Climate
As might be expected, the climate of the country is similar to that of Colombia, with corresponding variations for altitude: tropical to about 2000 feet; above that to 7000 temperate; still higher, cold, with mean annual temperatures ranging from 60° to zero or less on the high mountains. The hot region, tierra caliente, includes the coastal plains with the Maracaibo district, the llanos, a large part of the Guayana Highlands, and a few of the lower mountain valleys. The islands are the coolest, the llanos the warmest part of the tropical region; the hottest section of the latter is south and west, the farthest from the sea. Along the coast the temperature ranges from 64°-68° to 93°-95°. The temperate region includes the most thickly settled sections at moderate elevation, while the cold mountain heights have comparatively few inhabitants. On the llanos the dry season is from November to May, or June, the rainy following to November. The coast has two rainy seasons, December and January, and April to July. The Orinoco Delta and parts of the Guiana section are the most unhealthful; the lowest death rate, rather strangely, is in the cities of the llanos, the next lowest in the regions of the Andes and the Caribbean Mountains.
CHAPTER IX
VENEZUELA: CAPITAL, STATES, TERRITORIES, CHIEF CITIES
The Capital
Caracas, the capital of the Republic, founded in 1567, is a very attractive city with a delightful climate. Only occasionally does the temperature go below 60° or above 80°. Eight miles in a straight line from its port, La Guaira, from which it is 23 miles by rail, the city is at an altitude of 3036 feet on the south side of the outer Coast Cordillera. The city is in the usual Spanish American style, with beautiful plazas and promenades. Exceptionally, the streets, which are at right angles, are numbered instead of named, but the old names are in general use. Notable buildings are the Capitol covering more than two acres, the Miraflores Palace, the Cathedral, University, National Pantheon, Masonic Temple, called the best in South America, a beautiful theatre, etc. A fine view is had from the hill Calvario, 200 feet above, the slopes of which are arranged as a public garden. Caracas is up to date in modern conveniences, water supply, street cars, etc., and has a good and cheap cab service. The city is near the west end of a rich valley 12 miles long and 3 wide, which slopes towards the southeast. The Guaire River below the city flows into the Rio Tuy.
Individual States
The Coastal States follow with the Island State, and Lara, which is neither coast, llano, nor mountain, though having some hills. The coast line extends over 1800 miles.
Zulia, the large State (23,000 square miles) occupying the northwest corner of the Republic, has Colombia on the west and northwest, the Gulf of Venezuela northeast, Falcón, Lara, and Trujillo east, and Mérida with a little of Táchira south. This State, of which Maracaibo is the capital, is one of the wealthiest in the Republic, though still sparsely inhabited. The Maracaibo Plain, the most conspicuous and important section occupying the greater portion of the State, lies between the two great branches of the East Cordillera. The lake itself is a sheet of water about 150 miles long and half as wide, the water sweet in the southern half of the lake, but brackish towards the north. The precipitation in this district amounts to 70 inches annually. Thus an enormous amount of fresh water from the Cordillera is continually entering the lake through its various affluents; of these the Catatumbo with its tributary Zulia, and the Escalante, are navigable for steamboats. The lake has a depth of 30 feet and is served by several lines of steamers as well as by sailing craft. A few small towns on the lake receive agricultural products from their vicinity; along the shore cacao is cultivated with great profit. There is a fine goat farming district; fishing is carried on; there are many settlements of Indians inhabiting huts on piles in the lake in the ancient fashion. North of the city, Maracaibo, are salinas or salt deposits, from which several thousand tons are taken annually. Southwest of Maracaibo, a peculiar tree is found in the forest, the arbol de vaca, or palo de leche, the sap of which, though slightly thicker, may be used in every way as cow’s milk. In the forests are valuable timber, useful creepers, and trees which furnish various gums or resins. Around the lake are found outcrops of coal, also petroleum and asphalt.
COLOMBIA, VENEZUELA, GUIANA, ECUADOR, NORTH BRAZIL
The capital city, Maracaibo, is a busy place, and prosperous. With some good buildings, and other ordinary requirements, it is in need of better paving, a suitable drainage system, and a good water supply, in order to lower its high death rate and to measure up to its favorable location, although this may be called hot.
Falcón, east of Zulia, extends along the coast of the Gulf of Venezuela (also called Maracaibo) past the Paraguana Peninsula, which it includes, and around to the east, so far that the next coast State, Yaracuy, is on the south together with the State of Lara farther west; these three States include the Segovian Highlands; the first two, coast lands also. This section is the oldest part of Venezuela except for the town of Cumaná.
An immensely profitable industry here followed is the raising of goats, which feed on the cactus plains. The extensive coal deposits and salinas count for little in comparison. The northern part of the State is rather barren, but the highlands at the south are forest clad, with fertile valleys raising a variety of agricultural products, chiefly for home consumption. There is one considerable river, the Tocuyo, several hundred miles long, which rises in the mountains of Lara, flows north, then east through Yaracuy and Falcón to the sea. With many affluents, the two of importance are the Carora and the Baragua on the left. The Rio Tocuyo comes down through a long valley, while many short rivers rising on the outer range descend rapidly to the sea. The situation is excellent for the cultivation of cocuiza and other aloes from which sacks and hammocks are now being made. Other industries are soap making and cigarettes; in some sections excellent tobacco is raised.
Coro, the capital of Falcón, the second oldest town in the Republic, contains the first cathedral in the new world. Located on the plains at the base of the Paraguana Peninsula, it is 8 miles from its seaport La Vela and 200 miles west of Caracas.
The important port Tucacas is at the mouth of the Tocuyo River.
The Dutch island, Curaçao, lies not far off the coast, with which it has close connection; some smuggling is said to be carried on.
Yaracuy, a small State with a very short coastal strip, is between Falcón on the north and Carabobo southeast, with Lara southwest. It is noted for its copper mines at Aroa.
Besides the capital, San Felipe, where a cloth factory has lately been organized, the chief towns are Nirgua, population 3000, at the south, amid fertile plains with varied agricultural products, and Yaritagua 20 miles west, where good tobacco is raised, as well as sugar and coffee which grow everywhere.
Lara, an interior State, borders on Falcón, Yaracuy, Cojedas, Portuguesa, Trujillo, finishing with Zulia on the west. Besides the usual agricultural products, there is fibre from aloes, employed in manufacturing sacks, hammocks, and bridles, for which Barquisimeto is noted. The fertile hills and slopes, many now undeveloped, the virgin forests of valuable timber, with areas where petroleum is indicated, will receive attention now that better transportation is afforded.
Barquisimeto, the capital, 2000 feet above the sea, and 90 miles from Puerto Cabello, is the most important city of this section, a centre of traffic for the northern Andes region as well as for the State of Lara.
East of the Segovia Highlands are the States belonging to the Centro, the section near and including the Federal District. These are Carabobo, Aragua, and Miranda.
Carabobo, east of Yaracuy, has a considerable coast line, with Aragua east, and Guárico and Cojedes south. Carabobo, like the states following, is traversed by the Maritime Andes, having fertile valleys between the two ranges. At the south are grassy plains pasturing large herds of cattle. There is virgin territory with forest products of wild rubber, timber, and dye woods; to the east the country is more thickly settled. The state has many agricultural and pastoral products, with marble quarries in the hills. Near Guacara 200,000 plants of sisal hemp are cultivated, here harvested in three years (usually in four), and said to be superior to the best in Mexico.
