478. MR. O'LEARY TO VISCOUNT PALMERSTON

Caracas, January 24, 1841.

(Extract)

I have the honour to transmit to your Lordship a copy of a communication which I have addressed to the Venezuelan Minister for Foreign Affairs, in compliance with your Lordship's instructions.

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Inclosure: MR. O'LEARY TO SEÑOR SMITH

Caracas, January 13, 1841.

I am instructed by Lord Palmerston to acquaint your Excellency that Her Britannic Majesty has issued a Commission to Mr. R. Schomburgk authorizing him to survey and mark out the boundary between British Guiana and Venezuela; and I have orders to add that the Governor of British Guiana has been instructed to resist any aggression upon the territories near the frontier which have been hitherto occupied by independent Indian tribes. . . .

(Signed) DANIEL F. O'LEARY

479. MR. O'LEARY TO VISCOUNT PALMERSTON

Caracas, February 2, 1841.

My Lord,

I have the honour of transmitting to your Lordship copies, in Spanish and English, of a communication I received from the Venezuelan Minister for Foreign Affairs on the subject of the boundary between British Guiana and Venezuela. This Government invites your Lordship to negotiate a Treaty of Limits, and at the same time expresses a desire that the Treaty should precede the marking out of the boundary.

I also inclose copy of my reply to Colonel Smith, in which I state the probability of Mr. Schomburgk being already engaged in the execution of his Commission. . . .

(Signed) DANIEL F. O'LEARY

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Inclosure 1: SEÑOR SMITH TO MR. O'LEARY

Caracas, January 28, 1841 (12th of the Law, and 31st of Independence).

Sir,

The government having taken into consideration your note of the 13th instant, in which you notify that that of Her Britannic Majesty has been pleased to appoint a Commissioner with authority to survey and mark out the boundary between British Guiana and Venezuela, his Excellency the President has conceived this to be the best opportunity to settle definitively this affair, which interests both nations.

The Government, in consequence, has determined to reply, proposing through you to the Government of Her Britannic Majesty to conclude a Treaty of Limits, by Plenipotentiaries duly authorized, either in this capital or in London. My Government does not doubt that that of Her Britannic Majesty will allow that it is absolutely necessary and expedient that the Treaty should precede the survey and demarcation of the territory, which, being a material operation, ought to be executed conformably to stipulations.

After the conclusion of the Treaty to which my Government invites that of Her Britannic Majesty, a Commissioner on the part of Venezuela will be appointed to proceed, jointly with the British Commissioner, to the operation of marking out the boundary between British Guiana and Venezuela, thus both nations being satisfied, and obviated for the future all questions regarding limits....

(Signed) GUILLERMO SMITH

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Inclosure 2: MR. O'LEARY TO SEÑOR SMITH

Caracas, January 30, 1841.

Sir,

I had the honour this morning to receive your note of the 28th instant, and, in reply, beg leave to acquaint you that I shall transmit, by the next packet, to Viscount Palmerston the views of the Venezuelan Government therein expressed.

At the same time you will allow me to observe, in reference to the desire of your Government that the Treaty which you propose should precede the demarcation of the boundary between British Guiana and Venezuela, that Mr. Schomburgk's Commission having been issued by Her Majesty some time since, it is probable that that gentleman is already engaged in the execution of the duty assigned to him, and this circumstance, besides being conformable to established practice, will materially facilitate the labours of any future Joint Commission such as you propose. . . .

(Signed) DANIEL F. O'LEARY

480. MR. O'LEARY TO VISCOUNT PALMERSTON

(Extract)

Caracas, August 28, 1841.

I have now the honour to transmit to your Lordship a copy of a note from M. Aranda dated the 17th instant, with the documents which accompanied it, and of my reply to M. Aranda.

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Inclosure 1: SEÑOR ARANDA TO MR. O'LEARY

Republic of Venezuela, Department of Foreign Affairs, Caracas, August 17, 1841.

Sir,

Since the receipt of your communication of the 13th January last, wherein you were pleased to acquaint this Department with the Commission issued by Her Britannic Majesty to Mr. R. H. Schomburgk, authorizing him to survey and mark out the boundary between British Guiana and Venezuela, and, in consequence of which it was proposed through you to celebrate a Treaty of Limits, the Government has heard nothing respecting the operations of the Commissioner, or the result of the indication relative to the Treaty.

By a despatch just received from the Governor of Guayana, with two documents annexed, copies of which l have the honour to address to you, the Government has been informed of a very singular occurrence, namely, that there was seen and reconnoitered at Point Playaso, near the mouth of the Caño Amacuro, a British flag, with the Royal ensigns hoisted, near a sentry-box constructed for the purpose, and stationed on a part of the Venezuelan territory, of which Republic has always been in quiet and peaceable possession.

The Government is still ignorant of the motive or object of this incident, as also whether it proceeded from orders of British authorities, or was the spontaneous act of private individuals. At the same time it cannot be indifferent with regard to an occurrence which manifests the introduction of foreigners into our territory without the permission or assent of the competent authorities, and this sort of incursion ought to appear the more remarkable inasmuch as there is a considerable distance between the ground on which the flag was fixed and the limits of the Republic on that side.

Therefore, his Excellency the Executive Power being desirous to ascertain the origin, object, and circumstances of the above-mentioned occurrence, I hasten to request you will be pleased to communicate to me what you may know or consider conclusive to enlighten the Government on the subject. . . .

(Signed) FRANCISCO ARANDA

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Inclosure 2: SEÑOR GRILLET TO SEÑOR ARANDA

Republic of Venezuela, Government of the Province of Guayana, Angostura, July 24, 1841.

I received today from the General Administration of the Custom-house, the intelligence which appears in the copy that among the inclosures is marked No. 1. In consequence thereof, I made the 2nd Commandant of the skiff of which mention is made come to my office, and I receivers his deposition which is contained in copy No. 2. There are other rumours afloat which corroborate the fact that some Englishmen have erected marks of possession in our territory, but up to the present this Government knows nothing more than is seen in the inclosures, nor can it surmise whether it is an act of the authorities of British Guiana or of private persons.

I prepare beforehand this notification to avail myself of any opportunity that may present itself before the mail, and meanwhile I have adopted the following measures: To call into active service the 2nd Lieutenant of the National Navy Thomas Servers, that he may set out tomorrow in a skiff which I have applied for to the Custom-house to explore all the Great Mouth (Boca Grande), examine what may be necessary to know, and, in short, to proceed according to the instructions I have given him. . . .

(Signed) FLORENTINE GRILLET

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Inclosure 3: SEÑOR ARMAS TO SEÑOR GRILLET

Republic of Venezuela, Principal Administration of the Custom-house of Guayana, Angostura, July 24, 1841.

I transcribe the same for your information. . . .

(Signed ) THOMAS ARMAS

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Inclosure 4: DEPOSITION OF CHARLES SUERA.

The 2nd Commandant of the skiff which arrived last night from the station of Yaya, whence it sailed on the 19th of this month at 1 p.m.

Q. What do you know respecting the circumstances of the English at Amacuro?

Q. What other intelligence have you regarding the days or day on which the flag was hoisted?

A. In the month of June the deponent was in the port of Tabla, going downwards, and there Juan Centella inquired if he knew of two flags which had been hoisted at the mouths ("bocas") and of some shots that were heard, to which the deponent replied that he had come from Angostura, where nothing was known.

Q. Did he know of any troops being at the place where the flag was?

A. He knew nothing thereof.

Signed with the Governor:

(Signed) FLORENTINE GRILLET

CARLOS SUERA

The Secretary of the Government,

(Signed) ANDRES E. LEVEL

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Inclosure 5: MR. O'LEARY TO SEÑOR ARANDA

Caracas, August 21, 1841.

Sir,

I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of the note your Excellency addressed to me on the 17th instant. The arrival of the packet on the same afternoon, and the necessity of dispatching it, prevented me from replying before now.

With respect to the circumstance which is the principal object of your Excellency's note, I know nothing more than the vague reports that were current at Angostura towards the end of July last.

About three weeks since I received from his Excellency the Governor of British Guiana a despatch, dated, the 24th June, acquainting me that Mr. Schomburgk had set out in May last for the purpose of commencing his survey, with instructions to act in the most conciliatory manner if brought in contact with any of the Venezuelan authorities. . . .

(Signed) DANIEL F. O'LEARY

481. MR. O'LEARY TO VISCOUNT PALMERSTON

Caracas, September 7, 1841.

I have the honour to inform your Lordship that the Venezuelan Government his commissioned Messrs. Rodriguez and Romero, two distinguished Venezuelan citizens, to proceed to British Guiana for the purpose of remonstrating with the Governor of that Colony on the occupation of Barima, and to protest against the same if satisfactory explanations are not given by his Excellency. On hearing of the appointment of these Commissioners I wrote to Mr. Light the despatch of which the inclosed is copy, and which I trust your Lordship will not disapprove of.

I subsequently received from the Venezuelan Foreign Minister a note acquainting me with the above-mentioned appointment, and requesting me to recommend the object of the mission with which Messrs. Rodriguez and Romero are charged to the Governor of British Guiana. In my reply I told M. Aranda that I had already done so. I have since written a private letter to Mr. Light suggesting the utility of initiating the question of an internal commercial intercourse between British and Venezuelan Guiana, from which I think important advantages might be derived hereafter. The Orinoco at no very distant period must become the great channel of Venezuelan trade, and it may be well to consult in time its growing importance, more particularly as connected with the welfare of British Guiana. . . .

