two';branches> wmding.to the; gu^{^,;for the length of
•upwards of J mo miles. All fhjS' extent is- navigable
for fmall craft» but,bey and this,d*ftance the riven pror
ceeds directly fouth fometimes in its courfe fur-roundr
in'g fmall iflands, and fometimes forming fmall catara
The fource of this ..beautiful river- has never yet been
difcove-red by Europeans. -All large F e C ^ j^ r f ^ te ia n g
the Surinam', x>ught to: keep rather,n§ar ,th^;pa$ fhore;
the oppofite fide being Wry-full; of fhqals,,;^ far, as the
town of Paramaribo, which,is aholft^eighteen milj^frprp
its mouth. The other branch»- into which- this .'lafge
river is divided; is named’Oofnawinaf and, keeps^ue,,eaft
for about fixteen miles, • withrapdepth of ,aliouj:;-1h-r^e* of
fourfathdm at high-water ipark; bu^*as-t^he ti^lpaJ^es
a difference of twelve feet, it is noVc'onfidered -as .navigable
for any fliips of burthen, 'though it^bj^adth, maybe
computed at about two miles.. At the diftapcj£j.o|f
fixteen miles, the river. Cbmawina <.is ;again,divided, iptjo
two branches, one of .which bears, fhe.fapip,. name to
the Si E. for a lengtb.of abaye fiff y<.mileis,’,%nd that.gf
Cottica to the E. S. E. for more than forty niiles, when
•this laft takes a meandring courfe to th e S.'S. W. for the
diftanee of twenty-four or thirty miles. Into all thefe
rivers, the courfes of which are not ftraight but ferpen-
tine, are difcharged a number o f very large creeks or rivulets,
the banks of which are inhabited by Europeans, and
cultivated with fugar, cocoa, cotton, and indigo plantations,
which form the moil delightful profpefts. that
cap,, bedpaagine^ fl^pfe pyfio traYel by water, the uni- chap
verfaL'mode :of'journeying, in this ^country, as the foil H.
i§‘;in -general;ill,'adapted for:the copftru&ion o f roads;
, impenetrable,
a fmall path of communication betweep Paramaribo
and t-he rriver-Seramipa being .the only paffable
road Kthat:; I k,ngw .of in the, Settlement. The rivers
■ysfbpfe banks{iare,^uncultivated,* fuch ,as,-the, Corantlne»
Cope name, Seramica, and Marawipa, afford but. little
mattep. for . d e f e c tio n . it7 is therefore only neceffary to
rerpark, that thcy^^jgenerally rfrom two to four miles in
breadth, 'iexcepdipglyf Qxallpjgfa crowdec^ with quickfands,
fmall iflands,and ijgpk^ ^Ipci^forpj a number of
beautiful1cafcades. In the river Marawiha is frequently,
fourijf_ajquippm,'i^njE* or.pebble»,.which is known,by the
hameS>jf the Maxawmaj dj^mond, .pad ytrhich being policed,,
f bears very pear.jqfemblaac^t0 that moft valuable
gem, and is con fequ e n tly pftea fet in rings, &c. &q£
In all the ahove rivers, .without exception, the water rifes
and, ; feds; for more-than fjxty.milhh f rp p i^ p mouth, oc-
cafioned by the ftoppage of the frefheSj by-,the.tideyet
flpfht water may? generally be met with- about twenty-
four or thirty miles from the mouths of thqfe rivers for
wateringthe ihips. The water of the river Surinaria is iapy
counted the moft excellent, and .is brought by the failors
fiord as far'.as the Jew-Savannah,-- which is above forty
miles from the town of Paramaribo. The circumftance
* moft: