Rivers.] The chief rivers are, 1. The Miffifippi, to which the French have given the name of St Louis. They fay it rifes in the north of Caaada, and, running fouth-eaft, and then fouth, falls into the middle of the gulph of Mexico.

The rivers Conchaque and Apalache run from north to fouth east of the Miffifippi, and fall likewife into the gulph of Mexico; as does the river Ogichee. According to Mr Oglethorpe, the rivers Flint and Catoche rife in the Apalachian mountains, and, paffing through part of Carolina, fall into the gulph of Mexico.

The rivers Alatamaha and Savannah rise in the fame mountains, and, running eaft, fall into the Atlantic ocean. The river of St John is a noble navigable river, which runs parallel to them, and formerly divided Spanish Florida from the British dominions.

As to the air and feafons, and the produce of Florida, these articles are the fame as in Carolina, which lies in the same climate, and is contiguous to it.

The perfons and characters of the Florida Indians alfo will be found in the defcription of Carolina, which was originally a part of Florida,

Bays and Capes.] The chief bays in Florida, part whereof the French have denominated Louisiana, are, 1. St Bernard. 2. Afcenfion. 3. Mobile. 4. Pensacola. 5. Dauphine. 6. Jofeph. 7. Apalaxy. 8. Spirito Santo. And, 9. Carlos bay.

The chief capes are, 1. Cape Blanco. 2. Samblas. 4. St Auguftine. And, 5. Cape Florida.

3. Anclote. Seas.] The feas bordering on Florida are, the gulph of Mexico, and the gulph of Florida.

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Boundaries.] Bounded by the North fea, (part of the Atlantic ocean), on the north; by the fame fea, and Surinam, a

the eaft; by the country of the Amazons and Peru, on the fouth; and by the Pacific ocean, and Veragua, on the west.

Mountains.] TERRA FIRMA PROPER confifts of prodigious high mountains, and deep valleys, flooded more than half the

year.

The province of Carthagena is a mountainous woody country; and that of St Martha is like it. According to Dampier, thefe are the higheft mountains in the world, being feen at 200 miles diftance. From these run a chain of hills, of almoft equal height, along the confines of Peru, quite through South America, as far as the ftreights of Magellan, which are called Los Cordelleiras des Andes.

The province of Venezuela, and district of Caracoas, the most nor. therly province of South America, has a continued tract of high ridges of hills, feparated by fmall valleys, pointing upon the coaft of the North fea.

A chain of barren mountains, almost impaffable, runs through the province of Popayan, from north to fouth, fome whereof are vulcanios; but toward the thores of the Pacific ocean is a low country, flooded great part of the year.

Rivers.] 1. Darien; 2. Chagre; 3. Santa Maria; 4. Rio Grande, or Magdalena; 5. Maracaiba; and, 6. Oronoque.

Bays, Capes, &c.] The ifthmus of Darien, or Terra Firma proper, joins North and South America. A line drawn from Panama, in the South fea, to Porto-Bello, in the north, or rather a little weft of those two towns, is the proper limit between North and South America.

The principal bays in Terra Firma are, 1. The bay of Panama. 2. The bay of St Michael's, in the South fea. 3. The bay of Porto-Bello. 4. The gulph of Darien. 5. Sino bay. 6. Carthagena bay and harbour. 7. The gulph of Venezuela. 8. The bay of Maracaibo. 9. The gulph of Trielto. 10. The bay of Guaira. 11. The bay of Curiaco. And, 12. The gulph of Paria, or Andalusia, in the North fea.

The chief capes are, 1. Samblas point. 2. Point Canoa. 3. Cape del Agua. 4. Swart point. 5. Cape de Vela. 6. Cape Conquibacoa.

7. Cape

7. Cape Cabelo. 8. Cape Blanco. 9. Cape Galera. 10. Cape Three Points. And, 11. Cape Naffau. All on the north fhore of Terra Firma.