(Signed) DANIEL F. O'LEARY.

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Inclosure 1: MR. O'LEARY TO GOVERNOR LIGHT

(Extract)

Caracas, September 3, 1841.

I took the liberty to address to your Excellency a private letter, by the last packet, acquainting you with the reports which I had received from Angostura

relative to Mr. Schomburgk's movements; and I have now the honour to inform your Excellency that on the night of the 28th ultimo I received by express from Angostura further intelligence respecting them.

The British Vice-Consul in that town, in a despatch dated the 12th August, states that the officer who had been sent by the Governor of Guayana to explore the mouth of the Orinoco, and ascertain the truth of the rumours concerning the occupation of Barima and the territory between that point and the Caño Amacuro, had returned to Angostura, and reported that Mr. Schomburgk had retired, leaving behind him a flag-staff with British colours, and several posts with a crown and the letters "V.R." branded thereon, which marks of possession the officer left as he found them.

It may be interesting to your Excellency to know that this intelligence has created here, as at Angostura, and indeed throughout the country, a very painful sensation and much angry feeling, and that the Venezuelan Government has, in consequence, determined upon sending Messrs. Rodriguez and Romero as Commissioners to treat with your Excellency, and to protest, if satisfactory explanations are not received, against the proceedings of Mr. Schomburgk.

The position of this Government under the present circumstances is certainly very critical and embarrassing between the respect it professes towards Great Britain and the popular excitement so openly and decidedly manifested. The issue will depend in a great measure on the reply given by your Excellency to Messrs. Rodriguez and Romero; and I would take the liberty to suggest the expediency of your endeavouring to conciliate these gentlemen, and affording this Government, by your reply, means of temporizing with the pretensions of the more violent in this quarter. The constitutional weakness of the Government is such that the least pressure from without destroys its action, and exposes the country to all the horrors of revolution so frequent in South America.

*****

Inclosure 2: SEÑOR ARANDA TO MR. O'LEARY

Foreign Office, Caracas, September 3, 1841.

Sir,

The Government has thought proper to appoint a Commission, composed of the Licentiates José Santiago Rodriguez and Juan José Romero, to proceed to Demerara near his Excellency the Governor of British Guiana for the purpose of investigating the origin and design wherewith the British flag and other marks as of possession were planted at Barima and Amacuro; to enter into explanations with that authority respecting the limits between Venezuela and the British Colony, and also to make suitable reclamations and protests in defence of the rights of the Republic.

Though the Government is persuaded that the Envoys to the Governor will meet on the part of his Excellency with the same conciliatory conduct which he recommended to Mr. Schomburgk in case of coming in contact with any of the authorities of this country, it does not deem it superfluous to request you to recommend the object of the Commission to the above-mentioned Governor, principally with the view to facilitate a speedily and satisfactory arrangement with regard to the act recently executed within our territory, and which keeps in alarm the whole population of the Republic.…

(Signed)FRANCISCO ARANDA

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Inclosure 3: MR. O'LEARY TO SEÑOR ARANDA

Caracas, September 5, 1841.

Sir,

482. COLONIAL OFFICE TO FOREIGN OFFICE

Downing Street, September 15, 1841.

My Lord,

I am directed by Lord Stanley to transmit to your Lordship, for the information of the Earl of Aberdeen, the copy of a despatch from the Governor of British Guiana, inclosing the copy of a Report from Mr. Schomburgk of the operations of the expedition under his command for exploring the boundaries of British Guiana. . . .

(Signed) JAS. STEPHEN

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Inclosure 1: GOVERNOR LIGHT TO LORD J. RUSSELL

Government House, Demerara, July 19, 1841.

My Lord,

I have the honour to transmit a letter in original from Mr. Schomburgk, dated the 22nd June, detailing his operations to date.

Mr. Schomburgk was on the point of setting off for the Cuyuni River, leading to the Essequibo, to connect his survey from the Barima to the point of union.

Mr. Schomburgk has left a protest, herewith transmitted, against these alleged wrongs, requiring respect to be shown to boundary claimed, and to the tribes within that boundary.

The state of deplorable ignorance of the aborigines is detailed, which, however, is no novel allegation.

The fact of murder from superstitious feelings and from revenge of an Indian within our claimed boundary, on a Pi-wa-hee or Obiah man, has been brought to my notice.

It was thought right to hold an inquest on the body of the murdered Indian, and bring the murderer to Georgetown, there to be subject to the judicial authorities; no resistance was made, nor was any confinement of the criminal required, he being perfectly satisfied he had not committed an offence; he therefore voluntarily followed the Superintendent of Rivers and Creeks to Georgetown.

The proceedings of the inquest have been placed in the hands of the High Sheriff, who, having doubts as to the legality of the proceeding has referred them to the Law Officers of the Crown, whose opinion has not been yet give.

Hereafter, as population increases, advantage may be taken of the immense forests on the rivers considered the boundary of British Guiana, but at present they are useless.

Mr. Schomburgk recommends that when the boundaries are fixed some person of authority should be placed at the Barima; but unless the opinion of the Legislature take a decided change, no money will be granted for salary.

The appointment of Mr. Echlin, in the room of Mr. Walton, the artist, to accompany the Mission, has proved of great advantage, his medical knowledge having been of essential service during much sickness of the party in consequence of the incessant rains, and in relief of one nearly fatal accident to the Superintendent of Rivers and Creeks. . . .

(Signed) HENRY LIGHT

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Inclosure 2: MR. SCHOMBURGK TO GOVERNOR LIGHT

River Manari (a tributary of the Barima), June 22, 1841.

Sir,

In conformance with the plan which I had the honour to place before your Excellency, and which received your Excellency's approbation, the Boundary Expedition under my command, composed of the individuals mentioned in the accompanying document, left Georgetown on the afternoon of the 19th of April in the schooner "Home", which had been chartered for the purpose of conveying us to the Waini, or Guainia. After a stormy passage, which the vessel and her crew appeared to be but ill calculated to meet, we arrived in the afternoon of the 21st of April at the mouth of the Waini, where I resolved on disembarking our baggage, and selected a bank composed of sand and shells, heaved up by the sea, as the site of our camp. With the exception of some of our provisions, which were damaged, all our other baggage was disembarked in good order.

I resolved on remaining at the mouth of the Waini a sufficient length of time to enable me to fix the geographical situation of that point with some precision, and also for the purpose of ascertaining to what extent the entrance of the river was navigable. I accordingly commenced a survey, and, with the assistance of Mr. Glascott, completed it by the 31st [sic] of April. I have the honour to send herewith, for transmission to the Right Honourable Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies, a copy of the original survey. It will be observed that, although shallows and sandbanks do not qualify that ;river as a resort for larger vessels, nevertheless if, at a future period, that part of British Guiana should become of importance, it may serve for vessels of smaller size, as during high water it affords a navigable channel of from twelve to eighteen feet at the bar, and a greater depth in the basin. It labours, however, like all tidal rivers along this coast, under the disadvantage that fresh water can only be procured within the distance that can be made in a boat with one-tide in its favour. During our sojourn at the shell-bank I had to send a boat's crew to the River Aruka, a tributary of the Barima, in order to procure drinkable water, which was connected with the delay of a day and a half. The scarcity of water induced me to despatch, on the 27th of April, part of our expedition who were not indispensable for the survey to Cumaka, a settlement of Warrau Indians on the banks of the Aruka; and Mr. King, the Superintendent of Rivers and Creeks, kindly took upon himself to command them. The remainder of the party followed on the 1st May, after the survey had been completed. On the 28th of April we received the visit of a Warrau chieftain from the Canyaballi, a tributary of the Waini, and about two days' journey from its mouth, who, having heard of our arrival, came with part of his men and appeared rejoiced that at last it should be decided whether the Waini was in the British or in the Venezuelan territory, as at present they did not consider themselves secure against being carried away by the Venezuelans, and forced to work at low wages at Angostura, or in other parts of the Venezuelan territory. The Captain is known among the colonists of this part under the name of Sam Peter, and appeared a very intelligent old man. During the interval the weather had changed, and it became now apparent that the short rainy season had set in. We ascended the Waini to the remarkable passage which connects that river with the Barima, and, although not navigable for sailing vessels, affords a ready communication in boats and canoes between the two rivers. This natural channel, which may be compared in some respects to the Cassiquiare, which connects the Upper Orinoco with the Rio Negro, is known in the colony under the name of the Mora Creek. The Warrau Indians, who inhabit these rivers, call it Morawan. Where we entered it from the Waini, l estimated its width 110 feet, and near the entrance we found a depth of 16 feet.

