frequent- ly known to us unsearched for. We gained the summit, and the rays of the sun sudden- ly beamed upon us, like the trick of a pantomime ; the shade had so abruptly disappeared, and the range of vision was now so much enlarged, exposed a broad valley, through 23S VISIT TO COLOMBIA. which a spacious river rolled from the south-west, whereon the bright sun shed so much light, as to render it incon- venient to dwell upon ; the vast Cordillera that separates Merida Valley, was the boundary on the west side of the river, at about seven or eight miles distant. It was the Tu- cuyo river, which flowed to the north, and at our feet on its cast side stood the city ; the plantations of cacao, sugar, and coffee, spread along the shores of the river in a northern di- rection, and the road was lively, and visible along the slope, by which we descended towards Tucuyo ; looking to the right, or north, and the banks on both sides exhibited fer- tility, luxuriance, a close and wide spread cultivation, splen- did sugar fields, and orange flowers, and the euphorbiums, soft green banana plants, betrayed the rich harvests of ca- cao and coffee, which they were placed to protect and shade. Cotton trees presented their snowball ^owtr, in clumps, rows, or insulated. In the midst of these contrasted prospects, and inclining a little to the left of our point of view, the opulent and hand- some city of Tucuyo was now in distinct view. The heat was here more than was agreeable, and about three miles from the town I hung up my hammock in the corridor of an industrious hat-maker, who was at work upon a hat of the cuquisias fibre, or agave, which he wTought with great pa- tience, neatness, and constancy, while he sung a patriotic canta^ in which the theme and conclusion of every stanza was Bolivar ; it was this incident that drew my attention to liim, and perhaps it was the expression of my countenance, between fatigue and satisfaction on hearing the song and sub- ject, that induced him to lay down his w^ork, and, with a courtesy that would have merited to be worth ten thousand dollars a year, which his manner and hospitality would not disparage, he pointed in a few worda and gestures to what he thought good for me, and I was, in a few seconds, with the sergeant's aid, swinging in my hammock, and the unaf- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 233 fectcd Sombrerero at work as if nothing had happened, and relating to his wife, and two sprightly, indeed lovely children, his notions of the Senor — that, from being accompanied by a grenadier, and all his retinue wearing swords, he must be some general officer, and the young officer his aid-de-camp, and as for the senorita, she appeared una angeia de la guardia f Tiie good dame from within, who had, in the same kind spirit as her husband, plucked some fruit from the surround- ing trees, advanced as if approaching to pay homage, and with a smile of beneficence, and hospitable emotions, would present to my daughter a near turtuma (calabash) of excel- lent lemonade, hinting with her significant eye, and " nods and smsjes to make an argument," that when she had re- freshed herself she would help the object of her care. VVe spent two hours in this place, amused by the inno- cence of the children, and the natural elegance and content- ment of mind and manners, displayed m this humble cot- tage. They had procured milk lor us, eggs, and abundant fruit, and it was with difficulty they would accept more than what we deemed one-third of the value of what we had from them : a thousand dollars would not purchase half the delight and gratification we derived from them at less than a quar- ter of a dollar; we endeavoured by some little presents of trinkets with which I had provided myself for such purposes, to leave something to the children for remembrance: the worthy Sombrerero and his wife seemed to think we should noi have parted so soon. The heat of the sun had abated, and we travelled slowly along the descending road, and entered by the main street, in whicn stood the head quarters of the commandant; the sergeant handed the letter of Colonel Miiurique ; the gates unfolded, and we were in an instant in the patio. Upon our dismounting, tiie lady of the commandant came forward in deshabille; her appearance was pleasant and kind as her manners ; her person was uncommonly large and 30 234 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. round, and of corresponding symmetry. I have seldom seen a female of equal magnitude and rotundity, yet her feet, which, when in full dress, in neat blue satin slip- pers, relieved by bright silk stockings, were remarkable for their smallness, and disproportion to the otherwise well formed and agreeable superstructure ; yet it was the dispro- portion of different habits ; those little feet were her orna- ment, and like all her countrywomen, she had a right to be proud of them. A long couch-formed bench, covered with a crimson covering, stood along the wall of the saloon into which we were introduced. On our left, as we entered, was the lado separadamente of the respectable St nora ; on the right was the camarita assigned for my accommodation, ad- joining to which Elizabeth and Richard had their camaritas, and our baggage and attendants were as conveniently placed as if we had predisposed every thing for our own convenience, I felt much indisposed, and my hammock being, as usual, prepared " in the first intention," I retired to rest, leaving the young folks to amuse and be amused with the good-natured Senora, and a number of female friends, who had fled upon the wings of rumour to see the foreign curiosities. Orgeat, sweetmeats, and Muscadel wine were served ; and while the good lady occupied her guests and her friends, she had undertaken to perform Lad} Bountiful for el viejo coronel — and presented, with her own hands, a bowl of the universal specific of those regions, an infusion of sliced bitter orange in warm water, with sugar and some aromatic ; as it was not only very innocent, but very much to my taste, I was not wanting in deference or belief of her assurance, that it was like the ** parmacity, the sovereignest thing in the world for an inward bruise." I took it as it was administered, and the good lady, with as much kindness as if I had been her father, placed the coverlid over me, adjusting my hammock, gave it a gentle swing, I suppose to rock me to sleep ; what- ever was the intention, the effect was that I fell into a de- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 235 lightful slumber, awoke in a profuse perspiration, and shift- ing entirely, shaving and washing, before I was suspected to be awake, I appeared in such excellent spirits, that the good Sefiora was more confirmed in the efficacy of the specific warm infusion of bitter orange ; and it was not for me to question conclusions, which were sanctioned by the change in my appearance, after the fatigue, lassitude, and disguise of dust, and soiled travelling habits, in which I made my first appearance. The commandant was a portly, well-look- ing, but rather a reserved man, and seemed to think his good Seiiora was too weighty for an angel ; but the good Seiiora herself was not only persuaded that she was angelic, and took no great pains to conceal her beauties in all the fulness of nature, and really tastefully arranged ornaments. I determined to remain here another day, as in the even- ing I found a tendency to fever, indicated by the state of my pulse and skin. Lieutenant Bache had sought for Dr. Leonardo, to deliver the letter of Dr. Mullery ; he was at his plantation, two miles distant, and thither Richard determined to go and make geological and botanical researches on the road. He found the doctor at his hacienda, and, after spend- ing some time together, and viewing his collections of books, natural curiosities, and some well-conceived original sketches of the doctor's own execution, they walked together to town, and I had the satisfaction to see him at the very moment when I wished for advice ; he soon set me at ease, and re- commended a repetition of the good Si iiora's specific, which he said he placed no other confidence in than as it promoted perspiration, and nothing more was required ; I was anxious to proceed, but postponed it for a day, and he recommended to me to travel, for a few days, in a reclined posture. In India this would not have been difficult ; but the doctor an- ticipated my difficultities, and overcame them, by stating that the commandant would issue an order for twelve peons, 236 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. and, with my hammock slung upon a good round bamboo, I might be carried on the shoulders ot the peons. The commandant seemed pleased to have an opportunity of doing something to show his good will, and he rose and issued orders ior the required number of peons to be at his quarters at seven o'clock in the morning. An excellent dinner of poultr}, game, and fine sausages, with sallads and fruit, and good CaUiionia wine, and bread, as good as any of Phila- delphia, was prepared on this day, and company of both sexes invited to partake with us. We found the company agreeable, and desirous to do every thing that could con- duce to our pleasure and entertainment. With the usual chocolate, 1 retired early to sleep. CHAPTER XVI. Kindness and hospitality — departure — direction of the route — intersection of the mountains — aspect — Humano caro Ba.ro — a knavish alcalde — tricks upon travellers — effectively repelled — singular position of this place — and the road from it — dangerous elevation ot a path or shelf on the side of the deep valley — a hato — dang-erous declivities — the safety of the mules — conduct to be observ- ed — sloughs and mule — ladders — rain — oil-cloth cloaks excellent — nigiit tra- velling and rain — discover)' of quarters — military rencontre — accommodation for travellers — baggage not arrived — part from our new military acquaintance —and learn the news. The orders of the commandant of Tucuyo were punctu- ally obeyed ; breakfast was prepared early, and some fine rolls of bread were put up in the delicate plantain leaf, to serve us while fresh on the road ; and the peons having brought with them a suitable bamboo^ of about four inches diameter and twelve feet long ; my hammock was affixed VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 237 to the bamboo at each end, and placing myself in it, after taking leave of our hospitable entertainers, we leit Tucuyo about half-past eight, our party being now considerably augmented. This practice, I find, is frequent ; the pay of the carriers is only a real a day, but I determined to pay double. Our baggage had been sent on an hour before our dep|rture, and we overtook it about six miles beyond Tu- cuyo. Our route lay in the direction up the right bank of the river, about two miles above the town, where we torded: the water, though broad, was not very deep ; and its bed composed of small pebbles. The cordelier, at the foot of which we were crossing, was clothed with stupendous fo- rests, from the left margin of the river to the summits ; we entered the woods immediately upon crossing, and discover- ed, that, although the range of the cordelier from Menda to the north of Tucuyo appeared unbroken, it was here cut through to the very base, and seemed to be the ends or be- ginnings of several mountains which rose out of a plain ; the opening led into a vast area, in which the mountains seemed to terminate, in order to unite their mountain floods with the Tucuyo ; we passed several of these streams, and followed a path lying westward, which led up the side of a small ridge, and along this side to the south of west, about thirty feet above the common plain. The route was very much broken ; but the poor fellows, who carried me, were in perfect good humour and contentment ; though the sun was bright and its rays warm, the position of our line of march, and the forest trees on our left, gave a comfortable shade. The country here presented a mixture of lofty fo- rests, rocky ravines, streams gurgling and nestling into each other's beds ; and banks, a little elevated at intervening points, tinted with flowers amidst carpets of velvet verdure. To me the passage was as pleasant as could be desired, as I had all the comfort and ease of a couch, and was exempt from fa- tigue ; while 1 had, without any personal care to require S88 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. my attention, a full opportunity to view the landscape which appeared to glide by me ; the capricious forms and direc- tions of the mountains and the valleys, the new plants and flowers, and the innumerable tribes of birds, their painted plumage, and their occasional mingled roar of song : but I must confess, that the same kind of feelings which I expe- ricnctd on being first carried in a palankin on the shoi^ers of men, in Hindustan, were revived here. The palanKin is a well-balanced, light, and a manageable carriage. It is so contrived as to divide its weight upon the shoulders of four men, who can relieve each other without altering the celerity of their pace, over a surface uniformly flat for many hundred miles, and in which a stone as large as a grain of gunpow- der is never found. The case here was in every respect more laborious to the bearers — there was no made road, two men could not travel abreast upon the track, and the whole sur- face was composed of angular rocks, of fragments of angular stone, without even a rounded pebble in the brook beneath. The burden too was more cumbrous, because the hammock being suspended at length, hung so low that in some passages there was a contact with the projecting rocks beneath. Under these considerations, whenever a favourable shade presented itself, we halted, and if the brook was near, we had some re- freshment. At length, we descended, forded a large stream, and crossed the broad and broken valley ; ascending the side of a long sloping bank, widening to a plain covered with a verdant sod, until we reached the village of Humano caro Baxo about three o'clock, having travelled more than twenty- seven miles. The alcalde of this place reported himself absent ; but the sergeant, who had several times marched this route, knew him, found him, and told him he knew him. Having been ra- ther rested than fatigued by the journey of the day, I sought for some of the usual beverage of the country for the peons, and they all had as much as they wished for ^ the VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 239 baggage being placed in a convenient spot, the mules were alloM'ed to roll and feed on the plain. The alcalde would not budge for the sergeant, who desired quarters and fo- rage for payment. I waited on him, and in the most re- spectful but firm manner requested accommodations. The sullenness and superciliousness of this man of brief authori- ty, was to me unaccountable. I called the peons together, in order to make payment — the usual hire of the country is a real — to be sure, the sum in our country is trivial, but be- fore I knew what the fare was, I made it known to them, that I should pay them double the usual fare. Whether it was a presumption upon this voluntary promise, either that I must be very silly or very rich, as payment of any kind, in former times, was so rare an occurrence, and stripes were oftener given than reals, it seems that the alcalde calculated upon my weakness, and his remoteness from responsibility ; he would neither give an answer, nor, as was his established duty, provide accommodations, though many houses were tenantless, and at his command ; the public law and custom requires of him, if fuel or food be required, to cause it to be furnished at a reasonable price. Night being close at hand, I directed the sergeant to seek the best vacant house, which he soon found and soon occupied it ; as we carried all the furniture we required about us, we were soon fixed, and our hammocks up ; we then called upon the alcalde, tendering silver in payment, for fuel, milk, and eggs, and for bread if any was to be purchased. The alcalde said nothing, did nothing, and, in fact gave no orders in our presence — but as our guide knew the man, and how to ingratiate himself with the inhabitants, he soon found that fuel, eggs, poultry, and bread were abundant, and he purchased accordingly ; but the alcalde had signified his displeasure to any one who would dare to sell any. The sergeant, therefore, insisted on paying first the price asked, and then taking whatever we requi- red. We thus got guarapa for the peons, bread, cake cho- 240 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. colate, some manteca or oil lor stews — butter we had not seen since we Ittt Susacon, and the cook was at length en- abled to go to work ; milk was obtained by Vincent, at some distance ; and the peons were called upon to receive their pay. They had some unexplained difference among them- selves, and one of them came forward to receive for the whole. Some discontent was visible among the others, and I signified, that 1 would pay each individual into his own hand ; this wms signified to them ail by the sergeant ; a considerable number exulted in this, and the spokesman menaced them : and turning to me, with a staff in his hand, signified that the alcalde had told them not to take the fare I offered, nor less thun four times the common fare; I cal- led for the alcalde, who acknowledged the declaration ; I was determined to resist this design of robbery, countenanced by a magistrate ; I prepared myself to resist the insolence of this unworthy man, and to repel any outrage, such as the menaces of a part of the peons unreservedly held forth. I accordingly discharged my pistols in the air, and reloaded them with ball and buck-shot in their presence, and caused our people to be at hand armed ; then calling upon the al- calde, I intimated my knowledge of his character; my per- sonal acquaintance with the intendant of the department, whom 1 should see in a few days, and that 1 should make his conduct known ; that I should now deposit in his hands, if he required it, the fare for each peon ; that it should be double the ordinary fare ; that it was his duty to repress their insolence and their menaced robbery ; and that, if any vi- olence should be attempted, I should feel myself compelled to shoot him as their abettor. The effect was electrical, he now talked with volubility and superabundant meanness. The peons were called, and paid individually by me, and on returning to the quarters we occupied, the alcalde followed us, with two dozen of eggs, which he insisted on present- ing to us. I had so far recovered my strength, that I deter- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. S4l mined to move early — we had an abundant repast, and, as usual in this fine climate, a balmy repose. This statement, given merely to show the difficulties in which a stranger is placed, when he comes in contact with a man of a vicious temper ; the necessity of appearing able and prepared to repel outrage, how necessary it is to pursue a decisive conduct without violating decorum in word or action. On more occasions than this I found it to be not only necessary, but the only certain mode of repelling inso- lence and wantonness from such people. This village stands in a position peculiarly wild and re- markable ; in crossing the valley to approach it, the Sierra appeared within a few yards of it, but as we neared the town, the perpendicular face of the rock, lofty, naked, and unbroken, seemed so close as to be within stone-throw, and so elevated as to appear rather to incline towards us than from us ; its direction was north and south ; we, in the course of the next day's journey, traversed the prolongation of this ridge on the opposite side from south to north, where the serrated rocks seen from Humano caro Baxo now appear- ed like the debris of a vast artificial rampart piled against the wall on the exterior or east side. On Saturday the 14th December, at six o'clock, and re- descending to the valley by which we had entered, we took a southern direction for about two miles, where this vast wall was cut across by a valley running from east to west, and between the interval of which it formed one side. Be- low the winding ridges on the opposite range, several streams flowed into a common channel, and numerous paths diverged from this place to three of the cardinal points. Our path lay the nearest to the ridge of Humano caro Baxo, and our pas- sage was to the north-west, an ascent for more than three miles over immense rocks, where some industry had been exercised in constructing rude timber bridges, leading from rock to rock, and over deep fissures which the mountain 31 242 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. flood had not dug a passage, our ascent was tedious, diffi. cult, dangerous, and vexatious ; repeated halts to rest the inappreciably patient and persevering mules, enabled us to contemplate the enormous masses of rock which formed the slope of that Sierra, whose south-east side appeared like a wall springing from a green pasture perpendicular to the heavens. We at length overcame this rocky ascent, and entered upon the side of a mountain sloping indeed, but very steep, and . covered with beautiful verdure. We passed a fiatOy where horses and mules were bred and collected, and saw some very fine cattle ; but our ascent became so steep that the march could be continued only by a track, like a shelf round the mountain, some miles below its summit, but still so high at the pebbled shelf upon which we rode in single file, that cattle beneath us were distinguishable by the naked eye only like little flies upon a carpet, and lofty clumps of forest trees were diminished into bouquettes. This was the worst specimen of steep and lofty passages, on paths not broader than a quarto volume, we had yet met, and, though wrought originally by art into level planes, now, by the attrition and descent of the soil from the inward side, formed a very decided inclination to the abyss. To ascend and attempt to travel such a path, even on foot, at home, would be deemed dangerously wanton, and full of positive hazard ; the head is apt to ring and the eyes become dizzy in looking down from heights not a third of the elevation we now travelled upon without hesitation, though not with- out apprehension. But, while examining the question how we should pass such precipices, we already, without hesita- tion, or any effect upon our heads or eyes, had advanced considerably ; and I could not resolve it by any other rea- soning, than the confidence which is gradually acquired in the safety, firmness, and sagacity of the mule, which treads upon the roughest cliffs with as much firmness, and more VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 243 prudence than the goat. The horse is sometimes trained to equal sureness of foot in the Andes ; but it is only where herding, or habitually associated with mules, that this stea- diness is acquired ; the riding horse is accustomed not to seek or select its own path, the hand of the rider directs him; and the rider is not always as wise as the mule he rides. The mule is injured, nay, rendered useless by being constant- ly governed by the bit ; the safest course in riding the mule is to hold a free or loose rein, and if the mule requires to be ex- cited, it is effected by the spur, and not by feeling his mouth. It is the rule of prudence therefore to do no more than give the direction with the hand, and the mule will not only choose the best but the safest path. When we had gained a broader path, and once more found forests and sweet streams of water, we resolved to bivouac and dine ; we ac- cordingly selected a shady spot, contiguous to a limpid mountain stream, hung up our hammocks in the shade, and having provided some wine, as we uniformly did wherever any was to be purchased, we had laid in at Tucuyo sufficient to serve to the close of this day. We dined, and had a plea- sant nap. We were mounted at three o'clock. This proved to be the most unpleasant evening which we had yet experienced. Some rain had fallen to the west and north, and the road passing through deep forests of lofty trees, the product of a very rich soil and a warm temperature, the path lay over a black soapy loam ; the softness of the soil, and the hollovv- ness of the path had produced sloughs and mule-ladders ^ for I know no other expression by which to designate them. The mule uniformly steps in the space where the mule pre- ceding him had left the trace of his hoof ; there the mud ac- cumulates and becomes doughy and tenacious, the mule still prefers the open space, where a trace of a step is per- ceptible, to attempting a new step, or to step on ground ap- parently more firm ; thus successive mules always treading 244 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. in the same precise spot, the ground appears like a ladder, in which lines of earth cross the way, and rising between the spaces, which form a puddle more or less deep and difficult, as the weather is wet or dry. The ascent through this wilderness was, in this particular way, both dangerous and unpleasant ; Richard and myself have been at different times dismounted, or found it prudent to dismount, as the mules often found it difficult to extricate their legs from the slough, those cross lines of earth which give the resemblance of a ladder being wholly insecure, if by accident a mule treads upon one, the effect is to sink deeper in the intervening spiices. We had a slight shower as we ascended half a mile from our bivouac, and had " cloaked aW for the reception of the showers which the clouds appeared ready to pour upon us ; the slippery soil would not admit of moving in more than Indian file ; and our train of ten mules made the march slow and tedious. The baggage mules were more feeble than our own, and, as we were eager to reach our place of rest, we pushed on with tlie sergeant in advance, leaving the two servants and muleteers to bring up the bag- gaf/e ; the rain soon wholly separated us ; it was not yet dark, but the rain was in our faces, though our oil- cloth cloaks had performed the service they were provided for ad- mirably ; we had at length to descend. Our proposed halt- ing place was Agua Obispos. We had passed an empty, but spacious bungalow, which had been a Spanish post during the war, and were inclined to stop there, but we continued our way, though the rain never ceased, and it was already night, with even more than the darkness incident to rain. If there had been a path it would have been impossible to see it, and our sole reliance now was not to be separated, to avoid pre- cipices or ditches by very gradual advances, and to trust to the mules for a path- way guide, and to the sergeant for knowledge of the country. Elizabeth's black mule had VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 245 travelled that route before, and singularly enough had pur- sued the right track, my mule led me in another direction, which, though secure from any precipice, as, upon recon- noitering the next morning, I found ; but to have pursued that track, would have been to go largely out of the way. By hailing, and renewing the engagement not to separate, I retraced my steps and joined my companions. The sergeant had disappeared altogether ; and the baggage and attendants were we knew not how far behind. The shadow of a dis- tant sierra, which seemed to cross our path in occasional gusts, was exposed, and its outline seen distinctly ; we found the mules had led us among rocks, between which rich her- bage and some wormwood grew up and brushed our legs ; and we continued to wind down through these rocky and shelving, but not very precipitous sides of the mountain — when the welcome shout of the sergeant's voice advised us that he had found quarters ! Had he found a palace the information could not be more acceptable ; but what a house ! what a condition were we all in — no house was yet visible to our vision, and, were it broad day, there would be some difficulty to find it : our eyes had been affected by the rain, which beat upon us in front, and which our oil-cloths could not, at last, altogether protect us against. An oil-cloth capuchine, or capot, which I had provided to be attached to my cloak, I had fortunately placed over my hat, and this protected my neck and shoul- ders. I found the sergeant leading my mule with one hand, and Elizabeth's with the other, and he placed me by the side of a rock, upon which my foot rested, and I dismounted, more feeble than I had suspected. We had come 40 miles, and had been under incessant rain four hours ; I found it necessary to have help to enter the hovel, in which an earth- en cup of oil, with a feebly lighted wick in it, now enabled me to " see land" for the first time. Tiie sergeant and Elizabeth, who were both as thoroughly drenched as I was, 246 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. attended more to me than to themselves : we entered the place intended for a door, and found the whole space within apparently occupied by hammocks, over which hung some implements of war, uniform coats, swords, and leather caps, indicating the occupants to be military men. A female of the house appeared, and to her Elizabeth recommended her- self ; the sergeant had only to place our mules in safety, and our saddles ; our blankets had been, in the warm valleys, imprudently transferred to the baggage, which did not, in fact, arrive until late in the next day, the ariero and servants having halted at the Spanish camp. The sergeant had brought my hammock, and, without ceremony, began to suspend it within the inmost hammock, the incumbent of which, assuming the tone of the parade, in a bass voice for- bid the sergeant from hanging up my hammock there ; though very feeble, the urgency required exertion, and, as- suming a corresponding parade tone^ I ordered the sergeant peremptorily to fix up my hammock in that place ; whether my Spanish was perfectly classical or not, I will not pretend to say, but the sergeant replied in sailor's style, " Aye^ aye^ Coronel^'* and in a few seconds, by crawling beneath the suspended cords of five hammocks, I found myself in the sixth of the row, with full room, and very much to my satis- faction — for my fatigue was excessive. The word colonel had the effect which the sergeant expected, my suspended neighbour changed the pitch of his voice to that of com*- placency and equality, and addressed himself successively to me in Spanish and French. I had, in remonstrating against his opposition to my accommodation, signified that the world was not made for any one man, and that the house which received five lodgers in a dreary night, might very well accommodate as many more if there was room. We soon became so well acquainted, that he deplored my suffer- ing under such weather, and calling to a lieutenant, who was swinging along side him, obtained from his haversack a bot- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. • 247 tie of aguardiente — I should call it whiskey any where else, but if it had been champaign, it would not have been more welcome; he brought a gill tumbler of clear glass ; mischance had left a gap in one side of it, but he filled it as full as it •would hold, and presented it to me, assuring me it was equal to a blanket in such a night, and in such a pickle ; it was clear as rock crystal, and the flavour could not be disagree- able, as I drank it all, and thanked the giver ; it was of es- sential service. Richard had, with a soldier's discretion, said nothing, but hung up his hammock athwart at one end of the others, and went sedately to sleep. Elizabeth had been ushered into a small nook about eight feet by six, in which there were four other females. It was a country of canes, and where the cane and bamboo grow there is seldom any plank or squared timber. The only accommodation Elizabeth could find was a cold earthen floor, or literally a shelf of canes, which extended along the wall on one side of the room, four feet from the ground, and there, after ob- taining some food, of which the sergeant had become the unbidden caterer, she went to sleep, none of us being able to change our clothes. I found by our conversation that my friend, along side, was a colonel in command of a light corps [cazadores) ; that those who were along side him were officers of his regiment, and he was not wanting in confidential discourse ; he enqui- red my name, the rank I had held in the United States army, the names and relation of the young ofllicer and his sister who accompanied me, and found that the sergeant of Grena- diers, in my suite, had been ordered on the service in com- pliment to me, as it was neither boastful nor insidious, having nothing to expect from him, I advised him that I had the honour of receiving the thanks of Congress at Cucuta ; this to my surprise he had heard of, and something of my his- tory, in which he was more correct than could have been thought possible, if I had not witnessed it myself. The g48 * VISIT TO COLOMBIA. Storm grew thicker at midnight, but what with fatigue and the aguardiente, my first recollection was to find the light of a clear dawn penetrating the disarrayed wattled partition of earth and cane which had composed the exterior wall of the house, through which all the winds of heaven found free access ; but our hammocks hung above the wasted aper- tures, and though the floors were deluged, we were dry, and not uncomfortable under all circumstances. Our baggage had not arrived in the night, and the old colonel was the first in motion. His comrades were speed- ily equipt, and as our midnight conversation had made us known, we were novy glad to see each other, after our ac- quaintance. They were soon mounted. The Colonel sig- nified that he was proceeding in advance of General Ur- daneta who was ordered to move in concert with the divi- sions of Paez and Colonel Manrique, the object contempla- ted to seize Morales by stratagem, or at least, expel him from the coast, that his corps was to be in advance, and procure information ; and that we should meet General Urdaneta on our route, which proved correct. 249 CHAPTER XVII. Baggage separated — native propensities to dancing — leave Oblspos — abandoned habitations — not all^massacred — plunder— conscription — dexterity of the mules. ■^Carache — dreary position. — Santa Ana, negociation of Bolivar and Morillo here — singular apparent causeway on which it stands. — Treading and winnow- ing grain — killing of calves forbidden by policy and law of Colombia. — Lodge in the house where Bolivar and Morillo iiegocldtcd and slept — anccdoie of. — Unaccountable influence of the Spanish agents over the press. — The pro- positions of Bolivar in favour of humanity — both armies, unknown to each other, in a desperate situation. — Sucre's first public appearance as a confi- dential negociator — policy of Bolivar — recruits and reorganizes his army, and with surprising celerity appears at Carthagena, and prepares for its fall. — Com- missioners to Spain. — March — precipices — fatigue — halt at the foot of a steep descent. — Manners of the peasantry — cheerfulness universal. — Move off the road towards Truxillo. It was Sunday, and our baggage had not yet arrived ; the night, though in a northern chmate it would be deemed temperate, was here cool, and the want of our blankets sen- sibly felt. They reached Obispos at two o'clock, at that time the excuses of the ariero and Vincent were accepted, as the inclemency of the day and night taught us to think them reasonable ; but we found afterwards, that they had determined, on setting out, to stop, though not to sleep, at the Spanish camp ; the solution of which, and of other in- stances of delay, was to be found in the propensities of the ariero and our domestic Vincent to dancing fandangoes. In fact, the ariero had sent on his servant the day before to that neighbourhood, and the inclemency of the weather fa- voured the fandango. The ariero was a man of some pro- perty, about thirty years old, and among his class a great coxcomb ; our domestic was, if possible, more vain of his dancing than Vestris, and we had some opportunities of wit- nessing his feats in that way. The Caracas folks, humble 32 250 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. and elevated, and of both sexes, are distinguished above all others in the republic as graceful dancers; it was therefore Vincent's point of honour to demonstrate the super-excel- lence de su propia pais^ or, as he said himself, de todos los naturales de aquel paisy his superiority over all the natives of the country. On Monday, 16th of December, at seven o'clock, we left this miserable cottage, at Agua Obispos^ or the bishop's water. It may have been a village or town in former times, but^to us it was invisible, and there may have been a river or a well of water there, but probably it was so named from the almost unceasing rain that prevails there, and which gives to the plain and mountains that it sprinkles and surrounds, a rich pasture ; I could discover but two more dwellings, and of the same style of architecture, in the place : our route, after crossing the valley, lay along the ascent, parallel with its di- rection, two miles ; there were some fine wheat, barley, maize, peas, and other pulse, in pretty large patches, and an apparently well laboured culture ; there were numerous cat- tle grazing, which, from the position of the place, must be- long to somebody, and, if there were only a dozen owners, they must be all rich. There is a fact which has not been noticed by any of those who have travelled through Colom- bia, and which the scantiness of dwellings, and the richness of the husbandry calls to my recollection, as it has relation to the state of the population. We had several occasions to regret the desertion of towns and villages on the road, and, at first, concluded that their population had been all destroyed by the war. The destruction by war did not require any ex- aggeration, but we found, upon better inquiry, that this solitude was an abandonment always near the high roads, where cultivation was rich and abundant, which was account- ed for by some intelligent men, whom we occasionally fell in with on the road, or where we chanced to halt. Where the country was not rich in cultivation, the villages remained VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 251 inhabited, but only by women, aged, or infant persons. In the rich countries the whole population moved efi masse, with their cattle, to some of the remote valleys, out of the reach of the pillage or the march of armies ; and out of the reach too of the military conscription. These vacated villages and houses, add an only apparent decay to the actual loss by the war ; it was merely apparent, because the people had only moved out of the range of the troops, as it was a frequent complaint when we reasoned with persons who replied to our inquiries for provisions — " JVo aye nada^'' we have nothing — it was a frequent apology that exaction was as common with the troops of the republic, as with the Godas. Our appearance with a grenadier in uniform, with his lance in front, made us look entirely military, and as the sergeant was the usual forage- master and purveyor, the people on the roads treated us as they treated all military men, who too often obtained provisions and never paid for them. They acknowledged, indeed, that all the Colombian native troops took was mere food, or perhaps guarapa ; but the Godas not only took pro- visions, but any moveable they cast an eye upon, often broke open the chests., and abused the females, destroying also in wantonness what could not be useful to them. The three houses of ^gua Obispos were more than a mile apart, and in that where we lodged, there were more than twenty females of all ages, and but two or three men advanced in years. It was six o'clock when we began to ascend the Sierra, and found the plains and verdant slopes of the ascent on both sides enlivened by a great number of fine horses, horn cattle, and some handsome and clean fleeced sheep. As we could not breakfast with satisfaction where we had slept, we halted at the side of a beautiful rivulet at eight o'clock, and made a sub- stantial breakfast. The rain had ceased, and passed to the summits of a distant range of the paramo, where it seemed to wait till we should move out of the way of shelter. The '^oil being very rich, and the earth soaked by the last week's 25£ VISIT TO COLOMBIA. rain, the road of the Sierra became, in some places, slippery' and dangerous in the abrupt descents. When I had read some traveller's account of the dexterity of mules in such si- tuations, I confess I was apprehensive of some exaggeration, but my incredulity was here perfectly cured. Elizabeth's black mule had travelled to and from Bogota before, and be- sides being a manageable and safe animal, and his load light, her vivacity led her to pass over such places, even before the sergeant, and it became to her a matter of sport ; in the de- scent from the Obispos Sierra, she was first in possession of the top of the scarp, and her mule took to the steep in a very remarkable manner, crossing its legs on the margin of the mound, and actually sliding with his haunches a little de- pressed, so that for fourteen or fifteen yards, she sat as erect and easy as on the level road, and her descent was perfectly quiet and secure. The vigour of my mule was unsuitable to this kind of adventure, and my weight added to that of the mule, his hoofs usually stuck in the soil, and it was neces- sary to descend by traversing the face of the steep zig-zag. We reached Carache after a not very pleasant ride over the Paramo de las Rosasy about three o'clock, and were glad to find shelter in the house of the alcalde, where we remained that night, and having experienced the want of wine or some liquor in the cold and wet we had been exposed to, no wine being to be had, we procured some very excellent aguardiente^ a fine alcohol, distilled from maize, pure and colourless as a crystal spring, and laid it by for future exi- gency. The village scite appears to have been chosen in a whim ; the access to it, as we travelled, was through a va- riety of mazes, through hill and dale, glen and rivulet, where the mountain bases approached close, and their sides immensely elevated and steep ; rising a long winding track, covered with deep forests, we suddenly broke from the shade upon the flatted summit of a ridge, which seemed to have been constructed by art, across a valley, and to have divided VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 258 it into two, each of which was to be seen distinctly, for many miles, in splendid verdure ; it was the town of Santa Ana, which stands upon this ridge, on the south end, and is about a mile in length, the ridge itself about two miles, and the le- vel space about two hundred yards, the single street being about fifty feet broad ; the fronts of the houses are in the same alignment, but stand apart, and as the south end of the causeway approaches the Sierra, the road ascends and leads over a paramo where vegetation is stunted, and the surface has the appearance of a black turf, with some ferns, and two species of the whortle-berry. This causeway, for it conveys the impression of an artificial creation, is the only thorough- fare, and appears like the summit of a vast bridge thrown over to unite two lofty mountains, which, without this com- munication at that place, would render the journey difficult and circuitous. Its inhabitants trade in mules, wheat, maize, barley, and other products, and transport merchandize. The valleys, intersected by the causeway east and west, present the most agreeable pictures of a country well settled and cul- tivation abundant. It has a much better church than towns of more celebrity. It being the only highway, exposed it to much depredation during the war, and its streets often de- luged with blood ; many of its inhabitants had transferred their families to the remote valleys, some of whom the al- calde said were returning. The winnowing of grain on the side of a steep acclivity, and the circular threshing floors, are seen here in the same style as in Egypt, Hindustan, Persia, and Boutan : a circle of stones placed on the edge, about three feet above the floor, has in the centre an upright post, to which is attached a light beam, as long as the semi-dia- meter of the circle ; the central end is placed by an eye or hole on a pin or pivot in the central post, and the horses, mules, or oxen, are attached to this light beam, and the sheafs of grain are laid within the track of the circle, around which they move, and thus tread out the grain ; the abun- 35db VISIT TO COLOMBIA. dance of grain is unequivocally proved by the number of these treading floors, and by the fact, that such establish- ments are kept as a business like a grist-mill, to thresh the grain of other persons than the owners. The cattle were so numerous in the north valley, that I inquired and learned there were several hatos, where the rearing of cattle for sale was carried on to a great extent. Here I first learned that the Colombian government, finding that the Spaniards were de- termined to exterminate the cattle as well as the people, and produced in some parts a scarcity, had by a public regulation forbidden the killing of calves or cows, so that veal is not to be seen in Colombia, as the wisdom of the measure has ob- tained the spontaneous applause of the people. The alcalde did not fail to let us know we slept in the apartment which Bolivar more than once occupied, and mentioned some oc- currences, which circumstances did not permit me to note ; there were three rooms, we slept in the central. It was from this place that Morillo, in 1820, dated his over- tures to Bolivar for an armistice ; and it was in this house they met and slept after the preliminary forms of negociation were agreed upon, and in the central room they first met. Morillo suggested that they might occupy the northern and southern rooms for repose, but Bolivar preferred the central room, and proposed that they should hang both their ham- mocks in that room, that they might have the advantage of conversation, and it was so settled, and the best part of the night was spent in discourse. The negociations, and the armistice that followed, conclu- ded at Santa Ana and Truxillo, which all belong to the same event, have never been truly published ; the public journals of the United States at that period, strange to relate, were, with two or three exceptions, either generally passive or un- accountably hostile to South America ; this malign temper was carried to such an extraordinary extent, that the Spanish agents had free access for the publication of the most gross VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 255 misrepresentations, which, too, had a material and disad- vantageous effect on the rich commerce of those countries ; but the refutations of those calumnies were not permitted to be published ; or, if some one was found to publish the true state of things, the adverse prints maintained a systematic silence ; unless when there happened to be news hostile to the republican cause. Those celebrated negociations incur- red this exclusion and suppression ; nay, stories wholly- contrary to the facts were published, and refutation not lis- tened to. Perhaps in the history of the world, a negociation so singular and novel in its character, so magnanimous and bold, or more consistent with humanity and wisdom, cannot be found. It had also features that seldom appear on the theatre of diplomacy ; premeditated deceit, personal artifice, and cunning, unfortunately belong to all diplomatic pro- ceedings, and this negociation is distinguished, by being proposed in deceit, in a premeditated determination to be rendered nugatory ; while en the other side, this premedita- ted perfidy was perfectly anticipated, and yet the negociation was conducted as if no such knowledge was possessed ; but it was made use of to establish generous principles of war, and to abrogate that barbarous system of massacre in cold blood, which Morilio himself had practised. It was known to Bolivar, that Morilio had received the permission which he sought, of returning to Spain upon the avowed hopelessness of subjugating Colombia ; he had soli- cited authority to precede his departure by overtures, such as he might deem eligible for an armistice, in order to lead to further negociations, and, if practicable, a reconciliation ; he was authorised to address Bolivar with the title of Gene- ral of the Colombian forces, thereby acknowledging the na- tional title ; and to limit the negociation, if its progress was not propitious, to a period that should leave Spain at liberty to meet a failure with reinforcements, in the event of failure. The proposition proceeded from Morilio, and even the forms 256 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. were suggested by him. Morillo was, in fact, in a despe- rate situation when he received those powers ; he must have been compelled to embark, if he had been pushed by a force of four thousand men ; and to retire under such circum- stances, after being denominated pacijicador^ and after so many outrages against humanity, was to retire under unmi- tigable infamy. If he could negociate even a truce, it would leave him an opportunity of retiring without notori- ous shame, and devolve upon his successor all the hazard and the responsibility which he wished to avoid. But what is most singular, is, that neither Morillo nor Bolivar was ac- quainted with the actual condition of the other ; each per- haps was engrossed by the feebleness of their own condition. The Colombian forces were reduced to a very low state, and all resources were apparently exhausted ; the corps, which were embodied, were very short of their complement, and it became necessary to divide them into detachments, and canton them, in order to derive from different parts of the country local subsistence, which they had not the means to draw to head- quarters ; and it was apprehended that the ar- my would, even thus dispersed, disband altogether. Both generals, in their own conception, were in a desperate situa- tion ; and it is in this way we must account for the ready acceptation of Morillo's propositions for an armistice. Mo- rillo thus assured an opportunity to disentangle himself from a war now hopeless ; Bolivar saw in it the salvation of the republic, of which, although he had never despaired, it had not been at any time, even after the evacuation of Carthagena, in a crisis more serious. / j The plan of Bolivar was instantly formed — circular orders were issued lo the commanding officers of divisions and sta- tions—and upon their steady and exact conformity to their instructions, the triumph of their country depended — that the plan to be pursued was digested with care, and all that VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 257 remained, was for each to act in his particular province, as if the fate of every thing depended upon each individual. The details of the negociation, the correspondence on both sides, the appointment of Commissioners on the part of each chief, to digest the propositions on which pacification in the most extensive sense was to be founded — were all an- ticipated ; a line of demarcation was to be fixed, beyond which troops, on either side, were not to pass, had been in the first instance provisionally conceded ; but upon exami- nation it was found, that the proposed line would put the Spaniards exclusively in possession of the great magazine of provisions, the cattle of the plains ; a new line was suggest- ed by Bolivar, and agreed upon ; and care was taken, pend- ing these transactions, to make known to the country, that the overture came from the Spaniards, that it was opened even with a virtual acknowledgment of the national inde- pendence, and that nothing seemed now to be necessary, but to present a numerous army in powerful attitude, to shew that, though desirous of peace, they were prepared to assert independence, by energy and arms ; the occasion served also ^to draw forth resources, to sustain as well as to recruit the army, and with adequate effect ; though a few weeks before it was apprehended that every resource was exhausted. As soon as the first effects of this new impulse were percepti- ble, and with a view to disembarass the proceedings by his presence, Bolivar devolved upon Colonel Sucre and Colonel J. Brecerio Mendez, the charge of attending to the negocia- tions, and he signified that, pending these measures, he would retire to the plains. By an unprecedented march, af- ter writing a letter at St. Christoval, the first account heard of Bolivar, was his appearance in his friend Montilla's camp, before Carthagena ; where having put in motion the affairs of the siege, and, as if he had passed upon wings, he appeared again, near the army, at Truxillo. 33 S58 A'lSIT TO COLOMBIA. Morillo could not believe that Bolivar had been at Carthage- na : he was soon convinced, — the place surrendered. Bolivar had re-organised his army, and pressed Morillo not to suffer the negociation to be conducted so tardily ; as the delay w^as assuring advantages to Spain, while it offered only disadvan- tages to Colombia ; and he made a proposition of a new cha- racter ; it was to fix the principles upon which war, if it should be unfortunately renewed, might be in future con- ducted ; and he stated specifically a series of propositions, which were to arrest massacres, assure good treatment to prisoners, establish cartels of exchange of prisoners, and the abrogation of every cruelty which called for retaliation ; as holding prisoners in manacles, and putting officers of high rank to servile labours ; every one of which inhuman mea- sures had been practised by Morillo himself. Morillo per- ceived that propositions of such a nature must come from a mind strong and confident ; that he could accomplish nothing as to the political relations ; and entered into the treaty re- gulating the mode of conducting war in future. One of the propositions of Morillo, urged by the negocia- tors, was that two commissioners should proceed to Spain with the treaties to be concluded. Bolivar at first consider- ed this as only a stratagem of protraction, and the termina- tion of the truce approaching, he considered it either a strata- gem for delay, or a cloud under which he was to make his retreat, and shift the responsibility from himself. But as the merely sending a mission to Spain could do no harm, and as, if not sent, a false pretext might be set up, at their meeting at Santa Ana Morillo solicited this mission as a favour, and Sefiors Echiaverra and Ravenga were appointed, but with absolute instructions not to enter upon any nego- ciation which had not for its preliminary the recognition of independence, in conformity with the fundamental law, passed at Angostura in 1819. The details of this transaction would form a volume, but the abstract here given, though incomplete, has not been pub- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 259 lished before — as the affairs of South America have not yet obtained, even in the United States, the importance which belongs to them intrinsically, the publication of those tran- sactions at large will wait for a period of appreciation, when the affairs of South America are more rationally appreciated than they yet have been. We left Santa Ana on the 18th of December, and passed the rock which is celebrated as the first place of meeting be- tween Bolivar and Morillo ; it has nothing besides remark- able about it, but the positions of the outposts. We tra- versed up and down the tremendous and steep precipices which made this day's march fatiguing and disagreeable : our mules, for the first time, were seriously jaded by the ine- qualities and the laborious windings and descents over roads of rubble ; through deep shelving lanes overhung with drip- ping shrubbery, shut out from light and heat, and producing chilliness. As soon as we were extricated from this humid atmosphere, the heat on the rocky hills became unpleasant ; and these changes took place several times within three hours. We were about four miles distant from Truxillo before we began the descent of the mountain, at the foot of which the road winds off. A valley, on our left, was refreshed by a broad rivulet, which trembled like a silver thread below, and seemed almost within a stone's throw ; while we stood perched above the precipice in awe of the steep and tiresome zigzag we had yet to descend : winding over slopes of pro- jecting and crumbled rock, strata of red clay macerated by the action of the passing mules, and the previous day's rain ; and over which the persevering and patient mule labours his way with a constancy and security that is astonishing. In every other country the obstinacy of the mule is a sort of proverb ; but I saw no instance of such a character in the long journey I performed : and without mules it is not to be conceived how intercourse could be carried on over the frightful and desolate cliffs, ravines, and rivers of South America. They are, in fact, to these regions, what the ca- 260 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. mels of northern and western Asia, and the steam-boats of North America are ; their companions, the muleteers, are not so appreciable ; generally speaking, they have retained the shrewdnttss and plausible knavery of their prototypes in Spain. At imminent peril, with the fracture of some saddle crup- pers and girth buckles, we reached the deepest deep of the valley, but so jaded, that seeing a few huts on the side of the ravine, with some cotton and orange trees, and cows browz- ing on the slopes of the brook ; and, finding that Truxillo was more than three miles from the main road, I resolved to rest an hour or two here, and accordingly defiled to the right instead of pursuing the left road which lay along the ascent of one of the rivers, which assemble in this concentration and debouch of a hundred valleys and ravines. The females were occupied in releasing the cotton from its pod, and clearing the brilliant glossy fleece from its seeds; others were twirling the distaff with the same grace and industry which the poet has given as one of the finest attributes of Penelope — our appearance must have been delightful to them, for in an instant the varied occupations were suspend- ed, and all v/ere on their feet, their e} es distended with cu- riosity and their lips adorned with smiles of satisfaction ; a buxom damsel, without affectation or forwardness, stept for- ward and offered to aid Elizabeth to dismount, and another superseded the sergeant in the same civility to me ; the apart- ment, which, like the cobler's stall, served for " parlour, kitchen, and all,'' was not very large, the floor was earthen and not very level, i^ut it was cleanly swept, and the walls were as white as if they had been cut out of the material of the ravines of the Barquisimeto mountains. Only one ham- mock could swing in this chamber, and that from the ex- treme angles. An hour*s rest, and some good chocolate, with milk fresh from the Govt's which grazed around, put my animal economy in order, and enabled me to spend another VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 261 hour in the open air, using the freedom encouraged by the gay temper and afFabiHty of the females, to crack a few jokes with the young and old, and to discover the temperament of their political affections. Here, as in every other place, with a single exception, the name of Bolivar had no rival but the Madre de Dios — and the Goths or Godas were congenially grouped with the devil and his imps. At half-past two o'clock we parted with this cheerful and innocent people, and with many civil expressions — and turn- ed off from the main road, which lay in a west direction, to the side of the rapid current of the Motatan^ along the side of which we travelled up south amidst plantations of cacao, su- gar-fields, and exuberant vegetation. The side of the stream consisted of irregular heaps of unequal sized stones, whose sharp angles had been barely rubbed off, and the river bed of lesser stones of the same recent forms — at four o'clock we liad ascended much above the level of our halting-place ; the mountain on the left side of the river, which had been con- cealed by the forests, now appeared erect, and green, but naked of trees and somewhat broken ; the mountain on our left, on the right side of the river, became depressed, and de- scended to a gentle slope, upon which the sun cast an agree- able light ; our route lay across this river, which we passed upon a very rude bridge of the simplest structure, a few trees, their branches lopt, placed alternately tops and stumps, a quantity of brush- wood tied across the timbers, and earth and sand beaten into the brush-wood so as to keep them compact, and form a very passable path on the surface. .We reached some cottages, but the town was not yet to be seen, for we were several feet below its lowest inclination, and in its suburbs ; winding round a mound and a ravine we reached a sloping passage, paved with coarse flat stones, and, led by the sergeant, who appeared as if scaling a rampart, we followed, and, on gaining the summit, found ourselves on 262 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. el empcdrado de caUe, or the pavement of the main street, of this very celebrated, but much-misrepresented city of Truxillo. CHAPTER XYIII. Truxillo misrepresented— a more exact description — polite subaltern — good quarters — accommodations — style of domestic economy — pretty ancles and satin shoes — the night-cap— Pandora's box — love of being looked at — good taste in apparel — religious costume — topography of Truxillo — the goitre — where prevalent — difficult to move — our ariero useful on the road — his ideas of the Revolution — characteristics — no mules — dispatch the Sergeant to Betijoque, head-quarters General Clemente, the Intendant — receive a most friendly an- swer — consequences — 20th Dec. leave Truxillo — the soldier's widow of Gua- yana — follow the course of the Motatan — Savaiia larga — Hacienda de la Plata — Valeria — Alcalde knavish — difficulty to obtain mules — resolve to have them — Spaniards expected there that night — continue our march to the Para- mo in a heavy rain at 3 o'clock — above the clouds, sublime prospect — sublime desolate aspect — Valley of Mendoza — foot of the Paramo — lodged with the Curate — hospitable — Catechism — Christmas eve and night — sky-rockets — squibs — and firing all niglit — a native oboe or musical tube — Christmas day — polite Alcalde — tlie sun-dial. I HAVE said in the last chapter that Truxillo has been misrepresented. Indeed, I know no place that so little cor- responds with the accounts given of it, in all the books that I have seen, as this ancient city. I suspect it must be the history of its first vicissitudes, and the richness of the circum- jacent country which have led to the general exaggeration con- cerning this city and scite. The date of its first foundation by Garcia Paredes is 1556, but the Indians drove the set- tlers out in two years after. There were three more unsuc- cessful attempts, but the fifth, in 1570, was successful, and it was finally fixed in the nook which it now occupies. What is most remarkable as to the scite of this ancient city, that it is more than three miles from the ordinary roads, and ne- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. S63 ver could have been on the high road. Passing from the foot of the steep mountain where we rested, the highway leads to the westward along the bank of the Motatan, which issues from the south, through an obscure recess, on the left of the road, and winds off to the westward ; if we followed the course of the river, which is the direct route, we should have left Truxillo unseen ; for to go thither it is necessary to pass three miles to the south along the Motatan, and it is not till after crossing a primitive sort of a bridge or scaffold, and scrambling beneath some lofty forest trees, that a few huts are seen upon some detached knolls, which would never in- duce a suspicion that an ancient city was so near at hand. The sergeant, who was master of the Carte de pais, put spurs to his mule, and dashed into a ravine, so that we lost sight of him, till we saw him cap a pied mounting a slope of stone work, which resembled the slope of a covert way, to a rampart, where he waited for us ; we followed of course, and trusted to our mules for security in passing over the slippery flag-stones. As it was a warlike time, and this was a mili- tary commandancy, the serjeant led us directly to the quar- ters of the commandant, over a pavement that was in the usual style of excellence. The great man was absent, but a polite subaltern volunteered, seeing a lady in company, and conducted us to an adjacent street, where, opening a pair of folding gates, we rode in, and he presented to us in the cor- ridor an ample chamber on the main street, said, this house is yours, made his bow, and disappeared. The house was a very good one as to space and style, but it was not as clean as was necessary to comfort ; it belonged to a widow lady ^vho was at her hacienda in the country, and it is the usage to afford accommodation to persons of respectable appearance in such vacant houses ; a poor widow woman, who had been accommodated by the owner in a rear apartment, presented herself and solicited permission to clean out the room, and as she had the broom in hand, and 264 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. went to work as she spoke, it was an act mutually agree- able. As there was no incumbrance beside the bare walls, every thing was soon in order — our mules were already un- laden, and feeding upon sugar cane — our baggage trunks so disposed as to serve for chairs and tables ; our hammocks hung up ; chocolate smoking and frothing to find its way into three or four tea-cups of different ages and nations, which Vincent had placed, with some fine bread, on one of our own white napkins ; a fricaseed chicken, with some fine rice, completed our ample and delicious repast, which being dispatched, Elizabeth, in her night-cap, placed herself on the vis avis seat of the window, with her work-box and her embroidery, and was as busy and unconcerned as if she was already at home — and as it was on the main-street, and the only promenade of this ancient city, she could see as far from her window of what was going on in that street, as from the top of the best house in Truxillo. I believe it is as true of cities as of villages, especially when the city, like "Truxillo, is not larger, nor as large as some villages, that they are as proverbial for gossiping, and as curious about novelties. The arrival of an elephant or a whale could not have affected the pretty ladies of Truxillo with more curiosity, than the rumour of a strange damsel, of fair complexion, and with cheeks as roseate as those of the Virgin of Chinchinquira, had arrived in Truxillo, and was actually quartered at the ■easa of Seiiora Cardina, in the Calle Grande ; the pavement, though very good for horses, or mules, or asses, is not ex- actly the best adapted for very pretty delicate feet, cased in satin or other silk shoes ; and moreover, where it is so rough, there is a necessity of keeping the hind- skirt of the garment from soiling where the mules have gone before them — what was to be done ? could it be expected that cu- riosity would regard a rough pavement ? and moreover the ladies of Truxillo had never seen a street with a trottoiry such as we have at Philadelphia, and such as they have not at Paris. VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 265 although Mollien finds fault with Bogota for that defect. They in fact passed on the opposite side of the street, and they peeped, but good manners did not permit them to peep long enough, and besides the night-cap was what has been CiiUed a mob-cap, which tied under the chin, and there were I know not how many borders, edged with a very narrow lace, and even the crown itself had a border where it joined the head- piece ; and those deep borders, which were intended to de- feat the wantonness of the sunbeams, now defeated the cu- riosity of those Senoritas, who wished to see every thing; after passing up and down, first at this side, and then at that, eyeing the object, as if, like Miranda in the Tempest, They could no woman's face remember, Save from the glass they'd seen their own, Wondering at such goodly creatures, And the brave world that had such people in it. At length female curiosity surmounted all scruples — and a group entered the corridor, using the service of the poor soldier's widow, who already seemed herself one of our party ; they requested to be admitted, but entered upon the word. They had not seen me, for I was at repose, and Richard was climbing the sides of the mountain which hung its steep sides over the street, and shut out sunshine three fourths of the day. The ladies were soon intimate ; they asked a thousand questions, in perfect good nature, and in perfect good nature they were answered ; they wished to see the cap — the night cap, but night was coming on, and intimations of the even- ing repast led them to separate, but not without invitations to visit their houses, and beseeching us not to leave Trux- illo so soon. There was indeed a succession of visiters