TIAIIPER

II^Y lilBMAlIY.

N^ LIV

Ixvx. V..X. AND RESEARCHES

VON HUMBOLDT.

\V. MACGILLIYRAY, ESQ.

'V 1 T H A M i. P A ^

P. A V J S G -?,

J & J, HAKPEii, eiilFF-STREET,

iMereotvt>6 Edition.

^rEsenttb to
of tl]e

PntUersttg of ®oroxtto

Mrs. Eric E. Hyerson

•

•

TRAVELS AND RESEARCHES

OF

BARON HUMBOLDT.

-■^-^^ofe-.f^-^^^

NEW-YORK :

J, & J. HARPER, 82 CLIFF-STREET.

1833.

I

*.

THE

TRAVELS AND RESEARCHES

OF

ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT;

BEIKO

A CONDENSED NARRATIVE OF HIS JOURNEYS IN THE
EQUINOCTIAL REGIONS OF AMERICA, AND IN
ASIATIC RUSSIA: — TOGETHER WITH
ANALYSES OF HIS MORE IMPORT-
ANT INVESTIGATIONS.

BY W. MACGILLIVRAY, A.M.,

Consen'atoT of the Museums of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Member of
the Natural History Societies of Edinburgh and Philadelphia, &c>

WITH A MAP OF THB ORINOCO, AND ENGRAVINGS.

NEW-YORK:

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY J. & J. HARPER,

No. 82 CLIFF-STREET,

AND SOLD BY THE BOOKSELLERS GENERALLY THROUGHOUT

THE UNITED STATES.

1833.

G04<'>87

"SfTz^ss^

PREFACE.

The celebrity which Baron Humboldt enjoys, and
which he has earned by a hfe of laborious investiga-
tion and perilous enterprise, renders his name fami-
liar to every person whose attention has been drawn
to political statistics or natural philosophy. In the
estimation of the learned no author of the present
day occupies a higher place among those who have
enlarged the boundaries of human knowledge. To
every one, accordingly, whose aim is the general cul-
tivation of the mental faculties, his works are recom-
mended by the splendid pictures of scenery which
they contain, the diversified information which they
afford respecting objects of universal interest, and
the graceful attractions with which he has succeeded
in investing the majesty of science.

These considerations have induced the publishers
to offer a condensed account of his Travels and Re-
searches, such as, without excluding subjects even
of laboured investigation, might yet cliiefly embrace
Ihose which are best suited to the purposes of the
general reader. The public taste has of late years
gradually inclined towards objects of useful know-
ledge,— works of imagination have in a great mea-

A 2

D PREFACE.

sure given place to those occupied with descriptions
of nature, physical or moral, — and the phenomena
of the material world now aftbrd entertainment to
many who in former times would have sought for it
at a difierent source. Romantic incidents, perilous
adventures, the struggles of conflicting armies, and
vivid delineations of national manners and individ-
ual character, naturally excite a lively mterest in
eveiy bosom, whatever may be tlie age or sex ; but,
surely, the great facts of creative power and wis-
dom, as exhibited in regions of the globe of which
they have no personal knowledge, are not less cal-
culated to fix the attention of all reflecting luinds.
The magnificent vegetation of the tropical regions,
displaying forests of gigantic trees, interspersed with
the varied foliage of innumerable shrubs, and adorned
with festoons of climbing and odoriferous plants ;
the elevated table-lands of the Andes, crowned by
volcanic cones whose summits shoot high into the
region of perennial snow ; the earthquakes that have
desolated populous and fertile countries ; the vast
expanse of the Atlantic Ocean, with its circling cur-
rents ; and the varied aspect of the heavens in those
distant lands, — are subjects suited to the taste of
every individual who is capable of contemplating the
wonderful machinery of the universe.

It is unnecessary here to present an analysis of
the labours of the illustrious philosopher whose foot-
steps are traced in this volume. Suffice it to observe,
that some notices respecting his early life introduce
the reader to an acquaintance with his character and
motives, as the adventurous traveller, who, crossing

PREFACE 7

tlie Atlantic, traversed the ridges and plains of Vene-
zuela, ascended the Orinoco to its junction with the
Amazon, sailed down the former river to the capital
of Guiana, and afler examining the island of Cuba,
mounted by the valley of the Magdalena to the ele-
vated platforms of the Andes, explored the majestic
solitudes of the great Cordilleras of Quito, navigated
the margin of the Pacific Ocean, and wandered over
the extensive and interesting provinces of New-
Spain, whence he made his way back by the United
States to Europe. The publication of the important
results of this journey was not completed when he
undertook another to Asiatic Russia and the con-
fines of China, from which he has but lately re-
turned.

From the various works which he has given to the
world have been derived the chief materials of this
narrative ; and, when additional particulars were
wanted, application was made to M. de Humboldt
himself, who kindly pointed out the sources whence
the desired information might be obtained. The
life of a man of letters, he justly observed, ought
to be sought for in his books ; and for this reason
little has been said respecting his occupations during
the intervals of repose which have succeeded his
perilous journeys.

It is only necessary further to apprize the reader,
that the several measurements, the indications of the
thermometer, and the value of articles of industry
or commerce, which in the original volumes are ex-
pressed according to French, Spanish, and Russian
usage, have been reduced to English equivalents.

8 PIIEFACE.

Finally, the publishers, confidont that this abridged
account of the travels of Humboldt will prove bene-
ficial in diffusing a knowledge of the researches of
that eminent naturalist, and in leading to the study
of those phenomena which present themselves daily
to the eye, send it forth with a hope that its reception
will be as favourable and extensive as that bestowed
upon its predecessors.

Edinburgh, Octohcr, 1832.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION.

Birth and Education of Humboldt — His early Occupations— He resolves
to visit Africa — Is disappointed in his Views, and goes lo Madrid,
where he is introduced to the King, and obtains Permission to visit
the Spanish Colonies — Observations made on the Journey througli
Spain — Geological Constitution of the Country between Madrid and
Coruiina — Climate — Ancient Submersion of the Shores of the Medi-
terranean— Reception at Corunna, and Preparations for the Voyage lo
South America Page 15

CHAPTER n.

VOYAGE FROM COKUNNA TO TENERIFFE.

Departure from Corunna— Currents of the Atlantic Ocean— Marine Ani-
mals— Falling Stars — Swallows — Canary Islands— Lancorota — Fucus
vitifolius — Causes of the Green Colour of Plants— La Graciosa —
Stratified Basalt alternating with Marl — Hyalite— Quartz Sand —
Remarks on the Distance at which Mountains are visible at Sea, and
the Causes by which it is modified— Landing at Tenerifle 22

CHAPTER m.

ISLAND OF TENERIFFE.

Santa Cruz — Villa de la Laguna— Guanches — Present Inhabitants of
TeneriTfe— Climate— Scenery of the Coast — Orotava— Dragon-tree —
Ascent of the Peak — Its Geological Character — Eruptions — Zones of
Vegetation— Fires of St. John 35

CHAPTER IV.

PASSAGE FROM TENERIFFE TO CUMANA.

Departure from Santa Cruz — Floating Seaweeds — Flying-fish — Stars —
Malignant Fever — Island of Tobago — Deatli of a Passenger — Island
of Coche — Port of ('umana — Observations made during the Voyage;
Temperature of the Air; Temperature of the Sea; Hygromeirical
Slate of Uie Air ; Colour of the Skv and Ocean 47

10 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER V.

CUMANA.

Landing at Cuinana— Introiluction to tho Governor— State of the Sick-
Description of the Country and City of Cuinana— Mode of Bathing in
the Manzanares— Port of Cumana— Earthquaiies ; Tlieir Periodicity ;
Connexion with the State of the Atmosptiere ; Gaseous Emanations;
Subterranean Noises ; Propagation of Sliocks ; Connexion between
those of Cumana and the West Indies ; and general Phenomena. . . 59

CHAPTER VI.

RESIDENCE AT CUMANA.

Lunar Halo— African Slaves— Excursion to the Peninsula of Araya—
Geological Constitution of the Country— Salt-works of Araya — Indians
and Mulaltoes — Pearl-fishery — Maiiiquarez — Mexican Deer— Spring
of Naphtha 66

CHAPTER VII.

MISSIONS OF THE CHAYMAS.

Excursion to the Missions of tlie Chayma Indians— Remarks on Cul-
tivation— The Impossible — Aspect of the Vegetation — San Fernando —
Account of a Man who suckled a Child— Cumanacoa — Cultivation of
Tobacco— Igneous Exhalations — Jaguars — Mountain of CocoUar —
Turimiquiri— Missions of San Antonio and Guanaguana 73

CHAPTER Vin.

EXCURSION CONTINUED, AND RETURN TO CUMANA.

Convent of Caripe— Cave of Guacharo, inhabited by Nocturnal Birds-
Purgatory— Forest Scenery — Howling Monkeys — Vera Cruz — Cariaco
— Intermittent Fevers — Cocoa-trees — Passage across the Gulfof Cari-
aco to Cumana 86

CHAPTER IX.

INDIANS OF NEW-ANDALUSIA.

Physical Constitution and Manners of the Chaymas— Their Languages
—American Races 96

CHAPTER X.

RESIDENCE AT CUMANA.

Residence at Cumana— Attack of a Zambo — Eclipse of the Sun-
Extraordinary Atmospherical Phenomena— Shocks of an Earthquake
— Ltiminous Mcleors 104

CONTENTS. 11

CHAPTER XI.

VOYAGE FROM CUMANA TO GUAYRA. ,

Passage from Cumana to La Guayra— Pliosptiorcsccnce of the Sea-
Group of the Caraccas ami Chiinanas— Port of New-Bareelona— La
Guayra— Yellow Fever — Coast and Cape Blanco — Road from La
Guayra to Caraccas 110

CHAPTER Xn.

CITY OF CARACCAS AND SURROUNDING DISTRICT.

City of Caraccas— General View of Venezuela— Population— Climate-
_ Character of the Inhabitants of Caraccas— Ascent of the Silla— Geo-
logical Nature of the District, and the Mines 123

CHAPTER XIII.

EARTHQUAKES OF CARACCAS.

Extensive Connexion of Earthquakes— Eruption of the Volcano of St.
Vincent's— Earthquake of the 2Gth March, 1S12— Ucstruction of the
City— Ten Thousand of the Inhabitants killed- Consternation of the
Survivors — Extent of the Commotions 135

CHAPTER XIV.

JOURNEY FROJI CARACCAS TO THE LAKE OF VALENCIA.

departure from Caraccas— La Puenavista — Valleys of San Pedro and the
Tuy— Mantcrola—Zamang-tree— Valleys of Aragua— Lake of Valencia
—Diminution of its Waters- Hot Springs— .Jaguar— New-Valencia—
Thermal Waters of La Trinchera— Porto CabcUo— Cow-tree— Cocoa-
plantations— General View of the Littoral District of Venezuela. . 142

CHAPTER XV.

JOURNEY ACROSS THE LLANOS FROM ARAGUA TO SAN
FERNANDO.

Mountains between the Valleys of Aragua and the Llanos— Their Geologi-
cal Constitution— The Llanos of Caraccas — Route over the Savanna
lo the Rio Apure — Cattle and Deer — Vegetation — Calabozo — Gymnoti
or Electric Eels — Indian Girl — Alligators and Boas — Arrival at San
Fernando de Apure 160

CHAPTER XVI.

VOYAGE DOWN THE RIO APURE.

San Fernando- Commencement of the Rainy Season- Progress of At-
mospherical Phenomena — Cetaceous Animals — Voyage down the Rio
Apure— Vegetation and Wild Animals— Crocodiles, Chiguires, and

12 ' CONTENTS.

Jaguars— Don Ignacio and Donna Isabella— Watcr-l'owl— Nocturnal
Ilowlings in the Forest— Caribe-iish— Adventure witli a Jaguar — Ma-
natees—Mouth of the Rio Apure 174

CHAPTER XVII.

VOYAGE UP THE ORINOCO.

Ascent of the Orinoco- Port of Encaramada— Traditions of a universal
Deluge— Gatl>cring of Turtles' Eggs— Two Species described— Mode
of collecting the Eggs and of manufacturing the Oil — Probable Num-
ber of these Animals on the Orinoco— Decorations of the Indians —
Encampment of Pararuma— Height of the Inundations of the Ori-
noco—Rapids of Tabage 189

CHAPTER XVm.

VOVAGE UP THE OKINOCO CONTINUED.

Mission of Atures— Epidemic Fevers — Black Crust of Granitic Rocks —
Causes of Dejwpulatiou of the Missions — Falls of Apures — Scenery — •
Anecdote of a Jaguar — Domestic Animals — Wild Man of the Woods
— Mosquitoes and other poisonous Insects — Mission and Cataracts of
Maypures — Scenery — Inhabitants — Splce-trees — San Fernando de Ata»
bipo — San Baltasar — The' Mother's Rock— Vegetation— Dolphins —
San Antonio de Javita — Indians— Elastic Gurn— Serpents— Portage of
the Pimichln— Arrival at the Rio Negro, a Branch of the Amazon —
Ascent of the Casiiiuiare 206

CHAPTER XIX.

KOUTE FROM ESMERALDA TO ANGOSTURA.

Mission of Esmeralda — Curare Poison — Indians — Duida Mountain-
Descent of the Orinoco— Cave of Ataruipe — Ratidalito of Carucari—
MissionofUruana— Character of the Otomacs — Clay eaten by the Na-
tives— Arrival at Angosiiira— The Travellers attacked by Fever — Fe-
rocity of the Crocodiles 234

CHAPTER XX.

JOURNEY ACROSS THE LLANOS TO NEW-BARCELONA.

Departure from Angostura— Village of Cari— Natives— Ncvy-Barcelona —
Hot Springs — Crocodiles — Passage to Cuuiana 248

CHAPTER XXI.

PASSAGE TO HAVANA, AND RESIDENCE IN CUBA.

Passage from New-Barcelona to Havana— Description of the latter- Ex
tent of Cuba— Geological Coustitutiou—Vegctaliou— Climate— Popula ■

CONTENTS. 1^'

tion—AgrrculUlre— Exports— Preparations for joining Cajitaiii Bamlin'?
Expedition— Journey to Batabano, and Voyage to Trinidad deCuha 25*

CHAPTER XXn.

VOYAGE FROM CUBA TO CAETHAGENA.

Passage from Trinidad of Cuba to Carthagena— Description of the latter
—Village of Turbaco— Air-volcanoes— Preparations for ascending the
Rio Magdalena 266

CHAPTER xxnr.

BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE JOURNEY FROM CARTHAGENA TO
QUITO AND MEXICO.

Ascent of the Rio Magdalena— Santa Fe de Bogota— Cataract of Tcquen-
dama— Natural Bridges of Icononzo— Passage of Quindiu— Cargucroa
—Popayan— Quito— Cotopaxi and Chimborazo— Route from Quito to
Lima— Guayaquil— Mexico— Guanaxuato— Volcano of Jorullo— Pyra-
mid of Cholula 279

CHAPTER XXIV.

DESCRIPTION OF NEW-SPAIN OR MEXICO.

General Description of New-Spain or Mexico— Cordilleras— Climates
—Mines— Rivers— Lakes-Soil- Volcanoes— Harbours— Population-
Provinces— Valley Of Mexico, and Description of the Capital— Inunda
tions, and Works undertaken for the Purpose of preventing them. . 207

CHAPTER XXV.

STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF NEW-SPAIN CONTINUED.

Agriculture of Mexico— Banana, Manioe, and Maize— Cereal Plants—
Nutritive Roots and Vegetables- Agave Americana— Colonial Com-
modities—Cattle, and Animal Productions 325

CHAPTER XXVI.

MINES OF NEW-SPAIN.

Mining Districts— Metalliferous Veins and Beds— Geological Relations
of the Ores— Produce of the Mines— Recapitulation 338

CHAPTER XXVIL

PASSAGE FROM VERA CRUZ TO CUBA AND PHILADELPHU,
AND VOYAGE TO EUROPE.

Departure from RIex'ico— Passage to Havana and Philadelphia— Return
to Europe— Results of the Journeys in America 347

B

14 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

JOURNEY TO ASIA.

Brief Account of Humboldt's Journey to Asia, with a Sketch of the Four
great Chains of Mountains which intersect the central Part of that
Continent 352

ENGRAVINGS.

Vignette— Basaltic Rocks and Cascade of Regla.

Dragon-tree of Orotava Page 42

Humboldt's Route on the Orinoco 112

Jaguar, or American Tiger 183

Air- volcanoes of Turbaco 274

Costumes of the Indians of Mcchoacau 295

THE

TRAVELS AND RESEARCHES

OF

BARON HUMBOLDT.

CHAPTER I.;:

Introduction.

Birth and Education of HumboIdt~His early Oecnpations— He resolves
to visit Africa — Is disappointed in his Views, and goes to Madrid,
■where he is introduced to the King, and obtains Permission to visit
the Spanish Colonies — Observations made on the Journey through
Spain — Geological Constitution of the Country between Madrid and
Corunna — Climate— Ancient Submersion of the Shores of the Medi-
terranean—Reception at Corunna, and Preparations for the Voyage to
South America.

With the name of Humboldt we associate all that
is interesting in the physical sciences. No travel-
ler who has visited remote regions of the globe, for
the purpose of observing the varied phenomena of
nature, has added so much to our stock of positive
knowledge. While the navigator has explored the
coasts of unknown lands, discovered islands and
shores, marked the depths of the sea, estimated the
force of currents, and noted the more obvious traits
in the aspect of the countries at which he has
touched; while the zoologist has investigated the
multiplied forms of animal life, the botanist the di-
versified vegetation, the geologist the structure and

16 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

relations of the rocky masses of which the exterior
of the earth is composed ; and while each has thus
contributed to the illustration of the wonderful con-
stitution of our planet, the distinguished traveller
whose discoveries form the subject of this volume
stands alone as uniting in himself a knowledge of all
these sciences. Geography, meteorology, magnet-
ism, the distribution of heal, the various depart-
ments of natural history, together with the affinities
of races and languages, the history of nations, the
political constitution of countries, statistics, com-
merce, and agriculture, — all have received accumu-
lated and valuable additions from the exercise of his
rare talents. The narrative of no traveller, there-
fore, could be more interesting to the man of varied
information. ]But as from a work like that of which
the present volume constitutes a part subjects strictly
scientific must be excluded, unless when they can
be treated in a manner intelligible to the public at
large, it may here be stated, that many of the inves-
tigations of which we present the results must be
traced in the voluminous works which the author
himself has published. At the same time enough
will be given to gratify the scientific reader ; and
while the narrative of personal adventure, the diver-
sified phenomena of the physical world, the condi-
tion of societies, and the numerous other subjects
discussed, will afltord amusement and instruction, let
it be remembered that truths faithfully extracted
from the book of nature are alone calcidated to en-
large the sphere of mental vision ; and that, while
fanciful description is more apt to mislead than to
direct the footsteps of the student, there is reflected
from the actual examination of the material universe
a light which never fails to conduct the mind at once
to sure knowledge and to pious sentiment.

Frederick Henry Alexander Von Humboldt was
born at Berlin, on the 14th of Septeriiber, 1769. He
received his academic education at Gottingen and

BIRTH AND EDUCATION OF HUMBOLDT. 17

Frankfort on the Oder. In 1790 he visited Holland
and England in company with Messrs. George Fors-
ter and Van Geuns, and in the same year published
his first work, entitled " Observations on the Basalts
of the Rhine." In 1791 he went to Freyberg to re-
ceive the instructions of the celebrated Werner, the
founder of geological science. The results of some
of his observations in the mines of that district
were puWished in 1793, under the title of Specimen
FlorcB Fribergensis SubterranecB.

Having been appointed assessor of the Council of
Mines at Berhn in 1792, and afterward director-
general of the mines of the principalities of Bareith
and Anspach in Franconia, he directed his efforts to
the formation of pubhc establishments in these dis-
tricts ; but in 1795 he resigned his office with the
view of travelling, and visited part of Italy. His
active and comprehensive mind engaged in the study
of all the physical sciences ; but the discoveries of
Galvani seem at this period to have more particularly
attracted his attention. The results of his experi-
ments on animal electricity were published in 1796,
with notes by Professor Blumenbach. In 1795 he
had gone to Vienna, where he remained some time,
ardently engaged in the study of a fine collection of
exotic plants in that city. He travelled through
several cantons of Salzburg and Styria with the
celebrated Von Buch, but was prevented by the war
which then raged in Italy from extending his journey
to that country, whither he was anxious to proceed
for the purpose of examining the volcanic districts
of Naples and Sicily. Accompanied by his brother
William Von Humboldt and Mr. Fischer, he then
visited Paris, where he formed an acquaintance with
M. Aime Bonpland, a pupil of the School of Medicine
and Garden of Plants, who, afterward becoming his
associate in travel, has greatly distinguished himself
by his numerous discoveries in botany.
Humboldt, from his earliest youth, had cherished

B2

18 JOURNEY TO SPAIN.

an ardent desire to travel into distant regions little
known to Europeans ; and having at the age of
eighteen resolved to visit the New Continent, he
prepared himself by examining some of the most
interesting parts of Europe, that he might be enabled
to compare the geological structure of these two
portions of the globe, and acquire a practical ac-
quaintance with the instruments best adapted for
aiding him in his observations. Fortunate in pos-
sessing ample pecuniary resources, he did not expe-
rience the privations which have disconcerted the
plans and retarded the progress of many eminent
individuals ; but, not the less subject to unforeseen
vicissitudes, he had to undergo several disappoint-
ments that thwarted the schemes which, like all
men of ardent mind, he had indulged himself in
forming. Meeting with a person passionately fond
of the fine arts, and anxious to visit Upper Egypt, he
resolved to accompany him to that interesting coun-
try ; but political events interfered, and forced him
to abandon the project. The knowledge of the
monuments of the more ancient nations of the Old
World, which he acquired at this period, was sub-
sequently of great use to him in his researches in
the New Continent. An expedition of discovery to
the southern hemisphere, under the direction of
Captain Baudin, then preparing in France, and with
which MM. Michaux and Bonpland were to be asso-
ciated as naturalists, held out to him the hope of
gratifying his desire of exploring unknown regions.
But the war which broke out in Germany and Italy
compelled the government to withdraw the funds
allotted to this enterprise. Becoming acquainted
with a Swedish consul who happened to pass through
Paris, with the view of embarking at Marseilles on
a mission to Algiers, he resolved to embrace the
opportunity thus offered of visiting Africa, in order
to examine the lofty chain of mountains in the em-
pire of Morocco, and ultimately to join the body of

GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE OF SPAIN. 19

scientific men attached to the French army in Egypt.
Accompanied by his friend Bonpland, he therefore
betook himself to Marseilles, where he waited for
two months the arrival of the frigate which was to
convey the consul to his destination. At length,
learning that this vessel had been injured by a
storm, he resolved to pass the winter ih Spain, in
hopes of finding another the following spring.

