RICA. Political and Moral State. N. AME- October, seeking the extreme cold. The male polar bear roves out at sea, on the floating ice, most of the winter, and till June; the females lie concealed in the woods, or beneath the banks of rivers, till March, when they come abroad with their twin cubs, and bend their course to the sea in search of their consorts. Several are killed in their passage, and those which are wounded show vast fury, roar hideously, and bite and throw up into the air even their own progeny. The females and the young, when not interrupted, continue their way to sea. In June the males return to shore, and, by August, are joined by their consorts, with the cubs, by that time of a considerable size.* Unconquered Regions, & Western coast. Central districts. The WESTERN COAST was originally discovered by the Russians, and is generally of a very alpine character. St. Elias, as it was termed by the Russian navigators, may be seen, it is affirmed, 60 leagues off shore. La Perouse states, that in lat 58°, 37', at Port des François, the primitive mountains of granite or slate rise inmediately from the sea, the summits of which are covered with snow, while glaciers of great extent abound in the cavities. The lofty mountains, which this navigator reckons at upwards of 10,000 feet in elevation, terminate at Cross sound. The most extraordinary practice to which the natives are addicted is that of slitting and distending the under lip, in such a manner as to beautify the females with two mouths. The inhabitants of the districts towards the north seem to be Iskimos. Mackenzie, in his recent journey, found some of the native tribes of a low stature, with round faces, high cheek-bones, black eyes and hair, and a swarthy yellow complexion. Nearer the Pacific they were distinguished by grey eyes, tinged with red. The traveller just mentioned performed two journies, of a very laborious kind, into the INTERIOR or CENTRAL PARTS of North America, which were previously little known, excepting by the exploratory attempts of Mr. Hearne, an officer of the Hudson's-bay company, who performed his journies in the years 1769-1772. He explored a group of lakes called Doobant, and by other names, near Chesterfield, or Bowden's inlet; and to the westward of this district the large lake called Athapuscow. He discovered the Copper river in lat 62°, and expresses his opinion that it flows into some inland sea, resembling that of the Hudson. He found it full of shoals and falls, so as not to be navigable even for a boat. The Iskimos here were of a dirty copper colour, and shorter than those of the south. Numerous sea-fowl were observed, and, in the ponds and marshes, swans, geese, curlews and plovers. The quadrupeds are musk cattle, rein-deer, bears, wolves, wolverenes, foxes, alpine hares, squirrels, ermines, and mice. In visiting one of the copper ́mines, a hill about 30 miles S. E. of the river, he discovered that the copper was in lumps, and beaten out by two stones, with the assistance of fire. The lake Athapuscow is replete with islands, full of lofty trees resembling the masts of ships. The northern shore is rocky and mountainous; the southern more level and agreeable. The wild cattle and moose-deer abound. Mr. Mackenzie begun his journey in June 1789, on the south of the Lake of hills, and proceeded along the Slave river to the lake of that name, identical with the Atha Pennant's Arctic Zoology, p. 188. puscow of Hearne; whence he advanced to the shores N. AM of the Arctic ocean. From the report of the savages, RICA Politic and M State it seems there is another considerable river on the western side of the Rocky mountains, which flows also into the Arctic. His second journey commenced on the 10th of October, at Fort Chepiwian, and proceeding up the Peace river in a south-westerly direction, he ac attained an elevated point, which he calculates at 817 Region yards, situated beyond the Rocky mountains. On the opposite side he passed down the rivers Oregan and Columbia. On the west of the Peace river, or Unjiga, he observed some beautiful scenery, consisting of hill and dale, scattered over with herds of elks on the uplands and buffaloes on the plains. He saw also the grizzly bear; beavers were common, and tracks of moose-deer were distinctly noticed. Among the birds were blue jays, yellow birds, and very beautiful humming-birds. The cold was extreme. Towards the Pacific the natives are fairer than in other parts of the continent, and they often attain a great height. Their eyes are dissimilar to those of other Indians, being grey, with a red tinge. The men