No. 327.

After a very speedy voyage of 24 hours we arrived off the river Pomeroon, and being not too well at home on that coast we were obliged to stay at anchor over-night. In the morning at daybreak we went on as far as the creek of Moruca, which up to now has been maintained to be the boundary of our territory with that of Spain, upon what basis I do not know. It will be exceedingly necessary to define that division-line once for all.

The government's postholder Bartholy came to meet us with his canoe, in which were fourteen Indians of the Warrow nation; upon the advice of the aforesaid postholder we sailed with 6 feet of water into the creek of Moruca and thereupon went on shore at his place.

A very noteworthy thing is that in the rainy season the Spanish lanchas come from Orinoco so far as Moruca by an inland way, passing from one creek into another, and they transport in this fashion their horned cattle and mules, and find on the way the necessary sustenance for the cattle, both grass and water.

2

Those inland voyages are made though the following creeks and rivers: from Moruca one comes into the creek Habon' [Itaboe?] and Barimani, then into the river of Waini, which, from the point where one reaches it, is as large and deep as the river of Demerara. Two tides away from the mouth of the river Waini, to wit, on the southwestern side, one finds a creek named Moera, which one goes up a couple of hours, when one passes into Rio Barima, about three tides from the mouth of the sea. That river is much larger than Rio Demerara and is reckoned twenty hours distant from the post of Moruca. From the mouth of Rio Barima to Rio Orinoco one counts 3 [Dutch] miles distance; between these two rivers there is again a creek named Amacura.

This report was made to us by the postholder Bartholy, who in former times has made various voyages to Orinoco. The navigation of the Spanish lanchas being disposed of, I shall again go on with my journal.

We should never lose sight here of gaining the Indians more and more to our interests, especially at present, if we wish to enter upon the cultivation of the river and coast of Pomeroon. Great advantage may be had from them in felling the heavy timber; besides that heavy work they would be a support for the whites there in case the slaves should grow discontented: the negroes are naturally afraid of the Indians.

1 Note by Prof. Burr. -The Governor-General probably first jotted down some form of the word Itabo, or else himself misread that written word. How easily an It is mistaken for an H in the handwriting of this period could be abundantly illustrated by example.

*Note by Prof. Burr.-The Mora passage.

No. 327.

Having investigated everything at the post of Moruca, we set sail on May 17 to the river of Pomeroon, which by the guess of the surveyors is distant from Moruca eleven to twelve hundred rods-it will be more exactly determined on the map. At the time when the water is at its lowest point we came into the mouth of the river Pomeroon, anchored there, and found 6 or 7 feet of water; therefore, at spring tide, with high water, one will find 14 or 15 feet, and when the grounds in that river are under cultivation, the mouth will become considerably deeper, and also the two mudbanks which lie in the sea on either side of the channel-these will moreover wash away. The width of the river Pomeroon, formerly called a creek, must be at the mouth 90 or 100 rods. At the beginning of flood-tide we sailed up the river to before the creek Wacupo, being half an hour from the mouth, and again anchored there; after this the surveyors went in a corial with the compass to make their observations of the course of the creek.

Now that I am putting on paper my thoughts about the river Pomeroon, I cannot omit to make my comments concerning those persons who already have obtained grounds, and those who still ask for such, along the western seacoast of Essequibo, otherwise called the Arabisi1 coast; this region is situated between the river Pomeroon and the sea. The greater part of the inhabitants flatter themselves that those grounds will be very good for the cultivation of cotton, but the surveyors have assured me that beyond 200 rods in depth counted from the seacoast the grounds there are of the same nature as those in the river Pomeroon; so those planters are again about to work to their own disadvantage, not reflecting that the grounds are notably higher towards the sea, and that they cannot be drained therefore on the sea side.

In order to provide against the ruin of several planters, it would be very necessary that the Directors stipulate in the regulations concerning the grounds of the river of Pomeroon and also along the western seacoast, that from No. 58 along that coast as far as Cape Nassau the grantees shall be required to make the front of their plantations in the river of Pomeroon. Thereby we get more certainty that the 100 rods of forest will remain standing along the seacoast there, and by this precaution we also provide against the washing away of that coast, which is exceedingly necessary for the preservation of that part which in some places has so slight a depth before reaching the river. All this you will be able to study on the map, which will be ready within a short time, and also to observe the lack of depth of the grounds from No. 70 to 86, and the danger which might result therefrom if the greatest part of that coast were inundated by the sea.

1 Note by Prof. Burr.-Or "Arabian": the word is a misunderstanding of Arabisi.

2 Note by Prof. Burr.-1. e., where the neck of land between sea and river is so narrow. at the map will make this clear.

A glance

No. 327.

It is an advantage to the planters to make their plantations in the river and to begin making them from the waterside; 5 or 6 rods should, however, be reserved along the river for a public road. We must expect that, if the government is not stubborn and gives all facilities, this river and seacoast will be brought under cultivation within a few years, whereby the commerce and navigation of our mother-land must flourish. Essequibo can become a gold mine for our Republic.