During the flow of tide, the current sets from the Waini to the Barima and with such a velocity that the steersman has to use precautions not to be swept against trees which in one or two places obstruct the bed of the river, and which become the more dangerous since the passage is so very winding: for this reason, though the depth would permit vessels of 6 to 8 feet draught to navigate the Mora, its numerous windings and rapid tide render it only fit for boats and canoes. The ebb tide sweeps with equal velocity through this natural channel, from the Barima to the Waini. The Barima offered, where we entered it from the Mora, the sight of a much larger river than l would have expected it to be. I estimated its breadth 700 feet; its water, still subjected to the influence of the tides, was of a dark colour, and its depth from 18 to 24 feet. About five miles distant from the Mora flows the River Aruka into the Barima on its left bank. Before the conjunction the two rivers are nearly of equal breadth, namely about 400 feet. The Aruka has, however, yellowish muddy water. A few houses, inhabited by Warrau Indians, are within a short distance of the confluence of the Aruka with the Barima. They, with others who inhabit the lower Aruka, acknowledge a Warrau by the name of William as their chieftain, who resides at the small brook Atopani. We followed Mr. King to the Warrau settlement Cumaka, within a short distance of Atopani, where we landed in the evening and found a large assemblage of Warraus with their Chieftain William, all of whom confessed that they had always considered themselves under British protection; and, as proof thereof, the chieftain bore one of the sticks which are given as a badge of chieftainship by the authorities of British Guiana, and which he is said to have received as early as seven years ago.

The Indians assembled offered a distressing sight of suffering under ophthalmia. My former travels have made me acquainted with numerous tribes who inhabit British Guiana or the adjacent territories, and though that disease is by no means unusual among them, I nowhere saw it as frightfully exhibited as here, where at least 50 percent of the inhabitants are suffering under the disease; or, in consequence of it, have their eyesight impaired. I ascribe it to their inhabiting the low marshy grounds, where it appears they are more subjected to colds than in the open savannah or on the high mountains, and to inexcusable neglect.

Cumaka is situated on rising ground. These hillocks, which are the first high ground from the sea inland, form a small chain that extends in a western direction; they are composed of indurated clay, highly ochreous; and, to judge from their vegetation, and the provision grounds of the Indians on their declivities, I consider the soil fertile. It is only here that the vegetation on the banks of the rivers commences to change. Hitherto it consisted of curida and mangrove trees, and numerous truli and manicole palms; but when we had reached the rising ground, we observed noble forest trees, as per example the crab-nut tree, useful for building materials, locust, curahara, sirnaballia, sonari, and others.

From the curahara the Warraus prepare canoes and corials, and from the size of these I judge of the height of the trees from which they are made.

Several of the crew were indisposed, and the first coxswain dangerously ill. It was, therefore, necessary to make a stay of some days at Cumaka to restore the health of those who suffered. The skill and usefulness of Mr. Echlin, who accompanied the expedition as artist, but who by his study and experience on attending the colonial hospitals, possesses medical knowledge, were therefore in constant requisition. I employed the interval to determine the geographical situation of Cumaka, as a point in the interior on which to rest our pending operations, and to calculate and draw the plan of the River Waini. A native Warrau, who spoke somewhat of the English language, was engaged as interpreter, and through him we gave the Indians who continued to visit us plainly to understand that it was the wish of Her Majesty's Government to afford every protection to those who inhabited the regions within the limits of British Guiana, and that the object of our present expedition was to ascertain how far Her Britannic Majesty had the right to claim these parts. Many of these Indians had to relate acts of cruelty committed by the Venezuelans and in some instances they accused their persecutors even of murder.

I resolved, as soon as the general health of my crew was restored, to proceed to the mouth of the Barima for the purpose of examining that part of the river, and to plant a boundary post at its eastern point as a testimonial of Her Majesty's right of possession, and another at the western point of the River Amacura, as a testimonial of Her Majesty's claim to the right bank of that river, as the western limit of Her colony of British Guiana. I engaged six Warrau Indians under the command of the chieftain's son, to accompany us, and we set out on our journey on the 10th of May; and having paddled through the greater part of the night, we landed the following day at the mouth of the Barima, where we encamped not far from Point Barima an the river's right bank.

The survey of the river was commenced on the 12th, and after having inspected the localities in the neighbourhood, I fixed upon a small sandy bay at a short distance south from Point Barima to plant the first post. This took place on the 13th of May with such ceremony as circumstances would permit. From thence we proceeded to the River Amacura, where we planted on the same day a post as a testimonial of Her Majesty's claim to its right bank as the boundary of British Guiana. The two original documents which accompany this will serve as an attestation of our proceedings. We took the liberty to name the point of the Amacura, where the post was planted, after Her Most Gracious Majesty, Point Victoria

The situation of the River Barima, near its mouth, offered various difficulties to fix on a base-line for its survey. I resolved, therefore, to determine the respective distances of some of its chief points from each other by intervals noted by chronometer between the flashes and reports of guns fired from three stations. Mr. Superintendent King offered his services to the Assistant-Surveyor, Mr. Glascott, in firing the guns on the 18th of May, when, I am sorry to say, he experienced much temporary injury by the explosion of one of them. I was at first apprehensive for his sight; but am now happy that

It will become evident by an inspection of this plan that the Barima near its mouth labours under similar disadvantages with the Waini; but if once entered, it offers an uninterrupted navigation to vessels of 250 to 300 tons burthen from its mouth to the junction of the Aruka Indeed, a finer river for steamers could not be desired. Its banks are, however, marshy to its junction with the Aruka and so much subjected to the tide that we could not find any spot fit for our night quarters. If the lower tracts were to be put into cultivation, it would cost the same labour and expense which we required to render the coast-land of Demerara arable end productive. This has no reference to the upper regions, which have not been visited as yet by me.

If the difficulty of procuring at all times fresh water could be overcome by building tanks, etc., the Barima and the Waini would offer excellent fishing stations, and the easy communication, either by sea or by the Mora passage, between these rivers, enhances their importance as such. The fish known under the name of querriman in the colony abounds in these estuaries, and its value is acknowledged, as in its dry state it brings, in the market of Georgetown, 5 to 6 bits (1s. 9d to 2s. 3d) each. Of equal, if not greater value, is the morocotto, which frequents the rivers that fall into the Orinoco, and which weigh in their natural state from 10 to 12 lbs. It is of great importance to point out every resource which the Colony possesses, and by the use of which it can render itself independent of foreign importations. These fisheries, if followed up in a proper manner, would no doubt become a useful branch of internal commerce.

I scarcely need observe to Your Excellency that during our operations at the Barima we met no obstructions from the Venezuelans, of whom we saw none, although the Commandant at Coriabo, which is the first post in Orinoco, must have been aware of our proximity, as several Indians who had visited us in our camp went from thence to Coriaba. It was at first my intention to pay a visit to the Commandant, and to assure him, as being the nearest Venezuelan authority, of the friendly intentions of Her Majesty's Government, and that the present demarcation was merely a preliminary measure, open to future discussion between the respective governments; but after having proceeded a considerable distance, an uncommonly rough sea, such as our corial was not at all calculated to encounter, obliged us to bear away for the nearest beach, and there remain till the following morning, when finer weather enabled us to return to our camp.

In a Memorial on the boundaries of British Guiana, which I had the honour to address to Your Excellency, I observed that the Dutch, when in possession of these Colonies, were in actual occupation of the mouth of the Barima; and some merchants of Middleburg, subjects of the States-General, had a colony in that river. Colonel Moody, of the Royal Engineers, who was sent in the earlier part of this century to report on the military situation of the Orinoco, observed at the mouth of the Barima the remains of the former post. I report this circumstance, as the site of our camp, at the mouth of the Barima, gave evident proofs that the ground had been under cultivation, and the environs showed vestiges of trenches. I noted some straggling cassada plants, and a few shrubs of arnotto [sic], which does not grow wild on grounds subjected to tidal influence. These circumstances, as simple as they appear, contribute to attest the undoubted right of Her Majesty to the Barima, with all the tributary streams which flow into it. But as in the demarcation of a territory it is of great importance to fix upon a line of boundary which is permanent and fixed in nature, and which cannot be destroyed by human hands, I thought it advisable to claim the eastern or right bank of the River Amacura, preserving for Her Majesty, or for such of Her subjects as may deem it advantageous for their purposes, the same rights to the navigation and fisheries of that stream as the Venezuelans may claim hereafter.

The pale or post at the mouth of the Barima was planted as an attestation of Her Majesty's undoubted right of possession to that river. This point in the possession of Great Britain is of great value in a military respect. The peculiar configuration of the only channel (Boca de Navios), which admits vessels of some draught to the Orinoco, passes near Point Barima, so that if hereafter it became of advantage to command the entrance to the Orinoco, this might be easily effected from that point. This assertion is supported by Colonel Moody's evidence, who visited this spot in his military capacity in the commencement of this century.

When the limits of British Guiana are established, it will be highly advisable that some person of authority should be placed at this point, not only for that protection of the native tribes, but likewise to command from the neighbouring States that respect to which a British colony like Guiana has full right. Venezuela has a Post and a Commandant within a short distance from the mouth of the Orinoco; the Post nearest to the western boundary of British Guiana is in the River Pomeroon, a distance of 120 miles from the Amacura; and it follows, consequently, that the Postholder of the Pomeroon can never exercise his influence or protection over the Indians who are settled on the Barima, or its tributaries, and which, as I have been assured by the Superintendent of Rivers and Creeks in this district, amount to a large number.

The unsettled state of the weather during the period we encamped at the Barima made our astronomical observations very precarious. Mr. Glascott and myself, however, succeeded in fixing the situation of our camp to our satisfaction; but, as much as I should have liked to extend the survey of the mouth of the Barima to the Boca de Navios of the Orinoco, the unfavourable weather, the ill state of health of my crew, and the delay which would have been connected with it, prevented me from executing a work, which although my instructions did not point out such an undertaking, would have found every excuse by its general usefulness to navigation, if the circumstances had been more favourable.