until night warned them away. My daughter not expecting to remain, as mules had been applied for to be ready in the 34 266 VISIT TO C0L05IBIA. morning, she had barely taken ofF her bonnet and riding- habit, and put on a light garment, letting her cap remain. But they were with us in the morning — for the mules were not forthcoming — and now they prayed to be permitted to take a pattern of the cap — Elizabeth went to her trunk to find one perfectly unsoiled, and it was necessary to remove some other articles to get at it ; this was opening Pandora's box ; tlie cap was lent that day, and before we left Truxillo it was the general object of female attraction. Perhaps they heard some passing traveller say that " a beautiful woman never looks so well as in her night- cap," — and they all deter- mined to look well — for every one had taken a pattern. But the trunk had revealed other curiosities — come, my sweet friend, said one of them — " Senorita mia, vamos — andar por las calies y tragear sus gran vestidos — vamos^ mi Senorita bonita — mi aimga^ " Come my sweet friend, promenade the streets, and show your beautiful clothes, my pretty friend." How it was possible that a young lady should have handsome clothes and not walk abroad to show them, was beyond their conception — they saw every thing in the trunk — admired every thing — and if taking a pattern could procure them, they would have had patterns of every thing. The Colombian ladies, generally, when allowed to follow their own taste, dress to advantage ; and, although they use a profusion of jewellery in their hair, on their necks and fin- gers, in company, their method of attiring themselves and putting up their fine dark long hair is very graceful. Their familiarity is, to my taste, much to be preferred to the stiff prudery which I have seen in other countries. They never affect coldness or reserve ; I never saw any instance of a want of decorum, in the very ardour of their cheerful- ness. The taste for dress, I have understood from some o them, has undergone a great change since the revolution. The custom, enforced by the clergy, of compelling females to wear a particular dress, common to all classes, is still re- , / VISIT TO COLOMBIA. S67 tained, and it is not unbecoming ; though it differs at Caracas and Valencia from Tunja and Bogota. Still the taste for dress is, at present, greater than the capacity to gratify it. The revolution has wrecked the fortunes of all parties — the royal adherents who are exiled, and the republicans who have triumphed. The sources of opulence however remain with the victors, and its growth, however slow, is inevitable. Meanwhile, those who were among the distinguished formerly, endeavour to keep up former appearances — and it is not no- ticed as a reproach, for how could misfortune, arising out of virtuous causes, be reproachable ; it is only noticed as the evidence of a ruling passion, which, being an object of inte- rest to the general observer, is no less so to him who looks round the world with a commercial eye ; as it proves that the market must augment progressively with public and pri- vate prosperity. I have known, in respectable families, where there were no silk stockings to be purchased, the females have so arranged it, that they should have those they could purchase in rotation, and the females who remained at home from one ball, go to the next in rotation. The scite of Truxillo is remarkable — imagine a bank of about a quarter of a mi'e front, facing the east, sloping ab- ruptly to the bank of the Motatan, which pours its gurgling current to the north. The southern side of the bank, is the foot of a steep precipitous mountain, which continues its el- evation of about six hundred yards, better than a quarter of a mile due west, where it suddenlv turns and forms a nook of not forty feet wide ; the mountain now pursuing its J course a point or tw^o east of north, not quite a half mile. So that the west end of this valley, which is no where a quarter of a mile broad, and narrows to forty feet, and has for its sides the winding chain of these whimsical moun- tains that form the nook on which Truxillo stands. The ac count given by Alcedo, of Truxillo, is marvellously errone- ous; and Bonny castle, though taking it all in all, as the best 268 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. book on South America for reference, though it abounds al- so with errors ; Bonnycastle has been misled by his author- ities. Upon Alcedo, generally, there is little dependence to be placed. I never read a work on geography so abundant in error, or so defective in relation to what it professes to give — correct information. Besides the main street, which is the only one that ex- tends the greater length, there is another parallel to it, on the south side, and part of a street on the north side ; three or four streets cross these, east and west. The country around is rich and prolific ; but whatever may have influen- ced the settlement of Truxillo in this nook, and its contin- uance as a place of importance, it is easy to discern, that a free government, by enlarging the power of choice, will lead the inhabitants to situations more eligible, and less gloomy, than the nook of Truxillo. A disease, which, though not peculiar to this part of the world, I mean the Goitre, is very prevalent in this neigh- bourhood, though I did not see a single case in Truxillo — the first I saw in Colombia, was on the road from Santa Ana to Truxillo, where I was taught to expect to see it seizing upon every throat ; perhaps I saw our pretty female visitors with the more pleasure, as not one of them had that deform- ity, nor did I see a second, till I had advanced towards Mendoza : as far as a transient passage would enable me to judge, the goitre appears only in particular districts; and after leaving these, a considerable space is passed over be- fore it recurs again. I did not see it at Merida, nor thence to Gritja ; but the worthy curate, who came to re- ceive us, and conduct us to Sativa, was affected by goitre, which it was some time before I perceived, it was so dexter- ously covered by a green guard and scarf. The charming people of Susacon were wholly exempt from it, and I felt some delight in learning from Senora Calderon, the lovely wife of the alcalde, that it was not known in their parish, nor for some miles around. Neither was it visible at the VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 269 beautiful town of that beautiful and kind people at Santa Rosa, nor is it frequent at Tunja or Bogota, though some instances prevail there. I know not how far the custom- ary dislike of salt, which prevails every where in Colom- bia, may have any influence, but so little is salt in use, that, wherever we dined with any of our friends, a salt-celler was laid for us only, none else using it with flesh, fish, or fowl. The government, disposed to find a cure for this unsightly disease, has promised ample rewards to those who may afford remedies for its cure and prevention. Our domestic arrangements were such as if disposed to remain we should deem convenient enough, but we were desirous of proceeding forward. The commandant was, perhaps, too much occupied in mind by the Spaniards, who were about twenty-five miles distant, to bestow any regard upon us. We had endeavoured to prevail upon our ariero to accompany us to Merida, and then we should move the next morning, but as was his intention at first, he had already bargained for a return cargo, and we must wait the leisure of the higher powers. We therefore paid our cavalier, Valen- tine, giving him a letter acknowledging his fidelity, to Co- lonel Gomez who recommended him. When he found I had said nothing in censure of his revels and fandangoes, he was particularly eloquent: he had amused us very frequent- ly on the road with his vivacity and vanity, and unceasing communicativeness. This hero of mule-drivers was, in the main, honest in pecuniary affairs, but was rather indifferent to veracity when it interfered with his wishes, and he was apt to misrepresent distance, or to declare a place ten or twelve miles, more or less, remote, when a delay or a forced march would bring him to a neighbourhood where he could spend his night at a fandango ; but lying in this way may be considered as inseparable from the muleteer as honour and integrity from jockies and gamblers. From constantly passing on the routes between Caracas and Truxillo, which were to him the polar regions, he knew every body, and dipt 270 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. into every body's business ; he pointed out, as we passed Hci- ciendas, that formerly belonged to Godasy and (in an under voice) some Godas who still remained, who, he said, el eon- greso ibolishly permitted to remain. He could tell the acts and deeds of al! the eminent Colombians within a hundred miles of any part of the route, and never failed, when he had told his story, to refer every thing to Bolivar and el congreso ile Colombia. He was a sturdy patriot, and explained his ideas ot the revolution by observing, that before the revolu- tion there were men every where whom it was not safe to look at, but now a man in his station, tma paisano libre^ may talk freely and look at any body, as I talk and look at you, Seiior, por favor ; the lawyers, he said, had not the same power, though they still vext people too much ; and somehow, said he, — looking round lest he should be heard by some one in his mind's eye, though many leagues distant, — somehow all the ill-natured priests seem to have gone off with the Godas, for those who remain treat us as if we were men. He was not bashful in relating his own exploits in two campaigns, nor that among the muleteers he was considered no small character ; he had, he said, some qualifications for his sta- tion in life ; at Valencia or San Carlos he was considered as tKe best dancer among the numerous circle of his acquaint- ance ; but that Caracanian, that Vincente, your asistientey I acknowledge, beats me hollow. When impeached of leav- ing our baggage exposed, and he and Vincente going off at night to dancing places, he pleaded guilty to going, but re- minded me that he had a man-servant especially to take care of his own mules, and of course our baggage. The absence of Valentine at night was nothing to us, but he carried Vincent with him, or they went together, and the services of the latter were sometimes wanted ; besides, we found him on the march frequently in a deep sleep on his mule, to which he had committed himself and his fortunes implicitly. We met no such troublesomely clever muleteer on the rest of our journey as our ariero Valentine, and when VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 271 he received his money and was about to part, with a good- natured freedom he made an apologetic confession, that he had sometimes given us more displeasure than he ought, par- ticularly in keeping back the baggage at the Spanish camp, and letting us go on without our blankets to Obispos ; that he never travelled with any people more to his satisfaction, and if it were possible would like to go the whole world over with us. Poor Vincente was disconsolate at being separated from a man who had the candour to acknowledge him his superior at a fandango. The unkindness, or the more serious mental occupation of the commandant of Truxillo, had now detained us five days in this gloomy nook. The distance to Betijoque, on the lake of Maracaibo, where the intendant General Lino Clemente then was with a small force watching Morales, was only half a day's march. I dispatched a letter to him in the afternoon, and before noon the next day I had his kind answer, and a visit in full uniform from the commandant and his suite, who regretted his not knowing who I was before, and inviting me to dine and stay a day longer ; but that mules should be at my command early in the morning. Of course 1 had no other right than usage to expect any attention from the com- mandant, but the promptitude with which they were now provided, only proved how likely a mere stranger is to be disregarded, when an officer does not think the obligations of his nation equally imperative. I declined any visit. I had the honour of a personal acquaintance with General Clemente at Philadelphia, when he was the ministerial agent of the republic ; he gave as an apology for not coming to see me on my route, that he was at that moment in presence of Morales, who had a force double his numbers, and could do no more than keep him in check, and prevent his maraudings from being more extensive ; he advised me not to tarry a moment, but move forward as fust as possible, as my route was that which he suspected Morales meant to take. During our detention at Truxillo, we were not without 272 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. some amusement. The poor soldier's widow, to ingratiate herself with my daughter, the evening of our arrival, was ve- ry useful to us, and very interesting. She was a native of Angostura, and had come all that way in prosecution of some claims on account of her husband, who had fallen in battle ; she had four children with her, and one of them sung in a most interesting style, and with her accompani- ment. Her amusing stories and her interesting songs were delightful, and perhaps the more so, because she appeared to study nothing but to contribute to our comfort and satis- faction. The little girl, of ten years, who sung so well, was -constantly with us, and we had numerous specimens of their popular, patriotic, romantic, and amatory songs. The poor widow was besides an improvisatrice, and in several instances added a stanza to a song, complimentary to some of us. Eli- zabeth gave her such little articles as could be spared, for her girls, and a trifling present seemed to produce as much gra- titude as if it had been ample. Indeed, with an ardent love of music, I do not recollect to have had more satisfaction from melody and song, than from the unmeditated concerts of this poor, but amiable widow and her orphans. We left Truxillo on the twenty-third of December, at eleven o'clock, and descending the steep ravine, by which we entered the town, we were surprised to find the poor widow on the road side with her children, where she had placed herself to take a last sight of us, and to express her gratitude and her bles- sings. While we descended along the rugged bank of the Motatan, she continued to hold up her scarf, and wave it in the air, until we were hidden by the winding of the valley.— The pain is much greater than the interest excited by the knowledge of such afflictions as this poor widow and her or- phans were exposed to by the afflictions of war : it was some mitigation, however, to reflect, that she was in a country where indigence can never famish ; where charity is so unaf- fected as to divest its favours of arrogance or contempt ;^ where perpetual spring saves the unfortunate from that seve* VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 273 rity of wretchedness where cold and avarice produce insen- sibility and hardness of heart. We had, in going to Truxillo, to pass about three miles south of the highway ; for it is so far from the road ; we had now returned back those three miles, and following the stream of the Motatan, to the westward, where we had no ac- tual path, as our track sometimes crossed the river, passing through cane brakes, sugar patches, coffee plantations, and cacao groves. By half-past two we passed the vilhige of Pampanita without halting, and entered on Savana LargOy where, about five, we turned off from the road, to an adjacent house of some magnitude, where we resolved to sleep ; we entered without knocking, and were in our hammocks by nine o'clock. It rained pretty heavy all night. We were on our march by seven in the morning of the 24th. This llanura or plain, was not a dead flat, but on the north side had a steep bank, of more than fifty feet descent, to the vast plain on that side ; on the south side, it was a broken, but verdant ground, with hillocks, which prevented its line of declination from being so visible, and clumps of trees, and some forest in the distance, gave it a very picturesque appear- ance ; the plain may be about twelve miles in length, our course was to the north-west, or nearly so, in its prolongation, and at the west extremity, the ground gave a platform more elevated, and ascending as it receded to the west ; the general breadth of this llanura^ was about four to five miles ; the plain to the west and north-east below, presented the ap- pearance of numerous plantations, and former opulence at least ; for every thing was then stagnant, owing to the neigh- bourhood of a Spanish force, double in number to the Co- lombians. We continued our way, procured some fine milk on the road, and descended to the lower plain, passing the Hacien- da de la Plata, once the property of a very opulent royalist planter. I had seen but few plantations which bore more ST-il VISIT TO COLOMBIA. substantial evidence of the riches of its former proprietor than this ; and, though going rapidly to utter ruin, it was ventrable even in its decay. After a very pleasant ride, we reached a hamlet of some thirty detached houses on a plain, it was called Valeria. We found the people, who had not yet fled, in a state of trepidation ; and the alcalde appeared to me, from his demeanor, as if he was calculating upon the question of maintaining or betraying his post. He found no pleasure in exercising his duties, and upon our reiterated inquiries for mules, he gave no other answer than ahora ! — ahora si I — presently, or immediately ; but it seemed as if, when he said ahora, he meant ?iot now, but never, I shewed him the letter received from the Intendant, and told him I should report his conduct ; at length I sent the sergeant to him, to say, that I had found numerous mules, concealed under his charge, at a house which was designated, that I suspected he intended them for the enemy ; and if, in ten minutes, he did not furnish me with mules, I should take and pay for them, and send the sergeant with a complaint to General Clemente, who was now only fifteen miles distant. We had yet to pass a long and dreary paramo, and the summit of our route was, at the moment, covered with clouds mena- cing rain. Food and forage were not to be procured here ; and the alcalde appeared utterly stupified ; whenever we sought eggs, poultry, or any provisions, the answer was no aye — or no aye nada, en esta casa — or simply, no aye ; nothing here, nothing in this house, we have nothing ; the proximity of the Spaniards had produced these terrors. The alcalde, appre- hensive of the menaces of complaint, at length permitted the sergeant to select some horses accustomed to the Paramo, and after taking a hearty meal of our own provisions, pur- chased for us by our poor widow at Truxillo, we deter- mined to proceed at three o'clock, although it was already raining very heavy. We prepared our cloaks and garments for the storm, preferring a wet jacket to an interview with . Morales, and proceeded towards the Paramo, over a plain al- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 275 ready in a puddle, and before an hour we had our heads above the clouds ; for the earth, on which we moved, ap- peared like a great island, in the midst of a boundless sea. The air being moderately warm, we uncloaked to continue our ascent over a still more lofty paramo ; we passed one chain, and found the verdure of a more northern climate, and the dewberry bramble, with very fine flavoured berries ; but we had to ascend again a loftier path, and over a longer, colder, and steep paramo, of which nor words nor painting could convey a true picture. It was a tremendous, dreary, desolate track ; and when we came to descend the rude laby- rinth, winding in long mazes diagonally down its steep sides, where vegetation had disappeared, and left a wild disorder of rocks and stones, which if put in motion would inevitably plunge into the valley three or more miles down, I found rid- ing so fatiguing, that I dismounted, hoping to relieve myself, and the poor animal that carried me ; but I found very soon that I had miscalculated the supposed preference of walk- ing to riding, and learned to appreciate the value of my mule, which, after this long journey, appeared to be no more affected than at our departure. A skirt of the long valley of Mendoza at length broke upon our sight ; we never dreamt that Men- doza was still five miles distant. But the descent became less fatiguing, and here I was attracted by the figure of the mountain in our front. A valley running to the east, sepa- rated it from the paramo on which we were ; the river Mo- tatan appeared flowing towards us for many a mile from the south, and beneath our feet cut the base of the opposite mountain, which presented a steep, absolutely perpendicular mound, with a handsome village on its summit ; from that bank, the range of paramo, of which it was the northern ter- mination, was seen to an immense distance. The valley ap- peared but narrow, seemingly not half a mile from our point of view, but it exceeded two miles ; the mountains on the west side, though running parallel with those on the east, were not so steep; and they exhibited verdure and S76 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. many openings, that gave it a very beautiful aspect. But I could not conjecture how they found access to the village, seen on the steep platform, which must have been half a mile from the river below. At length we reached the foot of the paramo, and saw the laughing valley, its limpid stream flowing gently by us, and a handsome platform thrown across a mill race, which we had to pass ; the clatter of the cogs, and the ricketty motion of the hopper, were cheering to us, and we turned into the yard of the first house to rest, and refresh. We obtained milk, eggs, and some fine wheaten bread ; and set off" for Mendoza, expecting to reach it yet before dark ; but it was half an hour after seven before we entered the village. We rode up to the church as the place most likely to learn the residence of the alcalde. It appeared that the alcalde's resi- dence was three miles further south, and, as the church is often the last resort of adversity, we enquired for the curate. It was Christmas eve, and a preparation of fire- works was making on the plain. A good-natured citizen, seeing us as strangers, went unsolicited, and apprised the curate, who soon appeared, and in the kindest manner led us to a large hall adjoining the church ; here we found some half a dozen boys, under charge of a coadjutor, rehearsing a colloquy or catechism, in which the majesty of darkness was the dispu- tant on one side, and what angels or saints spoke on the op- posite side I could not make out, but the poor devil had once more fallen into hands stronger than his own, and, as might be expected, had the worst of the argument. The curate, unaware that we had provisions with us, had ordered supper himself, of which we knew nothing till the two repasts entered together ; we did not neglect thanks any more than our appetites ; but whether he thought we were heretics, Jews, or atheists, which are all the same thing, he took care to renew the exercises, probably for the good of our souls, while we were taking care of our bodies ; the VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 277 exercises were urged now with more particular emphasis, whenever the " mobbled king's*' doings were touched ; we did not so well comprehend the exercises at the first, but the representative of fallen majesty appeared worse and worse on the repetition, and seemed now unable to make out his own case. I dare say the worthy curate considered him- self as doing a greater service to our souls than our bodies. The preparations for festivity and rejoicing, which we had / seen at our entrance into Mendoza, began soon to be heard, — as loud and noisy as if the devil himself were there — squibs, crackers, rockets, guns, and the din of bugles, some half- cracked, and others in utter discord, kept up a*pother, that if there were not elsewhere examples as noisy, we should probably have thought it no proof of their taste for enjoy- ment; however, the stock of combustible was probably limited ; indeed, the day's sermon and the night's colloquy had brimstone enough to blow up all the legions of pan- demonium ; and, by way of requiem^ midnight brought in stuff of another kind — the tones of lyric instruments, and of some instruments that were new, and which we had no opportunity to examine until we reached Timothes, were conspicuous for their shrillness and the originality of the cadences ; in an adjacent room to that in which we were hung up, there was an instrument very much like a stringed-instrument of Asia ; the body was formed of a ca- labash of about eighteen inches diameter, with a belly or face of no mean execution, and well varnished ; the handle and finger-board at least four feet long; the three strings were gut, an \ of the size of those common to the violoncello ; it had stops and frets, set by the ear ; in truth it made no disagree- able music, and was very well adapted to accompany a good voice, as they performed, I could perceive — for I could not sleep, and therefore got up to see as well as hear — with as much consciousness of excellence, as Gilles on his inimitable violoncello, or IFillis on his Fox Humana ; and if 878 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. we were not as much pleased at hearing the present perfor- mers, as those named, it was not from any want of desire to please — and he must be a sorry being who could be dissatis- fied with efforts so earnest. As the night retired, before the approach of morning the festivity weaned, and we fell asleep, like our entertainers, and should probably have slept till eight or nine o'clock, had not the church-bells rung a peal in our ears of such discordant clangor, that fatigue itself could not contend against it — and, as it was Christmas morning, we were up and ready to move by six ; but the mules had not yet ar- rived. Chocolate was prepared, as usual, and while we were regaling, the alcalde presented himself in an unusual style for village magistrates. He was a respectable and a sensible man, and, as we learned, had taken the office more for pub- lic benefit than private advantage ; he was a planter, and, indignant at the abuses practised by his predecessors, had accepted the station to put an end to the depravity which had been exercised under its name. His appearance among the crowd of both sexes seemed to produce a degree of pleasure, which must have given him more delight than mil- lions could purchase. We were soon ready, and while our baggage was loading, our respects to the curate and thanks were communicated, and he even wished us to stay that day, nor was the alcalde less importunate. Mendoza is itself not a regularly laid-out town, but a num- ber of houses detached on the upper side of the valley ; nor is .there in the range of five or six miles which it presents at a view any appearance of cultivation, but it is in the valleys adjacent, in the range upon our right as we entered, that the inhabitants of Mendoza carry on a rich and extensive cul- ture. The church, which was now rebuilding, was an indi- cation of the surrounding opulence ; for no pains nor money seem to have been spared to render it as durable as time ; blocks of stone, some of which Mere to serve instead of VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 279 arches, and to cover the side aisles like a terrace ; the yet unshaped shafts of columns were of such magnitude as would serve to erect a Palmyra. The design was in a good taste, excepting the unnecessary thickness of the walls. Much of the disadvantageous appearance of Mendoza is to be attri- buted to causes which have been before noticed, the flight of whole families into the adjacent valleys to avoid the inso- lence, the violence, and the outrages of the enemy on the highways through which they marched. The fine streams which irrigate this naturally beautiful and luxuriant valley, will most probably recal many who had emigrated in conse- quence of the war, and certainly new settlers could not fix upon a position more favourable, where intercourse with the ocean was not desired. The curate, who was, notwithstanding his free use of brim- stone, and his bedevilment of the hero of Milton, which by the bye was intended for the auditory this day, and our hear- ings only rehearsals, — the worthy curate was urbane, cordial, and disinterested. He had pretensions to learning, as his li- brary was stocked with the canon laws, the laws of the In- dies, Thomas Aquinas, and the lives of more than a thousand saints ; he knew also how to make dials, of which we had the demonstration before our eyes ; for, whoever rode up to the church front, hitched his horse or mule to a hook in an up- right post, on each of three of the four faces of which there were pasted a dial, the lines and hours in very handsome pen- manship, and as they appeared to have stood some tirne, and were not injured by weather, served as a good evidence of the mildness of the climate. As an indicator of the hours, it no doubt would have been correct, had not the post been used to hitch the horses, for, while I stood examining it, a horse that was somewhat mulish, had drawn the post two or three degrees out of a perpendicular. «8() CHAPTER XIX. Alcalde of Mendoza — much beloved. — Move at seven o'clock Christmas day — meet the Motatan river again. — The Momboy river — Dark night — for- tunate escape — phenomena of steep vertical banks of earth. — River of Ti- mothes — boundary of Truxillo and Merida — enter Timothes at midnight — alcalde abroad carousing — look to the church, and take quarters in the curate's parlour — who is from home — curate surprised by a lady's bonnet in the morning — a worthy man — well informed — much beloved — hospitable — his attentions, — Situation of Timothes — the festivity — mode of celebration. — Mules at four o'clock — reach Chacapo at seven o'clock — cold night uncom- fortable — striking change in apparel. — Erica, or heath. — Humboldt says none in America, found it of a fine species. — Drummond, and other botanists, same mistake. — JMuchacheea — numerous crosses. — Virgin of Chinchinquira, — Appa- rel changes. — Intelligence — hospitality and kindness of a young alcalde. The politeness of the alcalde, at Mendoza, was exem- plary and gratifying. He was a plain, unaffected, country farmer, whose good sense was manifest in his deportment, as well as his discourse. It was very pleasing to perceive with how much satisfaction he .was received and seen by the in- habitants, aud how solicitous he was to avoid the idea of presuming any thing upon his office. He accompanied us some miles, and wished us to visit his plantation, which he pointed out not very distant. Every thing being ready, we moved at seven o'clock, and again found the Motatan, which we had left on our right at Savana Larga, notwithstanding the vast paramo we had placed between us and it, and here we kept it company for about ten miles ; and, in a subsequent stage, found it again entering into the Capitanejo. We passed La Puerta, and reached the foot of Xa Cuesta, a very steep ascent, and were involved in a very dense and offensive mist, which continued a great way down the steep sides of the paramo, of which we gained the bottom at five o'clock, and halted to VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 281 take some refreshment of bread, cheese, and guarapa^ there being no milk to be had ; we continued our journey at six o'clock, the climate fine and the country beautiful ; till we entered the broad bed of the Momboy, forming, at this sea- son, when its waters are lowest,, a violent torrent. Our bag- gage had not yet overtaken us. The bed of this river appears in many places two miles wide, but narrows in various places, and is not constant to one shore ; so that when the channel winds among its large rounded rocks towards the right side, on which the rock lies, the traveller is com- pelled to ascend the steep banks, and follow a devious and ever changing way, until, by the capricious transition of the torrent to the opposite side, the margin of the river bed be- comes the most eligible path. Night had encroached upon us, from the difficulty of moving in those wilds, and as, in situations like this, our practice was to follow the sergeant in Indian file, one of the servants, Vincent, remaining with the baggage, and Pedro bringing up our rear : we had turned aside from a winding of the torrent, and ascended a path which had been trodden for many years ; the serjeant led, and we were slowly following, in succession, on the margin of a perpendicular bank of earth, more than 250 feet ele- vated above the bed of the river ; when the sergeant exclaim- ed, in an undertone, " Colonel! Halt !'* I pulled up, and gave the word to Elizabeth, who was next me, to halt also. The position in which the sergeant was placed was tremen- dous, the continuance of the path, beyond where he stood, was totally carried away, and another step would have pre- cipitated him over the frightful chasm ; with great presence of mind he gently brought his mule back by the rein, and in a cheerful tone, halloed to Lieutenant Bache, " Come, lieu- tenant, you must retreat, come to the right about:" we came about, and moved to the upper side of the hill, where we called a council of war, and congratulated the sergeant on his presence of mind and fortunate escape. 36 282 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. The Momboy is subject to sudden overflowings, and ita steep sides prove that the volume of its flood must be ex- traordinary ; the elevation and magnitude of the paramos, whose ravines contribute to its flood, account for the waters supplied, as well as the sudden decrease of its current, with the serenity of the atmosphere on these summits. This river, and what belongs to this, is also a property of the numerous rivers of great magnitude, south of the Coxedc. The steep bank of the platform of Barquisimeto, though steep, is not a perpendicular bank, its sides have a sloping buttress of rocks and earth, which the short distance between its sources and the front of Barquisimeto, does not supply such abundant contributions as the paramos of Santa Rosa, among which the sierra of Truxillo are inferior ranges. In the Motatan, the Momboy, and the Chama, the beds arc frequently two or three miles broad, covered with rounded stones from six inches to sixty in diameter ; and in the dry season the stream is divided into several dispersed channels, while, in the rainy season, the whole breadth is covered with a rapid and deep torrent, sometimes approaching, and at other points winding, at a distance, round the promontories and headlands, which its own violent current has been form- ing for countless ages. What is most extraordinary, is the vertical steeps which those banks present on the river sides. They appear, in some instances, an uniform mass of grey earth, and I have sometimes thought that their appearance, and the strait steepness of those banks, suggested the adop- tion oi pita for the walls of houses. Some of those banks, as the Momboy, present walls or fronts sixty to two hundred feet high, without any verdure, nor even a pendant or droop- ing plant. Others present a wall as elevated, which is stud- ded with rounded stones, of from a tenth of an inch to four or five inches diameter, generally kidney-shaped, or flat egg- shapes ; these naked perpendicular fronts show no fissure, no crumbling or decay, such as banks of earth would show VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 283 in climates where the expansive power of cold, in the form of frost and snow, burst asunder the earth, in which mois- ture has been retained ; here the agency of heat carries off in exhalation the moisture of those natural walls, without dis- turbing the atoms of which they are composed. It was over a steep bank of this description, where the ordi- nary path had led for time immemorial, we learned, after our fortunate escape, that the Momboy had experienced an un- usual flood the preceding spring, and that, by some change in the materials of its bed, a sort of mound of rocks had given a direction to the flood against this promontory, and that it had fallen but a few days before, but without doing any in- jury. Had we rode horses instead of mules, it is questiona- ble whether we should have escaped. We accordingly turned and retraced our way to the point from which we had mount- ed to the bank, and the sergeant finding the track of other mules in a place where a stranger would not think of looking for them, or when seen might not know them, we ascended in another dnection, and gained the road a mile beyond the sunken bank. We now travelled by the left bank in sight of the turbulent roar of the Timothes. It was about eleven o'clock when we entered the village of the same name ; the villagers on the banks of the Timothes w^ere as boisterous as its stream. This river separates the jurisdiction of Truxillo from Merida. The festivity of the night had left a few strag- glers, from whom we learned the position of the alcalde's house, but he was at a neighbouring village at a ball, and his wife protested loudly against the admission of any man. We endeavoured to quiet her, by assuring her it was a lady who wished her civility, and desired to know where she would advise us to look for quarters ; but her answer was that we should not come in, and so we moved about in search of a church, which we found in one angle of the plaza, and were not mistaken in finding the comfortable residence of the curate along side it. The trampling of our mules brought a 284 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. well conditioned Indian, in a state between laughing and sleeping to the gate, which he opened and we entered without questions on either side. The spacious room on the front we immediately occupied, and some female servants finding a lady was in company, frankly offered their services. It was Christmas day, and, since our bread and milk at the foot of La Cuesta, we had neither eaten nor drank j but the choco- late pot was soon in preparation both by Pedro and the dam- sels of the domicil, and it was brought in while our ham- mocks were preparing ; our mules were placed in the corals and the Indian, who was now broad awake, brought molocha^ that is, young corn-stalks. The curate was at the frolic in the adjacent village, and when he came home found his par- lour occupied by strangers, and his handsome table covered with blue cloth, occupied by a lady's bonnet in gay ribbons and a shawl. Nobody could tell who we were, whence w^e came, or where we were going ; and though I heard the in- quiries, I was too much in want of sleep to go to confession so early in the mining. The curate was, nevertheless, up with the dawn to cele- brate his official duties ; he had ordered an excellent break- fast, though he had not seen one of us ; our cocinero had previously been prepared, by the activity of the sergeant, with poultry and eggs purchased in the village, and Ave had taken down our hammocks and were at high- breakfast when the curate entered, and gave us a most cheerful welcome ; regretting when he saw that the breakliist he had ordered for us was not served as he intended ; Elizabeth and I renewed the contest with the chocolate, and some delicious lemonade, with cinnamon and rose-water, which was handed, to my surprise, with the wishes of the season. We mentioned our want of mules, he said he would do his best, but was appre- hensive we should be disappointed of mules on that day, as every one was engaged in festivity. Some excellent fruit, which the festivity had brought to Timothcs for other per- VISIT TO Colombia; SS5 sons, came in time to enable the good priest to afford a tes- timony of his hospitality and politeness ; and when we had satisfied ourselves, he said he would keep the remainder for us lest none should be procurable elsewhere. He apolo- gized for leaving us, as this day was one of the three nation- al festivals, he must recommend us to the charge of his house, and to call upon the domestics for whatever we should need; as our habits were disciplined by this time to our situa- tion, good appetites and abundance of fine fruit made mat- ters not so disagreeable. This amiable man placed the key in the handsome book- case, and invited us to use his library, which, though not very ample, contained many books which I did not expect to find in that Indian village ; for, besides some of divinity, on abstract theology, his historical and classical stock were the most numerous, besides several mathematical works. The house being on the open square, every thing that passed there was visible ; and as the three festivals of Christ- mas, St. Stephen, and St. John, were also the festivals of In- dependence ; the 26th, to union and the constitution ; and the 27th, to victory and the memory of those who had fallen in defence of liberty ; the church was decorated with garlands and bouquettes, and branches of palm and laurel. The plaza had no fence, but houses on three faces of the square, the other, being in front of the church, had a light bamboo fence to mark the square. The roll of the tambour was heard at a distance early, and a native instrument of the hautboy species, upon which a melancholy cadence was heard, during the day, without much intermission ; but with frequent pauses, and no connected passages. The tam- bours were also aboriginal, they were in fact small kettle- drums in shape and tone ; and there were several of them of unequal tones, exactly like those in use throughout Hindustan ; these instruments were all performed upon by aborigines; indeed the society appeared to derive much. 286 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. more satisfaction from their instrumental music than we did. The engagements of the curate, he told us, must deprive him of the satisfaction of our company ; he had his wife to attend, he said, jocosely pointing to the church, and he must render her the morning honours, and he ac- cordingly proceeded to the celebration of mass ; but he kindly interfered with the alcalde, at our desire, to provide mules, which perhaps no other man in Timothes could have accomplished but himself, as it carried the mule-drivers from the festivity. On the twenty-fifth we understood the festivity was all within the church ; after mass it was this day all on the outside, and we, unable to march, were dis- posed to see what was passing. The sides of the square were occupied by nine o'clock, and parties of horsemen were scouring the suburbs in all directions ; about eleven the whole cavalcade entered the square, and placed them- selves in a single rank on the side of the square opposite to us, facing inward; several standards of different colours were carried, and the worthy curate was seen along with the alcalde preparing for the tournament ; for so I name it, knowing no other term more expressive. The whole corps of cavaliers now divided into two, at the head of one was the curate, the other was led by the alcalde, a rough, hardy, soldier-like man of sixty, who managed a spirited horse with admirable address. The exercises continued till one o'clock, but they were merely repetitions of two manoeuvres — the leaders led their divisions in Indian file along the faces of the square, the first that reached an angle wheeled rapidly off on the line formed, not by the side, but the oblique or extreme angle of the square ; the leader of the second exe- cuted the same evolution on the opposite extreme, so that each in passing crossed the line of march of the other, and the point of emulation appeared to be, who should most promptly execute the manoeuvre, and, avoiding the side of the square, project himself in an opposite direction to that which the other corps had taken. The speed at which they ' VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 287 rode, must have been fatal to any two riders who should come in contact ; but no accident occurred, nor did the danger ap- pear so great, when the expertness of the riders became man- ifest. The tambours and the Indian pipe were in full din during the whole exercise — and their constancy in perform- ance was, to me, as remarkable as the discord appeared un- meaning. We dined about two o'clock, and our mules arriving we were on our route a quarter before four, and reached an ob- scure place called Chacapo, at seven o'clock at night, a league distant from La Venta. The descent from the mountain path was troublesome and dangerous ; and the presence of mind of our Vincente was displayed here with great effect ; his mule, while ambling along the verge of a precipice skirted with brush-wood, made a sudden trip, and went over ; Vincente had presence of mind to jump off, and hold fast by the bridle, which, being of stout cow- hide, he held firm till the mule rolled and recovered his feet ; he was dragged up without injury, and Vincent mount- ed ; and, to shew he was not afraid, dashed down a steep that was nearly as formidable. The height we had ascend- ed, in the course of the day, was indicated by the severe cold of the night ; our place of shelter was, however, small and close, and we passed a rather uncomfortable night. On the twenty- seventh we moved by seven o'clock for Muchachees, leaving the more circuitous route by La Venta to our left, and ascended the second mountain at eight o'clock, and the first paramo at one — not a house, not a ves- tige of human labour or human existence was to be seen beyond our own company — the cold was smarting, and we drew for heat upon our blankets, wearing them like the panchos or roanas of Chile, or those square robes with a hole in the centre, through which the head is thrust. As we ascended, I marked several plants usually found in northern regions. The vacciniiim or whortleberry displayed its purple fruit, and myrtle-shaped foliage. I had been informed that 288 VISIT TO COLOMJilA. Humboldt had, in some of his valuable works, alleged, that the family of the Erica, or heath, of which there are about three hundred species in Africa, was no where to be found in America ; I have sought for the allegation in such of his works as were to be found in Philadelphia, but, strange to say, there is no complete copy of his works in the city library, nor in that of the Philosophical Society ; but I have found the allegation in two recent works, and possibly upon Humboldt's authority. An anonymous work, entitled Con- versations on Botany, published by Longman and Co. Lon- don, 1823, says — "the eighth class, Octandria, contains a very numerous and beautiful genus, that of heaths, Erica, which is confined entirely to Europe and the southern parts of Africa. It is remarkable, that no species of this genus has been discovered in New Holland, Asia, or the continent of America ; nor are any found between the tropics.'* " First Steps to Botany ; by Dr. Drummond," published in the same year by the same publishers, says, p. 278, " It has been already stated, that no species of heath (Erica) has been hitherto discovered in the new world." But both these writers (if they be not from the same au- thor) are mistaken. I am well acquainted with heath, and have frequently slept on a bed of it with great satisfaction, and could not be mistaken. I have not seen it in North America nor in Asia, though I have been informed by Cap- tain Turner, that it is abundant in Bootan, and, if I mistake not, the fact is stated by some other writer, as found on the lower regions of the Himalaya ; but I can speak from per- sonal knowledge, as to its natural existence in Colombia, and of course within the tropics. Hounslow heath and others are named from the predominacy of this plant, and of several species ; it is also called ling in some parts of Eng- land; in Scotland, hether ; in Ireland, brosnach; and it is the bruyere of France. In passing the paramo of Muchachecs, not at that moment thinking of the sul)ject, I was attracted VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 289 with a fragrance that was very familiar to my senses, but which I could not designate, until, led by the perfume, I dis- covered the minute purple-tufted flower ; but was much surprised to find, instead of a plant usually of two to three feet, — a tree ; and, having a pocket rule, I dismounted, and found the stem 4^^^ inches diameter at three feet from the ground, and the height of the plant by estimation about ten or eleven feet. The plant, not like those of Devonshire or the Cape of Good Hope, of many limbs issuing from one root, with ill-shaped branches ; the tree was a single stem ; but the bark had the same external colour and interlaced figure, as the plant of Europe and Africa, which in relation to this are dwarfs. I found also another of the genus with yellow Jiowersy but not of the same stature, in every other respect the figure and limbs the same, and a new and deli- cate perfume like roses blendid with jessamine. I found the rosemary wild on this paramo, but of less fragrance than that which is cultivated ; and wild balm w^ith the same in- feriority of scent. Many varieties of the brambles which bear dew-berries and black-berries are found in the middle regions of this cold paramo, and a few that bear no fruit on higher elevations ; and in the warmer region on the platform of Merida, I have seen the black- berry bramble bearing fruit of a fine rich flavour. It v/as in passing this paramo, that we reached a position, of which we had heard some dismal stories ; such as the perishing of a Spanish force of two thousand men by cold; and the frequent death of individuals, who had dared the in- clemency of this hospitable region. The point was designa- ted, by our alarmists, as exhibiting many hundred figures of the cross, of miniature dimensions, formed of every sort of wood or chip, that the piety of the passenger deemed suffi- cient to plant, while he or she prayed for the souls of those who perished there. We found the crosses more numerous, perhaps, than we were previously advised ; the mound was 290 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. such as nature had made it, and the absence of every thing that would sanction such a mortality, as that of two thousand men so short a time before, who could at least travel ten or twelve miles backward or forward, induced me to treat this aftair as an exaggeration ; some unfortunate individual, otherwise disabled, might have perished there ; and it was not more than a mile from the scene of a sharp action, in which there were some hundred persons killed ; but I have no concep- tion of any cold that could occur at this place, competent to effect so much destruction in one night. But I rather be- lieve, these pious tributes belong to the votaries of the Vir- gin of Chmchinquiray to one of whose shrines this is the high road. The custom of designating some points, on public roads, by religious ceremonies or symbols, has prevailed in every part of ancient Europe and Asia. The Parsees lighted fires at cross-ways, the Hindus erect altars to the creative power at cross-ways, the Romans did the same in another form, and under a more artificial figure j the Germans and Saxons had similar customs ; the Mahomedans pursue a more useful method of piety, they establish, at convenient sta- tions, houses of reception for the traveller ; and in other coun- tries, the traveller passing a position where some person has been murdered, places a stone, which the piety of successive passengers raises to a heap ; such are the cairns of the Bri- tish islands ; and where prayers for the dead are enjoined. In Colombia the substitute for mile stones, where any mea- surement is made, is a cross, and of such dimensions in some places, as to be large enough for human crucifixion. We found these large crosses to mark the route for many leagues after leaving Tinaco. But, as assassination was not unfrcqucnt under the Spanish regime, the custom was for the passenger to offer up a prayer and plant a small cross on the spot ; the passenger, whose education teaches him to excuse the preju- dices which uneducated men, or men educated under particu - VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 291 lar circumstances cannot be reproached for, contribute their oblation to the frailties of human institution, and enjoy harm- lessly their own opinions. Had I not been previously acquaint- ed with this rite, I should have been apt to conclude it came along with the Moorish architecture and caravanserais j but it is evident that, however it came to be introduced, it was inseparable from prayers for the dead, and was adopted by the early Christians, who adopted many others of the pagan forms, and accommodated them to their own disciplinary ritual. I suspect, however, and it is my own conjecture, that these crosses, set up in such numbers, are the works of those pious persons who, every year, flock to one of the shrines of the Virgin of Chinchinquiray whose effigies are multiplied and spread among the Dominican churches, in those regions, and of which some account will be given when we reach Nimocon, or Enimacony where her ladyship detained us for a night, and obliged us to see her procession and a bull-fight. On the sides of this and other paramos farther south, a plant grows in such abundance as to give its cream-coloured hue to the surface on w^hich it flourishes. I have lost a spe- cimen and the notes made on seeing it, and forgotten its po- pular name, but its structure is of peculiar beauty. The stem is short, and the leaves incline outward, showing a surface covered with a long yellow coat, which has the feel of fine velvet, the leaves are from seven to ten inches long, and two broad, terminating abruptly round. It is much used for cushions, for sophas, and for beds, which are to be found in the cold regions only, where we, though much preferring the hammock for repose, were, from the want of a pallet or blankets, glad to occupy such beds. The cold was so unpleasant in descending this long paramo, that I made another attempt to walk down, and had been so braced by the cold that I made considerable way, and was more than a mile ahead of my companions ; having lost sight of 29S VISIT TO COLOMBIA. them, I halted under the rays of a warm sun until I felt un- easy at their delay ; however, they came in sight ; in fact, the only inconvenience Elizabeth felt in the journey was on this occasion, she was so overcome that she fainted, her brother was fortunately with her, and as we had some wine in our trav*^lling beatifctte, and what with her good spirits, it wa"> over in a few moments. It was the last time she at- tempted to walk down a cold paramo, and the security and ease of her mule was thenceforward preferred. We were very anxious to reach Muchachees, but it was yet two leagues off, and the night dark, and we determined to descend to Chocopa^ a short distance from the road, where we obtained a house, made a good fire, and had some small but excellent potatoes boiled, roasted, and fried, with an excellent corned tongue, which had been forgotten until sharp appetites re- called it, and we completed, with a bottle of good Spanish wine, a rough but a most delicious supper. The cold of this night was very disagreeable, and we contrived to make some palatable flip with aguardiente and panellas^ that is cakes of sugar, in our calabash turtumas: this flip served some of us in some measure instead of a blanket. Our re- pose was however so comfortless, that we moved at three o'clock in the morning from Chocopa, and at six we enter- ed Muchachees, where we were surprized to find a deputy of the alcalde looking out for us. The first alcalde had been obliged to be absent at this moment, but had instructed his deputy to bestow on us every attention, and provide what- ever we should want. We were indeed compensated by his kindness and hospitality in a very comfortable house, for our sufferings on the paramo and the preceding night. When some leagues distant from Muchachees, we were all struck by the change of colours in the apparel of all de- scriptions of people, young and old. In our journey hither- to, the garments of both sexes were light, of white or gay colours ; coarse cottons, or linens, on the men ; muslins, ca- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 293 licoes, or silks, on the women. We now saw no one in light clothing ; it seemed as if a general mourning had taken place for some great calamity; the females were uniformly in black, or a few in blue petticoats, and, where they were not black, wore a black broad scarf like a shawl ; they had their heads and shoulders covered with a black or a blue cloth mantilla, I mentioned my surprize at this change to the al- calde, and was more surprized that what his good sense ex- plained had not occurred to me. He said that the garments and fabrics worn in the warm vallies, would not resist the cold, and dark colours were best adapted to garments which do not wash with convenience, nor every day ; that comfort and economy dictated the habits which had been so remark- able to us, only because suddenly seen after being among light garments so long ; indeed, our experience during the two last days instructed us not only to augment our own clothing while in the cold regions, but to relinquish our fa- vourite hammocks, and take up with bedsteads of rude work- manship, in which generally an ample ox hide, stretched and nailed across, served the purposes of a sacking bottom. The second alcalde, in accordance with the wishes of his principal, requested us not to have any thing cooked by our own people, but that our man Pedro, as best acquainted with what was most agreeable to us, should direct ; and it was done with such evident kindness and desire to please, that it was at once agreed upon ; a most excellent supper was in- deed provided ; there could be no better, nor better cured corned pork of that size we denominate a shoat^ with good bro- coli, and fine potatoes, roast and fricaseed poultry, excellent ^vheaten rolls, more Canary wine than we could consume, and so acceptable that it was not necessary " to think it was Bur- gundy," though it cost where we were almost as much as twelve shillings a quart, and was worth more ; for what makes worth but the use or satisfaction which it produces. Our attendants were as well treated as ourselves, and our 294 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. mules were supplied not only with abundance of green bar- ley, but with Indian meal. Our night's repose was comfort- able, as blankets were abundant, and we rose about seven o'clock in the morning of the 28th December, and had scarcely appeared when an excellent breakfast of both coffee and chocolate, with cakes fresh and well baked, some Bo- logna sausages without garlic, and some very excellent fruit which the alcalde had sent for in the preceding night to the lower regions ; and the fine young man greeted us on our evident recovery from the previous day's fatigue, with such sociable kindness, as merits to be remembered, at least I shall not forget it very soon. CHAPTER XX. Hospitality. — Leave Muchachees. — Meet the senior alcalde — his kindness. — Vil- lage of Mucabichi. — Wheat mountain — reaping — a warmer climate — cotton- trees — so;Tie account of. — Tabay — turbulent Chama. — Plateau of Merida, — Go- vernor Pavedes — sumptuous accommodation and entertainment — surprised by an alarm o? Jire,Jire — false alarm — laughable — accounted for. — Sierra nevada of Merida — its ices on the table, — give zest to our wine. — Military gentle- men. — The Spaniards in our road — an escort ordered for us. — Visitors — their inquiries gratified. — Temperature. — The effects of the Earthquake. — Popula- tion — several sources of error concerning it. — Archbishop Gongora. — Repre- sentative government. — Democracy perverted. — Rivers near Merida. — Vin- cente at a fandango — in durance vile. — A refresco before parting, on the 30th December, delays us to one o'clock. — Determined to sleep at Exido. OuK repose at this place was very pleasing — we were furnished with bedding-clothes more than we required : it was with some repugnance I rose at seven o'clock, nor should I have risen till an hour later, had not the kindness of our host rendered the respect of waiting on him a matter of propriety. He had provided us not only with as good a :ii VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 295 breakfast as we could have found in Philadelphia, but the chocolate and the coffee were smoking on the table. We partook of the repast with most grateful and pleasant feel- ings — and we afterwards found, that he had placed on our mules a quantity of eggs, and a pair of roasted fowls, with slices of nice corned pork, carefully and neatly wrapped up. We left Muchachees at eight o'clock, and had proceeded but a few miles when the senior alcalde met us, in full gal- lop, on his return ; he saluted us kindly, prayed us to return and spend at least a day at his house, and he would introduce to us some company, whom we should be as much pleased with as they would be with us. We declined returning at that time, and expressed our grateful sense of the kindness with which his faithful representative had entertained us. He renewed his request that we would spend a few days with him, and I was obliged to assure him I had been on the road already twenty days longer than was consistent with the affairs I had in charge. This was nearly the last, and cer- tainly among the best of the alcaldes we had met ; from this point, the alcaldes, with a few exceptions, became only se- condary among our hospitable entertainers, until we passed Tunja. We passed through Mucabichi, near which, entering a narrow pass between two mountains, of very steep sides, . we saw reapers at work, in a position that was entirely new and unheard of by me. The houses or cottages, which were but few, stood on the more depressed side of the pass ; we entered one of those cottages to procure potatoes or milk, and indulge curiosity ; the woman of the house spoke to her husband from the door ; he stood with his back towards her, on the steep side of the mountain, where he was reaping some very fine wheat. The mountain side was ranged in steps, running level along in front, the wheat had been sown on those steps, and the reaper commencing below, cut and left the cut straw to a small boy or a girl to be tied up in 296 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. sheaves ; the lower step being cleared, he proceeded to tlic next above, and so in succession to the top. The sides oi the mountains of Mcrida are celebrated for their fine wheat, said to be sufficient to supply the whole republic, were there roads to transport it. But seaports are too distant, where the roads are either impassable, dangerous, or tedious to travel, or where there are no roads at all. Our route was now a gentle descent, the presence of wheat was an indica- tion of a temperate climate ; but it soon became warm, as we descended, the mountains on our left had wound off to the south-east, and that on our right was now less elevated, and its base was, in some respects, like those of the valley of Aragua, throwing out short limbs or promontories, standing out more or less advanced from the main ridge. Wmding round the bluff of one of those projections, the ground be- came depressed and flat on our left, and covered here and there with large fragments of dispersed rocks, among which trees appeared, bearing a flower in great profusion, that gave it the appearance of what is commonly called the Snowball, [Flydrangea hortetisis-) The space between the rocks on the kft, and the bluff on the right, now became narrow, and, as the passage opened, several neat, small cottages stood before the sun, and in their front the trees in blossom : a little girl, of about eight or ten, skipt across the road as we were ap- proaching, and mounting, with the agility of a goat, the rocks beneath those trees, which grew in the narrow intervals that separated the rocks. The tree was about the size of an ordinary apple-tree, but with an erect stem, and from the surface of the soil to the lower branches about five feet ; the extent and elevation of the branches varied ; but the shape was rather inclined to that of the thick end of an egg, than a sharper cone ; I halted, and seeing the little girl with two small baskets on her arm, into which she sorted the flowers she picked, I halted till she had concluded, and followed her across the road. Her baskets were filled, and the flowers she VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 297 plucked were of two kinds, one was filled with pods of cot- ton, already ripe, and requiring only exposure to the sun to be wrought and cleaned ; the other basket contained pods not so ripe, but which were laid on a bed of clean snow-white cot- ton to complete its ripening by the sun. The little girl, and there were several other females, placed herself on her mat, and very unconcernedly continued her operations, opening two pods at the same time, with the thumb, and over the fore- finger of each hand, discharging the seed into a basket placed for the purpose, and forming the product of each pod into a long flat layer, upon which she successively laid others ; and when the pile was of the purposed size it was twisted into a knot-like shape, and placed among others, and covered over. Though these were not the first cotton-trees I had seen on the route, I had not attended to them so circum- stantially as on this occasion. I cannot avoid observing that the botanical books are very deficient as to this tree ; there seems to be a doubt entertained in some of them, that cotton grows on trees as large as the ordinary apple- tree, because the plant which produces cotton in Macedonia, and in the United States, is an annual plant. The cotton- tree, I make no doubt, would benefit by more care and cul- tivation. But as it is, no culture is applied, the tree grows from the seed, and when mature, besides two crops in the year, that of spring and fall, it is a perpetual producer. Our next stage brought us to the village of Tabay, stand- ing on a sloping plain, which lay spread below us, and the turbulent Chama in the distance on our left, bounding over rocks and frothing with its noise, as it tumbled headlong to south-west. We reached Tabay at two o'clock, and dined on our own provisions, and as the atmosphere was warm, did not move until four o'clock, so that it was nearly dusk when we reached the dry bed of the river Mouhoon, which has its source in the west, and discharges its periodical flood in the rainy season into the Chama. The lofty platform on 38 2D8 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. which stands the city of Merida, has its eastern face defined by this river, and in order to reach that city, it is necessary tc pass some distance up the Mouhoon valley, in order to gain the broad path which is cut out of the upright bank, that leads b)'^ a gradual ascent to the plateau above. We gained this elevation, said to be more than two hundred and forty feet above the plain from which we ascended. The sergeant proceeded to the city about a mile distant, and, knowing the place had a governor and military staff, ^ve proceeded in that direction. Governor Paredes ordered a sumptuous house for our reception, the apartments were well lighted, handsome beds were prepared for us all ; and in an hour after our arri- val, an ample table was covered with fine damask linen, and a supper in the handsomest style ; the governor's servants waited ; his butler intimated that ^ve should oblige the gene- ral by calling for any wine we preferred. An aid of the go- vernor spent the evening and supped with us, and delivered a compliment upon our safe arrival from the governor, and that he would wait upon us next day. We were ready for repose at ten. The house we occupied in Merida was public property, and kept in better condition than any I had seen since we left Valencia. As the bed was comfortable, and I felt the neces- sity of rest, I took no heed of waking early, but soon after dawn, I was suddenly aroused by a cry of ^^jire! fire I fireP' as distinctly as it is heard in Philadelphia. I started up, un- conscious for the instant where I was, and it was only on go- ing to a window which opened on a small patio, I recollect- ed I was in Merida ; I was turning about in the same un- heeding manner, when the same voice screamed " Colonel Toddi Colonel Todd P'' I knew the colonel must by that time be at Bogota, and I must have looked rather sheepish, when I found myself thus surprized by a parrot. In fact, Colonel Todd, on his route to Bogota, lodged in the same place ; Colonel Lyster, of the Colombian army, accompanied VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 299 him ; and being delayed there by the indisposition of Mr. Adams, the colonel's secretary, Lyster, in his waggery, had taught the parrot those words. There was a pair, and they were certainly amusing ; their colloquies, kept up in imita- tion of two scolding women, were most laughably true in word and spirit. The repose of Sunday was necessary to me, and, having made a perfect change of apparel, for the climate here is warm as at Caracas, I amused myself vvith writing letters to home and to our friends at Caracas and elsewhere. Our morning repast, coffee and chocolate, with fine cream, good