A System of Universal Geography, Popular and Scientific

try presents the appearance of an extensive and uniform plain. It is covered with thick forests, even to the water's edge, and the coast is so low and flat, that nothing is seen at first but the trees, which appear to be growing out of the water.

4. CLIMATE. The climate in the maritime parts is milder than that of most other districts between the tropics. It receives the full benefit of the trade wind, which in these latitudes constantly blows from the east. A stream of cool air is, therefore, continually poured upon these shores, after having traversed the sea for thousands of miles. The country is subject to heavy and frequent rains, and, from the great prevalence of moisture and heat, is unhealthy.

5. SOIL AND NATURAL PRODUCTIONS. The soil is surprisingly fertile, and a most luxuriant vegetation almost every where overspreads the country, which abounds with the finest woods, fruits and plants. Many of the trees grow to the height of 100 feet. Some are valuable for their peculiar hardness and durability; others are richly veined, capable of taking the finest polish, and well adapted for all sorts of ornamental furniture; while others yield valuable dyes or exude balsamic and medicinal oils. The most delicious fruits are met with. The guava and aviago pear are found in great abundance; and the pine-apples and other fruits are of the finest quality. 6. ANIMALS. Wild animals and beasts of prey are abundant; and are similar to those of the other South American territories. In the rivers are to be found the alligator, the tapir, the manati, the paca and the pipa. Of the serpent tribe there are various species, from the large aboma snake, which

grows to the length of 20 and 30 feet, to those of the smallest size. The woods of Guiana abound with every variety of the feathered species. The vampire bat is also found, and grows to an enormous size. Insects and reptiles of all sorts are produced in such abundance, that the annoyance from this source is inconceivable.

7. FACE OF THE COUNTRY The country is level and uniform along the sea shore. In the interior, it rises into mountains, which frequently contain a great variety of mineral substances. Rich and fertile vallies are interspersed throughout these mountainous tracts.

8. DIVISIONS. This country is at present divided between the British, Dutch and French. English Guiana extends from the Essequibo to the Corantine, and embraces the three colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice.

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Dutch Guiana or Surinam, extends from the Corantine to the Marony. French Guiana, called also Cayenne, extends from the Marony to the Oyapoco. 9. TOWNS. Georgetown, formerly Stabroek, the capital of the district of Demerara, in English Guiana, stands on the E. bank of Demerara river, about a mile from the mouth. The houses are of wood, built upon brick foundations, and seldom exceed two stories. The town is built upon a flat strand, very little elevated above the sea. Some of the inhabitants are very rich. Pop. 10,000, of whom more than half are slaves.

Berbice or New Amsterdam, in English Guiana, is on the river Berbice, about a mile from its mouth. The town is intersected by canals.

Paramaribo, the capital of Dutch Guiana or Surinam, is on Surinam river about 18 miles from its mouth. The streets are straight and handsomely lin ́ed with orange, tamarind and lemon trees. The trade is quite flourishing. Pop. 5,000.

Cayenne, the capital of French Guiana, stands at the N. extremity of the island of that name. It has a large convenient port, defended by a castle. The most noted export is the pepper, so well known by the name of the town from which it is brought. Pop. 1,500.

10. AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE. The cultivated tracts are covered with sugar, cotton, coffee and indigo plantations, and the exports chiefly consist of those articles. In some places, the soil is so exuberant that thirty of rice may be raised in succession.

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il. POPULATION. The colonies of Demerara and Essequibo have a population of 82,000 of whom 72,000 are slaves. Berbice has a population of 30,000, of which 25,000 are slaves; making 112,000 the total population of English Guiana. Dutch Guiana contains 69,000 inhabitants, of whom 55,000 are slaves. The population of French Guiana is about 15,000, of whom above 13,000 are slaves.

12. INHABITANTS. This extensive country being divided between the English, French and Dutch, contains more than the usual varieties of people. There are Indians and Negroes: the savage tribes are indolent. The Dutch with their usual perseverance have converted a marsh, infested with reptiles, into a fruitful and cheerful country. The common diseases are fevers; the climate is humid, and in expeditions against the Indians the soldiers have sometimes been compelled to march in water to their breasts. There are several petty states of revolted negroes in the interior, and many savage tribes of Indians.

CHAPTER XLVII. BRAZIL.

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.

1. BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT. Brazil is bounded N. by Colombia, Guiana and the Atlantic; E. by the Atlantic; S. by the Atlantic, Banda Oriental, Paraguay and Buenos Ayres, and W. by Peru and Colombia. It has an area of 3,000,000 square miles, and extends over two fifths of the continent of South America; lying between the equator and 33° S. lat. and 350 and 700

W. lon.

2. MOUNTAINS. There are several chains of mountains which traverse the country in different directions; but except the bare fact of their existence and situation, little else is known respecting them.