Valencia, the capital, is a pleasant city, well situated in a beautiful and fertile valley, much of which is occupied by Lake Valencia 30 miles long, with a steamboat service. Having an altitude of 1600 feet the city has a mild climate and enterprising inhabitants. The state contains the best port in the Republic, Puerto Cabello, linked by rail with the capital, which has another railway connecting it with Caracas. A small seaport, Ocumare de la Costa, is celebrated for the excellence of the cacao grown in the vicinity.
Aragua stretches from the coast down to the southeast between Carabobo and Miranda, with Guárico south. In the state is the east end of Lake Valencia, near which is the important town of Maracay, population 6000, in the midst of rich grazing land with pará grass; a splendid farming and stock raising country, its dairies produce a famous cream cheese. Goats, and excellent swine for the tropics are also raised. 15 miles south of Maracay stands Villa de Cura, in the main pass across the inner range to the llanos. Here are many big ranches, the altitude being less than 2000 feet.
La Victoria,[4] the capital, on the Aragua River and also on the Valencia-Caracas Railway, is 19 miles east of Maracay and 53 miles from Caracas. It is a prosperous town with small factories of various kinds.
[4] Very recently Maracay has been made the capital.
The Federal District comprises a long stretch of coast land with the port, La Guaira, as well as a fertile valley with fine gardens of luscious fruits, and coffee and sugar plantations. Some of the coffee trees are said to yield as much as 20 pounds annually, which seems a large story; it is probably two.
Miranda, south of the Federal District, has a long strip of coast land farther east. Anzoátegui is southeast, Guárico south, and Aragua west.
Ocumare del Tuy, the capital, about south of Caracas, is on the Rio Tuy, into which the Guaire flows at Santa Teresa. The broad Tuy valley, here and easterly towards the coast, is full of sugar cane and cacao. To Guapo farther east come hides and other animal products from the llanos as well as rich agricultural produce from the vicinity. Rio Chico, a town near the coast, is a flourishing manufacturing place.
Anzoátegui, east both of Miranda and Guárico, is a very large State with a moderate coast line, but with a deep and wider interior extending down to the Orinoco and Bolívar; the coast State of Sucre and a long stretch of Monagas are on the east. In Anzoátegui the llanos come up to the sea, though the mountains begin again in Sucre.
Barcelona, the capital, is quite a town by the sea, three miles up the Neveri River, but it makes use of the port, Guanta, 12 miles distant. Coal mines are near, owned and operated by Venezuelans, of which fact they are proud, as many of the industries are in the hands of foreigners. Coffee and animal products are exported.
Sucre, occupying the northeast corner of the Republic, is the last State on the Caribbean; having the sea west, north, and east, and the States of Monagas and Anzoátegui south. Here again we find the double range of the Caribbean Hills extending across the State.
Cumaná, the capital, dating from 1513, is the oldest European settlement on the continent; it was the birthplace of the celebrated patriot, Antonio José de Sucre. The city is on the south side and at the entrance of the Gulf of Cariaco, an arm of the sea 50 miles long and 6-7 wide, which extends east and west, separated from the sea by the narrow peninsula, Araya. In colonial days rich and prosperous, the town, population 12,000, has now less than half as many inhabitants; twice it has been destroyed by earthquakes. The neighborhood is famous for its fine fruits, especially grapes, pineapples, and mangoes. The usual products are brought from the interior for export. The waters of the eastern, the inner end of the gulf, are covered with a variety of wild fowls, caught by the peasants for their plumage; formerly killed by drowning, the men diving with them under water. Slaughter of birds for their egrets is now prohibited, other methods for taking the plumes being practicable. On the west end of the peninsula are extensive salinas, exporting 6000 tons of salt yearly; on the south are oil springs.
In this State is the port Carúpano, a city of 11,000, half way between the peninsulas, Araya and Paria, each a long point of land, the latter together with the Island of Trinidad forming the broad Gulf of Paria. Between the Paria Peninsula and Trinidad, celebrated for its pitch lake 100 acres in area, is the Bocas del Drago (Dragon’s Mouths) named by Columbus, through which ships from the north or south pass to the Port of Spain, Trinidad, and to other points on the Gulf, though for some the way is nearer through the Serpent’s Mouth, the southern entrance to the Gulf. Near the extremity of the finely wooded, mountainous Peninsula of Paria is Cristóbal Colon, the most easterly port of Venezuela, opposite the Orinoco Delta. Castro attempted to make this a rival of the Port of Spain, but the roadstead is so poor that the money was expended to little purpose. In Sucre a little north of the San Juan River and near Guanoco is the great Bermudez Asphalt Lake ten times the size of the better known Trinidad.
Nueva Esparta, the Island State, comprises the larger Margarita, 20 miles off shore, the smaller Cubagua, Coche half way between, and other smaller islands. Once famous for its pearl fisheries which are still in operation, the present production of ordinary fish, and from Coche of salt is of equal importance.
La Asunción, the capital, founded in 1524, is in a valley at the east end of Margarita, with a port, Pampatar, at which some European liners call.
Llano States
Monagas, south of Sucre and east of Anzoátegui, is a large State, having at the east a small shore on the Gulf of Paria with the Delta-Amacuro Territory below; on the south is the State of Bolívar.
Maturín, the capital, population 16,000, a cheerful, healthful place with the remarkably low death rate of 12 per 1000, is on the Rio Guarapiche, which flows into the Gulf. This, the most eastern state of the llanos, has probably the pleasantest part around Maturín, where the grassy plain is well supplied with streams having deep cut channels and well wooded banks. The climate too is agreeable. The State, well watered and wooded, its forests near the northern hills, is chiefly a cattle country; the owners live mostly in small towns or villages near the streams, but some in single, primitive cottages or huts. A hammock must be carried by the traveler, though food may be procured.
Anzoátegui, a coast State as well as a llano, has already been described.
Guárico, a very large State west of Anzoátegui and north of Bolívar and Apure, is south of Miranda and Aragua, and has Cojedes and Zamora west.
Calabozo, population 10,000, the capital and chief city, 125 miles southwest of Caracas, is a hot place, but in a good grazing country. The neighborhood is noted for electric eels.
Cojedes, a smaller State west of Guárico, borders on Carabobo, Yaracuy, Lara, Portuguesa, and Zamora.
San Carlos, the capital, is said to be less flourishing than formerly.
Portuguesa, southwest of Cojedes, borders also on Lara, Trujillo, and Zamora.
Near Guanare, the capital, coffee and cacao are cultivated as well as the cattle industry.
Zamora, also west of Guárico, borders north, west, and south on Cojedes, Portuguesa, the mountain States of Mérida and Táchira, and Apure.
Barinas, the capital, is not very prosperous. Formerly there was here a flourishing tobacco district.
Apure, farther south than the other llano States, is west of Bolívar; with Guárico, Cojedes, Zamora, on the north, and a bit of Táchira at the west; it has Colombia for a long distance on its southern boundary.
San Fernando, the capital, with a mean annual temperature of 91°, and Calabozo, are distinguished as the two hottest places in the country.