We left the mouth of the River Barima on the 20th of May, and arrived at Cumaka, which we had selected as our depot, the following day.

The exposure to the heavy rains which had set in did not fail to show its influence on the crew; and five were reported on the sick list. The 27th of May arrived, therefore, before we could start for the Amacura. Mr. Glascott, the assistant-surveyor, being indisposed, he remained at Cumaka, and I was only accompanied by Mr. Echlin.

Thirteen miles from Curuaka, in a southern direction, the Aruka is joined by the Aruau, by means of which the portage is reached, which facilitates the communication between the rivers Aruka and Amakura. I resolved, however, to follow the Aruka some distance beyond the junction, in order to visit a Warrau settlement, and to become acquainted with the nature of that river at its upper course.

It lessens materially in size, being scarcely more than thirty yards across, The banks, still swampy, are studded with manicole and truli palms, along the stems of which we saw the aromatic Vanilla trailing in large quantities, forming natural festoons, and its numerous white flowers diffusing a delicious perfume. The water of the river was of a jet black, and so clear that it proved difficult to discern where the reflected image which the trees and shrubs that bordered its banks cast into the river, separate from the real object. It was late in the evening before we reached the Warrau settlement which consisted of eighteen individuals. Another village of fifteen inhabitants was higher up which it appears is the last inhabited place on the Aruka, that river having its source about 15 miles farther south. The incompetency of my crew for the pending journey, in consequence of several having been left sick at Cumaka, made it necessary that I should engage some Indians to assist in transporting the corial across the portage and through the smaller creeks; and three Warraus were accordingly engaged for that purpose.

We returned next morning to the junction of the Aruan with the Amacura, and, following the former river upwards, reached in the evening the portage, whence we had to transport the corial to one of the rivulets which flow into the Amacura. The ground rises here to about 40 to 50 feet and, extending from north-west to south-east, forms the separation between the small streams which flow into the Amacura and the Barima Thu portage is somewhat more than a mile in a south-west direction. The size of our boat, and the narrowness of the path, were such, nevertheless, that our crew were occupied nearly two days ere they had got the corial across to the River Yarikita, which falls into the Amacura. The soil consisted of rich loam; and I observed several trees useful for naval and civil architecture, as the crabwood, siruaballi, suari, mora, and many others. One of these mora trees astonished me by its gigantic size. If required, and a thicker population and increased industry were to render it expedient, there would be little or no difficulty in connecting, by means of a permanent water-course, the River Barima with the Amacura, this might be effected by cutting of a canal across the portage. The soil, as already observed, is an ochreous clay, and, with the exception of a few blocks of granite, which no doubt had been transported by water, there was no rock in situ that appeared to offer obstructions to such an undertaking. The course of the Yarakita was west-north-west towards its junction with the Amacura. After having been joined at its right bank by the small rivers Waina and Wayuma, it increases considerably in size. The botanist would have been here much delighted in a diversified and interesting flora. Orchideous plants: the Peristeria, or flower of the holy spirit, several Epidendra, with scarlet blossoms, and many others of equal interest, adorned the trees. A Crinum, with white flowers and a delicious perfume, bordered the banks; Bignoniaceae trailed along the trees; and the Brownea racemosa, which has been compared to our rose, added to the variety by its bright scarlet colour, especially when contrasted with the green of the surrounding shrubs and trees. The river is subjected to the influence of the which, it appears, rises here about two feet. A short distance from its junction with the Amacura rise on its right bank some hills to the height of about 500 feet. They are called Manibari, and were the highest we had seen since we left Demerara. On the left bank, and close to the confluence, is the hillock Arikita, of less size than the former.

We entered the Amacura at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and, following its course downwards, were at 5 o'clock in the evening at the mouth of the rivulet Otucamabo, flowing into the Amacura from the right or eastern bank. We ascended it in order to pay a visit to Assecuru, a settlement of Arawaaks and Warraus, under the Arawaak chieftain Jan. We were received by him in a very

friendly manner, and found in him an intelligent man, who spoke the Creole Dutch perfectly. The settlement consisted mostly of Arawaaks, and only a few Warraus. The greater cleanliness in person of the former, compared with the latter, was striking. We did not observe among any of the Arawaaks (whether children or adults) those tumours which are caused by an accumulation of chigoes, and which, being neglected to be extracted in time, render many of the Warrau children lame; indeed, as the chigoes penetrate other parts as well as the feet, these poor children suffer, by the neglect of their parents, not only the greatest pain, but are rendered in their appearance absolutely offensive. This was not the case with the Arawaaks, among whom the filthy state of the Warrau is proverbial; nor did they suffer from those ophthalmic complaints which I have mentioned as being so common to the Warraus of these rivers, and of which the extent has been underrated in the statement that even 50 percent of them suffer under it.

The complaints of Captain Jan of the cruelty of the Venezuelans, or Spaniards as they are generally styled, were numerous. He related that they frequently came to his place and took from him and his people plantains, cassava, hammocks, paddies, etc., without paying for them at all, or at the best very inadequate prices. One of the women showed me an ell of salempores, of the value of one shilling for which they had taken from her four bunches of plantains. But as hard as these proceedings must fall on the poor people, who frequently by brutal force are oblige to give the produce of their fields to their oppressors, and suffer in the sequel want themselves, it would be well if there it stopped. But, alas! the system of carrying Indians from their habitations to distant parts of the Orinoco and Venezuelan Guiana, and there oblige them to work in bondage and subject them to chastisements, is frequently penetrated upon these poor beings. In the small River Otucamabo, which Jan inhabits, there was, at a short distance from the mouth, a settlement of Warrau Indians, called Awarra, who a few months ago were surprised by a number of Venezuelans, led, as they told me, by the Commandant of the Lower Orinoco, and three of them were carried to the Venezuelan post, Coriabo. Some time after, however, they found means to get away at night, in a small canoe; and, as they are now staying at Assecuru, I conversed with them through our interpreter. Even supposing that much of what they related is exaggerated, still, if any part of it be true, the conduct of the Venezuelans towards the natives is stamped with tyrannic cruelty. One of the Indians, who had been forced to work at an estate called Carussima, as I understood, said that those who, by age or infirmity, were not able to finish their tasks, were flogged with a four-tongued whip of ox-hide, or they were drawn up with their hands to a beam in the workhouses, and, when thus hanging above the ground, were unmercifully beaten. Their nourishment, during the period they were forced to work, was scanty, and of the coarsest description; and, as to the reward for their labour, if they should be allowed to return to their homes, this was out of the question. I will not relate any more of the cruelties which were mentioned as having been inflicted upon them or others; but the truth of these was attested by the Indians who were present; and they observed likewise that it frequently had occurred that Indians who travelled with their families in canoes had been overtaken by the Venezuelans, who, having tied the men, had violated in their presence their wives and daughters. I cannot think for a moment that the higher authorities of the province are acquainted with these diabolical proceedings, to which, no doubt, they would put a stop. But the poor Indian, who, in consequence of the distance of the seat of the Provincial Government, can never bring forward his wrongs, or expect any redress, must not suffer; much less he, who, according to the right of possession, or the claim of Her Britannic Majesty, considers himself under her protection.

As I possess, myself, some knowledge of the Creole language, and as the chief boatmen, Prentice and George Albert, speak it perfectly, I examined Captain Jan whether he believed in a supreme being, a future life, or was aware of the nature of an oath, and the punishment which awaits those who perjure themselves; to all which he answered in the affirmative, having acquired some knowledge of the Christian religion during his stay at the Essequibo, where in former times he worked for wages; and he asserted that, if required, he would confirm by an oath the truth of what he had told me. I desired him to assemble next morning his people, and I found that their number amounted to 59; namely, 19 men from the age of fifteen years upwards, 14 boys, 13 women, from fifteen upwards, and 13 girls. I told them, through our interpreter, the object of our coming here; and that it was not the wish of Her Britannic Majesty's Government, since it claimed the right bank of the Amacura as the limit of the British colony of Guiana, that they should be molested; and that I should make it my duty to bring their complaint, through your Excellency, to the knowledge of the Right Honourable Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies. Meanwhile, I advised them, if these oppressions of the Venezuelans continued, rather to leave their present habitation, although it might be dear to them, and to draw nearer to the cultivated part of the British colony, where the law would secure them against such oppressions; which proposal they promised to consider. I drew up the accompanying document, of which I left a document in the hands of the chieftain, Jan; and under the supposition that the Venezuelan Authorities of the Orinoco have been informed through their Government of the intentions of Her Majesty's Government, I hope that, by presenting this document, it may prevent the repetition of similar atrocities. At the same time I beg leave, submissively, to suggest to your Excellency to transmit a copy of this protest to the authorities at Angostura, and to desire them to stop these proceedings of their inferior servants, as the Indians of the Amacura accuse the Commandant of the Orinoco who resides at Coriabo, of having led the party who surprised the Warrau Indians at the Amacura and carried them into bondage.

With Captain Jan of Assecuru as a guide, and our crew increased by several of his followers, we left the settlement on the 2nd of June, and followed now the Amacura upwards. After having passed the Yarikita, which we had descend two days previously, we found that the Amacura decreased materially in size, lessening in the course of the day to a stream. We ascended, at 5 o'clock in the evening, the stream Curriabo, which joins the Amacura from its western bank, on the Venezuelan territory, where we intended to remain during night at a Warrau settlement, especially as it had rained almost continuously and in torrents during the whole day.