Air.] The fea-coafts of Terra Firma are generally unhealthful, being exceffive hot, and very wet great part of the year; but there are fome elevated fituations further up the country, that are tolerably cool and healthful.

Soil and Produce.] The foil of Terra Firma proper is good about the middle of it; but the coafts of the north and fouth feas are barren fand, or drowned mangrove land, that will fcarce produce any kind of grain.

In Carthagena the valleys are tolerably fruitful; and the balms, gums, and drugs it produces, are in great efteem. There are alfo fome emeralds found here.

The province of St Martha produces Indian corn, and almost all manner of fruits, as well of Old as New Spain. There are alfo copper-mines, emeralds, fapphires, and other precious ftones. The valleys near the coaft are excessive hot, while their mountains are covered with fnow.

The province of Rio de la Hacha abounds in Indian corn and cattle; and has a pearl-fishery on the coalt, with confiderable faltworks.

Venezuela is a rich foil, and has plenty of corn, cattle, fugar, tobacco, fruits, venifon, and other game, fupplying the adjacent colonies with provifions.

Their plantations of cocoa, or chocolate-nuts, in the district of the Caracaos, are efteemed the best in America; and there are fome gold fands in this province, which occafions it to be as well peopled as any province in this part of the world.

The produce of New Andalufia is chiefly fugar and tobacco, Brafil wood, and feveral kinds of dying wood, with fome gums and drugs; and here was formerly a pearl-fifhery.

In the province of Popayan it rains three quarters of the year, innumerable torrents falling from the mountains; in the fands whereof are found great quantities of gold-duft. Silver-mines also are found in their mountains; which draws great numbers of the Spaniards hither, though it be one of the most unpleasant and unhealthful countries in the world.

Animals.] The animals here are the fame as in Mexico and Peru, and are described there.

Perfons and Habits.] The Indians of Darien refemble thofe in the eastern provinces of Mexico; only it is obferved, as they approach nearer the equator, their complexions are darker. When they are engaged in hunting, fishing, planting, or any laborious exercife, they ufually go naked, having their fkins painted with various colours and figures; but they have their robes of ceremony (as Wafer calls them) both white and black, made of cotton linen, which reach down to their heels; and the men wear coronets of cane on their heads, adorned with feathers nor do they ever ftir abroad without their arms, their bows, arrows, lances, and daggers, or great knives; and many of them of late ufe fire-arms, which they purchase of the Europeans,

Both men and women are of a round visage, and have short bottle nofes, their eyes large, generally gray, yet lively and fparkling. They have high fore heads, white even teeth, thin lips, a mouth moderately large, their cheeks and chins well proportioned, and, in general, have fine features; but the men more fo than the women. Both fexes have long black hair, coarfe and strong, which they ufually wear down to the middle of their backs, or lower, at full length; only the women tie it together with a ftring jult behind their heads, from whence it flows loofe like the mens. They fuffer no other hair to grow but that on their heads, their eye-brows and eye-lids. Their beards, and all below the girdle, are pulled up by the roots as food as any appears; and they anoint their heads and bodies with oil or grease.

There are among thefe dark-complexioned Indians, fome that are perfectly white, in the province of Terra Firma proper. Their skins are not of fuch a white as our fair people in Europe, who have fome tincture of red in their complexion, but a pure milk-white; and there grows upon their bodies a fine, fhort, milk-white down. The hair of their head and eye-brows alfo is white. Thefe people are lefs in flature than the other Indians. Their eye lids are alfo differently formed, bending like the horns of the moon, from whence, and their feeing fo well by moon-light, the Buccaneers call them moon-eyed.

Ornaments.] Moft of the Americans feem to agree in their ornaments, fuch as plates and rings for their lips and nofes, heavy ftrings of beads and fhells about their necks, that reach almost down to their bellies, and in painting their faces and bodies. Instead of beds, they use hammocks in moft places, both of North and South America.