only wear a robe of the bark of the cedar-tree, with borders of red and yel low thread; the women have in addition a short apron. The Unjiga he calculates at from 4 to 800 yards wide; the Oregan, where he reached it, is about 200 yards in width. trit The clans of native tribes are almost innumerable; of Native these the most noted are the Five Nations, as they are termed by English writers, or the Iroquois by the French, consisting of the Mohawks, Oneydoes, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Sennekas; besides these, in different treatics, we find introduced the names of the Oneidas, the Tuscaroras, the Wyandots, the Chippawas, the Chickasaws, Shawanoes, the Natchez, and several others. The Natchez, next to the Mexicans, constituted the principal tribe, but are now said to be extinct. They were worshippers of the sun, and peopled the immediate vicinity of the mouths of the Mississippi. The Killistinons, Knistineaux, or Kistinons, extend The over a considerable territory in the central part of ans North America. Their language is similar, or rather identical with that of the inhabitants of the coast of British America, on the Atlantic, excepting the Esquimeaux. This country may be considered, with the exception of the Esquimeaux, lying between Hudson's bay and straits, and a line drawn along the coasts of Labrador and the gulf of St. Lawrence to Montreal; thence to the source of the river Utawas, and W. along the high land between lake Superior and Hudson's bay; thence to the middle of the lake Winnipeg, and along the river Sas-Katchiwine to Fort George; thence by the head of the Beaver river to the Elk river, up to its discharge in the Lake of the hills; then easterly to the Isle á la Crosse, and to Churchill, by the Mississippi. They are generally well proportioned and active; of a copper colour, with black hair, cut into various fantastical shapes. They are very much inclined to pluck their hair from every part of the body. There eyes are black and penetrating; their countenance in general pleasing, and they exhibit no little share of vanity in the decoration of their persons with rings, bracelets, &c. Vermilion is in great request, but their dress is usually simple, varying with the seasons, consisting of dressed moose-skin, beaver, prepared with fur, or European Moral ite. ME- woollens. Their head-dresses are of the feathers of CA. birds, particularly the eagle and the swan. They also make use of the teeth, horns, and claws of animals tical to adorn both the head and neck. Mackenzie says, that of all the nations he had seen on that continent, the Knistineaux women were the most comely. He adds, " They are naturally mild and affable, as well red as just in their dealings, not only among themselves, but with strangers. They are also generous and hospitable, and good-natured in the extreme, except where their nature is perverted by the inflammatory influence of spirituous liquors. To their children they are indulgent to a fault. The father, though he assumes no command over them, is ever anxious to instruct them in all the preparatory qualifications for war and hunting; while the mother is equally attentive to her daughters in teaching them every thing that is considered as necessary to their character and situation. It does not appear that the husband makes any distinction between the children of his wife, though they may be the offspring of different fathers. Illegitimacy is only attached to those who are born before their mothers have cohabited with any man by the title of husband. "It does not appear that chastity is considered by them as a virtue; or that fidelity is believed to be essential to the happiness of wedded life. Though it sometimes happens that the infidelity of a wife is punished by the husband with the loss of her hair, nose, and perhaps life, such severity proceeds from its having been practised without his permission: for a temporary interchange of wives is not uncommon; and the offer of their persons is considered as a necessary part of the hospitality due to strangers. "When a man loses his wife, it is considered as a duty to marry her sister, if she has one; or he may, if he pleases, have them both at the same time. "When a young man marries, he immediately goes to live with the father and mother of his wife, who treat him, nevertheless, as a perfect stranger, till after the birth of his first child: he then attaches himself more to them than his own parents; and his wife no longer gives him any other denomination than that of the father of her child. "The profession of the men is war and hunting, and