The Indians have all withdrawn from the banks of the Amacura, and selected small streams for establishing their settlements upon. They suppose that by doing so they are less subjected to the visits of the so-called Spaniards; and, in order to increase their security, these streams are almost allowed to be grown over, so that one only who is well acquainted with their navigation would suppose them to be inhabited by human beings, or be able to reach their abodes.

The intricate navigation rendered it very difficult to make any progress in our large boat. The settlement consisted of only twelve individuals; but there are several other settlements in the vicinity, and about forty Caribs live in the neighbourhood. The whole population, including the Caribs, amounts nearly to ninety persons, but as the natives are, according to the limit at present claimed by Her Majesty, in the Venezuelan territory I did not consider myself authorised to hear or interfere in their complaints against Venezuelan oppression, nor would I give them any encouragement to settle in British Guiana, in order to prevent the Venezuelan Government from accusing me hereafter of having enticed inhabitants of their territory to settle in the British Colony.

The succeeding day (June 3rd) prove so rainy that we were obliged to remain stationary. We started, however, on the 4th of June to continue the survey of the Amacura to its falls or rapids, which are caused by a ledge of granitic rocks that cross the river, and throw an impediment to its further navigation. It had dwindled the previous day to a stream, but the torrents of rain which had fallen lately rendered it impetuous in its course. Near the mouth, the Curriyabo is only divided by a short neck of land from the Amacura, which latter river has still low banks, and is quite serpentine. As we advanced I found its bank to increase in height, and studded with noble forest trees. The gorgeous flowers of the Brownea racemosa and Gustavia angustifolia were so abundant that they added considerably to the beauty of the sylvan scenery. A few miles above the junction of the Curriyabo with the Amacura, the stream Tusa joins the latter river from its right bank. It appeared to be of the same size as the Amacura The course of the Amacura is much farther westward in ascending than laid down on extant maps. Our course was to-day generally west-south-west to the fall Cuyurara. This fall is about 12 feet in perpendicular height; two, others are higher up, and the whole descent may amount to about thirty feet. The small size of the river renders the aspect of the falls by no means imposing, and it may be said that the Amacura above its junction with the Yarikita is only fit for the navigation of the small boats of the Indians.

We did not proceed farther, which in our large boat would have been impracticable, nor did it appear to me that I was so far warranted in risking the death of the individuals who accompanied me as to prosecute the stream's course in small boats, where protection against the inclemency of the rain proved impossible. Astronomical observations were so precarious that, since we departed from Cumaka, we had not seen either sun or stars. There are no more inhabitants at the banks of the Amacura or its tributaries beyond the junction of the Curriyabo, and, according to the evidence of the Indians, who pretended to have been at the source of the Amacura, it is about two days' journey in their small boats from the fall Cuyurara.

The 5th of June saw us on our return to Assecuru. Arrived at the junction of the Yarikita with the Amacura, I selected one of the trees on its left bank to engrave on it Her Majesty's initials as a boundary mark. This tree is situated on the northern foot of the hill Arikita, and about 500 yards distant from the junction of the rivers, which bears north 37 degrees west.

On leaving Cumaka, and considering the present journey as a pioneering expedition, I had only provided myself with a chronometer, a sextant, an artificial horizon, and prismatic compass. The unfavourable state of the weather enabled me only to procure observations of the sun for chronometer on the morning of the 6th of June, and ten days having elapsed without any intermediate observations, I could not depend upon its rate. However, I had desired Mr. Glascott, who, as a consequence of indisposition, had remained at Cumaka, to fire, at 6 o'clock on the evening of the 6th of June, three guns, which we distinctly heard at Assecuru. We thus procured the direct compass bearing of Cumaka, and, combined with my observations for latitude, I received as result the difference of longitude between Cumaka and Assecuru.

I was fortunate enough to procure here, and at the Upper Amacura, a large supply of Indian provisions, for which we paid, to the full satisfaction of the Indians, in such articles as they much desired, namely, cutlasses, knives, calico, salempores, beads, etc. The provisions which we had brought with us from Georgetown being nearly exhausted, this supply was very welcome, and, as I had received information from Mr. Glascott and his party at Cumaka that they were short of provisions, I dispatched a large supply by two small canoes across the portage of Yarikita.

There is no doubt that the Amacura is navigable for smaller vessels and steamers to the Yarikita; the bar at its mouth and the inconsiderable breadth, which seldom amounts to more than 300 yards renders it unfit for larger vessels. It abounds in that delicious fish, the morocoto.

It was late in the evening before we reached Victoria Point, at the mouth of the Amacura, and we were happy to observe that the boundary post which we had planted here on the 13th of May was still standing The same refers to the post which we had planted at Point Barima, and which we visited next morning on our ascent of the Barima.

We arrived on the 10th of June at Cumaka, where to my great pleasure I found the invalids mostly restored, and Mr. Superintendent King rejoicing in his recovered eyesight.

We prepared the succeeding day for our departure, when a murder, which had been committed two months ago upon an Indian from the Orinoco, obliged Mr. Superintendent King to take cognisance of it, and to enter into judicial proceedings. As this case comes before your Excellency in a more detailed form, I shall only allude to it in general terms, and make such remarks as my knowledge of Indian manners and customs call forth.

As the deed was committed within the assumed limits of British Guiana, namely, east of the Amacura, and in a river which falls into the Barima, it would come under the jurisdiction of the Colony, but a serious question arises whether the Indian, who has no knowledge of the Christian religion, and does not acknowledge our laws, can be punished for an act which civilised nations consider a capital crime, but which according to the manners and customs he has been brought up in is a meritorious deed. And this persuasion has not left him. He himself went to the Indian chieftain Cabaralli, who bears the highest authority in these rivers, and informed him of what he had done, and since the Superintendent thought it his duty to proceed with him and the witnesses to Georgetown he has followed voluntarily and without restraint to be tried by a Court of Justice and adjudged by laws of even the existence of which he has no knowledge. His judges are not able to enter into his feelings, nor do they see that by the maxims of his tribe he was, as it were, ordained to commit an act which any other Indian under similar circumstances, and equally unacquainted with the Christian religion, would have considered it his sacred duty to perform. But this tragical event, which is no doubt one among many that have come to our knowledge, gives rise to the mournful reflection that there are in this Colony, and comparatively within so short a distance from its capital, thousands of Indians who walk in perfect darkness with regard to the Christian religion. Should the moment arrive when religious teachers shall be sent amongst them, and they shall be converted, such cases must cease entirely, or the perpetrators will be amenable to the Courts of Law for their misdeeds. In the present case, between Indian and Indian, both of whom are uncivilised, it is my opinion, based upon my knowledge of the Indian character, of their customs and manners, that Maicarawari is not amenable to the Courts of Law of this Colony for the deed which he has committed.

I have to apologise to your Excellency for the remarks and the opinion which I have advanced; but another opportunity might not occur to show how much it is required to tender civilisation to the native tribes who inhabit British Guiana. If Great Britain, by its commercial connections and shipping, derives any benefit from the possession of this Colony, it must be recollected that the territory belonged once to those tribes from whom European nations have wrested it.

Although the rainy season has for some time past set in, and although our stores are materially reduced, and we have been deprived of many comforts, I yet deem it my duty to persevere, and continue the survey to the Cuyuni. The two large corials, which we are not able to transport across the land, have received orders to proceed round the coast to the Essequibo, where they are to remain at Bartika Point, while the coxswain Cornelius is to meet us with small canoes and a supply of the most necessity provisions on the Cuyuni. As far as I can foresee, three to four weeks may elapse before the expedition can return, for refitting, to Georgetown.

The map which I am constructing will point out more clearly the route which we have taken, and those points where boundary marks have been planted. I shall lose no time, on my return to the Colony, to lay this map before your Excellency, the incompleteness of which at this moment, where my investigations are unfinished, and unprovided as I am with the necessary materials for its construction, prevents me from enclosing it herewith. I must not, however, omit to observe that more unfavourable weather for astronomical observations we could not have had than we have experienced during our expedition.

I cannot close this report without bringing to your Excellency's notice the alacrity and good conduct of the officers belonging to the Expedition. It gives me likewise pleasure to observe that the men who compose the crew have performed their duty to my satisfaction, and I have only to wish that they may continue in their good behaviour.

The expedition is highly indebted to Mr. King, the Superintendent of Rivers and Creeks of the County, who, by his active co-operation in furthering the ends of the Expedition, and his acquaintance with the Indians of these parts, has made his assistance the more valuable. . . .

(Signed) ROBERT H. SCHOMBURGK,

Her Majesty's Commissioner of Survey.

*Not sent to the Foreign Office

APPENDIX (A).

Names of Officers on the Guiana Boundary Expedition

Mr. Commissioner Robert Herman Schomburgk.

Mr. Assistant Surveyor Adam Gifford Glascott, R.N.

Mr. William Leahy Echlin, Artist.

Attached to the Expedition

Mr. Richard M. Schomburgk, Botanist of the Royal Prussian Gardens at Sans Souci.

Mr. Thomas Hancock.

*****

APPENDIX (B).

Dated this 13th day of May, 1841

(Signed) ROBERT H. SCHOMBURGK,

Knight of the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle, Third Class

ADAM G. GLASCOTT, R.N., Assistant-Surveyor.

ROBERT KING, Superintendent Rivers and Creeks, S.J.P.

WILLIAM L. ECHLIN, Artist.

