LatAm Digital Edition and Gazetteer

ACARAI, a settlement of the province and government of Paraguay, founded near the river Paraná, and rather towards the W by the missionary Jesuits, in 1624, where they also built a fort to protect it against the incursions of the infidel Indians.

ACARAI, a river of the province and government of Paraguay. It runs S S E and enters the Paraná opposite the settlement of La Poblacion Nueva.

ACARAPU, a small river of the province and colony of Surinam, in the part of Guayana belonging to the Dutch. It is one of those which enter the Cuyuni.

ACARI, a settlement of the province and corregimiento of Camaná, in Perú, situate in a beautiful and extensive valley, in which there is a very lofty mountain, which they call Sahuacario, composed of misshapen stones and sand, in which, at certain times of the year, especially in the months of December and January, is heard a loud and continued murmuring, which excites universal astonishment, and which, no doubt, is to be attributed to the air in some of its cavities. On its skirts are two fortresses, which were built in the time of the gentilism of the Indians. There is a port halfway between the town of St. Juan and the city of Arequipa, which is 8 leagues distant from the latter, and 11 from the former. It is very convenient, and has an excellent bottom, but is frequented only by small vessels. It is in lat. 15° 15'. S Long. 75° 8' 30" W

ACARI, a point or cape of the coast of the S. sea, of the same province, and of the corregimiento of Camaná.

ACARI, a river of the above province, which runs to the S E.

another river, of the province and capitainship of Pará in the kingdom of Brasil. It is small, runs N afterwards inclines to the N N W and enters the river of Las Amazonas, just where this empties itself into the sea.

ACARIGUA, a settlement of the province and government of Venezuela, situate on the shore of the river of its name, and close upon the E side of the town of Ararul.

ACARIGUA, a river of the above province and government, which rises near the town of Araure, and runs S to enter the river of La Portuguesa.

ACARRETO, a port of the coast of Tierra Firme, in the province and government of Darien, near cape Tiburon. [Lat. 8° 39' N Long. 77° 24' SO" W.]

ACARUACA, a small river of the province and country of the Amazonas, in the part belonging to the Portuguese. It runs from N to S forming a bow, and enters the Matari.

[ACASABASTIAN, a river in the province of Vera Paz in Mexico. It runs into the Golfo Dulce, and has a town situated on its banks of the same name. The source of this river is not far from the S. sea.]

ACASABASTLAN, a settlement of the kingdom of Guatemala, in the province and alcaldía mayor of Chiapa.

[ACASATHULA, a sea-port, situated on a point of land, in the province of Guatemala Proper, in Mexico, on a bay of the S. sea, about four leagues from Trinidad. It receives the greatest part of the treasures from Perú and Mexico. In its neighbourhood are three volcanoes.]

ACASSA, a river of the province and government of Guayana, in the part possessed by the French. It enters the sea between the Ayapoco and Cape Orange.

ACATEPEC, a settlement of the head settlement and alcaldía mayor of Thehuacan, where there is a convent or vicarage of the order of St. Francis. It contains 860 Indian families (including those of the wards of its district) in a spacious valley, which begins at the end of the settlement and extends itself above a league. In this valley are 12 cultivated estates, on which live 40 Indian families. It is four leagues S S W of its capital.

another settlement in the head settlement and district of Chinantla, of the alcaldía mayor of Cozamaloapan. It is situate in a very pleasant plain, and surrounded by three lofty mountains. The number of its inhabitants is reduced. A very rapid and broad river passes near this settlement; and as this is the direct way to the city of Oaxaca and other jurisdictions, and as the travellers, who come here in great numbers, must necessarily cross the river in barks or canoes, the Indians, who are very expert in this sort of navigation, contrive by these means to procure themselves a decent livelihood. 10 leagues W of its head settlement.

another settlement of the alcaldía mayor of the same kingdom, situate between two high ridges. It contains 100 Indian families, and is annexed to the curacy of