the more active scene of their duty is the field of battle and the chase in the woods. They also spear fish, but the management of the nets is left to the women. The females of this nation are in the same subordinate state with those of all other savage tribes; but the severity of their labour is much diminished by their situation on the banks of lakes and rivers, where they employ canoes. They are, at the same time, subject to every kind of domestic drudgery: so that when the duties of maternal care are added, it will appear that the life of these women is an uninterrupted succession of toil and pain. This, indeed, is the sense they entertain of their own situation; and under the influence of that sentiment, they are sometimes known to destroy their female children, to save them from the miseries which they themselves have suffered." State. Uncon quered Regions, &c. received and disposed, according to their ages, on each N. AMEside of the chief; when the pipe is lighted, and an equal RICA. distribution is made of whatever is prepared. During Political the meal, the chief sings, and accompanies his song and Moral with some musical instrument. Whoever finishes his meal first is considered the most distinguished person; and if any person cannot eat the whole of his allowance he procures assistance from some of his friends, whom he rewards with ammunition and tobacco. Previous to the feast, a small quantity of meat or drink is thrown into the fire, or on the earth, as a sacrifice. Great care is taken to burn the bones, it being considered a profanation for the dogs to touch them. The public feasts are similar, but with additional ceremonies. Particular circumstances, as illness, long fasting, &c. promote occasion for entertainments, when the person intending to give the feast announces his intention, on a certain day, of opening the medicine bag, and smoking out of his sacred stem. This declaration is deemed a sacred vow that cannot be broken. There are stated periods when they engage in solemn ceremonies of long continuance. At these times dogs are offered in sacrifice, particularly such as are very fat, and of a white colour. They offer likewise considerable portions of their property. The scene of these ceremonies is an open enclosure, on the bank of some river or lake, in the most conspicuous situation; and one of their customs is very remarkable, and equally laudable: if any tribe, or even a stranger, should be passing by, and be in real want of any thing that is displayed as an offering, he has a right to take it, so that he replaces it with some article he can spare, though the value of what he substitutes be very inferior; but to touch or take away any thing without such necessity, is considered a sacriligious act, and highly insulting to the great Master of life, as they express it, who is the sacred object of their devotion. There are no fewer than thirty villages of Christian Indians Indians in New Mexico, who are trained to industrious in New habits, and of various tribes. Their clothing is the skin Mexico. of wild goats; their women wear mantles of cotton or wool. Their mode of travelling is on horseback. The only access to their huts, which are square, with open galleries on the top, is by a ladder, which is removed during the night. The Cumanches, called also Padducas, are an erratic tribe, and very powerful, subsisting entirely by the chase. Their wanderings are, however, confined to the frontiers of New Mexico on the W.; the nations on the lower Red river on the S., the Pawnees and Osages E., and the Uttahs, Kyaways, and various others, little known, on the N. On the Missouri, there are a variety of savage tribes; On the of which the principal are the Osages, on a river of Missouri. that name, and who could send a thousand warriors into the field. They raise considerable quantities of corn, beans, and pumkins, which they economize so as to make it last them from one year to another. The agricultural labour, as in other instances, is performed by women. The Kyaways wander on the sources of the river La Plata; they possess immense herds of horses, and are armed with bows, arrows, and lances. The Uttahs frequent the sources of the Rio del Norte, and are somewhat more civilised than the Kyaways, and have more intercourse with the Spaniards, though they are frequently at war with them. RICA. N. AME- The former of these tribes are supposed to be about a thousand, and the latter two thousand warriors strong. The Kanzas dwell on a river of the same name. At the Political confluence of the Flat or Shallow river with the Missouri, are found