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Berbice or New Amsterdam, in English Guiana, is on the river Berbice, about a mile from its mouth. The town is intersected by canals.

Paramaribo, the capital of Dutch Guiana or Surinam, is on Surinam river about 18 miles from its mouth. The streets are straight and handsomely lined with orange, tamarind and lemon trees. The trade is quite flourishing. Pop. 5,000.

11. POPULATION. The colonies of Demerara and Essequibo have a population of 82,000 of whom 72,000 are slaves. Berbice has a population of 30,000, of which 25,000 are slaves; making 112,000 the total population of English Guiana. Dutch Guiana contains 60,000 inhabitants, of whom 55,000 are slaves. The population of French Guiana is about 15,000, of whom above 13,000 are slaves.

W. lon.

3. RIVERS. Brazil is watered by a profusion of rivers. The chief of these is the majestic Amazon, or Maranon. The immense tributary streams which on both sides fall into this river, and intersect the vast interior in every direc tion, give to it all the advantages of a maritime shore. Some of the other rivers are the Madeira, the Tapajos, the Xingu, the Tocantin, the San Francisco, the Parama, and the Paraguay.

4. LAKES. Several lakes are found in various parts of Brazil; but none by any means commensurate with the magnitude of the country. The lake of Patos, situated towards the southern extremity, is the largest it is 150 miles in length, and about 35 at its greatest breadth. Lake Mirim lies south of Patos, and like it runs parallel to the coast for about 90 miles, being 25 in extreme breadth.

5. CLIMATE. In the vicinity of the Maranon, and in the northern parts, great tropical heats prevail; but these are considerably tempered by the excessive humidity of the atmosphere, and the copious dews. In the southern parts, the climate is mild and temperate, and frequently cold. The west wind, passing over vast marshy forests, is found to be unhealthy in the interior parts. From March to August is the rainy season upon the coast. During the rest of the year, there is almost constant dry weather, the wind blowing from the north with little interruption.

6. SOIL AND NATURAL PRODUCTIONS. The soil is very fertile in a large portion of this country. The forests produce trees of a great variety, and of a remarkable size, suited for ship-building and other purposes. They are of a remarkably rapid growth. There are, besides, lighter species of wood, similar to fir, not to speak of logwood, mahogany, and an infinity of ornamental and dyeing woods. There are three kinds of Brazil wood, which is an important article of export. Melons, bananas, lemons, guavas and oranges grow along the coast; and aromatic and medicinal plants are very abundant. 7. MINERALS. Gold and diamonds have been the substances for which Brazil has been mostly famed. There are extensive gold mines in the country, which have not been worked. Considerable quantities of gold have been taken from the beds of rivers. It is generally found in small grains, which are mixed with pebbles and gravel. The gravel is taken up in bowls and washed by hand. A fifth part of the gold obtained is set aside as the emperor's due. The quantity obtained annually in Brazil, is estimated at about $5,000,000. The principal diamond district is that of Serro do Frio, or the cold mountains, which are situated on the highest ridge of that range, which runs nearly parallel to the coast of Brazil, and attains its greatest height about 300 miles distant from the shore.* The largest and most valuable dia

The diamond-works are in the vicinity of Tejuco, a town containing 6,000 inhabit ants, who are chiefly indebted to them for support. The principal establishment is situated on the river Jijitonhonha, a tributary of the Rio Grande. There are others situated on the river Velho, a branch of the Francisco, and on the Rio Pardo, as well as sev eral other small streams belonging to this elevated tract. The Rio Pardo, though small and insignificant in its appearance, has produced as large a quantity of the most precious gems as any river in the district. The Jijitonhonha, which is formed by the junction of several streams, is about as broad as the Thames at Windsor, and is generally from three to nine feet deep. At the time Mr Mawe visited these works, they were working at a curve of the river, from which the stream was diverted by a canal cut across the tongue of land round which it winded, the former course of the river being stopped just below the head of the canal, by an embankment across its channel formed of several thousand bags of sand. The river being both wide and deep, and occasionally subject to overflow, the embankment must be made so strong as to resist the pressure of the water, admitting it to rise to the height of four or five feet. After this operation, the water is drained away from all the deeper parts of the channel, by means of large caissons, or chain-pumps, which are worked by a water wheel. The channel being in this manner laid dry, the mud is carried away, and the cascalhao is dug up and

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A System of Universal Geography, Popular and Scientific: Comprising a ...