The Andine States
These have been called attractive and interesting, but lacking good means of locomotion have been little visited. Residents, perhaps returning from Europe, have been obliged to ride several days on muleback to reach their homes. Clean, pleasant towns, fine climate and scenery, mineral wealth, rich forest lands on the upper slopes of the mountains, people hospitable and energetic, characterize the three States, but with poor facilities for travel progress was impossible. Improvement has now begun in this direction, as the need is realized.
Táchira, the most southern of these States, has Zulia and Mérida north, Zamora and Apure east, and Colombia south and west.
San Cristóbal, the capital, at an altitude of 3000 feet is a considerable commercial town. With roads from the llanos, by which cattle are brought, and others, to San Antonio on the Colombian frontier, to Uracá, terminus of the Táchira Railway from Encontrados, and to Mérida, it is evidently quite a centre of trade.
Mérida, preëminently the Mountain State, borders on Zulia, Trujillo, Zamora, and Táchira. Here are elevated plains, deep valleys, bleak paramos or high passes, one reaching 14,500 feet, and loftier snowclad mountains; the last are east of the capital, Mérida.
Mérida, situated on a plateau a mile above the sea, has another and lower range of mountains on the west. These mountain States have the variety of products found in some States of Colombia: tropical and temperate fruits, with coffee, cacao, cotton, wheat, wool, etc.; in Mérida, gold and silver also.
Trujillo, with lower mountains, borders on Zulia, Lara, Portuguesa, Zamora, and Mérida. The fertile valleys produce the finest cacao, there are large sugar estates; wheat grows higher, cattle and goats find suitable pasturage. Northwest are forests largely unexplored; oil springs give promise of future wealth.
Trujillo, the capital, is a busy town with roads in several directions; it is 19 miles from the railway station at Motatán. Other towns of some importance are Valera, Bocono, and Carache.
The Guayana Highlands have a single State and one territory.
Bolívar, a great State, with an area of 90,000 square miles, twice the size of Pennsylvania, has the Delta on the northeast; north across the Orinoco, it has a bit of Monagas, a long stretch of Anzoátegui, and a smaller extent of Guárico, to the point where the Apure enters the Orinoco and the latter river turns east. There, west of the Orinoco, is the State of Apure down to the entrance of the Meta River, below which Colombia is west for a short space. Amazonas is south of the west part of Bolivar, and west of the southeast part, which last has Brazil on the south and British Guiana east. Bolívar, largely covered with virgin forest, includes a vast extent of unexplored territory, besides a gold region bordering on British Guiana.
Ciudad Bolívar, the capital, perhaps a trifle hotter than the coast ports, has a lower death rate. Two hundred and twenty-five miles from the mouth of the river, which during a great part of its course is two miles wide in the dry season and seven in the wet, the city is located at a point where the river is narrowed to a mile. In consequence of this, the water is liable to rise 50 feet in the wet season, flooding the lower and poorer part of the city.
While the capital is the official port of entry, there is a city farther down stream known as San Felix or Puerto Tablas, just beyond the mouth and falls of the Caroni River. These falls, famed since first seen by Sir Walter Raleigh, are an imposing spectacle: a huge mass of water descending over a wall of black granite to the Orinoco below, obviously a great source of electricity in the future. East of the Caroni, which flows from the southern boundary, are the two most populous districts of the State. This is explained by gold. Cart roads, by which merchandise is carried south and balatá and hides are brought north, extend through Upata, capital of the Piar District, to Guasipati, 125 miles; but as the time of wheel traffic may be ten days and upwards, the traveler usually hires a mule and arrives in a few days. Guasipati has been the centre of the balatá industry, but as the local operators lazily cut down the trees instead of tapping them, the main production is moving south.
The town of El Callao, 3 hours ride farther, is over the famous mine of that name. On the border of Guiana 60 or 70 miles south, a section has been opened accessible by water only. The high cost of transport, and the scarcity, the high price, and the poor quality of labor, greatly interfere with the development of this region. With wide spread indications of gold, there is little reason to doubt the existence here of vast mineral wealth.
Besides the forest clad hills of this section there are great stretches of savannas occupied by or suitable for cattle ranches, while plantations and mills for the production of sugar and rum are also found.
Six hours east of Callao, near the forests, is the town Tumeremo, a centre of the balatá industry, where the wholesale destruction of trees still prevailing will end local production and the town as well. The uplands of the Caroni River are yet unknown, but gold, and the timber and vegetable products of the forest will doubtless one day reward the hardy explorer, as in many other regions of the country.
Above Bolívar, on the Orinoco, there is at one point a narrow gorge where the current is at times so strong as to drive back river steamers. Farther on, the Caura River comes in from the south, through savannas in the lower part and forests higher up. On a western tributary of the Caura, the Nichare, there is said to be plenty of good rubber. 130 miles up the Caura are falls or rapids descending 200 feet, a splendid source of power for future saw mills. Two days higher are more rapids in a narrow gorge. The lower part of these Orinoco tributaries are infested with mosquitoes, sand flies, etc., a torment to explorers, but decreasing upstream. Near the Cuchivero, the next considerable river, are many cattle ranches; its upper valley is rich in forest products.
Territories
The Amazonas Territory, beginning as previously stated somewhat below the entrance of the Meta River into the Orinoco, occupies the entire region south to Brazil. It extends farther down than the State of Bolívar, having that State and Brazil on the east, Colombia west, and Bolívar also on the north. Amazonas with 101,000 square miles is larger than Bolívar and still less known, explorers having attempted little beyond the passage of a few streams.
San Fernando de Atabapo, the capital, is a village where the Atabapo flows into the Orinoco and that river begins to be the boundary with Colombia; the Atabapo being the boundary for some distance farther south. The Orinoco coming from the southeast, in its upper reaches is entirely in Amazonas. About the same point as the Atabapo, the Guaviare enters the Orinoco from Colombia, the white waters of this stream contrasting with the clear black (one writer calls it red) of the Atabapo, which latter, it will be remembered, often indicates absence of mosquitoes with more comfort and better health.
It is farther north, between the entrance of the Colombian rivers Vichada and Meta, that the two great barriers to navigation on the Orinoco occur, the Atures Rapids, the lower and the largest on the river, and 50 miles south the Maipures. In each of these sections the foaming river dashes among rocks and wooded islands in a fashion magnificent to behold from the shore, but not inviting for a sail. With the water power apparent, an electric railway connecting the service of the lower Orinoco with that above the Maipures Rapids might not seem too difficult; a contract has been made for the work to promote the development of this region.
Amazonas contains a mountainous district with peaks 7000-8000 feet high, though the greater part is rather low land. There are tribes of Indians, some gentle and timid, others so savage as to prevent exploration, especially the Guaharibos, also called White Indians, far up the Orinoco beyond Esmeralda. The territory has grassy plains suited to cattle raising, but more forest land with rubber trees of the first class, a few of which in small sections have been tapped; there are natural cacao patches. Mineral wealth is indicated by the reports and specimens from the Indians.