THOMAS HANCOCK.

HERMANAS PETERSON [X - His mark]

CLASS CORNELINSEN [X - His mark]

HENRY CHESHAM [X - His mark]

PRENTICE ALBERT [X - His mark]

GEORGE ALBERT [X - His mark]

JOHN BELFAST [X - His mark]

THOMAS JOQUIN [X - His mark]

CAESAR NUNEZ [X - His mark]

DANIEL FREDERICK [X - His mark]

SAMUEL WITTEN [X - His mark]

WILLIAM CLARK [X - His mark]

Warrau Indians (Signed)

WACARABA [X - His mark]

DANIEL MANUEL [X - His mark]

MAYUCARE [X - His mark]

CURIABA [X - His mark]

YAROW-ANARI [X - His mark]

ARUA-CAIMA [X - His mark]

URUABALLIA [X - His mark]

APPENDIX (C).

This is to certify that I, the undersigned, Her Britannic Majesty's Commissioner for Surveying and Marking out the Boundaries of British Guiana, planted this day, in the presence of the witnesses who have subscribed their names hereto, a boundary post, branded with Her Majesty's initials; and claimed in the name of Her Majesty Victoria, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, all the land extending from the River Barima to the eastern point of the River Amacura, where this river falls into the Orinoco, and along its right or eastern bank to its sources, with the right of fishing, and the free navigation of British vessels thereof, and the land farther southward, as may be hereafter claimed in Her Majesty's name.

Dated: 13th day of May, 1841

ROBERT H. SCHOMBURGK,

Knight of the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle, Third Class

ADAM G. GLASCOTT, R.N., Assistant-Surveyor.

ROBERT KING, Superintendent Rivers and Creeks, S.J.P.

WILLIAM L. ECHLIN, Artist.

THOMAS HANCOCK.

HERMANAS PETERSON [X - His mark]

CLASS CORNELINSEN [X - His mark]

PRENTICE ALBERT [X - His mark]

GEORGE ALBERT [X - His mark]

HENRY CHESHAM [X - His mark]

JOHN BELFAST [X - His mark]

THOMAS JOQUIN [X - His mark]

CAESAR NUNEZ [X - His mark]

DANIEL FREDERICK [X - His mark]

SAMUEL WITTEN [X - His mark]

WILLIAM CLARK [X - His mark]

Warrau Indians (Signed)

WACARABA [X - His mark]

DANIEL MANUEL [X - His mark]

MAYUCARE [X - His mark]

CURIABA [X - His mark]

YAROW-ANARI [X - His mark]

ARUA-CAIMA [X - His mark]

URUABALLIA [X - His mark]

APPENDIX (D).

Given under my hand and seal at the Arawaak Settlement, Assecuru, this first day of June, 1841, and the fourth year of Her Majesty's reign.

ROBERT HERMANN SCHOMBURGK

Knight of the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle, Third Class

483. SEÑOR FORTIQUE TO THE EARL OF ABERDEEN

22, Wimpole Street, London, October 5, 1841.

Now let his Lordship figure to himself the surprise with which the Government of Venezuela must have learnt that a guard-house (or sentry-box), with the British flag flying on it, had been constructed on the territory of the Republic. The Government of the latter is not cognizant either of the origin or object of this proceeding, which it trusts will be satisfactorily accounted for. In the meantime, however, the Undersigned, in compliance with his instructions, begs to press on his Lordship the necessity of proceeding to the negotiation of a Treaty of Boundaries as a preliminary step to the operation of demarcation, and requests his Lordship to be pleased to return an answer to the note of the 28th January above referred to. . . .

(Signed) A. FORTIQUE

484. THE EARL OF ABERDEEN TO SEÑOR FORTIQUE

Foreign Office, October 21, 1841.

The Undersigned, Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, has the honour to acknowledge the receipt of the note addressed to him on the 5th instant by M. Fortique, Minister Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Venezuela, referring to a correspondence which took place in January last between the Acting British Consul at Caracas and the Venezuelan Minister for Foreign Affairs respecting the appointment of Mr. Schomburgk to survey and mark out the boundaries between British Guiana and Venezuela, and stating that the Government of Venezuela has been informed that a guard-house, or sentry-box, has been erected upon the Venezuelan territory, and the British flag has been hoisted thereon.

The Undersigned has to inform M. Fortique that Her Majesty's Government has received from the Governor of British Guiana Mr. Schomburgk's Report of his proceedings in execution of the Commission with which he has been charged. That Report states that Mr. Schomburgk set out from Demerara in April last, and was on his return to the Essequibo River at the end of June.

It appears that Mr. Schomburgk planted boundary posts at certain points of the country which he has surveyed, and that he was fully ware that the demarcation so made was merely a preliminary measure open to future discussion between the Governments of Great Britain and Venezuela. But it does not appear that Mr. Schomburgk left behind him any guard-house, sentry-box, or other building bearing the British flag.

With respect to the proposal of the Venezuelan Government that the Governments of Great Britain and Venezuela should conclude a Treaty as a preliminary step to the demarcation oi the boundaries between British Guiana, and Venezuela, the Undersigned begs leave to observe that it appears to him that if it should be necessary to make a Treaty upon the subject of the boundaries in question, such a measure should follow, rather than precede, the operations of the survey. . . .

(Signed) ABERDEEN

485. GOVERNOR LIGHT TO LORD STANLEY

(Extract)

Government House, Demerara, October 21, 1841.

I have the honour of forwarding to your Lordship a second Report from Mr. Schomburgk completing the detail of his operations from the Barima to the Cuyuni at its union with the Essequibo. I have hitherto withheld this Report in expectation of being able to transmit at the same time a map of the country about which Mr. Schomburgk has been employed. Its progress has been so much interrupted by sickness of Mr. Schomburgk and his party that the map is yet unfinished.

*****

Demerara, August, 1841.

Sir,

The party under my command left Cumaka, where we had sojourned for some time, as detailed in my former report, on the 13th of June; and having arrived at the junction of the Aruka with the Barima, we continued the ascent of the latter river in an east-south-eastern direction. We reached on the next day its junction with the Kaituma, which falls in on the left bank from the south, and is at its mouth about 200 feet wide. The Kaituma is inhabited by Warrau and Waika Indians, and is connected with the Upper Barima by several intermediate brooks.

Numerous rivulets join the Barima at both its banks, some of them inhabited by Warraus. It has still, however, the appearance of a tidal river, being margined by mangrove and curida bushes, over which manicole and truli palms raise their head. Its banks form continued swamps, which only through the industry of man could be made arable.

We encamped on the night of the 15-16th of June, at a Warrau settlement, the chieftain of which called himself Marawari. The noise of the Indian drum and songs on our approach announced that the inhabitants were revelling; and on landing we had sufficient evidence that Marawari was intoxicated. One of his wives was in the same state, and thus we witnessed, for the first time since we had left the colony, the effects of that horrible vice, drunkenness.

The settlement consisted of five huts, surrounded by rich provision grounds; and I observed with pleasure some lemon and lime trees near their houses. Their provision fields abounded in cashew nuts (Anacardium occidentale).

We passed on the following day the small river Maruiwa, or Hohanna, which, by the interlacing of numerous other rivulets, affords a passage in boats from the Barima to the Waini, a journey which the Indian effects generally in two days.

At a short distance above this river rise some hillocks from both its banks. They are the first which are met with in the Barima. The Warrau chieftain, Clementi, has selected one of them to build on its summit a large hut, which, by its construction and neatness, distinguished itself from the generality of Indian houses The erection of this house, with its gallery in imitation of a second storey, was the more gratifying as he did it to award accommodation to the Superintendent of the district on his periodical visits, the good effects of which, as exhibited in the character and better conduct of the Indians in their social intercourse, I had several times opportunity to witness.

I always considered it my duty, wherever an opportunity offered for illustrating however slightly, the geology of the colony, to observe how far the structure of the country might be favourable to cultivation, it being undeniable that the quality of the soil depends generally upon the rocks which form the strata below the arable land. The super-strata at the hills of Warina consist of ochreous clay, intermixed with mould, pebbles, and that due proportion of sand which would particularly qualify it for the cultivation of coffee. The large blocks of ferruginous clay which lie dispersed on the surface insure the necessary moisture for the cultivation of that plant, for it is well known to the agriculturist how beneficially such blocks operate on the soil on which they lie, contributing not only to the retention of the moisture, which would otherwise evaporate, but to the precipitation of atmospheric vapours.

The rivulet Curiye offers another medium of communication with the Maruiwa and the Waini, but it can only he made use of by small boats. We passed, at 9 o'clock on the 18th of June, the River Amissi, which joins the Barima on its left bank. It is of considerable size, and at the junction of the two rivers it would seem as if the Amissi were the larger one. The Indians, however, informed me that its course has not the length of the Barima, and that its banks are mostly swampy; the current appears insignificant.

During the rainy season the influence of the tide is felt to this point; in the summer months it is felt still higher up. The swampy banks of the Amissi render it unfit for habitations. Even the Warraus, whom the earlier authors of travels described as living on the tops of trees, but who in reality raised only a platform just above the level of the water, and rested their miserable dwellings on stumps of Ita trees, prefer now higher ground to build their huts upon. The Amissi affords, by natural canals, communication with the River Kaituma.