bread, and, what I preferred to all, abun- dance of exquisite fruit. At two o'clock the governor was pleased to visit, with his suite, and did us the honour of din- ing with us. From the window of the dining room, directly to the south, the Sierra Nevada^ of Merida, was so distinctly be- fore us, that it seemed less than two miles distant : the snow is never absent from this lofty cluster ; but, at the moment we saw it, a greater part than usual of the south-west face was exposed, and its black soil uncovered ; cliffs were distinctly visible on the margin of the snow, made distinct by the sha- dows of the vertical edges, chasms having apparently fallen, and masses rolled lower down which were also visible ; the governor had sent mules for snow the preceding evening, and a tray full of it gave zest to some excellent wine, which the warm temperature of the city made desirable and delight- ful. The computed distance of the white caps of the sierra is five miles in a direct line ; the travelling distance to the line of congelation seven miles. The town major of Merida was anEng- lish gentleman. Major Hodgkinson, who had served in several campaigns, was very communicative, and from whom we experienced very kind attention ; the military commandant of the province. Colonel Charles Castelli, a native of Savoy; he had come to Merida to communicate with the gene- ral on the movements of Morales ; he paid us a visit, and 300 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. signified that the governor was apprehensive of some incon- venience to us on the road, as it was supposed the Spanish general had taken a position on the only route over which we could travel ; that if wc should choose to remain some time it would be agreeable to the governor, if not, an escort would be provided for us, and he "would give me an order to the commanding officer at St. Juan de Lagunillas, to furnish the troops, and to the officers in succession, till wc should reach Pamplona, which he kindly presented when we were about to depart ; Colonel Castelli set off before us with the view of calling in troops to unite with the troops further south in expelling the enemy from the province. We were honoured with the visits of several distinguished persons, many of the secular clergy, whom we found very earnestly devoted to the revolution, and solicitous for inform- ation concerning the United States. They expressed some surprise, when we informed them, in reply to their inquiries, that so many religious sects should live in concord, and that the clergy wore no costume to distinguish them from the laity ; that the Catholic priests dressed like the priests of other sects ; and that Congress, having chaplains, selected them without discrimination of sects. Catholic and Calvinist, Lutheran and Unitarian, which excited great surprise ; and particularly that doctrinal disputes produced no serious quar- rels, no interference of the public authorities, nor ill-blood among the disputants, more than any civil or political dis- cussion ; and, as I could not account for it in a better way, I told them it was to be ascribed to the representative system, which, being founded on the equality of men in society, se- parated the concerns of another world from the present ; that by leaving every man's religious opinions to be accounted for to heaven, men were more tolerant and liberal, because the sectarian opinions of one man did not render his elective suf- frage of more or less consequence than that of another. They were as much surprised at an anecdote I gave them, of Dr. VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 301 Franklin having nominated, and obtained the appointment, from the Pope, of the first American Catholic bishop. Some of the citizens who were present, expressed their admiration of the institutions which produced so much concord, with en- thusiastic applause, and some of the clergymen concurred. One of them said to another, " What would such a person think, if he heard this ?" Some of the ladies of the city vi- sited my daughter, and invited her to spend some time in Merida, and as an inducement assured her she would find no part of Colombia so beautiful as Merida, nor so fine a climate. Indeed the thermometer was at this time at 70 de- grees of Fahrenheit, which is lower than at Caracas, where 78 was the medium, as 68 was the medium at Bogota while we were there. In noticing the singular appearance of the banks of the Motatan, I made allusion to the elevated plateau of Merida, and its steep banks. This city stands about a mile and a half from the margin of its southern side, in front of which the turbulent Chama rolls over its rough bed, at the foot of the snow-capt Sierra, its course south-west ; the streets of the city cross at rectangles, are very narrow, but streams of pure water gush along the centre of the streets, for which well-conceived channels are constructed, of two feet or more wide, over which flag-stones are laid at the crossings ; and the city has a cool and cleanly appearance. I saw no houses higher than one story ; and the ruins of the earthquake of 1812 had not yet been redeemed, nor removed only from the streets. It was but a few weeks before our arrival, that the remains of the bishop, who, with his congregation, found a grave in the crumbled earthen walls of his church, were dug out for a religious interment. The walls are of the same ingredient as elsewhere, pita^ or earth, beaten into the shape of walls. The mortality has been exaggerated here as well as at Caracas ; the difference between the present state of the population and before the revolution cannot be ascrib- 302 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. ed to the carth(|uake ; though zealots adverse to the revolu- tion have laboured to make the impression that divine ven- geance was thus indicated against the revolt. This city has suffered much from the depredations of the Spaniards, and a great portion of the population had retired to the south-east- ern and southern valleys, and to the west, before the earth- quake occurred ; and this diminution of numbers by the change of habitation has been placed to the loss side of the earthquake. I must observe here, that I have endeavoured to find data for the state of population in the places I have passed through, but it is not in such passing and casual en- quiries that information so important can be procured that should be relied upon. The state of society has been, during the revolution, and is still fluctuating, and must continue so for some time ; under the monarchy the same system was pursued, as for centuries by the English, till the close of the last century, in Ireland ; the inhabitants were studiously kept in ignorance of their own numbers, and taught to believe they did not amount to one-third of their actual population. The government of Spain \vas also deceived itself, for there were local interests which prevented a complete knowledge. There was always a kind of organization of militia under the Spanish rule ; and there were districts over whicli captains were placed, whose duty it was to make returns of the males between fourteen and fifty ; and it was upon these returns that drafts were made upon an exigency. There was an ex- treme disinclination to appear on those returns, and the cap- tains made a lucrative advantage of it, by exacting money for not entering names of persons who were able to pay for being omitted on the returns ; and the abuse was very gene- ral. There was another resort, that of the clergy distributed in parishes or missions ; as the revenue of the bishops was derived from the income of the clergy, the clergy who had cures, or the charge of the souls in districts, were obliged to make returns of their communicants, as well as of those VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 303 who neglected communion ; had these returns been faithful- ly made, they would have been, perhaps, the best means, as the system of confessional tickets kept the parochial popula- tion constantly under the subjection and terror of its pastor, AVhen an individual went to confession and received the sacrament, a ticket was given ; which he was obliged, under pain of spiritual displeasure, to preserve ; it was dated, and always told whether the individual had attended, *' at least at Easter," as is the disciplinary order. The pastor also visited his flock at their homes to administer spiritual comfort, and he never failed to inquire for the tickets of each indi- vidual, and to exact penance on defalcation ; the ticket of the last year, was, at the confession, changed for one of the new year. The curates, probably thinking that they were as well entitled to more of the revenue than the superior was disposed to allow, escaped the trouble and displeasure of disputation, by omitting, on his returns, a great portion of those for whose souls they laboured ; and thus the reports of the bishops, which they were called to make to the arch-bish- ops, to whom they were suffragans, were also reduced in the aggregate. It is related that a practice of some pious fe- males, in the article of tickets of confession, sometimes made the returns more ample than they really were, as more than one, often half a dozen confessors travelled over a large district ; those old ladies having confessed to their pastor, under their own names, sometimes made a confession to others of the itinerants, under the names of others with whom they had previously stipulated for the purchase of these extra-confessional testimonials. As this practice was confined to females it was not always discovered, but the number must very little affect the reports of the pastors. Another difficulty was in the cabildos, or corporations, the members of which being elected by suffrage, obliged their friends by omitting their names, when contributions or ser- vices were in question, and when called upon for the popu- 304 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. lation of their districts liad an interest also in diminishing the returns. So that, though Spain was deceived, her poh- cy in diminishing numbers was favoured even by the frauds of every class of functionaries who were competent to afford accurate information. Humboldt, who frankly acknow- ledges that his statistics of population were derived from official papers, thus had to form his estimates from data that were in their very inception false ; for which he is not to be censured, because there were no other means to obtain even an approximation. The justly celebrated archbishop and vice- roy, Antonio Caballero y Gongara^ who became viceroy in 1783, undertook to overcome all those abuses, and not only to make a complete survey and map of the viceroyalty, but to accomphbh, by means of the curates, a true state of the population, both of which he accomplished ; accident placed a duplicate original of this map under my notice several years ago ; for the convenience of transportation, by post, it was cut into parts in order to be lent, but there remains only that part which embraces Guayana and Cumana in my possession, the parts borrowed have never been returned, and are very probably lost. The population, at that period, was much greater than what Humboldt has allowed, even in his latest corrected estimates, in which he acknowledges the territory occupied by Indian tribes had been omitted in his former statements. It is only in a few provinces that a close esti- mate has ever been made and published before the revolu- tion. The new form of government is calculated to assure more faithful returns. The citizen, where he has a right of suf- frage, will assert it ; it is, indeed, true, that in this respect the principle of filtration, so fatal to the French in their revolution, and to which, in my opinion, may be mainly attributed the failure of the French republic ; because there was no respon- sibility directly to the people ; they voted only for a new kind of aristocracy y who disregarded the wishes of those who VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 305 composed the people ; and the assemblies thus constituted, were the mere instruments of conflicting cabals, which were multiplied in every department, and made the constituent assembly itself a mere engine of numerous cabals. The enemies of representative government, however, have so lit- tle regard for facts, and are so disingenuous or feeble mind- ed, as to ascribe the failure of the French republic to demo- cracy — when the real principle of democracy, that is, repre- sentation by equal and free suffi"age, was utterly cast out in every public assembly from beginning to end : — ruin fol- lowed as an inevitable consequence, and must follow every- where when free universal suffrage is wantonly or perfidiously abrogated or refused. In noticing the constitution of Co- lombia, I shall, perhaps, speak more on this subject. It has come in here as an incident arising in conversation connect- ed with population. Four rivers mark the outline of the plateau on which Me- rida stands ; this plateau forms a quadrilateral parallelogram, or lozenge, of which the Mohoon, the Chama, the Alvare- jes, and the Montalvan, form the sides. On the south front facing the Chama, the bed of the river exceeds a mile and a half, but in the dry season the stream plunges along the left side of the valley, at the foot of the Sierra, in a south- west direction, occupying about one-sixth of its flooded bed ; on the Merida side, the face of the bank is steep, per- pendicular, and composed of a grey earth, reputed to be two hundred and forty feet above the dry bed of the river ; from the town there is a gentle slope of about a mile and a half to the edge of this steep bank, which is covered with rich ver- dure to the very acute brink, and the plain generally has a gra- dual inclination in the direction of the stream of the Chama. One of the phenomena connected with the earthquake of 1812, is a crevice on the face of this steep bank, fronting the Chama ; it is a simple opening of the edge of the natural rampart, and, for about half a mile inward, is wedge-shaped, broad^ 39 306 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. and open at the summit, closing to an acute point below'. This crevice was produced by a single shock ; the rest ol the platform retained the form it still holds ; and, considering the materials of the steep bank, it appears unaccountable that the earth had not changed its vertical form. Our baggage had not reached us the night of our arri- val at Merida, but arrived the next morning, only leaving Vincent in custody of the alcalde of the village of Tabay. I dispatched the sergeant to inquire concerning him ; it ap- peared that he had detained the baggage in order to show his Caracammi style of dancing ; and, having indulged over- much in guarapa, his gallantry alarmed some of the paiaanos of Tabay ; who, threatening to flog him, Vincent drew his sabre, like the Knight of Mancha, and was about to vindi- cate his gallantry in presence of some Seilorita del Toboso, when the alcalde thought fit to trip up his heels and treat him like the Avoful-faced knight. He was disarmed, and placed in '* durance vile." I was satisfied Vincent merited worse than he got, but I did not like that my sword should be taken and kept, though it were through my servant. I explained the matter to the governor, who kindly proposed to let Vincent remain a short time in custody, and that the governor would send the sword forward after me. Had we been disposed to remain a month, we should have gratified these hospitable people, particularly the worthy veteran Paredes : we, however, lingered on in conversation, on the morning of the 30th December, that it gave these good people an opportunity to introduce a refresco^ some fine fruit and claret : and it was one o'clock before we could separate ; I determined to go as far as Exido, about four- teen miles, and move early the next morning. sor CHAPTER XXI. Exldo an old town — rich country — a civil alcalde — depart first of January — ap- prehensions and false news — La Lag'uanillas — lake of natron — some account of — Uroa — Mo — Chimo — luxuries — revenues — floods of the Cordillera — move lorward — noisy river — ^tremendous path tarabita — Estanques — rumour — reach Bayladores — silent as death. We reached Exido at five o'clock, and were surprized to find a town of some antiquity, though it consisted of few streets ; we entered the plaza, which, though paved and spa- cious was nearly covered by the verdure, and with less indus- try than better knowledge proved to prevail there ; the houses also were principal!}^ of two stories, and the inhabitants all husbandmen. The town had the appearance of a gradual decay, but, like others, had been left without a principal part of its population, who, removing first for a temporary purpose, had many of them taken root elsewhere ; but the alcalde, who was a shrewd experienced man, observed that the country all round vv'as too fine and fertile to be long with- out inhabitants. We had quarters in the alcalde's house, and he provided us with some of the finest fruit for immediate use, and a basket-full to carry away. The first of January, 1823, we moved early, the alcalde giving us the news, with a cau- tion, which displayed his good nature and his apprehensions — it was that Morales had entered Bayladores, a town only four stages distant on our route, and this proved to be true. It was sufficiently distant, however, not to give us imme- diate apprehensions, and, as we had orders for an escort at the next post, we pushed across the plain, and at two o'clock we entered San Juan de Lagiianillas^ on the Rio Gonzales, a stream tributary to the Zulia. There was a picket guard ♦t the entrance of the town, under charge of a lieutenant, to 308 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. whom we presented ourselves with an enquiry for the com- manding officer, wlio was absent ; and after more than ars hour's delay, he not returning, we sought for the alcalde, who gave us wretched accommodations in his pulpureia, where we hung up our hammocks. The place was much crowded with fugitives from Maracaibo and other contiguous places, a Stnor Limares, who had learned something about us, insisted on our partaking of dinner with him ; and a very good entertainment (for the place) was provided, with excel- lent tinto wine. Several ladies, fugitives, with their children, were in this village. It was my intention to visit the celebrated lake of natron, which is contiguous to this town, but it was not practicable under the military circumstances of the country, and we excited the alcalde, who required some spirit to move himy to provide mules, which, he assured us, we should have a la manana, which, though it originally signified in the morn- ingf sometimes signifies next week, and very often never ; I had resort to the commanding officer, who did not put it off a la manana ; the officer of our escort waited on us to know the hour at which we proposed to depart. It was arranged, that we should move at four o'clock in the morning, and the escort an hour before to meet us at a point designated. The town of St. Juan de la Laguanillas, derives its name, St John of the little lake, from a remarkable lake, at a short distance from the town. I had been long acquainted with its general history, as a source of singular luxury, in several parts of Venezuela, and that, during the Spanish rule, it had been, coeval with the monopoly of tobacco, also monopo- lized and made a source of royal revenue ; the state of things in relation to the Spaniards, the circumstances of the guard so generously provided for our escort, rendered it not practi- cable ; I made some enquiries, on the spot, of some intelli- gent persons, who were exiles from Maracaybo, and from VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 309 the officer of our escort, from which, and the account given by Palacios^ I derive what I shall here state. The lake is of an oval form, better than four hundred yards long, and two hundred and fifty broad. On the east side it is three or four fathoms deep when the floods from the adjacent mountains come down ; and, although the eva- poration at the warm season is considerable, the lake is never dry, nor so much diminished as would be deemed probable. On the. west side it is ^shallow, but has a descent gradually deeper for one hundred and fifty yards ; and it is on this sloping depth, that the operation of collecting the Uroa, or natron, or carbonate of soda takes place ; for upon chemical analysis it appears that this substance resembles in its compo- sition the natron of Egypt and of Fezzan. The accounts verbally given do not exactly agree with those of Palacios, but, as in the case of the gold washings, which will be noticed hereafter, the modes of collecting the Uroa may be different with different persons. I shall, however, notice both as the natural products of those countries become every day objects of greater interest, and will continue to do so. According to the verbal information, the uroa is found in prismatic crystals less than an inch in length, and not of equ^l thickness, nor equally heavy ; I could not learn whe- ther the sides of the crystals were of equal numbers, nor in- deed of how many sides, only that they were angular, and ra- ther flat than uniform in their thickness. A class of the abori- gines, some of whom were at the alcalde's posada, — a very portly muscular race of men, — and they are all so described ; those who work at the lake are called Huragueras^ and their labour was thus described : they carry some very rude imple- ments, such as a stake, shod with a sharp iron ; a sort of scoop or shovel ; some hoes, with long handles ; and a sort of little boat [pirauguita^)^ which they put afloat when they go to work, and the use of which will presently be seen. As described to me, the workmen, either from some skill 310 VISIT TO COLOMlilA. real or imagined, select a space, Avhich, with a lew coniradtb, they mark off by stakes driven into the bottom, and vvithni which no other party encroaches. The first process is to remove a coat of mud, wliich is drawn inward, and conveyed in the piraugidtas to the shore, where it is heaped up ; this l)e- ing removed, the crystallized natron is said to be found in u hard crust, that requires force to break it, which is the purpose of the iron-shod stakes ; the masses thus broken are collected and taken up, and in like manner carried to the bank, and exposed to the sun till the working hour is over, when it is removed into houses prepared for its preservation. Under the royal poAver an officer was appointed, by whose direction the operations were conducted ; magazines were provided where the iiroa was deposited under his direction, and whence it w-as distributed to government depots in the provinces where it was in demand. At that period the collection took place only every second year, and continued then only two months. Since the revolution, the royal offi- cers disappeared, and private individuals have appropriated the product to their own emolument, and work it every year at the fit season. The other account agrees in general with this, but is con- fined to the royal period. At that time the Huragueras were divided into squads of eight or ten, and staked off the ground as mentioned in the preceding account, but no notice is taken of the mud first removed, and the Huragueras are described as diving for the lumps of the natron which they disengage: the operation is represented as very pernicious to health, and that the hair of the Huragueras becomes reddish. At that period the product of the two months in two years averaged fifteen hundred weight ; triple the quantity has been collect- ed since the revolution, and it has been worked every year. Under the royalty Venezuela consumed the whole amount, it being first dried in the sun, and was issued at a real the pound (twelve and a half cents). VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 311 The uroa was connected with another luxury called mo, prepared from tobacco. A heap of the ripe tobacco leaves mixed with the leaves of other green plants, was exposed to fermentation, and in that state yielded by compression a dark reddish liquid, the exhalations from which were deleterious, and the flavour very acrid or pungent. This Hquid, called a?ivir, reduced to a syrup, was called ?no, which being incor- porated in the proportions of one ounce of nroa dried, roasted or pulverized, formed what was called t?io-dulce, or sweet mo ; if the proportion of uroa to mo was two ounces or more to the pound, then it was called ehimo. In the provinces of Maracaybo, Varinas, and Caracas, these different kinds, uroa, mo, mo-dulce, and chww, were articles of luxury in very considerable demand, and were kept in boxes of horn : I did not learn how the various kinds were used, only that some people took a small quantity from the boxes, and used it as men chew tobacco, or as the orien- tals chew betel, and like betel it is a powerful stimulus to the nervous system, produces copious saliva, and a light delirium of agreeable sensation, which the betel also certainly does; I had no opportunity to test the ??jo, or any of its family, and must confess myself sceptical on this point. In 1804, six years before the revolution, these articles be- ing comprehended in the monopoly of tobacco, altogether, after defraying all charges, yielded 700,000 dollars to the re- venue ; but I was not able to ascertain how much of this amount belonged to the natron branch of the revenue, and the republic has not yet brought the income to the public treasury ; but it was among the objects of finance under the cognizance of the treasury, and of a committee of con- gress. The government of Colombia in this, as in many other cases, displays its discretion and moderation ; persons who have laid pretensions to this and other objects upon a mere pragmatic assumption, sometimes construe the revolu- tion as a measure of personal aggrandizement, and trouble 312 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. themselves very little, if at all, about rights or social princi- ples of government ; the government is fully aware of this, but magnanimously prefers moderate courses, though pos- sessed of perfect power to put an end to such transgressions, Palacios says, that the environs of this place, and the roads near Merida, and the Albarrigas, as well as some mountains adjacent, have a peculiar richness of verdure ; and that certain plants, particularly the Rosa de Muerto^ are found there ; and that similar appearances and products mark the neighbourhood of the salt-quarries of Zipiquira and of Enimacon. The beauty of the open grounds near Merida, and adjacent to La Laguanillas, is unquestionable ; but I found it not confined to particular spots there, nor at Eni- macon. Zipiquira itself, in the distance, looked very dreary to me ; but the plains around were rich in verdure. The Cordillera, which shows its eternal snow in front of Merida, is yet visible at Laguanilla, and its branches seem here detached and cut into groups and lofty steeps. The floods, from these sublime heights, plunge into the lower re- gions on both sides ; those of the north side, upon which our course lay, poured out the turbulent Chama, which was, in this neighbourhood, swelled with the waters of the Gon- zales, and, on our route, the roar of the Chama, like the rush of a great cataract, was constantly in our ears, till we found it forcing its roaring torrent over tremendous rocks, which seemed to have been torn from the mountains by its rage in the valley leading to Estanques. The floods on the soutli side of Cordillera are more numerous ; they tear the face of the Cordillera into vast vertical trenches, cutting its sides across at short distances, and, by this means, compelling the traveller to ascend the loftiest grounds, because roads along these torn sides would be impracticable, unless upon the line of their direction to their union with the Apure and Casi- nare. VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 313 According to our arrangement we were mounted at four o'clock, and the moon being very bright, we rode with great pleasure through the mazes of this beautiful, but wild, re- gion, when, turning the point of a tremendous rock, we were surprised with — " Quien vive ?" — who comes there ? it was the challenge of the rear guard of our escort, we there- fore answered *' Colombiano^''^ which is the favourite response ; paisanoy answering to citizen or countryman^ is also usual, and well received. Wc soon overtook the escort, who were here all infantry. Our appearance, any where else, would have been a fine subject for the humorist. But we were all in fine spirits, the Spaniards notwithstanding, unaware that we were approaching by much the most hazardous part of our road. The officer in command of the escort gave us advice how to act, and signified that there was a long pass in the mountain in which only one could move at a time, and he must send his men forward, so as not to be interrupted by persons coming in the opposite direction. The sun was beaming on the tops of the Sierra as we reached the entrance of the valley leading towards Estanques. The hoarse roar of the Chama had been heard, but yet in the distance ; it ran away from Merida like a growling bear, — here it made an up- roar that stunned us. An opening, such as if a mountain of rock had been cleft from its summit to its base, and each summit had reclined backward without moving the base, had tumbled stupendous rocks into the chasm, under and over which the water forced its way with a tremendous noise, and forming a cascade, poured a vast volume into a great bason formed by its own power. The face of the lofty plain over which we marched breaks abruptly across the valley ; on the right side a lofty mountain gave a savage aspect to the cast ; and quite fresh, as if it had been but just rent from its side, there lay, some forty roods across the valley, the immense debris, which had cast itself down. The descent, from the plain we stood upon, appeared 40 314 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. impracticable, but the mules, accustomed to the route, soon moved to a gap which appeared to be dug out of the deep side of the precipice, consisting of the fragments and frac- tures of a kind of free-stone, wrought into winding lines of descent and landings, which we all succeeded in descending safe. At the bottom a vast rock spread for many yards, and extended its flat surface to the left, beneath which edge the bason, into which the Chama discharged its torrent, a deep broad volume of transparent water rushed through a channel between forty and fifty feet wide. Across this sublime cur- rent, and thirty feet above its surface, four trees, of about seventy or eighty feet long, were laid, the small and large ends alternate ; upon those trees a bed of brush- wood fag- gots was laid cross-wise over the whole extent, and gravel and earth had been laid on those faggots, and beaten into an even pathway. This was our only way of passing, and it was without hand-rail or any other side security. Elizabeth, whose confidence in her mule was well founded, pushed up to the bridge, and went over perfectly unconcerned, and we all followed, though I must confess not without apprehen- sion ; what with the roar of the waters, the rapid race of the current underneath, through which, though deep and rapid, the coloured pebbles could be distinctly seen, the height and nakedness of the kind of bridge, and the trees, giving an elastic action to the tread of the mule, made it really formid- able. No accident whatever occurred ; when we gained the left bank we procured some fresh water, and halted to refresh. The officer of the escort was heard to whistle, and presently some of those he had detached in advance answer, ed and returned, and informed us the pass was clear, and that we should find them at the other extremity. We commenced our ascent of the Sierra, over a tolera- ble mountain pathway, through a copse or scrubby wood. The Chama, after escaping through the defile, spread its wa- tf;rs more to the right and left, and had wrought a deeper VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 315 bed beneath the steep, whose sides we were now ascend- ing gradually, until we cleared the copse : — the broad bed of the Chama, which it occupies in flood times, was now exposed, covered with several layers of loose rounded rock and stone. The path we had ascended was formed on the left by the scarp of the mountain, out of which it was exca- vated ; and on the right by the dwarf trees ; we were soon at the upper extremity, and a sort of shelf cut from the clayey side of the Sierra, sufficient for one mule to pass, was our only road. The side of the mountain has been here and there washed into ravines, and the adjacent sides rounded into those ravines, the path becomes a succession of winding curves, each terminating in the sharp indenting of the ra- vines, and renewing a new projecting curve. The sides of the rounded mounds, and the whole range, upon which the path-way or shelf lies, is about seven or eight hundred feet above the current of the Chama, and, while riding, I took from the bank, on my left, a handful of the soil, and shifting it to my right, extending my right arm, the soil fell directly into the Chama. To stand even at a window, at so great an elevation, sometimes affects the head ; but here it was rid- den without any dizziness or disquietude ; the mule would sometimes stoop over the very verge of the steep to pluck some wild plant growing there. But this ease and com- posure I attribute entirely to the confidence which cannot but be the consequence of security in the mule, after some days experience. As our ride was of necessity in Indian file, and very slow, we occupied much time in this passage ; but we had not yet completed it. When we had passed the last curved protru- sion of the Sierra, we had to descend about forty yards, and to gain a rock about twenty feet from the side of the moun- tain shelf path. The connexion between the main rock, was a narrow ledge which seemed to be a large slab of twen- ty. three or twenty-four feet in length, and from eleven to 316 VISIT TO COLOMUIA, twelve inches thick ; this slab stood on the edge in about an angle of 45° with the side of the mountain, and its farther end against the rock we had to reach : from the side of the mountain just beyond this flat rock, and covering a front larger than the face of the remote rock, a torrent plunged from the mountain, the action of which appeared to have per- forated the rock standing on the edge, and an opening, which appeared larger than the dimensions of a puncheon, gave a projecting spout, which fell in a beautiful cascade on the north side of the main rock, while the rest of the Chiquita that descended the mountain, found its way into the Chama on the south side. We had to pass to this rock, upon this narrow ledge, above this formidable sluice and cascade. The officer, in charge of the escort, had placed himself in a position which enabled him to see us approach this place, and he saw us pass it almost without an emotion, while he acknowledged that he trembled for our safety on that pas- sage. I alighted and measured that end of the ledge next to the rock outside, and found it eleven inches ; it was not, however, throughout so narrow, but it ^vas not much broader in any part. After the congratulations of our mili- tary companion, we moved for Estanques, within sight was one of those modes of passing rivers by suspension, which is called a Tarabita. There are many forms ; this across the Chama was a mile north-east of Estanques, and above the point where the river abruptly turns oiF at a right angle with its previous course, and travels north to the lake of Maracaibo. A stout rope of ox-hides attached to a very large tree on the right bank, was carried to the left bank, and attached to a large timber artificially fixed in the ground, and having in front a mass of rocks piled or placed as a buttress ; two rings of the bejuco, of the size of a horse collar, were woven loose on the rope, a small line from each side was attached to each of those rings, and a basket-like machine was slung to that ring which was on the side, from VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 317 which the passage was to be made, the passenger placed himself sitting or lying down in this suspended basket, and at a signal from the other side, the ring was drawn along the rope to the opposite side ; they had a capstan-like windlass, on the left side, which was to tighten the main rope, which is suffi- ciently strong to bear the transportation of a man and horse, or two or three persons at a time. Bolivar crossed a division of troops at this Tarabita, and the bridge of four trees thrown across the abyss, where the Chama enters the valley, was constructed under his direction, the Spaniards having de- stroyed a Tarabita that stood formerly where this temporary bridge of trees now is. I have been often surprised that no stand was made at this extraordinary pass by either party during the war. The Chama is not to be waded over, as its stream is not only deep but impetuous, and a few men posted at either end of the shelf-path might defy twenty times their number. We reached Estanques before noon, and resolved to sleep there. This Estanques is not a pubUc town, but a private Hacien- da, or cacao estate, and the steward, in charge of it, conduct- ed us to the best apartment, in a very good brick two-story house. There was a range of huts, and some scattered in front of the house, and it struck us at once that, although there were numerous negro women, that there was not one man to be seen, and there were no other inhabitants. These poor people were slaves, and not embraced by the law which gave immediate emancipation ; the men, upon joining the public standard, became immediately soldiers ; a spright- ly girl, who offered her services, with some fruit, stated that the men all left them and turned soldiers, and she spoke it as if she resented it. I asked why she did not go too ; she said, she wished she was a man, and she would not belong at Es- tanques. She confessed her situation there had nothing cruel or unfair, but then, said she, one would like to see one's father, or one's brother — or — and she turned suddenly 318 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. round and disappeared, leaving the idea of — one's sweetheart to be guessed at — and did not Nature speak for her ? We now made our mess common to our brother soldier, which before we had no opportunity to do. The stock laid in at Exido was good and ample ; and we contrived to pur- chase here for the use of the soldiers some came secoy or dry meat ; and we added to our own cookery some sweet yuccas and apiosy and the best potatoes we had yet seen in Colom- bia. We had among our purchases at Exido some very fine rice in a neat cloth bag, of which we very fortunately got the whole, though it would have been more useful between Tu- cuyo and Merida. The common hedge trees here were orange, and loaded with delicious fruit ; we ate and slept comfortably. On the 3d of January, at half past five in the morning, wc moved, the escort having preceded us an hour, as we delayed to have coffee and chocolate, with some rice and fruit, and meant to carry some dressed rice, which, with sugar and some nutmegs, mace, or cloves, which we had, wc could ap- pease the appetite without halting. Our route lay through some cane brakes, and sandy -bottomed rivulets in a multi- tude of windings, where no stranger would expect to find a road. These numerous rills have their sources in the moun- tains whose skirts we were traversing, and contribute to the little river Estanques, at the foot of the Hacienda, which, after flowing a mile, unites in the stream of the Chama. We pursued this vegetable labyrinth for more than three hours, on the margin of the Estanques for a short time, then cros- sing it on a well. constructed and raised platform of plank, serving as a bridge, with a good firm hand-rail on each side, ascending through forests, whose sometimes prostrate trees arrested our progress and compelled to a circuit. At four o'clock, this desultory up and down hill, cool moist air, and then close and hot, gave us a relish for food as well as tem- porary rest ; our sergeant, who had not the use of his speech VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 319 SO much since we had the escort, now coming where he knew the people ; — the officer, with a trusty sergeant and two men, whom he caused to be mounted at an adjacent Haci- enda, passed in advance to reconnoitre. I have taken no notice of the neivs which every passenger on the road could give us, as to what Morales had done, what he was doing, and what he meant to do ; that he was, according to a dozen persons, at a dozen different places at the same day. Though all these stories were contradictory, yet some one of them might be true ; and as, among other places, the newsmon- gers said he had possession of Bayladores, and it was our next halting-place, the officer had very judiciously deter- mined to reconnoitre, and the sergeant led us up a steep as- cent, where no one could expect to find a human habitation, but it led into a very fine trapeche^ that is, a sugar- mill and plantation ; here we had some refreshment, and among other fruit the guava, of which I had not tasted since I had been in Hindustan, abundant fine oranges, and the finest pine-ap- ples I had ever seen. We had rested and regained our elasticity after an hour's stay, and having the river Bayladores on our left, we moved forward at half past twelve o'clock, much gratified by the ci- vility we experienced, and which the people did not deem enough to gratify ourselves ; they caused some bundles of young sugar-cane to be placed in charge of the sergeant, for all our mules. At half past three we saw the town of Bayla- dores, at the foot of the mountain side we were descending, and we found it totallv deserted. 330 CHAPTER XXII. Old Bayladores, account of— deserted by inhabitants — no alcalde — muleteers — fears of the Godas — alcalde appears — vidette from Colonel Gomez — account of the Spanish division — part from our accomplished officer and escort — Ce- bada beautiful country and fine cultivation — New Bayladores — accept a beckon to walk in from a venerable planter — a Frenchman — unites the nation- al politeness with Colombian hospitality — perpetual progression of crops — husbandry, views of — move on — reports on the road — cold night — ascend the paramo — fatiguing route — met by a detachment of cavalry sent to escort us — Colonel Gomez and suite — fine horses — reach Gritja — alight at the governor's — his apprehensions — and kindness — aspect of Gritja — zeal and effective pro- tection afforded by the colonel — kind precautions against his proposed stra- tagem — and its success — depart by a circuitous route — escort of cavalry and infantry — gain the high road — the Spaniards abandon their outposts — move in security — meet Colonel Gomez — success of his stratagem — and his amusing vivacity in relation to it — anecdotes of him — El Cobre posthouse — mode of business and accommodations there — Oriental resemblances again — peons — mode of disseminating information — Information for travellers by the same route- Bayladores is not a compact town with regular or intersecting streets, like towns generally in Colombia ; from the hill by which the road leads, a spacious and verdant sloping plain descends to the south a good broad mile, and in some places more ; the river of the name meanders in a much deeper bed with a steep bank on the north side and foot of the Sierra, which is washed by the south side of the ample stream ; the aspect of the mountain being north, it appears gloomy as it is elevated, and the forests by which it is covered, during the greater part of the day, have the aspect of a flat bog rather than of trees of one hundred to one hun- dred and fifty feet elevation. It is not a uniform front, but shows deep recesses, and in fact numerous gaps or open- . ings ; it was in this direction and through those cHffs and clefts the population had retired, carrying with them all their VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 321 live and dead stock, and every moveable thingdt The town occupies the upper or northern side of the north bank ; and the houses stand detached, but presenting their fronts in a sort of semicircle to the plain. As we descended towards the plain we could overlook several of the houses — but the si- lence of the grave was there — not a cow, goat, hog, horse, mule, nor ass — the cocks and hens, the turkeys and the ducks, everywhere else so noisy and numerous — had emigrated too ; all appeared to have died or gone to roost. The houses, as we came in front, were stockaded in a most ex- cellent military style, the stakes with sharpened angular points ; well laced and braced together ; advantage was taken of the pita walls, which were easily perforated, and loop-holes for musquetry were apparent on all sides — but those who made the stockades and the loop-holes, were not there — they were, God knows where, in the mountains, looking down, perhaps, for the enemy, whom they were numerous enough — if they were cannibals — to devour. We took possession of the town-house, for we looked in vain for the alcalde, perhaps he thought it better to go with the people than to be taken by the Spaniards. The hired mu- leteers, who had gossipped a little on the road with the people at the sugar- mill, manifested some alarm at the hyperbole retailed by the newsmakers — they have a great deal of Orientalism in their commonest stories, the language favours it from its flexibility, and perhaps the climate may quicken the imagination ; they talked of returning imme- diately ; but, though our sense of danger was not so acute, we were not disposed to be left without any means of move- ment, and, at my suggestion, the officer of the escort in- formed them that they could not depart until we were pro- vided with fresh mules ; and advised them to go in search of the alcalde, or mules for hire, to replace their own, and they accordingly proceeded, and next day found the alcalde. The officer of the escort, who was expert and well adapted 41 3SS VISIT TO GOLOxMBIA. to the service, had confidential soldiers, whom he divested of all things military, and dispatched to reconnoitre, which they executed faithfully, and returned the next day also. The alcalde visited us with an aspect most unmagisterial and dolorous, and even while he addressed us seemed to look round from the habit of fear, and while he laboured to con- ceal his apprehensions, only betrayed his chicken- hearted- ness. It required the explosion of a bomb to awaken his senses; and his first information was that he knew not where to procure mules for us, though he had expected us for a week ; but we insisted on his compliance with the or- ders he had received, which our commanding officer further enforced. The alcalde believed that the Spaniards would return, and said he had advices to that effect ; that Colonel Gomez, commandant at Gritja, was collecting a force, and was also expected. Our officer's information was different and more correct; the Spaniards, under Colonel Valdez, had taken a position at Las Puentes, beyond Gritja, and Colonel Gomez was at Gritja with a corps of observation. We were, therefore, obliged to wait at Bayladores till mules could be procured ; the sergeant, acquainted with the coun- try, foraged and provided ample subsistence; we em- ployed the time of delay in changing our linen, and new arranging our baggage against our departure. The sergeant procured fruit, poultry, and other things, and we were well rested and fared tolerably by the time the alcalde arrived with the alcalde of New Bayladores, a man of spirit and character : a suite of mules cam.e after them. We had, however, so arranged our baggage during our stay, that we had provided places to conceal our trunks in the event of the approach of the enemy, and I had passed the river and made myself acquainted with the paths to the mountain more than two miles on the other side. It was, however, better as it turned out. The road was clear, and a vidette, from Colonel Gomez, brought us intimation that the road was open through VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 323 the forest of wild boars, and all the way to Gritja, and an escort of cavalry would meet us at a position designated, and conduct us across the paramo. We were now to separate from our agreeable fellow-traveller and his escort, who as- sured us he would with pleasure accompany us to Bogota if his orders permitted, very kindly took leave, and we parted impressed with grateful sentiments and merited esteem ; his conduct was perfectly the soldier ; gentlemanly, amiable, and cool ; his understanding cultivated ; he was a soldier from sentiment, and acquainted with his profession ; but was anxious that peace should enable him to return to the cultivation of a small estate he possessed, and — I suspected a more tender motive. We had not been able to account for the change of conduct and deportment in the alcalde till we were about to separate ; the officer informed us that the vi- dette of Colonel Gomez had rebuked him for detaining us, and that it was this which had given him so much sudden alacrity ; the mules were at our door earlier than we required them ; eggs and poultry, fruit and forage, for which he would receive no payment, but supplied in abundance ; in the gratification of being able to move secure, and, having no- thing to desire now, we soon forgot the alcalde of Old Bay- ladores. We moved forward, at ten o'clock, and were met on the way by the alcalde of Cebada, who also came to escort us. We ascended the mountain on the right of the valley, and had a delightful day and charming prospect for many leagues. The country through which we were now passing recalled to mind, from their resemblance in verdure and cultivation, those of Chester, Lancaster, and Montgomery counties, Pennsylvania, in July ; the gradual slopes, and rich fields of grain; fences indeed were wanting to complete the resem- blance; but the waving barley and wheat looked as lively and luxuriant ; and the maize was rich and beautiful. The points of sight were yet too remote for distinctness, the pir- 324 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. ture was a mass, in which the parts were not minutely dis- cernible, but by the tints, and the occasional motion of a very gentle breeze, which was very acceptably shared with us in our progress. We reached New Bayladores before it was noon ; its ap- pearance had newness and neatness in the external, and pros- perity appeared all around it ; the houses were all white- washed, and the tiles all appeared as new as if the whole had been just built; which appeared the more remarkable from a comparison with the older town, and the recent presence of the Spaniards, who rarely spared any thing that appeared to prosper. I noticed the contrast to the alcalde, who only re- plied by that universal substitute for a speech, a silent shake of the head ; I did not know whether I should take it in Sir Christopher Hattori's sense, in the Critic, or in our Indian interpretation — but concluded that it meant to say prosperity and neatness was the usual effect of industry judiciously pursued, and a good police ; perhaps he meant more than it was prudent to speak, for he shook hands with us very cor- dially when we set forward, the sergeant once more, with his grenadier's cap and his lance, leading the van. About noon a well-looking stone house, of two stories, with verandahs above, invited our attention, and the venera- ble grey-haired owner beckoned an invitation to turn our mules inward, and, as the sun shone pretty warm, we com- plied, and our mules in a few minutes were wallowing in good fodder. The old gentleman conducted us to the ve- randaii in front, where I had my hammock slung in such a position as to overlook the valley and the mountains to a con- siderable distance ; the scite was happily selected ; our venera- ble host was a Frenchman, above seventy ; he entered inte discourse with the affability of his own country, and accom- panied by the taste and hospitality of Colombia ; fine sponge- cake, no better could be had in Paris, cream-cheese, fresh and well made, as if from Philadelphia ; mead, not to be ex- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 335 celled any where, brisk as champaign ; and abundance of sweetmeats and fruit, were handed round repeatedly. We had directed some fowls to be fricaseed, but the cochiero had loitered and talked, and we looked at the pictures around us so long, that it became too late to wait for them ; it was the fault of our own servants, who had, naturally enough, attended to good things present, rather than to the preparation, which, to be sure, was unnecessary, and I left them to follow, pur- suing my journey. This old gentleman had been settled in that position more than forty years ; his manners, and his example, to the cultivators, and his neutrality, in every vi- cissitude, had saved him from entire ruin, and the earth and the climate, which, never ceasing from production, made him rich, who spent very little compared with his income. While resting on my hammock I could discern the pro- gress of cultivation, which was more contiguous than in the position from which the fields were first descried ; and, upon particular inquiry, I found that every process of agriculture was in operation at the same time — at the east extremity the mules were bearing off the harvests to the depots behind the dwelling ; stacks were on the patch of ten or twenty acres, next adjoining — another patch displayed the rows of sheaves, in another the reapers were at work, and the young people tying them — farther on, the golden harvest tempted the reaper — and still farther west, the waving grain had yet its tinge of pale green — and farther still the tint was more deep, it was the grain in the blade — another patch appeared to show like green threads upon a cake of chocolate ; and next appeared the paisaiio scattering the grain, followed by a range of mules abreast, with that harrow which instinctive reason provides, in the thorny brambles of the thicket ; last patch of all, the ploughman with his rude formed plough, though then too distant to be particularly described — this was the rotation of crops — and upon a soil which never had any other manure than the rains and dews of heaven and its own 326 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. natural composition ; the progression unceasing and unin- terrupted ; unless the hand of man forgot or neglected to do his duty. But the want of roads to transport those rich har- vests rendered their mercantile value small — wheat could be had here for about a real and a half, or fifteen cents the bushel, barley for ten ; pease, vetches, and beans, for a few cents. The people on the road, as we advanced, were not yet apprised that the Spaniards had moved to the borders of the Cinegay and we were so sure of a contradictory account from every successive person and dwelling, that we made it a matter of amusement to send the sergeant and Vincent to make enquiries, and then quieted their apprehensions by stating the direct information we possessed ; among other things we were told that no person was permitted to proceed to Gritja— that the people at Gritja had declared for the royal cause, and hoisted the royal standard, delivering up their governor, who was in the Spanish camp : there was one part of this story true, but it was not a volunteer business — a brother-in-law of the civil governor of Gritja, who was a steady royalist, had formed a stratagem, and succeeded in seiz- ing and carrying off his republican brother-in-law, the gover- nor I there had been a familv dispute upon some division of property by marriage, and the royal partizan now settled the lawsuit, by demanding forty thousand dollars as a ransom for his prisoner, which the governor himself afterwards told us he had paid, our quarters being with him on our arrival at Gritja. At half past five we reached a farm-house, where we were received with civility, but not without apprehensions, which were soon dissipated by our discourse ; the place was at the foot of a paramo, the air cold and biting, and our appetites pretty keen ; we procured some potatoes, had some chickens fricaseed, and some good chocolate ; all the doors and win- dows were closed as much as possible, but the night was very uncomfortable with all the clothing we could apply. VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 327 rhe valley at this place, though deep in relation to the pa- ramo at the foot of which it extends, is about forty leagues from north to south and south-south-west, is widest at the north, and narrow to the foot of the paramo, from which we were not more than twenty minutes ride distant. We rose late, in consequence of our bad night's rest, and did not get in motion till ten o'clock. On the 4th, being Sunday, we travelled up the paramo, on which there was the first appearance of any thing like a really easy road since we left the valley of Aragua; we reach- ed the summit at noon, and commenced a tedious and ha- zardous descent, from the steepness of the mountain and the badness of the footway, winding through wilds, and shut out from sunshine by the closeness and elevation of the forest trees on the lower range of the mountain ; pools and quag- mires difficult to pass were constantly retarding our journey, and tiring our mules and ourselves. We were soon met by a party of cavalry, under a lieute- nant, sent by Colonel Gomez to meet us, and, a few miles farther in advance, the colonel himself, of whom we had heard much, with a suite of six young officers, in gay, gau- dy-coloured, fancy military dresses, which had no other uniformity than that they were sleeve jackets and loose pan- taloons, and Italian caps; but of all colours of the rainbow : bluejackets with yellow pantaloons, yellow jackets Avith red pantaloons, and jackets with green, white, red or yellow ; the caps were neat and fanciful, but alike varied as their fea- thers were contrasted ; they rode the best horses I had hi- therto seen, about sixteen hands high, with handsome short heads, neat short swelling ears, large, bright, prominent eyes, a well-formed, full, and robust arching neck, broad breast, a tapering leg and thin shank, clean fetlocks, neat grey hoofs, rounded haunches and buttocks, and tails that stood out in a bunch, and spread like the water from a fountain almost to the ground, and with which they could be eifectually pro- 328 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. m tected from winged insects if there were any, and, being thus unmutilated, were thcreCore spirited but fine- tempered. It was lialf after four when we came in sight of Gritja ; we did not enter the town, which was in the bottom of the valley, but passed to the left on the side of die sierra, and afighted in the patio of the civil governor's house, who now came out to receive us, and who afforded us every civility. This was the gentleman who had been ransomed only two days before ; he told us his story with natural pathos, and indicated very sensibly that he was not perfecdy confident of being yet secure ; his family had fled to the interior mountains, with their cattle, and all they could carry. A pair of horses stood always saddled in the patio, ready to prevent this Spanish brother-in-law from partitioning the pro- perty a second time. A good plain dinner of better than common dried beef, with potatoes and onions, seasoned with spice, made an ex- cellent Irish stew — white wheaten bread, good vegetable greens, sallads, and fruit — some guarapa prepared by domes- tics for private use, much superior to that of the posadas ; and, as the Spaniards had carried off all his wine, the gover- nor, who had some careful servants, had preserved a few fine cases of liquor, from which he brought his garde-de-vin of aguardiente ; I took some with fine spring water. Though we were not in the town of Gritja, we could, as the sailors say, " chuck a biscuit into it" from the rear of the gover- nor's house. The town, which lay directly beneath our view, perhaps three hundred yards below us ; our position immediately over the south-east angle, the lines of the streets being north and south, and crossing east and west a spacious square in the centre, about eight streets in the breadth and ten or twelve in the length. The whole town handsomely tiled and of one story high — a handsome church stood, as usual, conspicuously above the rest. But the silence of death prevailed in the town, not a living thing was to br VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 329 seen, the whole population, reputed to be about nine thou- sand, had fled to the Paramos in the south, which, from our position, appeared piled one over the other on our left till lost in the clouds, or diminished into narrow grey lines of equivocal light. The colonel, whose animal spirits were of a very different temperament from the poor governor, who had laughed and chatted with us on the way, on our arrival had resigned me to the aW authority, while he, and his fine young men, be- stowed their attentions on Lieutenant Buche and his sister; and, after some pleasant repartees with the governor, he contrived to detach me from the company, and urged that he did not choose to say any thing to alarm tht Senorita, but thought fit to apprise me of our situation, and his niten- tions. The Spaniards, under Valdez, he said were about seven hundred strong, posted at La Puente, on the high road over which our course lay ; his care was to protect us, and prevent the Spanish marauders from molesting us ; that he had already made up his mind on the plan he should pursue, and we might rely on our safety for the night ; but, lest the Senorita should be alarmed at the noise he meant to make, he thought fit to let me know, that, about two hours after midnight, his whole force would be in motion, and that we must not mistake his bugles for those of the enemy; that an officer of influence, to whom he particularly intro- duced me, with explanations afterwards, would accompany us, with an escort of infantry and cavalry ; that our road would be circuitous and remote from the highway, and that we should be conducted clear of the enemy *s picktts and every danger. The colonel and suite, after spending some pleasant time, departed ; and taking our serge mt with him, put six fresh mules under his charge, with two muleteers, whom he directed to obey our orders implicitly. The mules were placed in the corals with forage of molocha in abun- dance ; .we directed to have the baggage packed, and all 42 330 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. ready by two o'clock in the morning, and went to rest in perfect security ; about two o'clock, indeed, the clangor of bugles was heard, not at a single point collected, but at se- veral points near and distant ; appearing to sound and an- swer, and to sound and answer again at different places ; it was too dark to discern distinctly, but the cessation of the motion of ol^jccts below, and the gradual decrease of shrillness, showed that the bugles were hastily passing to the north of us ; according to the impression of the sound of the bugles, which never ceased while we were in hearing distance, they were behind the mountains to the north before we could put ourselves in motion to proceed south-west. The governor, who had given up his quarters for our con- venience, and staid at an adjoining house, appeared with some baskets of fruit to be placed on our baggage; and displaying every kindness, praying for our safety from the barbarous Goths (Godas). Our commandant of the escort was on the ground also before us, and, after moving about a mile with him, we found a detachment of infantry, and in the valley to which we descended southward and eastward, through tremendous ravines and precipices, we saw the ca- valry receive orders how to move on our right ; and now, proceeding up a deep narrow glen, we wound round to the south, and at length to the south-west, ascending. The commanding officer, who minutely knew every spot of these valleys, intmnated that there were some Godas in the line of our movement, and he pushed forward in advance. Two fine young men, out of uniform, accompanied him, each carrying a loaded miisquetoon on their saddle bows ; they dashed up the side of a steep mound, and passing through a thick hedge, a well-looking house, surrounded by hedges of beautiful shrubbery, presented itself; he rode up to the door, and I followed him ; the young men prepared, with their musquetoons adjusted, to meet any assault or punish insult : the house, however, was closed, its tengnts had VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 331 eloped. Some excellent poultry were taken, but the value was thrown into a window, and we passed on through a winding path, crossed several very steep hills, thick forests, and some intricate mazes of rank vegetation. About one o'clock we emerged from the forest upon the summit of a beautiful hill, covered with a close-nipt velvet turf, as if sheep had sheared it ; the cavalry had taken a different track from ours, in order to apprize us on our approach to this summit, which overlooked the main road, and appeared in front of the position which had been occupied by the most advanced pickets of the Spaniards the night preceding. Our infantry here reposed on the side of the hill, and the horse- men soon after appeared in view on the road below, over which our route lay. We immediately descended, and on the very spot where the Spanish cooks had lighted their fires, which were still smoking, we took leave of our ac- complished lieutenant and his escort, and he pursued his route by the common way back to Gritja, while we conti- nued our march in the opposite way. After I had been some days in Bogota, and while listen- ing to a debate in the senate, the lively commandant of Grit- ja, Colonel Gomez, stood for a moment by my side, seized my hand and pressed it ; we retired into the corridor sponta- neously ; I to thank him for his goodness, and he to explain his success. His plan, as he before indicated, was to pro- duce such an alarm in the camp at La Puente, as to obhgc Valdez to call in his pickets, by which means our passage was doubly secure ; he therefore made the inordinate cla- mour in the night, with a view that the emissaries of Val- dez in the neighbourhood should carry the news to the camp of his being in motion northward, so as to lead him to think the Colombians meant to attack his rear, and thus menacing him in that quarter, he would draw away his pickets from the side we were to pass. The effect was such as he had calculated. Fighting with four hundred, opposed to between 232> VISIT TO COLOMBIA. six and seven hundred, was out of his contemplation, and he carried no infantry beyond a pass upon which ho could fall back and defend himself; but, added he, you have ren- dered us a great service, and the people at Gritja consider your daui^hter as one of their guardian angels ; for, before your arrival, Gritja was every day annoyed, and we had not a force adequate to drive the Spaniards away until you came. The number of our bugles, and the noise we made with them in so many directions, had so much effect upon the Spa- niards, that they decamped from La Puente the next day, and our good people attribute it all to the Senorita, your daughter, taking iVom me all the merit of my bugle-horns. Colonel Gomez was a handsome mulatto, with crisped hair, his stature good, and limbs neat, but his complexion was rather fair or cream-coloured than yellow, his counte- nance open and of an unceasing gaiety. When we met first we halted some time under a shade, waiting the return of a horseman whom he had sent in advance, and being mounted on a fine mule, and well accoutred, he began to chat and joke with the grace and vivacity of a Frenchman ; asked a thousand amusing but no impertinent questions ; talked of our country and his own ; of the two revolutions ; the battles, and the blessings which they assured ; and said, Colombia had never been free if North America had not set the ex- ample. He had signalized himself in a temporary command at Coro, where he had been, he said, abandoned, but had re- solved to save his corps ; and though he knew he was incom- petent to resist with success, he made a show of resistance, and enabled himself to enter upon a capitulation which might not otherwise be granted ; but the Spanish officer dictated a treaty, which contained conditions over which Colonel Go- mez had no controul, and which belonged to the Congress alone. He intimated the fact to the Spanish commander, who would not chtnige his predeterminations. Gomez sign. cd ; extricated himself and his force ; explained the circum- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 333 stances and the views which induced him to acquiesce in the dictation of the convention by the Spaniard ; all that was conformable to the law of nations was ratified and fulfilled — the unauthorized dictation annulled. The reputation of Gomez had been high before as a partizan officer ; here his intelligence marked him out for higher trust, and he only- wanted a force equal in number to Valdez, or within a hun- dred of him, he said, to give a good account of him, which I verily believe. At half past four o'clock we reached the casa de postas at El Cobre^ supposed to be so named from a copper mine in the adjacent sierra. This post house was a mere hut, of about twelve feet long by nine broad, yet a partition separated the interior, forming one room of seven feet, and another of about five feet breadth. The room of five feet was the identical apart- ment of the administrador de las postas, or the post-office. The eaves of this thatched casa extended a little more than a yard beyond the outer clay- composed wall. The line of direction of its length was north and south ; the door entrance was on the west side into the larger room, and a window^ or hole in the wall^ of two feet square on the east side, was the avenue of business for this national establishment. Huts of this kind are established throughout the country where towns are re- mote from each other, at such distances as the form of the road, flat or steep, rough or smooth on the route, renders convenient for the performance of a journey by the couriers, in a period which corresponds with the celerity of transport- ation, and the capacity of the couriers to travel. In every respect it is the prototype of the dawk of Hindustan, and by a singular coincidence of terms, the man who carries the pack- et of letters in Colombia and in Hindustan, is called a peon^ and he carries his charge, w-hen of the same size, in the very same way ; he also moves indifferent to weather, rain or sun- shine, dark or light ; when he reaches the end of his stage, he wipes himself of dust, rain, or sweat, and goes to sleep, 334 yiaiT to Colombia, awakes, dresses, and eats his meal, and goes to sleep again, till the correOy which he is to bear in return, is ready to be dispatched for the place whence he came the preceding day. El CobrCj notwithstanding the dimensions of the casa and its camera de occupacion, is what >ve call a central point, or distributing oflice, as many routes meet there ; but I seldom saw a mail much more bulky than a common pocket-book. Since the republic has been established, however, the addi- tion of official dispatches has been more constant and fre- quent, and their weight more heavy ; printed official books, laws, and an increasing number of newspapers, swell their magnitude, and increase their number ; more than pne peon, therefore, is employed on the same route, and on the same day, who start at different times: the government papers are first dispatched; the habitual distinction of ^rea? from small men, gives the preference of dispatch to the packets of great men ; the newspapers have the next, and the small men or the unknown are the last in rotation ; hv\t peons are dispatch- ed in every direction as soon as a packet is ready ; a way- bill is prepared, and its duplicate filed ; an open paper is car- ried for the inspection of the municipal and military officers on the route, who sign it successively as it reaches them, at once to serve as a check, by which the orders they receive are acknowledged, and to authenticate the paper to the next magistrate. The government has employed this flying dis- patch with infinite advantage during the revolution, in circu- lating popular information, victories, and other useful mat- ters. On many occasions duplicates and triplicates were thus issued, and intendants, commandants, and alcaldes, were re- quired to multiply and circulate copies, and to post them up at churches and other public places. The provincial magis- trates use them in the same way within their jurisdiction ; a governor writes such an event has taken place ; such persons are on the road ; and I suspect that it was by this means our approach was so constantly anticipated, and such sig- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 335 na\ hospitality and attention bestowed on us so uniformly and unexpectedly. The climate at £1 Cobre is not very warm. The camera of the administrador was by no means too large for himself — the trunks of my young companions were therefore placed in the camera mayor ^ and by means of their blankets and cloaks converted into a dormitory ; as for myself I resolved, with San- cho Panza^ to hacer rosea del galgo — to make the best I could of it, and hung my hammock beneath the eaves of the casa : the sergeant, kindly conceiving that he could serve better as a curtain than the open air, hung his hammock outside mine. The mules were attached by their halters, and suitable long ropes, which are among the necessaries of the traveller, to stakes fixed in a circle, so as to afford grazing ground to each, and prevent straying — and the muleteers and servants slept in sight, each upon one cow-hide, and, if occasion re- quired, sheltered by another, in sight of the mules, to prevent stealing — which sometimes happens. The young folks found that their dormitory, in connex- ion with the floor, was not as comfortable as their hammocks, for, although there were neither flies nor mosquitoes, the ants are very numerous in many parts of the country, and troublesome in such circumstances. I slept as comfortably as I wished, though the curtain furnished by the intervention of the sergeant, I have no doubt, very much mitigated the coldness of the night. 