the Ottos, and about forty leagues up the river are the Panis, and still higher the Mahas and Poncas. The Aricaras and the Mandans inhabit the right bank of the Missouri. The nation of the Scioux are numerous, and divided into a multitude of tribes, which are not unfrequently in a state of hostility to and Moral State. Unconquered Regions, &c. Californians. Nootka. wards each other. The Californians are remarkable as skilful fishers; but they have a superstition that the fisher must not taste his own prey, lest he should, in consequence, become exposed to danger at sea. Their mode of catching the sea-otter is curious. Advancing into the ocean in a frail canoe, calculated only to hold an individual, who is provided with a long rope having two hooks, he commences his attack by fixing the hooks into the foot and leg of one of the young, which usually surround the female otter. He then gives out the rope, occasionally checking it, which produces painful struggles and roaring. This induces the mother to attempt extricating the young animal, by which it is very rare indeed for her to escape, being caught by one of the hooks, when she is killed by a blow on the head. They are also dextrous hunters, and make use of arrows, slings, and cudgels. So ambitious are they of fame, that they will sometimes hang themselves when rallied upon their ill success. They are said to be cowardly, but they are ferocious, and in their, domestic management, tyrannical. The women provide the food, while the men are loiterers; and not only ill treatment, but murder abounds among them. They all paint in a ridiculous manner, and with a view to render themselves terrible to their enemies. They are generally almost, if not entirely, naked; but the women wear a small apron, and the skin of an animal. Their headdress is a helmet of rushes; the men have feathers. One district is mentioned in which the practice of polygamy is disallowed. Adultery is common, but is subject to punishment. A woman will abandon her infant if sick or feeble, and no inquiries are made. They have magicians, called quamas, who are regarded as oracles, and, from the dread they inspire, easily obtain subsistence from the savages. These wretches distinguish themselves at the festivals, which are assemblies held, in fact, for the purpose of gratifying every irregular appetite. The principal festival is at a new moon, in the seed-time, and lasts twenty or twentyfive days. They have dances and wrestling matches. There are, moreover, several savage tribes at Nootka island. The Alibamons were a considerable tribe on the river Alibama, in Georgia. Formerly, there existed, also, a remarkable nation which approached the Mexicans in character, and who resided on the east of the Mississippi. There were four hundred priests denominated suns, who submitted to the grand sun, their chief, who wore the image of the sun, their divinity, on his breast. Whenever the grand sun died, they interred his wives and some of his vassals with him. We deem it sufficient at present thus to have named some of the principal aboriginal tribes of North America; a more distinct classification, and more ample information belongs to other articles, particularly that of INDIANS, where we shall, from time to time, fill up our general outline of this vast continent by more par- N. A ticular details. RIC Green! There is one country, that of GREENLAND, the mention of which has been reserved to the last under Polit this subdivision, because of the uncertainty of its geo-ang graphical classifications. Whether it be insular or continental has not yet been ascertained; but probably Une it ought to be regarded as forming a natural appendage to the northern American continent. It was discoRegie vered by the Icelanders in the tenth century; and, according to the most accurate maps, its extent is eight degrees of longitude, in lat. 66°, or 200 geographical miles. The western coast was recently explored by the English navigators, particularly Davis. It is a dreary region of rocks, ice, and snow; though in some of the more southern parts, junipers, willows, and birch-trees make their appearance. The highest mountains are on the western coast, and one which is termed the Stag's Horn, consisting of three lofty pinnacles, may be seen forty, or even sixty leagues. The rocks are full of clefts, and generally very perpendicular, filled with spar, quartz, talc, and garnets. The lapis olaris is very useful here, and in the northern parts of America, for lamps and culinary utensils. The natives are a branch of the Iskimos, or American Samoieds; short, with black