The produce of the interior is conveyed by the rivers which feed it, to the town of Maracaybo, and thence shipped for Europe or the adjoining colonies; and the various sorts of fish, common to the American rivers, are to be found in this lake.
The shores in the immediate vicinity of its waters, are unhealthy, owing to the vapours arising in the night after the great heat of the day.
When the Spaniards first landed in this country, they observed several villages built in the lake, which is the mode adopted by the Indians at present, considering this plan as the healthiest.
The appearance of one of these little towns amid the waters, caused the Spanish adventurers to name it Little Venice, or Venezuela, which title was afterwards transferred to the whole province in the neighbourhood. Four of these villages still remain, and are under the government of a monk, who has a church, and the spiritual charge of these people.
The principal employment of the Indians of these towns is fishing and catching the aquatic birds which frequent the lake.
To the north-west of Lake Maracaybo, is a vein, or mine of mineral pitch, (used by mixing it with grease, to grave vessels,) which is of such an inflammable nature, that during the hot weather, and particularly at night, corruscations are seen arising from its surface, which have the appearance of quickly repeated lightnings. The Indians and Spaniards, who navigate the vessels and canoes of the lake, called them St. Antony's Lanthorns, or the Lanthorns of Maracaybo, as they serve them to steer by during the dark nights, so prevalent in the torrid zone.
The lake of Valencia, which though not so extensive as the last we have described, is far more beautiful and useful. Its banks are fertile and healthy, and clothed with the most luxurious vegetation. It is situated three miles from the city of Valencia, and eighteen from the sea, from which it is separated by inaccessible mountains; the lake of Valencia is of an oblong form, stretching north-east and south-west, and is forty miles in length and twelve in breadth, in a valley surrounded by very high and steep land, excepting on the west.
This extraordinary lake receives the waters of twenty rivers, and has no visible outlet. It has been diminishing for twenty years, and its waters are still receding, leaving behind them a rich and productive soil, but at the same time an unhealthy air; and the cultivators are in some parts under the necessity, from the want of water, of drawing off the neighbouring streams to irrigate their plantations.
The eastern side is laid out in tobacco grounds, which occupy 15,000 people, who are paid by the crown; and the islands in which it abounds are highly fertile, the largest called Caratapona, being well populated.
The woods near this lake are famous for the diversity and beauty of the birds, and its waters furnish fish, and the guanas, or edible lizard, which are considered as a very delicious food; of these, two species are common to the lake. The water of Lake Valencia is not so good for drinking as that of Maracaybo, being thick and nauseous.