836 CHAPTER XXIII. Moving magazines — Commissary of subsistence — army in bivouac — civility of the troops — cump fare and recreations — the Post house of Challomar — English officer — General Urdaneta — politeness — unexpected adventure — a ne^e light — hospitality — limits to travellers — move for Tariba — sublime disorder of the Cordillera — avoid San Cristoval — refresh at Tariba — reach Capacho — popu- lation singular scite — ants — leave Capacho — geology — sublinne aspect of the mountains — wcw aspects from the Sierra — exhilarating atmosphere — ef- fects on the vision and imagination — lag beliind — fatiguing descent to the Tachira — appearance like a river of milk — old boundary revolutionized — Antonio de Cucuta — well built town — industrious people — change of curren- cy — knowledge requisite for travellers — currency pernicious to the industrious classes — a tax in favour of the cunning — policy calls for a remedy — Rcsario de Cucuta — well lodged — fertile valleys around — the mountain aspects savage and wild. We found it impracticable to move before nine o'clock, but by ten we were at the summit or lofty side of the sum- mit of the Paramo ; where, though the wind from the south- east was piercing, the track was good. We had passed some very numerous droves of the finest horned cattle I had seen in any part of the world, grazing on the natural pastures, where the forests had left spaces of great extent unencroach- ed upon. We had bivouaced and slept near one of these droves, and so near as to hear the drovers occasionally laugh- ing and singing as they watched ; this day we met a still more numerous drove, and an European gentleman in black, well mounted and equipped, accompanied them. An ex- change of courtesies was natural in the midst of an immense forest, and in the lofty depths of the Cordillera ; those who have not had experience of such incidental meetings, cannot well conceive the pleasure they produce ; strangers are in an instant acquainted, and their conversation would seem to be the result of years of intercourse. This gentleman was VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 337 the commissary of subsistence to the army of General Ur- daneta, who, he said, we should meet at the foot of the Pa- ramo: he was going in advance, and there are my maga- zines transporting themselves ^ as he jocosely observed, and that this kind of commissariat saved a great deal of expense compared with the wagon train of European armies : in fact, the army had no other baggage but the mules w^hich bore ammunition, which was secured in water-proof casks, covered with cow-hides. The system was excellent, A calculation of the average consumption of beef was first made according to the force to be supplied to the army and the followers ; droves were, upon these returns, drawn from the plains, and detached to grazing grounds on the proposed line of march, wliere the cattle became fat and heavy before they were required for subsistence. About two o'clock, descending through that part of the mountain called the Forest of Wild Boars^ we perceived the smoke of several fires rising above the forest tre^s, and the monotonous rattle or cadence of the macara^ a sou of time instrument, to which the paisaiios dance; of which some notice will be taken when we reach Cucuta. We soon dis- cerned the corps d''armee of General Urdaneta, in bivouac on both sides of the road, and in the woods adjacent. We had to ride close by several of their fires, and found their habits and manners so kind and civil, that we could not but compare them, and to their advantage, with soldiers we had seen elsewhere, whose rudeness and vulgar impertinence had no imitators here. Three or four saplings, tied about four or five feet from the ground and extended below% form- ed the area of the kitchen ; a brisk fire between served for boiling, roasting, or broiling ; and the companies, formed into squads or messes, distributed the duties of the mess between them. Cattle, in suitable numbers to the returns, were slaughtered at convenient points, and the portion of each mess supplied and carried to the fires; and, as the 43 338 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. Utensils are few and rude, the repast is easily prepared and disposed of; though here, and in all places where subsistence of vegetables is abundant, soups, yuccas, aracatchas, apios, and the never-satiating plantain, composed messes often such as would gratify an epicure. Those squads which happened to dispatch their meal first, were at different points recreating themselves, and it was among these we heard the macara., while we now saw males and females dancing a galeron or a bolera ; in other points the guitar, scarcely audible, but yet tinkling beneath the huge forest trees ; and the song, in which Colombia and Bolivar never failed to form the burden. The spectacle was highly interesting ; and, as many of the fires were lighted on the road, we were obliged in cour- tesy to make a sort of wandering march, which, being more slow than it would have been with a clear path, afforded us an opportunity of seeing more and seeing better than if we had travelled in a right line. The forest trees were of an immense height ; and, whether they grew so naturally, or the soldiers had cut away the lower branches for fuel, the stems appeared in all their magnitude, and the under space clear, but with a dim light, as if a curtain were spread above. The soldiers every foot of the way were cheerful, civil, and good-natured, and often cleared the path for our passage, exchanging jokes with our never-tiring sergeant. About half a mile below the bivouac stood the Casa de las Postas of Challomar, with its longest front along the valley and its gabel end to the road : it was exactly such a house as that of El Cobre, but was surrounded bv crouds of mill- tary men of every rank, horse, foot, and artillery : it was perfectly picturesque, and we must pass through the loose array. An English officer, who proved to be Major Frazer, of the staff of General Urdaneta, seeing us advance, very po- litely approached, complimented, and made enquiries, and gave us the news, and I waited on the general to pay my respects and offer my passports, which he politely declined VISIT TO COLOMBIA. &39 to see, as he'' appeared to be apprised who we were : he invited us to alight, and partake of his camp fare. He made some enquiries of what I had heard at Merida, Gritja, and along the road, and I related to him all I had heard ; and we parted, urging our mules to make up for the delay. The route was more intricate and mazy, and the forest evidently deeper, and more dark and humid, and the plain was yet far distant. The sergeant, who knew the way well, pushed ahead, and the mules were evidently becoming feeble from the long descent, pressing the whole weight on their fore feet ; we were winding through a gravelly avenue, over which trickled a light rill, when the sergeant gave a shout, and suddenly plunged into the gap of a thicket, which proved to be merely a hedge, where the stranger would never expect to find a human habitation ; we followed through the brake, when a spacious cottage opened upon us in the area : before the door were spread dry hides, loaded with coffee, exposed to the sun for drying ; and in front the elegant coffee plantation spread deep and wide, and adorned with numerous banana trees. There was a second cottage, that, with an interval between, crossed the direction of the front ; and a delicious rivulet, which served to irrigate the coffee field and the gardens ad- jacent, murmured over a bed of dark green and gray pebbles. We were shewn into the first house by the good dame, who had instantly recognized the merry sergeant as an old acquaintance, and soon possessed herself of the relations of our party. The sergeant here purchased eggs, a fowl, and a young turkey, which was roasted to serve for the next day's feast in the wilds ; and night came upon us before we had well quaffed our chocolate. Our hammocks had, accord- ing to the established discipline, taken their proper places, but it was now so dark we could not know which was which : the good Sefiora soon removed this inconvenience, and ex- cited our amusement by the novelty and style ot her illumi- nation. The fibre of a plant about the size of a stem of 340 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. hay, had been employed to connect, as on a string of beads, a number of the beans of the Palma C/iristiy or castor-oi^ plant. The seeds were quite dry, and by means of a bodkin they were perforated, and the fibre or straw was passed througli them : this string of beans hung from her hand, with the lower bean lighted, and it cast forth a flame as pure and brilliant as an argand lamp. There were perhaps forty l>eans on the string, but the blaze did not extend at once above that bean which gave light, until it dropped off in charcoal, and the next bean continued to catch the fire and shew the like bright light in succession. We were very kindly entertained, and in a manner which appeared to gratify the giver as much as those who received the favours ; no compensation would be taken for some fine oranges, and s^veet bananas : a service of coffee by the wor- thy Seiiora in the morning, she insisted should be consi- dered as an evidence of her pleasure ; and she proceeded to give hearty thanks to Santa Maria with great ardour and satisfaction, when the sergeant told her we should all return that way in three or four months ; which \v<.\s in fact my in- tention, depending, however, on the course of the business which I was entrusted with. I had travelled too much in various parts of the world not to be acquainted with the use- fulness and advantage to be derived from little trinkets, plain knives and scissors, needles, thimbles, small tapes, bobbins, sewing thread, gimp, and a few cards of mother of pearl but- tons, to be used as presents according to the person to be complimented : I had here, as on other occasions before and afterwards, reason to be gratified by the satisfaction which little articles of this description afforded. The children here were young, and of course gratification more tlian use was to be consulted ; however, the Senora was particularly pleased with the largest scissors and a plated thimble. I had not an adequate anticipation of the obligation she appeared to think conferred on her ; and I am the more particular in this in- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 344 stance, because future travellers may by similar means ren- der themselves and others acceptable. Indeed, I only re- gretted that the articles were not of more value, where such civilities had been bestowed so disinterestedly, and in a si- tuation which was so secluded as to seem cut off from the rest of the world ; for I should never have expected to find a human habitation, much less a fine prosperous coffee plan- tation, in the midst of this wild. We had gone to rest early, and rose late ; and it was nine o'clock before we set out for Tariba. The mountain regions of the Cordillera present a very dif- ferent aspect, to the traveller, from any thing to be found in written description. The Cordilleras are usually depicted as a long, uninterrupted, lofty, single range. No just conception can be formed from such an idea. I should rather sav that, though in a certain sense continuous, they are continually bro- ken ; that is, as the Cordilleras are known to be elevated at Pa- tagonia, — nay, that Tierra del Fuego is an original part of the range as much as the Sierra of Santa Marta or the Brigantine^ yet that it is not an unbroken nor a single range ; and tliat, even where supposed to be single, more particularly beneath the equator, the Cordilleras really consist of numerous distinct- groups; that they are intersected in all directions by valleys and plains ; and that their real character would seem to be somewhat like a great table- land or platform, upon which had been piled a mound of mounds, within which another table- land was elevated, and other mounds or mountains thrown in every direction across and around its margin, and still an- other and another within these, till they terminate in such plains as those of Bogota and Quito. Should not this work swell beyond my intention, I shall offer some more particu- lar thoughts on this subject, which were indeed already writ- ten before I left Colombia. The valley into which we had nov/ descended presented very remarkable appearances. The waters of this valley 342 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. appeared to hesitate between the choice of the oceans into which they should enter ; the prolongation of the ridges of Merida, of which those we had just passed was a continuation, seemed here to wind away to the south and south east and disappear ; but it was only a seeming ; though too remote to be distinctly perceptible, they were there ; but mountains and hills and plains, diminished by distance and comparison, occupied tii*: vast space ; and have the lofty barriers of the Chisga and the Albaracin for their borders. We were here on the north side of the sierra, but the rio Tariba^ which we crossed as a rivulet, and, which would seem to seek its bed in the Caribbean Sea, pursues a different course, and uni- ting with other streams augments the volume of the Apure. The ordinary road here leads by San Cristoval, but to save a few leagues we crossed the Tariba, leaving that place on the left, and struck off north-west, taking the route of Capacho. We rested and refreshed at Tariba, and fell in with a French medical man, attached to the army, who, like others of the profession, complained of the healthiness of the climate, where he said they were professionally starving in the midst of abundance. Facts like these speak more than a dissertation. Tariba had been a pretty place, but has been " scratched by the war" — the country in the vast view around it, south-east, south, and west, is luxuriant, and the temperature as agreeable as that of Caracas. After a repose of two hours, soliciting the alcalde for mules in vain, as Capacho was reported to be only three leagues, and whether the leagues were three or four miles long, could not occupy more than three hours, we determi- ned to retain the mules we had, and pay extra for them ; a few reals and some guarapa reconciled the muleteers, and we reached Capacho by five o'clock. The scite of this place is the summit of a hill composed wholly of a ferruginous sand stone, a naked rock, upon which verdure is to be found only in small holes or fissures ; open VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 343 around, but steepest on the north and west, in which direc- tion the prospect is wild and forbidding. Nevertheless, it has a spacious church, of rude but firm structure ; and there are some tolerably good houses of the kind ; and a consider- able number scattered on the sides of the hill where any thing like a level appeared to invite residence — if invite it could. The whole visible population, here, were purely of African descent ; excepting at Estanques, I had not seen an exclusively African population any where in my course, and in the whole country not so many as here. They were all free people, and they had no habits but those of the other population of the country. They were civil, unabashed by the presence of strangers, and took a pleasure in rendering kindness. They were better clad than the rock they appeared to fatten upon, but they pointed to the plantations and fields around as the means of their prosperity. An uncommonly fine breed of hogs strayed round this rocky eminence ; we found no difficulty in procuring milk, eggs, and fruit, through the voluntary agency of these innocent people. But it was to me unaccountable why such a spot should be selected for habitation in the midst of a country so beautiful. There was no alcalde, and we stood in need of none ; an obliging young woman pointed out a vacant house, and it was the best in view, and there we hung up our hammocks, and went through the usual course of fricasee and chocolate. — The only mode in which I could form a rational conjecture of the motive for making this rock a residence, was the mul- titudes of red ants, which are more than commonly numer- ous in the adjacent country, and whose labours, in elevating mounds of earth much larger in proportion to their ow^n bulk, than the pyramids of Egypt to man, are manifest in many parts of the country. The absence of every thing like soil or vegetation, on this rock, seemed to protect it from the ants ; where the population were so sleek and shining that they seemed to live upon the fat of the land, and probably 344! VISIT TO COLOMBIA. selected the place as a refuge from those insects. Numerous goats in equally good condition with the other inhabitants were also there. On the morning of the 10th January ^ve descended from the sterile side of Capacho, into a ravine of argillaceous and chalky rock, which was dissolved and discoloured the water that oozed out of the spongy sod of brown and dark grass which covered the slopes : the course of this day's journey would have afforded ample occupation to satisfy the curiosity of the zealous geologist for a month or more. . The diver- sity of the strata which were presented on the sides of ravines and declivities of mountains was infinite ; we travelled down the sides of lofty slopes or ranges of the trap formation, com- posed of calcareous sandstone, tinged with oxid of iron, which had all the appearance of art, and the resemblance of the semicircular stairs leading to some vast edifice ; the re- gularly flat planes and vertical edges giving the semblance ©f stairs; and the breaches of this regularity in the prolonga- tion, or extremities of those ranges of stairs, corresponding with the appearance of ruins in works of art ; in other places where the flow of a mountain stream had undermined the face of a precipice, and the bank in a mass fell forward, leav- ing the upright section exposed, twenty different strata ap- peared in horizontal, but varying lines, exhibiting anthracite coal of a glittering fracture, a dull carbon, a fleecy white earth, ochreous earth ; strata of siliceous gravel, and quartz, in vast fair masses : indeed, the ideas here given relate only to what was seen in the mere passing, without dismounting or any effort to collect specimens, which could not be ad- vantageously carried and preserved. The country now had totally changed its aspects ; vast headlands, ravines, discoloured rocks, and gloomy steeps, from which field and forest appeared to be excluded. It seemed to be the rendezvous of the great members and de- tached heads of the confederacy of the Andes, which had VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 345 met there to open their reservoirs, to distribute and send forth eastj west, north, and south, their periodical floods, to cherish and diffuse vegetation and health, and temper the climates around and beneath them, though, in their presence, eternal disorder and sterility seemed to prevail. Looking to the west of north, the great master chain of Perija opens its vast arms, and relieving, by its sublime shadows, the nume- rous lowly valleys, whose richness and fertility it protects and conceals : farther north of the west, the mountains of Socorro appear; the intervening elevated plain of Giron, separated by its own peculiar paramo ; marked on its south- ern side by the mazy current of the dull Gallinazo, and far- ther north, Orcana, east of which the lofty paramo forms a long receding curve, whose horns are eastward. From the northern side of this vast curvature, which is the loftiest of the region, the snow-capped Nevada of Santa Marta rises above the clouds, in nearly a northern direction, casting bold shadows as the noon is distant in the advance or retirement of the planet of day, over forests, cliffs, and countless rivers, which flow eastward to the lake of Maracaibo or the ocean, and on the west into the Magdalena, holding in temperate richness and beauty the valley Du Par, and those fertile plains which must, ere long, become the seat of a rich agri- culture, and an innumerable population. Returning to the point of view, the line of the river Ta- chira on one side, and the Sulia on the other, mark the north- east features of the magnificent groups, which take the dis- criminative names of the Sierra of Gritja, Pedraza, Merida, and Truxillo, over and along which we had travelled ; while to the south the chains take the names of Almozadera, Pam- plona, Chita, Zoraca, Chisga, Guachenuque, and Chingasa, significantly called also the ridge of the winds ; besides nu- merous others, which take the names of towns or cities con- tiguous. 44 346 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. When we gained the proud eminence, the prospect coH' tinned to offer objects more sublime and new ; the forests again began to appear and thrust aside the rocks, or cast a green veil over their rude deformities ; light and shade were here accidentally caught in agreeable unity ; and the glit- tering cliffs, relieved by the softened verdure, made the pic- tures at once beautiful and sublime ; and in some instances, which were not rare, where the vast faces of steep rocks had been bared to the winds of heaven, they sometimes pro- duced, from accidental lines of dilapidation by the atmos- phere, forms, like vast ranges of fairy jialaces or structures, such as might have been originally formed by the Titans and the Giants, whom the poets and mythologists have made to aspire to scale heaven. This was not the only impression acting upon the imagination. In another place, from posi- tions more elevated, when the atmosphere was clear, and the light gleaming obliquely over the distance, the scene ap- peared to bear a kind of flatness or depression, with shadows here and there, but more fantastical than the shades upon a well-executed map, spreading their immensity so broad and vast that the head became dizzy, as if on a precipice, and the pulsation became quicker, from surprise and pleasure : such a vision was not durable ; a change of light destroyed the whole scene, and revealed the really broken and wild aspect, which a nearer approach realized. I had loitered unconsciously behind on this occasion, which rarely happened, and when I awoke from this trance of the senses, I had to hurry along down the sloping and rugged ravines, which the caprice of nature had formed, and man, not less capricious, had converted into a road to the valley of Cucuta ; where, as if some of those genii, who live in romance, had determined to sport with the susceptibility already produced, presented among a diversity of streams of limpid water wrestling over the pebbles of the valley, a stream VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 347 SO full and gently flowing, and so exacdy coloured, as to seem a river of milk ; we crossed it, but its chalky colour only indicated the resemblance, the valley was too warm for the play of the imagination ; and we soon entered the peb- bled bed of the Tachira, which spread over the opening space in numerous rivulets. This was the boundary, and the Tachira the line which separated the jurisdictions of the Viceroyalty of New Granada and the Captain -generalcy of Caracas, — a boundary which no longer exists politically, for, by the new distribution of departments, provinces, and can- tons, it now takes a different arrangement. St. Antonio and Rosario de Cucuta, which the Tachira separated, are no long- er under different jurisdictions ; they belong to the Intend- ancy of Boyacca, province of Pamplona, and form part of the same canton. We reached Antonio de Cucuta about four o'clock, and the descent was so fatiguing, that we entered a well looking pulpureia^ where we rested an hour ; and had some oppor- tunity to remark that there was already an evident difference of manners, an appearance of regular industry, the houses more lofty and better constructed. We thought it becoming to purchase some articles merely to apologize for our intru- sion, but the female of the house, who had been industrious- ly occupied in rolling cigars, while she spoke and even ask- ed questions without interrupting her work, or abating her civility, said it was not necessary we should purchase any thing, as we had paid her a compliment in preferring her house to rest ; she directed a girl to procure what we want- ed, some good fruit and some sugar. We had been pre- viously, at our departure from Caracas, apprized that the sil- ver currency of Venezuela called Maquitina would pass on the east side of the Tachira only, and would not be receiv- ed on the west side ; we had provided by estimation Maqui- tina sufficient for the journey, and had guessed pretty well, for we had not much unspent; it was received, however, but with an intimation that it would not be received at the 348 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. Other side of the river, and was not much desired here— though, as strangers, she would oblige us. The ideas con- cerning money here, though in a rude state of society, com- pared with countries highly commercial, take a more ration- al direction than in other places. At Caracas the Doubloon varies in exchange for silver from seventeen to eighteen dol- lars and a half; though there is some knavery in this varia- tion of the relation between two kinds of money, as the true relation is sixteen of silver for one of gold, of the standard twenty-two carats fine ; the principal cause is the established abuse covered by this wretched currency called Maquitina, It is in shape as the varieties of angular pieces into which a coin less than a quarter dollar may be cut ; giving one round edge and two sharp-angled sides — from which the West In- dian term bit is derived ; the maquitina consisting of such bits, and these take the denomination of the parts of a dollar, as the real, or eighth of a dollar, or twelve and half cents ; the mediay or half real ; the quartilla, or quarter real. This vicious currency is very impure. It is, in other transactions than small retails, put up in bags of ten, twenty, or any round number to an hundred dollars ; the sum is rated by the cur- rent denomination ; but as one real may be cut into five in- stead of four bits, and each bit passes for a fourth, instead of a fifth, the value in tale, tested by the value of the pure coin in weight, may amount to an average loss of one fifth, or from fifteen to twenty per cent. : when doubloons, therefore, are sought or given, this vicious currency makes the differ- ence in appreciation ; and that it should be less than twenty per cent, arises from the circumstance, that all the bits are not deficient ; though, from my own observation, they are much more so than is generally supposed. Generally one hun- dred hard dollars, if exchanged for Alaquitina at the current estimation, will not be worth seventy-five dollars tested by weight and purity. It may be said, that this usage being established, and no one appearing dissatisfied at being so VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 340 cheated, the fraud becomes innocent ; so it was attempted to be justified to me by one of the concerned ; but it must be obvious, that it is, when sanctioned or tolerated by a go- vernment, and institutions estabHshed and supported by go- vernment for the support of this fraudulent currency, it is a connivance in favour of the opulent to the plunder of the poor — it is privilege for the knowing gambler to cheat the ignorant and unsuspicious. In treating of the money and mint of Colombia, I may probably take some farther notice of this pernicious curren- cy ; which requires of the government, in justice to its own clj^aracter, and the interests which it is their duty under a representative government to protect, to apply an effective remedy, which, reinforced by the banking system so unfitly and unfortunately introduced, may entail evils not less af- flicting to the public and to families, than the thraldom which the revolution has destroyed. After resting at Antonia de Cucuta, and chatting with the agreeable people who lived in the house, and who came in actuated by a curiosity no way impertinent nor unpleasant, we crossed the pnncipal stream of the Tachira, and reached Rosario de Cucuta about half-past five o'clock, being the 10th January. The alcalde, here, was not to be found. I dispatched the sergeant to St. Joseph, the head quarters of the military commandant, and sent by him the letter of General Clemen- te, and the sergeant returned, before it was yet night, with an order to provide us with the best accommodations of the city, and whatever we should else require. We were ac- cordingly conducted to as good a house as there was in Cu- cuta, in sight of the Plaza ; where we had ample and com- fortable accommodations. It had been the house of Pedro So- po, a French gentleman long resident there, but who having attached himself to the Bourbons, fled, and the property was confiscated. The house was in the usual oriental style, with an ample patio^ good lodging apartments, spare rooms 3^0 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. for accommodation ; a very spacious interior corridor and dining room, and a private chamber lighted from the street. The cocineria was out of sight, but with abundant room, and though it had suffered from the confiscation, there re- mained evidence that Part de viver had due homage under its original possessor, though the stew-holes were now nei- ther whole nor cleanlv. In the spacious yard or area, to the rear of all, there stood by much the largest tamarind I had ever seen. In Bengal the tamarind tree rarely rises to fif- teen feet high, nor its stem to more than four or five inches diameter ; this beautiful tree was between forty and fifty feet, and the stem twenty-two inches diameter, at four feet from the ground. It was clustering in fine fruit, abundant, but not yet ripe. This valley rivals Barquisimeto, in the richness of its soil, the number of its plantations of cacao, coffee, sugar ; and the usual products of the warm climates, oranges, le- mons, limes, pine-apples, and the numerous fruit of the country, were here in the utmost perfection and abundance, though the mountains appear wild and savage. iU 351 CHAPTER XXIV. ilosarlo de Cucuta — rich country — cultivators — changes — incidents at Cucuta— the Indians, excellent husbandmen and labourers — g-o to a fandango— mi- nute account of — column of troops — an interview — departure — Valley of De- solation — an inhospitable occurrence — ascend a dreary road — Post house at Saltikal — cold, comfortless night — depart early witliout food — Alanadero — ascend a luxuriant mountain — bivouac and sleep — Indian population — enter Indian cottage — kindness — feast — Chopo — fine cabbages — adventure and de- parture — Witches in a fog — Pamplona — first impressions — source of the Sulia — antipatiiy to fires. The road, after crossing the Tachira, and leading to Ro- sario de Cucuta, which is something more than two miles distant, is luxuriant and fertile. The forest trees are loft}^ like those of all the warm valleys. The parroquets, in nu- merous flocks, flit across and along the woods, and give an infallible indication, by their discordant screams, of the pre- sence of cacao plantations ; they are never separate, it would appear. Sugar-mills and refineries abound in this neigh- bourhood, and their riches are evident in the magnitude of the structures for the conservation of the productions, as well as in the fashion and size of the dwellings. The effects of war were indeed evident, but it was also evident that na- ture was too bountiful, and the people here too industrious and numerous, for those effects to remain very long visible. Every thing was already in movement, and the proverbial gaiety of the population was palpable, though not so much so in Rosario as in Antonio, and the rural habitations. The mills here were the best I had seen since I left San Mateo. The families of palm trees were here more numerous than I had before seen them on this journey, and more flourishing, giving an oriental aspect, at least to my perceptions, and mude the landscape very much more agreeable than other- wise it would be to me. 352 VISIT T(3 COLOMIIIA. Rosario is not so extensive nor so busy a scene as Anto- nio dc Cucuta. The streets are much wider than at the latter, though both have the usual excellent pavement. The streets here do not exceed twenty-five feet, and the houses are not generally so spacious, though there are apparently more of two stories. The stillness of the towns in such a country, at this season, is by no means an evidence of its want of po- pulation. The plantations afford more enjoyment and agree- able occupation; it is as quiet every day as Philadelphia of a Sunday, but very unlike Philadelphia at night. After ele- ven, in Philadelphia, the only evidence of a town to the hearing, is the occasional drone of the watchman calling the hours. In Cucuta, the evening sets in with the buzzing noise of a gay, prattling, moving crowd. The streets are all alive, and the Plaza Mayor, which is a spacious and beautiful carpet of short grass, on which, if the moon shines, as it happened to do when we were there, the space appears alive with a playful population ; the guitar, the tambour, and the mara- ca, or cadence calabash, are heard on every side, as if the peo- ple, dead all day, had risen to dance and sing all night. I had been impressed with other ideas, by perusing some writ- ings of Palacio Faxar ; and my observations in this place afforded me, upon a comparison with his account, proof that the revolution had already antiquated his account of Cucuta, which is to be found in the third volume of the British Jour- nal of Sciences, p. 337 ; for, although there can be no doubt of the truth of his written descriptions, published in' 1817, those descriptions would not now in many cases apply ; and, from what I have seen there and elsewhere, I feel per- suaded, that, as has happened in the United States since the re- volution, the accounts which may now be given of the w^ealth, population, arts, society and manners, will so continue to change in successive periods, as that the account of any one antecedent period of three or four years will not be suitable to describe, the circumstances at any subsequent. The face of nature VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 358 / and its grand anatomy, the climate, and its riches, will be of the same character ; but all things that depend upon institu- tion must undergo a still more extraordinary change and amelioration than the United States, because nature has done more for Colombia, and man has yet every thing to do : indeed the old institutions appear to have been intended to retard rather than to profit by the bounties of nature. Our quarters were contiguous to the south-west angle of the Plaza Mayor, and the house was very spacious ; the pavement which sloped from the corridore into the patio, shewed the name of Sop o, and the date of the building, as I supposed, which were displayed in round white pebbles on a ground of blue. An aged female mulatto, whose limbs, though lusty, appeared too feeble to sustain the volume of material flesh and blood and bacon, which she carried about her not very well concealed, had taken possession of the kit- chen, that she occupied since the flight of her master, and which, she said, she meant to hold till he returned, or she should die ; the remainder of her story was an eulogy, and by good accounts a well merited one, on the generosity and kind-heartedness of Serior Sopo; she had no comfort now but in doing as he did, shewing every kindness in his power to the passing stranger, and his neighbours all around. Repulsive as her loose attire and looser flesh were, the con. solement of her being heard and permitted to speak of her former master's virtues, was evident ; and it was not possi- ble but to sympathise with her, when her feelings, overcome, found vent in a flood of tears. We had notified the alcalde that we proposed to depart the next day, and requested mules, which he promised a la mana- na, but that mafiana was succeeded by another ; the sergeant equipped in his full regimentals, grenadier's cap, and a bright- hiked sabre, I dispatched to the superior officer of the district, whose residence was at San Jose, about four miles north. I addressed him a note, with some papers, that were calcu- 45 354 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. lated to obtain his attention, and he returned a very flatteT- ing answer, with an intimation of dissatisfaction at the ne- gligence of the alcalde, signifying to him by letter that it was not the first time, and that notice would be taken of it. A peremptory order accompanied, to furnish whatever mules we required, and any thing else the country afforded which we stood in need of. This city will be ever memorable as the place in which the constituent congress of Colombia formed the constitution in 1820-21 — by which that union was confirmed that had its basis in i\\t fundamental law promulged at Angostura in 1819. This paper, as well as that of the same title enacted in this place by congress in 1821, will be found in the Ap- pendix, (No. I. II.) as they are very frequently referred to, and sometimes confounded with the constitutions. Seiior Palacio, in his notices on the valleys of Cucuta, which are, in some particulars that relate to the country, true at this day, but have, in other respects, undergone a total change — says, " the native Indians of Cucuta are a de- graded, poor, neglected, almost forgotten race of beings, which is indeed the case of the whole race of Indians," and he generously suggests what should be done to restore them to the condition of men. The revolution has gone farther than the benevolent wishes of the amiable patriot. AH that existed, connected with labour and the disparity of condition, has disappeared. The Indian is a citizen, and negro slavery has nearly ceased. The Indians are no longer degraded, poor, or forgotten ; they compose the great mass of labour- ers now, and very few of African descent are to be found ; and I say here, lest I should overlook it in the multitude of facts that every where crowd upon the discerning observer, that I have no where known better labourers, men who work with more earnestness wherever I have seen them employed ; no men in any country work with more apparent earnest- n^s and contcntedness ; and no where have I witnessed such VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 355 heavy burdens borne as by the aborigines, men and women, in all parts of Colombia that I have visited. Indeed I have not any where known people so uniformly muscular, and whose bodies and limbs indicated more strength. I have not been much among the tribes called uncivilized, but speak of those whom I have found in the cities and on the highways, whose huts I have visited, and whose labouriousness and contentment, and consciousness of the freedom to which they are restored, manifests itself in their conduct, and their eagerness to bestow kindness and good offices. _^ In this climate the nights are delicious — the industrious classes, as well as the opulent, enjoy them ; the latter in their ample halls ; the former under the more ample canopy of of heaven. On the great square, which our quarters over- looked, the evening gray light never escaped before the groups of both sexes assembled, and the music of their guitars, and other stringed instruments peculiar to the coun- try, were heard like distant serenades. Soon a more em- phatic, but less harmonious cadence was heard ; it was the indication of the dance ; ihc fandango, various dances called JbliaSf the bolero, or pas seul, the capuchin, and the galeron. Of these I have been a spectator in different places ; here I saw ov\y xht galeron, M'hich was not exactly such as is described by Palacio. On one evening of many, I walked with Eliza- beth to see one of those dancing parties, and wearing straw hats like all the group, and otherwise plain in our apparel, had a full opportunity to see the whole group, and to ob- serve their pastime. Though the moon was high and bright, there were numerous tapers. The tones of th6 gui- tar were suspended ; and the cadence of the macara took its place. This instrument is nothing more than a ripe ca- labash, from which the internal substance had been extract- ed so as to leave the firm shell clean and hard. Some seeds of maize are placed in the shell ; the neck stopped, and this constitutes the macara to which the galeron was danced, as 956 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. I shall describe it. The sounds being the repetition of a few simple notes, which, though rude in the manner of pro duction and emphasis, admitted of a regular cadence. A sprightly lass of about sixteen, attired in a handsome bas- quina of black, (a sort of gown and petticoat,) as soon as the circle was formed and the macara began to play, moved airily into the arena, and commenced a series of evolutions in mazy circles ; she held the side skirt of her hasquina^ and her body and neck made many graceful inflections as she ap- peared to swim over the surface ; for no foot or step was perceptible, and her action seemed to be like that of a figure suspended by a cord in the air, only that there was grace and ease and pleasure in the movement. This was the characteristic mode of all the females who succeeded ; the order I shall now describe : the first sefiorita who entered had been but two or three minutes in motion when a gallant mozo^ or youth, in a short blue cotton coat, osnaburg trow- sers, and good leather shoes, moved into the circle ; the young lady's hasquhia appeared to corroborate the sarcasm, that ladies have no feet ; she sailed round the arena, and he pursued, in good time, and with some movements which we should call steps ; she fled in mazes, and he followed in cadence ; till, suddenly, the damsel escaped into the crowd, leaving the pursuer to dance alone ; but another female, of about the same age, in a calico garment, entered the lists ; her basquina, however, was not so low as to conceal that she danced in her wedding-stockings ; she too sailed with no less ease than if she had the wings and the balance of a hovering kite, who was about to pounce upon a chicken ; she had made but a few turns, when the youth sprung from the circle ; and another young " squire of low degree," put his best foot fore- most, and commenced the pursuit of the deserted and now flying nymph ; thus performing movements for which they have a nomenclature as significant as those who boast of higher science ; their los racesy or retirings ; their movemiento VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 357 contrario ; their paso chaseo^ &c. This dance, from the rude examples here displayed, had something pantomimic, a sort of ballet of action with a subject, in \\ hich transactions of life were intended to be depictured by a sort of allegory ; some of the persons appeared to act a part, to repel approach, and to fly from pursuit, to evade and to disappoint ; disdain and repulsion, solicitation, and flattery on the other side ; the flight being alternate, and the pursuit as the sexes entered on the arena, she flying upon wings concealed beneath her basquina; he sometimes in his only shirt and pantaloons, clean washed, the tails of that shirt displaying the needle- work, in coloured threads, perhaps of the dulcinea after whom he travels in the mazy dance, with or without shoes, for it is about ten to one that there are many in the company. I was figuring in my mind some comparisons of the galeron with the rural dances of some other countries, and commu- nicating my comparisons to Elizabeth, who held me by the arm, when, to our mutual surprise and amusement, our Caraca?iian valet, Fmcente^ equipped in his best shirt and breeches, " made a leg" to the coquette on the tapis, from whom her squire had just escaped. It was clear that Vin- cente had determined to sustain the reputation of Caracas, and to defend its superiority against all comers ; and, as in other places, there is a kind of merit in dancing long, as in dancing well, Vincente would not give way, but would pur- sue the lass who had commenced the pursuit of him : Vin- cente was, though not so robust as his countrymen gene- rally, a well built fellow, and he was perhaps the best dressed man in the company ; the fair one he encountered— for she was as fair as himself — appeared disposed to dispute the ground by time, as well as execution ; but she was obliged to abandon the field ; only to afford a heroine more disciplined to renew the encounter ; and he, who had triumphed over the ariero of Valencia, was compelled, like other great he- roes, to strike to a damsel, in a somewhat worn green 858 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. basquina, who fairly danced liim out of the ring, to the great admiration of the laughter-loving gay paisanas of Cucuta. We came away certainly without any reason to be dissatis- fied with the pleasures of these innocent people. The deco- rum which prevailed uniformly ; the decent respect towards each other ; the general desire so conspicuous to please and be pleased, was truly agreeable. I have not seen many coun- tries in which a corresponding class could meet and part so rationally, and without any cause of dissatisfaction ; I have seen such assemblies in other countries disturbed by rude- ness or vulgarity, or by some of those who, presuming to be their superiors, deemed enjoyments and recreation an invasion upon the privileges of a degree more elevated : there was nothing of this nature at Cucuta ; indeed, in the whole tour I have seen nothing of quarrels or indecorum, but real happi- ness in these little rural parties. On the evening of the 13th, a column of infantry altoge- ther about one thousand effectives, passed by our quarters, being on their route to join Gen. Urdaneta. The troops were very well equipped, and, as they marched on the diagonal of the square, appeared to advantage. After dusk some offi- cers were passing well mounted, one of them addressed me in English, enquiring for the alcalde ; I replied with a sol- dier's familiar tone, that he had better take up his quarters where we were, first, and look for the alcalde afterwards, as the house was ample enough to afford quarters for the staff of the column. He adopted the advice, rode at once into the patio with his companions ; we furnished lights, and whatever else we could, and the establishment was complete. It was Dr. Mayne, a respectable physician attached to the army, a fine manly figure, and a jovial soul ; who handed me an immense powder horn, requesting me to taste, and which I found, instead of gunpowder, loaded with Holland gin. After exchanging our news, we parted ; he moved in the morning. He has married in Colombia since. VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 359 We left Cucuta the 14th of January, at half past eleven. There are two roads, one north through San Jose, and the other west, which, being not so circuitous by three or four miles, the sergeant injudiciously preferred. We passed a mazy course, leading through a valley which presented the wildest picture of nature in disorder, that I ever witnessed. We had not anticipated such a prospect, much less the hazard and difficulty of passing through it. Our steps could not be chosen, and the sagacity of the mule was our only security. The bottom of the valley, as well as both sides, presented such a state of disorder as would induce a presumption that there had been some recent subterranean explosion through- out the three tedious miles of its length ; the rocks of every magnitude appeared as if newly torn asunder, and left in the positions we found them, ready at every step to roll from their impending positions towards the lower fragments, over which our poor mules scrambled with evident pain, but admirable patience. We very soon regretted that we had not paid our respects to the officer at San Jose ; but we at length gained a smooth sandy level, Avhich, with the aptitude of mankind to forget their pains when succeeded by plea- sures, we soon left behind, and perhaps enjoyed the subse- quent part of the day's journey with the more satisfaction. About half after four, the country assumed a singular and luxuriant appearance ; a small river skirted by sloping banks, like scarp and counter-scarp of a military fosse, and regular as if wrought by the direction of an engineer, formed the side of the route, on the upper level of which we travel- led, about forty feet above the margin of the stream. We soon entered a closer woody region, and a narrow humid lane to the south, into which we had advanced about half a mile, when the sergeant suddenly wheeled to the left, and plunged into another descending lane, and galloped through a dark overshaded thicket, but with a clear path. We followed implicitly, and very soon gained an opening, where stood a 360 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. very spacious hacienda^ and adjoining it a handsome churcli. We rode up to the hacienda^ and dismounted. This place was in charge of an overseer, who sat on his bench immoveable as the bust of the saint over the church door. Upon being civilly addressed, and requested to afford mere lodging, and for which we should pay what he might require, he declined permission in a very coarse style. We were still standing below, when the sergeant returned with the refusal. It was not prudent, if it were practicable, to pursue our route at so late an hour. I enquired of some of the domestics where the curate or clergyman belonging to the church lived ; the surly boor forbid the domestic to an- swer; and the poor fellow retired, distinctly muttering "Go(/a." For the moment the expression did not strike me. Some letters had been placed in my hands, ai^d one for the owner of this place ; I took it, and handed it to this boorish agent ; but either he could not or would not read. Night was at hand, and I undertook to civilly remonstrate, that it was impossible to proceed farther that night ; that we wanted nothing but a place to rest in our own hammocks, and would be content to sleep in the corridor. He seemed immoveable. A conduct so uniike any thing I had seen or heard of in the country, so unlike the proverbial civility and hospitality ex- perienced every where else, was mortifying. I remonstrated again, and signified that I should represent his conduct to his superiors ; he then retired. I followed along the spacious gallery, saw several ample vacant rooms, and ordered the domestics to bring up our baggage, and desired the sergeant to see to forage for the mules, and secure them in a coral for the night. A household servant was requested to bring some fresh water, and was about to do so kindly, when she was scolded and forbidden. The hammocks were now hung up, our trunks placed in view ; and Pedro passed to the usual fire-place, to prepare our chocolate, and cook our repast, VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 361 which it was very visible afforded much amusement to the domestics, who were numerous. We had some wax candles, which are often convenient for travellers in such circumstances, and the sergeant lighted a couple ; and we sat some time talking or reading, and, indeed, joking at this unusual inhos- pitality. The surly boor who had behaved in this ungenerous man- ner, now found the use of his tongue, and approached us in a manner so mean and servile, that I repaid him by a con- temptuous silence. The sergeant, more a man of the world, rallied him, and accepted for himself the eggs and fruit, which had been tendered to us, and refused ; they proved more acceptable the next day, as the sergeant very shrewdly anticipated. The servants of the house now brought water, which we wanted for mere cleanliness, and in this intercourse, a smart girl whispered, pointing at the overseer, " Gof/a," — which in the morning we found to be the pass-word among those who conversed with our people. In fact the circum- stance of his moroseness was thus intended to be explained ; the domestics denominated him a Spaniard or Goth, as an apo- logy for his rudeness ; and certainly appearances corroborated the impression. We slept comfortably, and took care to breakfast before Ave moved, which was not till ten o'clock the next morning. Our route was indeed a labyrinth from which the pre- vious knowledge of the sergeant could alone extricate us without difficulty ; the ascent was steep, and rough, and hur- ried ; the summit elevated, wild, cold, and raw ; and the Cor- dillera broken into groups of stupendous magnitude, and se- parated by vast valleys or ravines ; nothing was distinct, but magnitude and disorder. We at length gained what may be described as the rump of a distinct ridge, woody, separate, and prolonged, as if thrown upon a vast plain in its centre, the plain, at each side, forming lovely, verdant, sun-lighted, lawns of great extent and level ; while the clouds wrapt 46 362 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. about us were chilly, humid, and unpleasant. We passed along the spine of this ridge, and at length reached the post- house of Saltikal. The clouds, in which we travelled, had proved to us a " Scots mist,^^ for they " wetted our jackets,'* and rendered water, to wash our faces at least, wholly unne- cessary. This ascent might have been avoided, were it not for the notion of shortening distance. Roads lay at both sides on the plains below, and while the moist curtain that hid from us the sun's rays chilled us, we could see the plains below bright and warm as the scenes in a theatre ; and we could perceive the youth on the velvet green running races and at other sports, under a bright sunshine, though they did not appear larger than flics on a carpet. Tlie administrador of the post presented himself, and, as he appeared to be the sole lord of these upper regions, having, besides the post-office, a well stocked pulpureia, and a sepa- rate house for his own residence, he assigned the post-house to us for our accommodation. I had yet experienced no inconvenience from insects, nor even seen a midge, or fly, or musquito, nor any thing resembling them, till we found the gnats making sharp trespasses on our faces ; in fact, they were blood-suckers : the place was a hovel not very clean, but as our hammocks placed us above the floor, we did not suflfer in that particular ; but we spent a very disagreeable night, from the number and pertinacity of the gnats of Saltikal. We rose, therefore, very early, and but little refreshed. There had been a pretty heavy rain in the night, that made the freshness of the verdure around delightful ; we could see the handsome (perhaps it was more handsome at a distance in comparison with the feelings we experienced at Saltikal) — town of Alinadero distinctly below us ; and, from what we saw and felt at Saltikal, and what we saw and heard of the valleys on both sides, I should advise the traveller rather to go a league or two round on the plain, and sleep at A Una- dero, rather than encounter the gnats and the sleepless stye at the post-house on the ridge of Saltikal. VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 363 The descent from this disagreeable place is worth}'^ of the place itself, a rude ravine scooped out of a slippery soil ; steep and dangerous to descend ; and so eager were we to escape from the place, that we preferred going without breakfast. We gained the valley safely, and passed a tolerable path, leaving Alinadero on our left, and after two hours ride had to ascend another ridge, but glowing with kindly warmth and luxuriance ; the sides of the slopes were picturesque, and the cultivation was extensive and unexpected. Snug cottages were numerous. Spacious plots of apio^ that is ce- lery which bears a root as large as the common beet, but of a yellow texture ; neat bamboo fences, behind which the pine-apple displayed all its richness, in every stage of growth, its scaly cones and crested tufts giving the various hues which it displays, from pale emerald to deepest topaz, and garnished and guarded with armed blades, rivalling in magni- tude and surpassing in beauty the native aloe, or agave. We gained a spot where shade and prospect, and a beautiful rivulet, induced us to take refreshment and rest ; and we accordingly bivouaced, breakfasted, and took a sleep. We found much benefit from our short repose, and proceeded with new alacrity. The difference between the beauty and and luxuriance here present, compared with Saltikal, I could not account for : perhaps it may be the greater elevation of Saltikal, though I could not, from merely passing both, sup- pose any difference of elevation. Our route was here very agreeable. The population was entirely aboriginal, and we had an opportunity of seeing an Indian family in a state of very prosperous civilization. We were all attracted by a neat and ample cane fence on the right side of our path, as we ascended a knoll on the mountain ; it was placed on the north-west slope of the sierra, and a very beautiful and lofty clump of forest trees sheltered its north side for some distance ; the interven- ing space appeared, some part in cultivation, and a larger 364 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. part as if recently deprived of its productions. As we moved along the fence side, a very humble cottage appeared with the thatched slope to the road ; at the extremity a hatch, or cane wicket, opened to the west end of the cottage, and led into a fenced space which may be called the patio. 1 determined to enter, and all our party but the baggage followed. A comely cheerful Indian presented himself in a good white shirt and pantaloons, and paragattas on his feet ; he smiled, and, without any sort of surprise, pointed out to us the shel- ter of the roof, which being higher within than toward the road, formed a really convenient though rude corridor ; and he wished us all to dismount ; I had already done so ; and his wife, with a small boy and another child, was there en- gaged with a pot of better than ordinary earthenware, that contained about two gallons, which she was employed in stirring a soup, the fragrance whereof was very agreeable. The paisano had provided some rude seats for us, but be- stowed his first civility on Elizabeth ; the little boy was dispatched on some errand, while the good-natured squaw was occupied with her cookery, and casting repeated glances at her guests : the business at the fire was concluded very soon, and the pot placed on a sort of mat on the floor of the shaded place where we sat; she then produced some totu- mas, or bowls of calabash, with pieces of the same material fashioned as near as possible like spoons ; a smaller bowl, it was the shell of a cocoa-nut, in which was inserted rudely a handle of cane, served for a ladle, and with which she nearly filled a small bowl and handed it to Elizabeth, and to each of us successively. Some arepa bread, with a little straw basket of limes, were placed on a neat white straw mat, and the obligations of a corresponding civility required us to partake of what had been so kindly shared. The pot was covered with a greenish scum, and some fiit appeared floating in various sized spangles on the surface. As it was evidently the food prepared for themselves, there VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 365 could be no apprehension of any thing but the flavour of the mess. I tasted it freely, and was very much satisfied with its composition and taste, and my companions were not backward. The sergeant, who had been famiHar with all the concerns of the country, I must confess, encouraged me, as he too had his bowl, and feasted with evident satis- faction. Had we not taken a hearty meal after leaving Salti- kal, I have no doubt we should have found the soup still more delicious. However, we took sufficient for the occasion, and we had just finished when the little boy returned laden with fine pine-apples and oranges, and some smaller fruit, of which I had not seen any before or since. We ate of them all, and the , sergeant was (nothing loth) requested to carry with us the pines that remained. The composition of the soup was of different vegetables, and a small portion of tajo, or sun-dried beef; the plantain cut in pieces ; the white yucca, the apio, or root of the celery, some spices like pimento, and ginger, and abun- dance of red pepper ; bruized maize supplied the place of barley, and some aromatic herbs, of which I could not guess the name nor the resemblance. It was the common fare of the family, and the good-natured paisano appeared delighted with our satisfaction. Upon parting, I tendered him some of the current silver money, for our fare, as well as for some guarapa^ which was spontaneously presented also. The ho- nest native looked as if he doubted when I presented the money, and absolutely refused to accept so much. The pine-apples were alone worth a dollar, even there where they are so abundant, and he seemed to think that some little trifles I had given the children were more than ample com- pensation ; we placed the money on the floor, and a hearty shaking of hands closed our intercourse. The poor people came after us upon the road, and remained till we were concealed from their view by the luxuriant foliage. We reached Chopo about three o'clock, passing over a 866 VISIT TO COLOMBIA, country perfectly new and romantic, in its bold forms ; long mounds of earth, with slopes of rubble, and verdant plats less steep beneath on our left, and a vast luxuriant country in our front and on our left, of which the boundaries were not visible ; on our right shaggy forests of lofty trees. We entered the margin of a deep ravine, to which the descent was unexpectedly long and tedious, but at length we reach- ed a small rivulet, the bed of a frequent torrent; on the sides were cottages, and in the neat gardens behind them fine cab- bages of three different kinds were flourishing, the first that I had seen in the state of vegetation ; Savoys, white sugar- loaf cabbages, and the large spreading kale ; there were others, but I could not discern them so distinctly ; but some of these we purchased, which were equal to the best of the Philadelphia market. Having crossed the ravine, and ascend- ed to the right the side of the hill on which Chopo is scat- tered in detached hamlets, there appeared at first not a living being ; we passed between the ledges on which the houses were perched, and saw a few women, but women only, and apparentl}'- much alarmed ; at length, seeing a lady in company, some of them appeared to wait our approach ; but still women, and women only : the fable of the Ama- zons seemed to be here realized. Not being able to obtain an alcalde, for none appeared, and loth to intrude upon those disconcerted females, lest we should offend or more affright them, we enquired for the curate, and the church was point- ed to, at some distance ; thither we repaired, but even there too all was silence ; not even a woman was there. We at once occupied an apartment, and prepared for refreshment and repose. The sergeant had set out in search of a supply of poultry, eggs, and vegetables, of which he purchased a good store ; he brought also an explanation of the appearances in Chopo. A conscription had taken place in that village a few days be- fore for its quota, to recruit the army of General Urdaneta ; VISIT TO COLOMBIA. . 