The creek of Wacupo, on account of its course, which is more or less straight, is very well adapted for making coffee plantations, except near the mouth; on the other hand, because of the breadth which it attains there, the entrance of that creek is very favorable for the establishment of a capital. The necessary requisites are at hand, firewood and fresh water; besides, every merchant who might wish to establish himself there, can receive by sloops the merchandise which is necessary for the warehouses. On the map you can see the demarcation of the land which must be reserved for the town.

After having examined the availability of that creek, we came in the evening again on board the cutter, and thereupon sailed up with the floodtide to before the creek Ikiony, which lies 2 hours from the mouth of the river; this creek is twice as broad as that of Wacupo.

On the 18th May at daybreak the surveyors went with the flood up the aforesaid creek, in order to examine its course with the compass, and at six o'clock we followed them.

We went up the creek with the flood, four or 5 hours up; the grounds in it and the trees there are of the same nature as those in the river Pomeroon, and the farther one goes up the creek, the more the heavy trees decrease, and thereafter one finds a sort of undergrowth, and after that one comes into the savanna.

While awaiting the ebb, in order to drift down again, we took our meal in the forest with the Indians; it consisted of some cassava bread and boiled and roasted crabs, very appetizingly prepared. After that we started upon the voyage to the river of Pomeroon, and in the afternoon went on board; shortly after this the surveyors carne also, and reported to us that the grounds in the savannas are of the same nature and very like those in the creeks of the eastern seacoast of the colony of Demerara, being a land of a fen-like soil.

That same evening we again sailed from the creek of Moruca, and the following afternoon were again in the river of Demerara; there is no example of so favored a voyage, for ordinarily they count for the return from Pomeroon to Demerara 2 or 3 times 24 hours.

Attractive though the grounds in the river of Pomeroon and on the coast are for the speculators in new grounds, such enterprises nevertheless

No. 327.

are accompanied by great danger. One comes there into a wild land, without any aid or assistance; all the things needed for making a plantation, all necessaries of life, must be fetched over a dangerous sea, the expenses are enormously high as can be seen from the subjoined calculation for making a coffee plantation.

No planter can for the present continue his work with any success without heavy loans and even then he is not assured of a good issue of his enterprise; the disasters which one is exposed to are great and manifold; a bad crop, the loss of slaves, the falling of the prices of the products, ill management; any one of these bring him to a total ruin, and where does one find money-lenders who are willing to advance their capital for so many years without receiving interest?

Extract from proceedings of the Council of the Colonies of the State in the West Indies, December 10, 1794.

The Committee on Military Affairs reported that, in pursuance of this Council's resolution of the first of this month, it had examined what was said by Governor-General van Grovestins in his letter of August 19, No. 93, concerning the establishing of military posts in the river Pomeroon:

That, in the Committee's opinion, before it can enter into any deliberations on this subject, it must await the advice of the Committee on Policy, and the decision of this Council in relation to opening that river and granting lands in the same.

And that, when the Committee has been informed on this point, it will more fully offer its conclusions with respect to the defense of that river.1

1 Note by Prof. Burr.-So far as the minutes show, the matter did not again come up in the Council, which a few months later (November, 1795) gave place, under the new Batavian Republic, to a "Committee on the Affairs of the Colonies." In April, 1796, the colony passed into the hands of the British, and remained in their possession until 1802. Meanwhile, with the beginning of 1801, the "Committee on the Affairs of the Colonies" had been replaced by a new body, of but five members, called the “Council of the American Colonies and Possessions of the Batavian Republic."

No. 329.

Extract from Report of G. A. W. Ruysch, Deputy of the Council of the Colonies at the Congress of Amiens, to R. J. Schimmelpenninck, Dutch Plenipotentiary there, January 10, 1802.

Our agricultural colonies are all situated on the mainland; nothing but the shores of the sea and a small part of the rivers have been brought under cultivation. Pushing by boat 100 [Dutch] miles up one finds on the other side of the mountains the finest and most fertile lands of the world, fit for products of the four quarters of the globe, mines of all kinds of metal, a temperate and healthy climate. In case of revolt the blacks can betake themselves thither, establish colonies, and, having become powerful through time and quiet, disturb or annihilate the white people's colonies below; of this the colony of Surinam furnishes a striking example.

Extract from an anonymous Memorial regarding the Colonies of Essequibo and Demerara. [1802?]1

When one casts the eye upon the map, and examines the extent of the seacoast, one will find that from the creek Abary (being the boundary between the colony Berbice and Demerara) to the river Pomeroon, which belongs to the colony of Essequibo, its extent amounts to fully 25 hours' march, and constitutes a continuous row of plantations, which is only intersected by the intervening rivers and creeks; when at the same time one bears in mind that that entire series of cultivated grounds lies close to the sea, where an enemy can at high tide always land with armed boats; and lastly, when one takes into consideration that wind and current are almost always toward the coast, and thereby make a landing still easier; then one will readily become aware of the impossibility of defending these colonies against a foreign enemy. For, assuming that entering the rivers

1 Note by Prof. Burr.-This document, which is undated, now lies loose in a volume of miscellaneous papers relating to the colony of Essequibo from 1777 to 1779. Its contents, however, seem to show it to belong to the year 1802, or possibly to 1803. It may be either of two or three such memorials mentioned at this period by the minutes of the Council of the American Colonies. It is clearly the work of a colonist.