Forty miles above the confluence of the Atabapo and the Guaviare, the great Ventuari tributary, 300 miles long, enters the Orinoco from the east. 150 miles higher the famed Casiquiare or Brazo leaves the Orinoco to join the Rio Negro and Amazon. An old mission station, Esmeralda, 20 miles beyond, on the Orinoco, is the last permanent settlement of the region. The watershed, here but a slight bank along the left of the river, is entirely lacking where the Casiquiare leaves it, taking a little of the water. Farther on the diverging stream unites with the Guiania River in Colombia to form the Negro, the chief northern tributary of the Amazon.
The Delta Amacuro Territory embraces the delta of the Orinoco, with some mountainous country at the south before reaching the boundary of British Guiana, which with the State of Bolívar is on the south; Monagas is on the west. The coast line runs northwest southeast from the Gulf of Paria, of which it forms the southern limit, to Guiana; thus nearly the whole coast faces the Atlantic. Only one settlement is found on the swampy shore, Pedernales on the Gulf, a gloomy spot with unprepossessing inhabitants. Up the Caño Pedernales there is beautiful foliage in the inundated forest, with higher lands back, where live primitive wild Indians; farther on is unflooded forest, or open savannas with rich grass for thousands of cattle; on the banks a few scattered houses. One fine cacao ranch is passed before reaching Tucupita, the capital, a dismal place, but with some signs of commercial life. Soon after, the mountains of Guayana are visible, and presently the town of Barrancas in Monagas, the lowest town and port on the Orinoco proper.
CHAPTER X
VENEZUELA: PORTS AND TRANSPORTATION
La Guaira, the chief port of the Centro, and the best known of Venezuela, is rivaled by Puerto Cabello, which has a better natural harbor. La Guaira, population 18,000 including its suburbs, as the port of the capital, Caracas, attracts more travelers and at present more trade, much of it coming from or going to other parts of the country. The harbor, a rather open roadstead, was improved at great expense by port works. Though these facilitate the increasing traffic, ships at times are still exposed to heavy swells. The town is hot and unhealthful with a mean temperature of 84.5°, but it has good rail connection with its pleasant suburbs, cooler and more sanitary. The port has good piers, vessels lying alongside. The depth of water is 28-30 feet.
Puerto Cabello, 65 miles west, in the State of Carabobo, population 20,000, is said to have the best harbor, its depth 28 feet, on the North Coast of South America. With a slightly lower temperature than La Guaira, it has a higher death rate. To this port comes most of the produce of its own State, of Yaracuy, of the Llano States Cojedes and Portuguesa, and some from the Andes region. The enterprise of the Venezuela Meat Syndicate, with new buildings here, promotes stock farming and the traffic of the port. A floating dock receives vessels of 2000 tons; a new one will accommodate ships of 4000 tons.
Carúpano, far to the east of La Guaira, is the only other port of importance which is visited by large ocean steamers. Although as warm as Puerto Cabello, it has a much more healthful climate. With no real harbor, merely an open roadstead, serving the State of Sucre, it is a port of call for several lines of steamers. The cargo must be transported in lighters.
Ciudad Bolívar, though far up the Orinoco River, as the official port of entry for half the country, serves an extensive region. It communicates with the outside world by weekly steamers of shallow draught to the Port of Spain, as also by coasting vessels. The steamers returning cross the Gulf of Paria, follow up the Caño Macareo to the Orinoco, and up that river to Bolívar.
Maracaibo, the fifth port with foreign trade, though called a seaport is not exactly on the sea; being located on the west shore of a broad channel 6-12 miles wide and 30 long which connects Lake Maracaibo with the Gulf of Venezuela. The city has fine wharves on a beautiful bay, a smooth roadstead with water 30 feet deep; but unfortunately the sand bar at the entrance of the channel confines the passage to ships drawing only 11 feet, with conditions growing worse. As the city is now the second port of the country with the largest export trade including some from Colombia, it has been proposed either to dredge one of the entrance channels, or to make use of the fine natural harbor of Cojoro on the Gulf, capable of accommodating the largest steamers, and to connect this port with Maracaibo by a railway about 100 miles long. At present the foreign trade is carried on by national, Dutch, and Spanish steamers, and by American boats of the Red D Line. Freight not destined for the United States is largely carried to the Dutch Island Curaçao, where transfer is made to ships of other lines. Sailing vessels also carry much produce.
These primary ports, except Carúpano, all have docks where ships come alongside. A new freight and passenger service from New Orleans to Venezuelan ports has been installed by the W. R. Grace Company.
A number of smaller ports are served generally by smaller craft, steam or sailing vessels, which transfer freight to the primary ports for ocean traffic. Some of these are: La Vela (56 miles from Curaçao), the port of Coro, capital of Falcón; Tucacas, in the same State, important as serving the copper mines of Aroa; Carenero, in Miranda, east of Caracas; Guanta, long the port of Barcelona and neighboring coal mines; Cumaná in Sucre, a mile from the mouth of the Manzanares River; and Pampatar on Margarita Island. At Turiamo, a natural harbor between La Guaira and Puerto Cabello, a public bonded warehouse is to be erected, and connection will be made with the Grand Central Railway. At Ocumare de la Costa port and harbor works are to be constructed by the Government and a railway connecting the port with Maracay, 43 miles distant.
Inland Transportation
The railway development of Venezuela is small, the longest line being 111 miles in length, and the total mileage about 650. There is therefore a little over a foot of railway for each inhabitant. Most of the lines are from a port to the interior; all are of narrow gauge, but of varying widths. Most of the existing lines were laid, 1881-1893. Unfavorable legislation prevented further construction until after a change in the laws; later the Great War interfered. Rates are very high on all the railways, yet most of them are unprofitable.
The La Guaira-Caracas Railway is exceptional, having a large amount of traffic, more of import freight than of export. The British-built Railway climbs to a height of over 3000 feet to surmount the ridge on the south side of which is Caracas, a two hours’ ride, one of intense interest and beauty. While the tracks of the Harbor Corporation are of the same gauge as the railway, these cars do not go to the steamer’s side, so that much freight is unnecessarily handled twice. Railways now electrified serve the suburbs on either side.
Caracas is served by two other railways, but these are of different gauge.
The Central Railway, the station of which is two miles across the city, runs from Caracas east and south towards Ocumare on the Tuy River; 46 miles to San Francisco de Yare are completed; the remaining 15 are in construction. Both of these roads were difficult to build, the many bridges, tunnels, and viaducts needed making them very expensive. The maximum grade is about 4 per cent. The latter road follows down the Guaire valley, passing Petare, a town of Miranda, only seven miles from Caracas.
If the River Tuy were followed down to the east and north, one would come to the Carenero Railway which connects the small port of that name with the towns, Higuerote, Rio Chico, a flourishing manufacturing place, and Guapo, 34 miles, on the way to the llanos of Guárico. From the llanos come hides and other animal products to the port, and from the vicinity rich agricultural products including cacao. The Railway runs a steamship line to La Guaira; small schooners also serve.
The Great Railway of Venezuela, built by the Germans, is the other line from Caracas, the longest and most costly in the country. It runs west to Valencia, the second city of the Republic. Though as a whole less difficult than some others, there is one stretch of 8 per cent grade requiring cog wheels and there are many loops and zigzags. The road traverses a fine farming and cattle country and passes through the important towns of Victoria and Maracay in Aragua, previously mentioned. 212 bridges and 86 tunnels in 111 miles may seem many for an easier road. A branch of 2¹⁄₂ miles runs to the village of Guigüe.
