A Tour Through Venezuela by B. E. Connerly

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Apr 9, 1908

A Tour Through Venezuela

By B. E. Connerly

B. E. CONNERLY

It was my privilege in December of 1907 and the January and February which followed to make quite an extended trip through Venezuela, one of the large republics of South America. It was discovered by Columbus in 1498, and was first settled by Spanish colonists in 1510.

Of the twelve million Indians that were found in South America at the time of the Spanish occupation, possibly one million were in Venezuela; and on these peaceable, harmless people Spain made war for more than fifty years, when they were subdued, and Venezuela became a Spanish colony, and remained so until 1821; then the patriots under Gen. Simon Bolivar defeated the Spanish army, and liberated that part of South America now known as the republics of Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia.

Venezuela is a large country, embracing as much territory as eight of our Southern States; namely, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas; and has a population of two and one-half million, nearly one fourth of whom are Indians. The first constitution was adopted in 1830, and the following year the first president was elected. Since that time they have had fourteen different presidents, and the new republic, like many others, has had many long and expensive revolutionary wars, but today many things indicate that there are better days ahead for Venezuela.

The Roman Catholic is the state religion. The churches are built and the ministry paid by the government. Article 17, section 13, of the constitution grants religious liberty to all people in the country, but article 80, section 23, of the same, forbids the entrance into the country of people who believe in any other than the Catholic religion. There is in the country at the present time, partly through the influence of the Free Masons and partly through the spirit of the age, quite a strong effort in favor of the separation of church and state, and in anticipation of this a few missionaries are beginning in a small way to try to teach the Bible there.

I had planned to enter the country through the port at La Guayra, but because of an epidemic of smallpox and yellow fever I was compelled to leave that port; I then decided to make a trip up the Orinoco River.

This trip was wonderfully interesting to me, for when, as a boy, I studied geography and saw the pictures of the crocodiles along the banks of this river, I determined that if I ever grew to be a man, I would visit the Orinoco. When the steamer entered the broad waters of this great river, I felt that I had lived to realize my childhood dream, and I thanked God that it was as a representative of the third angel's message that I was going.

Venezuela has a purely tropical climate; the flowers are ever in blossom, and the trees never cease from yielding fruit. All along the banks of the river I saw the crocodiles, and I also saw four tigers. One of the tigers was killed in a village near the river. It had entered the village at dawn and killed a mule. I saw a great many different kinds of monkeys, and snakes from fifteen to eighteen feet long. There are three hundred varieties of birds, and I saw them of every size and color, some with the most beautiful plumage imaginable, and many very sweet singers.

I visited several Indian villages; and as some of the Indians talk the Spanish, I could converse with them. As a rule, they are very poor, and their homes are the poorest that can be imagined. They sleep in hammocks, and cook their food on camp-fires; they use neither table nor dishes, and do no washing, for they wear no clothing whatever. About their houses you will find a burro, two or three goats, two or three pigs, a chicken or two, six or eight monkeys, four or five parrots, and at least a dozen dogs. The trip from Trinidad to Bolivar is made in three days, and costs sixteen dollars. At Bolivar the change is made to a smaller boat, which runs to San Fernando in six days, and the trip costs thirty dollars.

Away from the river and back in the plains there are thousands of good cattle, also good horses and mules. Minerals are found in almost all parts of the republic, and good wheat grows in the highlands of the Andes; coffee and cacao in the mountains farther east, good corn in the valleys and on the plains. The exports are coffee, cocoa, sugar, hides, and rubber. By far the larger part of the imports come from New York. Nature has done much for Venezuela, and she would be one of the richest countries in the world, but for the frequent revolutions which paralyze everything. There is a large American flour mill at La Guayra, and I enjoyed a pleasant time with the two Minnesota boys who make the flour. The railroads were built with English and German capital.

Caracas, the capital city, is large and beautiful, and its high altitude gives it a delightful climate, neither hot nor cold. There are a number of large churches and theaters, a military academy, a medical college and other institutions of learning; but I was told that they are not appreciated nor patronized as they should be, doubtless because, as one

man told me, the generals, doctors, and professional men are born and not developed. I found here the best markets, with fruits and vegetables, that I have seen in the tropics. The people are very fond of the bull-fight, and gather by thousands in the circuses to witness them. The toreros, or fighters, come from Spain, and are dressed in glittering uniforms. In the fight that took place while I was there, they said there were five out of six of the bulls killed, and two of the fighters were injured.

And now, what are we doing for this people? Are not we as a church debtors to them? Has not the time come for them to hear the third angel's message? The Lord is working by his Spirit here. The Bible is being sold, the Presbyterians are doing a little, and the Missionary Alliance have made beginnings at Caracas, Valencia, Maracaibo, and La Guayra. Surely this year will not pass before we have a representative here.

The first native convert whom I met asked me at once to what denomination I belonged, and when I told him that I was a Seventh-day Adventist, he said, “O, I am glad, for I want to know what you are like! You must come to my house. The American missionary told me that there were one hundred various sects in the States, and that the worst of them all was the Seventh-day Adventists. My wife and I are both anxious to know why you are the worst, and what you believe.”

I found many persons with whom the Spirit of the Lord is working. I readily sold all the books that I had with me, and took subscriptions for El Centinela in all the towns, and distributed many tracts. “The harvest truly is great, but laborers are few.” We must find messengers somewhere for this great field in Venezuela. I am now on my way back to Porto Rico.

Mayaguez, Porto Rico.