"To this account [substantially as given above] of the origin of the Insular Charaibes, the generality of historians have given their assent; but there are doubts attending it that are not easily solved. If they migrated from Florida, the imperfect state and natural course of their navigation induce a belief that traces of them would have been found on those islands which are near to the Florida shore; let the natives of the Bahamas, when discovered by Columbus, were evidently a similar people to those of Hispaniola. Besides, it is sufficiently known that there existed anciently many numerous and powerful tribes of Charaibes on the southern peninsula, extending from the river Oronoko to Essequebe, and throughout the whole province of Surinam, even to Brazil, some of which still maintain their independency. ... I incline therefore to the opinion of Martyr, and conclude that the islanders were rather a colony from the Charaibes of South America, than from any nation of the North. Rochefort admits that their own traditions referred constantly to Guiana." _B. Edwards, History of British Colonies in the West Indies, book 1, chapter 2._ "The Carabisce, Carabeesi, Charaibes, Caribs, or Galibis, originally occupied [in Guiana] the principal rivers, but as the Dutch encroached upon their possessions they retired inland, and are now daily dwindling away. According to Mr. Hillhouse, they could formerly muster nearly 1,000 fighting men, but are now [1855] scarcely able to raise a tenth part of that number. ... The smaller islands of the Caribbean Sea were formerly thickly populated by this tribe, but now not a trace of them remains." _H. G. Dalton, History of British Guiana, volume 1, chapter 1._ _E. F. im Thurn, Among the Indians of Guiana, chapter 6._ "Recent researches have shown that the original home of the stock was south of the Amazon, and probably in the highlands at the head of the Tapajoz river. A tribe, the Bakairi, is still resident there, whose language is a pure and archaic form of the Carib tongue." _D. G. Brinton, Races and Peoples, page 268._