The Puerto Cabello-Valencia Railway, 33 miles long, connects Valencia directly with the sea, passing over the north ridge of the mountains at a height of 2000 feet. Though the construction of the road as a whole was less difficult than that of the La Guaira-Caracas, to shorten it, a section 2.4 miles long has a cog rail with a maximum grade of 8 per cent.
The Bolívar Railway, farther west, the first in Venezuela, was built for the especial benefit of the copper mines of the State of Yaracuy. It runs from the port of Tucacas, northwest of Puerto Cabello, to Barquisimeto, 100 miles. The part built first is now a branch of the road, leading from La Hacha to the rich copper mines at Aroa eight miles distant. Both railway and mines are British properties, the latter bringing in handsome returns. A company steamer carries freight to and from Puerto Cabello, as Tucacas has no custom house. Another branch of the railway, from Palma Sola to the capital of Yaracuy, San Felipe, 25 miles, was opened in 1916. In this State are other copper mines unworked, and fertile hills and plains uncultivated. The Rio Tocuyo is navigable as far as Siquisique for steamboats, but traffic is not sufficient to make their operation profitable.
The La Vela-Coro Railway, 8¹⁄₂ miles long, connects Coro with its port.
In the State of Zulia are three more railways:
The La Ceiba, 50 miles long, runs from that port on the Lake toward the city of Trujillo as far as Motatán.
The Great Railway of Táchira, 75 miles long, goes from Encontrados on the Catatumbo River west of the Lake, south towards the capital of Táchira, now reaching San Felix or a little beyond. It serves the Colombian Department of Santander as well as Táchira. The many transfers of freight are a great disadvantage, while freshets on the Catatumbo threaten to destroy Encontrados.
The Santa Barbara-El Vigia Railway, 37 miles long, is designed to serve the city of Mérida. Santa Barbara is on the Escalante River; and the road towards Mérida, which crosses several streams, has had much trouble from the Chama River from inundations.
The Guanta-Naricual Railway, far to the east, leads from the port of Guanta past the city of Barcelona, capital of Anzoátegui, to the coal mines of Naricual. Guanta, though not a primary port, has an excellent natural harbor, but the opening to navigation in 1915 of the Neveri River on which Barcelona is situated has greatly diminished the traffic of Guanta.
A few private railways exist, constructed for business purposes:
A railway 27 miles long of the Asphalt Mines of Inciarte in Zulia.
A railway of 10 miles of the Asphalt Mines of Guanoco, Sucre.
A two mile railway of Asphalt Mines of Guanipa, Monagas.
A railway 10 miles from San Lorenzo, Zulia, to oil wells of the Caribbean Petroleum Company.
A railway 19 miles from Bobures, Zulia, to a sugar plantation.
A railway 19 miles from Rio Limón, Zulia, to coal fields 40 miles west of Maracaibo, leased by the Caribbean Coal Company.
Considerable railway construction is talked of, but the only immediate probability is of a road from the port of Castilletes on the Gulf of Venezuela to a coal property near Lake Maracaibo, belonging to the Caribbean Coal Company. A port is to be constructed admitting vessels of 35 feet draft, the present depth being 16 feet. The railway 93 miles long of standard gauge is to have a one way capacity of 10,000 tons daily, with maximum freight charges lower than any at this time on existing lines. As no port charges of any kind are to be collected, if the construction and mining development are carried out as expected, it will be a most important industrial development for Venezuela which may affect the trade of Curaçao and Maracaibo. As this port will be but 595 miles from Colon, and as the coal is said to be of the best quality, it is important for ships making use of the Canal.
The Venezuelan Government now gives generous concessions to foreign companies or individuals, undertaking railway construction.
Other Methods of Communication
Roads. Aside from the railways, a meagre supply for a country of its size, other means of transportation are inadequate. Street railways exist in the chief cities: Caracas, Valencia, La Guaira, Puerto Cabello, Maracaibo, Bolívar, Barquisimeto, Carúpano, and Cumaná. The great water power available for electric traction and for other purposes should be largely developed in future. Some automobile and cart roads exist, 1636 miles at the end of 1919, but to a large extent transportation is over bridle paths or caminos.
An excellent automobile road leads from La Guaira to Caracas. From the capital such roads branch in several directions. One goes east to Guatire, two south to Ocumare del Tuy, one of these with a branch south from Cua. A good road leads through Maracay to Valencia; from midway, a branch leads south through Villa de Cura to Ortiz in Guárico, from which point construction is being continued to Calabozo, the capital, and thence to San Fernando, capital of Apure. Another road leads from Ocumare de la Costa to Maracay.
From Puerto Cabello one may go by auto to Valencia and to Guigüe, south of the lake; also from the port to San Felipe and Barquisimeto.
From the city of Maracaibo a road goes north to San Rafael near the mouth of the Channel, and one southwest to Perija, west of the centre of the Lake, passing two petroleum sites.
From the terminus of the Táchira Railway, Uracá, a road leads to San Cristóbal, and one to Cúcuta in Colombia. From Motatán a good wagon road goes to Trujillo. Pack animals serve from El Vigia to Mérida. In the east there is the long road from San Felix on the Orinoco to El Callao and Tumeremo.
Other roads are in construction or planned for the immediate future. From Coro a road is to go south and southwest to Trujillo and beyond, and one near the coast to Altagracia on the Maracaibo Channel, northeast of that city. Several roads will branch from Barquisimeto and from Valencia, the most important, one from Valencia southwest to San Carlos, Guanare, Barinas, and San Cristóbal. Shorter local roads will serve Cumaná and Carúpano.
Considerable activity has recently been manifested in road building; and bridges, long sadly lacking over mountain torrents, have been constructed. Some deeper streams have ferries.
River communication and lake service are important in many sections. Of Venezuela’s nearly 500 rivers, 74 are said to be navigable a distance of 6000 miles, 4000 in the Orinoco Basin. Especially in Bolívar and Amazonas communication is by river, but in other States also it is important. The Orinoco is a natural highway 600 miles to Pericos and the Atures Rapids. There is regular weekly service to San Fernando de Apure. There is traffic along the Apure, Arauca, and Meta Rivers, the last two in Colombia; but the affluents on the north side of the Orinoco are too variable in depth to permit regular service, and those on the south are too broken by cataracts.
On Maracaibo Lake are plenty of craft, both steam and sailing vessels, two main lines of the former running from Maracaibo, one along the west side of the Lake and up the Catatumbo to Encontrados and the Táchira Railway, the other to La Ceiba and the Motatán Railway going towards Trujillo on the east side; a smaller boat runs around the south side of the Lake and up the Escalante to Santa Bárbara. From Encontrados a line of small steamers runs up the Zulia to Villamizar.
CHAPTER XI
VENEZUELA: RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIES
Agriculture
The Agricultural Zone, according to late statistics, covers the greater part of that section of the Republic which lies between the sea and the Orinoco Plains: about 100,000 square miles, only one third of which is tilled. The section has great fertility of soil, and with its varying elevation and climate it is adapted to the production of everything needful for man or beast. Twenty per cent of the population is employed in agricultural pursuits. With the introduction of new methods and modern machinery a vast development and great wealth should ensue. At present the chief products are coffee, cacao, and sugar, with tobacco, cotton, corn, wheat, vanilla, etc., and a great variety of fruits and vegetables.