Since we had left Warina the Barima, in ascending, had adopted a more south-western course, its banks also became higher, while the palms and mangrove bushes, which till how had been so numerous, became less frequent, and were replaced by a more varied vegetation. Our Indian guides informed us that, by ascending the rivulet Yaramuku half a day, we would reach high hills and savannahs. We continued, however, the ascent of the Barima, and passed the rivulets Aruta and Pequa; the latter inhabited by Warraus. The Barima narrows above this creek to forty yards, and flows with a strong current, which impeded our progress; its depth was still from three to four fathoms. The banks (it being now the middle of the rainy season) were full to overflowing and rose scarcely a foot above the water's edge. In lieu of palms the most stately mora trees overshadowed the river. In all my former travels in Guiana I have nowhere seen trees of this description so gigantic as on the land adjoining the Barima at its upper course. Indeed, frequently when our boat rounded some point which the river made in its course, and a long reach was before us, these majestic trees appeared in the background as hillocks clothed with vegetation, until a nearer approach showed our mistake, and we found that what we considered to leave been a hillock was a single tree rising to the enormous height of 130 to 150 feet, forming by itself, as it were, a forest of vegetation. The importance of the mora in naval architecture is now fully recognised in Great Britain, and a new export trade has been opened to the Colony. At the Upper Barima this tree is abundant, and grows to such a size that the whole British Navy might be reconstructed merely from the trees which line its banks, a circumstance well worth consideration, especially as being near a river which is navigable to vessels of twelve feet draught, the craft intended for the transport of the timber might load at the very spot where the trees are cut down.

It is only lately that the timber of Guiana has come into notice in England; but so superior are the mora and the greenheart for objects of naval architecture that a higher price is given for them in the seaport towns than for any other wood imported into England.

We entered on the 19th of June the Caruwavu or Caruawa River, a tributary of the Barima, and halted at a settlement of Warrau Indians. While among the Warraus I had heard much of one of their games which they exhibit during festivities, and I had the satisfaction of seeing it here performed. It is played in parties, two against two; and the champions, painted and dressed accordion to the taste of their tribe, show their athletic skill by attempting to push each other from a space of ground by means of the naha, which I might resemble to a shield. It appeared to us an innocent pastime which gave agility to their limbs, and displayed to the greatest advantage their muscular power and fine proportions.

There are several Warrau settlements on the banks of the Caruwavu. I estimate their number at 200 individuals. The Manari, a river with a stronger current than the Caruwavu, joins the latter on its left bank at the distance of about a mile from its confluence with the Barima. The Manari is mostly inhabited by Warraus, but there is a settlement of Waikas about five miles up where we intended to stay for a few days. I had understood from some Indians, who were well acquainted with the Cuyuni, that there had been once a Dutch post at an island called Tokoro, which was much farther to the west than that part of the Cuyuni where, from the information I had received previously to my submitting the memorial on the boundaries of British Guiana, I considered the boundary line ought to cross to the River Cuyuni. The path overland led from this settlement to the River Barama, and from thence to the Cuyuni; and it became, hence, necessary to select it as a starting point. Our larger canoes, being much too bulky, were now of no further use; and, us the official duties of Mr. King, the Superintendent of the County, required his speedy return to Georgetown, I resolved on sending the two canoes, with such of the crew as I considered not qualified for the fatigues of an overland journey, under his command to the coast.

We landed at the settlement, Manari, in the afternoon. It consisted of five Indian houses, the largest of which was given up to us to reside in. In my former report I alluded to the negligence in person and in the houses of the Warraus, and mentioned how superior the Arawaak Indians were in that regard, to the latter. Equally superior, if not surpassing the Arawaaks, are the Waikas. Their cleanliness, both in person and domestic arrangements, was a gratifying picture after having travel for months among the Warraus. The Waikas are of much fairer complexion than the other Indians who inhabit the coast regions, whom they surpass in athletic form and regularity of features. The Warraus indulge in bigamy; I met even several instances of polygamy among that tribe. It is different with the Waikas, whom I found uniformly to possess but one wife.

The land adjoining Manari is wonderfully productive. We saw sugar-canes vying with the best on the coast, Indian corn and maize far surpassing any ever produced at the coast regions, and bunches of bananas weighing from 80 to 100 pounds. The superstratum is a rich loam, intermixed with vegetable earth and sand; and, as it lies upon clay, a sufficient moisture to advance vegetation is always kept up, thus affording every capability for the cultivation of the staple produce of the colony.

Mr. King, and those of the party who were to return with him, left Manari on the 22nd of June. Our provisions were at that time much reduced, and the period of the year did not warrant me in supposing that I would be able to get much from the Indians. I desired, therefore, that the boat of the expedition should proceed up the Essequibo, and await the land party at Bartika Point; from whence a supply of the most necessary provisions should be sent up the Cuyuni, in a smaller corial to meet us. This service was confided to the second coxswain, Class Van Corneliusen.

The Warraus are famed for their skill in finishing canoes out of the single trunk of a tree. They formerly furnished the colonists, as well as the tribe of Indians inhabiting the coast regions, with canoes and corials which, for durability and speed, far surpassed any boats ever introduced from Europe. Of late years their industry has much relaxed, and they are loud in their complaints that the Spaniards of the Orinoco take away all their largest craft and destroy them, and that the smaller only escape by their being able to hide them. The famed Spanish launches employed during the revolutionary war of Venezuela, were made by the Warraus. Some of these were roomy enough for from 50 to 70 people. They refuse now to make any of so large a size, not for want of the trees fit for the purpose, but that, they say, if the Spaniards hear of their making any large craft, they send a party of men to take them away or cut them in pieces, in order to prevent them from being sold and used for smuggling by the people at the mouth of the Orinoco. Such cruel acts cannot be practised upon the Indians who live within the British boundary, if that boundary is once politically recognised.

We were accompanied by a number of Indians from Simuita and the neighbouring settlements, who intended to ascend the river to the falls, to shoot the delicious fish called maracotto or ossibu, which, at the time these waters are full, migrate beyond the falls for the purpose of depositing their spawn.

We formed a flotilla of small boats, our canoe being the leading frigate. Several fish were procured on the first day. In order to attract them to the shore, a number of the seeds of the carapa, or crab-nut, are pounded, and, having been surrounded by a netting made of withes, they are put in the water and soon attract the greedy maracotto; an Indian stands ready with a light spear which he lances into them one after another with unerring skill. I have in my former report alluded to the importance of following up the fisheries as an additional resource of the colony. I here observed that the maracotto reaches frequently a length of 30 inches, and is 26 inches in girth, while its delicious flavour recommends it to attention as an article of trade.

We observed on the 27th of June a tract of sandstone which was heaped up in numerous blocks. It is fine-grained and much used by the Warraus in lieu of grindstones to sharpen their tools for the manufacture of their boats. We arrived in the afternoon at the fall Mecoro-vussu, which throws the first impediment to the navigation of larger vessels on the river. A few miles below the falls we found a depth of three fathoms. The Barima is, therefore, navigable so far for steamers of considerable size, although it might prove tedious to sailing vessels to reach that distance, in consequence of the serpentine course and strong contrary current.

It is not known to the Indians inhabiting these regions that white men had ever penetrated so far before. We might have stopped here, and commenced our return, the more especially since the weather was so unfavourable; but I found the course of the Barima so different from what it is laid down on maps that I considered it of importance to trace it higher up, as, by its western course on its ascent every mile would add to the British territory. This course, differing so much from the Barima of theoretical geographers, will, I presume, be deemed sufficient evidence of the importance of the measure which Her Majesty's Government have resolved upon, namely, that an actual survey should prelude the definitive negotiations with the Governments interested in the determination of these boundaries.

Only the rainy season could have afforded us the opportunity of ascending the Barima any further, and I resolved, therefore, to continue until we could make no more progress in our corial.

The first series of falls were ascended without any accident, and we halted the sane evening near some temporary huts which certain Waikas from Manari had erected opposite to a place where they intended to found a new settlement. Although months had doubtless elapsed since any human being had sojourned in these huts, we found them swarming with fleas and tshigoes, which made us soon relinquish the idea of using them for our night's quarters.

I found it now advisable to discontinue the ascent in corials, as numerous trees which had fallen across the Barima would have thrown the greatest difficulties in the way of any further attempt to advance with the boats.

After having marked three trees with Her Majesty's initials, I left Mr. Glascott in charge of the camp which we had formed at the junction of the two rivers, and having armed the most effective of the crew with cutlasses and axes, we pathed ourselves a way through entangled bushes and swamps, following the left bank of the Barima. With the exception of two rivulets, the tributaries which the river received were of inconsiderable size. Its bed is frequently traversed by granitic dykes, over which the water precipitated itself impetuously, and its current is so rapid that it would have proved difficult to make any way in ascending, even in a small corial. I admired the number of noble forest trees, among which I observed the Bullet tree, the Locust tree, the Crab-wood, Curahara, Hupu, Cuyama, Yarura, and its allied species Paruacussana, the Suari or Impa, and Makaraballi, but the most remarkable appeared to me the Tunkara, which measured in circumference from twenty-eight to thirty feet. Its trunk rose free from branches, smooth and round to about 70 or 80 feet, and I was told by some of my Indian guides that the Warraus use the tree for making canoes. It is soft and white, and the colonists prepare staves from it. The Warraus prepare their bark or shell from the bark of the bullet tree and Makaraballi.

