My dear Rensselaer,

Gen. Van Rensselaer to his Son.

Albany January 18, 1829. Glen sails in a few days by whom I send this, I have procured your Commission and inclose it. I have also a tin box containing your masonic diplomas from the encampment at Hudson, this I will send down to New York if I find a chance.

Charles E. Dudley is appointed a Senator to Congress.

Governor Van Buren's trouble is commencing; he is very friendly to me. He was at the Jackson dinner and, although my seat was some distance from him, he asked me to drink wine with him and the same evening at the ball was very sociable with me.

Chauncey Humphry, Stillwell, Dr. Staats and Mahar are candidates for my office, poor fellows they are ridiculed and laughed at; their leaders, as I am told, do not wish for a change, but I shall not trust to appearances. About the last of February I intend to visit Washington and trust to my own strength and influence with the old Hero. I may also be of service to my good friend Gen. Harrison. I shall at least know what he has to expect, oppose any measure that may be hostile to him and write the result to him, from that place. As they all write I have little more to say than to remind you that you are now thrown, as I was, upon the world; you have powerful friends to push you along by their influence, but all must now depend upon yourself. To high Heaven I commit you, and trust that you may be a credit to your name and Country is the prayer of your affectionate father, SOL. VAN RENSSELAER.

Dear Rensselaer, my heart says Amen to the prayer of your beloved Father, so I will only add, my greatest desire is that you will be guided by the dictates of the Third Chapter of Proverbs. Take good care of Cato. May God bless and preserve you prays your Mother.

ARRIET VAN RENSSELAER.

Col. Rens. Van Rensselaer, Bogota, S. A.

Dear Father,

CHAPTER XXII.

SOUTH AMERICAN LETTERS CONTINUED.

Rensselaer Van Rensselaer to his Father.

Barranquilla, Feb. 6, 1829. You see that I have given this letter a number 3, which will be done to all the regular ones I write home, it is a hint taken from Carter Harrison, by it you will know if any miscarry. I have sent you one from Carthagena, one from here and one from Santa Martha, the last is considered a kind of supplement to the others and not counted a regular I have been waiting the last fortnight with much anxiety to hear

one.

from home, as the January Packet from the U. S. should have been here then, it has not yet arrived and hardly knew how to account for its long passage. We have had some tempestuous weather here lately; a schooner's wreck with sailor's hats, &c., was driven ashore on the coast near this three weeks since. The frigate Colombia, which had taken to harbor in Santa Martha, was obliged to cut loose her four heavy anchors and stand out to sea, to avoid going to pieces on the breakers towards* which she was driving in spite of all. She has since made the port of Carthagena good again. I hope that John Glen's vessel has waited for the December packet from this, if she has, a dangerous gale has been avoided; but if she left at the regular time I should hardly think she would reach her place of destination. I shall remain here eight or ten days more, and then go on at all events. Edward Glen does every thing to make my residence here pleasant, the fact of my staying so long is evidence of it, but still I want to be at Bogota as soon as possible. Since my arrival have been chiefly employed in studying the language, my proficiency is so great that I have but little difficulty in reading it, however my Yankee and French brogue in a measure prevent my understanding and being understood when speaking, yet I am well satisfied with my progress.

On the morning of the 6th ult. I went with Señor Diego De Castro, a fine young man — the chief clerk of Mr. Glen, to Santa Martha. We left this in one of Glen's bungo about 3 o'clock a. M. Our bogador was a good one, he sent us along at the rate of four miles an hour; our passage, a north east course, was through the chain of caños or creeks and lakes (between the Island Salamanca and the mainland) one of the latter is 21 miles long and is called Cienega De Santa Marta. The land on the banks was generally too low and flat to admit of cultivation; but within 8 or 10 miles of Barranquilla we would occasionally pass a rosa or plantation of plantains, paw-paws and sugar cane, but excepting these, the ground is covered with large trees of which the Mangrove is the most numerous. The water on this route is covered with ducks, swans, herons, gulls, crocodiles, and the bittern, which stalks among the reeds with its long legs and neck or feeding upon fish, it makes a most singular booming cry. The land is covered with a large headed red monkey, foxes, turkeys, the nocturnal guacharocas, plovers, snipe, other water and land birds of every color and description; not forgetting the many parrots of brilliant plumage, with their hooked bill climbing the trees in every direction. These forests are also filled with tigers, deer, wild hogs, armadillos which when attacked roll themselves up like a ball, ant eaters, &c. There is no great variety in the scenery along this water route, but on all the low ground incapable of tillage, the evergreen Mangrove tree with its dense foliage, excluding all other kinds, stands thick and high quite to the water's edge rooting in the mud, perfect forests.

Where the land is tillable every variety of trees flourish in great luxuriance, the very largest bearing beautiful flowers at certain seasons; even now although many of the trees have dropped their leaves, yet the number of evergreens are so great that the forests are perpetually green and the aromatic odor of the blooming ones is delightful. The cultivated spots are few and far between." We passed about five or six rosas or plantations and they are quite small; the largest containing about fifteen acres. The one at which we stopped after daylight to cook sancocho, to last us through the day, was in fine order. The plantain and banana trees grow in straight rows, the large clusters of fruit hanging on all; they

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stand about eight or ten feet apart; the plantains are best when boiled or roasted and quite palatable, but the bananas have a more exquisitely, luscious taste, and are eaten raw, though smaller they are of the same species. The trees which produce them are of soft pithy nature growing eight or twelve feet high, after once bearing they are cut down; the suckers that spring up from its roots are suffered to grow up and bear, after which they are served in a similar manner. The glossy leaves are about six feet long and one foot wide- the fruit is four or more inches long and over an inch in diameter, covered with a thick peel. The papayo or papaw-tree grows something like the plantain, bearing a very sweet fruit resembling our musk-melon; it differs from the plantain in bearing periodically, whereas plantain produces fruit from some one or other of the trees all the year round. Water and musk-melons can be and are raised here with a little care, as well as salads and other vegetables so as to have a constant supply, but the natives never think of replanting till the old crop is exhausted. The Juca a kind of potato but more tasteless, the yams ditto are here raised as well as corn, and sugar cane; the two last are scarcely distinguished from one another when growing. The process of planting here is very simple, a hole is made in the ground the proper depth, the seed dropped in, covered and then left to itself; it would be a novelty here to see a hoe or any other instrument with which to mellow the ground; they have not the least idea of a systematic mode of husbandry.

I missed a great deal of fine sport by not having my gun with me, for the game was very plentiful, and it is seldom or never disturbed by the natives; it is quite tame suffering us to pass directly under them. It was very aggravating to be so near the wild turkeys of several species, some are as large as our domestic ones, others smaller, the least about the size of the bantam fowl. Large white, grey and blue cranes are very plentiful and tame, now and then a grey fox, or an alligator would show themselves close by us. The only disturbance we met with was on the water from the mosquitoes, if they are not as large as ours, their numbers supply the deficiency, perfect plagues. When in the larger lakes we spread our little sail, if the wind proved fair; but as that was generally against us the boatman was obliged to set us along with a pole for they never use the paddle unless in deep water. Twelve o'clock at night we arrived at Peublo-Viejo, we anchored in the lake and spreading out our mats on the bottom of the boat slept soundly till day; then we landed at the dirty little Indian village standing on a neck of land between the lake of Santa Martha and the sea. We were terribly annoyed by the sand flies, their numbers here are very great, and until an hour or two of their society had made me a little accustomed to their ways, I found them almost insupportable, they are the first I had seen.

This is 65 miles from Barranquilla; we now hired horses preferring that mode of going the remaining part of the route, to the difficulty of proceeding by sea in the open canoe around some very dangerous points. One niles ride brought us to the village of Cienega another Indian site, it was formerly a fine town but is now a wretched place. It was the scene of a famous battle during the revolution between the Patriots under Genl. Montillo, and the Royal Indians; the latter were beaten and their village burnt to the ground.

Our ride from here to the hamlet of Gaira-six leagues, is mostly on the sea beach, excepting in some few places where the passage around