367 we had passed the very men on the road, and had noted them for the usual stiffness and constraint of recruits, with their straw hats, their long- tailed shirts, with rough embroi- dery on the tails. Those who did not like gunpowder and glory, or preferred a wandering and fearful life in the moun- tains to serving their country, had fled, leaving the women in charge of the domestic gods. One man at last appeared, who stole his way to our temporary lodging ; he was one of those whose fac simile is to be found in every country, who, having no qualities to endear or attach them to society, live by preying upon it. He pressed the sergeant to employ him for some service, who gave him two reals to purchase more eggs, very judiciously concluding, that his company might cost ten times less that way than a longer stay ; but, con- trary to the sergeant's expectations, the fellow returned, and presented eighteen eggs. The sergeant detected him in con- cealing the residue of two dozen, and the fellow had the au- dacity to demand another real, though he had taken six eggs; the sergeant, seeing the design to cheat the old soldier, re- solved to match him, and to get rid of him at once ; under colour of giving him more, he obtained two reals back, and then seized upon the six eggs the fellow had secreted, threatening him with the calahoso^ or jail, and proceeded to uncoil one of the baggage ropes, threatening to tie him ; the sergeant anticipated what followed — the fellow sprung from the grasp of Vincent, bounded at a single vault over the pita fence, and in a few seconds was out of sight in the valle}', leaving all the eggs, of which he had robbed a woman of the village, and the money he had by his own roguery failed to rob us, behind him. The sergeant, instead of pursuing this knave, went in search of the place the eggs had been pro- cured, and found the fellow had asserted that we demanded them, and would make no payment ; that she, through fear, had sent the eggs, not expecting payment. The sergeant paid her, and satisfied her we had not any concern with the 368 , VISIT TO COLOMBIA. knave ; but she added that he was the terror of the neighbour- hood. We were fortunate in getting so well rid of him, as the sergeant had justly scanned his character at the first glimpse. We resolved, after resting awhile, to stay no longer in Chopo, and moved at half past four o'clock, ascending a winding but picturesque road to the paramo, through rich forests, until we gained the point above the forest limits, and entered a region cold, and damp, and misty. Our route lay on the east side of the mountain, and the wind was at north- west. Our direction lay along the shoulder of the paramo, by which we were sheltered from the rough blasts. The road was on a flat covered with short grass, as if sheep had nipt it close as velvet ; numerous paths in the black rich loam marked the frequency of travelling, and the activity of the neighbourhood, as all the paths were fresh beaten, and nearly parallel to each other. Rain had been menacing us for some time ; and we resorted to our oil-cloth cloaks, before it should fall too heavy ; and, as the paramo stood between us and the sun, we were in a premature twilight ; our mules, by aug- mented speed, seemed to know they were near a halting, place ; when turning a short bluff', about a dozen females, all in black, with their long dark romeros floating in the wind, and they moving as rapid as if flying from a similar group of the same questionable shape, that at some distance followed them headlong ; Elizabeth and myself were riding on the middle paths of perhaps fifty, when these murky figures passed between us and the foot of the sierra ; their ap- pearance, and the dusky state of the atmosphere, produced on Elizabeth and myself the same impression ; I was about to say, "How now, you secret, dark, and midnight hags, what is't you do ?" when Elizabeth exclaimed Macbeth's witches — " Why, upon this blasted heath, stop you our way ?" — They rushed by us rapidly, enunciating a " Whe-e-euh !" giving unconsciously a new incident to lead the imagination VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 369 after the mind's first illusion — the second group advanced, and fled as if in pursuit, seeming to say — Fair is foul, And foul is fair — Hover thro' the fog and filthy air. The garments of men and women, it was before observed;, changed colour on the approach to the cool region of Mu- chachees ; in the warm valley of Merida, and others, the light garments reappeared, and the black, blue, and brown colours were greater in proportion, in the order here named, now prevailed, and continued to prevail the whole way to Bogota, though lighter colours incidentally appeared where the valleys were warm ; and though the influence of foreign intercourse appeared very visibly in the garments of the opu- lent of both sexes, but more especially the females and mi- litary men. The mist had now become a mizzle, and accompanied by slight gusts, which, as they came from behind our course, were more sufferable, and still more so when a glimpse of Pamplona broke through the haze, far, far below us, on a verdant carpet to the right as we first saw it. Winding round a steep road, cutout of the side of the steep mountain, which shut out the wind ; but the soil being a slippery clay, the descent required care, and the mule, with its accustomed sagacity, chose to traverse in oblique lines, rather than proceed straight down. The city now appeared as we changed direction to the left of our front, or, as a sail- or would say, on our larboard bow, and before we reached the plain the air moderated, the mist replaced the rain, and Pamplona appeared exactly like Caracas, a picture or a map on a verdant carpet, sloping from the north and west, and its lowest point at the south-east angle, which opened to a narrow defile, separating two lofty mountains, through which a small limpid stream gently crept from the west — it was the first stream of the Sulia, which has its source to 47 370 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. the north-west of Pamplona. The valley, itself, was not open at the extremes like that of Caracas, of which it seemed to !)e rather a miniature ; a range of not very large moun- tains rose on its rear or north side ; the steep we descended formed the face of the valley east ; on the south the Sierra was lofty and steep i and the north and south sides so paral- lel that it seemed as regular a parallelogram as if so designed. The west face of the valley was a slope, which, though it com- pleted the parallelogram, was not abrupt or elevated like the other three sides, but gradually rose in the distance to an equal height, as we afterwards found the road to the capital leading over it. Elizabeth, and the sergeant, and myself, had push- ed on with more rapidity than the rest, and we presented ourselvesat the commandant's quarters, whom we found the handsome well equipt Colonel Guerra ; he had been but a few days in office, but invited us to sit down, and ordered some anniseed liqueur, which was brought with biscuits. He sent an order to receive us in the former aduana^ or custom house, which had ceased with the abrogation of the Alcavala, and we proceeded thither. In the commandant's quarters we saw the first window closed against the external air, an indication of the humidity or coldness of the climate ; there were no sashes nor frames occu- pied by glass, but they consisted of pannels of fine linen, which gave a tempered light in a bright atmosphere, but when it rained gave a very gloomy light, and to us a fire would have been a comfort. But an opinion or a prejudice prevails here and at Bogota, that domestic fires are pernicious to health ; and thus sometimes they are content to shiver rather than obtain warmth by fire ; hence the diseases of the inci- dental kind that prevail here, are the face-ache, tooth-ache, and sometimes slight catarrh among old people, arising from this uncomfortable prejudice. The chambers in the house of the commandant, for they are generally two stories high, had double sets of doors ; that is, the ordinary upright door. VISIT TO COLOMBIA. S^l and another which was not upright ; outside the chamber door two jambs were fixed in an inclined position projecting six or eight inches from the wall ; to one of these jambs, a frame covered with strong linen was fixed by hinges ; and so of other doors ; the philosophy of double doors, which the boors of Russia had conceived, was devised also here in the cold valleys of the Andes, within the tropics 7° north latitude, where the same expedients were resorted to, by in- terposing a column of air between the external atmosphere and the house. The Sulia I observed flowed from the north-west of the plain to the opening in the mountain, in that direction we learn- ed lay the celebrated gold country — erroneously called a mine — I saw at the treasury of Bogota, a rude lump of the native ore, found in one of the washings of this region, weigh- ing about seven pounds. The washings were obstructed when we were there, as I felt an inclination to visit and see them in operation, but some renegadoes had been sent thither by the Spaniards to intercept the collection of gold, and they threatened all persons found there with death. 37S CHAPTER XXIV. Pamplona a general military depot — order of the arsenal — military drills — novel mode of training horses to the fire — comparison with the Persian horseman ship — delayed for mules — hints for travellers — supplied from the depot — leave Pamplona — field works of Morillo — Paramo of Cocota— dismal place — the white house — a loom for woollen weaving —a domestic missing — returns— and is discharged — Chataga — three routes to Tunja — take the central — moun- tain characteristics — Cerrito — Volcan de Jigua — lavadura de Oro — the village of Cerrito — mills numerous in the valley — fine grain country— ./5«fiwnc»on — the good Franciscan curate. Pamplona is a military depot for artillery, cavalry, in- fantry — for discipline — and a military hospital — and an arsenal for arms of every kind ; the latter was under the direction of a French officer, who, after serving with eclat in several campaigns, had retired after the battle of Carabobo to Mara- caibo, and had acquired a handsome fortune, which he lost on the taking of that place by Morales. He returned to the army and was received, and appointed to this charge. The business going on was all judicious and efficient ; the order established in it, the effi^ctive benefits, particularly in the repair of arms, have repaid its expenditures twenty fold. Pamplona, if it had roads of communication suitable for mercantile transportation and travelling, such as are in other countries, would be, from its cool climate, position, and the richness of the country all round it, a place of great import- ance ; indeed it must become so as the prosperity of the republic grows. However, it is by no means so cold as our spring or autumn days in March and October in Philadel- phia ; it is only after being some time habituated to the warm- er regions that its atmosphere may be called cold. The forests are never unclothed, perpetual verdure prevails, and frost or snow is never known but as it is seen on verv dis- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 373 tant and more elevated Paramos. A vigorous muscu- lar frame is characteristic of the population of all de- grees, from Caracas to this place, and in all parts of the republic that I have visited ; at Pamplona the forms of per- sons are perceptibly more vigorous, and their gait more bold and elastic. I found it difficult to obtain mules here, and was delayed on that account some days. As the morning air was brisk and delightful, I made some rambles of curiosity ; and as the knowledge of any particular art or science is apt to be accom- panied by a desire to see and make comparisons with the knowledge of others on the same subject, in my morning's walk I accidentally came upon the ground of exercise, where I had an opportunity of not only seeing what I had some prac- tical acquaintance with handsomely performed, and entirely to my taste, but witnessed a mode of training horses to the fire of artillery, and the artillerists to practise, which I had neither seen nor heard of before. The drill of light troops was carrying on in the manner of the American rifle corps, and I found that there was a transla- lation into Spanish of the rifle drills, which I had published when lieutenant-colonel of the first United States rifle regi- ment. The drill was handsomely conducted by young subal- tern officers, who, besides judgment, took great pleasure and great pains to instruct the young troops, and, to do them bare justice, they were certainly not so awkward as some that have come under my observation elsewhere, and, what is more remarkable, I do not recollect having seen recruits in the regular service take more delight in their first exercises. The training of the horses came upon me wholly by sur- prise, and, as I was alone, I did not choose to ask questions ; aware that, during a state of war, strangers should be particularly cautious of making inquiries, and especially where there are depots. I was, therefore, waiting to see the practice of a handsome battery of brass field pieces, arranged 374 VISIT TO COLOMOIA. on the west or lowest side of the great plaza, which is more than half a mile in length north and south, as the city stands upon the higher or north side of the plane. The artillerists, after performing a short infantry drill, or movement, to gay dancing music, took possession of their battery, and com- menced a regular fire from right to left — suddenly a nume- rous drove, perhaps three hundred horses, without even a halter, entered upon the south-west angle of the Plaza. A considerable number of peons, who had them in charge, accompanied the horses behind, and at each side, and they were brought into a promiscuous group in that angle of the plaza nearest to the batteries. The artillerists had, at the signal of a bugle, taken their stations at the guns, and were governed throughout by the bugle. Whether this practice grew out of what all experience teaches, that animals, and men among the rest, acquire more confidence, and even en- counter danger with less timidity in association, than sepa- rate ; or whether it was a practice discovered by accident, and pursued in consequence of its demonstrated efficacy, is not material. Upon a signal from the bugle, the horses were put in motion by the peons, so placed as to cause that motion to be continued in a circle. The horses had com- pleted the circle three or four times, all in a mass, when the remotest piece of artillery was discharged, the concussion put the horses into more rapid action, and another gun, somewhat nearer, had a like effect ; a third produced a still greater celerity ; but the fourth, fifth, and sixth guns were rapidly fired, and the movement could not be more accelerated, they were as much at speed as their crowded circumstances would admit ; the firing continued from right to left, and the horses were gradually brought to move in a slower pace, and so continued through another range of dis- charges. Guns were then fired alternately from the right and the left, with an interval, and became more rapid in such alternation ; there was some little starting at the sud- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 375 denness and remoteness, and alternate nearness of the fire ; some horses endeavoured to escape, but the active peons were at hand, and compelled them to keep within the circle. A rapid and random fire succeeded, the horses pursued their circular motion, their circle became more ample, and they assumed a gallop, as was desired. A short pause enabled the horses to respire, for they were already warm, and it was contrived to give their circle of action a greater expansion, on a figure approaching an ellipsis ; at length they were brought to move along the front of the fire, and return and wheel again while the fire was continued. The exercises were finished by the random fire of the light infantry drill. The horses at length became quiet, and on the third day (I did not see them when exercised on the second) I found that the horses followed three or four mounted men, and came right or left about as the mounted horses led. I understood these drills were preparatory to mounting, as the horsL'S had only just arrived from the plains ; and that as soon as they moved without panic in the presence of the fire, they were to be put into a drill mounted, which was not, upon their manege principles, so essential, but as to the horse, the men are so much masters of the seat and hand, and at a mounted drill T understood they moved close under the fire without swerving. I have given the general plan and mode of the drill, rather than the particular description of any one day's exercise. The system was methodical and perfectly successful. No people that I have seen are equal to the South Americans in the perfect command, or the dauntless confidence with which they mount the wildest horse ; the Persians are as graceful and confident riders, but the Persian horse is not caught wild and mounted the moment he is caught ; the Persian horse is kept with tied fetlocks, by- ropes affixed to two stakes about four feet in front, and two more four feet in the rear of him ; he feeds with his hind limbs stretched, and without the bit ; yet is seldom 376 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. tamed, or as completely within the government of his rider's hand as the horse of Colombia, where the horse retains his wildness on the pasture, but obeys the rider with the readiness of the spaniel. The Persian relies mostly upon his bit, the Colombian on his spurs; though only in a greater degree, both use the heavy bit and long-pronged rowel. The Colombian will mount the wildest horse, and, before he dismounts, the horse is tame and obedient. The training of the Persian horse is a tedious service. The circumstances of Pamplona, as a central depot for so many various services, and the army being then in motion for the neighbourhood of Maracaibo, the demand for horses and mules for public service was immense, and we remained five days in Pamplona, unable to procure any, at any price ; reflecting that the governor, having but recently taken charge, might not have been acquainted with the orders which had passed on, and had procured us so much attention and com- fort on the greater part of the road, I addressed a short note to the commandant, and sent with it the letter of General Clemente, Intendant of Sulia, to me, from] Betijoque, and some other documents, which experience in travelling through other countries had taught me the importance of — and I sent the sergeant to the governor, who,* upon the peru- sal, immediately ordered mules from the public depot, ex- pressed his regret at my detention, and gave me a passport from himself, to be used when it should be necessary. We had mules at the time he appointed, and, on Sunday, 18th January, at noon, we ascended the mountain, at the foot of which the little brook of the Sulia wound its way along the plain from the north-west. About half a mile from the foot of the ascent we reached a ridge, the prolongation of which was in the line of descent, and at both sides choked up wdth deep forest. At this place Morillo, in one of his military operations, cut the ridge com- pletely across, and established a formidable battery ; no po- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 377 sition would seem to be better chosen, or adapted to cut off all intercourse on that side with Pamplona. It was a trench of ten feet in depth, transversely with the line of the ridge, along which the only road lay ; but we learned that it had been turned by a division of the Colombians, and that some of the guns in the arsenal, which we had seen, were aban- doned by Morillo, the surprise of the attack was so vigorous. The ditch had been filled up, to a certain extent, broad enough for a mule road ; but the extent on both sides re- mained as it first was formed, and keeps up remembrance. The Sierra which we had to pass was very arid when we began to descend, and the steeps tremendous, by which we reached Cocota, a village so miserable, and the steeps so dreary and desolate, that we determined to pass into a better region ; and crossed a tolerable bridge over a small river, ascending the steep side of a chalky, craggy road, through which we gained a mild and verdant region. We could discern, at several miles distance, before we descended the dismal Sierra of Cocota, a white house on the green ridges in front, and thither we moved. The climate, and the aspect of the landscape, had all changed in this short transit of not more than three leagues from Cocota. We found, on reach- ing this place, that it was habitually resorted to, but, as the usages of the country establish hospitality, every house on a road is accustomed freely to afford the traveller accommo- dation, when there is space to receive him. We rode up under this knowledge, and the old husbandman, without hesitating, crossed his coral^ and led us to a hovel, where we found standing a rude formed loom, adapted to the weaving of very coarse woollen or cotton. Here we hung up our ham- mocks, but we missed our cook Pedro, and had to draw upon the talents of Vincent for the quieting of our appetites, which were very much excited by this day*s varied and tiresome journey : Vincent here unfolded his skill in cookery 48 / 378 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. to great advantage, and we were enabled to retire to rest without the necessity of a taper. Pedro had charge of EHzabeth's black mule, which had re- quired to be spared, in order to retrieve it ; but he had con- trived to lose the mule on which he had himself rode, and after severely wounding the black mule under his care, rode into the coral when we were in the moment of departure. De- termined to do without him, and as he had been indiscreetly paid at Pamplona, and we had no tie upon him, but the dif- ficulty of escaping, if he conmiitted any outrageous mischief, he had in fact spent his money in drunkenness at Cocota. He was here discharged ; and the best remedies of the Ser- geant's skill, as a horse-doctor, were called forth, and with most complete success ; in a few days he cured a wound which threatened to disable the mule for ever. It was ten o'clock, on the 19th of January, before we left the White house, and late when we reached Ghataga, on a river of the same name, over which there is a rude, but conve- nient, bridge. This place was considered formerly as the commencement of a forest of the same name, and though the forests do not appear so stupendous as others we have passed, the route is in that state^ which may, without impropriety^ be called a wilderness. We passed the night at this place, and by nine o'clock on the 20th were in motion for the mid- dle route by Anciso. At Chataga there is a choice of three routes to Tunja, and it is difficult to say which is the worst. That to the east side of the ridge leads by El Pilar, Betoye, Patute, Pinas, Manare, Pore, Marcotc, and Paya, to Tunja. The route to the west of the Sierra was by Sulia, Sarrare, across the river Chichimacho, St. Gil, Obia, II Tirano, Soba- ya, Velez, and Leyva, to Tunja. The road we pursued was central, and we selected it be- cause mules are not so easily and certainly obtained on the collateral roads in any part of the country, as in that which VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 379 the correoy the armies, and merchandise travel ; nor is subsis- tence for travellers so good, or the police so regardful of their dut) . Indeed, all the routes were described in such horrible terms, that we were very well prepared to be disappointed if any thing agreeable should occur. Our route therefore was from Puenta,Chataga,Cerrito, Cer- rito Nueva, the Paramos, Tecuia, Conception, Capitanejo, Suta, Asuncion, Sativa,Chota, Pesea, Serinza, Sogomoso,Dhi- lamo, and Tunja. The country at this point beyond Pamplona is very strong- ly marked by the divergency of vast spurs of the Cordillera, like the radii from a great centre ; the lofty chain of the Chisga shoots off like the trunk of an immense tree, with nu- merous and monstrous branches, whose intervals form valleys, and whose streams contribute to the beautiful and splendid Apure ; the chain of Merida lies to the south-east, having several parallel ridges and valleys, which break their main continuity to discharge their waters to the north, or south, or east ; the chain of Pidraza sends its branches into Varinas ; and that grand chain which terminates its sublime and snow- clad summits in the verge of the ocean at Santa Marta, has its separation and its stem at this place, and shoots forth its lofty ridges due north from this point ; while the ridge over which we were passing, and between the wild chains of which we found Cerrito, there was visible the effects of an overflowing of a water volcano : the main direction here is from north to south, prolonged south from the point at where the eastern ridges diverge. The Galinazo, which washes the valley, and carries off the countless streams of Capitanejo, has its line from north-east to southwest, as far as Tunja, where its great lines of ele- vation are constantly thrown into groups, whose heads are lost in the clouds, but whose feet appear to rest on level plains, from which they s^m to rise abruptly, leaving vast levels, and windings round their sides, which afford outlets for the waters to flow, the traveller to pass in shade at all hours, and 380 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. the herds to be transferred without ascending the Sierra. Whoever imagines that the Andes arc an unbroken chain or a comparatively narrow ridge, mistakes the whole character of those sublime elevations. There is a grouping and inter- section throughout the country, from the Silla of Caracas to the snow- clad ridges of Chisga, which unites the ridges east and south east of Bogota with the great double chain of Quito. Before we descended this inclined plane leading to Cerrito, a stream sustained by artificial embankments, and about twelve feet wide, crossed our route obliquely from right to left, and wound round an ample space enclosed by stone walls. A timber platform over the stream led to a gate, inside of which was a porter's lodge, and a family with several fine children : we were admitted, and halted ; and, on enquiring as to the cause of the water of the stream being dark and foul, and the banks covered with what seemed to be ashes ; for the stream had overflowed on both sides, and left a ridge of several inches deep upon the banks and the ground ad- jacent, while the stream still continued to flow rapidly, loaded with this muddy, gray, ashes-like substance, and which spread all round, and into the lower valley more than a mile — an in- telligent and civil little man, who was seated on a bench in the corridor of the lodge, informed me that a mountain, to which he pointed, (and whose black bleak summit seemed at top to form the edge of a circular mound and bason,) had a few days before cast forth a volcan de agua^ an immense body of water ; that the flood was so great as to undermine and overthrow immense bodies of rocks, and to change the whole aspect and shape of the ridges which before existed there ; and pointed to the new appearances, the stupendous perpendicular cliflfs opening on each side to crevices more deep, the naked rocks presenting ochreous and rusted shades, but on projecting ledges displaying piled ridges of the same ashes-like sub- stance, and streams of the same feculenct : there is no possi- bility of describing by words the wild disorder of this place. It appeared that the crevice which we saw next the road was VISIT TO COLOMBIA. B8i but a narrow opening to a more spacious area, from which several vallies opened in different points ; that some of those valleys were now closed up, and ravines replaced former mounds of rock ; piles heaped on piles of this ruin of the mountain were partly visible, and, connected with the ideas of the phenomena communicated by the narrator, formed an object sublime and terrific. Had we not halted to procure some water at the porter's lodge, this occurrence might have escaped us, with only the bare view of the ashes on the embankment, and the turbid appearance of the stream. I had dismounted, with a view to walk and supple my joints, and had entered into chat with this stranger ; some sprightly children had selected me out, and were amusing themselves and me by their innocent prattle, and giving me, — with their broad black opened eyes,, and extended hands, with their palms uppermost, relating in their brief phrases the wonders which I did not yet compre- hend — el volcan terrible — el 7nanga de agua^ arpeso — una vortice del areo — una turbellino de la montafia ! — atonito! — y marviliosamente ! I should have remained in the dark stilly had not the stranger made me acquainted, as above, with the really marvellous and astonishing subjects of their inno- cent communicativeness. The stranger said the torrent that rushed out of the crevice in view, spread over the whole valley, more than a mile in length and half a mile in breadth, and that enormous masses of rock were removed from posi- tions which they had possessed from time immemorial ; that there were heavy showers of rain, thunder, and lightning, and frequent gushes from the cerro, the roar of which was heard ; that some of the ravines were filled, and steep preci- pices undermined, by whose fall spacious levels were con- verted into steeps, and new spaces that opened ascents to the mountains before unknown ; and that the stream continued to bring away the gray ashes-like substance as we saw it. He added, that before this phenomenon, that ravine led to a lavadura d'*oro^ or gold washing ; that a party had gone from 383 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. Cerrifo, since the inundation, to visit the washing, and had ' not since been heard of. There being an appearance of rain on the brow of the cerrOf and not wishing to be deluged in ashes, we parted with those people, who had, during little more than an hour's stay, sought many ways to entertain and oblige us ; we bade our adios, and moved through the rocky fragments to the valley where Cerrito was scattered upon the shoulders and sides of hills, although the rain had on our way called forth our oil-cloth cloaks. The appearance of the village is in ac- cordance widi its name, which signifies steep, craggy, elevated and inaccessible mountains, indicating too probably that phe- nomena such as had recently occurred were not entirely new. The groups of houses stood on detached verdant hills, through which the open doors gave perspective views of other hills ; and little gardens appeared beyond and contiguous, and seemed like carpets hung up to air or dry. We obtained very good quarters, and purchased some very fine fresh butter, though insipid, from the want of salt, to which there appears to be an unaccountable aversion throughout the country ; so that in the most respectable houses, we have been under the necessity of requesting salt, which,"though used by us only in the mode- rate manner customary in the United States as a condiment, excited great surprise, and sometimes cautions for our health's sake; for myself, I suspect, that the use of salt would be a preventive of that very unpleasant disease the Goitre. This village of scattered hillocks, notwithstanding the desolation of the Volcan de Agua in its neighbourhood, has every ap- pearance of prosperity, and the turbid stream which we pass- ed in the plain above, was here employed in turning some wheels of mills, at which good wheat was converted into flour, for the country surrounding ; and the view of the coun- try south was that of a plain laughing with abundance. About six o'clock, the 21st of January, we left the first Cerrito, and before nine passed a second village of the same name, but of a more regular and handsome appearance ; this VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 383 village, and the next called Asuncion^ stand on the side of the valley, on a broad bank of half a mile width at the foot of the mountain, but half a mile above the broad rich fields of grain that on every side covered the spacious valley. Asuncion had an appearance of newness or neatness ; the houses were all whitened on the outside and inside ; and the church was airy, light, and handsome, in perfect harmony with its vil- lage. This neatness was accounted for by the harvests which it overlooked, and showed that, whatever may be the general deficiency or neglect to use the gifts presented by nature, here a better police, or wiser judgments, led to wealth — that is, true wealth, the capacity to possess and enjoy the bounties of heaven. Wherever this aspect does not appear, if nature has not denied the means, it is an unerring proof that the public administration is imperfect, neglectful of its duties, and should be changed. It is in the power of every govern- ment to form the character of the people, and render them capable of assuring their own happiness. The man who does not believe so, is unfit for public trust. Mankind are naturally too fond of comfort and enjoyment, to disregard either, when either is acquirable ; and no criterion of the character of a government is so infallible as the condition of the population. The village of Asuncion was a striking example of these truths. We had not yet become acquainted with the author of this prosperity, neatness, and superiority of condition visi- ble in Asuncion, where its neatness, order, and general com- fort appeared so strong as to mark its peculiarity. It was the work of a worthy Franciscan, Fra. Joachim Garcfa,with whom we soon after became acquainted on the road, and who ac- companied us with little deviations from Santa Rosa to Tunja. The account of his happy curacy was not derived from him- self, but from others with whom we had intercourse. He said nothing of himself, £ind I feel persuaded that he travelled only to afford us civilities, and exchange for good offices the information we could severally give. 384 CHAPTER XXV. New appearances. — Anciso. — The Goitre, — Ruins. — Cotton cleaning' by a minia- ture gin. — Meet a traveller. — New and wild route — imperfectly described — steep ascent and tremendous descent. — Capitanejo. — The Gallinazo river. — Savage mountain bluffs and fertile valley. — Liberty tree, an extraordinary- scaly palm. — Assiduous and civil alcalde. — Celebrated bridge — described. — Strange sight. — A vidette. — A cavalcade. — The clerical and civil functionaries of Suata — geneix)us reception — hospitality— luxuriant country — agreeable re- pose and entertainment — leave Suata. — Another Tartar. — Susacon — munici- pality come out to conduct us. — The Calderon family — militia muster — hand- some population — tall, very fiiir complexioned — well clothed — deficient in arms — superabundant feast — fine fresh butter — economy of the dairy. — Curate of Sativa — new hospitalities — departure — appearances of the country. The country which had presented such variety of strange forms and aspects, continued to vary its features, at every stage. Plains had become more frequent in the prospect, and the peopled tracts showed vast flocks of cattle, of dif- ferent kinds. We had now, however, to pass a long range of paramo, through thick forests, where the exclusion of the sun's rays and the black soil made the road a series of mule- ladders, most fatiguing to the precious animal, and constantly appealing to the experience and commiseration of the rider. We at length descended, crossed the broad valley to the left or south-east side, and travelled on the foot of the mountain, over a rocky soil, south to Anciso ; which we reached about four o'clock, but much fatigued, and determined to halt there that night. We found the people here, and none more so than the alcaldes, attentive and solicitous to render us civility. The goitre, which had become more frequent since we left the Chitaga, here, perhaps, affected every tenth person, and men, to appearance, the most. The second alcalde, who took some pleasure in communicativeness, although he was at constant pains, though in vain, to cover, with a muslin VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 3§5 scarf, three large tubercles o^ goitre, which grew perpendicu- lar to his chin in front, and occupied all the space beneath both ears, was not backward in touching on the subject of his disease. He informed me that all his children were af- flicted by goitre J and that one of his sons was afflicted to idiocy by the disease ; that this was a very general effect on the children of parents who had goitre. On the 23d we left Anciso about nine o'clock, the sun's rays so ardently reflected by the white, sandy, and rocky re- gion, over which we were now passing, though on the north skirt of the mountain, that we were induced to enter the ruins of a sugar-mill, of which there yet remained some excellent wrecks of good mechanism. The shed, open at the sides, was more than thirty yards long, and about forty feet broad. There were some young people here engaged in cleaning cotton from the pod, who received us without surprise or apparent concern, offering civilities, and performing them without bashfulness or forwardness ; and returning to their occupations, while they freely, but modestly spoke when they were questioned. The cotton-tree was seen all around in its utmost luxu- riance ; cacao and sugar fields, watered by numerous rivu- lets, flowing below the scite. They had a very simple, but small machine, employed in extricating the seed from the cotton ; two upright wooden shafts, about thirty niches in length, two and a half inches in breadth, and three quarters of an inch thick, were made firm to a block below, so that the faces of the two upright shafts stood parallel, at a dis- tance of about four inches. By means of mortices in the two shafts, two cylinders of iron, three quarters of an inch in diameter, were so placed, one over the other, and adjusted by bolsters below, and wedges above, as to admit the en- largement of the space between the cylinders at discretion. The cylinders were not more than three quarters of an inch thick, and upon the lowermost was fixed a piece of ox-hide 49 386 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. with the hair outside and short, serving as a card or brush, which constantly remained on the cyhnder as it revolved. Both cylinders had rounces or handles, like that of a grind- stone or domestic cofFee-mill, one at each side, and a boy or girl turned each a cylinder, so that each person turning the cylinder outward from himself, the two cylinders revolved in the same direction with each other, and the fleece from the pod being placed at tlie line where the two cylinders united, the hair skin on the lower cylinder caught the ends of the fleece, and so turning until the contents of the pod was exhausted ; the fleece appeared on the other side in a clear and beautiful web, and the seed remained behind, falling in a basket prepared to receive them. The cleansed cotton was then laid several layers one on the other, and put up in small rolls or knots. The machine as to effect was perfect, but susceptible of improvement, and capable of being wrought with one person's labour instead of three ; or of being turned by any of the mechanical forces which are usually employed elsewhere. A merchant of Maracaibo, who is well known in Philadel- phia, met us at the foot of the steep we were about to ascend ; he was from Bogota, for Caracas, and we exchanged our news, and learned the rumours from the opposite directions in which we were travelling. The paramo we were ascending led into a recess, retiring from the deep glen along which we had marched ; the valley terminated in two immense masses of perpendicular rock, beyond which, crossing their steep extre- mities, the glitter of the sun betrayed the rapid rush of a river. It was the Capitanejo, which we were to see at full length on the other side of the ridge we were now ascending, under the name of Galinazo; our route passing over wild and savage piles of rock, on beds of loose fragments of gray and white sand- stone, threatening to slide from its precarious and tempora- ry bed at the slightest pressure, and crush every thing be- neath ; piles of rock below indicating the frequency of such VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 387 formidable ruptures and projections. By various contor- tions and laborious windings, we gained the summit ; and, on looking down, the point of our ascent appeared underneath our feet ; it was like travelling up the steep slope of one of those sharp-roofed houses which were formerly so frequent, and are not yet rare, constructed as it would appear to pre- vent the deposit of heavy beds of snow ; the very top of this mountain was an angle as acute as a ridge tile, upon which a mule could not stand on either side without one end elevated and the other depressed. We expected to find the opposite side a similarly pulverised mass ; but, though the unusually ardent sun made the face of this mountain ap- pear to send forth a glowing effervescence, we found the descent only different in kind and variety of danger and difficulty. It was a sort of perpendicular quarry, which some violence of nature had scooped out of the mountain, and formed into a semi-circular wall of freestone ; a gap or path appeared to have been picked out obliquely into a sort of gallery, formed of the shelving rock ; the face of this curv- ed wall, or well, was a trough of loose, angular, shifting frag- ments of stone, from an inch to four inches on the face of the angles, a sort of rubble, such as is shoved out of a stone- cutter's yard, but more fragile ; on a scaftbld about three feet broad, where broadest, having the resemblance of steep stairs or a winding terrace, or what other name may be applied to it, partaking of all, and like neither ; looking over the side, which was unavoidable, the chasm below looked tremendous; and if it had been the first place of danger we had met and overcome, might have induced hesitation before we attempt- ed to descend. I dismounted — not doubting the excellence of my mule, to which I should have committed myself blindfold any where, but the rubble was so unequal that the mule's legs were often hid, and I feared cut by the unsteady mass on which it trod ; — a stone beneath his foot, with my weight on his back, might, by defeating liis instinct, have 388 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. canted nie over along with the mule, and finished my jour- ney more awkwardly than was desirable ; the ease of tlie faithful mule, I confess, was a consideration with me. Yet my philosophy was overcome before I had descended half the way, and I remounted. Elizabeth and Richard kept their seats with as much sangfroid as if they were in a theatre, and amused themselves with the extravagant sports of na- ture every where around us, or as if they were only looking at paintings. Arrived at the foot of this prodigious work of unciviliza- tion, looking to the south, the river which rises in the Sier- ra of Albaracin, south ol Bogota, and which, before it reach- es this valley is called the Gallinazo, but here is called, after the town by which it passes, the Capitanejo, was before us in full length : after it leaves this valley, till it unites its waters, under the name of the Sagomoza, with the rivers Suares, Moscos, and Sarrare, takes the name of the Chia and Chichamocha, till its descent into the Magdalena, where its waters form a spacious port called La Torra^ a long time abandoned, but, from its position and facilities, likely to be- come an important commercial entrepot at no remote period. This river moved in very ample volume from the south, and so near, before it turned off to the west, that its rapidity and unusual line of descent were very perceptible. More than half a mile wide, its rapidity resembled the swell of a mill-race, immediately after its issue from the gorge of the dam, and its force against the foot of the lofty mountain of rock, against which it drove like the impulse of a battering ram, bore at its base, and on the face of its cliffs, not only the evidence of greater violence and greater elevation, but that the constancy of its action had frequently detached vast mas- ses from above, and produced that magnificent disorder which its front presented. Passing the eye to the left from this point where ^ve had halted to breathe and congratulate each other on our escape from the house-top, the town of Capi- tanejo stood on an elevated ground which sloped towards the j^ VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 389 left of our then position, and on the east side of the river which occupied the west side of the valley, with its single but grand palm tree, elevating its scaly stem 120 feet, top- ped by the elegant forms of its tan -shaped leaves and branches; we travelled towards the town over a path that paid annual tribute to the accumulating floods of this valley; the sides of which were every where cut into trenches, and opened their mouths to the common reservoir, leaving their chasms open like the teeth of a saw ; the face of the coun- try around was in wild disorder, yet upon the space contigu- ous to the ordinary elevation of the floods in the rainy season, haciendas and trapiches send forth their beautiful products and their rich odours. We entered the town about five o'clock, and found the alcalde in the suburb, as if he had received intimations of our approach ; he led us through the great square by the foot of that palm which we had distin- guished in the distance. He told us it was the liberty-tree planted by the people soon after the revolution, and here it was that all public orations were delivered, and festivities celebrated along with those of the church, near which it stood, surrounded by a well-built cube of masonry of ten feet on the face. I had supposed that the palms of Hindus- tan and Pegue surpassed all others for their altitude, magni- tude, and the regularity of their stems, but this excelled in all respects any that I had seen in Asia. We were conducted to very comfortable quarters, and had leisure to change our garments, and take a ramble, as we constantly practised when our fatigue was not excessive, or our arrival too late. I had heard very much of the bridge of Capitanejo ; it had been represented to me as if it was a new wonder of the world ; perhaps this exaggeration was one of the causes that our admiration fell short of this general opinion in the town and country around : it was held forth as being thrown over the river where it was unusually wide, deep, and rapid. Had this celebrity been qualified by referring to the humble state 390 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. of all the arts, obstructed and cut off by Spanish desire of perpetuating barbarism ; had it been shown as an object pro- duced, where there was neither science nor models for imi- tation ; and in the entire absence of those implements which facilitate and finish the works of well-conducted labour ; or had it been the work of an untutored Indian, though still nowise a prodigy, it might have commanded more admira- tion ; but the river does not exceed seventy feet in breadth ; and, instead of six or seven fathoms, it was not more than ten feet deep. Though the torrent which must pass beneath it in the wet season must be stupendous, it is not more than about a fifth of the waters of the valley which enter its chan- nel above the bridge, as the bridge is not distant from the upper extremity of the valley, v>'hich is about three miles and a half long, and about two miles broad. Capitanejo is on the more elevated part of the east side of the valley, and it is united by the bridge with a causeway well formed, having flank or wing walls of good miasonry, broad and inclining outward as you approach the causeway, and closing as the bridge is approached. There was skill and forecast, and labour judiciously applied on this part of the work, which had a gradual ascent to the immediate en- trance upon the bridge ; good buttresses of stone- work sus- tained the walls of the causeway, and the road on the surface was excellent. Having gained the summit of the causeway, the entrance to the bridge is closed by a double gate of good workmanlike execution, and the bridge being " well housed^'' with a competent roof; within the gates are apartments for the keepers. I think it was a tnedia for every unburdened mule and head of cattle, that is the sixteenth of a dollar, six and a quarter cents — laden mules paying double. The mi- litary and members of the government are exempted from toll, and no doubt the religious also. The roof over the bridge was constructed in a good plain btyle of carpentry, that betrayed in its forms a foreign hand ; VISIT TO COLOMBIA. SQi there was an attempt at a rough facade on the exterior of both sides, though it was not until after passing midway, or after crossing and moving out of the Hne of its prolongation, that the pediment above and the gallery-Hke hand-rail were seen to advantage, and the principle of the bridge brought to the eye. Another gate and lodge was on the west side, and was entered from another cause- way ; the platform or path of the bridge about fifteen feet above the surface of the river. The bridge is not an arch of wood or stone ; the piers on- ly are of massy stone, well wrought into masonry, ten feet above the water level. Upon the summit of the stone piers floors of the most durable timbers of the country are formed, the squared ends side by side projecting over the stream about twelve to fifteen inches ; another floor is laid upon the first, of which the ends projecting over the first, as the first project beyond the stone pier ; a third still projects farther, until the height required is gained ; and the like process on the opposite side ; the courses being ten or twelve, say ten, gives a projection of twelve to fifteen feet over the river. Beams adapted to the space unoccupied are now thrown across, and by the usual sort of carpentry the whole are so se- cured, that the superstructure becomes an easy ordinary work. The timbers, of which the ends project, being very long and buried in a bed of stone and mortar, so as to ex- clude moisture and bind them in their position, left only the wing-walls and the braced causeways to finish the work. The workmanship is more useful than elegant, and be- trays the hand of a European carpenter, who in his rambles through the world, discovered that with very moderate me- chanical skill he could render great benefit ; though his suc- cess seems to have turned his head, having abandoned la- bour. I understood he was now travelling through the sur- rounding country living upon the fame of the bridge of Ca- pitanejo, and is looked upon much in the same light as 392 VISIT TO COLOMBIA, Faust the printer, who it was believed could never have ac- complished such works without the aid of the devil. The utility of this bridge is unquestionable, as the toll testifies. On the 24th January we crossed the Capitanejo at a quarter before nine o'clock, and proceeded without any in- cident unusual, until we halted in the forest, at a rivulet, where we remained some time in the delicious shade ; we were again on our way towards Suata about four o'clock, \A'hen the sergeant, whose military habits had made his eye a perpetual centinel, discovered a sort of tartar-looking cava- lier, or outscout, apparently reconnoitring, and who, upon obtaining a distinct view of our party, took to his ass's heels and scoured the plain, the side of the precipice, and the val- ley, as if his Pegasus, like that of Belerephon, had wings ; and in truth the appearance of his romero floating on the wind ho- rizontally behind, gave him the appearance of flying : the sergeant had set out with his lance couched, the very mo- ment he discovered this vidette, but he lost the race, and he had just commenced a prognostic of some danger, when an enemy, of a diflfercnt character from that he apprehended, ap- peared in front, and spoiled his anticipation. A cavalcade of fifty or sixty persons moved towards us, and from among them the Belerephon who had excited the sergeant's vigilance rode up, and enquired for me by name, intimating that the curate, and alcalde, and the principal citizens of Suata had come to escort us into town, and pray our company to an entertainment. The curate himself now approached, and after introductions had passed round, we moved into Suata, bag and baggage, in the midst of this live- ly civic train. We alighted at the house of the curate, a cheerful jolly gentleman, without any of the starch of clerical stiffiiess, and as we found, on nearer acquaintance, without any of that in- solent austerity, which so ill becomes a Christian pastor, and casts a gloom over moments that cannot be rationally taken VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 393 from human happiness, and wherever practised, or by whatever sect, against another, or their educated opinions, is ahvays a proof of superstition in him who is capable of displaying it. Had we been his richest and most bountiful parishioners he could not have treated us more kindly, from whom he had nothing to expect. We were at our ease in a moment ; several citizens, men of good intelligence, formed a little assembUige, and the cu- rate, who was more conversant on human affairs ancient and recent, than might have been expected in so remote a quarter of the Andes, and especially so near Capitanejo, which looked like that chaos which was at the beginning, and is to be at the end of the world. The country here had a very different aspect, and a little enthusiasm and a little imagination well mixed up, might make out of it a better paradise than some ingenious men have heretofore demonstrated. The air was exhilarating, the country rich and blooming, and every one solicitous to oblige "US ; we were conducted into a commodious and well-fur- nished apartment, where we found glass windows, and a table spread with snow-white damask, and an ample and luxurious feast. The table was exactly full ; and, although the curate was abstemious himself, he put about the bottle of excellent Canary with the course of the sun, and gave some compli- mentary and some political toasts, and appeared as full of en- joyment as if he partook himself of the circling glass. He had appropriated some sweet wines, real sack, for the Seho- rita Americana^ as he called Elizabeth ; and for us all no en- tertainment could be more timely, nor more agreeable, from the kindness with which it was given. We enjoyed it the more upon contrasting the present with our passage over the short roof, and over the wall of the freestone well, and (I was going to say) the infernal regions of Capitanejo ; but these recollections soon fled before our present enjoyments, and our good spirits : our pleasure had not flagged when 50 394 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. the coffee appeared in social style, followed by chocolate in freshness and fragrance ; and so we sipped and chatted till it was near nine ; arid if Elizabeth had not unwittingly yawned, which the attentive curate translated into a signal for retiring, I think I should have been apt to have sat till midnight. It was a two-story house, and the curate himself led and placed us in the separate but contiguous rooms that had been prepared for us. Every convenience that could be found in an opulent house in Philadelphia, we found here; excellent feather beds, and sheeting, napkins, basons, soap, brushes, mirrors, &c. We rose at seven o'clock on the 26th of January, and a breakfast awaited us with the kind gratulations of the wor- thy priest ; we had trays of fine and various fruit, coffee and chocolate, fine white bread, sponge cake, and the never- failing sweetmeats. It being Sunday, while our host was at prayers, we made an inspection of our wardrobes and a change of apparel, which our comfortable close apartments enabled us to do at leisure, and we spent the day most agreeably. We left Suata, accompanied by our good curate and friends, who escorted us into town, and parted with them at ten. The sergeant said he should be content to live at Suata a couple of months ; but at the moment, he descried another Tartar, who, after seeing us, made a flight across the fields like his predecessor, and soon after the whole municipality of Susacan approached : after salutations, we pursued our way to the lofty, open, airy town on the side of a gentle slope : the curate was advanced in years and unable to ride, but sent his gratulations, and the alcalde, Senor Calderon, as he had to himself all the honour, determined to share it with his wife, a lovely buxom gentlewoman, tall but full, about thirty-four years of age, and fair, and in as full roseate bloom as any Hibernian mountain nymph. She had two sisters, and two younger daughters like herself; and the honest alcalde seemicd to feel his delight doubled by the pleasure so mani- fest in the countenances of his really charming wife and their VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 393 female friends. I felt not a little pleasure myself at seeing this fine group, and their innocent and fond curiosity ; they were never tired of conversing and examining Elizabeth, whose cheeks here found rivals ; and they tittered with open eyes of surprise and delight, when told that all the sefioritas (young ladies) of North America were of the same complex- ion. " O madrede dios /" exclaimed the girls, and they blushed and apologised for their incredulity. The good lady of the house had left the young folks together, and I mixed with the crowd, which was considerable, it being muster day of the militia. I could not but contrast the appearance of these comely, well-clad, cleap, cheerful, and orderly peasantry, with those I had seen in other towns, such as Truxillo, Valeria, &:c. Indeed there is a striking difference between the appearance of the people in Venezuela and Cundinamarca : the change is evident before leaving Venezuela, for, after reaching Mucha- chees, the country presents on the plains more cattle, better farmers' houses, and a cheerful people. The war had desolated Venezuela so much more than Nevy Granada, that it is seen in the visages as well as in the houses and apparel of the people. The officers of the militia, chosen by themselves, did not exceed their just authority. The sound of the bugle brought them into line of double files. They had but very few mus- kets, but they had " the queen of weapons," the lance, in abundance ; they looked very well, but did not move, which I regretted. The population here was taller than usual else- where : the good lady was herself tall ; and the female specta- tors were fair and rosy-cheeked. The alcalde introduced me to several of his relatives, as if 1 had been also one of his relations ; and by the time the muster was over, about two o'clock, we were summoned to dinner ; we were placed on each side of the interesting mistress of the house, and the table was long, well-covered, and the seats full. It seems an entertainment had been prepared the preceding day, but our spending Sunday at Suata had marred that 396 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. purpose ; but time only Avas lost. The good lady did the honours of her tabic with the simple dignity and ease that marked her appearance ^vhen I first saw her ; every one was attended to ; and as she was aware that certain products, to which we are accustomed in the United States, were not al- ways to be found on the road, she had been at her dairy, and presented us with some fine pale- gold coloured butter, equal to any the Philadelphia market affords. It was a whim that induced one of the young ladies to form it into an imitation of the shupe of a cow, and so it was placed before us. The butter was of the finest flavour, as its appearance indicated, and we used it with sliced bread, and the hearts of the best celery. The good lady and her female friends were delight- ed w^ith Elizabeth, as she w^as with them, their manners were so unaffected and ingenuous : they threatened to overload her with sweetmeats and other articles that w^re transportable, preserved fruits, ginger, citrons, oranges, limes, and half a dozen small pots, of which we did not know m.ore of the con- tents than their excellence. These were placed in charge of the sergeant, with an injunction of secrecy, and he was true to his trubt ; for our first knowledge of their possession was on a paramo, where there was no opportunity of procuring refreshments, which made the kindness of the charming fa- mily of the alcaide of Susacon of tenfold value. It may not be amiss to notice the process of the dairy in the preparation of butter, at Susacon, and other places. The milk, kept in pans of the country manufacture, is skimmed of the cream in the usual way ; it is transferred to a round earthen pot, which is suspended by cords so as to be swung, and ierked, and agitated, till the butter is separated, and taken out carefully, placed in clean cotton cloths, and com- pressed till the milk is entirely extracted ; but the economy of salting appears not to be known, or not to be regarded, as there is a general prejudice against salt, though I understood that prejudice to be giving way very much. In other parts VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 397 of the country I have understood, that butter is produced by a more rude process, the cream being put into a leather bag, and shaken till the effect is produced. The churn and staff, and the revolving-churn, are unknown where I have been. I have often wished that it was within my power to present some perfect utensils of this kind to the amiable fa- mily, as an evidence of the gratitude of which their kind- ness has left a deep impression. We broke away from these charming and kind people about half past three o'clock, much against their wishes and endeavours to detain us at least a week ; and it is question- able whether the parting did not overbalance, in painful feeling, the gratification of* an intimacy, which, though so short, was delightful and honourable to the human heart. The curate of Sativa, who had expected us two days be- fore, had come to Susacan in search of us, and now accom- panied us to his parish. As we approached Sativa, the cor- poration came out to receive us, and as we entered the vil- lage, a group of young ladies of the neighbourhood presented themselves to receive the Senorita Americana, of whose ap- proach they had somehow heard three or four days preceding. Where the young ladies are, the gentlemen will follow, and their salutations were, Fiva la Republica Americana ! Viva Bolivar / Viva ! Viva ! — for, unless Bolivar be associated with every festive act, the act is incomplete. It was some time after five o'clock when we entered Sativa. Our halt on Sunday had disappointed the expectations of those good peo- ple, and preparations had been made for our entertainment, of which we had the evidence on our arrival. A spacious table, covered with damask cloths, viands in great abun- dance and variety, alternating with bouquettes of pinks of un- usual tints and magnitude, and whose perfume mixed with that of the jessamine and rose, and other flowers of great beauty, which were strangers to me, impregnated the air. Fruit, pastry, wines, red and white, were abundant and ex- 398 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. cellent, and the worthy curate, who was not feared by his pa- rishioners, and who mingled in the spirit of equality with the crowds that were drawn hither to see the sights sat with us, and enjoyed the pleasure and conviviality of the en- tertainment he had prepared for us. It is proper once for all to state, that in the whole course of this kindness and honour so unexpectedly bestowed on us, we had no expense to incur ; that the generosity was spontaneous, and had its compensation in its own grateful- ness, and our comfort and gratification. On the 28th, escorted as before, we left Sativa : the prac- tice of "doing good by stealth," of which we had many ex- amples, as well as at Susacon, was here practised upon us also. The curate had caused a very fine turkey to be roast- ed, and placed in charge of the sergeant, who was told, that in a few hours after our departure we should have a paramo to pass, which would give a better relish to our dinner. I soon experienced the sensation of hunger on the rough, windi:^, and steep passages, and, when we had descended to the plain, I was agreeably surprized on alighting at the hamlet of Tienrey^ by the appearance of the roast turkey, and a bot- tle of wine, of which two accompanied the good curate's providence. Though the roads, if paths for which art had done no- thing can be properly so called, were rugged and precipi- tous, the atmosphere in this day's journey was warm, but not oppressive ; population appeared to be considerable ; and as no very high mountains appeared, perhaps, as Humboldt says, because " the Andes were beneath our feet," the verdure all around was uninterrupted ; there were indeed no level tracts, but hill and dale, and many dwellings, and number- less cattle, were seen in every direction. The population and dress, which changed from light to dark near Muchachees, and again became lighter in the v/armer valleys, between that place and Pamplona, where colours became sombre and VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 399 clothing warmer, on this route had assumed a medium ; the body clothing being generally light, but never separated from some warmer garment, which was worn in the cool air of the morning, or put on with the setting light of the evening. CHAPTER XXVI. Theatre of Bolivar's greatest triumph — an intelligent fellow-traveller — ideas of the Moscas nation — metaphysical notions — a vast chasm in the Cordillera ^a work of human labour — traditions — Serinza — Spanish desolation — another Tartar videtta — cavalcade — alcalde — meet a Caracas acquaintance — traits of the people — entertainment — position of Serinza — departure — the paramo fer- tile — sapling fences — ploughing — M. xMollien, a French traveller — his views contrasted — extravagant mistakes — hypochondria — anecdotes of M. Mollien — patriotism and generosity of the people of Serinza — the white heron — cats metamorphosed into warming pans. The country around us and over which we were passing, at this moment possesses a celebrity which belongs alike to aboriginal traditions and more recent history. To the right, south and west of our route, lay before us the plains of So- gamoso, and from Paypa to the marshes of Vargas, Santa Rosa, and Tunja, to Boyacca, is the theatre of that series of military operations, which followed Bolivar's astonishing passage of the Andes from Mantecal, and terminated at once the hopes of Spain at Boyacca. Here the issue was decided that established the seat of the republic in the centre of the Andes, eight thousand feet above the ocean. A plain-look- ing country gentleman travelling on the same route towards Serinza, entered into discourse as we rode along the plat- form of one of those singularly formed and sublime summits. He was conversant in traditions, and drew my attention to the plain of Sogamoso, which, though not very distinctly visible, 400 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. Was perceptible in the distance like a vast field with a low dark mound at its extremity. He mentioned some instances of the institutions of the natives, as he considered, indicative of a higher state of civilization than was usually allowed by European writers ; I urged that their superstitions were rather adverse to the idea of much refinement, as well as the absence of certain arts, and above all the want of iron ; and urged that high refinement, such as reason and humanity would inculcate, was not to be expected where the arts did not also flourish. I confess I spoke rather from a desire to beci- vil and sociable, than with any other view, unless it was that I found some difficulty from a yet deficient readiness or want of confidence in my power of communicating my ideas in a lan- guage of which my knowledge was more incidental than stu- died. He descanted on the high civilization of the Moscas, the works they had accomplished, the artificial nature of their chro- nology, and the progress they made, compared w'ith other na- tive nations ; that they were clothed in fabrics of their own manufacture ; that they had a knowledge of gold, copper, and lead, if not of silver ; and it ^vas supposed of tin ; that they had many refinements in the furniture of their temples, and domestic econoniy ; and that their agriculture was ex- tensive and methodically carried on. I ventured to remark that in some of their institutions, as well as those of the Peru- vians and Mexicans, I could perceive very remarkable coin- cidences with different sects of the Hindus ; that the Mex- icans appeared to resemble the worshippers of Seib or Chiven^ which was a system of demoniacal terror, and that, like the early Jews, they offered up human sacrifices ; that the Peru- vians resembled the worshippers of Fichenou, the Genius of good, the Preserver ; and that the Moscas were an interme- diate sect, who had discarded human sacrifice in the detail, and had only preserved it in rare cases, and in all other rites were very much like some worshippers of Ficheiiou. How they could come to derive their systems, I did not pretend VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 401 to premise ; nor were my ideas, on this subject, peculiarly mine. " Ah ! senor ! said he, religion is constitutional, to a being who knows nothing but what he sees — understands it very little — and knows nothing of the cause, or the purpose, or the end of his being. His existence is a mystery, and he is therefore prone to mystery himself. The Moscas who oc- cupied those plains, had the same natural