Our stack of provisions being now completely exhausted, we had to return towards our camp. I halted, therefore, at 11 o'clock, and, having marked a tree with Her Majesty's initials, we returned to the spot where we had encamped the previous night, under severe rain and thunder. The river was about thirty feet wide when we had left to follow its bank, its course frequently obstructed by rapids and falls, and, upwards, west-north-west. The land adjoining on either side was fertile, consisting of clay mixed with sand and vegetable earth. The forest scenery was luxuriant, and hillocks of inconsiderable height, perhaps not more than 50 to 60 feet above the Barima, appeared particularly adapted for the cultivation of coffee and cacao.

We reached, on the following day, the camp at the junction of the two rivers, where Mr. Glascoott, during our absence had only succeeded in taking meteorological observations, the unfavourable weather having prevented him from determining its geographical position astronomically.

An Indian messenger awaited us here from the Lower Barima with the news that a party of Venezuelans, headed by the Commandant of the Orinoco, had proceeded to the mouth of the Barima and the Amacura and cut down the boundary posts which, in the execution of the service confided to me, I had planted there.

How far this information was founded in truth I cannot assert. However, the appearance of these boats, which were said to be armed, had created a panic among the Indians, and those of the Rivers Aruka and Amacura were fled into the woods.

Our departure from Manari was delayed in consequence of the indisposition of the first coxswain Peterson, and Mr. Echlin, attached as artist to the Expedition, but to whom, from his study of medicine and his knowledge of the diseases of the colony, the medical treatment of our sick had been entrusted, reported that, in consequence of serious indisposition, Peterson would be unable to journey with us overland. From the information which I had procured, the road promised to be of the most fatiguing description, and as I was anxious that the chronometers, of which two had hitherto preserved a fair rate, should reach safely the coast regions, in order to prove by re-measurement of Georgetown how far the observations taken by their means were to be trusted. I desired Mr. Glascott, the Assistant-Surveyor, to proceed with the coxswain by water to the coast, while Mr. Echlin and the men best fitted for such an undertaking were to accompany me overland to the River Cuyuni. I had another object in view in sending Mr. Glascott by the route alluded to, as, should the weather have proved favourable, he might be enabled to determine by astronomical observations some of the more important points an the coast.

We were joined by a number of Warraus and several Waikas from Manari, whose services we had engaged to assist in carrying our luggage from Manari to the Barama, which flows into the Waini. We were told that we would have to ascend the Barama in boats for 4 days before we should reach the path that leads to Cuyuni.

An Indian carries scarcely more than 24 lbs. weight on journeys overland. While the negro carries invariably his burthen on his head, experience has taught the Indian that by doing so he would not be able to make much progress through the thick woods, and his load is, therefore, slung on his back. For that purpose they have baskets, which are made of the stems of a calathea or of some species of palm.

Our preparations had been completed, the loads distributed according to the appearance of the strength possessed by our carriers, and, after Mr. Glascott had left with his party in a boat which was hired for the purpose, we commenced on the 8th July our march overland.

The forest through which we now began our march appeared to have less underwood, and I noted numerous specimens of that valuable timber tree the Siruaballia, which affords one of the best timbers for the planking of vessels and the construction of gigs, boats, etc. I saw trees of this description of which the trunk might have measured 70 feet before they branched off. Through the whole of our day's journey, cedar and other forest trees, many of them of the most gigantic dimensions, were abundant; besides numerous Hya-hya trees The latter is the remarkable tree which yields, by incision, a milky fluid that forms a good substitute for cow's milk. The Indian, to whom it is inexplicable how man can make use of milk after having been weaned from the maternal breast, does not attach any value in that regard to this fluid; but the younger community prepare from it balls of caoutchouc; and as it has now become of such vast importance as to be considered almost a necessary of life, the vegetable Milk tree adds another to the number which furnish this valuable substance.

Our path led us over hillocks from 50 to 60 feet high, extending in longitudinal ridges, and their intermediate valleys formed generally swamps, on crossing which we frequently sank to our girths in mud and water. After four hours' march, we crossed the Caruwavu, here merely a rivulet, and arrived in the afternoon at a small settlement consisting of two houses inhabited by Waikas. I had in the morning the mortification to find that the mountain barometer which I took with me had materially suffered from the land journey, and was from the present unfit for use. After having continued our march for two hours, we halted at Paripu, a settlement likewise inhabited by Waikas. We found the inhabitants in great tribulation: a messenger had arrived from the Cuyuni, informing them that some Spaniards had come across from Augostura, and were building corials at the banks of the Cuyuni for the purpose of surprising the Indians of that river; that they intended to kill the adults, and lead the younger portion away into captivity. This messenger was sent to urge the Waikas of these regions to assist them in making war against the Spaniards. Not only here, but, likewise in the sequel, where I found that this alarm had spread, I showed them the inutility of such a violent measure, as neither in number nor in the means could they cope with their assailants. But I advised them, provided the report were true, to be on the alert; and on the approach of their oppressors, to retire into the woods.

The cassada grounds around the settlement were extensive, and the magnitude of the plantains and of the Indian corn, or maize, struck me with astonishment. Some of the ears of the latter were twelve to thirteen inches in length; those which are produced on the coast regions do not reach more than five inches. The soil is here is rich, black mould, mixed with white sand, and would produce anything. Considering the extent of this productive soil, and the importance to British Guiana that she should avail herself of her internal resources, and thereby produce food for her inhabitants without relying on importations from foreign countries, it is a subject of astonishment to me that the maize of the interior should not have been cultivated on a larger scale than merely what the Indian uses for the supply of his individual wants. To prove the importance of the maize, I would only observe, by the way, that the importation of this cereal grain from the slave States of North America into the British West India Colonies amounted in the year 1836 to 126,680 bushels; of corn meal, to 36,168 barrels; valued together at 61,341 pounds sterling.

Leaving Paripu, we continued our march, and in the afternoon of the same day arrived at another large settlement, judging, at least, from the number of the huts. Here, also the male inhabitants were absent, having gone to work at the Pomeroon. The fear of "La Patrias", as the Venezuelans are invariably styled by the Indians bordering on the Republic, and who still with shuddering think at the massacre to which their brethren were exposed when the lawless hordes entered the mission and spread devastation under the cry "Por la Patrias!" prevailed likewise here; and the raised voices and violent gesticulations of the females when they told our guides of the reports which had come from the Cuyuni were a speaking proof of the wrongs which had been committed upon this once happy people. Unprotected as they were, they intended, they said, to leave their settlement, and to seek their way to the Pomeroon, where their husbands were working. Our interpreter stated to them the object of my mission, that I was then on the way to Cuyuni, and that if I should meet any Venezuelans there, I promised every exertion to prevent them from crossing over to this Colony.

While passing through the village I noticed at the farther end a house which was abandoned. Two heaps of ground thrown up near the middle of the house, and one covered with a large earthen vessel, attracted more particularly my attention. I made inquiries, and learnt that they were graves of a father and his child, both of whom had been killed by the malpractices of a piaiman or conjuror. When is the period to come at which the Christian religion shall enlighten these poor benighted beings, and prevent the recurrence of such dreadful scenes, with the effusion blood in their train? The accusation that the victim had died through the agency of a piaiman is sufficient to awake a revenger of the deed among his relations.

After we had passed the village we had to wade to our necks for upwards of a mile through water. The Rivulet Parapaimai had inundated its shores, and, as the rain descended in torrents, we were glad when, towards evening, we arrived at the Caribisi settlement Cariacu, situated on the banks of the Barama, which is here about sixty yards wide. The Barama flows about 40 miles farther below into the Waini, and is the largest tributary of that river. It is inhabited by Waikas, Caribisi, Warraus, and a few Arawaaks, whose aggregate number I estimate at 500 individuals.

The men at Cariacu, like those at the two settlements previously passed, were absent at a wood-cutting establishment on the Pomeroon; and we found only a few of the female community, who, with a Carib, had been left in charge of the place.

Several of my Indian carriers and guides declined going any farther. The reports which they had heard in the course of the day were repeated at Cariacu; and as they consisted mostly of Warraus, the most timid of all the Indian tribes, such reports could not fail of having their effect. I had to replace their number from among the Caribisi and Waikas of the vicinity, which occasioned a delay of two days. The weather during the period was so unfavourable that I could not procure astronomical observations.

We had to ascend the Barama to a distance of four days' journey hence before we should meet the path which leads to the Cuyuni, and as there was only one boat to be had which afforded place to four individuals, we had to resort for a conveyance to shell or bark canoes, called by the colonists of Demerara "wood-skins," and by the Spaniards "conchas." They are made merely of the bark of divers species of trees, that portion being stripped off and manufactured into the boat. They are generally from 25 to 30 feet long, and, when laden, seldom draw more than 3 inches of water. Light, and the most simple of construction, they can be easily carried on the head over rocks and other impediments which might obstruct the navigation. Indeed, they are the only craft with which the Indian navigates the upper parts of rivers, but require proper management, as they are dangerous and a false movement when sitting in one of them may cause it to sink. However, we could not procure any other conveyance, and we confided our persons and luggage to these frail vessels.

We departed from Cariacu on the 11th of July. The Barama resembles much the upper Barima; its banks are clothed with similar vegetation, and it is equally serpentine in its course. I noticed a good deal of potter's clay, used by the Caribisi for the manufacture of pottery, which, for its durability is highly appreciated by the colonists. The clay has a greyish colour, and is mixed with the loose materials of decomposing granite.