CARIPE  , a small

town of Venezuela in the state of Bermfidez, about 53 M . E.S.E. of Cumana . It is the chief station of the Capuchin missions to the Chayma Indians, founded toward the close of the 17th century, and stands 2635 ft. above sea-level, in a fertile valley of the Sierra Bergantfn, long celebrated for its cool, invigorating climate . The locality is also celebrated for the extensive system of caves in the limestone rocks found in its vicinity, which were described by Humboldt in his Personal Narrative . The principal cave, known as-the Cueva del Guacharo, extends inward a distance of 2800 ft. with a height of 7o-8o ft . These caves are frequented by a species of night-hawk, called guacharo, which nests in the recesses of the rocks . The young are killed in great numbers for their oil . Caripe itself has a population of only 58o, but the valley and neighbouring stations have about ten times that number . Caripe should not be confounded with Rio Caribe, a town and port on the Caribbean coast a short distance east of Carilpano,which has a population of about6000 .