faculties as all others of the human species — and some among them found out, that they could be governed by fear — and they set up chimeras to supply the means by which they could hold the less discerning in subjection." But I observed, they had also called in the agency of hope. " O sir,'' said he, " hope is only the offspring of fear ; hope has no existence alone ; it may be the illusion of the miserable, upon whom fear has already laid its heavy manacles ; but where there is happi- ness there can be no occasion for hope ; like that of its, oppo- site — the presence of hope is already realized." I found some difficulty in comprehending him, and am not very certain that I have exactly expressed his sentiments, but I was not a little suprised to hear them from an inhabi- tant of the Andes — he drew my attention to a remarkable opening in a distant range of the cordillera on our left — it ap- peared to the eye as if a large' space of the mountain had been sawn across, in a line very steep and sharply defined, at two places, to appearance, which was at a great distance, a quar- ter of a mile apart, and the intermediate mountain complete- ly removed ; I expressed my impression to him. " Yes," said he, " it is precisely what you have supposed it to be ; there is an evidence of the power of superstition ; but it is al- so a proof of the vastness of the population which once oc- cupied those regions — immense as it may appear, that ex- cavation is the work of human labour ; that is only a path opened to the plains, and it is but the intersecting point of an inclined plain which is continued four hundred miles into 51 40S VISIT TO COLOMBIA. the Llanos, and of which the counterpart is on the other side of this mountain, which, though not of such magnitude, ex- tends into that plain of Sogomosa, which is now of such charming temperature, though tradition has represented it as " before entirely sterile. By the construction of new moun- tains, and changing the direction of the old, numerous streams have been dispersed over regions before sterile, and which are now rich, and fruitful, and salubrious." These circumstances were entirely new to me — and, I confess, doubtful ; but it would not have been decorous to dispute what he gave only as tradition. The work he de- scribed appeared too much for human hands to perform, though I could not but frequently remark, on looking at the aspects around, that those sports of nature have certainly some- thing like the appearance of order, method, and art. I in- quired as to the supposed author, or chief, who directed these great works. He said " the tradition attributes them to a Zupa^ named Sojamuje^ who was at the same time the po- litical and sacerdotal chief; and he was a descendant of -60- chicha?'' — and he added, he is considered as either Noah or Adam^ I know not which. The nation was called Miskayas or Mozcas, and were here when the Spaniards arrived ; they were reputed to have expelled a race less civilized, but had taken up the religious system of those they had superseded, and had erected numerous splendid temples, which the Span- iards found when they invaded the country, and who over- threw and destroyed them — vindicating, as they said, the cause of God — as if God stood in need of human vindica- tors ; but their zeal, SeSor, was only the corner-stone of their avarice — and that zeal which consigned the poor Moz- cas to the flames, only to enrich the oppressors with the gold which embellished those structures." He added that *' the tradition states, and it is another evidence of the civili- lization and numbers of this native nation, that the confla- gration made of their temples by the Spaniards, had not ceased at the end of five vears !" VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 403 We were now approaching the defiles which lead into the plains of Serinza, and our communicative fellow-traveller took a path more south, while we contimied our route south- west. I took his information as he had given it, but as I had not made any note of it till we reached Santa Rosa, much of what he said escaped me, and I omit more which I am not sufficiently satisfied that I understood, and, as it was of an unusually bold cast of thought, I do not wish to risk misapprehension. It struck me that if this long, artifi- cial, inclined plane, really existed, that Bolivar must have known it, and made it his route from Mantecalm 1819, in- stead of crossing the Paramo of Chisga. We continued to wind through the mazes of the moun- tains, their abrupt bluffs, their rocky ravines, and the flow of innumerable rivulets prattling over the pebbles. We at length reached a more tranquil, and deep, and broader stream, which came lingering along to meet us, as the plain of Se- rinza opened before us. The space was so extensive that the paramos in the distance north-west and west, seemed diminished, and stood like stacks of grain in groups. The plain spread broadly to the west, and some beautiful rivulets stole along in broad meanders. Here and there were patch- es of verdant grass, and again tufts of rank marsh grass and rushes, among which were seen the gray-bittern, but more numerously, the snow white-heron, marching like a grena- dier, in grave and regular cadence ; slowly lifting its long leg, distending and planting it abruptly, looking to the right and left the while, as if dressing by a guide on the flank of a platoon. To the left of the plain over which our road lay, there appeared a scene of desolation : — pita walls, in the greater part of the country, are the common fences and bounds of rich plantations, usually six or eight feet high, and capped with stones. After some four or five miles along the skirt of the plain, in a south direction, we were intercepted by 404 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. these pita walls, which crossed the whole plain in an oblique direction, about two points south 6f west ; here we entered upon a spacious causeway, thirty feet broad, with ditches on each side, and abundantly supplied with flowing water ; beyond the ditches pita whIIs, from which other walls issued in various angles, forming the bounds of fields wont to be covered by rich harvests, but which the armies of Spain had consigned to sterility and ruin. The walls of houses, whose ruins spoke their former amplitude, were every where visi- ble ; we had not yet seen a glimpse of Serinza ; we ap- proached more near the Sierra on the west side, but the long causeway and the long pita walls appeared still to promise no end. Here and there a chasm in the wall had been made by the unregulated stream, which had been visibly directed by art over an immense surface, for the purposes of irriga- tion ; the wantonness of the enemy, and the magnitude of the dnniage, aggravated the ruin by the hopelessness of at- tempting to mend or repair works which had been produced only by great opulence, and many years of systematic labour. While we were ambling along this endless causeway, amidst these apparently interminable ruins, the sergeant de- scried another Tartar a-head, and put his spur to his mule to speak him ; but in vain : as soon as he reconnoitered and perceived a lady in company, instead of passing along the route which we were going, he broke into a gap in the an- gle of a wall, and was seen flying along the plain diagonally, and leading the eye in the direction of the town, a glimpse of which only we yet saw. Having gained the point at which the outscout entered, we had to travel along the mar- gin of a very fine rapid stream, sufiicient to supply ten thou- sand mills with water-power. Very soon a numerous cavalcade appeared, with which we were instantly in contact — the alcalde complimented us on our arrival, and made introductions to the notables of the place follo\ved : v/e proceeded on to Serinza. The military com- VISIT TO COLOMBIA, 40S mandant, who was a colonel of militia, received us as we entered the town, and our quarters were a matter of amica- ble contention. We had not advanced quite to the town, when we recognised some officers in the Colombian uniform, on horseback, dashing towards us in the desperate style of riding so common in Colombia ; it was Colonel Lyster, and five other officers of the Irish legion, on their way to join the army under General Urdaneta. Lyster was from the same county in Ireland as General Devereux, (Wexford,) — he had served in the British army in Spain, and with the experience of war had acquired the fluent use of the Castilian language — after the peace in Europe, he pursued his profession to Colombia, where he had to encoun- ter hardships and endurances to which the soldier of Eu- rope is an entire stranger, besides the common perils and privations incident to war. I had experienced his kindness at Caracas, and we were gratified at meeting in the bosom of the Andes, as if we had been both from the banks of the Barro. Military life had not diminished his national viva- city ; he was warm-hearted, brave as gallant, busy every mo- ment of life, with as much earnestness as if he had resolved never to lose happiness for an instant — heedless of the past, and reckless of the future ; at home every where ; — the grave priest unpursed his gravity, and the lively Sehorita laughed outright at his sprightliness and unceasing gaiety. Sometimes indeed, the habits of command in Spain were visibly breaking over occasion, but it was the experienced observer only, who could trace the habit to the tone and the terms of expression. A sumptuous entertainment awaited us here, where, by the same unexplained means as elsewhere, our approach was anticipated. The population of Serinza were more plain than gay in their attire, which, though it was warm as we rode along, must be cool in the night. Their kindness, though not so interesting as at Susacon, was very impres- 406 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. sive ; they appeared like quakcrs in their plainness and sim- plicity, but they entered into the spirit of the festivity with as much glee as other people, notwithstanding their grave habits. Our visit certainly afforded them much gratification j and the concourse of both sexes at the house of the com- mandant, where we lodged, was numerous, and afforded a most excellent specimen of the materials which are to supply future citizens to the republic. Though we were not very much fatigued, we thougin it due to our hospitable enter- tainers, not to keep it up late ; and we contrived, witli the aid of our friend Colonel Lyster, to separate, so that we went to rest by ten o'clock. Having already spoken of the appearance of the plain, and the ruins of former extensive plantations, it may be proper to notice its positioLi. The town, which consists of houses of a single story, resembles Gritja in its distribution and extent, the streets crossing at right angles, new churches, many scattered cottages on the extremities and between the mountains, which are on the rear or west side of the town. The impression all along made by the appearance of the mountains, on the west side, from the plains, was that while the plains were progressively more elevated, the mountains became progressively lower ; and this impression I felt after passing Mendoza, with very little variation. The mountain behind Serin za appeared lower than the hills on the south side of the Guayra at Caracas ; and the town not half a mile from their base, but, like the plains generally, it in- clined, from the mountain foot, gently towards the ground watered by so many abundant rivulets, and made remarka- ble by its endless ruin of pita walls. The continuation of the road over a not very lofty moun- tain is to the south of the town, and we left Serinza on the 28th, escorted by our friends of the municipality, and Colo- nel Lyster and his friends, w'ho were on their route to join the army under Urdaneta, and parted with us two miles out VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 407 of town. The paramo of Serinza presented, contrary to the usual features of paramos, a succession of beautiful slopes, surrounded by plains, in pasture, covered with countless flocks of horned cattle, sheep, horses, and mules ; clumps of foliage, bearing the appearance of orchards, with culti- vated fields adjacent. The forests seemed to have retired to the hills, leaving the black and chocolate- coloured loam to tempt the ploughman's courtship. There were some fences here and there, seeming to be intended to keep out sheep or horses ; and, as we passed some of them, on our route, we found them composed of saplings, sunk in the earth, at about six inches apart, held below by bandages of hejuca^ interlaid in five or six strands, a foot or eighteen inches from the ground ; another band, about six or seven feet high, and the saplings eighteen inches or two feet higher, perfectly firm, and more effective than our best Pennsylvania post and rail. Seeing a plough at work on one of those beautiful slopes, to the left of the road, which a single ploughman, with a pair of bullocks, was preparing to redeem from nature, and bring into productiveness, I suffered my party to go on, and rode up to the husbandman, whose track lay towards the road ; he stopped his team, and we entered into discourse. The plough was my principal object, and the manner of its application. It was very simple ; art had done very little for it. It was a single piece of timber, which nature had bent in such a line, that, while about four or four and a half feet lay along the ground, the remainder rose in about an angle of forty degrees, forming a single handle. On the part which lay along the ground, a piece of hard wood had been dove- tailed into the side of the shaft, with a very small inclination obliquely forward beneath, and not longer than four or five inches. This piece of wood, about two feet from the head of the beam, served as a coulter ; indeed it served all the purposes, for there was no soil-board, nor any thing that indi- 408 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. cated the turning up of a sod or deep ploughing. The earth was but indifferently scratched, though not always conceal- ing the short grass. A hole in the front of the beam re- ceived two ropes of cow-hide, whose other extremities were wound round the horns of the pair of noble cattle which dragged along this rude plough ; it differs in nothing but being larger, and the cattle much larger, than the plough of Hindusian, and that of Egypt. The pa'iscmo was very inquisitive, and heard my account of our ploughs with attention, and, with a pencil, I gave- him a rough sketch, and explained the power gained by two handles in directing the line of the furrow ; the uses of the soil-board, and the turning over of the sod. He expressed a wish, if it were possible, to obtain an American plough. I gave him a side sketch, and a separate sketch of the coulter, and the soil-board. He prayed me to recall my friends, and to spend a few days with him ; he had a very good wife, he said, who would love the Seiiorita. I excused myself, and thanked him. He was very curious about America, and having about me two small books I gave them to him, and he expressed great pleasure at the gift, and said he wanted books very much. This husbandman, and others whom I had intercourse with, remote even from the great cities, and from the sea- coast, very obviously displayed a con- sciousness of the change which the revolution had made in their condition. Men accustomed to liberal institutions, and accustomed to talk and think of their rights, may be supposed to enjoy the removal of some abuse, or the few securities which are established by legislative power, with a suitable satisfaction ; but, from what I have seen in Co- lombia, the emotion and the gratification appeared to me more intense, and it is not unnatural that it should be so ; I have conversed with persons whose countenances flushed with delight, a sort of emotion between exultation and VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 409 doubt of the reality of their escape from the multiplied ty- ranny of their former condition. After I had transcribed my journal for the present publi- cation, some extracts appeared in a New York paper from " Travels in Colombia^ in the years 1822 and 1823, by G. Mollien. Translated from the French, London, 1824." — The remarks of the American editor were at least indis- creet. MoUien's statements are at once repugnant to just ideas, both of the political and moral state of the Colombian republic ; I conceive it then to be an act of necessary pro- priety to notice the work, and disabuse society, so far at least as this volume may circulate. I had some intercourse with M. Mollien at Bogota ; I had been there before his arrival, and I was there after his depar- ture. His being an emissary of France, with no good pur- pose, was obvious in his deportment, and the indecorum of his ordinary conversation was very generally known ; — even at the hospitable table of the resident minister of the United States, (Colonel Todd,) he betrayed an hostility so extravagant, not only to the Colombian institutions, but to all republican government, that was extremely painful to the feelings of the American minister, and which the laws of hospitality only prevented him from personally noticing. It was, however, noticed by an American, who was of the par- ty, and in such a manner as to be highly gratifying to the minister, as it was unexpected, and conclusive upon the sub- jects oF MoUien's asperities, and ultra assumptions. My opportunities enabled me to know, that the government of Colombia was apprised of the nature of his mission ; he pre- sented no credentials as a public agent, yet his conduct had an air of that kind of insolence which little men display, " dressed out in a brief authority." The government considered him as a spy, but the members of it treated him with forbearance, and even an attention that only concealed the derision in which he was held. When he intimated a desire to visit 52 410 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. Quito, which the government was apprised to be his origi- nal destination, he was politely advised not to visit Quito, because, if he should be found there, he might not find the same indulgence that he experienced at Bogota ; and that when he thought proper to leave Bogota, it must be by the route by which he entered it. The deportment as well as the discourse ot this person was ordinary, his temper morose, and his manners had nothing of the ease and suavity of a French gentleman. I am induced to notice M. Mollien at this point of my journey, because Serinza was the farthest eastern bound of his travels in Colombia, though he has pretended to give some account of Caracas and other parts of Venezuela of which he was never within five hundred miles. His account of Serinza, which has been noticed and faithfully described in the preced- ing pages, is a tolerable specimen of his fidelity, and the exact- ness of his descriptions. I have not altered nor added a word to what I had written concerning Serinza, and if I did not know that he had been in Colombia, I should have doubted, upon the evidence of his book, whether he had ever seen Serinza or Santa Rosa. I shall here notice what he says of Serinza, and afterwards of Santa Rosa, and then pursue my own course, and, if my materials should not swell beyond the bulk of the proposed volume, I shall examine M. Mollien's book more at large. " Nothing is so dismal," says M. Mollien, " as Serinza, seen from below ; its frowning brow hidden in clouds, while the summit is rarely illuminated by a cheerful sky." p. 97. I have already described Serinza, which is not to be seen from below ; it stands but very little elevated on the north- west angle of a spacious plain, at the foot of a very low range of verdant hills, which range east and \vest, not lofty enough to be called mountains ; and the town is in fact not to be seen on approaching it from the eastward until close upon it, from the interposition of beautiful and lofty hedge rows. If, through misapprehension, he has given the name of Serinza VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 411 to the paramo south of the town two miles, he has made a mistake so far, though " the brow-hidden clouds and sum- mit rarely illumined with a cheerful sky," would describe every paramo, indeed every mountain in the world, for a few moments or hours in the year, but is by no means true of this paramo, or any other in Colombia ; which, though fre- quently clouded, are not always sunless, and we passed this paramo on our route, when the sun was in its fulness and glory, and the landscape, in the whole range of vision many miles around, presented some of the richest prospects both in beauty and productions to be found in the universe. This paramo is, in fact, a limb of the great Cordillera of Chisgay and is usually called the paramo of Soga?nozOy be- tween which beautiful region, and the plains and blooming valleys to three-fourths of the periphery ; and it is the sepa- rating screen on the north-west; unfortunately too for the au- thority of the traveller, it is never covered with snow. It was on the face of this beautiful paramo, I conversed with the young husbandman at his plough, who was scratching over a soil as rich as the bottoms of Kentucky, or the rice- fields of Burdwan in Bengal ; fields which produced maize, wheat, and barley nowhere surpassed, and two crops in the year ; yet, from what follows, it would seem that the travel- ler was amidst the mountains of Norway or Nova Scotia at the same season of the year. M. Mollien continues : " some springs, whose livid and icy waters are not potable, escape from the barren sides of the mountain, but never produce on them that fertility to which they contribute on the lower regions ; muddy pools, choked up with bulrushes and other aquatic plants, occupy the bottom of the valley. The scream of the white heron, when the winds are hushed, is all that breaks in upon its silence. The earth produces nothing but a short kind of grass, eagerly sought after by animals." Now, whether this be intended for the mountain or the plain is scarcely ascer- 4*12 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. taiiKible; but the temper in which these descriptive traits are given must be manilest. He could not but see the immense ruin which covered many thousand acres on the plain ; that they were marked by the desolation of" war : that Serinza had been particularly obnoxious to the Spaniards he might have known, and it may have given to his vision a jaundiced influence. When Bolivar had, altera march oi' seventy- two days from Mantecal, crossed the snow^ sides of Chisga^ he reached Serinza with his troops almost naked, without shoes, and in ill health ; they had lost the greater part of their horses, and lived for some part ol the way upon some of them. He and his troops were received at Serinza with acclamations and affection ; the troops were lodged, fed, clothed, and shod, and the horses they had lost replaced ; those that were jaded, but survived, were taken care ol', and substitutes provided. A people capable of such magnanimity must be virtuous and opulent ; but the generosity they displayed was not con- sistent with the wretchedness w'hich M. MoUien describes. The Spaniards had desolated the plantations, whose walls were the testimonials of a former vast cultivation as of pre- sent ruin, and whose rivulets, wandering out of their former well-constructed channels, might have shewn that, though desolation was visible, it was not the sterility of nature, and that no such walls, or artificial channels for irrigation, would have been erected on a sterile soil. Whether his temper of mind -closed his eyes and his understanding, is not material ; those streams of crystal water, which flow in abundance through very full channels, I can verify had nothing livid in them ; and if, in a temperate region, producing coffee, the icy coldness of the water be a misfortune or a reproach, the town of Serinza is indeed unfortunate, and reproachable for the coldness as w'ell as for the w^holesome purity and crystal clear- ness of these streams, which the Spaniards sent vagabojidizing over the plain. He finds a bottom and a valley at Serinza. In relation to the mountains all round, it may be called a VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 413 valley, but it is rather a spacious plain ; and this plain is its only bottom. The beautiful white heron is the inhabitant of all the savannas or plains on which there are pure streams, and on the sublime plain of Bogota is considered, by persons who take pleasure in the caprices of nature, as among its most beautiful ornaments. It is not a noisy bird ; though its screams are not perfect melgdies, yet they are not such as to grate the ears or affect the nerves, unless perhaps those of the hypochondriacal — and I confess that the suUenness and discontent which clouded the visage of this gentleman, even when every one else was convivial, led me to devise an excuse for his moroseness in this disease. The heron is a beau- tiful bird, of exquisitely fair plumage ; our sergeant, who had a shot at every thing, killed one to procure feathers for his grenadier cap ; the body, as it appears standing, or in flight, looks as large as a barn-door fowl ; when in the hand, the plumage is so delicate, downy, and light, that the body is not as heavy as that of a pullet. If the earth now produces nothing within the pita ruins which were before the Spanish troops had desolated them, the scenes of rich production and abundance, their former fertility is the best answer to him who discovers sterility in a ruin produced by the troops of the adored Ferdinand, not quite two years before. He subjects the town to the reproach which, if it were real, belongs to the cloudy paramo above, which he says, " si ponehravo^^'' (when out of humour) " threatens the traveller :" by this personification of the clouds or mountains we under- stand they come on purpose to threaten him ; in the same way as at Santa Rosa, where we shall find him charging the unconscious people of conspiring against him, while they were asleep, and making the heavy rains a party in the conspiracy; though the poor people probably never heard, even to this day, of such a person as M. MoUien, who describes " the winds loaded with vapour, (which must of course be unlike the 414 VISIT TO COLOMmA. winds in any other mountains;) tliick darkness covtrin^^ the earth, (which haj)pcns no \\ here else;) and eonceahng every trace of road." In truth, I have often found it difiicull to discover a trace of a road at noon day. But these repubhcan clouds arc no rcsj)ecters of persons ; and as this poor t^entle- man very often lost himself dreaming of his own consequence, to the amusement of many who marked him, it is not sur- prising he should take umbrage at the clouds of Serinza. It is scarcely necessary to remark tiiat in another place he con- tradicts diis asperity of the clouds ; for he says, in another page, " wh( n 1 traversed Serinza, the temperature, though cold, was bearable, but the air was excessively dry :'''' this is literally blowing hot and cold, wet and dry, out of the same mouth. His account of the device of a host at the Vada dc Basto, where he passed a night, deserves notice : — " The prejudice of the inhabitants of the Cordillera against fire, which they conceive to be unwholesome, prevents them from light- ing any; I was benumbed, although my birth was the least exposed to the outward air, and was wrapped up in thick woollen cloaks, &c. The cold, however, did not last all night, for my host had conceived the singular idea of bringing up a great number of cats, which were trained to place themselves upon the feet of travellers ; ,1 had two of theniy whose thick furs kept me very warm.'^'' p. 99. This story merits record in the history of the feline species, and may have a place in the same chapter with the fight of the Kil- kenny cats — equally authentic. I shall leave M. Mollien till we reach the next stage, where we shall find the dignity of the secret agent of the most Christian and Catholic kings, exposed to conspiring rains, alcaldes, judges, and curates, who went to sleep in order to prepare a ducking for him at midnight. 415 CHAPTER XXVII. Leave Seriiiza — Santa Itosa — Striking^ resemblance of Washington city and 'the Potomac — the usual reception — Dr. Origen — Catholic clergy and Liberty — effects of clerical fanaticism — the beauty of the youth — Entertainments — Pa- triotic sentiments — depart for Paypa — liberal priests— Library at Paypa — M. MoUien's account of a conspiracy — Dos Diablos Azulos — Remarks. The commandant of Serinza was a colonel of militia, a plain country farmer of about six feet high, and a well- filled figure, with an open countenance, and a cheerfulness which in- dicated true coijtentedness, and a right estimation of freedom : he made no pretensions, but understood his duties. The people in this district, as I have observed in other regions where the temperature is a medium between the extremes of heat and cold, are taller than in the warm vallics, or those of the cooler paramos. Before our departure, the commandant had repeatedly urged us to remain with them some time, and the females of the family and town were still more pressing, from a desire to be acquainted with my daughter. We were, however, constant to our purpose. There were many intel- ligent citizens in this place, but it was impossible to enter very connectedly into discourse from the shortness of the time, and the number of visitors. We understood, however, in a sort of effort to vindicate themselves as to the ruins over which we passed, that it was not their neglect which caused them; the Spaniards had found the bounties of nature too widely spread over the valleys and plains all around, to be within the compass of their power to destroy ; and they had devastated Serinza in vengeance and as an example of what they would do every where if it was in their power ; the neighbouring rich country had therefore escaped ravage and desolation, so that if we should only remain a few days, 416 VISIT TO COLOMBIA, we should find a numerous society solicitous to show their good wishes towards us from the surrounding^ plantations. Our refusals were expressed with very sincere regrets, as in truth our inclinations were there, as in many other places, to remain some time. The commandant, however, determined not to part from us so soon; and, as we would not stay, he would go with us ; and, in order to show how kind he could be, he intimated, that, after so long a journey, our riding mules would be better for a relief; he therefore provided for us riding and baggage horses, so that our mules travelling without burden were well refreshed. The horses generally throughout the route are of a low stature, usually twelve, seldom fourteen hands high ; at Serinza they were something above the height that is common, longer limbs and neck, but very full breast and haunches. Those animals appear to be affected, as to stature, by the characteristic features of the country. Where the steeps are frequent and extreme, the declivities rough and wild, the horses appear to be short limbed and more muscular; and where the country is more level, or not steep and rugged, and the temperature mild, the horses appear to be longer bodied and longer limbed ; though what we should call a raw-boned horse is an object not to be seen, forage every where grows so rapid and luxuriant. We gradually gained the beautiful sides of the paramo, and found ourselves at the upper range of the road, almost unconscious that we were ascending, until winding beneath a sublime forest we found that the vast plains, pastures, plan- tation houses, sugar fields, and a wide spread culture mixed with forest clumps and silvery rivulets, lay open to an ex- tent of which the eye could make no measure or bound, but the faint blue cloudy line, immensely distant, in the south-east, and south, and south-west. We were descend- ing with this rich region spread before us, when, almost at our feet to appearance, but really four miles distant, a town lay before us of a very neat aspect, and by its position pro- ducing such an emotion as is felt on revisiting, after a long VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 417 absence, a place that had been before familiar and agreeable. I was not at first conscious of this involuntary analogy ; the town stood on the easy slope and bottom of the valley on its north-west side, and the plain extended to the south and south-east, skirted in the distance by a range of mountains, which seemed to be the rim of the bason of which the valley or plain below was the bottom ; the sides all round sloping inward to that bottom. Across the plain from the west, and pursuing its course to the south-east, a btautiful river revealed its current by the tremulous silvery light reflected from the sun. This feature of the landscape soon identified the resem- blance of which I was not before conscious ; but it was a very striking likeness of the position and valley of the city of Washington, as seen from the brow of the Capitol Hill. The river, however, was not so spacious as the Potomac, and the town, which was that of Santa Rosa, was more com- pact : the neatness of the white-washed houses, the clean tiled roofs, and the rectangular intersection of the streets on a closer approach, broke up the similarity, though the view in the distance remained still striking. The brightness of the sun gave the appearance of the month of May at Washington. The curates and corporation here came out as usual to re- ceive us — and I must here observe, in order that it should not be attributed to an improper vanity, that I am so parti- cular in noticing these incidents, because it is at once an act of justice to those good people, and goes to show manners and hospitable dispositions, better than any general terms could do. Several of the secular clergy came out o.. this occasion, and an amicable and good-humoured conten- tion arose among them, who should do us the most honour — many more joined us in the suburb, but they led us into the Plaza Mayor, and halted, as I understood it, at the re- sidence of Dr. Origen, a secular clergyman of very prepos- sessing appearance and manners, and, what struck me — not with surprise, but as a new occurrence, he wore at his 5^ 4i8 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. breast the ribbon and medal of the order of Libertadors, an institution, in all respects, resembling our order of Cin- ciJinatus. I never before could reconcile myself to such de- corations, which, ever since I had the exercise of a free mind, I have looked upon only as marks set upon man, to shovi^ by what baubles they may be deluded or bought. Up- on analysing my feelings on this occasion, I found that, by a rapid association of ideas, I had identified the catholic priest and the apostle of liberty, and excused the bauble for mitigating the contradictions. Not that I believe the ca- tholic priests to be more hostile to human freedom than any other. Priests of all religions, Christians, Moslems, Bra- mins, or Jews, seek to govern mankind for themselvesy and are prone to adhere to any form of power, which promises them their peculiar domination. Where they are other- wise, they are no more than exceptions to a general rule. I have known many catholic priests, and some in Colombia, besides the worthy man at Santa Rosa, who are ardent lovers of human rights. The overthrow of the Cortes, in Spain, was the work of the monks ; they were the instruments of Monteverde, after the earthquake of 1812, and had not the fear of France and the same cry of atheism been raised in Venezuela, on that occasion, which was raised in Spain in 1808, the career of the revolution, if not jeopardized, might have been at least more tardy in its process. The men of enlarged minds, in Colombia, saw that Spain must have been subjected by the legions of Napoleon, had not the monks produced that fanatical rage, which undertook to ex- tirpate men under colour of vindicating the Almighty ! — and when the same fanaticism was adopted, and upon instruc- tions to that effect from Europe, the friends of American li- berty saw the necessity of passivity, as by means of this delu- sion independence would be better assured ; since, if France should gain the title, the difficulties of resistance would be greater than to Spain. These ideas do not accord with those of many, who would have it believed that there was a VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 419 sort of national dislike in South America to the French, and who would have it believed the South Americans were dri- ven by necessity to independence. In truth, no nation of Europe was so much preferred in South America, as the French ; the French language had been for three fourths of a century carefully cultivated ; the French writings, introduced by stealth, the favourite study ; and at this day few men of a good education are to be found in Spanish America, who are unacquainted with that language. The patriotic leaders did not wish that Spain should be subjected to France, not from love of Spain nor hatred to France, but because independ- ence was to be secured by the failure of France. The eccle- siastics, in this way, unconsciously contributed to the success of the revolution. I have had the satisfaction of much inter- course with clerical men in Colombia, whose political princi- ples were the cause of our acquaintance — and whose prin- ciples in every relation, I found such as would do honour to virtue and liberty in any country. Dr. Origen lost nothing of the impression made on me by his first appearance, on the interchange of sentiments ; he was cheerful, frank, and persuasive, and his political opinions I thought (perhaps because they exactly squared with my own) the best in the world ; he was a perfect master of modern as well as ancient history, and talked with equal mastery of the wars of Peloponnesus, and the thirty years war, the Dutch, French, and North American revolutions, the constitution of England and that of Sparta, and those of the United States ; he knew even the more recent history of the United States, and could name our triumphs and our disasters. This in the bosom of the Andes was a matter of surprize, and I regret- ted when the good-nature of the company prevented a more protracted intercourse ; as the civil and military appeared to contend with the ecclesiastics who should be most kind, it was necessary to render equal respect to their kind dispositions. I know not whether it was a stated day of festivity, but not only the house but the plaza was covered with people of every de- 4S0 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. scription ; it seemed to be a general holiday, and every body uncommonly well clad, and neat in their style oi" attire. The complexion of the people generally was here more than com- monly [i^ir, and the females rosy, much fairer generally than at Caracas, of whom we had a concourse to pay their res- pects to the sefiorita blanca del America Norte. However complimentary the title of fair American^ the young people of Santa Rosa were so numerously of the same complexion, that it would not be overstraining probabilities, to presume that the town derived its sanctification from the roses on their cheeks^ which rival those on the luxuriant hedges around the town ; many among them would have appeared lovely among the nymphs on the banks of the Kuban, the fairest daugh- ters of Erin, or the blue-eyed damsels of Delecarlia. A large company of both sexes sat down to a dejeune de la fonrchette, with whose ease, gaiety, and contentedness, I felt inexpressible satisfaction. The table service here was as complete as in one of our own cities : china, glass, knives, and silver forks, and plate of different kinds. The fruit were luxuriant, and the sweetmeats, in which, from Caracas to Bogota, they excel ; chocolate and coffee in the greatest perfection, and of which we partook gratefully. We return- ed to the saloon, and answered to such inquiries as they made concerning the United States, Washington, and Frank- lin. I afforded the gentlemen whom I sat with an unex- pected gratification, when they inquired about Franklin, by informing them that Lieutenant Bache, the youth who was conversing with a group on the opposite side of the saloon, was a direct descendant of Dr. Franklin, and, more than that, perhaps the best picture of the doctor, at the same age, in form and features, that could be found. They were parti- cularly pleased, too, wlien I told them of the resemblance wiiich the valley of Santa Rosa bore to that of Washington City in the first bloom of spring. All the clergymen present were gay and familiar. Finding the matrons had engrossed VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 421 me for some time, they contrived to carry me off, and to make such inquiries as suggested themselves, principally on political and social subjects. I gave them all I had of politics and opinions on what they touched, and congratulated them on the nearly closed war and their triumphs. They were conscious that much was yet to be done to give society its completion, and one of them, when it was observed that great sacrifices were made, replied, that it was worth more than it cost ; the loss of lives and sufferings of Aimilies (I think it was Dr. Origen who said it) were great, for " those who have died in the cause have only passed away a few years before us, but liberty and independence will remain to fu- ture ages and endless generations." Our time was so con- stantly occupied by the kindness and curiosity of this hospi- table people, that we had no opportunity to see more of the town than we had seen on our entrance, and from the veran- dah of the house, w hich overlooked the great square, and what we saw on our departure. Our intention, on reaching Santa Rosa, was to take a plain breakfast of chocolate and fruit, spend an hour or two in seeing the town and some of its manufactures, and then move forward twelve or fourteen miles before dinner. But we had been too much engrossed and pleased to be conscious of the time, and were about preparing to depart, when we were informed that dinner was already on the table, and to which we were immediately conducted. The description of feasts and entertainments so frequently, has an air of epicu- rism in it ; but none of us were of that cast ; our powers of abstinence and our taste for rough fare had been already well tested ; we had travelled whole days without halting for food, and our fricasees, with now and then a turkey pout, a quarter of kid, with fruit, were our greatest luxuries; in- deed, our rough fare was to us a constant source of merri- ment. But, as it is in the domestic and social relations the state of society and manners is best seen, as well as the cha- 4- vinces : 1. Barinas. 4. Guanarito. 7. Guanare. 10. Pedraza 2. Obispos. 5. Nutrias. 8. Ospinos. 3. Mijagual. 6. San Jaime. 9. Araure. ^ 1. The cantons of Apure are : 1. Achapuas. 3. Manteca). 2. San Fernando. 4. Guasdualito. Art. V. The department of ZuHa comprehends the pro- vinces of 1. Maracaybo, chief place Maracaybo. 2. Coro, Coro. 3. Merida, Merida. 4. Trujillo, Trujillo. ^ 1. The cantons of Maracaybo are : 1. Maracaybo. 3. San Carlos de ZuUa. 5. Puerto AJta Gracia. 2. Perija. 4. Gibraltar. § 2. The cantons of the province of Coro are : 1. Coro. 3. Paraguana, chief place Pueblo Nuevo. 2. San Luis. 4. Casigua. 5. Cumarebo. ^ 3. The cantons of the province of Merida are : 1. Merida. 3. Ejido, 5. La Grita. 7. Tachira. 2. Mucuchies. 4. Bayladores. 6. San Cristoval. \ 4. The cantons of the province of Trujillo are : 1. Trujillo. 3. Bocono. 2. Escuque. 4. Carache. Art. VI. Boyacca comprehends the provinces of 1. Tunja, chief place Tunja. 2. Pamplona, Pamplona, 3. Soccoro, Soccoro. 4. Casanare, Pore. VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 509 ^ 1. The cantons of Tunja are: 1. Tunja. 5. Sogoraoso. 9. Suata. 2. Leiva. 6. Tensa y Guatoque, 10. Tumerque. 3. Chinchinquira, 7. Cocuy. 11. Garagoa. 4. Muzo. 8. Santa Rosa. ■) 2. The cantons of Pamplona are : 1. Pamplona. 4, Salazar. 7. Jiron. 2. St. 3os6 de Cucuta. 5. Concepcion. 8. Bucaramanga. 3. Rosario de Cucuta. 6. Malaga. 9. Pie de Cuesta. ) 3. The cantons of Soccoro are : 1. Soccoro. 4. Charali. 6. Valez. 2. San Gil. 5. Sapatoca. 7. Moniquira. 3. Barichara. ^ 4. Casanare cantons are : 1. Pore. 3. Chire, at present Tame. 5, Macuco. 2. Arauca. 4. Santiago, at present Taguana. 6. Nunchia. Art. VII. Cundinamarca comprehends the provinces of 1. Bogota, chief place Bogota. 2. Antioquia, Antioquia. 3. Mariquita, Honda. 4. Neiva, Neiva. § 1. The cantons of Bogota are : 1. Bogota. 5. Fusagasuga. 9. Ubate. 2. Funza. 6. Caquesa. 10. Choconta. 3. Meza. 7. San Martin. 11. Guaduas. 4. Tocaima. 8. Zipaquira. ^ 2. The cantons of Antioquia are : 1. Antioquia. 3. Rio Negro. 5. Santa Rosa de Osos. 2. Medellin. 4. Marinilla. 6. Nordest y Remedios. ^ 3. The cantons of Mariquita are : 1. Honda. 3. Ibagu^. 2. Mariquita. 4. La Palma. ^ 4. The cantons of Neiva are : 1. Neiva. 3. La Plata. 2. Purificacion. 4. Timani. Art. VIII. The department of Magdalena contains the provinces of 1. Cartagena, chief place Cartagena. 2. Santa Marta, Santa Marta. 3. Rio Hacba, Rio Hacha. ^ 1. The cantons of Cartagena are : 1. Cartagena. 6. El Carmen. 11. Lorica. 2. Baranquilla. 7. Tolu. 12. Mompox. 3. Soledad. 8. Chinu. 13. Majagual. 4. Mahates. 9. Magaugue. 14. Simiti. 5. Corosal. 10. San Benito Abad 15. Islas de St. Andres. 510 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. § 2. The cantons of Santa Marta are : 1. Santa Marta. 3. Ocafia. 5. Tamaljimeque. 2. Valle Dupar. 4. Plato. 6. Valencia dc JcBoa. ^ 3. Tlie cantons of Rio Hacha are : 1. Rio Hacha. 2. Cesar, chief place Juan de Cesar. Jrt. IX. Tlie department of Cauca comprehends the pro- vinces of 1. Popayan, chief place Popayan. 2. Choco, Quibdo. 3. Pasto, Pasto. 4. Buenaventura, at present Iscuande. § 1. The cantons of Popayan are : 1. Popayan. 5. Roldanillo. 9. Tulua. 2. Aimaqucr. 6. Huga. 10. Toro. 3. Caloto. 7. Palmira. 11. Supia. 4. Cali. 8 Cartago. § 2. The cantons of Choco are: 1. Atrato y Quibdo. 2. San Juan y Novita, \ 3. The cantons of Pasto are : 1. Pasto. 2. 'luquerris. 3. Ipiales. § 4. The cantons of Buenaventura are : 1. Iscuand^. 3. Tumaco. 5. Raposo, at present La Cruz 2. Barbacoas. 4. Micay y Guapi. jlrt. X. The department of the Isthmus comprehends the provinces of 1. Panama, chief place Panama. 2. Veragua, Veragua. § 1. The cantons of Panama are : 1. Panama, 3. Chorreras. 5. Los Santos. 2. Porlo Belo. 4. Natd. 6. Yabisa. ^ 2. The cantons of Veragua are : 1. Santiago de Veragua. 3. Alanje. 2. Meza. 4. Gaimi y Remedies. Jrt. XL The department of the Equator contains the pro- vinces of 1. Pinchincha, the capital Quito. 2. Imbabura, Ibarra. 3. Chimborazo, Riobamba. ^ 1. The cantons of Pinchincha are : 1. Quito. 3. LaTacunga. 5. Esmcraldas. 2. Machachi. 4. Quijos. § 2. The cantons of Imbabara are : 1. Ibarra. 3. Cotacachi. 2. Otabalo. 4. Cayambe. VISIT TO COLOMBIA. ^ 3. The cantons of Chimborazo are : 511 1. Riobamba. 2. Ambato. 3. Guano. 4. Guaranda. 5. Alausi. 6. Macas. Art, XII. The department of Assuay comprehends the provinces of 1. Cuenca, chief place Cuenca. 2. Loja, Loja. 3. Braca.inoros y Mainas, Jaen. & 1, The cantons of Cuenca are : 1. Cuenca. 3. Gualaseo. 2. Cafiari. 4. Jiron. ^ 2. The cantons of Loja are ; 1. Loja. 3. Carimanga. 2. Zaruma. 4. Catacocha. , ^ 3. The cantons of Bracamoros y Mainas are : 1. Jaen. 2. Borja. 3. Joveros. Art, XIII. The department of Guayaquil contains the provinces of 1. Guayaquil, chief place Guayaquil. 2. Manabi, Puerto Viejo. § 1. The cantons of Guayaquil are : 1 . Guayaquil. 3. Babahoyo. 5. Punta de Santa Elena. 2. Daule. 4, Baba. 6, Machala. h 2. The cantons of Manabi are : 1. Puerto Viejo. 2. Jipijapa. 3. Monte Cristi. DEPARTMENT LAW. Art. XIV. Those cantons are noticed as coming within the constitutional provisions of Art. 8, 20, 26, 27, and 29 ; but those which come under the authority of political judges, and the administrators of the public treasury, may be united two or more cantons to form a circuit, under the authority of one political judge. Art* XV. To each of the cantons designated in this law, not having municipalities, through the loss of population or other causes, the executive power will provisionally unite two or more next adjacent, and make it known to congress in conformity with Art. 155 of the constitution ; but with- out prejudice to those cantons whose territory may be too 012 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. extensive for their population ; two or more political judges shall be established by the executive. Art. XVI. But the heads of cantons which exist with a municipality, can regulate and act according to this article. Consequently where there shall be erected and are erected new heads of those cantons, according to the actual exist- ence of parishes ; and the executive power having been augmented with the legal requisites, the books of correspon- dence, title, and papers of the first class, and the seal of the secretary. Art. XVII. The executive power to fix provisionally the limits of cantons created by this law. Those of the pro- vinces and departments, according to the best judgment possessed. The executive power, nevertheless, shall consult the maps, and provide the best information for congress. Art. XVIII. The province of Caracas is separated from that of Carabobo, by a line commencing at the eastern ter- mination of the parish of Cuyagua, thence by a direct line from the sea to Punta Cabrera, on the lake of Valencia, and continued by a line thence to the town of Magdalena, west of the Villa de Cura, and by Calabozo to the Apure, com- prehending in this province the cantons which are designa- ted under Article IV. Art. XIX. The new province of Carabobo, which is com- posed of the territory marked as above, preferring those bounds before actually possessed in relation to other provin- ces, such as Guanare, Ospinos, and Aurare, which apper- tain to Varinas, having for limit the passage of the river Coxede at Caramacate, of the new province of Carabobo. Art, XX. The Department of Quito corresponds in its boundaries, which separate it from those of Cuenca and Guayaquil, and on the litoral from the port of Atacames to near the embouchure of Esmeraldas, thence to the mouth of Ancon, the meridional limit of the province of Buena- ventura, on the coast of the South Sea. VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 513 Art. XXI. The new province of Manabi, in the depart- ment of Guayaquil, occupies that part of the territory of Esmeraldas of which the coast extends from the Rio Co- lonche to Atacames, inclusive. In the interior, having for limits those which formerly separated this part of Esmeraldas from the province of Quito. Art. XXII. The department of Cauca is divided from that of the Equator, by the limits which separate the pro- vince of Popayan on the river Carchi, which serves to mark the limits of the province of Pasto. Art. XXIII. The new departments, which have not sent senators and representatives, will elect them at the approach- ing assemblies of the people ; and the new provinces, in the mean time, may hold their assemblies at the places last occu- pied until the arrangement shall be entirely completed. Dated Bogota, 23d June, 1824. Jose Maria del Real, Fres. of Senate, Jose Rafael MosquERA, V. P. H. of Rep. Antonio Jose Caro, ^ i,,r l jo . ■ Josh Joa^uim Sitaeez, ^ ^""*^" ""^ Secretaries. CHAPTER XXXIV. Meeting of first representative congress— in March, 1823— their mode of pro- ceeding — peculiar forms of communication from the executive — unrnean* ing titles and epithets discarded— vice-president's message — report of the minister of foreign relations — interesting as an historical epitome— congress of Panama— its objects— relations with European states— treatment of agents to Spain— congress of Aix-la-Chapelle. The first popularly elected congress of Colombia, was to have assembled at Bogota, in January, 1823 ; it had not yet proceeded to business when I arrived, on the 3d of February, 65 514 VISIT TO COLOMUIA. and it was some time in March before there was such a number of each Iiouse as was deemed requisite to proceed with becoming regard to the authority to be exercised in public business. Quito, and Pastos, and Guayaquil, though within the political power and connexion of the republic, had not yet sent representatives. But they were expected, and some arrived before the session had made much pro- gress. My inclinations, and the business in which 1 was engaged, made me a frequent spectator and auditor of the proceedings; and, although there were some members who had never before seen any other elective body than a cabildoy such was the facility and order of the proceedings from be- ginning to end, that, if I had not been aware that it was a first session of a new national legishitnrc, 1 should have supposed they had been convcrs;int with the transaction of business in deliberative assemblies, from their earliest years. The forms of proceeding, generally, resembled those of the United States, but with some modes of the French assem- blies, derived, I suppose, from the Spanish cortes, such as the transactions usual to our permanent secretary of Senate and House of Representatives, were performed here by mem- bers of the body, nominated by the presiding officer in each house. The President, elected from their own body by the Senate, was General Urdancta, and 1 could not but admire the self-possession, preparedness in the duties, and the promptness with which matters of order were decided. The only circumstances that appeared to me characteristically dif- ferent from deliberations in Congress at Washington, was, that as the speaking members in the United States are more numerous than in the British Parliament, so at Bogota they were more numerous in relation to the number of the cham- ber, than in Washington ; but as, at Washington, speeches were made as if length was to determine the degree of ex- cellence, while at Bogota, with perhaps the language best •adapted to eloquence, there was a conciseness and brevity VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 515 which enabled the auditor to retain the subject of discussion without perplexity, or the confusion inevitable where there is an excessive expenditure of words. As this was an opening of the great legislating power of the republic, it was necessarily to be expected that a state of the nation would be presented by the different functionaries who occupied the departments of the interior, of foreign af- fairs, the treasury, the army, and navy. The practice in re- lation to these functionaries differs from that of the United States and of Great Britain. The heads of departments are not members of either house, but when they report to con- gress they attend in person, read their own communications, and have seats, in order to be able to answer any inquiries that may be made at the time of delivery, and do explain and an- swer exceptions in such cases orally. Whether this be the result of a special law or a regulation I do not at present re- collect, but I believe it to be an established form ; and it is unquestionably judicious,»the secretaries having there no other privilege than to make explanations. These communications were delivered, and they were so full and particular, that no labour of private inquiry could bring together so ample a body of authentic matter. On the threshold, however, a question of form arose; it was pro- pounded by the vice-president to this effect : — What shall be the form by which the executive shall, in its communica- tions, address the chambers of congress ? This question in both houses served to mark the measure of their intelligence. I did not hear the debate in the house of representatives, where I understood a member proposed, that the presiding officer should be addressed your majesty, w\\\c\\ produced a great deal of pleasantry ; in the senate there was no doubt on the subject ; it was decided in five minutes, that no title dif- fering from the forms of civility between man and man should be admitted — that no title could be superior to that of a ci- tizen, and it was determined that the presiding officer of 516 VISIT TO COLOMUIA. each house should be addressed without any preposterous honourable or excellency^ but by simple seiior, sir, or Mr. As the communications from the vice-president and heads of departments would of themselves make a respectable vo- lume, and that of the treasury was not presented until after I had left Bogota, I shall give here such an abstract as will an- swer all the purposes of general information, and afford an authentic view of the state of the republic at the commence- ment of 1823. The vice-president St. Ander's message, was presented the 17th April, 1823 — year 13 of the republic ; that of the secretary of exterior relations, Pedro Gual, the same day ; the report of the minister of the war department, P. Bri- ceno Mendez, on the military establishment, 18th April. Another on the naval department, dated the 13th : both departments being at present distributed into separate bu- reaux, under the same chief. The report of the minister of the interior, Jose Manuel Rostrtpo^ was presented on the 22d of April, and that of the minister of finance, J. M. Cas- tillo, on the 5th of May, 1823. The executive message, as well as those from the other departments, were all printed previous to delivery, and pre- sented to the members in their seats as soon as they were respectively read. The vice-president denominates the body he addressed, the Second Congress of Colombia, referring to that body which had met at Cucuta, in 1821-2, which framed the present constitution, as the first. The topics discussed were the efforts made to put an end to the contest with Spain, by amicable means, alluding to the mission sent to Madrid, in consequence of the truce and treaty of armistice concluded by president Bolivar with Morillo, near Truxillo, in 1820; in which he states that the agents, Messrs. Ravenga and Zea, were dismissed under disgraceful pretexts ; and that, in de- fiance of the truce, the Spanish fieet was reinforced, while that of the Republic was rendered by good faith inactive : VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 517 that as there was no further hope, no overture would there- after be received, of \Vhich the preliminary was not an ex- plicit acknowledgment of the independence of the Republic. Allusions are made to the Congress to be assembled at Panama to give consistence, solidity, and a perpetual gua- rantee to the independence of all the states of the new world : notice of the transactions connected with General O'Donohu and Iturbide in Mexico ; the magnanimous recognition of Co- lombian independence by the United States of North Ame- rica, and the presence of a special agent (Colonel Todd) then in Bogota. He expressed the principles of good faith which will be observed towards all nations. That the Portuguese monarch had acknowledged Colombian independence also ; and that Scnor Echeverria had been designated to a diplo- matic mission to Lisbon, to adjust boundaries ; but that the death of this respectable citizen had prevented it, as well as delayed a mission to which he was destined, to the court of Rome, in relation to ecclesiastical affairs ; but that another should be sent. That, in conformity with the fundamental law, three new departments had been annexed according to an organic law of October 2d, 1821, passed at Cucuta, they having been rescued from the power of Spain by the army under the liberator ; and that in these three new departments, as well as the pre-organised seven, the constitution and laws were esta- blished and respected ; the glory of fields of battle, the lights of philosophy, the ministry of the altar, the influence of merit, reputation, and all the virtues uniting in love and devotion to the constitution. The predatory marauding and plunder of Morales on the coast, is noticed as the last agonies of disappointment and despair ; but that they had been productive of much private injury, and affected the treasury materially, already exhausted by a long exterminating war. Education, literary institutions, agriculture, commerce, Si8 VISIT TO CULOMBIA. are recommended to legislative guardianship ; and the fiscal concerns are specially referred to, and in providing new re- sources he recommends the abrogation of the Mcsada eclcsi- astica anualidadesy and the Media anata^ to which the clergy were subjected. He recommends attention to the foreign public debt, the extinction of the principal, and the payment of the interest. He then congratulates Congress on the comparison of the past with the present ; when Congress sat at Cucuta, in 1821, Carthagena and Cumana, the isthmus of Panama, and Quito, were in the hands of Spanish forces ; Core was agitated by Spanish emissaries, and Guayaquil threatened with a cruel anarchy; Maracuibo was occupied by a superior force ; Merida and Truxillo menaced ; an insurrection produced by Spanish agents in Santa Marta ; all reversed, and the enemy every where expelled. He recommended the more perfect organization of the army and militia ; and a provision for the disabled soldiers, the widows and orphans of those who shed their blood for the public liberties ; and provision for the naval force. The report of P. Gual, minister of foreign affairs, is a brilliant and an able production ; and must suffer by any abridgment; the heads are all that will be attempted. It opens by congratulating Congress, that in the midst of an unexampled war, of twelve years' duration, the rights of neutrals have been protected, and with fewer complaints than could have been expected under all circumstances ; notwith- standing some governments had not pursued the same liberal course. The principles recognised by the treaties of West- phalia and Utrecht, and the treaties that have grown out of more recent events, were in frequent contradiction ; the go- vernment of Colombia had therefore formed a common rule of conduct— that of not granting a privilege to any, which it would not yield to all. The result has been entirely sue- cessful : the heads discussed are, 1. The American States. 2. United States. 3. Europe. 4. Spain. VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 519 The abdication by Ferdinand VII. in 1808, was the sig- nal of separation between the authority of Spain, and the dc- pendance of South America ; from that period soldiers, philosophers, legislators, magistrates, and ministers have, with alternate success and defeat, constantly contended for in- dependence ; all have been tried and proved in the school of adversity ; and in despite of inexperience in the art of war, pro- digies of valour and triumph have fulfilled their hopes and wishes. The geographical position of Colombia made it, on the part of Spain, the rendezvous of her troops, destined to re-establish the terrible colonial system. Colombia was the advanced guard of the new world, and in expending her own blood she has saved that of her co-states, and fixed their union in policy and interest for ever. While the triumphs of Colombia resounded throughout the civilized world, the rest of the family of the same descent were either prostrate or distracted. Mexico by a strange per- version became an empire ; Peru was delivered by the arms of Chili and La Plata, and submitted to a protectorate (under St. Martin) ; Guatimala however declared for a republic; and Colombia accomplished what the fundamental law had pre- ordained, by carrying the olive with the fasces of victory, to Quito and Guayaquil : and this happy moment was seized to carry into efiect a great American federative system, in which the sovereignty, independence, and laws of each state should not only be secured to itself, but guaranteed against the whole world — upon the following terms. 1. The American states to be confederate perpetually, in peace and war, and to guarantee liberty, independence, and the integrity of their several territories. 2. The utiposidetis of 1810, according to the demarca- tion of each viceroyalty under Spain, and of each captain- generalship, to be the boundary of each sovereign state, erect- ed under the constitutions or laws of the new states. 520 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 3. The personal rights of citizens in commerce, naviga- tion, without distinction of persons, to be the same in person, property, trade, foreign and domestic, in every slate, as to the state to which they belong, or as belongs to the citizens of the state they reside or travel in. 4. An assembly to be held at Panama of two plenipoten- tiaries from each state, to serve as a point of contact in com- mon dangers, the interpreters of treaties, and arbitrators and mediators, incase of any dispute or difference. 5. This treaty of perpetual alliance and confederacy, not to interfere with the sovereignty of any of the states, in regard to foreign nations. The usurpation of Iturbide, by disturbing Mexico, post- poned this congress, which was intended to assemble in 1823. It was required of Mr. Santamaria, minister of Co- lombia at Mexico, to recognize the new emperor, though he had no instructions — (which he declined, and was thereupon ordered to depart) — events justified the good sense of San- tamaria. In the United States, the people from the beginning have been in constant sympathy with South America, and, in 1822, the government formally acknowledged the independence of Colombia ; an effect in a great measure due to the talents, inteliigf nee, and zeal of Senor Manuel Torres, our charge des affairs, whose knowledge enabled him to enlighten the government on the interests which should render both na- tions dear to each other. He survived only to the 14th July of that year, to whom, as successor, Jose Maria Salazar has been appointed minister plenipotentiary. In this state of affairs. Colonel Charles Todd arrived in December 1822, with a special commission communicating the recognition of independence. In Europe, the court of Lisbon was the first to recog- nize the independent governments of New America, by its agent Juan Manuel Figuereido, in a note dated 11th August, VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 5S1 1821, to the minister of Chile, and by a communioation of Silvestre Pilinero y Fereira, minister of state to the king of Portugal, made it known, by a copy of his instruction, of 16th April, 1821. In consequence of which Jose Tiburcio Eche- verria was appointed to proceed to Lisbon, but prevented by his death. The changes in Brazil since that period are no- ticed, and no certain results were known. As early as 1811, the Grand Chancellor Romanzoff inti- mated to the agent in London, that the emperor of all the Russias had come to the resolution to admit our flag into all his ports on the same footing as other neutrals. France, the Netherlands, and the King of Sweden, have com.e to the same resolution, and Sweden has a consul general, (Lorich,) now in Bogota, for the purpose of concluding a provisional commercial arrangement, which will be laid before the legis- lature. In almost all parts of Europe the Colombian flag is re- spected; the laws for encouraging our marine, passed at Cucuta, have contributed to this effect. An act of naviga- tion is wanting. The friendship of Great Britain is of great importance ; many of her people have crossed the sea to aid in our struggle : the parliament declared its ports would be open to our flag, 27th April, 1822. [Here are some ani- madversions on the transactions of Mr. Zea, a matter of cu- rious history, but too ample for this work.] Of Spain. — This of all governments appears to be the only one ignorant, that a nation destitute of every thing, with- out manufacturing industry, whose fertile soil is abandoned to sterility, and which knows not the means of improving its own condition, or extricating itself from the state of poverty and debasement, consequent on subjection to an ar- bitrary government for centuries ; who could not see that the extension of the constitutional system of Cadiz to the ancient possessions in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, was a perfect illusion. 