On his way to Madrid, he determined the geo-
graphical position of several important parts, and
ascertained the height of the central plain of Castile.
In March, 1799, he was presented at the court of
Aranjuez, and graciously received by the king, to
whom he explained the motives which induced him
to undertake a voyage to the New Continent. Be-
ing .seconded in his application by the representa-
tions of an enlightened minister, Don Mariano Luis
de Urquijo, he to his great joy obtained leave to visit
and explore, without impediment or restriction, all
the Spanish territories in America. The impatience
of the travellers to take advantage of the permission
thus granted did not allow them to bestow much
time upon preparations; and about the middle of
May they left Madrid, crossed part of Old Castile,
Leon, and GaUcia, and betook themselves to Co-
Tunna, whence they were to sail for the island of
Cuba.

According to the observations made by our travel-
lers, the interior of Spain consists of an elevated
table-land, formed of secondary deposites,— sand-
stone, gypsum, rock-salt, and Jura limestone. The
chmate of the Castiles is much colder than that of
Toulon and Genoa, its mean temperature scarcely
rising to 59° of Fahrenheit's thermometer. The
central plain is surrounded by a low and narrow belt,
in several parts of which the fan-palm, the date, the
sugar-cane, the banana, and many plants common to
Spain and the north of Africa vegetate, without suf-
fering from the severity of the winter. In the space

20 ARRIVAL AT CORUNNA.

included between the parallels of thirty-six and forty-
degrees of north latitude the mean temperature
ranges from 62 6° to 68-2° Fahrenheit, and by a con-
currence of favourable circumstances this section
has become the principal seat of industry and intel-
lectual cultivation.

Ascending from the shores of the Mediterranean,
towards the elevated plains of La Mancha and the
Castiles, one imagines that he sees far inland, in the
extended precipices, the ancient coast of the Penin-
sula ; a circumstance which brings to mind the tra-
ditions of the Samothracians and certain historical
testimonies, according to which the bursting of the
waters through the Dardanelles, while it enlarged the
basin of the Mediterranean, overwhelmed the south-
ern part of Europe. The high central plain just de-
scribed would, it may be presumed, resist the effects
of the inundation until the escape of the waters by
the strait formed between the Pillars of Hercules,
had gradually lowered the level of the Mediterra-
nean, and thereby once more laid bare Upper Egypt
on the one hand, and on the other, the fertile valleys
of Tarragon, Valentia, and Murcia.

From Astorgato Corunna the mountains gradually
rise, the secondary strata disappear by degrees, and
the transition rocks which succeed announce the prox-
imity of primitive formations. Large mountains of
gray^vacke and graywacke-slate present themselves.
In the vicinity of the latter town are granitic sum-
mits which extend to ,Cape Ortegal, and which
might seem, Avith those of Brittany and Cornwall, to
have once formed a chain of mountains that has
been broken up and submersed. This rock is char-
acterized by large and beautiful crystals of felspar,
and contains tin-ore, which is worked with much
labour and little profit by the Galicians.

On arriving at Conmna, they found the port block-
aded by the English, for the purpose of interrupting
the communication between the mother-country

TEMPERATURE OF THE SEA. 21

and the American colonies. The principal secre-
tary of state had recommended them to Don Rafael
Clavii^o, recently appointed director-general of the
maritime posts, who neglected nothing that could
render their residence agreeable, and advised them
to embark on board the corvette Pizarro bound for
Havana and Mexico. Instructions were giv6n for
the safe disposal of the instruments, and the captain
was ordered to stop at Teneriffe so long as should
be found necessary to enable the travellers to visit
the port of Orotava and ascend the Peak.

During the few days of their detention, they occu-
pied themselves in preparing the plants wliich they
had collected and in making sundry observations.
Crossing to Ferrol they made some interesting ex-
periments on the temperature of the sea and the
decrease of heat in the successive strata of the
water. The thermometer on the bank and near it
was from 54° to 55-9°, while in deep water it stood
at 59° or 59-5°, the air being 55°. The fact that the
proximity of a sand-bank is indicated by a rapid
descent of the temperature of the sea at its surface
is of great importance for the safety of navigators ;
for, although the use of the thermometer ought not '
to supersede that of the lead, variations of tempera-
ture indicative of danger may be perceived by it long
before the vessel reaches the shoal. A heavy swell
from the north-west rendered it impossible to con-
tinue their experiments. It was produced by a storm
at sea, and obliged the English vessels to retire from
the coast, — a circumstance which induced our trav-
ellers speedily to embark their instruments and bag-
gage, althougli they were prevented from sailing by
a high westerly wind, that continued for several days.

22 DEPARTURE FROM OORtlNNA.

CHAPTER II.

Voyage from Corunna to Teneriffe.

Departure from Corunna— Currents of the Atlantic Ocean — Marine Ani-
mals— Falling Stars — Swallows — Canary Islands— Lancerota — Fucus
vitifolius — Causes of the Green Colour of Plants— La Graciosa —
Stratified Basalt alternating with Marl — Hyalite — Quartz Sand —
Remarks on the Distance at which Mountains are visible at Sea, and
the Causes by which it is modified— Landing at Teneriffe.

The wind having come round to the north-east,
the Pizarro set sail on the afternoon of the 5th of
June, 1799, and after working out of the narrow pas-
sage passed the Tower of Hercules, or lighthouse
of Corunna, at half-past six. Towards evening the
wind increased, and the sea ran high. They directed
their course to the north-west, for the purpose of
avoiding the English frigates which Were cruising
oflF the coast, and about nine spied the fire of a fish-
ing-hut at Lisarga, which was the last object they
beheld in the west of Europe. As they advanced,
the light mingled itself with the stars which rose on
the horizon. " Our eyes," says Humboldt, " re-
mained involuiitarily fixed upon it. Such impres-
sions do not fade from the memory of those who
have undertaken long voyages at an age when the
emotions of the heart are in full force. How many
recollections are awakened in the imagination by a
luminous point which in the middle of a dark night,
appearing at intervals above the agitated waves,
marks the shore of one's native land !"

They were obhged to run under courses, and pro-
ceeded at the rate of ten knots, although the vessel
was not a fast sailer. At six in the morning she
rolled so much that the fon; topgallant-mast was
carried away. On tlie 7th they were in the latitude

EQUINOCTIAL CURRENT. 23

of Cape Finisterre, the group of granitic rocks on
which, named the Sierra de Torinona, is visible at
sea to the distance of 59 miles. On the 8th, at sun-
set, they discovered from the mast-head an English
convoy ; and to avoid them they altered their course
during the night. On the 9th they began to feel the
effects of the great current vi^hich flows from the
Azores towards the Straits of Gibraltar and the
Canaries. Its direction was at first east-by-south;
but nearer the inlet it became due east, and its force
was such as, between 37° and 30° lat., sometimes to
carry the vessel in twenty-four hours from 21 to 30
miles eastward.

Between the tropics, especially from the coast of
Senegal to the Caribbean Sea, there is a stream that
always flows from east to west, and which is named
the Equinoctial Current. Its mean rapidity may be
estimated at ten or eleven miles in twenty-four
hours. This movement of the waters, which is also
observed in the Pacific Ocean, having a direction
contrary to that of the earth's rotation, is supposed
to be connected with the latter only in so far as it
changes into trade-winds those aerial currents from
the poles, which, in the lower regions of the atmo-
sphere, carry the cold air of the high latitudes to-
wards the equator ; and it is to the general impulse
which these winds give to the surface of the ocean
that the phenomenon in question is to be attributed.

This current carries the waters of the Atlantic
towards the Mosquito and Honduras coasts, from
which they move northwards,, and. passing into the
Gulf of Mexico follow the bendings of the shore
from Vera Cruz to the mouth of the Rio del Norte,
and from thence to the mouths of the Mississippi
and the shoals at the southern extremity of Florida.
After performing this circuit, it again directs itself
northward, rushing with great impetuosity through
tlie Straits of Bahama. At the end of these nar-
rows, in the parallel of Cape Canaveral, the flow,

24 GULF-STREAM.

which ruslies onward like a torrent, sometimes at
the rate of five miles an hour, runs to the north-east.
Its velocity diminishes and its breadth enlarges as it
proceeds northward. Between Cape Biscayo and
the Bank of Bahama the width is only 52 miles,
while in 28i° of lat. it is 59 ; and in the parallel of
Charleston, opposite Cape Henlopen, it is from 138
to 173 miles, the rapidity being from three to five
miles an hour where the stream is narrow, and oidy
one mile as it advances towards the north. To the
east of Boston and in the meridian of Halifax the
current is nearly 276 miles broad. Here it suddenly
turns towards the east ; its western margin touching
the extremity of the great bank of Newfoundland.
From this to the Azores it continues to flow to the
E. and E.S.E., still retaining part of the impulse
which it had received nearly 1150 miles distant in
the Straits of Florida. In the meridian of the Isles
of Corvo and Flores, the most western of the Azores,
it is not less than 552 miles in breadth. From the
Azores it directs itself towards the Straits of Gib-
raltar, the island of Madeira, and the Canary Isles.
To the south of Madeira we can distinctly follow its
motion to the S.E. and S.S.E., bearing on the shores
of Africa, between Capes Cantin and Bojador. Cape
Blanco, which, next to Cape Verd, farther to the
south, is the most prominent part of that coast,
seems again to influence the direction of the stream ;
"and in this parallel it mixes with the great equinoc-
tial current as already described.

In this mamier the waters of the Atlantic, between
the pai-allels of 11° and 43°, are carried round in a
continual whirlpool, which Humboldt calculates must
take two years and ten months to perform its cir-
cuit of 13,118 miles. This great current is named
the Gulf-stream. Off the coast of Newfoundland a
branch separates from it, and runs from S.W. to
N.E. towards the coasts of Europe.

From Corunna to 36° of latitude, our travellers liad

MARINE ANIMALS — MEDUSA. 25

scarcely seen any other animals than terns (or sea-
swallows) and a few dolphins ; but on the 11th June
they entered a zone in which the whole sea was
covered with a prodigious quantity of medusae. The
vessel was almost becalmed ; but the molusca ad-
vanced towards the south-east with a rapidity equal
to four times that of the current, and continued to
pass nearly three-quarters of an hour, after which
only a few scattered individuals were seen. Among
these animals they recognised the Medusa aurita of
Baster, the M. pelagica of Bosc, and a third approach-
ing in its characters to the M. hysocella, which is dis-
tinguished by its yellowish-brown colour, and by
having its tentacula longer than the body. Several
of them were four inches in diameter, and the bright
reflection from their bodies contrasted pleasantly
with the azure tint of the sea.

On the morning of the 13th June, in lat. 34"^ 33',
they observed large quantities of the Dagysa nolala,
of which several had been seen among the medus£e,
and which consist of little transparent gelatinous
sacs, extending to 14 lines, with a diameter of 2 or
3, and open at both ends. These cylinders are lon-
gitudinally agglutinated like the cells of a. honey-
comb, and form strings from six to eight inches in
length. They observed, after it became dark, that
none of the three species of medusa which they had
collected emitted light unless they were slightly
shaken. When a very irritable individual is placed
on a tin plate, and the latter is struck with a piece of
metal, the vibrations of the tin are sufficient to make
the animal shine. Sometimes, on galvanizing me-
dusae, the phosphorescence appears at the moment
when the chain closes, although the exciters are not
in direct contact with the body of the subject. The
fingers, after touching it, remain luminous for two
or three minutes. Wood, on being rubbed with a
medusa, becomes luminous, and after the phospho-
rescence has ceased, it may be rekindled by passing

^6 FALLING STARS.

the dry hand over it ; but when the hght is a second
time extinguished it cannot be reproduced.

Between the island of Madeira and the coast of
Africa they were struck by the prodigious quantity
of falhng stars, which continued to increase as they
advanced southward. These meteors, Humboldt
remarks, are more common and more luminous in
certain regions of the earth than in others. He
has nowhere seen them more frequent than in the
vicinity of the volcanoes of Quito and in that part
of the South Sea which washes the shores of Gua-
timala. According to the observations of Benzen-
berg and Brandes, many falling stars noticed in Eu-
rope were only 63,950 j-'ords, or a little more than 36
miles high; and one was measured, the elevation
of which did not exceed 29,843 yards, or about 17
miles. In warm climates, and especially between
the tropics, they often leave behind them a train
which remains luminous for twelve or fifteen seconds.
At other times they seem to burst, and separate
into a number of sparks. They are generally much
lower than in the north of Europe. These meteors
can be observed only when the sky is clear ; and
perhaps none has ever been seen beneath a cloud.
According to the observations of M. Arago, they usu-
ally follow the same course for several hours"; and
in this case their direction is that of the wind.

When the vovagers were 138 miles to the east of
Madeira, a common swallow {Hirundo rustica) perched
on the topsail-yard, and was caught. What could
induce a bird, asks our traveller, to fly so far at this
season, and in calm weather ] In the expedition of
Entrecasteaux, a swallow was also seen at tlie dis-
tance of 207 miles off Cape Blanco ; but this hap-
pened about the end of October, and M. Labillar-
diere imagined that it had newly arrived from
Europe.

The Pizarro had been ordered to touch at Lan-
cerota, one of the Canaries, to ascertain whether the

ISLAND OF LANCEROTA. 27

harbour of Santa Cruz in Teneriflfe was blockaded
by the Enghsh; and on the 16th, in the afternoon,
the seamen discovered land, which proved to be
that island. As they advanced they saw first the
island of Forteventura, famous for the number of
camels reared upon it, and soon after the smaller
one of Lobos. Spending part of the night on deck,
the naturalists viewed the volcanic summits of Lan-
cerota illumined by the moon, and enjoyed the beau-
tiful serenity of the atmosphere. After a time, great
black clouds, rising behind the volcano, shrouded at
intervals the moOn and the constellation of Scorpio.
They observed lights carried about on the shore,
probably by fishermen, and having been employed
occasionally during their passage in reading some
of the old Spanish voyages, these moving fires re-
called to their imagination those seen on the island
of Guanahani on the memorable night of the dis-
covery of the New World.

In passing through the archipelago of small isl-
ands situated to the north of Lancerota, they were
struck by the configuration of the coasts, which re-
sembled the banks of the Rhine near Bonn. It is a
remarkable circumstance, our author observes, that,
while the forms of animals and plants exhibit the
greatest diversity in different climates, the rocky
masses present the same appearances in both hemi-
spheres. In the Canary Isles, as in Auvergne, in the
Mittelgebirge, in Bohemia, in Mexico, and on the
banks of the Ganges, the trap formation displays a
symmetrical arrangement of the mountains, ex-
hibiting truncated cones and graduated platforms.

The whole western part of Lancerota announces
the character of a country recently deranged by vol-
canic action, every part being black, arid, and des-
titute of soil. The Abb6 Viera relates that in 1730
more than half of the island changed its appearance.
The great volcano ravaged the most fertile and best-
cultivated district, and entirely destroyed nine vil-

28 COLOUR OF MARINE PLANTS.

lages. Its eruptions were preceded by an earth-
quake, and violent shocks continued to be felt for
several years, — a phenomenon of rare occurrence,
the agitation of the ground usually ceasing after a
disengagement of lava or other volcanic products.
The summit of the great crater is rounded, and its
absolute height does not appear to be much above
1918 feet. The island of Lancerota was formerly
named Titeroigotra, and at the time of the arrival
of the Spaniards its inhabitants were more civilized
than the other Canarians, living in houses built of
hewn stone, while the Guanches of Teneriffe resided
in caves. There was then a very singular institu-
tion in the island. The women had several hus-
bands, each of whom enjoyed the prerogative be-
longing to the head of a family in succession, the
others remaining for the time in the capacity of
common domestics.*

The occurrence, between the islands of Alegranza
and Montana Clara of a singular marine production,
with light-green leaves, which was brought up by
the lead from a great depth, affords our author, in
his narrative, an opportunity of stating some inter-
esting facts respecting the colouring of plants. This
seaweed, growing at the bottom of the ocean at a
depth of 205 feet, had its vine-shaped leaves as
green as those of our gramineae. According to Bou-
guer's experiments, light is weakened after a passage
of 192 feet, in the proportion of 1 to 1477-8. At the
depth of 205 this fucus could only have had light

* A similar practice is stated by Mr. Fraser in liis " Journal of a Tour
through the Hiinala Mountains," p. 206, to occur in several of the hill
provinces of India. " It is usual all over the country for the future hus-
band to purchase his wife from her parents; and the sum thus paid
varies of course with the rank of the purchaser. The difficulty of rais-
ing this sum, and the alleged expense of maintaining women, may in
part account for, if it cannot excuse, a most disgusting usage, which is
universal over the country. Three or four or more brothers marry and
cohabit with one woman, who is the wife of all. They are unable to
raise the requisite sum individually, and thus club their shares, and buy
this one common spouse."

LA GRACIOSA. 29

equal to half of that supplied by a candle seen at
the distance of a foot. The g-erms^ of several of
the liliacejE, the embryo of the mallows and other
families, the branches of some subterraiiean plants,
and vegetables transported into mines in which the
air contains hydrogen or a great quantity of azote,
become green without light. From these facts one
might be induced to think that the existence of car-
buret of iron, which gives the green colour to the
parenchmay of plants, is not dependent upon the
presence of the solar rays only. Turner and many
other botanists are of opinion that most of the sea-
weeds which we find floating on the ocean, and which
in certain parts of the Atlantic present the appear-
ance of a vast inundated meadow, grow originally
at the bottom of the sea, and are torn off by the
waves. If this opinion be correct, the family of
marine algae presents great difficulties to those physi-
ologists who persist in thinking that, in all cases,
the absence of light must produce blanching.

The captain, haviug mistaken a basaltic rock for
a castle, saluted it, and sent one of the officers to
inquire if the English were cruising in those parts.
Our travellers took advantage of the boat to examine
the land, which they had regarded as a prolongation
of the coasts of Lancerota, but which turned out to
be the small island of La Graciosa. " Nothing,"
says Humboldt, " can express the emotion a natu-
ralist feels when for the first time he lands in a place
which is not European. The attention is fixed upon
so many objects, that one ■ can hardly give an ac-
count of the impressions which he receives. At
every step he imagines that he finds a new produc-
tion ; and in the midst of this agitation he often does
not recognise those which are most common in our
botanical gardens and museums." A fisherman,
who, having been frightened by the firing, had fled
from them, but whom the sailors overtook, stated
that no vessels had been seen for several weeks.

C2

30 BASALT ALTERNATING WITH MARL.

The rocks of this small island were of basalt and
marl, destitute of trees or shrubs, in most places
without a trace of soil, and but scantily crusted with
lichens.

The basalts are not columnar, but arranged in
strata from 10 to 16 inches thick, and incline to the
north-west at an angle of 80 degrees, alternating
with marl. Some of these strata are compact, and
contain large crystals of foliated olivine, often porous,
with oblong cavities, from two to eight lines in di-
ameter, which are coated with calcedony, and en-
close fragments of compact basalt. The marl, which
alternates more than a hundred times with the trap,
is of a yellowish colour, extremely friable, A^ery
tenacious internally, and often divided into regular
prisms like those of basalt. It contains much lime,
and effervesces strongly with muriatic acid. The
travellers had not time to reach the summit of a hill,
the base of which was formed of clay, with layers
of basalt resting on it, precisely as in the Schneiben-
berger Huegel of Saxony. These rocks were cov-
ered with hyalite, of which they procured several
fine specimens, leaving masses eight or ten inches
square untouched.

On the shore there were two kinds of sand, the
one black and basaltic, the other white and quartzy.
Exposed to the sun's rays the thermometer rose in
the former to 124-2°, and in the latter to 104° ; while
in the shade the temperature of the air was 81 -5°,
being 14° higher than the sea air. The quartzy sand
contains fragments of felspar. Pieces of granite
have been observed at Teneriffe ; and the island of
Gomera, according to M. Broussonet, contains a nu-
cleus of mica-slate. From these facts Humboldt
infers that in the Canaries, as in the Andes of Quito,
in Auvergne, Greece, and most parts of the globe,
the subterranean fires have made their way through
primitive rocks.

Having re-embarked, they hoisted sail, and en-

ROCA DEL OESTE. 31

deavoured to get out again by the strait which sep-
arates Alegraiiza from Montana Clara ; but, the wind
having fallen, the currents drove them close upon a
rock marked in old charts by the name of Infierno,
and in modern ones under that of Roca del Oeste, —
a basaltic mass which has probably been raised by
volcanic agency. Tacking during the night between
Montana Clara and this islet, they were several
times in great danger among shelves towards which
they were drawn by the motion of the water ; but
the wind freshening in the morning, they succeeded
in passing the channel, and sailed along the coasts
of Lancerota, Lobos, and Forteventura.

The haziness of the atmosphere prevented them
from seeing the Peak of Teneriffe during the whole
of their passage from Lancerota ; but our traveller,
in his narrative, states the following interesting cir-
cumstances relative to the distance at which moun-
tains may be seen. If the height of the Peak, he
says, is 12,182 feet, as indicated by the last trigono-
metrical measurement of Borda, its summit ought
to be visible at the distance of 148 miles, supposing
the eye at the level of the ocean, and the refraction
equal to 0-079 of the distance. Navigators who fre-
quent these latitudes find that the peaks of Teneriffe
and the Azores are sometimes observed at very great
distances, while at other times they cannot be seen
when the interval is considerably less, although the
sky is clear. Such circumstances are of importance
to navigators, who, in returning to Europe, impa-
tiently wait for a sight of these mountains to rectify
their longitude. The constitution of the atmosphere
has a great influence on the visibility of distant ob-
jects, the transparency of the air being much in-
creased when a certain quantity of water is uni-
formly diffused through it.

It is not surprising that the Peak of Teneriffe
should be less frequently visible at a great distance
than the tops of the Andes, not being like them in-

32 DISTANCE AT WHICH MOUNTAINS

vested with perpetual snow. The Sugar-loaf which
constitutes the summit of the former no doubt re-
flects a great degree of light, on account of the white
colour of the pumice with which it is covered ; but
its height does not form a twentieth part of the total
elevation, and the sides of the volcano are coated
•with blocks of dark-coloured lava, or with luxuriant
vegetation, the masses of which reflect little light,
the leaves of the trees being separated by shadows
of greater extent than the illuminated parts.

Hence the Peak of TeneriflFe is to be referred to
the class of movmtains which are seen at great dis-
tances only in what Bougner calls a negative man-
ner, or because they intercept the light transmitted
from the extreme limi-ts of the atmosphere ; and we
perceive their existence only by means of the dif-
ference of intensity that subsists between the light
w^hich surrounds them, and that reflected by the par-
ticles of air placed between the object of vision and
the observer. In receding from Teneriff"e, the Sugar-
loaf is long seen in a positive manner, as it reflects
a whitish light, and detaches itself clearlj^ from the
sky ; but as this terminal cone is only 51-2 feet high,
by 256 in breadth at its summit, it has been ques-
tioned whether it can be visible beyond the distance
of 138 miles. If it be admitted that the mean breadth
of the Sugar-loaf is 639^ feet, it will still subtend, at
the distance now named, an angle of more than three
minutes, which is enough to render it visible ; and
w^ere the height of the cone greatly to exceed its
basis, the angle might be still less, and the mass yet
make an impression on our organs ; for it has been
proved by micrometrical observations, that the limit
of vision is one minute only when the dimensions
of objects are the same in all directions.