Coffee, as in Colombia, is called a product of the temperate clime, growing at an altitude of 1500-6500 feet but best at 3000. A tree is said to live 50 years and to produce a quarter to a half a pound annually. About $16,000,000 are invested in the industry; there are approximately 260,000,000 trees. Venezuela claims to be second in coffee production, exporting over 100,000,000 pounds in 1919.
Cacao needs a warmer climate than coffee, and moist air; hence it grows well on slopes near the sea having a temperature of 80°. But it is found and cultivated in other parts, growing wild in Guayana and near the upper Orinoco. Where cultivated, 80 trees to the acre are approved, of course at first shaded. After five years two crops a year, in June and December, are expected. Trees average a life of 40 years, with an annual production of 220-250 pounds an acre. About 16 seeds are enclosed in a long red and yellow pod, which turns purple when ripe. After being gathered, they are heaped in piles on the ground, left a few days to ferment and burst, when the seeds are shelled, washed, and housed. There are two grades here, the criollo or native, of very high grade, growing in valleys near the sea, and the trinitario, imported from Trinidad. The Chuao Plantation is said to produce cacao of a particularly sweet and fine quality, which is generally exported to France. Over $12,000,000 are invested in the business. In production Venezuela is third. There are more than 5000 plantations.
Sugar. The sugar industry is rapidly developing. New mills with modern machinery have been erected and more acres are planted. A mill at Maracay can crush nearly 1800 tons of cane daily, with an output of sugar of 80 tons. Four species of cane are cultivated, the indigenous, the criolla, most largely, as being sweeter and otherwise giving good results. The reaping is arranged so that the grinding may be constant throughout the year. The canes near Lake Valencia are longer and thicker, with more juice but less sweetness. The best quality of sugar is produced near Guatire, three hours by motor from Caracas; the largest quantity on two plantations near Lake Maracaibo, each having a daily output of 800 tons.
There are four varieties of products: sugar, brown sugar, alcohol, and rum, all of which many large plantations are equipped to produce. Of the two near Bobures, Zulia, one has 5000 acres under cultivation, the other nearly as much. The total capital invested is above $10,000,000. An increasing foreign market is expected.
Tobacco is grown in many sections, thriving in humid fertile soil. It develops in six months, but requires great care. There is much variety in the quality, some being strong and heavy, some delicate with fine flavor and aroma. A little is exported to Havana and there mixed for making cigarettes. The annual production, above 3000 tons, might be increased.
Cotton grows wild in many parts of the country, and is cultivated in a number of States. The average crop is about 4,000,000 pounds of seeded cotton, half of which is raised in Aragua and Carabobo. Zulia produces the best cotton, with longer fibre, nearly one-fifth of the crop. Lara, Portuguesa, and the States of the East supply the rest. The cotton is sown in June or July and harvested in the dry season, December to March. It is freshly planted every year in connection with vegetables, the receipts from which cover the cost except for that of gathering; so that the industry furnishes a desirable opportunity for immigrants with small or no capital. About $200,000 are invested in cotton growing.
Coconuts are indigenous in Venezuela; and in the regions of Zulia, Carabobo, Bolívar, Barcelona, and Cumaná, there are broad plantations. Over $1,000,000 is invested.
Wheat is grown to some extent and fine crops are produced; but much more land is available in the high table-lands and valleys of Western Venezuela so that home consumption could easily be supplied. With improved methods, machinery, etc., it might even become a staple export.
Corn is cultivated everywhere in all kinds of soil from sea level up to 9000 feet, but it grows best between 1500 and 3000 feet. About 75,000 acres are devoted to its production; 150,000 tons are raised, some being exported. It is the real bread plant of the country especially in the interior.
Beans in large variety are produced, black beans being greatly in demand and some exported.
Indigo was once cultivated and in 1802 was exported to the value of $2,500,000, but its production was abandoned owing to higher returns from coffee.
Vanilla grows well in the rich lands of Falcón, Lara, Bolívar, Zamora, and Anzoátegui. Its cultivation might be developed.
Forestry
The forest resources are inexhaustible but hardly touched, the zone comprising about half of Venezuela of which 98 per cent is virgin territory. Nearly three-quarters of this area is public land, over 100,000 square miles. With more capital and labor, better means of transport, and modern implements and machinery a great development will result. The chief forest products are rubber, balatá, tonka beans, divi-divi, and various medicinal plants. There are many dyeing and tanning plants, and gums and resins abound. In the forests a great amount of timber exists including the finest varieties; but as usual these are scattered, and with present facilities, difficult to get out with a profit. Of the 600 species of wood 5-10 per cent are marketable. 145 varieties used for ornamental purposes and 20 kinds of woods and barks suitable for dyeing and tanning were exhibited at the Chicago Exposition in 1893. The great mora tree, three feet in diameter, is excellent for ship building; mahogany, rosewood, and other trees of hard wood abound.
Rubber, chiefly of the hevea variety, is found and exported both from the Casiquiare-Amazon section and more from Yuruary in East Bolívar. It is cultivated near Ocumare del Tuy, each tree there giving 460 grams of juice, 95 per cent pure rubber. Several million people are needed to exploit the industry, in which $1,200,000 has been invested.
Balatá, procured from forest trees in a manner similar to rubber, is allied to gutta percha, and is employed with this for many purposes.
Divi-divi, one of the best and cheapest plants for tannin, grows wild throughout the country, chiefly along the coast and on the edge of the llanos at the foot of the south slope of the Coast Mountains. Hot lowlands with a minimum average of rain suit it best. It grows to a height of 20-30 feet. The brown pods three inches long contain 30-40 per cent of tannin, sometimes even 50. The seeds have little. In wet weather the tannin is liable to sudden fermentation especially in electrical storms, when the tanning is impeded, and the leather may be stained. Some trees 90 years old still produce a full crop. Near Cumaná, a tree may yield 275 pounds a year, but in the west, 25-50 pounds only. It is an extremely cheap source of tannin though not largely used. Venezuela probably has more frequent stands of this tree than any other country. 5000 men are said to leave Ciudad Bolívar yearly for its collection in the interior. As cultivated in Curaçao plantations, the pods have 20 per cent more tannin and bring 25 per cent higher price.
The Mangrove bark is another important source of tannin; the tree growing in swampy ground is useful in reclaiming land at the ocean’s edge. The bark has 22-33 per cent tannin, the leaves nearly 20, the wood some. The stands are unlimited in number.
The Tonka Bean, a black almond with delicious perfume, is the fruit of the serrapia tree. The beans are used in the preparation of chewing tobacco and in making perfumes. The price varies from 50 cents to $5 a pound. This is a staple of great value in the Orinoco forests, but many gatherers die of fever or starve. A few concessions have been granted for the cultivation of tonka trees, in the public lands of the Caura district. In one year over $700,000 worth of the beans were exported.
Chicle, used to make chewing gum, comes from the sap of a tree called pendare which has a delicious fruit, sapodilla. The tree may be tapped continuously 8-15 years. The sap is boiled in the forest.