Giants and Canibals, &c.] Here are no nations or tribes, either of a gigantic or diminutive ftature, as the first adventurers pretended; and giants, dwarfs, and monfters, feem at prefent to be expelled from this continent, though our first difcoverers met with fearce any thing elit. The cafe is much the fame as to canibals. There was not a province in America where we were not affured there were tribes of thefe; but in Carabiana, or Paria, we were told, they were all devourers of their own fpecies.

And yet for thefe laft hundred years we meet with no canibals here, or any where elfe. That people have eaten one another, driven to it by famine, may poffibly be true; and an inftance or two of this nature has been thought fufficient to denominate the whole country canibals.

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Revolutions and memorable events.

Ather Bartholomew de Cafas, bishop of Chiapa, has given us a very melancholy relation of the numerous cruelties and ravages com mitted by Pedrarias, who reduced there provinces under the dominion of the crown of Spain.

There landed (fays the Bifhop) in Terra Firma, in the year 1514. B mifchievous governor, who not only waited and difpeopled the fea-coaft, but plundered and ravaged large realms and countries, muruering in

finite numbers of people, from Darien to the province of Nicaragua, being upwards of 1500 miles, full of people, governed by feveral princes, and great lords, in their respective territories, who were poifelfed of more gold than any princes upon the face of the earth at that time.

This governor, and his officers, every day invented new torments, to make the Indians difcover their gold. Some they racked, others they burnt by inches, till they expired in torments.

Pedrarias, and his fucceffors, did not deftroy lefs (in that government only) than 800,000 people, and plundered the country of feveral millions of gold.

The rest of Terra Firma, or the north part of South America, from Darien to the river Oronoque, was fubdued by private adventurers at their own charges. Every one begged a certain extent of country of the court of Spain, and used the natives as they thought fit, rava. ging and plundering the feveral countries, and murdering or inflaving the miferable inhabitants, who were able to make but little refillance. Thofe who reduced Santa Martha, perfectly depopulated a country which was before crouded with people for the space of 400 leagues. Nor were they content with barely maffacring thefe miferable people, but fo tortured and oppreffed thofe that furvived, that they chofe death rather than to live under the tyranny of the Spaniards.

The Bishop adds, that they had carried into flavery two millions of people from the coat of Guinea, or New Andalufia, many of whom perithed at fea for want of provifions, and the reft in the mines and the pearl-fitheries. On this coaft they deftroyed many thoufands, by compelling them to dive for pearls beyond their strength.

In the province of Venezuela, (though the people readily fubmitted to the Dutch and German adventurers fent thither by Charles V. and treated them with all the goodnets and hofpitality imaginable), they destroyed four millions of fouls, and upwards; and molt of their princes and great men were racked and tortured till they expired, to make them difcover the gold thefe favage Christians fufpected they had conzealed.

That the greatest prince of this country, named Bogata, (from whom the capital city was afterwards called Santa Fé de Bogata), was tortured by the general for feveral months, to make him difcover his gold and emeralds; who, in hopes of being releafed from his tormentors, pronifed to furnish them with a houfe full of gold; and difpatching expreffes to every part of his dominions, brought in a prodigious quantiy: but the houfe being not quite filled, he was ftill racked and tortued to make him produce more; which being impoffible, he expired in arments under the hands of his merciless perfecutors.

It was a common thing to cut off the hands and nofes of men and wonen in fport, and give them to their dogs.

They kept packs of great mattiffs, on purpofe to hunt and tear in pieces the Indians. It was an ordinary thing to kill an Indian without my offence given them; and to lend a brother Spaniard a quarter of Iman, as they would lend a neighbour a quarter of pork or muton, to feed their dogs, promifing to return it in kind, when they killed I flave.

Others would go out a hunting for Indians, with their dogs, as they would hunt beafts, and boait of their having killed twenty or thirty in

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