66 522 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. The treaties concluded at Truxillo, 26th November, 1820, after so many years of slaughter and devastation, held forth the prospect of a better disposition. On that day General Pablo Morillo presented himself at Santa Ana, invested with full powers ; he greeted the Republic of Colombia and her illustrious president ; and two treaties, one for an armistice of six months, the other for regulating the mode of warfare con- sistent with civilization, were agreed upon and ratified. The formality of this ncgociation, the decorous and dispassionate language of the Spanish commanders, promised the most happy results ; and Messrs. Jose Rafiiel Ravenga and Jose Tiburcio Echeverria were dispatched for Madrid, with full powers, dated at Bogota, 24th January, 1821. Two months of the armistice had expired, and full powers were given to procure a prolongation of the armistice, but it was not ob- tained, and the ministers embarked at Laguayra, in the Span- ish frigate Arethusa, 24th March, and landed at Cadiz, 14th May, 1821. A very different language from that held at Santa Ana as- sailed them at Madrid, from persons known to be connected vi'ith the court. A new amnesty had been promulged for those whose triumphant assertion of their independence was the theme of universal admiration. The plenipotentiaries, notwithstanding, reached Madrid 30th May. But not only the ministers were found to be animated by bad faith, but the general on Terra Fmna^ (who succeeded Morillo) Gene- ral Miguel La Torre, demanded new reinforcements, as is proved by his correspondence with the minister of the Colo- nies in February and March, 1821. It was not long after the departure of the plenipotentiaries that the perfidy of the Spanish authorities was discovered by the government of Colombia ; but, willing to believe that the court of Madrid would not be influenced by the same passions as its agents, the discovery was permitted to re- main unnoticed, until it was found that nothing was to be VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 52S hoped from Madrid ; and, in consequence, notice was given, and the hostilities were renewed, 28th April, 1821. Our minister then in Spain. Their first and last interview did not take place with Seiior Azara, Secretary of State, till the 5th Tune, and was a mere dry uninteresting conversation. The plenipotentiaries soon saw that nothing was to be done. If any doubt could have remained, a Report from the minis- ter of the Colonies, Don Ramon Gil y Cuadra, to the Cortes, of 1st March, 1821, which treated of the Lazarettoes, Schools, the Secretary's department of Spanish America, and other silly details, as if their armies were triuj;nphant, and the country in their complete subjection ; and a report of the committee of the Cortes, on 4th June, equally absurd, left no room for doubts. A meeting of deputies, on 24th June, affected to discuss the subject thoroughly, but the influence of the ministers prevented them, if really so disposed. A plan of regencies was agitated, which ministers secretly abetted. Messrs. Ravenga and Echevcrria, immediately, in pursuit of their- duty, transmitted to the minister a copy of the fundamental law. The ordinary Cortes were dissolved 30th June, when the monarch declared, " that the Spaniards of both hemis- pheres might be assured he would maintain the integrity of the monarchy in both hemispheres." Meantime, calumnious invectives were cast forth on the plenipotentiaries of the republic, who nevertheless remained in Madrid till the 1st September, on which day they received a note, dated 30th August, accusing the republic of the in- fraction of treaties ; their passports accompanied, intimating that they must not delay their departure.; and this was also announced in the public papers ; and a popular tumult ha- ving on the 20th August assailed General Morillo, then at Madrid, an attempt was made to implicate them in it. They therefore simply replied to the note, and left Madrid in thir- ty-six hours after receiving it, and having reached Bayonne 524 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. on the 14th September, they rephed by a statement of facts, to the various allegations ; one of which referred to the revolt of the people of Maracaibo, during the armistice. The people there had risen against the oppression they experi- enced ; the military commandant, next adjacent, was called upon by the people, and consented to the act ; President Bolivar, upon hearing of this, ordered the arrest of the officer, (Colonel Heras) and submitted to the Spanish general a re- presentation, and proposed to let the merits of the question be arbitrated by the Spanish brigadier, Ramon Correa ; and in fact it apyeared, that hostilities were not renewed until twenty-six days before the cessation of the armistice, when a contingency providtid for by the 14th article of the treaty of truce, and the first law of nature, demanded it. Nothing but the same species of inane measures succeed- ed at. Madrid. The Cortes, 13th February, 1822, requested the king to authorise persons to present themselves to the new governments in America ; on the 5th March a decree Avas issued, which the minister of the colonies received on the 31st, and the general of the Expeditionary Army 15th April, 1822, up to the 18th May following, did not re- ceive advice of the appointment of Jose Sartorio, and John Barry, to ncgociate with the Colombian government. Mean- while, in pursuance of the fourth article of the royal decree of 13th February, 1822, Ferdinand VIl. addressed a mani- festo to the courts of Europe, declaring that Spain would consider as an infraction of treaties, the recognition of any of the American states. A copy of this document, authenti- cated by M. Clemencin, reached the government only after a long lapse of time ; and the intendants of the maritime de- partments received instructions thereupon the 19th May ; but no consequence followed. But on the 28th June, the Cortes authorised the king, to proceed on measures to recon- cile the colonies, and to conclude provisional agreements with the American governments, and that commerce should continue uninterrupted. But these measures did not deceive. VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 525 In .September, and October last, the Spanish commander (Morales) at Maracaibo, issued two extraordinary decrees. By one he annulled the treaty concluded with Morillo, re- gulating the conduct of war upon the principles of civiliza- tion, indicating thereby a renewal of former outrages and massacres. By the other he condemns to confiscation, to hard labour on the public works, and to death, persons sub- jects of neutral powers, found in the provinces he may oc- cupy. It becomes the government to repel such actions with energy. By this conduct of the general, the declara- tions of tlie royal manifesto receive their true interpretation. Up to February and June 1822, the Spanish government has attributed the revolution to a capricious love of change, and not from a desire to be happy. America has, during thir- teen years of a war, commenced in the desire to shake off despotism, and to seek happiness in a free government, con- tinued in defence of existence, and threats of extermination ; America has succeeded, and Spain, after all the massacres she has committed, is compelled to drain the cup of bitterness to its dregs. She must endure her vicissitudes — Colombia is disposed to peace and concord with a people who speak the same language. In the United States, and in all Europe, excepting Spain, the government is satisfied with the neutrality they professed and maintained. Neither have the importunities of the mon- arch of Spain, at the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle, to engage them to assist in our resubjection, been successful. The executive has founded its foreign policy on three principles : 1. Perpetual alliance and confederation among the powers engaged in the war. 2. Uniformity of conduct towards neu- trals. 3. The application of all the elements of offence and defence against the enemy, until compelled to seek peace. 526 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. CHAPTER XXXV. Report of minister of interior — new order of things — publication of constitu- tion — the laws — executive — departmental administration— provinces— cantons — cabildos— notaries -riglits of the aborigines — resguardaa abolished — educa- tion of aborigines — pohcc — pubhc health — goitre — vaccination — hospitals- poor-houses — naturahzation — internal commerce — weights and measures roads — inland navigation— agriculture and arts — monies — public education — administration of justice — tribunals of commerce — liberty of the press — eccle- siastical affiiirs— bishops — regular clergy — suppressed convents — missions- clerical patriotism. The Report of Jose Manuel Restrcpo, the Secretary of the Interior, or Home Department, scarcely admits of abridgment, and it presents so clear and comprehensive a view of the inter- nal affairs of the Republic, that no individual enquiries could produce such a variety of important facts. He observes that little more than a year had elapsed since the constitution went into operation, and the charge of the organic laws devolved upon the executive ; the executive had been assiduously en« gaged in fulfilling what the legislature. intended, the prosperity of the people. Habits, usages, and customs, which had be- come inveterate under the colonial state ; abuses grown into custom during thirteen years of disasters and war ; the very existence of war ; prejudices fostered from tender years, and, above all, the Gothic spirit and structure of Spanish legisla- tion, which has been overturned, but not obliterated, by the revolution, have interposed obstacles to the efforts of the executive. Many of those evils have, indeed, disappeared, or been modified to a milder character by measures of the ex- ecutive, but others await the prudent hand of the legislator, the operation of time, and the influence of liberty and inde- pendence, to remove them altogether. Charged by the duty of office, to report the progress made in the home department of the executive, the mode of ad- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 527 ministration, the provisions and decrees, and the defects and impediments which have presented themselves in the pro- gress already made ; there shall be exhibited to congress what relates to the executive, the police, the means taken to promote public prosperity, the administration of justice, and ecclesiastical affairs; and such improvements in each branch as the executive would recommend. Congress will do concerning them what is consonant with justice, policy, and reason, so as to promote the happiness of the jxiople, the sole end of government. Section I. Of the Government. — The publication of the constitution and laws was the first, and an agreeable duty. A decree of 20th September, year 11, (1821,) de- termined the manner and the oath to be administered to public functionaries : and within the two last months of 1821, and the first of 1822, the constitution was received in all the departments and provinces, undisturbed by the pre- sence of the enemy, and sworn to by all persons in the pub- lic service, cabildos, and tribunals ; and their promulgation everywhere received with public rejoicings, and the appro- bation of the people. The municipal body of Caracas, however, alone thought fit to publish a protest against the oath, an act which the government found it to be its duty to censure, and submission followed. At the moment of promulgating the constitution, the pro- vinces of the important isthmus of Panama shook off the yoke of Spain, by a spontaneous act of the people, and vo- luntarily united themselves to the republic ; and the consti- tution and laws being sent to them as they desired, they were sworn to and promulgated with enthusiasm. The Spanish authorities in the isthmus entered into certain ca- pitulations with the people, which prevented the effusion of blood ; the executive has respected those laudable acts, and the documents will be laid before congress. 5S8 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. Quito has also given proofs of its attachment to the re- publican constitution ; and the arms of the republic, after many obstinate combats, have compelled the Spanish armies in that department to surrender. The provinces of Loja, Cuenca, and the once populous city of Quito, finding them- selves already free, spontaneously tendered their devotion to the constitution, which unites the ancient Viceroy alty of New Granada, and the Captain-Generalship of Venezuela, under the same national title of Colombia. Some difficulties had arisen at Guayaquil, owing to causes which were soon dis- sipated by the presence of Bolivar. The great majority of the people claimed to be united with Colombia, which being granted, all disturbance ceased, party disappeared, and se- curity and prosperity are established. The constitution has already reached the remote province of Maynas, on the borders of the Amazon in the south ; and thus one system of institutions and laws, protecting the li- berties and assuring the happiness of the people, pervade the beautiful regions from the mouths of the Orinoco to the northern boundaries of Brazil and Peru. Only two cities, and some small liamlets, now groan under the des- potic rule of the Spanish General Morales, who, it appeared from the foreign journals, was appointed Captain-General of Venezuela, and reinforced with 1500 men from Gallicia, convoyed by a naval force ; whose first enterprise against Maracaibo was successful, giving him the controul of the lake ; and enabled him to menace the departments of Car- thagena, Boyacca, Merida, Truxillo, and Venezuela. The power vested by article 128 of the constitution, in cases of invasion, was assumed on the 25th September; and mea- sures becoming necessary against internal foes, on the SOtli September, a decree was issued against conspirators, in or- der to meet the measures of Morales, who never respected any laws ; this was necessary, as some persons in the depart- ment of Zulia had been seduced to raise the cry of insurrec- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 520 tion, and two excellent officers were assassinated in the com^' motion. Santa Martha was agitated by the same means. Some law regulating trials in such cases is necessary, as pointed at by the articles 169 and 170 of the constitution. Venezuela being the seat of war, the extraordinary autho- rity adapted to such occasions, was assunied in order to the recovery of Maracaibo ; a decree was issued 7th November last, in the departments of Cundinamarca, Boyacca, Magda- lena, Zulia, Venezuela, and Orinoco, as the points from which the enemy might derive supplies. In all other de- partments quiet and security prevails. The administration of every kind has proceeded with order and success. The elections of senators and representatives have been conducted with perfect order in the newly organized departments — and those acts of sovereignty, which in some nations most culti- vated produce tumults and dissentions, have been exercised among us in perfect quiet and concord, proving that the sa- crifices and heroism of thirteen years of war have not been unavailing, and that liberty is duly appreciated for its blessings. Publication of the Laws. Along with the constitution, all the laws and decrees of the first general congress (Cucuta, 1821-2) have been promulgated, the government having caused them to be printed for circulation ; thus simplifying administration, and diffusing the excellent principles they contain, by placing them within the reach of every citizen. Executive Departments. Upon the first exercise of the executive authority, secretaries were appointed as its organs. Those of foreign relations, finance, and the home department, single ; the war and naval under one head. A particular regu- lation has been provided for each department, prescribing its duties according to article 137 of the constitution. The law of 8th October, 1821, directed the appointments of a subor- dinate character and their salaries, but the numbers appointed are not yet sufficient for the dispatch of public business, which is for the consideration of Congress.^ 67 530 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. Administration of Territorial Departments* Provisional intendants, conformable to the organic law, have been ap- pointed to seven departments. Deputy assessors* have been also appointed according with the eleventh article of the law of 2d October, 1821. Secretaryships of districts have been appointed, and salaries assigned. The selection of secretaries being in the intendants, those departments are completed. The three new departments of the Isthmus, Quito, and Guayaquil are in progress. The isthmus consists of the pro- vinces of Panama and Veragua ; their population is small* but the isthmus, from its position, must increase rapidly. That of Quito consists of the provinces of Quijos, Pastes, Cuenca, Loja, and Maynas. That of Guayaquil consists of its ancient territory. Obstacles and doubts arise on the law organizing depart- ments. The intendants and governors being immediate agents of the executive, should not interfere with juridical concerns with which that law invests them, in every litigation concerning justice, police, or finance. It is the opinion of the executive these powers should be withdrawn from inten- dants and governors, and vested in deputy assessors ; powers would be thus better distributed, intendants not obliged to enter into affairs they may not understand, and be thus better enabled to bestow undivided attention on the improvement of the provinces over which they preside, and the military affairs. An obstacle arises out of article 6, in the same law. Causes, in which heretofore an appeal lay to the king, on judi- cial affairs, are now carried to the executive, who having no law authorising him to interfere, provision is required to remedy the evil. It is also necessary that a code of regulations for the direction of intendants should be formed. That of New Spain of 1786, was directed by the law of 1821. But that code was formed for Mexico, and under an absolute mo- * The assessor is a law officer, whose functions are mixed ; he prosecutes for offences, and acts as deputy to the intendant — at least so is the practice. VISIT TO COLOMBIA, 531 oarch, and is utterly irreconcilable with the free institutions of Colombia. The executive, nevertheless, is overwhelmed with such appeals. The legislature is called upon to provide the remedy. In January, 1822, the executive appointed a commission to prepare a project of regulations, which will be laid before Congress. Political Adtninistration of the Provinces. — When the in- tendants were appointed, the government selected the pro- vincial governors in conformity with the constitution ; and deputy assessors for most of them. Margarita and Rio Hacha have none, because the stipend is not such as would induce advocates of suitable qualifications to accept them. The secretaryships of provinces have also been organised, and officers appointed, with their salaries, which will be laid be- fore Congress, according to article 24 of law of 2d October^ The eight provinces of Panama, Veragua, Pastes, Quito, Cuenca, Loja, Maynas, and Guayaquil, are added to the twenty-three of which the Republic was before composed when Congress made the distribution of the territory. Of these, Pastos, belonging to Quito, is now formed into a se- parate department by the liberator president, and the only one created by him. Salaries should be fixed for the governors of Veragua, Pastos, Cuenca, Loja, and Maynas. The others will probably be constituted heads of intendancies. Administration of the Cantons. To complete the division . of the territory conformably with the articles thirty-three and thirty-four of the organic law of the departments, the pro- vinces are divided into cantons, reports having been pre- viously received from the governors. Political judges have also been appointed, thus completing the chain of social order. The political judges, however, having no salaries assigned them, they should be compensated : in some provinces a small sum from the funds of the municipal bodies has been :^llowed them ; but these funds are much impaired, and many 632 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. cantons are without any funds ; there remained no resource but the national funds, which have been so applied in the province of Orinoco ; a heavy charge to the public, in the actual state of things, as the number exceeds two hundred : it rests with Congress to correct the inconvenience. Cabildos of Cantons. — The first general congress, in pre- serving the ancient cabildos, pointed out their functions. But the war absorbed all other considerations ; and few cor- porations have been able to engage in works of utility. That of St. Gil, in the province of Socorro, has distinguished itself in the promotion of schools, in which are taught grammar and philosophy. The thirty -fourth article authorised the establishment of new corporations, and accordingly the municipalities of To- cayma and La Mesa, in the province of Marequita, and that of Yoisa in Panama, have been created ; but cabildos have been erected also, as new cantons are created. The condition of our population scattered on the plains, for the most part renders the sitting of corporations difficult. The cabildos have been re-elected in October last, agreeably to the forty-second article, but for uniformity it is determined that the period must commence from January. The bounds of some corporations have been changed, and even of pro- vinces. In Bogota and Marequita, provinces, certain villages, .and the same with parishes, have been transferred to a juris- diction more contiguous : particulars will be presented to Congress. Public Notaries of Cantons. — The places of notaries and registers of mortgages in cantons were saleable offices and transferable under the Spanish rule.* The first general con- gress, article seventy-six, of the law concerning tribunals, de- termined that the sales should cease, and the places be filled by competition, and the candidates undergo an examination by the local courts as ^o fitness. A special law is necessary * Gteat abuses in the office of notarr. VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 533 on the subject. Those who purchased, claim indemnity ; but this being a question of law, the executive could not interfere. Slavery. — The law of 19th July, year 11, gave liberty to the children of female slaves, abolished the trade in ne- groes, and the boards of manumission have been in activity throughout the republic. In December of the same year, the period fixed for the liberation of slaves by purchase, it was carried into effect, and the legislature of Colombia received the blessings of thousands restored to the condition of men. In some provinces, fears were entertained that the cessation of slavery would affect agriculture and the working of the mines. It may so happen, but is it not a less evil than that the people should live as if over a volcano, of which no one could anti- cipate the moment of explosion ? It is better that agriculture and mining should incur those temporary evils, for which want and experience will every day discover more safe and permanent remedies, than entail on posterity so great a moral and physical evil. Rights of the Aborigines, The greater part of the Indians of Colombia have been a degraded class, and are yet par- tially so. The Spanish laws reduced them to perpetual pu- pilage, and it may be said, without fear of contradiction, that they were the slaves of the priests and the magistrates. Both one and the other commanded them to be whipped publicly for the most trivial faults, and even though in years. Thus they lived in a state of debasement and degradation, the energy of their intellectual and physical faculties destroyed. Obliged to cultivate lands in common, they never improved them, and mournfully vegetated in villages, existing in misery, and with difficulty able to pay the sum of from six to nine dollars a year exacted from them as tribute, which all males from 1 8 to 50 were obliged to pay \ The first general Congress annihilated these cruel oppres- sions, by placing the natives on an equality with all other men ; suppressed the tributes and personal labour wrong- fully exacted, and provided that the resguardas, or common 534 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. lands, should be laid out and conferred on them as lee sun pic estates within five years. These measures, though they will render them more happy, cannot exalt them to that state. which education only can establish ; their posterity, and tlic youth growing up, will profit by them, and care has been taken that the children find their admission in primary schools, where they learn to read and \vrite, and where the brutal practice of whipping is utterly forbidden. By a decree of 14th March last, four Indian youths are to be admitted into each of the colleges of Bogota, Caracas, and Quito, and two in each of every other ; and funds have been assigned for their maintenance. Thus by degrees they will become like other men, under the influence of liberty and republican institutions. Within fifty or sixty years difference of casts and condi- tions of inferiority will wholly disappear. Section II. Of the Police — Public Security. During the fifteen months since the legislature commenced its sit- tings, public order has been well observed, and, notwith- standing the marauding of the Spaniards from Porto Cabello on Venezuela, the population has no where indicated any thing in their favour. A banditti of the partisans of Spain, (Cisneros) a robber, has maintained a place in the forests near Caracas, and another near Calaboso has been totally destroyed. Another party kept the vast deserts of Castigo, after the pacification of the south, but trifling in number. The Spanish Lieutenant-colonel Benito Boves, formed a band of outlaws in Pastos, and excited commotions in that town, and, though treated with generosity by the republican troops, sought to spread civil war and desolation anew. The liberator soon terminated his career, and, on the 24th De- cember last, annihilated him and his banditti, since which time tranquillity has every where prevailed. About the same time Santa Martha was disturbed. Some deserters having joined the Indians of the district of Cienega, raised an insurrection, and the republican troops being em- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 633 ployed on other duties, and absent, the insurgents occupied that place. They soon met the same fate as those of Pastos. As necessary to tranquillity, the moderation of the repub- lic having been abused, the executive, by a circular of 28th June, forbad those who had emigrated from returning before the cabinet of Madrid should have recognised Colombian Independence. It is to be regretted that this measure had not been taken the preceding year, and that it did not extend to the expulsion of those, who, living in the midst of us, and enjoying the security they would themselves deny and de- jstroy to us, are probably watching for a favourable oppor- tunity to plant a dagger in the bosom of the republic whose protection they enjoy. Health. Measures should be pursued to repress the annual visits of yellow fever to the seaports ; the establishment of boards of health — quarantines — lazarettoes — draining of stagnant waters. Leprosy. The disease called St. Lazaroy or Elephantia- sis (leprosy), has spread in some parts of Colombia. The Spanish government established an hospital in Carthagcna for the reception of tlie unhappy people, afflicted with this dis- ease ; but the Spanish general. Morales, distinguished by fe- rocity, in 1815, took the horrid pleasure of setting fire to it, and consuming more that 500 unfortunate persons within its walls. Others, who had not taken refuge there, escaped, and spread themselves and the disease, in different parts of the surrounding country. The hospital was re-established, but the funds were not available. Since the city has been occupied by the republic, it has been sustained by charity. The province of Soccoro has many persons afflicted with this disease, and a lazaretto was established in 1820, at a place called Coro, where the afflicted of Soccoro, Pamplona, Tunja, Casanare, Bogota, Neyva, and Marequita are provi- ded for. The revenues are inadequate. The providence of the legislator is called upon to use the means employed 536 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. in almost every part of the globe, where it lias existed, and has been extirpated. Goitre. Another disease, which, though not mortal, de- forms a considerable portion of the populatioji, in several provinces, destroys the beauty of the fair sex, enfeebles the senses, and affects the mental faculties ; it makes infancy feeble, and frequently idiots. It prevails principally in the temperate valleys ; although the inhabitants of the frozen summits of mountains are not exempted, any more than the torrid plains of the Magdalcna, Meta, and Apure, and other rivers. The goitre, according to concurring observations,^ rather augments than diminishes, and demands the interpo- sition of the legislative body. Funds should be appropriated for experiments, under skilful medical men. The learned of all countries should be invoked for aid, and liberal re- wards offered for the discovery of effective means of preven- tion and cure. Faccination. The government has taken care to have this precious discovery disseminated, with the vaccine matter, throughout the provinces. Hospitals. The greater ])art of the civil hospitals are un- der the direction of the regular clergy of San Juan de Dios. The funds are bequests of private persons. War has di- minished the income. The hospitals require a better regu- lation. Cemeteries. The government has promoted the establish- ment of cemeteries in every parish, with views to public health. The interment of the dead in churches, is an abuse, and must be discontinued. Poor-houses. In Bogota, Quito, and Caracas, buildings are assigned to receive the mendicant poor, and employ them in some useful industry. The government has also found- ed another at Pamplona. It is true, that some of the econo- mists are opposed to this species of institution, but there are arguments against them, more deserving the regard of a go* VISJLT TO COLOMBIA. 537 vernmcnt, in which the people have equal rights, and the opulent are protected by those who are not rich. But in cast- ing a glance over the republic, it is a great pleasure to per- ceive, that no where within its jurisdiction, is there so many- poor, nor poverty so miserable as in ancient nations, consi- dered as having reached the summit of grandeur. No where in Colombia do the poor perish through want, notwithstand- ing a war which for its duration has been the most cruel and disastrous recorded in history. Indeed, the fertility of our temperate climate affords such abundance of the necessaries of life, account for this, and is a happy presage for the future. Section III. Of Naturalization. — The great designs of the first general Congress, in sanctioning the 183d article of the constitution, and the law of 3d September, 1821, begin to operate. Many foreigners have applied for naturalization up to the close of the last year; there were only fourteen na- turalizations, many more had solicited, but doubts had inter- posed as to the law. The government is satisfied there was nothing retrospective, and that those who resided in 1821 are not subject to the fourth article. Congress arc called upon to ratify this Interpretation. Another difficulty arose out of section two, of article four of the constitution. As the republic has undergone many political changes in organising departments and provinces, the government could not decide whether it speaks of a law common to all, or commences at the termination of the Span- ish yoke in each place. Colombia requires that the utmost encouragement be given to the naturalization of foreigners, especially those who bring with them capital or useful arts, of which the republic stands in need. Naturalization should, therefore, be rendered easy. Internal Commerce. — The relief of internal industry from the oppression of the alcavalas has given great activity to 68 538 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. internal trade ; and the entire expulsion of the enemy must be lollovved by still greater augmentation. The observance of the Spanish laws was provisionally en- joined, and it was unavoidable ; but wherever inconsistent with our Iree institutions, and the entrance of foreigners un- acquainted with them, produces great inconvenience. The laws thus in force rendered it out of the power of the execu- tive to dispense with those which obliged foreigners to con- sign their merchandise to native agents, as was the law under Spain, 'i'hc provisional decree, issued 27th February, 1822, on this subject, will be laid before Congress. A clear intel- ligible law is required, placing strangers on the same terms as we are placed in foreign nations. The decree has prevented disputes, and encourages national prosperity. WeigJits and Measures. The executive has experienced some difficulty in. the construction of standards of weights and measures, as decreed by the first general Congress, to be sent to the departments ; particularly as to the measures of capacity called almiides^ the cube-root of which was surd, and not satisfactorily reducible to the precision of mathema- tics. It would have been more advantageous to reform the law of 11th December, 1821, and udupt the metrical system of France: their metre is scarcely two- tenths longer than the Spanish yard, and could be introduced with facility. Difficulties arose as to who should be the depositaries charged with the custody of the measures called almacenes. Some corporations continued to exact the ancient duties, which was put an end to as soon as known ; Congress will be applied to further on this subject. Roads. — Colombia, divided by lofty ranges of the Andes and their magnificent limbs, almost all roads lead through mountainous regions, and oppose difficulties to opening and repairing them. There is not a single road for w-heel car- riages in the vast territory of the republic. All are bridle roads, and bad at all times, but particularly in the rainy se.a- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 539 son. The government is aware that without good roads in- dustry, particularly agriculture, cannot be prosperous ; but peace w ill enable the government to attend to this great bu- siness of public providence. Nevertheless the liberator, our president, has caused a road to be opened from Quito to Esmeraldas on the Pacific, and granted some immunities to promote the increase of com- merce there. A road has been made in Antioquia from Medelin to the river Nare, the inhabitants having generously borne the expenses by voluntary subscription. Some useful bridges have been finished ; one over the river St. Gil has been constructed by the patriotic exertions of the municipality of St. Gil. That at Capitanejo, over the Chichamoca, has been completed out of the public funds ; tolls have been suggested as a fund to construct and keep bridges in repair ; but this being the province of the legislature, no steps have been taken. In two cases of bridges, however, the same toll is paid that was demanded for crossing in a canoe before. The subject of roads demands the most serious considera- tion. Colombia wants roads. We should follow the exam- ple of the United States, where roads have been constructed at the most extraordinary expense, over which carriages tra- vel with perfect convenience in one day, distances which occupied four days or a week before. Inland navigation, — Colombia possesses in great rivers an immense inland navigation. The majestic Orinoco and its countless tributaries ; the Catab^mba, Zulia, and others that unite in the beautiful lake of Maracaibo ; the Magdalena ; the Atrato, Cruces, and numerous others on the Pacific side ; the Patia, Esmeraldas, Santiago, St. Juan, and the Guayaquil. But the navigation is still rude. Champans and Bogas ascend those streams in the same manner, and navigated by Indians in the same way, as at the conquest, after the dominion of three centuries ; so little have the Spaniards taught us in that long period. Thus the navigation from the mouth of the Orinoco to tlie head of the Meta, within three days' journey 540 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. of Bog-Ota, is an enterprise rcquirini^ more time than is nc- ccsbiiry to double Cape Horn Ironi luiropc. For tliis reason, the expenses of transport are so enormous, that few artieles ^vill bear the charge of carryinj^ from our ports to an interior market. It is imj)Ossil)lc tliat internal agricuhure, industry, or commerce, can prosper until chani^es are made to facilitate communication and transport, not merely of foreign goods we require, but of our own products, upon which public prosperity so !nuch depends. With steamboats many of our rivers may be navigated at less than one- fourth of the present cost. Diftcrcnt individuals have proposed to establish steamboats on the Magdalcna, upon condition of an exclusive privilege. This being the province of Congress to act upon, the executive declined to make any such grant. Until steamboats do enter, it would be impor- tant that Congress should pass a law regulating the bogas (meaning the boatmen, the boat or canoe is also called boga). Cana/s. — The opening of an important canal between the San Pablo in Choco and the Atrato, ^vhich fall into the Ca- ribbean sea, with the St. Juan, which falls into the Pacific. A foreigner has proposed to open it for an exclusive privi- lege, and calculates the expense at only 55200,000, though some think erroneously : it will be laid before Congress ; but the moment does not appear favourable. Agriculture and Arts — have received very little encourage- ment : the war contributions, the recruiting of the army, want of funds, are the causes. Peace will afford more means. The establishmtnt of central schools of agriculture at Quito, Bogota, and Caracas, might diffuse information all around, on subjects so interesting, but of which the paternal care of Spain has left the people of Colombia almost ignorant. Mines. — Mining in Antioquia, Choco, Popayan, and parts of Neyva and Pamplona, is pursued at the washings, and in the two first provinces the product has been considerable. The war has affected all the other provinces. VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 541 Section IV. Public Education. — Primary schools were directed to be established in every parish, by the law of 2d August, 1821, and it has been carried into effect wherever practicable. The want of teachers and of elementary books, are serious difficulties ; and show liow the colonial system has generated ignorance. Model schools were directed to be formed in principal places ; some teachers have proceeded to different places ; and in January, 1822, a regulation was is- sued prescribing the order in which mutual instruction should be conducted and extended. The system has been received with pleasure, and the people now perceive that they have a government of their own, even where the distance from the capital is 2000 leagues. For three hundred years the Span- iards did not endow a single school. A commission has been formed to make enquiries, and to prepare a report on the Lancastcrian school system, which will be laid before Congress ; the schools yet have languished through want of funds, and those directed to be established in convents of nuns particularly. Colleges — according to the law of 28th July, 1821, are to be founded in every province of Colombia; already the colleges of Boyacca in Tunja ; San Simon in Ibague ; Antioquia in Mcdelin ; and the academy of San Gil are established ; and another is to be placed at Caly in Popayan. The Liberator has also founded a college in Loja. The ancient colleges have been encouraged as far as possible ; two at Quito, one in Popayan, two in Bogota, two in Caracas, and one in Merida exist. That in Bogota is flourishing. The government has not yet been able to collect the data requisite for the reform of those ancient colleges, which they require, being all Gothic in their foundations and forms. The study of medicine and surgery is essential ; more va- liant soldiers perished in the field through that want than by any other cause. Two foreigners have presented themselves with complete apparatus for teaching anatomy, and propose 54S VISIT TO COLOMBIA. commencing a course of lectures ; they have been accepted; and they have commenced in this capital. Unwersities. There arc at Quito, Bogota, Caracas, and at Merida, for some of the sciences ; that of Bogota, is un- der the direction of the Dominican order. They all require reform. The government has added to the ancient library of Bo- gota, that of the celebrated Dr. Mutis, and the books which have been sequestrated. The books are placed in the halls of St. Bartholemew, and the Ibrmer building has been sold for the advantage of the library. Section V. High court of justice. This court was in- stalled immediately on the establishment of the constitution. Two of the oflicers named for that court, have declined pro- visionally ; it remains with congress to provide. Superior courts of districts. Those courts of the centre, and north, were installed at the same time, but not in Quito, as the war had not yet ceased its effects ; but as soon as it was free, the courts were established ; no provision existing for Panama, they have been therefore united with the courts of the central departments. In the organic law, the fiscal agents were not noticed. The executive, therefore, consider- ed them as suppressed. Inferior courts. These are in full exercise of their duties. The only doubt which has arisen, is whether the officers of the fraternity admitted by Spanish law, ought to subsist. But as there are two alcaldes in each canton, \\iQ fraternity is considered as suppressed. Tribunals of commerce. They were suppressed by the law of October, and transactions before submitted to them, were referred to the ordinary tribunals. The liberty of the press. The law relating to it, has been fulfilled ; the operations of the government are freely anim- adverted upon, and the great interests of the nation dis- cussed. Newspapers are increasing, but it is to be regret- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 548 ted, that the printing establishments are very limited, and not as numerous as is desirable. Some excesses have oc- curred, and they appear unavoidable where the press is free. The law of the press has introduced trial by jury ; in prac- tice, Art. 48. appeared defective, two votes of the same opinion being sufficient for an acquittal, and six for con- demnation. Perhaps in such cases, an even majority should condemn or acquit. In case this idea should not be acceded to, the rule of English juries, that of unanimity, should be es- tablished, and then the institution would be complete. Administration of Justice. Nothing can be more imper- fect than the existing jurisprudence of Colombia ; it is a gothic edifice, half in ruins, heterogeneous and discor- dant. The laws of the Partulas made in the time of the Moors ; the Recopilacion Castellana ; and Autos Acorda- dos ; the laws of the Indies ; the ordinances of Bilboa, and the Intcndants ; the contradictory decrees of the arbitrary monarchs of Spain ; the Republican constitution, and the laws of the first general Congress — these are the Codes which rule Colombia ; a vast chaos, the last almost entirely abolishing all the rest. Here civil causes are continued for years, and the rum of families follows ; no greater misfortune could bcfal a good citizen, than to be involved in a litigation. The civil and criminal code, therefore, call for the cor- rection of Congress, so that justice may be speedy, easy, and certain ; without which our liberties must cease, that pre- cious possession acquired by the blood and the sacrifices of the people for thirteen years of war. The government had formed a conmiission in January, 1822, with a view to lay the basis of a code. Sec no N VI. Ecclesiastical affairs. The superior hier- archy of Colombia commences with the archbishops, of which there are two, Bogota and Caracas. Bogota is va- cant. The incumbent of Caracas was sent to Europe by Morillo, and has been since appointed to a see in Spain, 544 VISIT TO COLOMUIA. Documents relative to this prelate will be laid before Con- gress in order to a decision upon the revenues of that sec. The bishoprics of Quito, Cuenca, Maynas, and Panama, under Spanish rule, ucre suffragans of the archbishopric of Lima ; the appeals from acts of the bishops, &c. would of course be decided by the metropolitan. Colombia and Pe- ru are now separate and independent states ; and cases arc now brought bc/brc authority within the Republic, and it is contemplated to constitute by law, Quito into an arch- bishopric ; a respect due to that populous and patriotic city. Bishops. There arc ten in Colombia : Quito, Cuenca, May- nas, Fopayan, Panama, Carthagena, Santa Marta, Merida, Antioquia, Guayana, of which Maynas, Cuenca, Santa Marta, Antioquia, and Guayana are vacant. The bishops of Cartha- gena and Quito are alive, but being avowed enemies of inde- pendence, have abandoned their diocesses and gone to Spain. The bishop of Popayan, Salvator Ximenes, has rendered meritorious service, particularly in the capitulation of Berru- ecos, which put an end to the war in the south ; he declares himself a Colombian, and is restored. The difficulty with respect to bishops of Colombia being suffragans of Lima, occurred in the opposite relation, in va- rious districts of the province of Loja, and the territory of St. Jean de Brocamoros, which, though belonging to Co- lombia, were subject to the Peruvian bishop of Truxillo. Insubordination of this kind must not be permitted in future. Vacancies, Parishes, canonries, bishoprics, and archbish- oprics are vacant. The parishes have been ordered to be filled up, by a decree of 4th January, 1822, and the ordina- ries have every where fulfilled their duty, notwithstanding some qualms of the prudent vicar-general of Carthagena. The government by this decree has endeavoured to preserve unhurt the rights that belong to the civil power, and those necessary to maintain the civil subordination of the clergy, conformably with the resolution of Congress, of 14th Octo- ber, 1821. Thus no person can obtain an ecclesiastical VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 646 benefice without a previous license from the executive of the republic or its authority. The vacancies in chapters have been filled up so far as is necessary to divine service in the cathedrals. The arch- bishoprics and bishoprics will remain vacant until the nego- ciation of the concordat at Rome is terminated. Expe- rience has proved that it is necessary to the tranquillity and good government of the republic, that the right of patro- nage should be in the executive, in the same way as exer- cised by the king of Spain. During the war this right has not been enforced, but the government will for ever main- tain it. Regular Clergy. The regular orders in Colombia are di- vided into three provinces, Venezuela, Bogota, and Quito; some others are independent. The head or common centre' of those regulars was the vicar-gcncral of each, resident at Madrid, who was subordinate to a generalissimo residing at Rome. The vicar-generals issued orders to their provinces, which were obeyed by the provincials or superiors. But since Colombia is independent, it is necessary the regular orders should be so too. No subordination to, nor commu- nications with, superiors residing in a hostile state, like Spain, can be, on any account, allowed. Congress will therefore have to determine, by law, the regular clergy independent of all foreign interference. Su/j/jresscd Convents. Such convents of regulars as had not at least eight priests, were directed to be suppressed, by the first general Congress, and their edifices, properties, and revenues appropriated to the support of public education. This has been lulfiUtrd in all the provinces t-xempted from war in the last year. As far as information has yet been re- ceived, thirty-nine convents have been so suppressed, and converted into seminaries of education. Doubts and con- siderations concerning some others, have induced government to let them exist, subject to the pleasure of Congress. 69 546 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. The government entertaining doubts as to the intention ot the law of 28th July, 1821, which authorised those measures concerning the ornaments and sacred vessels of the churches, suggest the propriety of distributing them in tiie poor parish churches, where they cannot be applied to the uses of the colleges. Missions, Various uncivilized tribes dwell as well in La Goajira, as on the banks of the Meta, Orinoco, and Amazon, and other rivers that water the vast plains of the eastern part of the republic ; some of them have received ideas of religion, and they open a fine field for the regular clergy. Patriotism of the Clergy. They have every where, secu- lar and regular, rendered important services to the cause of independence. One or two fanatics only, sought to preach and effect a coalition between religion and despotism. But they have disappointed themselves : some individuals have much distinguished themselves, and the government would exercise the right of patronage in the favour of such men, if the state of ecclesiastical relations would admit. CHAPTER XXXVI. Financial report — incohate state of the revenue system — effect of suppres- sions — fiscal year to begin with July — customs — tithes — tobacco — spirits — mint — post-office — salt-works — stamps — alcavala — direct taxation. Report of the war department — state of the army as to discipline during the war — the zeal of the chiefs supplied the absence of system — strength of the army — organization — guard — administrative branches clothing and pay — arms militia fortresses — artillery — quarters — arsenals — invalids — military instruction — operations of the army — campaigns in Peru. Naval report— commodore Brion — naval depots— naval expenditures. The report of the Minister of finance, Jose Maria Cas- tillo, was not presented till the 5th of May. The introduction, amounting to about a third of the report, is rhetorical ; ac- counting for what has not been done, by showing how much was to be done, and how much too short the space since the VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 547 establishment of the constitution was, to carry into execution so many new measures as had been required by the first Ge- neral Congress. It would be desirable to give it at large, but its bulk does not admit of it ; the ideas of a fiscal kind are such as have been prevalent in Europe for the last half cen- tury, or what in common discourse is called political econo- my ; in which the fancies of Rousseau, the illusions of the French economists, or school of Quesnay, and the perplexity and contradictions of the English school of Smith, and of Say, who may be called the Economistics, are the sources of scien- tific absurdity. A few sentiments and maxims may be quoted, as they afford matter to appreciate the state of the financial administration, and the ideas that prevail on the subject in the new republic. He says — *' The administra- tion of the national finances are the most essential, because with revenues every thing may be done, and without them nothing : upon them depends the ease or oppression of the people ; the fortunate or unfortunate termination of under- takings ; the greatness or ruin of nations : the execution of new laws on this branch of government is the most diffi- cult and tedious work that can present itself to a government. Theoretical principles direct the legislator, the executive should put the deductions from these principles in opera- tion ; but he has to struggle against inveterate habits of the multitude, the prejudices of a great majority, the interests of considerable number, the partialities, caprices, sloth, want of zeal, or want of understanding. The difficulties become frightful when to these are added the impediments of a pro- tracted war, which has impoverished the country, diminish- ed its population, drained off its capital, reduced to inaction the citizens under arms ; the increased expenditure of war," &c. " With all these impediments it was impossible in eighteen months to give full effect to the laws. The consti- tuent congress fixed its eyes on the only end of government 54-8 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. —the happiness of the people, holding in view the enlight- ened principle^ that every tax is an evil! ! ! Ejfc.'* Such was the design when congress passed the decree relieving the productions for food and the arts from the alcabala ; the re- duction of that tax to two and a half per cent, on foreigu productions and real property ; the extinction of the dread- ful monopoly of spirits ; the abolition of the oppressive tri- bute paid by the aborigines, the imposition of which was the greatest crime of the Spaniards, because it was an attempt, and a successful one, to oppose the magnificent works ot nature, by impoverishing a country the richest of the earth, and where the Almighty had poured forth blessings in pro- fusion. It would have been criminal to continue them. This people are now relieved, who had been sunk in misery and degradation. Colombians are no longer watched by the S/jirrit who collected ih^ alcabala; nothing is now to ar- rest the fruits of labour in its progress towards a market ; those legions of custom-house officers, supported on the impoverishment of industry, have disappeared, who plun- dered the poor and were the instruments of the frauds of opulence, and that multitude of administrators who absorbed four-fifths of what they received from the payers of taxes. The people do not suffer the grief now of seeing one-tenth of what was wrung from them enter the public coffers, and the other nine-tenths enrich the tax-gatherers : they may now cultivate sugar-cane without being limited to a small quantity, or consuming by fire what they may have cultiva- ted beyond the space prescribed. The suppression of imposts left a void, which was felt the more because expenses were increasing in proportion as the territory became free, and the fortresses, armies, and fleets augmented. A new system became necessary, founded on congenial laws. The departments were organized, and the system of controul established, under the law of 6th Octo- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 549 ber, 1821. The administration of the departments, pro- vinces, chief towns of cantons, custom-houses, mints, fac- tories of tobacco, &c. were organized. It could not be ex- pected that all could be perfected at once ; experience has discovered defects ; congress will be called on to provide remedies in a manner consistent with our institutions. The statements required from the distant points, requisite to fur- nish congress with authentic information, have been but par- tially received ; even from Venezuela few returns have been received, less from Guayaquil and Quito, and fewer still from Panama. The incidents of war and a total change of circumstances, account for these impediments ; and the fiscal year closing with the beginning of January, distance retards the collection of the data from remote stations. It is pro- posed to fix the fiscal year from the first of July. Notwithstanding, posterity will be astonished at what has been accomplished — while numerous armies, always in ac- tivity, were engaged in Venezuela, Zulia, Magdalena, Boy- acca, Cucnca, Quito, and Guayaquil ; garrisons in the for- tresses, a force in the isthmus, a naval force created, em- ployed, and always in activity, and the general administra- tion well supported. Such is the spectacle Colombia pre- sents, with a very limited revenue, and very small loans, the only ordinary resource that was available. It may hereafter seem fabulous that a powerful enemy has been defeated, and this great republic constituted, with nothing to rely on but an ordinary revenue not exceeding five millions of dollars, and loans not exceeding a million. The world will admire the economy of this republic, but the savings made by sa- crifices have a limit ; other means must be provided by the wisdom of congress. The history of our financial laws will impress the necessity. Customs. The laws concerning customs have been strict- ly executed, and the reduction of the impost has been found 660 VISIT TO COLOMIJIA. salutary. The law which imposes a duty on exports is an obstacle to public prosperity, and I can aver it diminishes the impost duties ; it has been executed every where, with the exception of a temporary exemption of coffee, to meet an exigency in Venezuela, to provide resources for the army, at a critical moment. In another memoir, I will lay before Congress my ideas on the justice and necessity of freeing all productions of the country from every export duty, in- cluding coined gold ; and tiiat it will not be necessary to con- tinue that monstrous duty upon presumed export, invented by the distrustful rapacity of Spain. The law endeavoured to triumph over the bad faith of traders, and that the duty on imported merchandize should be collected upon the sum it was presumed would be taken out of the country. But unreasonable exaction produced retaliating fraud — False po- licy, with bad faith, contended against interests more powerful than law, not sanctioned by reason or justice. Money was withdrawn clandestinely, and merchandize were smuggled in. By this mistaken policy, duties on import and export were lost. The laws that regulate the tariffs still partake too much of the Spanish errors. The duties on tonnage re- quire modification, so that our own tonnage may be en- couraged. Tithes. This is a most important aid to the public trea- sury. By this fund, the support of the ministers of religion is secured, and the nation participates in the product. It is necessary, however, to equalize them in direction, collection, administration, and distribution, taking as models the forms of the archiepiscopal administration, by which will be realized the paradox of an increase of revenue, without oppression but rather ease to the people. Tobacco. The law of 27th September directed the con- tinuance of the monopoly of tobacco. Impulse has been accordingly given to new factories, and new ones establish- ed at St. Gil, and in Casinare. VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 551 Spirits. The law of 4th October, abolished the monopoly of spirits, the salutary effects of which are not yet sufficient- ly known. The entire prohibition of foreign spirits is ne- cessary. The Mint. The two mints existing (in Bogota and Popa- yan) have been destitute of resources. That of Popayan has been, some time past, effectively employed. The occupa- tion of this capital by the enemy, and their ferocious ani- mosity, not content with letting the mint stand unproduc- tive, they plundered and destroyed the machinery. Both mints are, however, constructed upon the Gothic plan of past ages, and require to be replaced by more perfect, mo- dern engines, and improved implements. During the year, the coining of gold money, with the in- signia of the republic, has commenced, according to the law of 29th September. Opposition has been attempted to the new coinage, the effect of disaffection to the government, operating upon ignorance ; but the new doubloons, of the same intrinsic purity and weight as the best coin of former times, have been exported, and make their way by their own value into circulation, where Spanish gold formerly was carried. The working of platina has been unsuccessful, from the 'want of the requisite skill, of acids, and the necessary appa- ratus. The object will not be neglected. Copper money has also suffered impediments. A great quantity was collected in the capital, and more ordered, but the mechanics threw obstacles in the way, on the score of expense, and it was suspended. The utility of a copper coin is unquestionable, the facility it affords in the exchange for small articles is obvious. The quartillos and half quartillos of the real^ are in some places a good silver coin, in others imaginary, and there are no districts more needy than those where they are unknown as a silver coin. It has not been practicable to prosecute the silver coinage, on account of the 552 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. loss that must be incurred. It is therefore postponed to a pe- riod of more prosperity. Post-Offce. Tlie post has for it natural object facility of cominuni(.ai)on and correspondence, and is indispensable to public pnjsperity ; irs object is not by its own produce to be- come a matter of revenue, but if there be a surplus over its expenses, it appertains to the public treasury. The govern- ment has endeavoured to give it more simplicity, but experi- ence proves lliat it requires a total amelioration : a weekly post should arrive and depart from this capital for each of the three grand territorial divisions, and the charges should be in the ratio of the average weight and distance, making al- lowance between land and water carriage ; good roads and navigation inland, are inseparable from this branch of public economy. Salt IForks. The management and administration of the salt-works are matters ot much obscurity. Nothing hasyeL appeared in the financial department in relation to them. The government has directed information to be provided in the most circumstantial form ; in the mean time the rich salt mine of Zipacjuira requires attention. An improvement in the economy and method of management would afford a pro- digious return. The method now pursued, the furnaces and boilers, and manipulation generally, are all rude and wasteful as they are imperfect ; and fifty thousand dollars, jndicioJibiv employed, might double the product. Pure salt is conducive to public health. Stamps. The law of 6th October made an alteration in the system of stamps, by increasing the price of some and sub -dividing them into classes, and suppressing others. Judgments were directed to be engrossed on the same pa- per with the pleadings. The Spanish laws are yet provi- sionally in force — it requires revision still. Alcavalas. The law of 3d October suppressed alcavalas on the sales of articles of food and the arts. The alcavala had VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 553 its origin in barbarous principles and times, and was always vexatious, — immoral, — unproductive, — and unjust — not to be collected without difficulty and delay — vexatious searches and trouble to the contributors. The tax-gatherers added to its enormity grievous exactions, and were equally implaca- ble enemies to the poor, and abject serviles to the rich ; it led to concealments, perjuries, and taught men to enrich themselves without labour at the expense of the public. It was unproductive, because exacted from the wretched alone, the least able to pay, while those ^vho were able to pay eluded it by a trifling bribe ; it caused the enhancement of the prices of commodities, and thus paralyzed trade, and more than one- tenth of it never entered the public treasury. The Direct Tax. This law in its principle fixed the hopes of the country. Indirect taxes have the character of hidden infirmities, oi deception , and fraudulent concealment from those who are taxed without seeing the hand that enacts it, and are baleful to morals and to liberty. Direct taxes are honest and open ; they preserve a due proportion with incomes and profits ; there is no vexation nor exaction in the levying ; the expense of collecting is small and determi- nate. The law levying a tax upon income is still defective ; it wants clearness, comprehensiveness, and discrimination. Different causes have yet made it unproductive ; disaffected persons have inveighed against it ; the intendants and go- vernors, and political judges, have been careless, or connived at the defrauding of the pubhc. The want of returns of property with descriptions, and the scarcity of money, have combined with the rest to render the product small, and the vexatious conduct of some tax-collectors have been seized upon to oppose the tax as a bad one. If the indirect taxes were sufficient for the expenditure, the direct might be alto- gether suppressed as unnecessary ; but if these be not suffi- cient, and it be inconceivable how a nation could exist with- 70 564 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. out revenue, all that can be done, is so to improve and amend the law as to render abuses impracticable. The foregoing statements display the state of the financial affairs; the estimates of the five departments show the amount necessary to the expenditure. Two memorials will be laid before congress, one respect- ing the laws on imports and taxes, which will not propose any new tax ; another on the system of administration, di- rected to the perfecting of the system, and increasing the amount by a more effective regulation. The great mystery- consists in opening sources of public prosperity ; this belongs to congress. Every people that has established its indepen- dence by arms and victory, have passed tlirough disasters like Colombia ; our present duties are confined to imitating their noble example ; and Colombia possesses advantages such as no nation ever before possessed. All nations ncgociate loans when necessary, and the re- public must do so likewise ; and a loan has been proposed through the department of foreign affairs. It is not to us so serious an affair as to other countries. It is disagreeable to me that this statement cannot be presented with information more detailed, but the defects are not to be ascribed to want of zeal, application, or labour. Report of the Minister of JFury P. Briceno Mendez, Placed at the head of the departments of war and navy, it is my duty to report on the condition of our military institu- tions ; may I be permitted to express with all the warmth of my feelings, how much I participate in the general joy. The Colombian army feels itself recompensed for its unsurpassed exertions, for the precious blood shed in thirteen years of battles, in seeing the beneficent authority of the laws esta- blished in tranquillity and freedom. Those soldiers who knew how to exalt themselves above every want, privation, and danger, are ready, whenever their country calls, to be- come again the models of every heroic virtue, to be the first VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 555 to repel tyranny, and to support the national liberty and in- dependence. It would be superfluous to recommend to Congress atten- tion to the services of the army. To liberate the republic from its oppressors, to preserve union and tranquillity within, has been their hiippy fortune. Congress will contemplate that neither a prepared organization, nor the force, nor the means which could be provided for the army, corresponded with the effects they have produced, the enterprizes they have undertaken, or the triumphs they have achieved. In that irresistible hurricane into which we were impelled during a long and disastrous contest, the establishment of any in- variable system was not practicable. Whatever has been done was for the moment, the work of circumstances, be- cause where war and battles were incessant, changing every- day the aspect of affairs ; and, added to all, the inevitable confusion incident to a change from one system of govern- ment to another wholly different, and the union of districts before independent of each other, with lows unlike each other, what has been accomplished is surprising. The legislative bodies would not risk a change in the military institutions during the war, and the regulations in force under Spain were adopted, though the old code has become obsolete, both in the forms of discipline and princi- ples of tactics, owing to the progress of the science, arising out of the French Revolution. The generous zeal of the chiefs made up for the want of system ; corps were instructed according to the experience of the officer placed in command ; the levies made upon emergency did not allow of selection, recruits were taken without distinction of age or condition ; the married and even those who had numerous families filled the ranks ; a change from peace and abundance to a life of military hard- ships and privations, and the dangers arising from change «f climate ; an inevitable necessity, the choice between eter- 556 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. nal slavery and freedom, demanded the conscription. It i not thcrelbre extraordinary that great armies should hav been swallowed up without augmenting the eftective force ; desertions, diseases, and battle, dissolve the best armies. Convinced of these, and other circumstances, an attempt was made last year to produce a better system ; but the state of the treasury did not sustain the effort ; and a reduction of numbers became the substitute. But the vices and abuses that remain, derived from the Spanish system, also lead to disorganization, and, in truth, it would be preferable to pro- ceed without any mihtary administration, than that the pre- sent should remain. Much of the evils have arisen from er- roneous ideas of economy ; which, by diminishing the num- ber of the necessary officers, several functions were bestowed on the few retained, by which means nothing was well done, and the saving of a few hundred dollars pay wasted many thousands, and many lives. At length no officers could be found to entangle themselves in responsibilities which they could not fulfil ; a whole corps have been so placed that it was not possible to discover to whom pay was due, or to whom it had been advanced. After this lamentable exposition it may be consoling to learn that, in the present year, some order has been introduced, and, although the army has not received, for years, nearly half its pay ; in some departments not one third ; in others not one fourth ; but now all the corps are clothed, and the magazines contain equipments for a greater number; and pay has been advanced in a greater proportion. I am not yet furnished with all the returns necessary to a complete dc- tail ; it must be the work of time and system. Strength of the Army. When Congress closed its ses- sion, in 1821, the public force consisted of 22,975 men. The garrisons necessary to be guarded, and the predatory expeditions of the enemy, caused it to be augmented to 32,566 men ; of the following classes : m VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 657 Infantry • , . 