As the visibility of an object, which detaches it-
self from the sky of a browTi colour, depends on the
quantities of light the eye meets in two lines, of
which one ends at the mountain and the other is

MAY BE SEEN AT SEA. 33

prolong-ed to the surface of the aerial ocean, it fol-
lows that the farther we remove from the object
the less also becomes the difference between the
light of the surromiding atmosphere and that of the
strata of air placed before the momitain. For this
reason, when summits of low elevation begin to ap-
pear above the horizon, they are of a darker tint
than tliose more elevated ones which we discover at
very great distances. In like manner, the visibility
of mountains which are only negatively perceived
does not depend solely upon the state of the low
regions of the air, to which our meteorological ob-
servations are confined, but also upon its transpa-
rency and physical constitution in the most elevated
parts; for the image is more distinctly detached,
the more intense the aerial light which conies from
the limits of the atmosphere has originally been, or
the less it has lost in its passage. This in a certain
degree accounts for the circumstance that the Peak
is sometimes visible and sometimes invisible to
navigators who are equally distant from it, when
the state of the thermometer and hygrometer is pre-
cisely the same in the lower stratum of air. It is
even probable that the chance of perceiving this
volcano would not be greater were the cone equal,
as in Vesuvius, to a fourth part of the whole height.
The ashes spread upon its surface do not reflect so
much light as the snow with which the summits of
the Andes are covered ; but, on the contrary, make
the mountain, when seen from a great distance, be-
come more obscurely detached, and assume a brown
tint. They contribute, as it were, to equalize the
portions of aerial hght, the variable difference of
which renders the object more or less distinctly vis-
ible. Bare calcareous mountains, summits covered
with granitic sand, and the elevated savannas of the
Andes, which are of a bright yellow colour, are more
clearly seen at small distances than objects that are
perceived only in a negative manner; but theory

84 SANTA CRUZ.

points out a limit beyond which the latter are more
distinctly detached from the azure vault of the sky.

The aerial li^ht projected on the tops of hills in-
creases the visibility of those which are seen posi-
tively, but diminishes that of such as are detached
with a brown colour. Bouguer, proceeding on theo-
retical data, has found tJiat mountains which are seen
negatively cannot be perceived at distances exceed-
ing 121 miles ; but experience goes against this con-
clusion. The Peak of Teneriffe has often been ob-
served at the distance of 124, 131, and even 138
miles ; and the summit of Mowna-Roa in the Sand-
wich Isles, which is probably 16,000 feet high, has
been seen, at a period when it was destitute of snow,
skirting the horizon from a distance of 183 miles.
This is the most striking example yet known of the
visibility of high land, and is the more remarkable
that the object was negatively seen.

The atmosphere continuing hazy, the navigators
did not discover the island of Grand Canary, not-
withstanding its height, until the evening of the 18th
June. On the following day they saw the point of
Naga, but the Peak of Teneriffe still remained in-
visible. After repeatedly sounding, on account of the
thickness of the mist, they anchored in the road of
Santa Cruz, when at the moment they began to salute
the place the fog instantaneously dispersed, and the
Peak of Teyde, illuminated by the first rays of the
sun, appeared in a break above the clouds. Our
travellers betook themselves to the bow of the ves-
sel to enjoy the majestic spectacle, when, at the very
moment, four English ships were seen close astern.
The anchor was immediately got up, and the Pizarro
stood in as close as possible, to place herself mider
the protection of the fort.

While waiting the governor's permission to land,
Humboldt employed the time in making observations
for determining the longitude of the mole of Santa
Cruz and the dip of the needle. Berthoud's chro-

SANTA CRUZ OF TENERIFFE. 33

nometer gave 18° 33' 10", the accuracy of which re-
sult, although differing from the longitude assigned,
by Cook and others, was afterward confirmed by
Krusenstern, who found that port 16° 12' 45" west
of Greenwich, and consequently 18° 33' west of
Paris. The dip of the magnetic needle was 62° 24',
although it varied considerably in diff"erent places
along the shore. After undergoing the fatigue of
answering the numberless questions proposed by
persons who visited them on board, our travellers
were at length permitted to land.

»

CHAPTER III.

Island of Teneriffe.

Santa Cniz— Villa de la Lagiina—Guanches— Present Inhabitants of

Teneriffe — Climate— Scenery of the Coast — Orotava— Dragon-tree

Ascent of the Peak— Its Geological Character— Eruptions— Zones of
Vegetation— Fires of St. John.

Santa Cruz, the Anaja of the Guanches, which is
a neat town, with a population of 8000 persons, may
be considered as a great caravansera situated on the
road to America and India, and has consequently
been often described. The recommendations of the
court of Madrid procured for our traveUers the most
satisfactory reception in the Canaries. The cap-
tain-general gave permission to examine the island,
and Colonel Armiaga, who commanded a regiment
of infantry, extended his hospitality to them, and
showed the most polite attention. In his garden
they admired the banana, the papaw, and other plants
cultivated in the open air, which they had before
seen only in hothouses.

In the evening they made a botanical excursion

36 VILLA DE LA LAG UNA.

towards the fort of Passo Alto, along the basaltic
rocks which close the promontory of Naga, but had
little success, as the drought and dust had in a
manner destroyed the vegetation. The Cacalia
kleinia, Ewphorbia canaricnsis, and other succulent
plants, which derive their nourishment more from
the air than from the soil, reminded them by their
aspect that the Canaries belong to Africa, and even
to the most arid part of that continent.

The captain of the Pizarro, having apprized them
that, on account of the blockade by the English,
they ought not to reckon upon a longer stay than
four or five days, they hastened to set out for the
port of Orotava, where they might find guides for
the ascent of the Peak ; and on the •20th, before
sunrise, they were on the way to Villa de la Laguna,
which is 2238 feet higher than the port of Santa
Cruz. The road to this place is on the right of a
torrent, which, in the rainy season, forms beautiful
falls. Near the town they met with some white
camels, employed in transporting merchandise.
These animals, as well as horses, were introduced
into the Canary Islands in the fifteenth centuiy
by the Norman conquerors, and Avere unknown to
the Guanches. Camels are more abundant in Lan-
cerota and Forteventura, which are nearer the con-
tinent, than at Teneriife, where they very seldom
propagate.

The hill on which the Villa de la Lagima stands
belongs to the series of basaltic mountains which
forms a girdle around the Peak, and is independent
of the newer volcanic rocks. The basalt on which
the travellers walked was blackish-brown, compact,
and partially decomposed. They found in it horn-
blende, olivine, and transparent pyroxene, with la-
mellar fracture, of an olive-green tint, and often
crystallized in six-sided prisms. The rock of La-
guna is not columnar, but divided into thin beds, in-
clined at an angle of from 30° to 48°, and has no

VILLA DE LA LACUNA. 37

appearance of having been formed by a current of
lava from the Peak. Some arborescent Euphorbia;,
CacaUa kleinia, and Cacti, were the only plants ob-
served on these parched acclivities. The mules
slipped at every step on the inclined surfaces of the
rock although traces of an old road were observ-
able, which, with the numerous other indications that
occur in these colonies, afford evidence of the ac-
tivity displayed by the Spanish nation in the six-
teenth century.

The heat of Santa Cruz, which is suffocating, is
in a great measure to be attributed to the reverbera-
tion of the rocks in its vicinity ; but as the travellers
approached Laguna they became sensible of a very
pleasant diminution of temperature. In fact, the
perpetual coolness which exists here renders it a
delightful residence. It is situated in a small plain,
surrounded by gardens, and commanded by a hill
crowned with the laurel, the myrtle, and the arbutus.
The rain, in collecting, forms from time to time a
kind of large pool or marsh, which has induced
travellers to describe the capital of Teneriffe as
situated on the margin of a lake. The town, which
was deprived of its opulence in consequence of the
port of Garachico having been destroyed by the
lateral eruptions of the volcano, has only 9000 in-
habitants, of which about 400 are monks. It is sur-
rounded by numerous windmills for corn. Hum-
boldt observes that the cereal grasses were known
to the original inhabitants, and that parched barley-
flour and goats' milk formed their principal meals.
This food tends to show that they were connected
Avith the nations of the old continent, perhaps even
with those of the Caucasian race, and not with the
mhabitants of the New World, who, previous to the
arrival of the Europeans among them, had no know-
ledge of grain, milk, or cheese.

The Canary Islands were originally inhabited by
a people famed for their tall stature, and known by

D

38 , GUANCHES.

the name of Guanches. They have now entirely
disappeared under the oppression of a more power-
ful and more enlightened race, which, assuming the
superiority supposed to be sanctioned by civilization
and the profession of the Christian faith, disposed
of the natives in a manner little accordant with the
character of a true follower of the Cross. The
archipelago of the Canaries was divided into small
states hostile to each other; and in the fifteenth
century the Spaniards and Portuguese made voy-
ages to these islands for slaves, as the Europeans
have latterly been accustomed to do to the coast of
Guinea. One Guanche then became the property
of another, who sold him to the dealers ; while
many, rather than become slaves, killed their chil-
dren and themselves. The natives had been greatly
reduced in this manner, when Alonzo de Lugo com-
pleted their subjugation. The residue of that un-
happy people perished by a terrible pestilence, which
was supposed to have originated from the bodies
left exposed by the Spaniards after the battle of La-
guna. At the present day no individual of pure
blood exists in these islands, where all that remains
of the aborigines are certain mummies, reduced to
an extraordinary degree of desiccation, and found
in the sepvdchral caverns which are cut in the rock
on the eastern slope of the Peak. These skeletons
contain remains of aromatic plants, especially the
Chenopodiiim amhrosioides, and are often decorated
with small laces, to which are suspended little cakes
of baked earth.

The people who succeeded the Guanches were de-
scended from the Spaniards and Normans. The
present inhabitants are described by our author as
being of a moral and religious character, but of a
roving and enterprising disposition, and less indus-
trious at home than abroad. The population in 1790
was 174,000. The produce of the several islands
consists chiefly of wheat, barley, maize, potatoes,

CLIMATE OF TENERIFFE. 39

wine, a CTeat variety of fruits, sugar, and other ar-
ticles of food ; but the lower orders are frequently
obliged to have recourse to the roots of a species
of fern. The principal objects of commerce are
wine, brandy, archil (a kind of lichen used as a die),

and soda. , ^ ,, i l. -^ r *

Teneriffe has been praised for the salubrity ot its
climate. The ground of the Canary Islands rises
gradually to a great height, and presents, on a small
scale, the temperature of every zone, from the in-
tense heat of Africa to the cold of the alpine re-
gions; so that a person may have the benefit of
whatever climate best suits his temperament or dis-
ease. A similar variety exists as to the vegetation;
and no country seemed to our travellers more fitted
to dissipate melancholy, and restore peace to an
ao-itated mind, than Teneriffe and Madeira, where
the natural beauty of the situation and the salu-
brity of the air conspire to quiet the anxieties of
the spirit, and invigorate the body, while the feel-
ings are not harassed by the revolting sight of
slavery, which exists in almost all the European
colonies. .

In winter the climate of Laguna is excessively
foggy, and the inhabitants often complain of cold,
although snow never falls. The lowest height at
which it occurs annually in Teneriffe has not been
ascertained ; but it has been seen in a place lying
above Esperanza de la Laguna, close to the town
of that name, in the gardens of which the breadfruit-
tree (Artocarpus incisa), introduced by M. Broussonet,
has been naturalized. In connexion with this sub-
ject, Humboldt remarks, that in hot countries the
plants are so vigorous that they can bear a greater
degree of frost than might be expected, provided it
be of short duration. The banana is cultivated in
Cuba, in places where the thermometer sometimes
descends to very near the freezing-point; and in
Spain and Italy, orcuige and -date-trees do not perish,

40 SCENERY.

although the cold may be two degrees below zero.
Trees gi-owing in a fertile soil are remarked by cul
tivators to be less delicate, and less affected by
changes of temperature, than those planted in land
that affords little nutriment.

From Laguna to the port of Orotava and the
western coast of Teneriffe the route is at first over
a hilly country, covered by a black argillaceous soil.
The subjacent rock is concealed by layers of ferru-
ginous earth ; but in some of the ravines are seen
columnar basalts, with recent conglomerates, re-
sembling volcanic tufas lying over them, which con-
tain fragments of the former, and also, as is asserted,
marine petrifactions. This delightful country, of
Avhich travellers of all nations speak with enthu-
siasm, is entered by the valley of Tacoronte, and pre -
sents scenes of unrivalled beauty. The seashore is
ornamented with palms of the date and cocoa spe-
cies. Farther up, groups of nuisae and dragon-trees
present themselves. The declivities are covered
with vines. Orange-trees, myrtles, and cypresses
surround the chapels that have been raised on the
little hills. The lands are separated by enclosures
formed of the agave and cactus. Multitudes of
cryptogamic plants, especially ferns, cover the walls.
In winter, while the volcano is wrapped in snow,
there is continued spring in this beautiful district ;
and in summer, towards evening, the sea-breezes
diffuse a gentle coolness over it. From Tegueste
and Tacoronte to the village of San Juan de la Ram-
bla, the coast is cultivated like a garden, and might
be compared to the neighbourhood of Capua or Va-
lentia ; but the western part of Teneriffe is much
more beautiful, on account of the proximity of the
Peak, the sight of which has a most imposing effect,
and excites the imagination to penetrate into the
mysterious source of volcanic action. For thou-
sands of years no light has been observed at the
summit of the mountain, and yet enormous lateral

DURASNO OROTAVA. 4 1

eruptions, the last of which happened in 1798, prove
the activity of a fire which is far from being extinct.
There is, besides, something melancholy in the sight
of a crater placed in the midst of a fertile and highly-
cultivated country.

Pursuing their course to the port of Orotava, the
travellers passed the beautiful hamlets of Matanza
and Vittoria (slaughter and victory), — names which
occur together in all the Spanish colonies, and pre-
sent a disagreeable contrast to the feelings of peace
and quiet which these countries inspire. On their
way they visited a botanic garden at Durasno, where
they found M. Le Gros, the French vice-consul, who
subsequently served as an excellent guide to the
Peak. The idea of forming such an establishment
at Teneriffe originated with the Marquis de Nava,
who thought that the Canary Islands afford the most
suitable place for naturalizing the plants of the East
and West Indies, previous to their introduction to
Europe. They arrived very late at the port, and
next morning commenced their journey to the Peak,
accompanied by M. Le Gros, M. Lalande, secretary
of the French consulate at Santa Cruz, the English
gardener of Durasno, and a number of guides.

Orotava, the Taoro of the Guanches, is situated
on a very steep declivity, and has a pleasant aspect
when viewed from a distance, although the houses,
when seen at hand, have a gloomy appearance. One
of the most remarkable objects in this place is the
dragon-tree in the garden of M. Franqui, of which
an engraving is here presented, and which our
travellers found to be about 60 feet high, with a cir-
cumference of 48 feet near the roots. The trunk
divides into a great number of branches, which rise
in the form of a candelabrum, and are terminated by
tufts of leaves. This tree is said to have been re-
vered by the Guanches as the ash of Ephesus was
by the Greeks; and in 1402, at the time of the first
expedition of Bethencour, was as large and as hollow

DQ

i2

DRAGON-TREE OF OROTAVA.

f (iri'lava.

as our travellers found it. As the species is of very
slow growth, the age of this individual must be great.
It is singular that the dragon-tree should have been
cultivated in these islands at so early a period, it
being a native of India, and nowhere occurring on
the African continent.

Leaving Orotava they passed by a narrow and
stony path through a beautiful wood of chestnuts to
a place covered with brambles, laurels, and arbores-
cent heaths, where, under a solitary pine, known by
the name of Pino del Dornajito, they procured a
supply of water. From this place to the crater they
continued to ascend without crossing a single valley,
passing over several regions distinguished by their
peculiar vegetation, and rested during part of the
night in a very elevated position, where they suffered

ASCENT OF THE PEAK. 43

severely from the cold. About three in the morn-
ing they began to climb the Sugar-loaf, or small
terminal cone, by the dull light of fir-torches, and ex-
amined a small subterranean glacier or cave, whence
the towns below are supplied with ice throughout
the summer.

In the twilight they observed a phenomenon not
unusual on high mountains, — a stratum of white
clouds spread out beneath, concealing the face of the
ocean, and presenting the appearance of a vast plain
covered with snow. Soon afterward another very
curious sight occurred, namely, the semblance of
small rockets thrown into the air, and which they
at first imagined to be a certain indication of some
new eruption of the great volcano of Lancerota.
But the illusion soon ceased, and they found that the
luminous points were only the images of stars mag-
nified and refracted by the vapours. Tliey remained
motionless at intervals, then rose perpendiculai'ly,
descended sidewise, and returned to their original
position. After three hours' march over an ex-
tremely rugged tract, the travellers reached a small
plain, called La Rambleta, from the centre of which
rises the Piton or Sugar-loaf. The slope of this
cone, covered with volcanic ashes and pumice, is so
steep that it would have been almost impossible to
reach the summit, had they not ascended by an old
current of lava, which had in some measure resisted
the action of the atmosphere.

On attaining the top of this steep they found the
crater surrounded by a wall of compact lava, in
which, however, there was a breach affording a pas-
sage to the bottom of the funnel or caldera, the
greatest diameter of which at the mouth seemed to
be 320 feet. There were no large openings in the
crater ; but aqueous vapours were emitted by some
of the crevices, in which heat was perceptible. In
fact, the volcano has not been active at the summit
for thousands of years, its eruptions having been

44 PEAK OF TENERIFFE.

from the sides, and the depth of the crater is only
about 106 feet. After examining the objects that
presented themselves in this elevated spot, and en-
joying the vast prospect, the travellers commenced
their descent, and towards evening reached the port
of Orotava.

The Peak of Teneriffe forms a pyramidal mass,
having a circumference at the base of more than
115,110 yards, and a height of 12,176 feet.* Two-
thirds of the mass are covered with vegetation, the
remaining part being steril, and occupying about
ten square leagues of surface. The cone is veiy
small in proportion to the size of the mountain, it
having a height of only 537 feet, or Jg of the whole.
The lower part of the island is composed of basalt
and other igneous rocks of ancient formation, and is
separated from the more recent lavas, and the pro-
ducts of the present volcano, by strata of tufa, puz-
zolana, and clay. The first that occur in ascending
the Peak are of a black colour, altered by decom-
position, and sometimes porous. Their basis is
wacke, and has usually an irregidar, but sometimes
a conchoidal fracture. They are divided into very
thin layers, and contain olivine, magnetic iron, and
augite. On the first elevated plain, that of Retama,
the basaltic deposites disappear beneath heaps of
ashes and pumice. Beyond this are lavas, with
a basis of pitch-stone and obsidian, of a blackish-
brown, or deep olive-green colour, and containing

* Various measurements have been made of the height of the Peak of
Teneriffe ; but Humboldt, after enumerating fourteen, states that tlie fol-
lowing alone can be considered as deserving of confidence :

Borda's, by trigonometry 1905 toises.

Borda's, by the barometer 1976

Lamanou's, by the same 1902

Cordier's, by the same 1920

The average of these four observations makes the height 1 920 toises;
but if the barometric measurement of Borda be rejected, as liable to ob-
jections particularly stated by our author, the mean of the remaining
measurement is 1009 toises, or 12,908 English feet. It is seen above,
tliat the height adopted by Humboldt is 1904 toises, or 12,176 English
feet.

VOLCANIC ERI'PTIONS. 45

crystals of felspar, which are seldom vitreous. In
the middle of the Malpays, or second platform, are
found, among the glassy kinds, blocks of greenish-
gray clinkstone or porphyry-slate. Obsidian of sev-
eral varieties is exceedingly abundant on the Peak,
as well as pumice, the latter being generally of a
white colour ; and the crater contains an enormous
quantity of sulphur.

The oldest written testimony in regard to the ac-
tivity of the volcano dates at the beginning of the
sixteenth century, and is contained in the narrative
of Aloysio Cadamusto, who landed in the Canaries
in 1505. In 1558, 1646, and 1677, eruptions took
place in the Isle of Palma ; and on the 31st Decem-
ber, 1704, the Peak of Teneriffe exhibited a lateral
burst, preceded by tremendous earthquakes. On
the 5th January, 1705, another opening occurred, the
lavas produced by which filled the whole valley of
Fasnia. This aperture closed on the 13th January ;
but on the 2d February, a third formed in the Can-
nada de Arafo, the stream from which divided into
three currents. On the 5th May, 1706, another
eruption supervened, which destroyed the populous
and opulent city of Garachico. In 1730, on the 1st
September, the island of Lancerota was violently
convulsed ; and on the 9th June, 1798, the Peak
emitted a great quantity of matter, which continued
to run three months and six days.

The island of Teneriffe presents five zones of vege-
tation, arranged in stages one above another, and
occupying a perpendicular height of 3730 yards.

1. The Region of Vines extends from the shores to
an elevation varying from 430 to 640 yards, and is
the only part carefully cultivated. It exhibits vari-
ous species of arborescent Euphorbiae, Mesembryan-
thema, the Cacalia kleinia, the Draccena, and other
plants, whose naked and tortuous trunks, succulent
leaves, and bluish-green tints, constitute features
distinctive of the vegetation of Africa. In this

46 ZONES OF VEGETATION.

zone arc raised the date-tree, the plantain, the sugar-
cane, the Indian-fig-, the arum colocasia, the olive,
the fruit trees of Europe, the vine, and Avheat.

2. The Region of Laurels is that vi'hich forms the
woody part of Teneriffe, where the surface of the
jsrround is always verdant, being plentifully watered
by springs. Four kinds of laurel, an oak, a wild
olive, two species of iron-tree, the arbutus calli-
carpa, and other evergreens, adorn this zone. The
trunks are covered by the ivy of the Canaries, and
various twining shrubs, and the woods are filled with
numerous species of fern. The hypericum, and
other showy plants, enrich with their beautiful flow-
ers the verdant carpet of moss and grass.

3. The Region of Pines, which commences at the
height of 1920 yards, and has a breadth of 850, is
characterized by a vast forest of trees, resembling
the Scotch fir, intermixed with juniper.

4. The fourth zone is remarkable chiefly for the
profusion of retama, a species of broom, which
forms oases in the midst of a wide sea of ashes. It
grows to the height of nine or ten feet, is ornamented
with fragrant flowers, and furnishes food to the
goats, which have run wild on the Peak from time
immemorial.

5. The fifth zone is the Region of the Grasses, in
which some species of these supply a scanty cover-
ing to the heaps of pumice, obsidian, and lava. A
few cryptogamic plants are observed higher ; but
the summit is entirely destitute of vegetation.

Thus the whole island may be considered as a
forest of laurels, arbutuses, and pines, of which the
external margin only has been in some measure
cleared, while the central part consists of a rocky
and steril soil, unfit even for pasturage.

The following day was passed by our travellers in
visiting the neighbourhood of Orotava, and enjoy-
ing an agreeable company at Mr. Cologan's. On
the eve of St. John, they were present at a pastoral

DEPARTURE FROM SANTA CRUZ. 47

fete in the garden of Mr. Little, who had reduced to
cultivation a hill covered with volcanic substances,
from wl]ich there is a magnificent view of the Peak,
the villages along the coast, and the isle of Palnia.
Early in the evening the volcano suddenly exhibited
a most extraordinary spectacle, the shepherds hav-
ing, in conformity to ancient custom, lighted the
fires of St. John ; the scattered masses of which,
with the columns of smoke driven by the wind,
formed a fine contrast to the deep verdure of the
woods that covered the sides of the mountain, wliile
the silence of nature was broken at intervals by the
shouts of joy which came from afar.

CHAPTER IV.

Passage from Teneriffe to Cumana.

Departure from Santa Cruz— Floating Seaweeds— Flying-fish— Stars-
Malignant Fever— Island of Tobago — Death of a Passenger — Island
of Coche — Port of Cumana — Observations made during tlie Voyage;
Temperature of the Air ; Temperature of the Sea ; Hygrometrical
State of the Air ; Colour of the Sky and Ocean.

Having sailed from Santa Cruz on the evening of
the 25th of Jiuie, with a strong wind from the north-
east, our travellers soon lost sight of the Canary
Islands, the mountains of which were covered with
reddish vapour, the Peak alone appearing at intervals
in the breaks. The passage from Teneriffe to Cu-
mana was performed in twenty days, the distance
being 3106 miles.

The wind gradually subsided as they retired from
the African coast. Short calms of several hours
occasionally took place, which were regularly inter-
rupted by slight squalls, accompanied by masses of
dark clouds, emitting a few large drops of rain, but

48 FLOATING SEAWEEDS.

without thunder. To the north of tlie Cape Verd
Islands they met with large patches of floating sea-
weed {Fitcus natans), wliich grows on submarine
rocks, from the equator to forty degrees of latitude
on either side. These scattered plants, however,
must not be confounded with the vast beds, said
by Columbus to resemble extensive meadows, and
which inspired with terror the crew of the Santa
Maria. From a comparison of numerous journals,
it appears that there are two such fields of seaweed
in the Atlantic. The largest occurs a little to the
west of the meridian of Fayal, one of the Azores,
between 25° and 36° of latitude. The temperature
of the ocean there is between 60'8° and 68° ; and
the north-west winds, which blow sometimes with
impetuosity, drive floating islands of those weeds
into low latitudes, as far as the parallels of 24° and
even 20°. Vessels returning to Europe from Monte
Video, or the Cape of Good Hope, pass through this
marine meadow, which the Spanish pilots consider
as lying half-way between the West Indies and the
Canaries. The other section is not so well known,
and occupies a smaller space between lat. 22° and
26° of N., two hundred and seventy-six miles east-
ward of the Bahama Islands.

Although a species of seaweed, the Laminaria py-
rifcra of Lamouroux, has been observed with stems
850 feet in length, and although the growth of these
plants is exceedingly rapid, it is yet certain that in
those seas the fuci are not fixed to the bottom, but
float in detached parcels at the surface. In this
state, vegetation, it is obvious, cannot continue longer
than in the branch of a tree separated from the
trunk ; and it may therefore be supposed, that float-
ing masses of these weeds occurring for ages in the
same position, owe their origin to submarine rocks,
which continually supply what has been carried off
by the equinoctial currents. But the causes by
which these plants are detached are not yet sufli-

FLVING-FISH. 49

ciently known, although the author just named has
shown that fuci in general separate with great facil-
ity after the period of fructification.

Beyond 22° of latitude they found the surface of
the sea covered with flying-fish {Exocetus volitans),
which sprang into the air to a height of twelve, fif-
teen, and even eighteen feet, and sometimes fell on
the deck. The great size of the swimming-bladder
in these animals, being two-thirds the length of their
body, as well as that of the pectoral fins, enable
them to traverse in the air a space of twenty-four
feet, horizontal distance, before falling again into the
water. They are incessantly pursued by dolphins
while mider the surface, and when flying are attacked
by frigate-birds, and other predatory species. Yet
it does not seem that they leap into the atmosphere
merely to avoid their enemies ; for, like swallows,
they move by thousands in a right line, and always in
a direction opposite to that of the waves. The air
contained in the swimming-bladder had l>3en sup-
posed to be pure oxygen ; but Humboldt found it to
consist of ninety-four parts of azote, four of oxygen,
and two of carbonic acid.

On the 1st July they met with the wreck of a ves-
sel, and on the 3d and 4th crossed that part of the
ocean where the charts indicate the bank of the
Maal-Stroom, which, however, is of very doubtful
existence. As they approached this imaginary whirl-
pool, they observed no other motion in the waters
than that produced by a current bearing to the north-
west.

From the time when they entered the torrid zone
(the 27th June), they never ceased to admire the
nocturnal beauty of the southern sky, which grad-
ually disclosed new constellations to their view.
" One experiences an indescribable sensation," says
Humboldt, " when, as he approaches the equator, and
especially in passing from the one hemisphere to the
other, he sees the stars with which he has been fa-

E

50 MALIGNANT FEVER ON BOARD.

miliar from infancy gradually approach the horizon,
and finally disappear. Nothing impresses more
vividly on the mind of the traveller the vast dis-
tance to which he has been removed from his native
country than the sight of a new firmament. The
grouping of the larger stars, the scattered nebulae
rivalling in lustre the milky-way, and spaces re-
markable for their extreme darkness, give the south-
ern heavens a peculiar aspect. The sight even
strikes the imagination of those who, although igno-
rant of astronomy, find pleasure in contemplating
the celestial vault, as one admires a fine landscape
or a majestic site. Without being a botanist, the
traveller knows the torrid zone by the mere sight of
its vegetation ; and without the possession of astro-
nomical knowledge, perceives that he is not in Eu-
rope, when he sees rising in the horizon the great
constellation of the Ship, or the phosphorescent
clouds of Magellan. In the equinoctial regions, the
earth, the sky, and all their garniture assume an
exotic character."

The intertropical seas being usually smooth, and
the vessel being impelled by the gentle breezes of
the trade-wind, the passage from the Cape Verd
Islands to Cumana was as pleasant as could be de-
sired ; but as they approached the West Indies a
malignant fever disclosed itself onboard. The ship
Avas very much encumbered between decks, and from
the time they passed the tropic the thermometer
stood from 93° to 96-8°. Two sailors, several pas-
sengers, two negroes from the coast of Guinea, and
a mulatto child were attacked. An ignorant Galician
surgeon ordered bleedings, to obviate the " heat and
corruption of the blood ;" but little exertion had been
made in attempting to diminish the danger of infec-
tion, and there was not an ounce of bark on board.
A sailor, who had been on the point of expiring, re-
covered his health in a singular manner. His ham-
mock having been so hung that the sacrament could

T0BA60 — BOCCA DEL DRAGO. St

not be administered to him, he was removed to an
airy place near the hatchway, and left there, his
death being- expected every moment. The transi-
tion from a hot and stagnant to a fresher and purer
atmosphere gradually restored him, and his recovery
furnished the doctor with an additional proof of the
necessity of bleeding and evacuation, — a treatment
of which the fatal effects soon became perceptible.

On the 13th, early in the morning, very highland
was seen. The wind blew hai'd, the sea was rough,
large drops of rain fell at intervals, and there was
every appearance of stormy weather. Considerable
doubt existed as to the latitude and longitude, which
was however removed by observations made by our
travellers, and the appearance of the island of To-
bago. This little island is a heap of rocks, the daz-
zling whiteness of which forms an agreeable contrast
with the verdure of the scattered tufts of trees upon
it. The mountains are crowned with very tall
opuntice, which alone are enough to apprize the nav-
igator that he has arrived on an American coast.

After doubling the north cape of Tobago and the
point of St. Giles, they discovered from the mast-
head what they regarded as a hostile squadron ;
which, however, turned out to be only a group of
rocks. Crossing the shoal which joins the former
island to Grenada, they found that, although the
colour of the sea was not visibly changed, the ther-
mometer indicated a temperature several degrees
lower than that of the neighbouring parts. The
wind diminished after sunset, and the clouds dis-
persed as the moon reached the zenith. Numerous
falling-stars were seen on this and the following
nights.

On the 14th, at sunrise, they were in sight of the
Bocca del Drago, and distinguished the island of
Chacachacarreo. When seventeen miles distant from
the coast, they experienced, near Punta de la Baca,
the effect of a current which drew the ship southward.

52 MALIGNANT FEVER.

Heaving the lead, they found from 230 to 275 feet,
vpith a bottom of very fine green clay, — a depth
much less than, according to Dampier's rule, might
have been expected in the vicinity of a shore formed
of very elevated and perpendicular mountains.

The disease which had broken out on board the
Pizarro made rapid progress from the time they ap-
proached the coast. The thermometer kept steady
at night between 7r6° and 73 '4°, and during the day
rose to between 75-2° and 80-6°. The determination
to the head, the extreme dryness of the skin, the
prostration of strength, and all the other symptoms
became more alarming ; but it was hoped that the
sick would recover as soon as they were landed on
the island of St. Margaret, or at the port of Cumana,
both celebrated for their great salubrity. This hope,
however, was not entirely realized, for one of the
passengers fell a victim to the distemper. He was
an Asturian, nineteen years of age, the only son of
a poor widow. Various circumstances combined to
render the death of this young man affecting. He
was of an exceedingly gentle disposition, bore the
marks of great sensibility, and had left his native
land against his inclination, Avith the view of earn-
ing an independence and assisting his reluctant
mother, under the protection of a rich relation, who
resided in the island of Cuba. From the commence-
ment of his illness he had fallen into a lethargic
state, interrupted by accessions of delirium, and on
the third day expired. Another Asturian, who was
still younger, did not leave the bed of his dying
friend for a moment, and yet escaped the disease.
He had intended to accompany his countryman to
Cuba, to be introduced by him to the house of his
relative, on whom all their hopes rested ; and it was
distressing to see his deep sorrow, and to hear him
curse the fatal comisels which had thrown him into
a foreign climate, where he found himself alone and
destitute.

MALIGNANT FEVER. 53

" We were assembled on the deck," says our elo-
quent author, " absorbed in melancholy reflections.
It was no longer doubtful that the fever which pre-
vailed on board had of late assumed a fatal character.
Our eyes were fixed on a mountainous and desert
coast, on which the moon shone at intervals through
the clouds. The sea, gently agitated, glowed with
a feeble phosphoric light. No sound came on the
ear save the monotonous cry of some large seabirds,
that seemed to be seeking the shore. A deep calm
reigned in these solitary places ; but this calm of ex-
ternal nature accorded ill with the painful feelings
which agitated us. About eight the death-bell was
slowly tolled. At this doleful signal the sailors
ceased from their work, and threw themselves on
their knees to offer up a short prayer ; an affecting
ceremony, which, while it recalls the times when
the primitive Christians considered themselves as
members of the same family, seems to unite men by
the feeling of a common evil. In the course of the
night the body of the Asturian was brought upon
deck, and the priest prevailed upon them not to
throw it into the sea till after sunrise, in order that
he might render to it the last rites, in conformity to
the practice of tlie Romish church. There was not
an individual on board who did not feel for the fate
of this young man, wliom we had seen a few days
before full of cheerfulness and health."

The passengers who had not been affected by the
disease resolved to leave the ship at the first place
where she should touch, and there wait the arrival
of another packet to convey them to Cuba and
Mexico. Our travellers also thought it prudent to
land at Cumana, more especially as they wished not
to visit New Spain until they liad remained for some
time on the coasts of Venezuela and Paria, and ex-
amined the beautiful plants of which Bosc and Bre-
demeyer collected specimens on their voyage to
Terra Firma, and which Humboldt had seen in the

E 2

64 ISLAND OF COCHE.

gardens of Sclionbrunn and Vienna. This resolution
had a happy influence upon the direction of their
journey, as will subsequently be seen, and perhaps
was the occasion of securing for them the health
which they enjoyed during a long residence in the
equinoctial regions. They were by this means for-
tunate enough to pass the time when a European
recently landed runs the greatest danger of being
affected by the yellow fever, in the hot but very dry
climate of Cumana, a city celebrated for its salubrity.
As the coast of Paria stretches to the west, in the
form of perpendicular cliffs of no great height, they
were long without perceiving the bold shores of the
island of St. Margaret, where they intended to stop
for the purpose of obtaining information respecting
the English cruisers. Towards eleven in the morn-
ing of the 15th, they observed a very low islet cov-
ered with sand, and destitute of any trace of culture
or habitation. Cactuses rose here and there from a
scanty soil, which seemed to have an undulating mo-
tion, in consequence of the extraordinary refraction
the solar rays undergo in passing through the stra-
tum of air in contact with a strongly-heated surface.
The deserts and sandy shores of all countries pre-
sent this appearance. The aspect of this place not
corresponding with the ideas which they had formed
of the island of Margaretta, and the greatest per-
plexity existing as to their position and course, they
cast anchor in shallow water, and were visited by
some Guayquerias in two canoes, constructed each
of the single trunk of a tree. These Indians, who
were of a coppery colour, and very tall, informed
them that they had kept too far south, that the low
islet near which they were at anchor was the island
of Coche, and that Spanish vessels coming from Eu-
rope usually passed to the northward of it. The
master of one of the canoes offered to remain on
board as coasting pilot, and towards evening the
captain set sail. • -

COAST OF NEW-ANDALTJSIA. 55

On the 16th they beheld a verdant coast of pictu-
resque appearance ; the mountains of New-Anda-
Uisia bounded the southern horizon, and the city of
Cumana and its castle appeared among groups of
trees. They anchored in the port about nine in the
morning, when the sick crawled on deck to enjoy
the sight. The river was bordered with cocoa-
trees more than sixty feet high, — the plain was cov-
ered with tufts of cassias, capers, and arborescent
mimosas, while the pinnated leaves of the palms
were conspicuous on the azure of a sky unsullied
by the least trace of vapour. A dazzling light was
spread along the white hills clothed with cylindrical
cactuses, and over the smooth sea, the shores of
which were peopled by pelicans, egrets, and flamin-
goes. Every thing announced the magnificence of
nature in the equinoctial regions.

Before accompanying our learned friends to the
city of Cumana, we may here take a glance of the
physical observations made by them during the
voyage, and which refer to the temperature of the
air and sea, and other subjects of general interest.

Temperature of the Air. — In the basin of the
northern Atlantic Ocean, between the coasts of Eu-
rope, Africa, and America, the temperature of the
atmosphere exhibits a very slow increase. From
Corunna to the Canary Islands, the thermometer,
observed at noon and in the shade, gradually rose
from 50° to 64°, and from TenerifFe to Cumana from
64° to 77°. The maximum of heat observed during
the voyage did not exceed 79 '9°.

The extreme slowness with which the tempera-
ture increases during a voyage from Spain to South
America is highly favourable to the health of Eu-
ropeans, as it gradually prepares them for the intense
heat which they have to experience. It is in a
great measure attributable to the evaporation of the
water, augmented by the motion of the air and
waves, together with the property possessed by

56 TEMPERATURE DURING THE VOYAGE.

transparent liquids of absorbing very little light at
their surface. On comparing the numerous obser-
vations made by navigators, we are surprised to see
that in the torrid zone, in either hemisphere, they
have not found the thermometer to rise in the open
sea above 93°; while in corresponding latitudes
on the continents of Asia and A frica, it attains a
much greater elevation. The difference between
the tem])erature of the day and night is also less
than on land.

Temperature of the Sea. — From Corunna to the
mouth of the Tagus, the temperature of the sea
varied little (between 59° and 60-8°), but from lat.
39° to 10° N., the increase was rapid and generally
uniform (from 59° to 78-4°), although inequalities
occurred, probably caused by currents. It is very
remarkable that there is a great uniformity in the
maximum of heat everywhere in the equinoctial
waters. This maximum, which varies from 82° to
84-2°, proves that the ocean is in general warmer
than the atmosphere in direct contact with it, and
of which the mean temperature near the equator is
from 78-8° to 80-6°.

Hygromelrical State of the Air. — During the whole
of the voyage, the apparent humidity of the atmo-
sphere indicated by the hygrometer underwent a sen-
sible increase. In July, in lat. 13° and 14° N.,
Saussure's liygrometer marked at sea from 88° to
92°, in perfectly clear weather, the thermometer
being at 752°. On the banks of the Lake of Ge-
neva the mean humidity of the same month is only
80°, the average heat being 662°. On reducing
these observations to a uniform temperature, we find
that the real humidity in the equinoctial basin of the
Atlantic Ocean is to that of the summer months at
Geneva as 12 to 7. This astonishing degree of
moisture in the air accounts to a great extent for the
vigorous vegetation which presents itself on the

i

COLOUR OF THE SKY.' 57

coasts of South America, where so little rain falls
throughout the year.

Intensity of the Colour of the Sky and Ocean.—
From the coasts of Spain and Africa to those of
South America, the azure colour of the sky increased
from 13° to 23° of Saussure's cvanometer. From
the 8th to the 12th of July, in lat. 12^° and 14° N.,
the sky, although free of vapour, was of an extra-
ordinary paleness, the instrument indicating only 16°
or 17°, although on the preceding days it had been at
22°. The tint of the sky is generally deeper m the
torrid zone than in high latitudes, and in the same
parallel it is fainter at sea than on land. The latter
circumstance may be attributed to the quantity of
aqueous vapour which is continually rising towards
the higher regions of the air from the surface of the
sea. From the zenith to the horizon, there is in all
latitudes a diminution of intensity, which follows
nearly an arithmetical progression, and depends upon
the moisture suspended in the atmosphere. If the
cyanometer indicate this accumulation of vapour in
the more elevated portion of the air, the seaman
possesses a simpler method of judging of the state
of its lower regions, by observing the colour and
figure of the solar disk at its rising and setting. In
the torrid zone, where meteorological phenomena
follow each other with great regularity, the prog-
nostics are more to be depended upon than in north-
ern regions. Great paleness of the setting sun, and
an extraordinary disfiguration of its disk, almost
certainly presage a storm ; and yet one can hardly
conceive how the condition of the lower strata of
the air, which is announced in this manner, can be
so intimately connected with those atmospherical
changes that take place within the space of a few
hours.

Mariners are accustomed to observe the appear-
ances of the sky more carefully than landsmen, and
among the numerous meteorological rules which

58 COLOUR OF THE OCEAN.

pilots transmit to each other, several evince great
sagacity. Prognostics are also in general less un-
certain on the ocean, and especially in the equinoc-
tial parts of it, than on land, where the inequalities
of the ground interrupt the regularity of their mani-
festation.

Humboldt slso applied the cyanometer to measure
the colonr of the sea. In fine calm weather, the
tint was found to be equal to 33°, 38°, sometimes
even 44° of the instrument, although the sky was
very pale, and scarcely attained 14° or 15°. Wlien,
instead of directing the apparatus to a great extent
of open sea, the observer fixes his eyes on a small
part of its surface viewed through a narrow aper-
ture, the water appears of a rich ultramarine colour.
Towards evening again, when the edge of the waves,
as the sun shines upon them, is of an emerald-green,
the surface of the shaded side reflects a purple hue.
Nothing is more striking than the rapid changes
which the colour of the sea undergoes under a clear
sky, in the midst of the ocean and in deep water,
■when it may be seen passing from indigo-blue to the
deepest green, and from this to slate-gray. The
blue is almost independent of the reflection of the
atmosphere. The intertropical seas are in general
of a deeper and purer tint than in high latitudes, and
the ocean often remains blue, when, in fine weather,
more than four-fifths of the sky are covered with
light and scattered clouds of a white colour.

LANDING AT CUMANA. 59

CHAPTER V.

Cumana.

Landing at Cumana— Introduction to the Governor— State of the Sick—
Description of the Country and City of Cumana-Mode of Bathing in
the Manzanares— Port of Cumana— Earthquakes ; Their Periodicity;
Connexion with the State of the Atmosphere; Gaseous Emanations;
Subterranean Noises ; Propagation of Shocks ; Connexion between
those of Cumana and tlie West Indies ; and general Phenomena.

The city of Cumana, the capital of New-Andalu-
sia, is a mile distant from the landing-place, and in
proceeding- towards it our travellers crossed a large
sandy plain, which separates the suburb inhabited
by the Guayqueria Indians from the seashore. The
excessive heat of the atmosphere was increased by
the reflection of the sun's rays from a naked soil,
the thermometer immersed in which rose to QQ-g^".
In the little pools of salt water it remained at 86 -9° j
while the surface of the sea in the port generally
ranges from 77.-4° to 79-3°. The first plant gathered
by them was the Avicomia tomentosa, which is re-
markable for occurring also on the ]Malabar coast,
and belongs to the small number that live in society,
like the heaths of Europe, and are seen in the torrid
zone only on tlie shores of the ocean and the ele-
vated platforms of the Andes.

Crossing the Indian suburb, the streets of which
were very neat, they were conducted by the captain
of the Pizarro to the governor of the province, Don
Vicente Emparan, who received them with frank-
ness; expressed his satisfaction at the resolution
which they had taken of remaining for some time
in New-Andalusia ; showed them cottons died with
native plants, and furniture made of indigenous wood ;
and surprised them with questions indicative of

60 CrMANA.

scientific attainments. On disembarking tlieir in-
struments, they had the pleasure of finding that none
of them had been damaged. They hired a spacious
house in a situation favourable for astronomical
observations, in which they enjoyed an agreeable
coolness when the breeze arose, the windows being
without glass, or even the paper panes which are
often substituted for it at Cumana.

The passengers all left the vessel. Those who
had been attacked by the fever recovered so very
slowly, that some were seen a month after who,
notwithstanding the care bestowed upon them by
their countrymen, were still in a state of extreme
debility. The hospitality of the inhabitants of the
Spanish colonies is such that the poorest stranger is
sure of receiving the kindest treatment. Among
the sick landed here was a negro, Avho soon fell into
a state of insanity and died ; which fact our author
mentions, as a proof that persons born in the torrid
zone are liable to suffer from the heat of the tropics
after having resided in temperate climates. This
individual, who was a robust young man, was a native
of Guinea, but had lived for some years on the ele-
vated plain of Castile.

The soil around Cumana is composed of gypsum
and calcareous breccia, and is supposed at a remote
period to have been covered by the sea. The neigh-
bourhood of the city is remarkable for the woods
of cactus which are spread over the arid lauds.
Some of these plants were thirty or forty feet high,
covered with lichens, and divided into branches in
the form of a candelabrum. When the large species
grow in groups they form a thicket, which, while it
is almost impenetrable, is extremely dangerous on
account of the poisonous serpents that frequent it.

The fortress of St. Antonio, which is built on a
calcareous hill, commands the town, and forms a pic-
turesque object to vessels entering the port. On the
south-western slope of the same rock are the ruins

BATHING IN THE RIVER. 6t'

of the castle of St. Mary, from the site of which
there is a fine view of the gulf, together with the
island of Margaretta and the small isles of Caraccas,
Picuita, and Boracha, which present the most singu-
lar appearances from the effect of mirage.

The city of Cumana, properly speaking, occupies
the ground that lies between the castle pf St. An-
tonio and the small rivers Manzanares and Santa
Catalina. It has no remarkable buildings, on account
of the violent earthquakes to which it is subject.
The suburbs are almost as populous as the town it-
self, and are three in number : namely, Serritos, St.
Francis, and that of the Guayquerias. The latter is
inhabited by a tribe of civilized Indians, who, for
upwards of a century, have adopted the Castilian
language. The whole population in 1802 was about
eighteen or nineteen thousand.

The plains which surround the city have a parched
and dusty aspect. The hill on which the fort of St.
Antonio stands is also bare, and composed of calca-
reous breccia, containing marine shells. Southward,
hi the distance, is avast curtain of inaccessible moun-
tains, also of limestone. These ridges are covered by
majestic forests, extending along the sloping ground
at their base to an open plain in the neighbourhood of
Cumana, through which the river Manzanares winds
its way to the sea, fringed with mimosas, erythrinas,
ceibas, and other trees of gigantic growth.

This river, the temperature of which in the season
of the floods descends as low as 71-6°, when that of
the air is as high as 91°, is an inestimable benefit to
the inhabitants ; all of whom, even the women of
the most opulent families, learn to swim. The mode
of bathing is various. Our travellers frequented
every evening a very respectable society in the
suburb of the Guayquerias. In the beautiful moon-
light chairs were placed in the water, on which were
seated the ladies and gentlemen, lightly clothed.
The family and the strangers passed several hours

F

62 EARTHQUAKES.

in the river, smoking cigars and chatting on the
usnal subjects of conversation, such as the extreme
drought, the abundance of rain in the neighbouring
districts, and the female hixury which prevails in
Caraccas and Havana. The company were not
disturbed by the bavas, or small crocodiles, vi^hich
are only three or four feet long, and are now ex-
tremely rare. Humboldt and his companions did
not meet with any of them in the Manzanares ; but
they saw plenty of dolphins, which sometimes as-
cended the river at night, and frightened the bathers
by spouting water from their nostrils.

The port of Cumana is capable of receiving all
the navies of Europe ; and the whole of the Gulf of
Cariaco, which is forty-two miles long, and from
seven to nine miles broad, affords excellent anchor-
age. The hurricanes of the West Indies are never
experienced on these coasts, where the sea is con-
stantly smooth, or only slightly agitated by an east-
erly wind. The sky is often bright along the shores,
while stormy clouds are seen to gather among the
mountains. Thus, as at the foot of the Andes, on the
western side of the continent, the extremes of clear
weather and fogs, of drought and heavy rain, of ab-
solute nakedness and perpetual verdure, present
themselves on the coasts of New- Andalusia.

The same analogy exists as to earthquakes, which
are frequent and violent at Cumana. It is a gene-
rally received opinion that the Gulf of Cariaco owed
its existence to a rent of the continent, the remem-
brance of which was fresh in the minds of the na-
tives at the time of Columbus's third voyage. In
1530 the coasts of Paria and Cumana Avere agitated
by shocks ; and towards the end of the sixteenth
century, eartliquakes and inundations very often oc-
curred. On the 21st October, 1766, the city of Cu-
mana was entirely destroyed in the space of a few
minutes. The earth opened in several parts of the
province, and emitted sulphureous waters. During

GENERAL REMARKS ON EARTHQUAKES. 63

the years 1766 and 1767 the inhabitants encamped
in the streets, and they did not beffin to rebuild their
houses until the earthquakes took place only once
in four weeks. These commotions had been pre-
ceded by a drought of fifteen months, and were ac-
companied and followed by torrents of rain, which
swelled the rivers.

On the 14th December, 1797, more than four-fifths
of the city were again entirely destroyed. Previous
to this the shocks had been horizontal oscillations ;
but the shaking now felt was that of an elevation
of the ground, and was attended by a subterraneous
noise, like the explosion of a mine at a great depth.
The most violent concussion, however, was pre-
ceded by a slight undulating motion, so that the in-
habitants had time to escape into the streets ; and
only a few perished, who had betaken themselves
for safety to the churches. Half an hour before the
catastrophe, a strong smell of sulphur was expe-
rienced near the hill of the convent of St. Francis ;
and on the same spot an internal noise, which seemed
topassfromS.E.toN.W.,washeardloudest. Flames
appeared on the banks of the Manzanares and in the
Gulf of Cariaco. In describing this frightful con-
avulsion of nature, our author enters upon general
views respecting earthquakes, of which a very brief
account may be here given.

The great earthquakes which interrupt the long
series of small shocks do not appear to have any
stated times at Cumana, as they have occurred at
intervals of eighty, of a hundred, and sometimes
even of less than thirty years ; whereas, on the
coasts of Peru, — at Lima, for example, — there is,
without doubt, a certain degree of regularity in the
periodical devastations thereby occasioned.

It has long been beheved at Cumana, Acapulco,
and Lima, that there exists a perceptible relation
between earthquakes and the state of the atmosphere
which precedes these phenomena. On the coasts

64 EARTHQUAKES.

of New- Andalusia the people become uneasy when,
in excessively hot weather and after long drought,
the breeze suddenly ceases, and the sky, clear at the
zenith, presents the appearance of a reddish vapour
near the horizon. But these prognostics are very
uncertain, and the dreaded evil has arrived in all
kinds of weather.

Under the tropics the regularity of the horary va-
riations of the barometer is not disturbed on the davs
when violent shocks occur. In like manner, in the
temperate zone the aurora borealis does not always
modify the variations of the needle, or the intensity
of the magnetic forces.

When the earth is open and agitated, gaseous
emanations occasionally escape in places consider-
ably remote from unextinguished volcanoes. At
Cumana, flames and sulphureous vapours spring
from the arid soil, while in other parts of the same
province it throws out water and petroleum. At
Riobamba, a muddy inflammable mass called moya
issues from crevices which close again, and forms
elevated heaps. Flames and smoke were also seen
to proceed from the rocks of Alvidras, near Lisbon,
during the earthquake of 1755, by which that city
was ravaged. But in the greater number of earth-
quakes it is probable that no elastic fluids escape
from the ground, and when gases are evolved, they
more frequently accompany or follow than precede
the shocks.

The subterranean noise which so frequently at-
tends earthquakes, is generally not proportionate to
the strength of the shocks. At Cumana it always
precedes them ; while at Quito, and for some time
past at Caraccas and in the West India islands, a
noise like the discharge of a battery was heard long
after the agitation had ceased. The rolling of thun-
der in the bowels of the earth, which continues for
months, without being accompanied by the least
shaliing, is a very remarkable phenomenon

EARTHQUAKES. 65

In nil countries subject to earthquakes, the point
at which the effects are greatest is considered as
the source or focus of the shocks. We forget that
the rapidity with which the undulations are propa-
gated to great distances, even across the basin of
the ocean, proves the centre of action to be very re-
m( te from the earth's surface. Hence it is clear
that earthquakes are not restricted to certain species
of rocks, as some naturalists assert, but pervade all ;
although sometimes, in the same rock, the upper
strata seem to form an insuperable obstacle to the
propagation of the motion. It is curious also, that
in a district of small extent certain formations in-
terrupt the shocks. Thus, at Cumana, before the
catastrophe of 1797, the earthquakes were felt only
along the southern or calcareous coast of the Gulf
of Cariaco, as far as the town of that name, while
in the peninsula of Araya, and at the village of Man-
iquarez, the ground was not agitated. At present,
however, the peninsula is as liable to earthquakes
as the district around Cumana.

In New- Andalusia, as in Chili and Peru, the shocks
follow the line of the shore, and extend but little
into the interior, — a circumstance which indicates
an intimate connexion between the causes that pro-
duce earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. If the
land along the coasts is most agitated because it is
generally lowest, why should not the shocks be
equally strong in the savannas, which are only a
few jH.rds above the level of the sea ■?

The earthquakes of Cumana are connected with
those of the West Indies, and are even suspected to
have some relation to the volcanic phenomena of
the Andes. On the 4th November, 1797, the prov-
ince of Quito underwent so violent a commotion that
40,000 persons were destroyed ; and at the same
period shocks were experienced in the Eastern An-
tilles, followed by an eruption of the volcano of
Guadaloupe, in the end of September, 1798. On the

66 CUMANA.

14th December the great concussion took place at
Cumana.

It has long been remarked that earthquakes ex-
tend their effects to much greater distances than
volcanoes ; and it is probable, as has just been men-
tioned, that the causes which produce the former
have an intimate connexion with the latter. When
se'ated within the verge of a burning crater, one feels
the motion of the ground several seconds before
each partial eruption. The phenomena of earth-
quakes seem strongly to indicate the action of elastic
fluids endeavouring to force their way into the at-
mosphere. On the shores of the South Sea the
concussion is almost instantaneously communicated
from Chili to the Gulf of Guaj^aquil, over a space
of 2070 miles. The shocks also appear to be so
much the stronger the more distant the country is
from active volcanoes ; and a province is more
agitated the smaller the number of funnels by which
the subterranean cavities communicate with the
open air.

CHAPTER VI.

Residence at Cumana.

Lunar Halo-African Slaves — Excursion to the Peninsula ofAraya—
Geological Constitution of the Country — Salt-works of Araya — Indians
and 'Mulattoea — rearl-fishery — Manlfiuarez — Mexican Deer— Spring
of Naphtha.

The occupations of our travellers were much dis-
turbed during the first weeks of their abode at Cu-
mana by the intrusion of persons desirous of ex-
amining their astronomical and other instruments.
They however determined the latitude of the great
square to be 10° 27' 52", and its longitude 66^ 30' 2".

LXTNAR HALOES AFRICAN SLAVES. 67

On the 17th of August a halo of the moon attracted
the attention of the inhabitants, who viewed it as
the presage of a violent earthquake. Coloured cir-
cles of this kind, Humboldt remarks, are much rarer
in the northern than in the southern countries of Eu-
rope. They are seen more especially when the sky
is clear and the weather settled. In the torrid zone
they appear almost every night, and often in the
space of a few minutes disappear several times.
Between the latitude of 15° N. and the equator he
has seen small haloes around the planet Venus, but
never observed any in connexion with the fixed stars.
While the halo was seen at Cumana, the hygrome-
ter indicated great humidity, although the atmo-
sphere was perfectly transparent. It consisted of
two circles ; a larger, of a whitish colour, and 44°
in diameter, and a smaller, displaying all the tints
of the rainbow, and 1° 43' in diameter. The inter-
mediate space was of the deepest azure.

Part of the great square is surrounded with ar-
cades, over which is a long wooden gallery, where
slaves imported from the coast of Africa are sold.
These were young men from fifteen to twenty years
of age. Every morning cocoanut oil was given
them, with which they rubbed their skin, to render it
glossy. The persons who came to purchase them
examined their teeth, as we do those of horses, to
judge of their age and health. Yet the vSpanish
laws, according to our author, have never favoured
the trade in African slaves, the number of whom in
1800 did not exceed 6000 in the two provinces of
Cumana and Barcelona, while the whole population
was estimated at 110,000.

The first excursion which our travellers made was
to the peninsula of Araya. They embarked on the
Manzanares, near the Indian suburb, about two in
the morning of the 19th August. The night was
delightfully cool. Swarms of shining insects {Elater
noctilucus) sparkled in the air along the banks of the

68 EXCURSION TO ARAVA.

river. As the boat descended the stream, they ob-
served a company of negjroes dancing to the music
of the guitar by the hght of bonfires, — a practice
which they prefer to mere relaxation or sleep, on
their days of rest.

The bark in which they passed the Gulf of Cari-
aco was commodious, and large skins of the jaguar
were spread for their repose during the night. The
cold, however, prevented them from sleeping, al-
though, as they were surprised to find, the ther-
mometer was as high as 71-2°. The circumstance
that in a warm country a degree of cold which would
be productive of no inconvenience to the inhabitant
of a temperate climate, excites a disagreeable feel-
ing, is worthy of the attention of physiologists.
When Bouguer reached the summit of Pelee, in the
island of Martinico, he trembled with cold, although
the heat was above 707° ; and in hea^^ showers
at Cumana, when the thermometer indicates the
same temperature, the inhabitants make bitter com-
plaints.

About eight in the morning they landed at the
point of Araya, near the new salt-works, which are
situated in a plain destitute of vegetation. From
this spot are seen the islet of Cubagiia, the lofty
hills of Margaretta, the ruins of the castle of St.
Jago. the Cerro de la Vela, and the limestone ridge
of the Bergantin, bounding the horizon towards the
south. Here salt is procured by digging brine-pits
in the clayey soil, which is impregnated witli mu-
riate of soda. In 1799 and 1800 the consumption
of this article in the provinces of Cumana and Bar-
celona amounted to 9000 or 10,000 fanegas, each
16 arrobas, or 405pbs. avoirdupois. Of this quan-
tity the salt-works of Araya yield only about a
third part ; the rest being obtained from sea-water
in the Morro of Barcelona, at Pozuelos, at Piritu,
and in the Golfo Triste.
In order to understand the geological relations of

PENINSULA OF ARAYA. 69

this saliferous clay, it is necessary to follow our
author in his exposition of the nature of the neigh-
bouring country. Three great parallel chains of
mountains extend from east to west. The two
most northerly, which are primitive, constitute the
Cordilleras of the island of Margaretta, as well as
of A ray a. The most southerly, the cordillera of
Bergantin and CocoUar, is secondary, although more
elevated than the others. The two former have
been separated by the sea, and the islets of Coche
and Cubagua are supposed to be remnants of the
submersed land. The Gulf of Cariaco divides the
chains of A raya and CocoUar, which were connected,
to the east of the town of Cariaco, between the
lakes of Campoma and Putaquao, by a kind of dike.
This barrier, wliich had the name of Cerro de Mea-
pire, prevented in remote times the waters of the
Gulf of Cariaco from uniting with those of the Gulf
of Paria.

The western slope of the peninsula of Araya and
the plains on which rises the castle of St. Antony
are covered with recent deposites of sandstone, clay,
and gypsum. Near Manifuarez, a conglomerate
with calcareous cement rests on the mica-slate;
while on the opposite side, near Punta Delgada, it is
superimposed on a compact bluish-gray hmestone,
containing a few organic remains, traversed by
small veins of calcareous spar, and analogous to that
of the Alps.

The saUferous clay is generally of a sraoke-=gray
colour, earthy and friable, but encloses masses of a
dark-brown tint and more solid texture. Selenite
and fibrous gypsum are disseminated in it. Scarcely
any shells are to be seen, although the adjacent
rocks contain abundance of them. The muriate of
soda is not discoverable by the naked eye ; but when
a mass is sprinkled with rainwater and exposed to
the sun, it appears in large crystals. In the marsh
to the east of the castle of St. Jago, which receives

70 SALT-WORKS OF ARAYA.

only rainwater, crjstallized and very pure muriate
of soda forms, after great droughts, in masses of
large size. The new salt-works of Ara^^a have five
very extensive reservoirs with a depth of eight
inches, and are supplied partly with seawater and
partly with rain. The evaporation is so rapid that
salt is collected in eighteen or twenty days after
they are filled ; and it is freer from earthy muriates
and sulphates than that of Europe, although manu-
factured with less care.

After examining these works, they departed at
the decline of day, and proceeded towards an Indian
cabin some miles distant. Night overtook them in
a narrow path between a range of perpendicular
rocks and the sea. Arriving at the foot of the old
castle of Araj'^a, which stands on a bare and arid
mountain, and is crowned with agave, columnar
cactus, and prickly mimosas, they were desirous of
stopping to admire the majestic spectacle, and ob-
serve the setting of the planet Venus ; but their
guide, who was parched with thirst, earnestly urged
them to return, and hoped to work on their fears by
continually warning them of jaguars and rattle-
snakes. They at length yielded to liis solicitations';
but after proceeding three-quarters of an hour along
a shore covered by the tide they Avere joined by the
negro that cari'ied their provisions, who led them
through a wood of nopals to the hut of an Indian,
where they were received with cordial hospitality.
The several classes of natives in this district live by
catching fish, part of which they carry to Cumana.
The wealth of the inhabitants consists cliiefly of
goats, which are of a very large size, and brownish-
yellow colour. They are marked like the mules,
and roam at large.

Among the mulattoes, whose hovels surrounded
the salt-lake near which they had passed the night,
they found an indigent Spanish cobbler, who received
them with an air of gravity and importance. After

PEARL-FISHERIES. 71

amusing them with a display of his knowledge, he
drew from a leathern bag a few very small pearls,
which he forced them to accept, enjoining them to
note on their tablets, " that a poor shoemaker of
Araya, but a white man, and of noble Castilian de-
scent, was enabled to give them what on the other
side of the sea would be sought for as a thing of
great value."

The pearl-shell (Avicula margaritiferd) is abundant
on the shoals which extend from Cape Paria to the
Cape of Vela. Margarita, Cubagua, Coche, Punta
Araya, and the mouth of the Rio la Hacha were as
celebrated in the sixteenth century for them as the
Persian Gulf was among the ancients. At the be-
ginning of the conquest the island of Coche alone
furnished 1500 marks (1029 troy pounds) monthly.
The portion which the king's officers drew from the
produce of the pearls amounted to 3406Z. bs. ; and
it would appear that up to 1530 the value of those
sent to Europe amounted, at a yearly average, to
more than 130,000Z. Towards the end of the six-
teenth century, this fishery diminished rapidly ; and,
according to Laet, had been long given up in 1683.
The artificial imitations, and the great diminution
of the shells, rendered it less lucrative. At present,
the Gulf of Panama and the mouth of the Rio de la
Hacha are the only parts of South America in which
this branch of industry is continued.

On the morning of the 20th, a young Indian con-
ducted the travellers over Barigon and Caney to the
village of Maniquarez. The thermometer kept as
high as 78-5°, and before their guide had travelled a
league he frequently sat down to rest himself, and
expressed a desire to repose under the shade of a
tamarind-tree until night should approach. Hum-
boldt explains the circumstance, that the natives
complain more of lassitude under an intense heat
than Europeans not inured to it, by a reference to

72 GEOLOGICAL PHENOMENA.

their listless disposition, and their not being excited
by the same stimulus.

In crossing the arid hills of Cape Cirial, they per-
ceived a strong smell of petroleum, the wind blow-
ing from the side where the springs of that sub-
stance occur. Near the village of Maniquarez, they
found the mica-slate cropping out from below the
secondary rocks. It was of a silvery white, con-
tained garnets, and was traversed by small layers
of quartz. From a detached block of this last, found
on the shore, they separated a fragment of cyanite,
the only specimen of that mineral seen by them in
South America.

A rude manufacture of pottery is carried on at
that hamlet by the Indian women. The clay is pro-
duced by the decomposition of mica-slate, and is of
a reddish colour. The natives, being unacquainted
with the use of ovens, place twigs around the ves-
sels, and bake them in the open air.

At the same place they met with some Creoles
who had been hunting small deer in the uninhabited
islet of Cubagua, where they are very abundant.
These creatures are of a brownish-red hue, spotted
with white, and of the latter colour beneath. They
belong to the species named by naturalists Cervus
Mexicanus.

In the estimation of the natives, the most curious
production of the coast of Araya is what they call
the eye-stone. They consider it as both a stone and
an animal, and assert that when it is found in the
sand it is motionless ; whereas on a polished surface,
as an earthen plate, it moves when stimulated by
lemon-juice. When introduced into the eye it ex-
pels every other substance that may have accident-
ally insinuated itself. The people offered these
stones to the travellers by hundreds, and wished to
put sand into their eyes, that they might try the
power of this wondrous remedy ; which, however.

EXCURSION TO SAN FERNANDO. 73

was nothing else than the operculum of a small
shellfish.

Near Cape de la Brea, at the distance of eighty-
feet from the shore, is a small stream of naphtha,
the produce of which covers the sea to a great ex-
tent. It is a singular circumstance that this spring
issues from mica-slate, all others that are known
belonging to secondary deposites.

After examining the neighbourhood of Mani-
quarez, the adventarers embarked at night in a small
fishing-boat, so leaky that a person was constantly
employed in baling out the water with a calabash,
and arrived in safety at Cumana.

CHAPTER VII.

Missions of the Chaymas.

Excursion to the Missions of the Chayma Indians — Remarks on Cul-
tivation— Tlie Impossible — Aspect of the Vegetation — San Fernando —
Account of a Man who suckled a Child— (Jumanacoa — Cultivation of
Tobacco — Igneous Exhalations — Jaguars — Mountain of Cocollar —
Turimiquiri— Jlissions of San Antonio and Guanaguana.

On the 4th of September, at an early hour, our
travellers commenced an excursion to the missionary
stations of the Chaj^ma Indians, and to the lofty
mountains which traverse New-Andalusia. The
morning was dtliciously cool ; and from trie summit
of the hill of San Francisco they enjoyed in the short
twilight an extensive view of the sea, the adjacent
plain, and the distaiit peaks. After walking two
hours they arrived at the foot of the chain, where
they found different rocks, together with a new and
more luxuriant vegetation. They observed that the
latter was more brilliant wherever the limestone was

G

74 STATE OF CULTIVATION.

covered by a quartzy sandstone, — a circumstance
which probabl}^ depends not so much on the nature
of the soil as on its greater humidity ; the thin layers
of slate-clay, which the latter contains, preventing
the water from filtering into the crevices of the
former. In those moist places they always dis-
covered appearances of cultivation, huts inhabited
by mestizoes, and placed in the centre of small en-
closures, containing papaws, plantains, sugar-canes,
and maize. In Europe, the wheat, barley, and other
kinds of grain cover vast spaces of ground, and, in
general, wherever the inhabitants live upon corn, the
cultivated lands are not separated from each other
by the intervention of large wastes; but in the tor-
rid zone, where the fertility of the soil is propor-
tionate to the heat and humidity of the air, and where
man has appropriated plants that yield earlier and
more abundant crops, an immense popuhition finds
ample subsistence on a narrow space. The scat-
tered disposition of the huts in the midst of the forest
indicates to the traveller the fecundity of nature.

In so mild and uniform a climate the only urgent
want of man is that of food ; and in the midst of
abundance his intellectual faculties receive less im-
provement than in colder regions, where his neces-
sities are numerous and diversified. While in Eu-
rope we judge of the inhabitants of a country by the
extent of laboured ground ; in the warmest parts of
South America populous provinces seem to the
traveller almost deserted, because a very small ex-
tent of soil is sufficient for the maintenance of a
family. The insulated state in which the natives
thus live prevents any rapid progress of civilization,
although it develops the sentiments of independence
and liberty.

As the travellers penetrated into the forests the
barometer indicated the progressive elevation of the
land. About three in the afternoon they halted on
a small flat, where a few houses had been erected

THE IMPOSSIBLE. 75

near a spring, the water of which they found de-
licious. Its tr.-nporature was Ti'S", while th;it of
the air was 83-?^.' From the top of a s.ia;lstoiie-hiil
in the vicinity they had a spleiidid view of llie sea
and part of the coast, while in the interveiiin'Z space
the tops of the trees, intermixed with llowery li mas,
formed a vast carpet of deep verdure. As they ad-
vanced towards the south-west the soil became dry
and loose. They asg.ended a trroup of ralher high
mountains, destitute of Vegetation, and havinsf steep
declivities. This ridge is named the Impossible, it
being imagined that in case of invasion it might
afford a safe retreat to the inhabitants o" Cumana.
The prospect was finer and more extensive than
from the fountain above mentioned.

They arrived on the summit only a little before
dusk. The setting of the sun was accompanied by
a very rapid diminution of temperature, the ther-
mometer suddenly f.dling from 77-4° to 70-3°,
although the air was calm. They passed the night
in a house at which there was a military post of eight
men, commanded by a Spanish sergeant. When,
after the capture of Trinidad by the English in 1797,
Cumana was threatened, many of the people fled
to Cumanacoa, leaving the more valuable of their
property in sheds constructed on this ridge. The
solitude of the place reminded Humboldt of the
nights which he had passed on the top of St. Gothard.
Several parts of the surrounding forests were burn-
ing, and the reddish flames arising amid clouds of
smoke, presented a most impressive spectacle. The
shepherds set fire to the woods for the purpose of
improving the pasturage, though conflagrations are
often caused by the negligence of the wandering
Indians. The number of old trees on the road from
Cumana to Cumanacoa has been greatly reduced by
these accidents ; and in several parts of the province
the dryness has increased, owing both to the dimi-
nution of the forests and the frequency of earth-
quakes which produce crevices in the soil.

76 VEGETATION' OF NEW-AXDALUSIA.

Leaving the Impossible on the 5th before sunrise,
they descended by a very narrow path bordering on
precipices. The summit of the ridge was of quartzy
sandstone, beneath which' the alpine Umestone re-
appeared. The strata being generally inclined to
the south, numerous springs gush out on that side,
and in the rainy season form torrents which fall in
cascades, shaded by the hura, the cuspa, and the
trumpet-tree. The cuspa, which is common in the
neighbourhood of Cumana, had long been used for
carpenter-work, but has of late attracted notice as a
powerful tonic or febrifuge.

Emerging from the ravine which opens at the
foot of the mountain, they entered a dense forest,
traversed by numerous small rivers, which were
easily forded. They observed that the leaves of the
cecropiawere more or less silver)- according as the
soil was dry or marshy, and specimens occurred in
which they were entirely green on both sides. The
roots of these shrubs were concealed beneath tufts
of dorstenia, a plant which thrives only in shady and
moist pldces. In the midst of the forest they found
papaws and orange-trees bearing excellent fruit,
which they conjectured to be the remains of some
Indian plantations, as in these countries they are
no more indigenous than the banana, the maize, the
manioc, and the many other useful plants whose
native coimtry is unkno^vn, although they have ac-
companied man in his migratioiis from the most re-
mote periods.

" \Mien a traveller newly arrived from Europe,"
says Humboldt, " penetrates for the first time into
the forests of South America, nature presents herself
to his view in an unexpected aspect : the objects by
which he is surrounded bear but a faint resemblance
to the pictures draivn by celebrated writers on the
banks of the Mississippi, in Rorida, and in other
temperate regions of the New ^yorld. He per-
ceives at every step that he is not upon the verge.

FOREST BIRDS. il'

but in the centre of the torrid zone, — not in one of
the West India isi mds, but upon a vast continent,
where the mountains, the rivers, the mass of vege-
tation, and ever}' thing else are gigantic. If he be
sensible to the beauties of rural scener}^ he finds it
difficult to account to himself for the diversified
feelinTs which he experiences : he is unable to de-
termine what most excites his admiration ; whether
the solemn silence of the wilderness, or the indi-
vidual beaut}' and contrast of the forms, or the vigour
and freshness of vegetable life, that characterize the
climate of the tropics. It might be said that the
earth, overloaded with plants, does not leave them
room enouah for growth. The trunks of the trees
are everywhere covered with a thick carpet of ver-
dure ; and were the orchidese and the plants of the
genera piper and pothos, which grow upon a single
courbaril or American fig-tree, transferred to the
ground, they would cover a large space. By this
singular denseness of vegetation, the forests, like
the rocks and mountains, enlarge the domain of or-
ganic niture. The same lianas which creep along
the ground rise to the tops of the trees, and pass
from the one to the other at a heiglit of more than
a hundred feet. In consequence of this intermixture
of parasitic plants, the botanist is often led to con-
found the flowers, fruits, and foliage wliich belong
to di.Tere it species."

The philosophers walked for some hours under
the shade of these arches, which scarcely admitted
an occasional glimpse of the clear blue sky, and for
the first time admired the pendulous nests of the
orioles, which mingled their warbhngs with the cries
of the pirrots and macaws. The latter fly only in
pairs, while the former are seen in flocks of several
hundreds. At the distance of about a league from
the vill ige of San Fernando, they issued from the
woods, and entered an open count r}', covered with
aquatic plants from eisrht to ten feet high; there

G 2

76 SAN FERNANDO.

being no meadows or pastures in the lower parts of
the torrid zone, as in Europe. The road was bor-
dered with a kind of bamboo, rising more than fcrty
feet. These plants, according to Humboldt, are less
common in America than is usually supposed, al-
though they form dense woods in New- Grenada and
Quito, and occur abundantly on the western slops of
the Andes.

They now entered San Fernando, which is situ-
ated in a narrow plain, and bnuided by limtstone
rocks. This was the first missiou-ry st: tion ihey
saw in America. The iiv^u.^es of tlie Cbavma In-
dians were built of clay, strerothtned by liauas, and
the streets were straiglr;, a.ia inteisdcted each other
at right angles. The great square in the centre of
the village contains the church, the house of the
missionary, and another, destined for the accommo-
dation of travellers, which bears tlie pompous name
of the king's house (Casa del Rey). These royal
residences occur in all the Spanish settlements, and
are of the greatest benefit in countries where there
are no inns.

They had been recommended to the friars who
superintend the missions of the Chaymas, by their
syndic at Cumana, and the superior, a corpulent and
jolly old capuchin, received them with kindness.
This respectable personage, seated the greater part
of the day in an arm-chair, complained bitterly of
the indolence of his countrymen. He considered
the pursuits of the travellers as useless, smiled at
the sight of their instruments and dried plants, and
maintained that of all. the enjoyments of life, with-
out excepting sleep, none could be compared with
the pleasure of eating good beef.

This mission was founded about the end of the
seventeenth centur}^, near the junction of the Man-
zanares and Lucasperez ; but, in consequence of a
fire, was removed to its present situation. The num-
ber of families now amounted to a hundred, and as the

FRANCISCO LOZANO CTJMANACOA. 79

head of the estabUshment observed, the custom of
marrying at a very early age contributes greatly to
the rapid increase of population.

In the village of Arenas, which is inhabited by
Indians of . e same race as those of San Fernando,
there hved a labourer, Francisco Lozano, who had
suckled a child. Its mother happening to be sick,
he took it, and in order to quiet it, pressed it to his
breast, when the stinmlus imnarted by the sucking
of the child caused a flow of milk. The travellers
snw the certificate drawn u.i oa the spot to attest
1' s remarkable fact, of wL" * i se\^eral eyewitnesses
were still living. The man vv^js not at Arenas during
their stay at the mission, bat afterward visited them
at Cumana, accompanied by his son, when M. Bon-
pland examined his breasts, and found them wrinkled,
Uke those of women who have nursed. He was
not an Indian, but a white descended from European
parents. Alexander Benedictus relates a similar
case of an inhabitant of Syria, and other authors
have given examples of the same nature.

Returning towards Cumana, they entered the small
town of Cumanacoa, situated in a naked and almost
circular plain, surrounded by lofty mountains, and
containing about two thousand three hundred inhabit-
ants. The houses were low and slight, and with very
few exceptions built of wood. The travellers were
surprised to find the column of mercury in the ba-
rometer scarcely 7-3 lines shorter than on the coast.
The hollow in which the town is erected is not more
than 665 feet above the level of the sea, and only
seven leagues from Cumana; but the climate is
much colder than in the latter place, where it scarcely
ever rains ; whereas at Cumanacoa there are seven
months of severe weather. It was during the winter
season that our travellers visited the missions. A
dense fog covered the sky every night ; the ther-
mometer varied from 64-8° to 68° ; and Deluc's hy-
grometer indicated 85°. At ten in the morning the

80 TOBACCO.

thermometer did not rise above 698°, but from noon
to three o'clock attained the height of from 78-8° to
80-6^. About two, large black clouds regularly-
formed, and poured down torrents of rain, accom-
panied by thunder. At five the rain ceased, and the
sun reappeared ; but at eight or nine the fog again
commenced. In consequence of the humidity, the
vegetation, although not very diversified, is remark-
able for its freshness. The soil is highly fertile;
but the most valuable production of the district is
tobacco, the cultivation of which, in the province of
Cumana, is nearly confined to this valley.

Next to the tobacco of Cuba and the Rio Negro,
that grown here is the most aromatic. The seed is
sown in the beginning of September, and the coty-
ledons appear on the eighth day. The young plants
are then covered with large leaves to protect them
from the sim. A month or two after, they are trans-
ferred to a rich and well-prepared soil, and disposed
in rows, three or four feet distant from each other.
The whole is carefully weeded, and the principal
stalk is several times topped, until the leaves are
mature, when -they are gathered. They are then
suspended by threads of the Agave Americmm, and
their ribs taken out ; after which they are twisted.
The cultivation of tobacco was a royal monopoly,
and employed about 1500 persons. Indigo is also
raised in the valley of Cumanacoa.

This singular plain appeared to be the bed of an
ancient lake. The surrounding mountains are all
precipitous, and the soil contains pebbles and bivalve
shells. One of the gaps in the range, they were in-
formed, was inhabited by jaguars, which passed the
day in caves, and roamed about the plantations at
night. The preceding year one of them had de-
voured a horse belonging to a farm in the neighbour-
hood. The groans of the dying animal awoke the
slaves, who went out armed with lances and larse

JAGUARS SEARCH FOR A GOLD MINE. 81

knives, with which they despatched the tiger after a
vigorous resistance.

From two caverns in this ravine there at times
issue flames, which illumine the adjacent mountains,
and are seen to a great distance at night. The phe-
nomenon was accompanied by a long-continued sub-
terraneous noise at the time of the last earthquake.
A first attempt to penetrate into this pass was ren-
dered unsuccessful, by the strength of the vegeta-
tion and the intertwining of lianas and thorny plants ;
but the inhabitants becoming interested in the re-
searches of the travellers, and being desirous to
know what the German miner thought of the gold
ore which they imagined to exist in it, cleared a path
through the woods. On entering the ravine, they
found traces of jaguars ; and the Indians returned for
some small dogs upon wliich they knew these ani-
mals would spring in preference to attacking a man.
The rocks that bound it are perpendicular, and what
geologists term alpine limestone. The excursion
was rendered hazardous by the nature of the ground;
but they at length reached the pretended gold mine,
which was merely an excavation in a bed of black
marl containing iron pyrites, a substance which the
guides insisted was no other than the precious
metal.

They continued to penetrate into the crevice, and
after undergoing great fatigue, reached a wall of
rock, which, rising perpendicularly to the height of
5116 feet, presented two inaccessible caverns inhab-
ited by nocturnal birds. Halting at the foot of one
of the caves from which flames had been seen to
issue, they listened to the remarks of the natives
respecting the probability of an increase in the fre-
quency of the agitations to which New-Andalusia
had so often been subjected. The cause of the lu-
minous exhalations, however, they were unable to
ascertain.

On the 12th, they continued their journey to the

62 VIEW FROM THE COCOLLAB.

convent of Caripe, the principal station of the Chay-
ma missions, choosing, instead of the direct road,
the Une of the mountains CocoUar and Turimiquiri.
At the Hato de CocoUar, a solitary farm situated on
a small elevated plain, they rested for some time,
and had the good fortune to enjoy at once a delight-
ful climate and the hospitality of the proprietor.
From this elevated point, as far as the eye could
reach, they saw only naked savannas, although in
the neighbouring valleys they found tufts of scat-
tered trees, and a profusion of beautiful flowers.
The upper part of the mountain was destitute of
wood, though covered with gramineous plants— a
circumstance which Humboldt attributes more to
the custom of burning the forests than to the eleva-
tion of the ground, which is not sufficient to prevent
the growth of trees.

Their host, Don Mathias Yturburi, a native of
Biscay, had visited the New World with an expedi-
tion, the object of which was to form establishments
for procuring timber for the Spanish navy. But
these natives of a colder climate were unable to sup-
port the fatigue of so laborious an occupation, the
heat, and the effect of noxious vapours. Destruc-
tive fevers carried off most of the party, when this
individual withdrew from the coast, and setthng on
the Cocollar, became the undisturbed possessor of
five leagues of savannas, among which he enjoyed
independence and health.

" Nothing," says Humboldt, " can be compared to
the impression of the majestic tranquillity left on
the mind by the view of the firmament in this soli-
tary place. Following with the eye, at evening-
tide, those meadows which stretch along the hori-
zon, and the gently-undulated plain covered with
plants, we thought we saw in the distance, as in the
deserts of the Orinoco, the surface of the ocean
supporting the starry vault of heaven. The tree
under which we were seated, the hmiinous insects

BIERRA DZ LOS TAG£R£3. 83

that vaulted in the air, and the constellations which
shone in the south seemed to tell us that we were
far from our native land. In the midst of this exotic
nature, when the bell of a cow, or the lowing of a
bull was heard from the bottom of a valley, the re-
membrance of our country was suddenly awakened
by the sounds. They were like distant voices, that
came from beyond the ocean, and by the magic of
which we were transported from the one hemi-
sphere to the other. Strange mobility of the human
imagination, the never-failing source of our enjoy-
ments and griefs !"

In the cool of the morning tliey commenced the
ascent of Turimiquiri, the summit of the Cocollar,
which, with the Brigantine, forms a mass of moun-
tains, formerly named by the natives the Sierra do
los Tageres. They travelled part of the way on
horses, which are left to roam at large in these
wilds, though some of them have been trained to the
saddle. Stopping at a spring which issued from a
bed of quartzy sandstone, they found its tempera-
ture to be 69-8°. To the height of 4476 feet, this
mountain, like those in its vicinity, was covered
with gramineous plants. The pastures became less
rich in proportion to the elevation, and wherever the
scattered rocks afforded a shade Uchens and mosses
occurred. The summit is 4521 feet above the level
of the sea. The view from it was extensive and
highly picturesque: chains of mountains running
from east to west enclosed longitudinal valleys,
which were intersected at right angles by number-
less ravines. The distant peninsula of Araya formed
a dark streak on a glittering sea, and the more dis-
tant rocks of Cape Macanao rose amid the waters
like an immense rampart.

On the 14th September, they descended the Co-
collar in the direction of San Antonio, where was
also a mission. After passing over savannas strewed
with blocks of limestone, succeeded by a dense

64 GUANAGUANA AND SAN ANTONIO.

forest and two very steep ridges, they came to a
beautiful valley, about twenty miles in length, in
which are situated the missions of San Antonio and
Guanaguana. Stopping at the former only to open
the barometer and take a few altitudes of the sun,
they forded the rivers Colorado and Guarapiche, and
proceeding along a level and narrow road covered
with thick mud, amid torrents of rain, reached in the
evening the latter of these stations, where they
were cordially received by the missionary. This
village had existed only thirty years on the spot
which it then occupied, having been transferred
from a place more to the south. Humboldt remarks,
that the facility with which the Indians remove their
dwellings is astonishing, there being several small
towns in South America which have thrice changed
their situation in less than half a century. These
compulsory migrations are not unfrequently caused
by the caprice of an ecclesiastic ; and as the houses
are constructed of clay, reeds, and palm-leaves, a
hamlet shifts its position like a camp.

The mission of San Antonio had a small church
with two towers, built of brick and ornamented with
Doric columns, the wonder of the country; but that
of Guanaguana possessed as yet no place of worship,
although a spacious house had been built for the
padre, the terraced roof of which was ornamented
with numerous chimneys like turrets, and which, he
informed the travellers, had been erected for no
other purpose than to remind him of his native coun-
try. The Indians cultivate cotton. The machines
by which they separate the wool from the seeds are
of very simple construction, consisting of wooden
cylinders of very small diameter, made to revolve
by a treadle. Maize is the article on which they
principally depend for food ; and when it happens
to be destroyed by a protracted drought, they be-
take themselves to the surrounding forest, where
they find subsistence in succulent plants, cabbage-

VALLEY OF CARIPE. 85-

palms, fern-roots, and the produce of various

trees.

Proceeding towards the valley of Caripe.the travel-
lers passed a limestone ridge which separates it from
that of Guanaguana, — an undertaking which they
found rather difficult, the path being in several parts
only fourteen or fifteen inches broad, and the slopes
being covered with very slippery turf. When they
had reached the summit, an interesting spectacle pre-
sented itself to their view, consisting of the vast
savannas of Maturin and Rio Tigre, the Peak of
Turimiquiri, and a multitude of parallel hills resem-
bling the waves of a troubled ocean.

Descending the height by a winding path, they
entered a woody country, where the ground was
covered by moss and a species of Drosera. As they
approached the convent of Caripe, the forests grew
more dense, and the power of vegetation increased.
The calcareous strata became thinner, forming grad-
uated terraces, while the stone itself assumed a white
colour, with a smooth or imperfectly conchoidal
fracture. This rock Humboldt considers as anal-
ogous to the Jura deposites. He found the level of
the valley of Caripe 1279 feet higher than that of
Guanaguana. Although the former is only sepa-
rated from the latter by a narrow ridge, it affords a
complete contrast to it, being deliciously cool and
salubrious, while the other is remarkable for its
great heat.

H

9& CONVENT OF CARIPE.

CHAPTER VIII.

Excursion continued, and Return td Cumana.

Convent of Caripe— Cave of Guacharo, inhabited bv Nocturnal Birds-
Purgatory— Forest Scenery— Howling Monkeys— Vera Cruz— Cariaco
— Iniermittent Fevers— Cocoa-lroes— Passage across the Gulf of Cari-
aco to Cumana.

Arriving at the hospital of the Arragonese Capu-
chins, which was backed by an enormous wall of
rocks of resplendent whiteness, covered with a luxu-
riant vegetation, our travellers were hospitably re-
ceived by the monks. The superior was absent ;
but having heard of their intention to visit the place,
he had provided for them whatever could serve to
render their abode agreeable. The inner court, sur-
rounded by a portico, they found highly convenient
for setting up their instruments and making observa-
tions. In the convent they found a numerous so-
ciety, consisting of old and infirm missionaries, who
sought for health in the salubrious air of the moun-
tains of Caripe, and younger ones newly arrived
from Spain. Although the inmates of this estab-
lishment knew that Humboldt was a Protestant, they
manifested no mark of distrust, nor proposed any
indiscreet question, to diminish the value of the be-
nevolence which they exercised with so much libe-
rality. Even the light of science had in some de-
gree extended to this obscure place ; for in the library
of the superioi they found among other books the
Traite d'Electricite, by the Abbe Nollet ; and one of
the monks had brought with him a Spanish transla-
tion of Chaptal's Treatise on Chyniistry.

The height of this monastery above the sea is
nearly the same as that of Caraccas, and the

X

CAVE OF GUACHARO.

inhabited parts of the Blue Mountains of Jama..
The thermometer was between 608° and 63° at mid-
ni-^ht, between 66-2° and 68° in the mornmg, and
only 69-8° or 725° about one o'clock. The niean
temperature, inferred from that of the month of Sep-
tember, appears to be 65-3°. This degree of heat
is sufficient to develop the productions of the torrid
zone, although much inferior to that of the plains
of Cumana. Water exposed in vessels of porous
clav cools during the night as low as 55-4 . 1 he
mild climate and rarefied air of this place have been
found highly favourable to the cultivation of coffee,
which was introduced into the province by the pre-
fect of the Capuchins, an active and enlightened
man In the garden of the community were many
culinary vegetables, maize, the sugar-cane, and five
thousand coffee-trees.

The greatest curiosity in this beautiful and salu-
brious district is a cavern inhabited by nocturnal birds,
the fat of which is employed in the missions for
dressintT food. It is named the Cave of Guacharo,
and is situated in a valley three leagues distant from
the convent.

On the 18th of September our travellers, accom-
panied by most of the monks and some of the Indians,
set out for this aviary, following for an hour and a
half a narrow path, leading across a fine plain cov-
ered with beautiful turf; then, turning westward
along a small river which issues from the cave, they
proceeded, during three-quarters of an hour, some-
times walking in the water, sometimes on a slippery
and miry soil, between the torrent and a wall of
rocks, until they arrived at the foot of the lofty
mountain of Guacharo. Here the torrent ran in a
deep ravine, and they went on under a projecting
cliff which prevented them from seeing the sky,
until at the last turning they came suddenly upon
the immen.se opening of the recess, which is eighty-
five feet broad and seventy-seven feet high. The

88 OUACHARO.

entrance is towards the south, and is formed in the
vertical face of a rock, covered with trees of gigantic
height, intermixed with numerous species of singular
and beautiful plants, some of which hang in festoons
over the vault. This luxuriant vegetation is not
confined to the exterior of the cave, but appears
even in the vestibule, where the travellers were as-
tonished to see heliconias nineteen feet in height,
palms, and arborescent arums. They had advanced
about four hundred and sixty feet before it became
necessary to light their torches, when they heard
from afar the hoarse screams of the birds.