hair, small eyes, and flat faces, and in number not exceeding at present (in consequence of the ravages made by the small-pox) 10,000. The animals are reindeer, foxes, bears, and dogs resembling wolves. The wolverene is rare, but is found in the southern districts. Hares, too, rather abound. Several species of seals are met with on the shores, as well as the walrus. Fishes are pretty numerous: the same may be said of birds. The climate is wretched in the extreme. Almost a Clin perpetual winter reigns over the trackless wastes of ice and snow, with a short interval of summer, which is very warm. Between cape Farewell, in lat 59°, and the banks of Newfoundland, in the 60th degree N. lat. the immense blocks of ice which characterise the Arctic seas, begin to abound, and along the western coast of Greenland, in Davis's straits. Here they tower upwards in sublime variety; and while the icebergs of the neighbourhood have been compared to floating towns and cities, this mighty rampart presents, as it were, whole districts of magnificent erections in a state of congelation. The icebergs are no where more numerous than opposite these shores, from whence they are carried, by the north-east currents, through the straits, and dissolve in the warmer latitudes. See the article ARCTIC SEAS, where the present state of their geography is amply discussed. This country was religiously established, at an early period, by Denmark, whence was sent the last of seventeen bishops, in the year 1406. During that century the Arctic ice increased to such a degree, that the colony was shut up as by a prison-wall of it in one direction, which joined in another to impassable mountains. Several churches and monasteries were erected in this colony, which extended over a surface of about 200 miles. In 1721, a Norwegian clergyman, of the name of Egede, proceeded to the western shore, where he preached to the natives till 1735; and his example has since been imitated. Thirty years afterwards the Moravians formed settlements, the principal of which were called New Herrnhuth and Lichtenfels. CA. cipal SOUTH AMERICA. § I. Principal divisions and progress of its discovery. SOUTH AMERICA is that part of the American contionent extending from 9° N. to 60° S. latitude, being of t. an average breadth, separately considered, of from 1,400 to 1,600 miles. To the E. it has the Atlantic, which divides it from Europe and Africa; to the W. the Pacific, or Great South sea, by which it is separated from Asia. The isthmus by which it is divided from North America is about 500 miles long. At Darien, or Panama, some writers describe it as only thirty-four miles over; and, allowing for the rivers communicating with the seas on either side, this is probably a correct estimate. This isthmus, with the North and South Continents, forms the gulf of Mexico, in and near which lie the West India islands; the whole of which, together with the southern continent, have been denominated by several European writers, and particularly the Spanish, the West Indies, in contradistinction to the eastern parts of Asia, called the East Indies. ry. This immense continent, and the islands here alluded to, were unknown to the ancients until, as we have seen in the former part of this article, they were discovered, in the fifteenth century, by Christopher Columbus, in the course of his four memorable voyages. di- The greater part of the Southern continent, which is, from its size, as it were, comparatively unpeopled, is possessed by the Spaniards, its original discoverers and conquerors; after whom, however, the French, invited by its riches, established themselves in different parts, as also did the English, the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the Danes. The parts possessed by all these latter powers, except the Portuguese, are exceedingly inconsiderable, and are included chiefly in those maritime districts known by the title of Guaiana, or Guinea. They have frequently changed their proprietors, either by treaty or by conquest. The other two great portions of the continent are well known under the titles of Brazil and Spanish America. SPANISH AMERICA.