The Caoba or mahogany tree grows from sea level to about 3000 feet. It may be seen along the streets of Valencia. It grows to a height of 130 feet with a diameter of four feet at the base. It is exported to Europe and to the United States.
The Moriche Palm grows in clumps on the llanos. From the sap the Indians make wine, vinegar, oil, soap, starch; and from the leaves, hats, clothes, hammocks, baskets, mats, etc.
Fibre plants of superior quality exist in great variety and quantity. Among these are the cocuiza sisal called equal or superior to the sisal (hemp) of Yucatan; ramie, jipijapa, flax, and other varieties.
Plants for making paper grow in profusion, desirable for use rather than wood to save the destruction of forests. The most abundant and desirable is bamboo, but many other plants are serviceable including the residue from sugar cane. The by-product of three tons of sugar would be roughly two tons of fibre, worth about $120. Bitter cane and other rushes might be so used, either exported as pulp, or in some localities made into paper.
Cattle Industry
Goats have been spoken of as raised with great profit on the well adapted lands near Barquisimeto, comparatively high, and on lowlands in the regions of Coro and Maracaibo.
Cattle. The cattle industry has still greater possibilities. The pastoral zone extends from Barrancas to Colombia and from the Vichada River to the mountains in Carabobo. While a portion of the llanos like those in Colombia suffers from severe drought in the summer, and though in places the grass is thin, in this immense region there is room for an enormous number of cattle where the grasses are rich. Hence stock raising can be carried on to great advantage. There is some difficulty in transportation, but this is gradually improving, and with the erection of more packing and slaughter houses, and with improvements in breeding, the industry has a sure future. Some stock raisers, especially General Gomez, have made great efforts for improvement, importing full blooded cattle of different breeds to produce a better kind, perfectly adapted to the climate of Venezuela. Modern methods are being employed, and in the valley of Maracay a large number of live stock is fattened ready to supply the 500 cattle daily killed at Puerto Cabello by the Refrigerating Company which exports them. A new packing house is to be erected at Turiamo. It is reported that a contract has been made for 200,000 acres to be colonized by Germans, who wish to control the meat packing industry. The number of cattle in Venezuela is estimated at 3,000,000.
Sheep, horses, hogs are also raised in the valley of Maracay; acclimated specimens of special breeds have been obtained for reproduction in other parts of the country. At present horses and mules are raised in comparatively small numbers.
Mining
There is hardly a precious metal or valuable mineral which does not exist in Venezuela, though little has been done to exploit them. Gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, antimony, tin, quicksilver, asphalt, petroleum, coal, sulphur, asbestos, platinum, diamonds, and other precious stones are found; 25 years ago 226 deposits had been located: 62 gold, 29 coal, 14 copper, 10 iron, etc.
Gold, the most exported metal, while found in every State, has been chiefly sought and profitably worked in Guayana, where in the Yuruary region considerable mining has been done. True alluvial belts are found, zones of shale, and quartz veins. The alluvial deposits known are mainly near the British Guiana border in the Cuyuni and El Dorado districts. Placer gold exists along the Caroni River and in smaller tributaries of the Orinoco above Ciudad Bolívar. The rock formation shows the gold to be in stingers and crystalline grains of arsenical pyrite, from which the placers and pockets have been formed.
The quartz veins are more northerly near El Callao, where $50,000,000 are said to have been produced in thirty odd years. One mine in the Yuruari district has yielded 35,000 ounces. Metal is found in pockets 50-100 feet deep about 150 miles from the Orinoco. An English company has mining claims west of El Callao, where the ore is treated with quicksilver and cyanide, yielding 1-4 ounces per ton. Another company is working on the La Paz Bonanza, where 10,000 ounces were taken out by crude methods from rich veinlets and pockets almost at the surface. Several other companies are engaged, French and Venezuelan, one along the Cicapra River, a branch of the upper Yuruari. It is estimated that several million cubic yards with an average yield of $1.00 each are here available at a cost of 50 cents per yard. With better transportation and other facilities this section may come into the front rank of gold mining districts in South America. At present it is said to be better adapted to individual operators than to large companies. The climate is not unhealthful if suitable precautions are taken. The country is well wooded except near Callao. The average yearly production of gold is 900,000 grams.
Copper is known to exist in several States: Falcón, Carabobo, Mérida, Lara, a rich deposit in the northern part of Cojedes; but the only one vigorously and very profitably operated is that of Aroa in Yaracuy, where dividends have been 75-350 per cent. Near Nirgua in the same State other copper mines have been worked.
Coal is found in various sections. Where outcroppings occur in Táchira, Mérida, and Trujillo small operations have been carried on. There are other deposits but the principal mines worked are in Sucre and Falcón. Naricual, 16 miles from Barcelona, has produced the most coal, but not of a very good quality. It is used on local steamers and railways, and some, with pitch from Trinidad, is made into briquettes. A little west, another mine with coal of better quality has been opened within five miles of tide water on the bank of a river. The mines of Falcón near Coro have been developed further and production is increasing. Coke ovens have been established. Coal is found in several places near Lake Maracaibo. In the deposit 60 miles northwest of Maracaibo the coal is of high grade, better than Middle West coal and equal to the Pocahontas; hard, bright, black, excellent for steaming. Some veins are 8-20 feet thick, and when the railway to Castilletes is completed the annual export is expected to reach 500,000 tons. Lignite, bituminous, and semi-anthracite varieties are found.
Iron ore deposits occur in the eastern hills or mountains south of the Delta, but in the Delta Territory at Imataca. It is 67 per cent pure and almost free from sulphur and phosphorus. In 1914 some Americans secured options. Iron is also found near Coro, Barinas, Barcelona, and Cumaná.
Salt is found on the island of Coche, on the peninsula of Araya near Cumaná, in the vicinity of Barcelona and of Maracaibo, and elsewhere.
Sulphur appears to exist in commercial quantities about 11 miles inland from Corúpano; and other minerals have been observed in various States.
Diamonds and Pearls. There are said to be diamond mines in the Orinoco region. Pearl fishing is carried on among the islands, about 1600 persons being so engaged. Rakes are now used as diving is prohibited. Recently $600,000 worth were exported within a few months.
Asphalt, found in the Bermudez Pitch Lake five miles from Guanoco in the State of Sucre, is an important source of wealth. This lake, the largest known deposit in the world (1100 acres), has more than ten times the area of the famous Trinidad Lake, though it is not so deep. It is regarded as the residue of evaporated petroleum, the asphalt here representing the outflow of 80,000,000 barrels of oil. The flow continues, the oil spreading over the lake and replenishing it. This with active seepages near indicates enormous oil bearing formations below.
The General Asphalt Company and its subsidiaries have a 30 year lease of nearly 12,000 acres including the lake. The structure of the lake includes faulting, folding, and fracturing of strata, with formations of black shale, sandstone, and fossiliferous limestone, the last supposed to be the source of the oil, and the sandstone its reservoir, whence from pressure of gas it escapes to the surface. A narrow gauge railway is in use. From lack of transport hardly 20,000 tons of asphalt were shipped from Bermudez Lake in 1920 compared with over 40,000 in 1919; from Trinidad Lake, about 70,000 in 1919 and over 108,000 in 1920. In the Bermudez concession is a large asphalt deposit 100-200 yards across, on the Island of Capure in the Orinoco Delta.