25,750 men Cavalry . . . 4,296 Artillery . , 2,520 32,566. All this force was enlisted without limitation. There arc few in service of those enlisted in 1817, 1818, and 1819 ; the greater portion are of 1820. No bounty or addition to pay are known in our service. The cavalry, hitherto mounted by the voluntary contributions of the citizens, for temporary service, require to be entirely remounted ; a thou- sand abuses arise out of the want of an anticipated provision ; the soldier losing his horse in service, contemplates the duty to his country only — disregarding private property, seizes a horse against the will of the owner ; the officer, who has not the means to provide, actuated by public zeal, connives at such means, because they afford strength to his corps, or prevent its dissolution. In the artillery force are comprehended four hundred arti- sans employed in the military arsenals ; the remainder can- not be dispensed with in the service of garrisons. So long as the war exists, the immense line of our coasts, and the desperation of our enemies, require that the present force be maintained; the number is short of one per cent, of our po- pulation. Organization. No provision was made by congress in 1821, when the civil departments were instituted, for the mi- litary organization. The pre-existing territorial division into intendancies, pointed out a corresponding order of military districts. This incident has been conducive to that order which has so admirably prevailed throughout the republic, though there is still ample room for improvement. At the head of each division or department there is a general com- mandant with his staff, reduced indeed to the lowest possi- ble standard : one chief of the staff, two aids, and two clerks, 958 VISIT TO COLOMllIA. which, witli the local commandants in the provinces and for- tresses, constitute the Ibrce of each mihtary department. The infantry is organized in battahons, with the exception of the corps forming the government guard, to be subse- quently noticed ; it consists of twenty-five battalions of the line, and five of light troops. Some are difflrently organ- ized, having only five or six companies, but are ordered to to be organized into battalions of eight, which is now the composition of the greater number. Each battalion consists of one company of grenadiers, one of light infantry, six of fusileers; each company consists of one hundred effectives, and four commissioned officers; the light companies each one commissioned officer more. The se- parate battalions had a heavy staff proportioned to their for- mer composition; the new organization, by augmenting the battalions to an uniform number of companies, reduces the number of officers. But the extent of our country, the de- solation of the war, and our peculiar mode of warfare, are opposed to the formation of very numerous corps. The battalion staff consists of the commandant taken from the colonels or lieutenant-colonels, a major, two adjutants, one ensign, one surgeon, one chaplain, an armourer, drum- major, and seven pioneers. The cavalry organization is more defective ; it consists of twenty-four squadrons, some of which are detached, others in regiments, besides the six squadrons of the guard, which form a brigade. The same irregularity prevails in the cavalry squadrons as in the infantry battalions, some being composed of three troops, according to the older^Prussian system, others according to the preferable and more modern, of two troops to the squadron. Each troop of the former consists of fifty men, and three commissioned officers ; the latter of eighty men, and four officers. Of the twenty-four squadrons, there are eighteen of the line, lancers, or dragoons, the other six are light hussars. The staff of each was as incompatible as V13IT TO COLOMBIA. 559 that of the infantry ; for every hundred and fifty or hun- dred and sixty men had eight or nine officers. There is a lieutenant -colonel commandant, two adjutants, a cornet, sur- geon, chaplain, armourer, saddler, farrier, and trumpeter, with the title of major in their respective ranks. The greater number of corps are destitute of the workmen. The artillery is but of recent institution. The rapidity of our marches ; the carnage in our battles, principally decided by close combat ; the want of roads capable of admitting the transport of carriages, have made us indifferent to this terri- ble species of arms, so perfect and decisive in modern war- fare ; since the occupation of our fortresses it has become necessary. Besides the 2120 men of which it consists, there are four hundred artisans in the arsenals. The corps is com- posed of twenty-four companies, of one hundred men, and five officers each. When there are four companies in a de- tachment, they form a brigade, and have a lieutenant-colonel commandant, and two adjutants; when the number is more than one and less than four, they are denominated dcmi-bri- gades, and the senior captain commands, having an adjutant attached. The separate companies remain without a staff. This organization requires further improvement. There does not exist a single squadron of flying artillery, although, if a glance be cast on the immense plains of the re- public, no country could be better adapted for such a force. The same may be said of engineers of works, and topogra- phy, and of sappers, of which there are only two or three in the service, and without employment in the line or any special duty. The Government Guard. This corps is comprised in the strength of the army : it is treated separately on account of its peculiar organization. It consists of ten battalions of infantry, and six regiments of cavalry, of the same composition as the rest of the army. The difference consisting in this, that the infantry forms a division under the command of a general 560 VISIT TO CULOMUIA. of division, subdivided into two brigades, with a brigadier or colonel to each. The cavalry forms another brigade com- manded also by a brigadier. The two branches have a com- mandant general, with the staff such as appertains to a corps of the army. The guard, created by the Liberator President, when he filled the station of commander in chief in Venezuela, has been since augmented by the addition of corps, that have distinguished themselves by their disciphne, example, or in- trepidity. They enjoy no other privilege or distinction, than being the oldest in the army, furnishing the guard of honour to the government, and being the first on all occa- sions to march and meet the enemy. This institution has produced a noble and salutary emulation. Two battalions and a squadron were incorporated with it last year on ac- count of brilliant services. Adininistration. It does not merit the name, and I have said so, and shown the cause of its bad condition. It must be newly organized, without which it will not be practicable to account for the funds appropriated for its service. The go- vernment has been under the necessity of calling upon trea- surers of departments, to take charge of the military disburse- ments, and exercise the functions of commissaries or audi- tors, by inspecting the propriety and authority for the is- sues. One inconvenience I notice, and shall pass over others, and then tire congress no longer. Money having become the general recompense, and the only means of providing for wants and comforts, has also become the foundation of all enterprises. The militar)^ chief should, therefore, be exactly acquahited with his means and resources beforehand. If he cannot contract for means or direct expenditures that arc indispensable, he is liable to be frustrated at every move- ment. Without unity of action he must be compelled to reveal the secret of his combinations, and military operations must fail. While any other autliority has a right to inter- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 561 fere in his dispositions, time is wasted in painful altercations, responsibility is divided and diminished, and if unfortunately jealousy or enmity, want of confidence, or rivalry exist, the most innocent actions become subjects of accusation or im- putation, and the passions of individuals prevail against the interest of the country ; for such is the frailty of human na- ture, in all ages and countries. Clothing and Pay. Notwithstanding the absence of sys- tem, the army has been clothed, though not uniformly. The regulation of these branches is demanded by necessity. The strict regulation of uniforms is also indispensable, to avoid the capricious luxury of vanity, and the inequality of corps. The mode for verifying accounts calls also for a law. Arms. The formation of a depot of arms, besides supply- ing the army, has been the care of government. Experi- ence, purchased very dearly, has taught the prudence of this. All the troops of the line are well armed ; the light infantry and artillery are armed with carabines ; the cavalry of the line with the lance, that formidable weapon, which has been the instrument of safety and salvation to the republic ; the light cavalry bear carabines, and sabres, or lances. The arsenals contain 20,000 spare stands of musquets, of which many require repair. There are sufficient to defend the republic. The variety of calibres is an inconvenience, being of the manufacture of France, Germany, Spain, England, and the United States. Those of English fabric amount to 30,000 ; and out of 28,000 purchased last year 17,000 are English. 12,000 more contracted for, may be hourly expected. The carabines are mostly formed of old muskets, the weight of which renders them not so effective or convenient for service. The accoutrements of all corps are in good order, and our workshops are employed upon them. The cavalry accoutrements are not so good, but the workshopfs will supply the deficiency by better articles. 71 662 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. Militia. However numerous the regular army may be, it cannot be omnipresent. A militia, well organized, has this character of ubiquity. It preserves the medium be- tween military and civil life, and, in the very bosom of their families, they make excellent soldiers, and develope their ta- lents. It is the best army of reserve, and the most solid foundation of public liberty and security. Two mistakes should be avoided in its formation, though concealed under a supposed good. Firsts .?'ving it too great an extension, which renders it useless. Secojid^ the false prudence which would mislead the militia man, that the parade and exercise is a mere form — that he will never be called upon to perform the duties of a soldier, — when the very foundation of all re- publics is, that every man should be prepared to defend his country and liberties, and that he must be infamous who would withhold himself. The laws, and practices, have contributed to the inefficiency ; for, although all men owe a duty, it is not that all will be at once called upon to perform it ; instead of selecting a class by age, the laws have followed the ge- neral principle by comprehending the whole population at once. The constitution itself, by withdrawing the militia from military subordination, has mjured what it endeavour- ed to perfect. The want of a regulation confirmed the in- sufficiency. A special report will make its condition known. There are but thirteen battalions of militia infantry in the republic, organized like the army, of which ten were formed this year in the departments of Magdalena, Panama, and Quito, for which the government is indebted to the commandant general. Forty thousand men might be form- ed out of the fifty thousand that exist in detached compa- nies, a greater force than could be required to repel any in- vasion. There are twenty squadrons of irregular cavalry ; out of these twelve regiments might be formed, making 8590 men. VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 563 There are only seven companies of one hundred men each, of militia artillery. But none of the militia are armed. Fortresses. There are some which should be demolished ; others, neglected during the war, require substantial repairs to prevent their entire ruin. Some should be erected also in fit positions ; but these are the work of future seasons. Parks of Artillery. — Thtse have been vastly augmented during the war, but do not yet suffice for the defence of our frontier. Gunpowder, lead, balls, and muskets, cannot be dispensed with. The quantity required of each must be the subject of dehberation. Barracks and Cantonments. — The forces maintained be- fore the revolution by Spain, had only for object to maintain tranquillity ; one or two battalions in some principal point or garrison were the strongest force kept together. Quarters for the troops were calculated accordingly. The citizens have supplied the deficiency cheerfully during the war; rent has been sometimes paid, but very seldom has it been re- quired. Our soldiers hitherto have slept on the earth ; quarters should be provided, and our soldiers will not in future give so much trouble in the hospitals. The Spaniards, who were intolerable tyrants, by quartering officers on the people, excit- ed execration ; and there should be provision to guard against incurring the same reproach. It is necessary to discipline that officers should quarter where their troops are quartered. Manufactories. — There are two for gunpowder, one in Quito, the other near this capital in a bad condition. Data are wanting to ascertain the expenses. That near this capital has but one mill of four mallets, which grind 330 quintals a year. Cost 824,937 : four reals is more than powder could be procured from abroad for. The saltpetre works of the republic have been given upon contract to persons who prepare the nitre, and sell it to government. This arrangement has con- siderably reduced the price of powder, which cost fifty per cent, more than at present, when nitre was prepared at public expense. 5^^ VISIT TO COLOMBIA. Invalids and Retired Soldiers. — Establishments should be formed for them in each department. The government has no other law than its gratitude to regulate its conduct towards those martyrs of liberty. The moment which almost com- pleted the triumph of our arms permitted some relief to be offered to them, and it was as much as could be given. Six- teen chiefs and sixty -four officers retired last year, some on half pyy, others on the third or fourth of the pay of their last rank. Some have also retired without demanding any re- muneration. Military Instruction. — The first care oF Spanish domina- tion was to keep at a distance from our country every thing that could enlighten or enable us to feel our own strength, and this malignity was carried to that extreme which caused us to be unacquainted with the most necessary arts of life. Thence it was, that on proclaiming our emancipation we had no chiefs or officers to lead us, and if experience and genius have provided some, after so many disasters, it only proves the dispositions and capacities of our youth. Congress, in providing the means of public information, overlooked the army, the foundation upon which it has been raised. Phi- losophy is not the director of the world ; unmixed good is a chimera ; true wisdom is found in distinguishing that obscure line which separates it from relative good. If a nation of philosophers were possible, their laws would be fit only for themselves; they would have good fathers of families and vir- tuous magistrates ; but tliey would be the prey and the sport of their neighbours. Unarmed virtue must yield to force, military skill, and the custom of conquering and slaying. Colombia above all nations requires military education. Our position, central on the globe, makes us the neighbours of all maritime nations, and gives us for rivals the most pow- erful states of this continent ; we should, therefore, be pre- pared. The seas which separate us from the old world afe no longer a barrier, since navies serve as an immeasurable bridge. VISIT TO COLO»rBIA. 565 Besides the want of military colleges capable of forming officers and engineers, we have no uniform system of instruc- tion and tactics, in any branch of the army ; but it is chiefly remarkable in the infantry and cavalry. A system is neces- sary, were it only to root out the prejudices of different sys- tems, and the caprices of chiefs, producing a want of unity, and leaving to the generals a double difficulty of combining corps difterently instructed. A commission of general officers was formed in January last year. Their proceedings shall be laid before Congress. Fulfilment of the Laws. — The whole army have sworn to the constitution as required by the decree of 20th September 1821, and with just rejoicings, and a copy is ordered to be kept in the major's office of every corps. The mode of pay- ment prescribed by the decree of 7th December was carried into effi;ct. The Armies and their Operations. — At the close of the last legislature, six corps were engaged in operations. The first, under J. F. Bermudez, besieged Cumana, which resisted our attacks at different periods for eight years ; the second, under Jose A. Paez, blockaded Porto Cabello, where the wreck of the Spanish army took shelter after the battle of Ca- rabobo ; the third concentrated at Santa Marta, under Mar. Montilla, intended for the Isthmus; the fourth besieging Cartagena from 1820 ; the other two covering Guayaquil and Popayan against the enemy's force, then occupying Quito. These were under the Liberator president, for whom the libe- ration of the south was reserved. The heights of Juanambu and Guaitara, and the deleterious deserts of Patia, had opposed a barrier to our arms, which some thought insuperable ; to these natural impediments, others were added : the division of Guayaquil, attacked at the end of the year 1821, obtained a briliiaiu victory, and Gen. Sucre was animated to prosecute operations ; this army experienced a reverse ; the division was nearly destroyed, and that of Popayan, which moved to 566 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. reinforce it, met a similar fate from the climate of Patia. Tlicse adverse circumstances were aggravated by the cn- tnince of the Spanish general Murjeon into Quito, bringing arms and munitions of war, of which the enemy stood in need, with veteran troops and experienced officers ; and still more, the naval force, which conveyed them, interrupted the communication between Choco and Guayaquil, separating also the corps in Popayan. It was necessary to create and organize the army anew, relaxed bv disaster and suffering. A genius of constancy and resource only, could meet these events undismayed ; without a fleet, without ships to deceive the enemy's squad- ron, troops were transported by Panama and Buenaventura to Guayaquil. Instead of a superannuated general, the new Spanish chief was distinguished by activity, valour, and talent, and clothed with unlimited powers. The Spanish force now so augmented, that, instead of one army, they presented three ; and to complete all, Popayan became unhealthy. The army, inactive, was eaten up by disease ; the Spaniards strengthening themselves daily ; to open the campaign under such circumstances would seem to compromise every thing. The Liberator President determined and succeeded in re- inforcing Guayaquil with troops from Colombia, and a column from Peru, which had joined General Sucre from Cuenca ; at the same time the division from Popayan, strongly reinforced by corps sent by the government, and part of the veteran troops from Santa Martha, were put in motion. The enemy, though so strong, would not encounter either of the corps, and concentrated his army on the shelving rocks of Pastos, and the elevated sierra of Quito, in order to secure the adherence of the people in Pastos and Patia ; and under an expectation of weakening our force by obliging us to march through an insalubrious desert. One affair at Riobamba, two battles at Bombona and Pinchincha, de- molished all the sanguine hopes of the Spanish chief. Led VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 567 by the Liberator and General Sucre, wherever our arms ap- peared they triumphed, and the enemy required a capitula- tion, dchvering up his arms. The south of the repubHc thus hberatcd, a spontaneous declaration of gratitude was followed by a proclamation of incorporation. This severe but brilliant campaign being closed, our neigh- bours of Peru, menaced by a Spanish army, called for our aid. Three battalions marched for Peru, and were united with another already on service there. A treaty was pro- posed, to place our troops on the basis of those of Peru ; but the government recently installed there hesitated, and our three battalions returned to Guayaquil, where they went into good quarters. The battles of Bombona and Pinchincha gave peace to the south ; but the capitulations of Quito and Berruecos were a short time disturbed by a Spanish chief in Pastos, who escaped from the depot of prisoners at Quito. After three engagements they were chastised. An insurrection in Coro was soon suppressed, and an amnesty published. But the troops who accomplished it were destined to share in a glorious achievement at Carabobo, where the Spaniards lost their army and their arrogance. The report continues the history down to its date, but the events in Venezuela being better known than those west of the Andes, they have not the same interest. The Report on Naval Affairs was presented by the head the War Department. The Secretary acknowledges his in- sufficiency of knowledge on naval affairs, not having be- longed to the navy, and having had no leisure to cultivate it. The geographical position of Colombia, the number of its excellent ports, the abundance and richness of its produc- tions, decide for a naval force. A thousand leagues of coast open an easy access, and could not be covered by a large regular army. 568 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. The services of a generous foreigner, (commodore Brion,) who, led by the love of hberty, devoted his fortune and his life to the service of the republic, induced the government, in 1816, to create the office of admiral, who exercised the control, command, and administration of the navy ; but va- rious causes rendered it ultimately inefficient. The Con- gress, by the law of 4th October, perceived the cause, and, in part, removed it. The office of admiral was suppressed. Without the friendship of any maritime power, without ar- senals, gunners, ship-builders, or competent officers or sea- men, and even without pecuniary means to build or buy them, the battle of Carabobo had changed the character of the war, and demanded a naval force. The effiDrts made un- der the law of 4th October produced what we desired. Our fleet increased, from the five left by the late admiral was augmented to nineteen, six corvettes, seven brigs, and six schooners. Among the former is the Spanish corvette Ma^ ria Francisca, captured by a ship of the republic. Our vessels of war are commanded and manned chiefly by foreigners. Under the monopoly of Spain, sailors could not be formed. The law of 27th September admitted foreign seamen, who came generously to offer their services, bringing with them an important science, and an example for our population. We have a navy, we must have arsenals and magazines to repair and replace vessels. Carthagena pre- sents a fine station for a dock-yard, and one of its castles is assigned for an arsenal. The expenses for naval affairs for the current year are 4,770,845 dollars. These reports combine the best and most authentic state of the republic at the beginning of 1823. But Colombia, like the United States after its revolution, will require a new history every four or five years. 569 CHAPTER XXXVII. Departure from Bogota — Qulndiu — Facitativa — sleep on the domestic altar-*- knavery of muleteers — Rio Dulce — uncivil ecclesiastics— escape a troublesome traveller— stupendous steeps — Guadas — Colonel Acosta — enviably happy man — icratcha, species of pheasant — the Bodega of Honda — Honda — la manana— champans — and bogas — hints to travellers. My friend Mr. John Gethen, of Philadelphia, and my- self, agreed to proceed down the Magdalena together, and at 8 o'clock, the 27th April, 1823, we left Bogota. We were attended by my invaluable guide Sergeant Proctor, and a valet, from the island of St. Bartholomew's. In dis- posing of my mules, the sergeant had reserved the use of them to carry me and my young fellow-travellers to Honda. The sergeant had already escorted them, and now kindly undertook the same good offices for me, and would have fol- lowed me over the world if I were in the mood. Mr. G. had not been treated honestly in the mules furnished ; as his experience had not prepared him for such sorry mules as were brought, and when we had no alternative. The day was however delicious, though it was somewhat tedious, as my mules were eager to push on in their accustomed gait. But we had not completed more than one half of the day's march, when we were compelled to halt at a ranchoy and transfer my baggage to one of Mr. G.'s mules, and hire one extra in place of that broken down. This was the more to be complained of, because the road over which we had so far travelled was equal to any in the world. Upon descending from the city to the great road, towards the Magdalena, the country presented a beautiful verdant carpet. The road was constructed with great skill, and well- directed lalxDur ; it could not be less than one hundred feet wide for several miles, and each side occupied by long ranges 570 VISIT TO COLOMHIA. of thatched and tiled houses, the habitationsof muleteers and husbandmen : there are spacious ditches on each side of this road, and, after advancing something north of west, a fine pavement of about twenty feet broad occupies the midway, with convenient foot-paths on either side. The Funza intersects this road, a lake which appears to have been formerly more ample, but is now gradually be- coming a swamp, of which the white heron and the grey heron betray the shallowness, by constantly traversing the bed of water in all directions, and the growth of rushes indicate the swamp. A small rivulet, which (I only suspect) flows from a source further west, nearer to Facitativa, proceeds in a souih-east current, and unites with the Funza. These waters form streams so considerable, that five stone bridges of ex- cellent architecture cross them at different parts of this road. One of those bridges of three arches is handsome, and all of them of the best workmanship. On some of those bridges are the wrecks of armorial insig- nia, which were originally in relief, rather ancient in style. I understood some of them designated the arms of some vice- roy, but those who were asked usually told some story of viceregal outrage, and evaded telling the name. The bridges were however good, with handsome wing walls and battlements, and reduced the distance perhaps to one-third that must be travelled over were there no bridges. After passing those bridges, that part of the plain which is crossed to visit Ta- quendama opens on the view south, and its perpetual vapour is seen rising above its forest-clad hills. Immediately after crossing, a village is seen ; it is the ori- ginal Bogota; there the Spaniards first established them- selves; the present city being founded only after some experience of unhealthiness on the borders of this swamp. Appearances indicate that this pool will disappear altogether, but the village is populous, and the cultivation all around is ample. The green side banks and the pastures on each side VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 571 of this road were mottled with mushrooms, of the best edi- ble kind, {agaricus campestris,) of which we picked and saved a small basket for a travelling bon bouche* The plain of Bogota is seen in its greatest length from the central bridge, and flocks and herds are visible on the plain, which are not distinguishable from the city. The great mountain which forms the west side of the valley or plain, is now found to stand on its own foundations, insulated and se- parated all round from any other ; it may be forty miles long, and the plain of Bogota fifteen to twenty broad, and the plain is of the same apparent level along both its sides and extre- mities ; it is the mountain ridge of Zipaquira, celebrated for rocks of salt. The plain which extends from the west face of this ridge of Zipaquira is very spacious; and I have seen in no part of Colombia so many detached and ample farms, such farm-yards with grain handsomely stacked, abundance of cattle, sheep, mules, and horses. On a spacious field on the left of the route, being the gradual slope of the mountain that is crossed to reach Facitativa, I saw a very fine flock, of perhaps sixty, of the brown species of llamas^ which so much resemble the camel ; there were many young with them, and they retired from us as we approached, with the first gaze, so remarkable in deer, and a similar flight, turning round to gaze and fly again. * These animals have been denominated capra puda^ or wild goat. I cannot help feeling a repugnance to this forced analogy ; they have nothing that resembles the goat in its main characteristics of feet and horns. These brown lla- mas do not materially differ in stature or figure from the white llamas, of which we saw a beautiful pair domesticated at Sativa. These were the property of an opulent planter, whose hacienda was pointed out to us, but too much con- cealed to show more than a glimpse among its flourishing forests. In the west and north-west, two mountains appear of re- 572 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. markable appearance ; they are called El Mesa and "EA Mesa Grande — the Table and the Greater Table, their names in- dicating the long transverse level line of their summits ; such as an Egyptian pyramid would appear if a third of its sum- mit was cut horizontally off; their sides not so much in. clined as the pyramid, and their upper line loftier than the summits of the rounded mountains all round. Looking from the same point to the south-west, the hoary Quindiu presents its lofty frustum of a cone, its flat level summit, and its cap of eternal snow, showing its rotundity, finely contrasted by the darkness of its steep sides below the limit of congelation, but so lofiy and so sublime, that the three great chains of the Andes appear diminished into huts at its feet. Quindiu is in the central chain, and both the kindred ridges are to be seen in the prospect, drawn into apparent neighbourhood, though immensely separated. It was five o'clock wlien wc crossed the Nocaymac and reached Facitativa. The alcalde provided a house, but we could not hang up our hammocks. In almost every house there is a sort of table upon which the lares are usually placed, under a veil, which is only removed when prayer is to be performed. This table, a rough bench, or the floor, were to be our sleeping places, so we prevailed upon the Sefiora whose house we occupied, to remove the holy apparatus, which she did with a good grace, and informing me, to my surprise, that my daughter had slept on the same mesa a month be- fore ; but this surprise was removed by the sergeant, whose sympathy of volubility and organ of communicativeness made him a great gossip, and fiivourite of the Seiioras on every route he travelled — we had good chocolate of our own provision, and our cook, George, was a practical hand, so that in the way of food we had French cookery, and no manteca nor garlic^ till we reached Cartagena. Provision being to be had, and fine fruit the whole line of the Magda- Icna ; only that it is necessary to be prepared with a sufii- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 57S cient knowledge of the language, or a faithful servant who does, (which is a difficulty !) and not to be too eager to pay high prices, which will only induce demands still high- er, nor to appear diffident or devoid of confidence. A lair, firm, and civil deportment, is the most comfortable to a man in every situation ; but without firmness nothing is to be done well with the classes concerned in the affairs of travellers, in South America — alcaldes^ muleteers^ pulpureias, posaderoSf and bogas — there are large exceptions as to alcaldes, and some as to muleteers, but with this exception they are as^ great cheats as the horse-jockeys and vermin of the same kind in other parts of the world, and this is speaking too^ well of them. On the 28th we could not obtain mules at four o'clock, as we proposed ; at eight o'clock we set off, but the mule upon which my fellow traveller rode was scarcely able to move at the end of four miles ; the only expedient was to send back and hire another mule, and divide the bag- gage of one mule between two ; which was doubling the expense, as there being no remedy against exaction, and the mule owner being paid in advance, the choice of difficulties lay between stopping and going to law with the muleteer, before the alcalde, who, perhaps, was himself the owner of the hired mules, or had a share in the pillage which he was to decide upon — or hiring an additional mule ; the latter was. by five hundred per cent, the cheapest, and it was done. The rain which, though not very heavy, was very effec- tive on the black mould which covered the route we had to pass, over the steep and winding mountains leading through Bergara, Numayna, and Maves, to Villeta. The rains had been more heavy in the region above us, to the west, and as the Rio Dulce was, in the judgment of the sergeant, hkely to be too much swelled to be passable, and no accommoda- tions likely to be had on the right side of that river where it was usually forded, we took the route to the south-west, 574 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. leading towards the ridge separating this valley from the Magdalena : this route was a slough, amidst exuberant, wild vegetation ; but the appearance of a good covered wooden bridge over the Dulce^ which sheltered us for a time from the rain, and prepared us for a most fatiguing grope of three miles, within sight of the river, till within half a mile of Vil- leta, which we entered at six o'clock. No alcalde was to be found ; and, as usual, like many people in the last extre- mity, we had recourse to the church — but Fra. Jose Torru bio Garcftty who presented himself in the externals of the order of St. Dominic, had not the same feelings as the worthy Franciscan, of the name of Garcia, whom we had known at Pipa and Tunja. But here was a master- spirit^ in a purple jerkin, with gold filagre and chain buttons, whose tonsure was concealed by a purple velvet cap, concerning whom I was almost induced to exclaim, with Scrub, *' he looks like a Jesuit." — Garcia in pontificals was certainly not more than twenty-three, and his complacency of expres- sion, when I addressed him, was pleasing, but the gentle, man, in the purple-coloured wig, passed like a cloud over his face, and the youth bowed deferentially to his purple cap — foreclosing our solicitation ; though it was raining drops as round as grapes. *' Any port in a storm" — we saw an open shed on the opposite side of the square, and without thanking Fra. Jose Torribio Garcia, or his purple prolocutor, we took cover ; and the neighbours, more hos- pitable than the priest, opened for us a sufficiently spacious house, where we hung up our hammocks, and went through the usual process of banishing discomfort : but though, in the way of cookery, our complaints were averted by the economic pride of our cook of St. Bartholomew's, we had something else to annoy us, besides insects, of which we had heard Villeta was proverbially noisome ; but, excepting the unchristian priests, we found nothing animated in Vil- leta that was troublesome, but a sort of prodigy, an ill-na- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 575^ tured Frenchman. This person inhabited the posada in Bogota, where I staid, for about a fortnight ; but his man- ners prevented any conversation beyond monosyllables, while ive ate our eggs or sipped our chocolate at the posa- da. He made repeated overtures to accompany us on the route to Honda and Cartagena, which we declined uniform- ly, on the plea of business on the route ; and, when we left the posada^ had instructed the posadero to conceal our de- parture, as we did not wish to be annoyed by this eternal babbler, and his companion of the same cast of phiz, but less flippant tongue. I had unavoidably overheard a con- versation between him and his comrade, of a piratical cast, and avoided him. But here he had overtaken us — for, when he found we had set out a day before, he nevertheless determined to keep us company : fortunately, though the people would have given us the house if it were a palace, their good will in providing a chamber large enough for us, but not for more than us, obliged this unpleasant traveller to seek another place, which the civility of the people provi- ded, but with whom he quarrelled before nine at night, and was in consequence taken care of by the alcalde. We heard the noise, and the alcaide applied to us upon some represen- tation of this ruffian -looking fellow, that we were his particu- lar friends — but our merely declaring our total unacquaint- ance answered the purpose we wished, without the least idea of doing more than save ourselves from the imputation of such an acquaintance ; and the alcalde requested me to deli- ver a letter to Colonel Acosta, at Guaduas, for advice how to act, as I afterwards understood to be the object of the letter. We had determined to be off early, and a thick mist fa- voured our movements ; we were ascending the steep sides of El Sargente by half past five o'clock, and on the very summit I experienced the only actual involuntary fall of the whole journey ; it was in a deep mire, in which my excellent 576 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. mule sunk to the shouldci* ; and in truth my first apprehen- sion was for the poor faithful animal, which had carried me so many hundred miles not only with security and ease, but without a moment's dissatisfaction. We succeeded in ex- tricating the mule without injury, and descended through indescribable ravines. Some idea of the steepness of this descent may be con- ceived from a comparison of the facts. Under the viceroy- alty, a measurement had been made of a great part of the route from Honda to Bogota : the height of Bogota above the sea, was 1365 toises, equal to 8190 feet of Castile ; the descent to Villeta, only two days' journey by the road, not more than sixty miles ; that village was only 556 toises, equal to 3936 feet, or a descent of 4154 feet in sixty miles. We reached Guadas at half past four, and addressed ourselves, as all travellers do who pass through that town, to the vene- rated Colonel AcostUy who is at once the military comman- dant, the civil magistrate, the owner of the land on which the town stands, and that adjacent, and who is, by all within his jurisdiction, considered as a father, benefactor, protector, and friend. Wc had the acquaintance of his family, who were •our neighbours and intimates in the Plaza St. Francisco at Bogota, and his brothers and sister had written to him. Though it was not less agreeable, our treatment would have been good, as all strangers of good deportment find in him an active and a generous friend. We had an apartment as- signed to us, water, napkins, and soap, to wash, and fine orgeat, oranges, melons, bananas, and guavas laid before us for a refresco ; and while we were engaged in the chat of the day, dinner was announced, though our refresco was to me the best of desirable dinners. We, however, did honour to our host, and to his good wine, and the more we knew the more we esteemed the man. Taking it that he is himself oontent to be retired from the bustle and the books, the am- bition and the vanity, which makes so much of the world's VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 677 business, »o man can be more happy in the capacity to live, and the gratification of dispensing blessings to the neighbour- hood over which he presides ; he is as a providence to the stranger, whose entertainment in Guaduas is as free of charge as the sun's benignant beams. I could not but admire the tranquil satisfaction and the absence of every line of care from this good man's visage. There were several animals rambling about his halls and his patio, usually wild, but here sporting in heedless confidence. At dinner a pair of birds, of the size of a pheasant, fluttered round the room, and one perched on his chair, and ate rice from his hand : I took a sketch of the bird as it sat on his shoulder : its name was acratscha; the body pheasant-shaped, but with longer limbs and neck, colour chocolate throughout, beak parrot- shaped, but less curved ; a sparkling eye, with a brilliant golden circle around the iris, and a red fleshy mem- brane under the throat, pendant, of a substance like a cock's gills ; crest round and tufted. Its walk was stately, as that of a game cock, the breast full and the neck long but tapering, smallest behind the crest and gills, and gradually swelling to the shoulder or the pinion. We had fine coffee and cho- colate served round in the evening, and numerous visitors, with whom the time did not admit of much conversation, or more than passing acquaintance. We remained till nine o'clock on the 30th, Wednesday, before we could separate from our hospitable friend. We had concluded at Villeta that nothing could be so bad for the traveller, as the road descending to and approaching that place : the road thence to Gfwac/Mfl5 proved we were mistaken; it was tremendous — down — down — down ! rocks, ravines, precipices, steeps, swamps, thus again and again ; free-stone ascents, which appeared to imbibe the moisture of a warm atmosphere, and crumble at the touch ; hills under- worn at the foot, tilted into the ravine, and steep gulleys washed by the mountain floods, leaving the large rocks naked and tottering, over which, and over 73 578 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. which only, lay the track for man and beast. There was the trial for breast-bands, girths, and cruppers, and there it was that the neck called for discretion, and the mule for commise- ration ; yet the loaded mule got over it better than the man ; unless, indeed, those fl} ing mercuries, the corrcos^ who, with a light pole of ten feet in hand, a bandage of muslin round their loins, and a straw hat, with a belt over the right shoul- der, and a sort of sabretache on the left, spring from rock to rock like kangaroos. It was cloudy, but there was no rain when we left Gua- duas ; crossed over a broken level, through which some rivu- lets wound their ^vay, and on the uncultured plains found groves of the finest guavas, equal to the best of Bengal ; both red and white, and in perfect ripeness, of which being no one's property we laid in some store, which were not ex- hausted for some days after our arrival at Honda. This day's journey, bad as the preceding had been, was still worse. We re-ascended some miles of the upland, where, after passing the mountain range of free-stone, a more com- pact grey granite, resembling, but darker, than blue lime- stone, made a pleasant footway over the brink of frightful precipices. We were so much fatigued on this day's jour- ney as to rest four several times before we reached the Bodega on the margin of the Magdalena, which we gained about half a mile higher, but in sight of Honda, which is on the left side, and below its confluence with the river Guali. Along the margin of the mountains, for the greatest part of the way, the Magdalena was visible like a small yellow rib- bon, or string of vermicelli, winding its way between the verdant slopes ; on either side, vast plains and variegated rolling hills, verdant and varied by picturesque and detached groups of forest. The height forbid every idea of discerning any thing living below ; it was the awful stillness ^nd solitude of a world recently born, and come to maturity, without beings to inhabit ity but prepared and amply sufficient to re- VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 579 ceive millions, and repay the lightest labour with hundred fold crops of the richest products of nature. As we approach- ed Honda, the descent from Villeta to that place is 426 toises, equal to 2556 feet of Castile: here the Magdalenaap- peared in its grandeur. The rains in the Upper Andes, near the sources of the Magdalena and the CaucaT commence early in April, and the river rises to a great height after the floods have accumulated and poured into the valleys j the river was now coloured with the yellow soil through which it had pass- ed, and its surface was covered with vast accumulating rafts of drifting timber, which encountered and united, and swept before them headlands and rocks in their course, and often changed the direction of its own current, by the ruin which it had brought down. We reached the Bodega at half past five ; there was no internal accommodation at the ferry house ; there were neither fruit nor drinkables ; we had the last of our Bogota bread still in good condition. We procured milk, however, and some palm cocoa-nuts, of which 1 had been many years accus- tomed to make a beverage ; and finding a sort of caravan- serai, or spacious thatched shed of about thirty yards long by twelve wide, provided for storing goods brought hither, we took possession of an angle of this place, and dismissing our hired mules, we went to rest in our hammocks with all the dehcious pleasure for which previous privations and fatigue prepare the traveller. I do not know how other people feel on such occasions, but there were some feelings associated with the parting from those poor abused, but inappreciable animals, the mules, that had conveyed us so faithfully more than 1500 miles — be- sides ministering to our accommodation during our residence at Bogota, that I am not ashamed to say I felt pain at parting with the poor animals, apprehensive that, severe as their tra- vail was with us, they might find less considerate owners. April 31st, crossed the Magdalena with our baggage, 680 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. under charge of the sergeant and our cook George, who was here joined by an additional baggage^ whom he represented as his wife, a native of Mompox, whiiher she was proceed- ing. The expense of this part of the baggage was nothing, but in the kind of transport which alone can be had on the Magdalena, an additional person in the space to be occupied on the passage is a serious aftair. However we were to part witii our invaluable and indefatigable sergeant at Honda, and the loss of a servant like George then could not be sup- plied. Vincent had accompanied my family to Carthagena, and 1 had to compound the good which was to be rendered by George, for the inconvenience of his wife : and so we made up the account. We had son\e letters from Bogota to gentlemen at Honda, which were not indeed necessary, as the alcalde, who knew something of us, provided us a house, the whole of the first floor was at our disposal ; it was, in its days of prosperity, a sumptuous abode, and had stood unmoved during the earth- quake, which here, as in Caracas, destroyed no stone build- ing, but those only that were wholly or partly composed oi pita, or adhesive earth. The lower floor was ocupied by some remnants of opulent families ; and one side of the patio was fallen in from the decay of the timbers exposed to the weather. A spacious saloon was entered from the usual broad stairs of two flights ; and the whole front of the house had an ample gallery, which overlooked those on the oppo- site side of the street, and the noble current of the Magdalena that washed their outermost walls. The river had but par- tially risen the day of our arrival at the Bodega ; tliat night it perceptibly rose above six feet in its spacious stream more than a mile wide on the rapid in front of our residence. Below the city and in sight another narrow rapid descends over a mass of large round stones ; and above the town, the river Guaii, (pronounced Walli) a handsome stream of half a mile broad, descends at right angles into the Magdalena VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 581 It is in the cove, formed at the junction of the two rivers, that the landing from the Bodega takes place — and, from tlie quaHty of the ferry boat, a precarious passage. There were two chambers at the extreme of the great sa- loon, which we occupied, and a spare room on the lobby received our baggage living and inanimate. Wc rested on the first of May, and on the second I present- ed my passport in ordinary to the assessor or deputy of the governor, or Juez politico, this being a civil administration, though I found it rather uncivil ; for, notwithstanding my daily applications, through the sergeant, and, after his depar- ture, through my servant, I could obtain neither a boat, an answer, nor my passport, which I imprudently left in his hands ; I at length sent my passport from the minister of the interior, demanding a compliance with its orders ; my ordi- nary passport was returned, and that of the government kept, promising, as had been promised every day preceding, that it would be attended to a la mahana : — in the books, manana means to-morrow, or the next day ; but in the vernacular tongue of some persons in office, it may be to-morrow week, or to-morrow month, or twelvemonth — or never, just as it is the whim ; or, as in this case, it was the wantonness of the public agent ; and among those evils entailed by the pre- existing institutions, the usages of which remain, at once from the unsetded state consequent on the revolution, and the utter impracticability of at once reducing all the branches of government to a consistent and regular efficiency. All the institutions under the Spanish monarchy in Europe and in America were venal ; every thing was purchaseable, and right itself could not be obtained without paying for it. In the lower and remote branches of the administration, it continues in a very great measure so still. The government has laboured to reform and regenerate every thing in accor- dance with its liberal principles ; the main obstacles to suc- cess were, first, the interests of individuals in every district QS2 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. were to be reconciled, by appointments to public trusts ; then the resources ol the government were so limited, that com- pensation could rarely be paid ; and it was connived at to compensate service by fees or perquisites ; which, whenever they are permitted to take the place of a regular salary, will always become a pretext for exaction, or, more properly, robbery — the worst species of robbery, committed under the show of institution. Habits, long educated habits, divest fraud of some portion of its immorality, inasmuch as its per- mission or sufferance, or sanction by authority, divests it of the first principle of criminality, that is, intention. At points such as the entrepot for the w hole interior be- tween Quito and Bogota and Honda, the demand for trans- port is unceasing ; the necessities oi the case call upon the government to provide by the same means that transport by mules which is provided every where else. Champans and bogas are the sole means of navigation on the Magdalena, and there is a rate not always arbitrary but by custom, which, like the tonnage of ships in naval ports, fluctuates with de- mand. The government has always the preference, but it is often a distributive preference. If public danger requires all the transport, it must go. If only a partial space be required, the owner of the champan or hoga takes in his cargo at the price he chooses to fix, and for whole cargoes; and they are not deficient on the Magdalena of that art by which prices are enhanced through reports of dangers and hazards, which, though the exaction of price can neither aggravate nor alle- viate, still operates without the forms of a charter, to produce all the benefits of a policy of insurance without a premium. The owner of a cliampan has an interest in standing well, or having a perfect understanding, or a joint interest with a Juez politico^ or the alcalde. If a government order comes for transport, and the officer obeys the order, he will not pay more than the government rate, and the owner cannot benefit by exacting from the necessities of the traveller a heavier VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 583 sum. If the officer grants what the government bids him absolutely grant, he gets nothing more ; butif he disregards or evades the order, and postpones from day to day the promise, he makes every day the exigencies and the impatience of the traveller, shut up in such a comfortless place as Honda, and eager to prosecute his journey, motives for submitting to the exactions, and thus pays tribute to the public officer for his perfidy, and enables him to share with the owner of the cham- pan in one half of his exaction. The champan, derives its name from a very large tree of South America, named Champacada, They are built in all the great inland rivers in much the same rude manner ; of massive timbers, principally of this species of cedar, the grain of which resembles the teak of India, is equally sus- ceptible of being worked by a sharp tool, as the teak or the mahogany ; and, like them, resists the decomposition or rot by water, and the attack of the worm, so as to endure time out of human recollection, when not destroyed by violence of any kind. They are built from 50 to 150 feet in length, and from four to twenty-six feet broad, both ends sharply curving to a timber head. The main timber of the bottom, which is always flat, is proportionably thick, and is usually one tree, from stem to stern ; when the champan is not very large, the whole often consists of only three trees, or the sides form- ed of one tree, attached by futtocks athwart what may be con- sidered as the bows and beam timbers, according to size, but the whole vessel is so solid and so buoyant, that it floats without any warping, like one solid mass of timber ; indeed the sides are seldom less than eight inches thick, and the champan usually floats with four or five feet above water un- laden, and seldom draws more than three or four feet with the heaviest loads. The lesser vessels, which are on\y log caiioes of a larger size, scooped out and fashioned by rude labour, are composed of a single tree, from fifty to sixty or eighty feet in length. 584 VISIT TO COLOMBIA. The cargoes of merchandize are stowed in the centre oi all the boats ; lined with mats, and covered ; if there be separate cargoes, coarser mats or partitions separate them ; or if the commodities are cacao, coft'ee, cotton, tobacco, maize, hides, &c. they are separated. The habitable places for passengers are either behind or before the cargoes, or in ship phrase " fore and aft." The bow and stern are open, and the rest of the champan or boga is covered with a roof form- ed by stout saplins or wattles affixed within, on each side gun- wall and brought over so as to form an arch ; these saplins are necessarily stout, because it is upon their upper surface the dogas, or water men, stand when poling the vessel against the stream ; when descending it is their place of rest and repose, without hand-rail or rope to guard them from fal- ling over. The boga^ canoe, or piragua, all mean the same thing, and boga signifies the boat as well as the boatman. Champans are manned according to their size ; and some will carry down a hundred and fifty loads of two hundred and fifty pounds each, for which the freight to Mompox on- ly is usually four dollars down, but has been enhanced to eight dollars ; the same weight up from eight to eleven, and from thence to fourteen dollars, was demanded when we were at Mompox ; owing to a report, which was impossible in itself, that Morales was at that time at the cienega of Santa Marta, on his way up the Magdalena. The owners of cham- pans knew very well that tiiis report was false, and probably made it for the purpose — it encreased their freight twenty- five percent. There is an artifice often played off on strangers ; after agreeing for the boat with the owner, and paying in advance, a new agreement is required for the bogas or watermen — at so much per day — and then another is required for their subsistence, and as the passage up the Magdalena, from Ba- ranquilla, or from the Cienega of St. Marta, takes not less than two months ; and from the knavery of the patrons and VISIT TO COLOMBIA. 585 the desertion, frauds, and vices of the bogas^ through the want of police on the rivers, Honda is often not gained be- fore ten or twelve weeks. The expense, the irksomeness of life, the wretchedness of those who cannot subsist on coarse viands, and many of the vexations that arise among a people so hardy, rude, and uncontrollable, should be prepared against with a resignation to suffer what is not avoidable, but with a firmness and equanimity always to resist what is improper or insolent in the Patron ov\\\^bogas; and never to be without the evidence of preparedness, in the hand or belt, to repel or to punish any threatened outrage or wrong. The visible preparedness is always a salutary rule — he who travels with a good sword, and a pair of double barrelled pistols, which he takes care to discharge and reload occasionally, may pass up the Magdalena without having any evidence to suspect that the bogas are not as amiable as the Hindoo dan- dies ; whom in fact, in their amphibiousness, their gaiety, and proneness to singing and rowing by a cadence, they very much resemble. Floating in a boga of sixty feet down the Magdakna, the Patron and his crew singing and responding, and the whited tints of the foliage in clustered groups, with the gleam of the moonbeam playing on the water, gave me for a few moments a kind of persuasion that carried me back thirty years, and placed me in a budjeroWy floating down the not more beautiful or splendid Ganges. The passage down from Honda to the debouch of the Magdalena, in large cham- pans, is twenty days ; it might be accomplished in one half the time. It is an error of M. Mollien, and others, that the bogas of the Magdalena are of African race ; there are no doubt some few of them. The people who occupy the sides of great rivers and sea coasts, in every country, are of darker complexion than those further inland. This is true to my personal knowledge of the Colombian coast and rivers, but it is also true of the coast of Malabar, Coromandel, and the 74 fl86 VISIT T«o APPENDIX. NO. I. DEMONSTRACION DE ES TE VIAGE POR TIERKA Y AGUA CARACAS A BOGOTA E IN VERSO. Jor- na- da*. Fechai y huras dc l>arUT. Logaret de Salida. De AlmuraMf. De Conurr. Derendirjur- uada. 1.' ^IIU l...r,.ri., 1 Dec, 26, a. III. 6 Caracas' Riiena Vista San Pedro Laxai* ~i,j 2 22, 5 Laxas§ Coqiizas Victoria Virtoria 5 3 23, 5i N'ictoriaf Giicrre Giicrre Maracay 10 4 24, H .Maracay San Joaquin San Joaquin Valencia u 5 Enero 1, p.m. 6 Valencia* I'ocuyito 2 6 2 a.m. 5 I'ocuyito Canljobo Chirgiia riiiaquillo 12 7 3! 5 'rinu(|MiIlo Pairnas Paso de la San Carlos 13 8 10, p.m. 6 San Carlos* [Laxu San Jose 1 9 11. a.m. 3 San Jose Camoruco Camoruco Caramacate 14 10 12, 6 Caramacate El Altar El Altar (•amelotal 8 11 13, 5 Ciamclotal l.a Morita Morita Banjuesimeto 12 12 16, 2 ll;irqiif8imoto [lie .Madrugada Qiiibor Quibor ^uibor 10 13 17, 5 Quibor Tocuyo locuyo [baxo 8 14 21, 7 Tociiyo* Ruena Vista Buena Vista Humocaro 10 15 22, 12 Hiimocaro Baxo Pcna 8 16 23, 9 Pefia En el Monte Agua Obispos Palmas 8 17 24, 8 I'almas Idem Caraclie Caracbe 6 18 25, 7 Caraclie Santa .\na Santa Ana En elCaracol, Santa Ana 9 19 26, 53 Santa Ana End Monte sombre dc un arbol Truxillo [la Plata H 20 29, 7 I'ruxillo* Sabana Larga Hacienda de 9 21 30, n Plata [esta .Mcndoza La Pucrta 7 22 31, 7 PutTta Pie de la Cu- Timothes 8 23 Feb. 2, 11 Timothcs La Veiita La Venta 3 24 3, 6 La Veiita Mucuchies Mucuchies 11 25 4, 8 .Miicucliies Mucupidie Mcrida 7 26 7, 8 Mcrida* Egido Valle de C». [rupa 9 27 8, 7 Cum pa [la Pefia Lagunillas Estanques 11 28 11. 6 Estanqiies Hacienda dc Pena Bayladores 7 29 u. 5 Uayladorcs Bay 1 adores Cebada 5 30 13, 7 Cebada En el Monte La Gritja Gritja 8 31 14, 8 Critja' Higucra Higuera 7 32 15, 7 Mijjuera Sabana Larga 10 10, 5 Sabana Larga Capacho Cucuta 12 34 20, 9 Cucuta Rosario Garita 6 35 21, 7 Garita Chinacota Alinadero 6 36 22, 8d Alinadcro Ctiopo Pamplona 10 37 28, 10 Pamplona* [Guesta Venta Cacota 4 38 Mar. 1, 7i Cacota Baxada de la Llano Grande Cliitaga 7 39 7 Cliitaga [Grande Paramo Co* piagate Pie del Para- [mo Grande 9 40 3, 8 Pie del Paramo Cerrito Concepcion 8 41 4. 12 Concepcion Llano Ansiso 4 42 5, 7 Ansiso Orillas de Rio Capitanejo Capitanejo Chibatera 8 43 6, 5i Chibatera V'enta de Su- [ata Suata Suata 9 44 7, p.m. 2 .Siiat* Susacon 11 45 8, a.m. 7 Susacon Sativa Sativa Eslaba 9 46 9, 7 Eslaba En el Monte Serinza Santa Rosa 8 47 10, 8 Santa Rosa Llanos Venta Sisga Venta deMico 14 48 11, 7 Venla de Mico Hicata Venta Que- mada 15 49 12, 7 VentaQuemada En la Cuesta Hato Viejo Sediicio 16 50 13, 6 Seducio Suesca Guatavita Bogota 26 Bogota* —4 In the several places are prelised acliaracteristic mark, apparently intended to i)e«''?nate the relative con sequence of the several places, and the following appears to be the order oriiiajnitade or unponance :-* + f« APPENDIX. 629 NO. II. ITINERARY OF A JOURNEY BY THE META AND THE LLANOS TO CARACAS. BY THE CANON OF CHILL nays. i Departure. Time. Place of Departure. Place of Halting. Chipaque" Natu re of Country. settled^ Leaguer. June 14 p.m. 12^ Bogota 6 2 15 a. m. 10 jChipaque Coqueza 4 O 18 6 Caqueza Messita 5 4 19 6^'Messita Taravita S 5 21 7 Taravita Susumuco desert 5 6 22 5 Susumuco Servita settled 5 7 24 6 Servita Asuay 10 8 July 8 7 Asuay 1st post of desert 8 9 9 p. m. 5 1st post of Cundinamarca Cundina- Rio Neero 2 10 10 a. m. 6 Playa marca do. 12 11 11 6 of the Meta 18 12 12 9 BahaiaCorte settled 20 13 18 7 St. Miguel de Jua 12 14 19 6 Maquivo 17 15 20 6i Boca del Guarimena 15 16 23 8 St. Miguel de Macuco 11 17 24 p.m. 2 St. Augustine de Guanapalo desert 6 18 25 1^ St. Rosalie de Cabapuri 11 19 26 a. m, 6^ Yslote 8 20 27 6 Ysla 16 21 28 5 15 22 29 5 18 23 30 ■ H 15 24 31 11 Rctiro de Camelsford 5 25 Aujnist 1 6 Piedra de Tigre 22i 26 2 6 Riv. del Auraca 21 27 3 8 Playa de Chiguires settled 22 28 4 H Riv. de Altamayca 29 6 5i St. Rafael del Altama H 30 7 5 Cano del Gasgua 10 31 8 8 Cano del Negro 12 32 9 11 Guayabal en el Guarico desert 13 33 10 5 Playa de Perital settled 8 34 12 6 Alta Gracia desert 10 35 13 6i Playa 8 36 14 ^ Las Palmes 9 37 15 6 Playa Estrecha settled 10 38 21 8 Calabozo 10 39 22 5 Pilar 6 40 23 6 Hato de Ascano 7 41 24 7 Mosquitero 6 42 25 5 Flores 5 43 26 7 St. Juan de los Moros 6 44 27 6i St. Luis de Cura 5 45 38 5 Victoria settled 6 46 29 Laxas settled 18 47 30 St. Pedro settled 5 48 31 Caracas settled 18—300 Both these Itineraries were performed in 1812. 630 Al'PENDIX. NO. lir.— ITINERARY OF COLONEL ACOSTA, ON THE ROUTE FROM CARACAS BY THE SAFEST ROAD, AND MOST CONVENIENT FOR SUBSISTENCE AND ABUNDANT PROVISIONS. Span, leases From Caracas to St. Pedro, .... . 6J to Victoria, passinp Consejo, . . . 11 by San Mateo to Maracay in the valley ofWragua, . 7 by St. Joaquin, Guacara, and Guayo, to Valencia, . 10 The route thus far excellent, having only to pass the highlands to the foot otCocuyzas. by Tucuyta to Tanaquilla, ..... 10 to Tinaco, ....... '^h Sau Carlos, ...... 4^ Good road, having only to pass the heights of Palmas and Herraanas. To the estate of Onoto, ..... 8 by the mountain El Altar to the village of Cabudare, . 13 to Barquisimcto, . . . . . . I J This route is good, excepting only the Altar mountain, which in winter is very bad, and it is necessary to dismount even in summer. to Quibor, . . ..... 10 Tucuyo, ..*... 6 These two journeys may be performed in one, by setting out in the afternoon and travelling all night, as the road is good and the sun by day is hot. to Humacaro Baxo, ...... 6 Obispos, ...... 6^ Carache, .....•• 5 Santa Ana, ...... 6^ Truxillo, ...... • ^i Good roads the first and last days' journeys, the rest high lands, but these last five may be travelled with ease in four days. To Mendoza, ....... H The road diverges into a large plain, in which there are bouses to accom- modate travellers. From Mendoza to Puerte, Timothes, and Chacopo, . . 8 This road is not good ; the paramo commences here, which is called Muchechies, at the village of Muchechies, (tolerably cold,) . . . 5^ by Mucurabo, Tabay, to Merida, - . . 7 by San Juan to the villa of Egido, . . . 6J to the plantation of Estanques, . . * . ^ This part of tiie road is bad, and in some places dangerous, from its declivity and narrowness. to Bayladores Village, ..... 6^ From the village to the town of Bayladores, 2^ > g to Gritja, . . . 6 j 3 " * ' This road is not good, and in Gritja terminates the desert, called that of Wild Boars. To the post house El Cobre, .... 5 The desert commences here, and terminates beyond the post-house of Ahullamar. From El Cobre to Ahullamar, ..... 5 to the village of Tariba, ..... 4 to San Christoval, ....•• ^ These three journeys should be performed in two, but it is necessary to carry provisions. To Capacho, . . . . 4J "> ^ g San Antonio de Cucuta, . 4*5 APPENDIX. 631 This b Uie last village of Venezuela, and one fourth of a league from it the river Tachira separates Cundinamarca from Venezuela ; one fourth of a league further yoa reach Rosario de Cucuta, a town of Cundinamarca, ...... ■*• to San Joseph, •....' 2^ .r ■* u ^''°P°' • • .'.'.".'.' 10 it It be not necessary to change mules, you may take the direct road without entering St. Josef direct for Pamplona, . . 8 from Pamplona to village of Cucuta, ... 2| toChitaga, 4^ The desert of Chitaga commences here, the road mountainous and bad. to Cerrito, ....... 6 to Capitanejo, through the villages of Conception and Enciso, 10 In the village of Capitanejo the river is crossed; it is a rapid stream, and the bridge not repaired. From Capitanejo to Zoata, ..... 4 to Susacon, ...... 3 Satiba, . . . . , , 31 Parish of Serinza, ..... 7 Santa Rosa, . , . . *• . . 3| I'aypa, 5j ''^unja, ....... 5 The venta of Barrazon, lofty mountain, snowy, covered always, 8f Choconta, ....... 6 Zipaquira, ...... 8 If it be not requisite to change mules, the route may be pursued direct by Zesquile, without passing through Zipaquira. From Zipaquira to Bogota, ..... 7 NO. IV.— ITINERARY OF COLONEL ACOSTA FROM BOGOTA TO CAR- TAGENA. It is necessary to write beforehand to the chief persons of villages, to procure the requisite mules for saddle and baggage, to prevent detention. It is also necessary to carry one or two trunks for the conveyance of provi- sions and refreshments. Soadfrom Bogota, by the Magdalena : by land, from Bogota to Honda, From Bogota to Facatatiba, ..... 6 to Villeta, ...... 5 Guaduas, ....... 4 Bodegas de Honda, ..... 7—22 This whole road has been measured geometrically, and marked every half league as far as Facatatiba, where the mountains commence, the road leading over the famous heights of Trigo and Sargento. The navigation of the Magdalena from Honda to Nare, . 43^ There are seven passes that are bad and dangerous, and some others not so dangerous, so that a tow line becomes necessary in navigating upward. From Nare to San Bartolemeo, . - . . 26^ to San Pablo, ...... 38 the national post of Ocaiia, .... 52 Mompox, ...... 37 Baranquilla, ...... 59 Sabaniila, . . . . . ' , . ^ 'J"here are many villages on the river not noticed here, where provisions are to be had, and fish especially abundant w 032 APPENDIX. No. v.— ITFNEHAllY OF THE ROUTE FROM ROGOl A TO HONDA— BV THE MAl.DAI.ENA 1 MOMPOX ANb HAUUANCAS NUEVO, BY LAND TO TUKBACO AND CARTAGENA. From Bogota to Span. leagTies Span, leagues. Fiicitativa, 6 .Mincliiqueo, - 2 Villetta, 8 Mompox, 5 Guaduas, . - - - 7 San Simon, - 4 Bodega de Honda, . B Santa Fernanda, 1 The terry to Honda, li Santa Ana, - 2 From Honda by Conejo andYcno Pinto, 5 to(>uarunio ... 6i Plato, 12 Buenavista, 5 Tcnerifi'e, 4 Narc, 10 Ezero, 6 Gurapata, 9 Pedraza, • 6 San Bartolemeo, 45 El Cerro, 3 Sun Pablo, 38 Penon Baxo, 2 Barillos, 15 Punto Gordo, 3 Morales, 12 Guimara, 4 Rio Viejo, 11 Remolinas, 4 Regidor, 4 Barrancas Nuevo, - 6 San Pedro, 5 Overland to Temalamcquc, .3 Maliate, - 7 Penon, 7 Arjona, - 6 Guamar, 2 Tiirbaco, - 8 Margarita, - - 1 Benavides, - 5 San Fernando, 4 Cartagei.a, - 10 THE END 91 K»' UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY^^ ^^ jKW This book is DUE on the last date stamped below •^R 1 3 1942, -iui^ 2 19* I m ^'^^ 6 .MA1 !AW ^ ^^^'^^•^1 W6 RENEWAL DEC 1^ «*' ■ ati 6 lit** WW 2 7 «« MAY 1 7 1944 Wl^ 1974 RT*na '^ -^z 'i^'^S reneV/al mini 91074 ( AUG 1 3 1974 OCT ^ JAN 9.^^"™^ "^0 UCSB I.L'.L. DEC 3 1^2 i^pRing^},.^ MAY 8 1950 I 1979 JU^' Form L-0 aim -1,'« (1122) )EC ^ k"^^ C^.M' URL .^caln^ .., ., UMlVkJKSlTV of C/^iarUKNlA AT LOS AVGELES LIBRARY H^ 3 1 l||lll|llll||ll||||lllll|ll|ll|lflll|llllll|IMI| 58 00507 8687 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY AA 001 163 058 9