450

CHI

dried flesh, hung up to preserve them from corruption. Their garments are a shirt without sleeves, reaching down to the middle of their legs. The married people wear drawers of baize with coloured puckers for festival days, and those who enjoy offices of state wear a baize jacket : they neither use hatnorshoes, and no one of them ever goes out without slinging round his neck some medals and a rosary. The hair is worn short until they marry, and when they become old they suffer it to grow long. The women wear close gowns which reach down to the ground, and which they call tapoyes: they never swathe or bind themselves round the waist, but carry on their necks, on gala-days, some threads strung with glass intermixed with beads made of cacao nuts, and coloured beans ; these threads usually amount to 20 or SO rows ; on entering the church they always loosen their hair. The regulars of the company of the Jesuits taught them offices, in which they assisted most dexterously ; and it really excites admiration that Indians, acquainted only with their own barbarian dialect, should be able to manage the compass of the notes, understand their proportions and numbers, and apply the rules of music to its execution. At certain times of the year they go a mdear, or to hunt for honey among the woods : from thence they bring back wax of two sorts, one which is white and odoriferous, Jhe other of less substance, as the wax of Europe, manufactured by a species of bees without stings, called opernus; also another kind of wax, made by a still different sort of bees, but which are all properly denominated wild wax. This wax is delivered to the curate, who preserves it in his house to send to the provinces of Peru ; and from the product of this article, and from that of the cotton, which is made into woofs, to the amount of two pounds weight yearly by each Indian, he procures in 3xchange whatever is necessary for the settlement, such as baizes, coloured wools, bags, iron and steel articles, chopping knives, wedges, hatchets, scissars, pocket-knives, needles, medals, bugles, and other articles of hardware and little necessaries, which, being stored up by him, is distributed amongst the natives according to their necessities, and in a manner that they may want for nothing, but live happy and contented. The settlements are as follows :

San Xavier, San Joseph,

La Concepcion, Santiago,

San Miguel, San Juan,

San Ignacio, El Santo,

Santa Ana, Corazon.

San Rafael,

CHIQUIZA, a settlement of the corregimiento of Sachica in the Nuevo Reyno de Granada. It is of a cold temperature, and produces wheat, maize, barley, papaSy and the other fruits peculiar to its climate. Its ijihabitants are so few as scarcely to amount to 30 housekeepers, and about the same number of Indians. Four leagues to the n. w. of Tunja, and somewhat less from Velez.

CHIRA, a settlement and seat of the silver mines of the province and corregimiento of Piura in Peru ; annexed to the curacy of Paita.

Same name, another settlement of the province and alcaldia mayor of Nicoya in the kingdomof Guatemala.

[CHIRAGOW. See Plein River.]

CHIRAMBIRA, an island situate in the large bay of St. Juan, on the coast of the province and government of Choco in the S. sea, which gives its name to a small creek formed by this island and the continent.

CHIRCA, a settlement of the province and corregimiento of Sicasica in Peru ; annexed to the curacy of Chulumani.

CHIRE, Santa Rosa de a city of the government and province of Los Llanos in the Nuevo Reyno de Granada ; founded by the Governor Francisco Anciso. It is of a very hot and unhealthy temperature, but affords the same vegetable productions as the rest of the province. It is so mean and reduced as to contain hardly 100 housekeepers, and scarcely deserves the name of a city. This settlement lies the furthest to the n. w. extremity of any in this kingdom, and is bounded in that quarter by the province and bishopric of Caracas.

Same name a river of the above province and government. It rises at the foot of the lomas del Viento, runs e. and enters the Meta, traversing the country of the Betoyes Indians.

CHIRGUA, a river of the province and government of Venezuela. It rises in the mountain of Tacazuruma on the s. runs s. and enters the Gamalotal, after having collected the waters of many other rivers.

CHIRIBIQUI, Santa Fe de a settlement of the province and government of Cumana in the kingdom of Tierra Firme ; situate on the coast, between the rivers Mosina and Marecapana.

CHIRICOAS, a barbarous nation of Indians of the Nuevo Reyno de Granada, to the e. of the mountains of Bogota, and at the entrance of the llanos or plains of Cazanare and Meta. They lead a wandering life through the woods in company with the Guaibas ; they are crafty and very dexterous thieves, but of a docile and pacific disposition. In 16.64; some of them were reduced into