The guacharo is the size of a domestic fowl, and
has somewhat the appearance of a vulture, with a
mouth like that of a goatsucker. It forms a distinct
genus in the order Passeres, differing from that just
named in having a stronger beak, furnished with two
denticulations, though in its manners it bears an af-
finity to it as well as to the alpine crow. Its plu-
mage is dark bluish-gray, minutely streaked and
spotted with deep brown ; the head, wings, and tail
being marked with white spots bordered with black.
The extent of the wings is three feet and a half. It
lives on fruits, but quits the cave only in the even-
ing. The shrill and piercing cries of these birds,
assembled in multitudes, are said to form a harsh
and disagreeable noise, somewhat resembling that
of a rookery. The nests, which the guides showed
by means of torches fastened to a long pole, were
placed in funnel-shaped holes in the roof. The
noise increased as they advanced, the animals being
frightened by the numerous lights.

About midsummer every year the Indians, armed.
with poles, enter the cave, and destroy the greater
part of the nests. Several thousands of young birds
are thus killed, and the old ones hover around, utter-
ing frightful cries. Those which are secured in this
manner are opened on the spot, to obtain the fat
which exists abundantly in their abdomen, and which

INTERIOR OF THE CAVE. 89

is subsequently melted in clay vessels over fires of
brushwood. This substance is semifluid, transpa-
rent, destitute of smell, and keeps above a year with-
out becoming rancid. At the convent of Caripe it
was used in the kitchen of the monks, and our trav-
ellers never found that it communicated any dis-
agreeable smell or taste to the food.

The guacharoes would have been long ago de-
stroyed, had not the superstitious dread of the In-
dians prevented them from penetrating far into the
cavern. It also appears, that birds of the same
species dwell in other inaccessible places in the
neighbourhood, and that the great cave is repeopled
by colonies from them. The hard and dry fruits
which are found in the crops and gizzards of the
young ones are considered as an excellent remedy
against intermittent fevers, and regularly sent to Ca-
riaco and other parts of the lower districts where
such diseases prevail.

The travellers followed the banks of the small
river which issues from the cavern as far as the
mounds of calcareous incrustations permitted them,
and afterward descended into its bed. The cave
preserved the same direction, breadth, and height
as at its entrance, to the distance of 1554 feet. The
natives having a belief that the souls of their an-
cestors inhabit its deep recesses, the Indians who
accompanied our travellers could hardly be persuaded
to venture into it. Shooting at random in the dark,
they obtained two specimens of the guacharo. Hav-
ing proceeded to a certain distance, they came to a
mass of stalactite, beyond which the cave became
narrower, although it retained its original direction.
Here the rivulet had deposited a blackish mould re-
sembling that observed at Muggendorf in Franconia.
The seeds which the birds carry to their young
spring up wherever they are dropped into it ; and M.
Humboldt and his friend were astonished to find
blanched stalks that had attained a height of two feet.

H2

90 DESCENT OF THE BRIGANTINE.

As the missionaries were unable to persuade the
Indians to advance farther, the party returned. The
river, sparkling amid the foliage of the trees, seemed
like a distant picture, to vs^hich the mouth of the cave
formed a frame. Having sat do-wn at the entrance
to enjoy a little needful repose, they partook of a
repast w^hich the missionaries had prepared, and in
due time returned to the convent.

The days which our travellers passed at this reli-
gious house glided hastily and pleasantly past. From
morning to night they traveised the forests and
mountains collecting plants ; and when the rains
prevented them from making distant excursions,
they visited the huts of the Indians ; returning to the
good monks only when the sound of the bell called
them to the solace of the refectory. Sometimes
also they followed them to the church, to witness
the rehgious instruction given to the Indians ; which
was found a difficult task, owing to the imperfect
knowledge of the Spanish language possessed by
the latter. The evenings were employed in taking
notes, drying plants, and sketching those that ap-
peared new.

The natural beauties of this interesting valley
engaged them so much, that they were long in per-
ceiving the embarrassment felt by their kind enter-
tainers, who had now but a very slender store of
wine and bread. At length, on the 22d September,
they departed, followed by four mules carrying their
instruments and plants. The descent of the rugged
chain of the Brigantine and Cocollar, which is about
4400 feet in height, is exceedingly difficult. The
missionaries have given the name of Purgatory to
an extremely steep and slippery declivity at the base
of a sandstone rock, in passing which the nmles,
drawing their hind-legs under their bodies, slide down
at a venture. From this point they saw towards the
left the great peak of Guacharo, which presented a
very picturesque appearance ; and soon after entered

VEGETATION AND ANIMALS. 91

a dense forest, through which they descended for
seven hours in a kind of ravine, the path being
formed of steps from two to three feet high, over
which the mules leaped Uke wild goats. The Creoles
have sufficient confidence in these animals to remain
in their saddles during this dangerous passage ; but
our travellers preferred walking.

The forest was exceedingly dense, and consistel
of trees of stupendous size. The guides ponited
out some whose height exceeded 130 feet, while the
diameter of many of the curucays and hymendas
was more than three yards. Next to these, the plants
which most attracted their notice were the dragon s-
hlood (Croton sanguifluu7n),the purple juice of which
flowed along the whitish bark, various species ot
palms, and arborescent ferns of large size, i he old
trunks of some of the latter were covered with a
carbonaceous powder, having a metallic lustre like

^ As \hey descended the mountain the tree-ferns
diminished, while the number of palms increased.
Laro-e-winged butterflies {nymphales) became more
comlnon, and every thing showed that they were
approaching the coast. The weather was cloudy,
the heat oppressive, and the howling of the monkeys
gave indication of a coming thunder-storm. 1 hese
creatures, the arguatoes, resemble a young bear, and
are about three feet long from the top of the head to
the root of the tail. The fur is tufty and reddish-
brown, the face blackish-blue, with a bare and
wrinkled skin, and the tail long and prehensile.

While engaged in observing a troop of them cross
the road upon the horizontal branches of the trees,
the travellers met a company of naked Indians pro-
ceeding towards the mountains of Caripe. ihe
men were armed with bows and arrows, and the
women, heavily laden, brought up the rear, ihey
marched in silence, with their eyes fixed on the
ground. Our philosophers, oppressed with the m-

92 • CATUARO.

creasing heat, and faint with fatigue, endeavoured to
learn from them the distance of the missionary con-
vent of Vera Cruz, where they intended to pass
the night ; but httle information could be obtained
on account of their imperfect knowledge of the Span-
ish language.

Continuing to descend amid scattered blocks, they
unexpectedly found themselves at the end of the
forest, when they entered a savanna, the verdure
of which had been renewed by the winter rains.
Here they had a splendid view of the Sierra del
Guacharo, the northern declivity of which presented
an almost perpendicular wall, exceeding 3200 feet in
height, and scantily covered with vegetation. The
ground before them consisted of several level spaces,
lying above each other like vast steps. The mission
of Verc Cruz, which is situated in the middle of it,
they reached in the evening, and next day continued
their journey towards the Gulf of Cariaco.

Proceeding on their way, they entered another
forest, and reached the station oif Catuaro, situated
in a very wild spot, where they lodged at the house
of the priest. Their host M'as a doctor of divinity,
a thin little man, of petulant vivacity, who talked
continually of a lawsuit in which he was engaged
with the superior of his convent, and wished to know
what Humboldt thought of free-will and the souls of
animals. At this place they met with the corregidor
of the district, an amiable person, who gave them
three Indians to assist in cutting a way through the
forest, the lianas and intertwining branches having
obstructed the narrow lanes. The little missionary,
however, insisted on accompanying them to Cariaco,
and contrived to render the road extremely tedious
by his observations on the necessity of the slave-
trade, the innate wickedness of blacks, and the ben-
efit which they derived from being reduced to
bondage by Christians.

The road which they followed through the forest

CARIACO INTERMITTENT FEVER. 9^

of Catuaro resembled that of the preceding day.
The clay, which filled the path and rendered it ex-
cessively slippery, was produced by layers of sand-
stone and slate-clay which cross the calcareous
strata. At length, after a fatiguing march, they
reached the town of Cariaco, on the coast, where
they found a great part of the inhabitants confined
to their beds with 'ntermittent fever. The low situa-
tion of the place, as well as of the surrounding dis-
trict, the great heat and moisture, and the stagnant
marshes generated during the rainy season, are
supposed to be the causes of this disease, which
often assumes a malignant character, and is accom-
panied with dysentery. Men of colour, and espe-
cially Creole negroes, resist the influence of the cli-
mate much better than any other race. It is gen-
erally observed, however, that the mortality is less
than might be supposed ; for although intermittent
fevers, when they attack the same individual several
years in succession, alter and weaken the constitu-
tion, they do not usually cause death. It is remark-
able that the natives believe the air to have become
more vitiated in proportion as a larger extent of land
has been cultivated; but the miasmata from the
marshes, and the exhalations from the mangroves,
avicenniffi, and other astringent plants growing on
the borders of the sea, are probably the real causes
of the unhealthiness of the coasts.

In 1800 the town of Cariaco contained more than-
6000 inhabitants, who were actively employed in the-
cultivation of cotton, the produce of which ex-
ceeded 10,000 quintals (9057 lbs. avoirdupois). The
capsules, after the separation of the wool, were
carefully burnt, as they were thought to occasion-
noxious exhalations when thrown into the river.
Cacao and sugar were also raised to a considerable
extent.

As our travellers were not sufficiently inured to
the climate, they considered it prudent to leave Cari-

94 GULF OF CARIACO.

aco as expeditiously as possible on account of the
fever. Embarking early in the morning, they pro-
ceeded westward along the river of Carenicuar,
which flows through a deep marshy soil covered
with gardens and plantations of cotton. The Indian
women were washing their linen with the fruit of
the parapara {Sapindus saponaria). Contrary winds,
accompanied with heavy rain and thunder, rendered
the voyage disagreeable ; more especially as the
canoe was narrow and overloaded with raw sugar,
plantains, cocoanuts, and passengers. Swarms of
flamingoes, egrets, and cormorants were flying to-
wards the shore, while the alcatras, a large species
of pelican, less affected by the weather, continued
fishing in the bay. The general depth of the sea is
from 288 to 320 feet ; but at the eastern extremity
of the gulf it is only from nineteen to twenty-five
feet for an extent of seventeen miles, and there is
a sandbank which at low water resembles a small
island. They crossed the part where the hot springs
rush from the bottom of the ocean ; but it being high
water the change of temperature was not very per-
ceptible. The contrary winds continuing, they were
forced to land at Pericautral, a small farm on the
south side of the gulf. The coast, although cov-
ered by a beautiful vegetation, was almost destitute
of human labour, and scarcely possessed seven hun-
dred inhabitants. The cocoa-tree is the principal
object of cultivation. This palm thrives best in the
neighbourhood of the sea, and like the sugar-cane, the
plantain, the mammee-apple, and the alligator-pear,
may be watered either with fresh or salt water. In
other parts of America it is generally nourished
around farm-houses ; but along the Gulf of Cariaco
it forms real plantations, and at Cumana they talk
of a hacienda de coco, as they do of a hacienda de
canna, or de cacao. In moist and fertile ground it
begins to bear abundantly the fourth year ; but in
dry soils it does not produce fruit until the tenth.

RETURN TO CUMANA. 95

Its duration does not generally exceed ninety or a
hundred years ; at which period its mean height is
about eighty feet. Throughout this coast a cocoa-
tree supplies annually about a hundred nuts, which
yield eight flascoes of oil. The fiasco is sold for
about sixteen pence. A great quantity is made at
Cumana, and Humboldt frequently witnessed the
arrival there of canoes containing 3000 nuts. The
oil, which is clear and destitute of smell, is well
adapted for burning.

After sunset they left the farm of Pericautral, and
at three in the morning reached the mouth of the
Manzanares, after passing a very indifferent night in
a narrow and deeply-laden canoe. Having been for
several weeks accustomed to mountain scenery,
gloomy forests, and rainy weather, they were struck
by the barrenness of the soil, the clearness of the
sky, and the mass Of reflected light by which the
neighbourhood of Cumana is characterized. At sun-
rise they saw^ the zamuro vultures {Vullur aura),
perched on the cocoa-trees in large flocks. These
birds go to roost long before night, and do not quit
their place of repose until after the heat of the solar
rays is felt. Tiie same idleness, as it were, is in-
dulged by the trees with pinnate leaves, such as the
mimosas and tamarinds, which close these organs
half an hour before the sun goes down, and unfold
them in the morning only after he has been some
time visible. In our climates the leguminous plants
open their leaves during the morning twilight. Hum-
boldt seems to think that the humidity deposited
upon the parenchyma by the refrigeration of the
foliage, which is the effect of the nocturnal radia-
tion, prevents the action of the first rays of the sim
upon them.

96 NATIVE RACES.

CHAPTER IX.

Indians of New-Andalusia.

Physical Constitution and Manners of the Chaymas— Their Lan-
guages— American Races.

It is the custom of Humboldt, in his " Journey to
the Equinoctial Region," to stand still after an ex-
cursion, reflect, and present to his readers the result
of his inquiries on any subject that has fixed his at-
tention. For example, on concluding the narrative
of his visit to the Chayma missions, he gives a gen-
eral account of the aborigines of New- Andalusia, of
which an abridgment is here offered.

The north-eastern part of equinoctial America,
Terra Firma, and the shores of the Orinoco, resem-
ble, in the multiplicity of the tribes by which they
are inhabited, the defiles of Caucasus, the mountains
of Hindookho, and the northern extremity of Asia,
beyond the Tungooses and the Tartars of the mouth
of the Lena. The barbarism which prevails in these
various regions is perhaps less owing to an original
absence of civilization than to the effects of a long
debasement ; and if every thing connected with the
first population of a continent were known, we should
probably find that savages are merely tribes banished
from society and driven into the forests. At the
commencement of the conquest of America, the na-
tives were collected into large bodies only on the
ridge of the CordiUeras and the coast opposite to
Asia, while the vast savannas, and the great plains
covered by forests and intersected by rivers, pre-
sented wandering tribes, separated by differences of
language and manners.

In New-Andalusia, Cumana, and New-Barcelona,

WILD AND CIVILIZED INDIANS. 97

the aborigines still form fully one-half of the scanty
population. Their number may be about 60,000, of
which 24,000 inhabit the first of these provinces.
This amount appears large when we refer to the
hunting tribes of North America, but seems the re-
verse when we look to those districts of New-Spain
where agriculture has been followed for more than
eight centuries. Thus, the intendancy of Oaxaca,
which forms part of the old Mexican empire, and
which is one-third smaller than the two provinces
of Cumana and Barcelona, contains more than 400,000
of the original race. The Indians of Cumana do not
all live assembled in the missions, some being found
dispersed in the neighbourhood of towns along the
coasts. The stations of the Arragonese Capuchins
contain 15,000, almost all of the Chayma tribe. The
villages, however, are less crowded than in the
province of Barcelona, their indigenous population
being only between five and six hundred ; Avhereas,
more to the west, in the establishments of the Fran-
ciscans of Piritoo, there are towns of 2000 or 3000
inhabitants. Besides the 60,000 natives of the prov-
inces of Cumana and Barcelona, there are some
thousands of Guaraouhoes who have preserved their
independence in the islands at the mouth of the
Orinoco. Excepting a few families there are no wild
Indians in New-Andalusia.

The term loild or savage Humboldt says he uses
with regret, because it implies a difference of cultiva-
tion which does not always exist between the re-
duced or civilized Indian, living in the missions, and
the free or independent Indian. In the forests of
South America there are tribes v,^hich dwell in vil-
lages, rear plantains, cassava, and cotton, and are
scarcely more barbarous than those in the religious
estabhshments, who have been taught to make the
sign of the Cross. It is an error to consider all the
free natives as wandering hunters ; for agriculture
existed on the continent long before the arrival of

98 PROGRESS OF TKE MISSIONS.

the Europeans, and still exists between the Orinoco
and the Amazons, in districts to which they have
never penetrated. The system of the missions has
produced an attachment to landed property, a fixed
residence, and a taste for quiet life ; but the baptized
Indian is often as little a Christian as his heathen
brother is an idolater,— both discovering a marked
indifierence for religious opinions, and a tendency to
worship nature.

There is no reason to believe that in the Spanish
colonies the number of Indians has diminished since
the conquest. There are still more than six mil-
lions of the copper-coloured race in both Americas ;
and although tribes and languages have been de-
stroyed or blended in those colonies, the natives
have in fact continued to increase. In the temperate
zone the contact of Europeans with the indigenous
population becomes fatal to the latter ; but in South
America the result is different, and there they do
not dread the approach of the whites. In the former
case a vast extent of country is required by the In-
dians, because they live by hunting ; but in the latter
a small piece of ground suffices to afford subsistence
for a family.

In these provinces the Europeans advance slowly ;
and the religious orders have founded establishments
between the regions inhabited by them and those
possessed by the independent Indians. The mis-
sions have no doubt encroached on the liberty of the
natives, but thev have generally been favourable to
the increase of "the population. As the preachers
advance into the interior the planters invade tlieir
territory, the whites and the castes of mixed breed
settle among the Indians, the missions become Span-
ish villages, and finally the old inhabitants lose their
original manners and language. In this way civili-
zation advances from the coasts towards tlie centre
of the continent.

New-Andalusia and Barcelona contain more than

CHARACTER OF THE INDIANS. 99

fourteen tribes of Indians. Those of the former are
the Chaynias, Guayquerias, Pariagotoes, Quaquas,
Aruacas, Caribs, and Guaraounoes ; and those of the
latter, the Cumanagatoes, Palenkas, Caribs, Piritoos,
Tonioozas, Topocuares, Chacopatas, and Guarivas.
The precise number of the Guaraounoes, who live
in huts elevated on trees at the mouth of the Ori-
noco, is not known. There are two thousand Guay-
querias in the suburbs of Cumana and the peninsula
of Araya. Of the other tribes the Chaymas of the
mountains of Caripe, the Caribs of New-Barcelona,
and the Cumanagatoes of the missions of Piritoo,
are the most numerous. The language of the
Guaraounoes, and that of the Caribs, Cumanagatoes,
and Chaymas, are tha most general, and seem to
belong to the same stock.

Althouo-h the Indians attached to the missions are
all agriculturists, cultivate the same plants, build
their huts in the same manner, and lead the same
kind of life, yet the shades by which the several
tribes are distmguished remain unchanged. There
are few of these villages in which the families do
not belong to different tribes, and speak different
languages. The missionaries have, indeed, pro-
hibited the use of various practices and ceremonies,
and have destroyed many superstitions; but they
have not been able to alter the essential character
common to all the American races, from Hudson's
Bay to the Straits of Magellan. The instructed In-
dian, more secure of subsistence than the unt.tmed
native, and less exposed to the fUry of hostile neigh-
bours or of the elements, leads a more monotonous
life, possesses the mildness of character which
arises from the love of repose, and assumes a sedate
and mysterious air ; but the sphere of his ideas has
received little enlargement, and the expression of
melancholy which his countenance exhibits is merely
the result of indolence.

The Chaymas, of whom more than fifteen thousand.

180 THE CHAYMAS.

inhabit the Spanish villages, and who border on the
Cumanagatoes towards the west, the Gnaraounoes
towards the east, and the Caribs towards the south,
occupy part of the elevated mountains of the Co-
collar and Guacharo, as also the banks of the Gua-
rapiche, Rio Colorado, Areo, and the Cano of Caripe.
The first attempt to reduce them to subjection was
made in the middle of the sevenlfeenth centilry, by
Father Francisco of Pamplona, a person of great
zeal and intrepidity. The mission subsequently
formed among these people suffered greatly in 1681,
1697, and 1720, from the invasions of the Caribs ;
while during six years subsequently to 1730, the
population was diminished by the ravages of the
small-pox.

The Chaymas are generally of low stature, their
ordinary height being about five feet two inches ;
but their figures are broad and muscular. The colour
of the skin is a dull brown, inclining to red. The
expression of the countenance is sedate and some-
what gloomy ; the forehead is small and retiring ;
the eyes sunk, very long and black, but not so small
or oblique as in the Mongolian race ; the eyebrows
slender, nearly straight, and black or dark-brown,
and the eyelids furnished with very long lashes ;
the cheek -bones are usually high, the hair straight,
the beard almost entirely wanting, as in the same
people, from whom, however, they diflfer essentially
in having the nose pretty long. The mouth is
wide, the lips broad but not prominent, the chin ex-
tremely short and round, and the jaws remarkable
for their strength. The teeth are white and somid,
the toothache being a disease with which they are
seldom afflicted. The hands are small and slender,
while the feet are large, and the toes possessed of
an extraordinary mobility. They have so strong a
family look, that on entering a hut it is often difficult,
among grown-up persons, to distinguish the father
from the son. This is attributable to the circum-

THEIR MANNERS. 101

stance of their only marryin':!' in their own tribe, as
well as to their inferior degree of intellectual im-
provement ; the differences between uncivilized and
cultivated man being similar to those between wild
and domesticated animals of the same species.

As they live in a very warm country, they are ex-
cessively averse to clothing. In spite of the remon-
strances of the monks, men and women remain naked
while within their houses ; and, when they go out,
wear only a kind of cotton gown scarcely reaching
to the knees. The dress of the men has sleeves,
while that of the women and boys h^s none ; the
arms, shoulders, and upper part of the breast being
uncovered. Till the age of nine the girls are allowed
to go to church naked. The missionaries complain
that the feeling of modesty is very little known to
the younger of the sex. The women are not hand-
some ; but the maidens have a kind of pleasant mel-
ancholy in their looks. No instances of natural de-
formity occurred to the travellers. Humboldt re-
marks, that deviations from nature are exceedingly
rare among certain races of men, especially such as
have the skin higldy coloured ; an effect which he
does not ascribe solely to a luxurious life or the cor-
ruption of morals, but rather imagines that the im-
munity enjoyed by the American Indians arises from
hereditary organization. The custom of marrying
at a very early age, which depends upon the same
circumstance, is stated to be no way detrimental to
population. It occurs in the most northern parts
of the continent as well as in the warmest, and
therefore is not dependent upon climate.

They have naturally very little hair on the chin,
and the little tliat appears is carefully plucked out.
This thinness of the beard is common to the Ameri-
can race, although there are tribes, such as the
Chipeways and the Patagonians, in which it assumes
resoectable dimensions.

The Chaymas lead a very regular and uniform

12

102 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES.

life. They go to bed at seven, and rise at half after
four. The inside of their huts is kept very clean,
and their hammocks, utensils, and weapons are ar-
ranged in the greatest order. They bathe every
day, and, being generally naked, are thus exempted
from the filth principally caused by clothing. Be-
sides their cabin in the village, they usually have a
smaller one, covered with palm or plantain-leaves,
in some solitary place in the woods, to which they
retire as often as they can ; and so strong is the
desire among them of enjoying the pleasures of
savage life, that the children sometimes wander en-
tire days in the forests. In fact, the towns are often
almost wholly deserted. As in all semi-barbarous
nations, the women are subjected to privation and
suffering, the hardest labour falling to their share.