-Spanish America is divided into three great viceroyalties, namely, that of Granada, in the N.; of Peru, in the W.; of La Plata, in the S. E.; and into a captainship-general, or presidency, of Chili, in the S. W. The viceroyalty of Granada is bounded on the S. E. by the plains of San Juan; W. by some mountains and woods, which are very thick and of great extent; and N. by some extremely craggy mountains, which extend as far as the sea-coast, being 80 leagues long from north to south, and somewhat less wide from east to west. It is subdivided into three kingdoms, viz. the kingdom of Terra Firma, having four subordinate governments and one alcaldia; the kingdom of Granada, having sixteen governments and twenty-three corregimientos; and the kingdom of Quito, having six governments and nine corregimientos. The viceroyalty of Peru has had various limits, according to the difference of the governments. At present its jurisdiction extends to the three audiences of Lima, Charcas, and Chili, separating that of Quito, which is dependent upon the government of Santa Fé de Bogota. It contains, besides the four governments of Guarochiri, Tarma, Guancavelica, and Cuzco, forty-six corregimientos. To this viceroyalty has lately been VOL. XVII. divisions. added that of the Rio de la Plata, which originally S. AMEconsisted of eleven governments and twenty-two corre- RICA. gimientos. The viceroyalty of Peru, therefore, now begins from the gulf of Guayaquil to the south, that is, Principal at cape Blanco, and from the corregimento of Truxillo, which extends as far as Tumbez, in S. lat. 3°, 25', as far as the desert of Atacama, the N. boundary of the kingdom of Chili. It is thus 432 leagues in length from N. to S., and comprehending the kingdom of Chili as far as the lands of Magellan, that is, as far as S. lat. 57°. Its measure from pole to pole is upwards of 1,069 leagues. It has for its limits on the E. the mountains which divide it from the kingdom of Brazil, on the celebrated line called Of Demarkation, or Alexandrian, drawn by Pope Alexander VI., determining the extent of the empire between the Spaniards and Portuguese of the New World. It is bounded W. by the Pacific, or South sea, and its, greatest extent here is 558 leagues. Its The captainship-general and presidency of Chili, lately been made subordinate to the viceroyalty of Peru, is bounded on the S. by the straits of Magellan; on the N. by Peru; on the E. by the provinces of Tucuman and Buenos Ayres; on the N. E. by Brazil and Paraguay; and on the W. by the South sea. It extends from N. to $. 472 leagues, and contains the kingdom of Chili, the governments of Conception, Valdivia, Valparaiso, Chiloe, the Malvine isles, and the isles of Juan Fernandez, and fourteen corregimientos. political divisions consist of the part occupied by the Spaniards, and that which is inhabited by the Indians. The Spanish part is situated between S. lat. 24° and 37°, and is divided into thirteen provinces, viz. Copiapo, Coquimbo, Quillota, Aconcagua, Melipilla, and St. Jago (which contains the capital city of the country of the same name), Rancagua, Calchagua, Maúle, Ytata, Chillan, Puchacay, and Huilquelemu. The Indian country is situated between the river Biobio and the Archipelago of Chiloe, or S. lat. 36° and 41°. It is inhabited by three different nations, the Araucanians, the Cunches, and the Huilliches. PORTUGUESE AMERICA.-This portion of the con- Portuguese tinent, known under the general title of Brazil, is si- America. tuated in the torrid zone, extending from the mouth of the large river Maragnon, or Amazonas, to that of La Plata, from 2° N. to 35° S. of the equinoctial line. It is of a triangular figure; two of its sides, the N. and E. being bounded by the sea; and the third, which is the greater, is the above-mentioned line of demarcation between this kingdom, which belongs to the crown of Portugal, and the dominions of the king of Spain. It is divided into fourteen provinces, or captainships, which are, Rio Janeiro, Todos Santos, Ilheos, Parayba, Pará, Maranham, Espirito Santo, Itamaraca, Seara, Porto Seguro, Pernambuco, Sergipe del Rey, San Vincente, and Rio Grande; and in these are twelve cities, sixty-seven towns, and an infinite number of small settlements and villages, divided into four bishoprics, suffragan to an archbishop; and, besides these, there is the district of San Pablo de los Mamelucos, which is governed after the manner of a republic, with some subordination to the crown of Portugal. Also there are the districts of Dele and Petaguey, which being in the centre of the captainship of Seara, belong to the barbarians, and to some Portuguese who are independent of the jurisdiction of Rey. 3 L S. AMERICA. GUAIANA, or that part belonging to other European powers, is comprehended within the country bounded E. and N. E. by the Atlantic ocean; N. and partly W. Principal by the river Orinoco; W. by the kingdom of Granada; and S. by the large chain of mountains which separates the waters running into the Orinoco and Atlantic ocean from those running into the