In the Maracaibo Basin are other beds. One near the Lake at Inciarte, 27 miles from navigable water, is 94 per cent pure; but transportation is difficult.
The Petroleum prospects of Venezuela are excellent. The chief work accomplished is in the Maracaibo Basin, which is regarded as one of petroleum as well as of water. Many companies are engaged in development work. After two years of preliminary examination by 35 experienced geologists, the Caribbean Petroleum Company selected 1000 areas averaging 1250 acres each for further investigation. Of these they now retain 250, covering 312,500 acres. With a lease concession for 30 years, a tax of eight cents an acre is paid annually and a royalty equal to about ten per cent on oil shipped from the country. On one section, the Mene Grande Field, ten miles east of Lake Maracaibo to which a road through swamps was built, about a dozen wells have been drilled, in all of which oil has been found. The first were capped, but with present facilities flow is permitted. The character of the oil improves with depth. Three 55,000-barrel steel tanks have been erected, and pumping stations on the field and at the port. A pipe line was laid 11 miles to the shore at San Lorenzo, where, 70 miles southeast of Maracaibo, storage tanks and a refinery were built. The latter, now in operation, will refine every grade of oil except lubricants. The capacity is 2000 barrels daily (42 gallons each). One well is said to rank in output with some of the Mexican. Much of the oil is now used by some Venezuelan railways, and by industries of the country. Part of the crude oil is carried by three barges and eight converted monitors of 450-500 tons each to a refinery at Curaçao, which has larger storage tanks, pumping station, etc. The refinery has been running 1000 tons of crude oil daily, but can take care of 4000 tons. The swift current of the Maracaibo Channel makes management of the monitors difficult. This Company has other wells at Perija, 50 miles west of the Lake. The first, which struck oil at 1227 feet, was shut in. One in the Limón Field, drilled to 2752 feet, was abandoned.
Other companies have concessions for work near the Lake, at the east, south, and southwest. One was hampered by wild Indians, compelling the employment of armed guards, another by extremely unhealthful conditions; but both after some unsuccessful work have found promising wells. The Colon Developing Company, with a large property 100 miles west of Encontrados and near the Colombian border, has struck oil at less than 1300 feet, close to the Rio de Oro. Two thousand barrels of high grade oil were produced within 24 hours, but as no facilities for transport existed the well was capped. This oil is said to be of quality superior to that east of the Lake, which is better than the Mexican.
East of the Lake, another field, north of the Mene Grande, is owned by the Venezuelan Oil Concessions. Wells drilled here have passed through three oil bearing sands; the deeper, the better and lighter the oil. One has spouted 80 feet high; another over the top of the derrick. An area of several square miles is proved. This Company has 3000 square miles of oil bearing land near the Lake for 50 years. In Mexico wells producing 100,000 barrels a day are seen. The general manager of this Company believes the Venezuelan wells will be bigger.
The Venezuelan Falcón Oil Syndicate, which has a 50 year concession of over 2000 square miles in Falcón, expects to open up many fields. Pipe lines could converge and refineries be installed within 50 miles of the farthest point. The first well drilled is 37 miles from the seaboard. Motor tractors are employed. The British Controlled Oilfields has taken over the Bolívar Concessions, which has the right to bore in 7,000,000 acres in Falcón.
On the Island of Trinidad 362,800 barrels of crude petroleum were produced in 1920. Near this Island, corresponding to the oil region at the northwest of Venezuela, is one at the northeast around the Gulf of Paria, especially at the south, and comprising the Orinoco Delta. Here is found the heavier form of petroleum in large quantities. Some wells have been drilled on the Peninsula of Paria with no good result. The Guanoco Field, south, is believed to cover the axis and flanks of the Guanoco anticlines, of which the southern is thought to be responsible for the great oil seepages of the Asphalt Lake. The field is believed to extend 60 miles southwest, to and beyond the San Juan River. The first well was drilled (1912) in the Lake. Heavy oil, specific gravity 1.02, was found under enormous gas pressure, making operations difficult. Production of 1000 barrels a day was secured at 615 feet, but the well was closed to avoid waste. Later it produced in three months 50,000 barrels. Other wells have been drilled in the vicinity, also on Pedernales Island in the Delta; the oil from the latter of lighter gravity. For some purposes the heavy oil is of special value. It is too heavy to pump, but the strong gas pressure makes it available. The areas are swampy, difficult to work, and unhealthful.
Manufactures
As might be expected, the manufacturing industries of Venezuela are few in number and rely in the main on a protective tariff for existence. The principal articles made are cotton goods, paper, glass, cement, cordage, soap, candles, shoes, alpargatas, leather goods, cigars, cigarettes, etc. The five cotton factories produce 80 per cent of the ordinary cloth consumed in the country. In Mérida are woolen and hat factories. In Caracas good furniture is made, macaroni, paper, etc. There is a paper factory also at Maracay. Ten miles from Caracas the waterfall of Naiguatá, over 3000 feet, makes available 30,000 horse power, of which 9000 is used.
Investments
Among the various opportunities for the investment of foreign capital, including all of the industries mentioned, the safest are agriculture and stock raising; perhaps also small factories. Land is so cheap that little capital is needed for the agriculturist unless engaging on a very large scale. Coffee, cacao, sugar cane, castor beans, and many other articles may be raised with profit. Factories large or small may be operated to advantage. Cumaná and Puerto Cabello are good places for canning tropical fruits. Oil may be extracted for edible or industrial purposes from coconuts, peanuts, and other fruits or vegetables. Chocolate may be made, cotton mills established. A mill is suggested for Margarita, where fine cotton is grown. Rope and bag factories might employ Venezuelan cocuiza or henequen to make the 2,000,000 bags needed annually in the country. Saw mills at Cumaná, Maracaibo, La Ceiba, Tucacas, etc., would be extremely useful.
Large capitalists may find opportunities for the construction of public utilities such as street railways, electric light and power plants, water works, sewers; also in bridge building, railway construction, etc. Some might be interested in mining, especially of iron, which is found favorably located for transportation within half a mile of a navigable river about 50 miles from the mouth of the Orinoco. To individuals with small capital the gold region would be more attractive. An important development of the large deposits of bauxite is attracting much attention.
CHAPTER XII
GUIANA AS A WHOLE: BRITISH GUIANA
The name Guiana has been applied to the entire country between the Orinoco and the Amazon. We have observed that in Venezuela the region south of the Orinoco is called the Guiana Highlands. We shall notice later that the section south of the dividing mountain range and north of the Amazon as far west as the Rio Negro is called Brazilian Guiana; but the country which is more strictly Guiana is east and north of these, though here, too, adjectives are applied as there are three divisions: British, Dutch, and French Guiana, the British on the west, the French farthest east.
Area
The area of them all is about 170,000 square miles, of which British Guiana has 90,000, Dutch 46,000, and French 33,000 square miles.
As these countries are colonies instead of republics their governments are naturally different.
Although sighted by Columbus in 1498 and visited not long afterward by traders, as there was a large Indian population, the country was settled later than Venezuela and Colombia. After various vicissitudes the earliest colonies were abandoned. The difficulties of the later settlements, the changes, insurrections, massacres, wars, and troubles of various kinds following are too numerous to recount, and we come immediately to conditions of the present time.