Personal Narrative Of Travels To The Equinoctial Regions Of America During The Years 1799-1804 - Volume 2 - By Alexander Von Humboldt And Aime Bonpland.
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On A Rock More Distant From The Shore, And
Called Tecoma, The Symbolic Figures Are Found, It Is Said, At The
Height Of A Hundred Feet.
The Indians knew heretofore a road, that led
by land from Caycara to Demerara and Essequibo.
On the northern bank of the Orinoco, opposite Caycara, is the mission
of Cabruta, founded by the Jesuit Rotella, in 1740, as an advanced
post against the Caribs. An Indian village, known by the name of
Cabritu,* had existed on the same spot for several ages. (* A cacique
of Cabritu received Alonzo de Herrera at his dwelling, on the
expedition undertaken by Herrera for ascending the Orinoco in 1535.)
At the time when this little place became a Christian settlement, it
was believed to be situate in 5 degrees latitude, or two degrees forty
minutes more to the south than I found it by direct observations made
at San Rafael, and at La Boca del Rio Apure. No idea was then
conceived of the direction of a road that could lead by land to Nueva
Valencia and Caracas, which were supposed to be at an immense
distance. The merit of having first crossed the Llanos to go to
Cabruta from the Villa de San Juan Baptista del Pao belongs to a
woman. Father Gili relates that Dona Maria Bargas was so devoted to
the Jesuits that she attempted herself to discover the way to the
missions. She was seen with astonishment to arrive at Cabruta from the
north.
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