Amazonas. divisions. Guaiana, &c. Progressive The whole of these extensive regions were discovered geography. about the same period. Granada was discovered and conquered about the year 1528, by Gonzalo Ximenez de Quesada, who named it after the kingdom so called, in Andalusia, his native place. Peru was also discovered about the year 1526, by Francisco Pizarro, marquis of Los Charcas and Atavillos, in the reign of the Indian emperor Atahuallpa, sometimes improperly called Atabaliba. This same discoverer began its conquest in 1531. It was formerly called Biru, from the name of a cacique, or prince, of one of its states on the coast of the Pacific. Some assert, that the word Peru comes from Beru, a river which enters itself into that sea, and which was the first river passed by Pizarro. Others give its origin from a promontory of the same coast, which at that time was called Pelu. In Chili, the Inca Yupanqui, eleventh emperor of Peru, had carried his conquests as far as the river Maule, in S. lat. 34°, 30', when that country was first discovered by Diego de Almagro, a Spaniard, in the year 1535; and he began its conquest, which was afterwards followed up, in 1541, by the celebrated Pedro de Valdivia, who founded its first cities, and afterwards met with a disgraceful death at the hands of the Indians, having been made prisoner by them in the year 1551. These Indians are the most valorous and warlike of all in America; they have maintained, by a continual warfare, their independence of the Spaniards, from whom they are separated by the river Biobio. . Brazil was discovered by Vincente Yanez Pinzon, in 1498; afterwards by Diego Lopez, in 1500; by Americus Vesputius, or Americo Vespucio, in 1501; and by Pedro Alvarez Cabral, in 1502, who was by chance sailing for the East Indies. He gave it the name of Santa Cruz, in memory of the day on which it was discovered; this, however, it did not retain, and it has been called continually Brazil, from the abundance of fine wood of this name found in it. On the death of Don Sebastian, this kingdom, then forming a part of the dominion of Portugal, came to Philip III. by inheritance, as belonging to the crown of Castille. The Dutch, under the command of the prince of Nassau, made themselves masters of the greater part of it; but this loss was again recovered by the Spanish and Portuguese, after a bloody war of many years duration, when it was restored to the dominion of the latter by a treaty of general peace. The French, in 1584, established themselves in Parayba, the Rio Grande, and Canabata, from whence they were driven out by the Portuguese, in 1600. In 1612, however, they returned to construct a fortress in the island of Maranham, with the name of St. Louis, which was taken by the Dutch, and afterwards by the Portuguese, in 1646. From that time this kingdom has belonged to the crown of Portugal, and has given title to the heirapparent, who is called prince of Brazil. The greater part of the province of Guaiana is unknown, from its having been visited scarcely by any other travellers than the Capuchin missionaries, and by these very triflingly; the information we possess, in conse RICA Progress discovery quence, respecting the Caribee Indians is very confused. S. AME A Chronological List of the most celebrated discoverers of Years 1492.-Christopher COLUMBUS, a Genoese, who, on the 11th October, first discovered the island which is called San Salvador, one of the Lucayas, and afterwards the following: 1497. The island of Trinidad, coast of Nueva Andalucia. 1498.-The island of Margarita. 1502.-Porto Bello, Nombre de Dios, the Rio de San Francisco, with the other coasts and islands. This great man, alas! worthy of a better fortune, died on the 20th May, 1506, in Valladolid; having required in his will that his body should be carried embalmed to the island of St. Domingo, one of the larger Antilles. 1497.-Americo Vespucio sailed on the expedition, in which he discovered the coast of Paria, and from him the whole of the New World takes its name. 1498.-Also the Antilles, the coast of Guaiana, and that of Venezuela. 1501. The coast of Brazil, the bay of Todos Santos, and the east coast of Paraguay. 1503.-A second time the coast of Brazil, the river Curubata, that of La Plata, and the coast of Los Pampos, in Paraguay. 1493.-Vincente Yanez Pinzon, a Spaniard, discovered Tombal, Angra, the Rio de las Amazonas and its islands, the Pará, or Maragnon, and the coast of Paria and Caribana. 1501.-Rodrigo Galvan de Bastidas, a Spaniard, discovered the islands Verde, Samba, the city of Calamari, now Carthagena, the gulf of |