The Indians learn Spanish with extreme difficulty ;
and even when they perfectly understand the mean-
ing of the words, are unable to express the most
simple ideas in that language without embarrass-
ment. They seem to have as httle capacity for
comprehending any thing belonging to numbers ; the
more intelligent counting in Spanish with the ap-
pearance of great effort only as far as thirty, or per-
haps fifty, while in their own tongue they cannot
proceed beyond five or six. The construction of the
American dialects is so different from that of the
several classes of speech derived from the Latin,
that the Jesuits employed some of the more perfect
among the former instead of their own ; and had this
system been generally followed the greatest benefit
would have resulted from it. The Chayma appeared
to Humboldt less agreeable to the ear than that of
the other South American tribes.

The Pariagotoes, or Parias, formerly occupied the
coasts of Berbice and Essequibo, the peninsula of
Paria, and the plains of Piritoo and Parima. Little
information, however, is furnished respecting them.

The Guaraounoes are dispersed in the delta of the

OTHER NATIVE TRIBES. 103

Orinoco, and owe their independence to the nature
of their country. In order to raise their houses
above the inundations of the river, they support
them on the trunks of the mangrove and mauritia
palm. They make bread of the flour obtained from
the pith of the latter tree. Their excellent qualities
as seamen, their perfect knowledge of the mouths
and inosculations of that magnificent stream, and
their great number, give them a certain degree of
pohtical importance. They run with great address
on marshy ground, where the whites, the negroes,
or other Indian tribes, will not venture ; and this
circumstance has given rise to the idea of their
being specifically lighter than the rest of the natives.

The Guayqaerias are the most intrepid fishermen
of these countries, and ,sre the only persons well
acquainted with the great bank that surrounds the
islands of Coche, Margarita, Sola, and Testigos.
They inhabit Margarita, the peninsula of Araya, and
a suburb of Cumana.

The Quaquas, formerly a very warlike tribe, are
now mingled with the Chaymas attached to the mis-
sions of Cumana, althougli their original abode was
on the banks of the Assiveru.

The Cumanagatoes, to the number of more than
twenty thousand, subject to the Christian stations
of Piritoo, live westward of Cumana, where they
cultivate the gromid. At the beginning of the six-
teenth century they inhabited the mountains of the
Brigantine and Parabolota.

The Caribbees of these countries are part of the
remnant of the great Carib nation.

The natives of America may be divided into two
great classes. To the first belong the Esquimaux
of Greenland, Labrador, and Hudson's Bay, and the
inhabitants of Behring's vStraits, Alaska, and Prince
William's Sound. The eastern and western branches
of this great family, the Esquimaux proper and the
Tschougages, are united by the most intimate simi-

104 RESIDENCE AT CtJMANA.

larity of language, although sepnrated to the im-
mense distance of eight hiindreci leagues. The in-
habitants of the north-east of Asia are evidently of
the same stock. Like the Malays, this hyperborean
nation resides only on the seacoast. They are of
smaller stature than the other Americans, lively and
loquacious. Their hair is straight and black ; but
their skin is originally white, in which respect they
essentially differ from the otlier class.

The second race is dispersed over the various re-
gions of the continent, frum the northern parts to
the southern extremity. 'I'hey are of larger size,
more warlike, and more taciturn, and differ in the
colour of their skin. At the earliest age it has more
or less of a coppery tinge in most of the tribes,
■while in others the children are fair, or nearly so ;
and certain tribes on the Orinoco preserve the same
complexion during their whole life. Humboldt is
of opinion that these differences in colour are but
slightly influenced by climate or other external cir-
cumstances, and endeavours to impress the idea
that they depend on the original constitution.

CHAPTER X.

Residence at Cumana.

Residence at Cumana— Attack of a Zambo— Eclipse of the Sun—
Extraordinary Atmospherical Phenomena— Shocks of an Earthquake
— Luminous Meteors.

Our travellers remained a month longer at Cu-
mana. As they had determined to make a voyage
on the Orinoco and Rio Negro, preparations of va-
rious kinds were necessary ; and the astronomical
de.termination of places being the most important
object of this undertaking, it was of essential advaw-

REMARKABLE ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENA. 105

tage to observe an eclipse of the sun which was to
happen in the end of October.

On the 27th, the day before the obscuration, they
went out in the evening, as usual, to take the air.
Crossing the beach which separates the suburb of
the Guayquerias from the landing place, they heard
the sound of footsteps behind, and on turning saw a
tall Zambo, who, coming up, flourished a great palm-
tree bludgeon over Humboldt's head. He avoided
the stroke by leaping aside ; but Bonpland was less
fortunate ; for, receiving a blow above the temple,
he was felled to the ground. The former assisted
his companion to rise, and both now pursued the
ruffian, who had run off with one of their hats, and
on being seized, drew a long knife from his trou-
sers. In the mean time some Biscayan merchants,
who were walking on the shore, came to their as-
sistance ; when the Zambo, seeing himself sur-
rounded, took to his heels, and sought refuge in a
cowhouse, from which he was led to prison. The
inhabitants showed the warmest concern for the
strangers ; and although Bonpland had a fever dur-
ing the night, he speedily recovered. The object
of the Zambo, who soon afterward succeeded in
escaping from the castle of San Antonio, was never
satisfactorily made out.

Notwithstanding this untoward accident, Hum-
boldt was enabled to observe the eclipse. The days
which preceded and followed it displayed very re-
markable atmospheric phenomena. It was what is
called winter in those countries. From the 10th of
October to the 3d of November a reddish vapour
rose in the evening, and in a few minutes covered
the sky. The hygrometer gave no indication of hu-
midity. The diurnal heat was from 82-4° to 89-6°.
Sometimes in the midst of the night the mist dis-
appeared for a moment, when clouds of a brilliant
whiteness formed in the zenith, and extended to-
wards the horizon. On the 18th of October they

106 EARTHQUAKE.

were so transparent that they did not conceal stars
even of the fourth magnitude, and the spots of the
moon were very clearly distinguished. They were
arranged in masses at equal distances, find seemed
to be at a prodigious height. From the 28th of Oc-
tobe.r to the 3d of November the fog was thicker
than it had yet been. Tlie heat jit night was stifling,
although the thermometer indicated only 78-8°.
The evening breeze was no longer ft It ; the sky ap-
peared as if on fire, and the ground was everywhere
cracked and dusty. On the 4th of November about
two in the afternoon, large . louris of extraordinary
blackness enveloped the mountains of the Erigantine
and Tataraquiil, extending gradually to the zenith.
About four, thunder was heard overhead, but at an
immense height, and with a dull and often inter-
rupted sound. At the moment of the strongest
electric explosion, two shocks of an earthquake,
separated by an interval of fifteen seconds, were
felt. The people in the streets filled the air with
their cries. Bonpland, who was examining plants,
was nearly thrown on the floor, and Humboldt, who
was lying in his hammock, felt the concussion
strongly. Its direction was from north to south.
A few minutes before the first there was a violent
gust of wind followed by large drops of rain. The
sky remained cloudy, and the blast was succeeded by
a dead calm, which continued all night. The setting
of the sun presented a scene of great magnificence.
The dark atmospl'.eric shroud was rent asunder close
to the horizon, and the sun appeared jst 12° of alti-
tude on an indigo ground, its disk enormously en-
larged and distorted. The clouds were gilded on
the^dges, and bundles of rays reflecting the most
brilliant prismatic colours extended over the heavens.
About nine in the evening there was a third shock,
which, although much slighter, was evidently at-
tended with a subterranean noise. The barometer
was a little lower than usual, but the progress of the

EXTRAORDINARY DISPLAY OF METEORS. 107

horary variations was in no way interrupted. In
the night, betvv^een the 3d and 41h of November, the
red vapour was so thick that the place of the laoon
could be distinguished only by a beautiful halo, 20°
in diameter.

Scarcely twenty-two months had elapsed since
the almost total destruction of Cumana by an earth-
quake ; and as the people look on the vapours, and
the failure of the breeze during the night, as prog-
nostics of disaster, the travellers had frequent visits
from persons desirous of knowing whether their in-
struments indicated new shocks on the morrow. On
the 5th, precisely at the same hour, the same phe-
nomena recurred, but without any agitation ; and
the gust, accompanied by thunder, returned period-
ically for five or six days.

This earthquake, being the first that Humboldt
ever felt, made a strong impression upon him • but
scenes of this kind afterward became so familiar as
to excite httle apprehension. It appeared to have a
sensible mfiuence on the magnetical phenomena
Soon after his arrival on the coasts of Cumana he
found the dip of the needle 43-53° of the centesimal
division. On the 1st November it was 43-65° On
the 7th, three days after the concussion, he was
astonished to find it no more than 42-75°, or 90 cen-
tesimal degrees less. A year later, on' his return
from the Orinoco, he still found it 42-80°, thouo-h the
intensity of the magnetic forces rem-ained the^ame
after as before the event under consideration, being
expressed by 229 oscillations in ten minutes of time
On the 7th November he observed the magnetic va-
riation to be 4° 13' 50' E.

The reddish vapour which appeared about sunset
ceased on the 7th November. The atmosphere then
assumed its former purity ; and the night of the 11th
was cool and extremely beautiful. Towards morn-
ing a very extraordinary display of luminous meteors
was observed m the east by M. Bonpland, who had

108 LUMINOUS METJflORS.

risen to enjoy the freshness of the air in the gallery
Thousands of fireballs and falling-stars succeeded
each other during four hours, having a direction
from north to south, and filling a space of the sky
extending from the true east 30 degrees on either
side. They rose above the horizon at E.N.E. and
at E., described arcs of various sizes, and fell to-
wards S., some attaining a height of 40°, and all ex-
ceeding 25° or 30°. No trace of clouds was to be
seen, and a very slight easterly wind blew in the
lower regions of the atmosphere. All the meteors
left luminous traces from five to ten degrees in
length, the phosphorescence of which lasted seven or
eight seconds. The fireballs seemed to explode,
but the largest disappeared without scintillation ;
and many of the falling-stars had a very distinct
nucleus, as large as the disk of Jupiter, from which
sparks were emitted. The light occasioned by them
was white, — an eifect Avhich must be attributed to
the absence of vapours ; stars of the first magnitude
having, within the tropics, a much paler hue at their
rising than in Europe.

As the inhabitants of Cumana leave their houses
before four, to attend the first morning mass, most
of them were witnesses of this phenomenon, which
gradually ceased soon after, although some were
still perceived a quarter of an hour before sunrise.

The day of the 12th November was exceedingly
hot, and in the evening the reddish vapour reap-
peared in the horizon, and rose to the height of 14°.
This was the last time it was seen that year.

The researches of M. Chladni having directed the
attention of the scientific world to fireballs and fall-
ing-stars at the period of Humboldt's departure from
home, he did not fail to inquire, during his journey
from Caraccas to the Rio Negro, whether the me-
teors of the 12th November had been seen. He
found that they had been observed by various indi-
viduals in places very remote from each other; and

LUMINOUS MKTEORS. 109

on returning to Europe was astonished to liud that
they had been seen tliere also. The following is a
brief account of the facts relating to these phenom-
ena:— 1st, The luminous meteors were seen in the
E. and E.N.E. at 40° of elevation, from 2 to 6 A.M.,
at Cumana, in lat. 10° 27' 52", long. 66° 30' ; at Porto
Cabello, in lat. 10° 6' 52", long. 67° 5' ; and on the
frontiers of Brazil, near the equator, in long. 70°
west. 2dly, The Count de Marbois observed them
in French Guiana, lat. 4° 56', long. 54° 35'. 3dly,
Mr. Ellicot, astronomer to the United States, being
in the Gulf of Florida on the 12th November, saw
an immense number of meteors, some of which ap-
peared to fall perpendicularly ; and the same phe-
nomenon was perceived on the American continent
as far as lat. 30° 42'. 4thly, In Labrador, in lat. 56°
55', and lat. 58° 4' ; in Greenland, in latitudes 61° 5'
and 64° 14', the natives were frightened by the vast
quantity of fireballs that fell during twilight, some
of them of great size. 5thly, In Germany, Mr.
Zeissing, vicar of Itterstadt near Weimar, in lat. 50°
59', long. 9° r E., observed, between 6 and 7 in the
morning of the 12th November, some falling-stars
having a very white light. Soon after reddish
streaks appeared in the S. and S.W. ; and at dawn
the south-western part of the sky was from time to
time illuminated by white lightning running in ser-
pentine lines along the horizon.

Calculating from these facts, it is manifest that
the height of the meteors was at least 1419 miles ;
and as near Weimar they were seen in the S. and
S.W., while at Cumana they were observed in the
E. and N.E., we must conclude that they fell into
the sea between Africa and South America, to the
west of the Cape Verd Islands.

Without entering into the learned discussion which
Humboldt submits to his readers, respecting the na-
ture of these luminous bodies, we shall merely ob-
serve,'that he found falling-stars more frequent in

K

110 DEPARTURE FROM CUMANA.

the equinoctial regions than in the temperate zone,
and also that they occurred oftener over continents
and near certain coasts than on Ihe ocean. He
states, that on the platform of the Andes, there was
observed, upwards of forty years ago, a phenom-
enon similar to that related above as having oc-
curred at Cumana. From the city of Quito an im-
mense number of meteors was seen rising over the
volcano of Cayambo, insomuch that the whole
mountain was thought to be on fire. They con-
tinued more than an hour, and a religious procession
was about to be commenced, when the true nature
of the luminous appearance was discovered.

CHAPTER XI.

Voyage from Cumana to Guayra.

Pa.=»sage from Cumana to La Guayra — Phoisphorespciice of tiie Sea-
Group of the Caraccas and Chimauas— Port of New-Barcelona— La
Guayra— Yellow Fever — Coast and Cape Blanco — Road from La
Guayra to Cai-accas.

•Having completed the partial investigations which
their short residence admitted, and having in some
measure become acclimatized, the adventurous phi-
losophers prepared to leave Cumana. Passing by
sea to La Guayra, they intended to take up their
abode in the town of Caraccas until the rainy season
should be over ; from thence to traverse the Llanos,
or great plains, to the missions of the Orinoco ; to
go up that river as far as the Rio Negro ; and to re-
turn to Cumana by Angostura, the capital of Spanish
Guiana.

On the 16th November, at eight in the evening,
they took their passage in one of tlie boats which
trade between these coasts and the West India

PHOSPHORESCENCE OF THE SEA. 113

islands. They are thirty-two feet long, three feet
high at the gunwale, without decks, and generally
carry from 200 to 250 quintals (181 to 226 cwts.
avoirdupois). Although the sea is veryrougli from
Cape Codera to La Guayra, and these boats have an
enormous triangular sail, there had not been an in-
stance for thirty years of the loss of one of them
on the passage from Cumana to Caraccas, so great
is the skill of the Guayqueria pilots. They de-
scended the Manzanares with rapidity, delighted
with the sight of its marginal cocoa-trees, and the
glitter of the thorny bushes covered with noctilu-
cous insects, and left with regret a country in wliich
every thing had appeared new and marvellous.
Passing at high water the bar of the river, they en-
tered the Gulf of Cariaco, the surface of which was
gently rippled by the evening breeze. In a short
time the coasts were recognised only by the scat-
tered lights of the Indian fishermen.

As they advanced towards the shoal that sur-
rounds Cape Arenas, stretching as far as the petro-
leum springs of Maniquarez, they enjoyed one of
those beautiful sights which the phosphorescence of
the sea so often displays in tropical climates. When
the porpoises, wliich followed the boat in bands of
fifteen or sixteen, struck the surface of the water
with their tails, they produced a brilliant light re-
sembling flames. Each troop left behind it a lumi-
nous track ; and as few sparks were caused by the
motion of an oar or of the boat, Humboldt conjectured
that the vivid glow produced by these cetaceous ani-
mals was owing, not to the stroke of their tails alone,
but also to the gelatinous matter which envelops
their bodies, and which is detached by the waves.

At midnight they found themselves among some
rocky islets, rising in the form of bastions, and con-
stituting the group of the Caraccas and Chimanas.
Many of these eminences are visible from Cumana,
and present the most singular appearances under

K2

114 ISLAND OF BORACHA.

the effect of mirage. Their height, which is prob-
ably not more than 960 feet, seemed much greater
when enlightened by the moon, which now shone in
a clear sky. The travellers were becalmed in the
neighbourhood of these islands, and at sunrise drifted
towards Boracha, the largest of them. The temper-
ature had sensibly increased, in consequence of the
rocks giving out by radiation a portion of the heat
which they had absorbed during the day. As the
sun rose, the cliffs projected their lengthened shad-
ows on the ocean, and the flamingoes began to fish
in the creeks. The insidar spots were all uninhab-
ited ; but on one of them, which had formerly been
the residence of a family of whites, there were wild
goats of a large size and brown colour. The inhab-
itants had cultivated maize and cassava ; but the
father, after the death of his children, having pur-
chased two black slaves, was murdered by them
One of the assassins subsequently informed against
his accomplice, and at the time of Humboldt's visit
was hangman at Cumana.

Proceeding onwards, they anchored for some
hours in the road of New-Barcelona, at the mouth
of the river Neveri, which is full of crocodiles.
These animals, especially in calm weather, occa
sionally make excursions into the open sea, — a fact
which is interesting to geologists, on account of the
mixture of marine and fresh water organic remains
that are occasionally observed in some of the more
recent deposites. The port of Barcelona had at
that time a very active commerce, arising from the
demand in the West Indies for salted provision,
oxen, mules, and horses ; the merchants of the Ha-
vana being the principal purchasers. Its situa-
tion is extremely favourable for this exportation,
the animals arriving in three days from the Llanos,
while they take more than double that time to reach
Cumana, on account of the chain of mountains which
they have to cross. Eight thousand mules were

MORRO DE BARCELONA. 115

embarked at Barcelona, six thousand at Porto Ca-
bello, and three thousand at Carupano, in 1799 and
1800, for the several islands.

Landing- on the right bank of the river, they as-
cended to a small fort, the Morro de Barcelona, built
on a calcareous rock, at an elevation of about 400
feet above the sea, but commanded by a much higher
hill on the south. Here they observed a very curi-
ous geological phenomenon, which recurred in the
Cordilleras of Mexico. The limestone, which had
a dull, even, or flat conchoidal fracture, and was
divided into very thin strata, was traversed by layers
of black slaty jasper, with a similar fracture, and
breaking into fragments having a parallelopipedal
form. It did not exhibit the little veins of quartz so
common in Lydian stone, and was decomposed at
the surface into a yellowish-gray crust.

Setting sail on the 19th at noon, they found the
temperature of the sea at its surface to be 78 6'^ ;
but when passing through the narrow channel which
separates the Piritoos, in three fathoms it was only
76-l°. These islands do not rise more than eight
or nine inches above the mean height of the tide,
and are covered with long grass. To the westward
of the Morro de Barcelona and the mouth of the
river Unare, the ocean became more and more agi-
tated as they approached Cape Codera, the influence
of which extends to a great distance. Beyond this
promontory it always runs very high, although a
gale of wind is never felt along, this coast. It blew
fresh during the night, and on the 20th, at sunrise,
they were so far advanced as to* be in expectation
of doubling the cape in a few hours ; but some of
the passengers having suffered from sea-sickness,
and the pilot being apprehensive of danger from the
privateers stationed near La Guayra, they made for
the shore, and anchored at nine o'clock in the Bay
of Iliguerota, westward of the Rio Capaya.

On landing, they found two or three huts inhab-

116 MANGROVES.

ited by mestizo fishermen, the livid tint of whom,
together with the miserable appearance of their
children, gave indication of the unhealthy nature of
the coast. The sea is so shallow that one cannot go
ashore in the smallest boat without wading. The
woods come nearly to the beach, which is covered
with mangroves, avicennias, manchineel-trees, and
Suriana maritima, called by the natives romero de la
mar. Here, as elsewhere, the insalubrity of the air
is attributed to the exhalations from the first of these
plants. A faint and sickly smell was perceived, re-
sembling that of the galleries of deserted mines.
The temperature rose to 93-2°, and the water along
the whole coast acquired a yellowish-brown tint
wherever it was in contact with these trees.

Struck by this phenomenon, Humboldt gathered
a considerable quantity of branches and roots, with
the view of making experiments on the mangrove
upon his arrival at Caraccas. The infusion in warm
water was of a brown colour, and had an astringent
taste. It contained extractive matter and tannin.
When kept in contact with atmospheric air under a
glass jar for twelve days, the purity of the latter
was not perceptibly affected. The Avood and roots
placed under water were exposed to the rays of the
sun. Bubbles of air were disengaged, which at the
end of ten days amounted to a volume of 40 cubic
inches. These consisted of azote and carbonic acid,
with a trace of oxygen. Lastly, the same substances
thoroughly wetted were enclosed with a given vol-
ume of atmospheric air in a phial. The whole of
the oxygen disappeared. These experiments led
him to think that it is the moistened bark and fibre
that act upon the atmosphere, and not the brownish
water which formed a distinct belt along the coast.
Many travellers attribute the smell perceived among
mangroves to the disengagement of sulphuretted
hydrogen, but no appearance of this kind was ob-
served in the coiu-se of tliese investigations.

CAPE CODEUA. 117

" Besides," says Humboldt, " a thick wood cover-
ing a muddy ground would difTuse noxious exhala-
tions in the atmosphere, were it composed of trees
which in themselves have no deleterious property.
Wherever mangroves grow on the margin of the
sea, the beach is peopled with multitudes of niol-
lusca and insects. These animals prefer the shade
and a faint light ; and find shelter from the waves
among the closely interlaced roots which rise like
lattice-work above the surface of the water. Shells
attacli themselves to the roots, crustaceous animals
nestle in the hollow trunks, the seaweeds which
the wind and tide drive upon the shore remain
hanging upon the recurved branches. In this man-
ner the maritime forests, by accumulating masses
of mud among their roots, extend the domain of the
continents; but, in proportion as they gain upon
the sea, they scarcely experience any increase in
breadth, their very progress becoming the cause of
their destruction. The mangroves and the other
plants with which they always associate die as the
ground dries, and when the salt-water ceases to
bathe them. Centuries after, their decayed trunks,
covered with shells, and half-buried in the sand,
mark both the route which they have followed in
their migrations, and the limit of the land which
they have wrested from the ocean."

Cape Codera, seven miles distant from the Bay of
Iliguerota, is more imposing on account of its mass
than for its elevation, which appeared to be only
1280 feet. It is precipitous on the north, west, and
east. Judging from the fragments of rock found
along the coast, and from the hills near the to\vn,
it is composed of foliated gneiss, containing nodules
of reddish felspar, and little quartz. The strata
next the bay have the same dip and direction as the
great mountain of the Silla, which stretches from
Caraccas to Maniquarez in the isthmus of Araya,
and seem to prove that the primitive chain forming

118 ARRIVAL AT LA GUAYRA.

that neck of land, after being disniptured or swal-
lowed up by the sea along an extent of 121 miles,
reappears at Cape Codera. and runs westward in an
unbroken line. Towards the north the cape forms
an immense segment of a sphere, and at its foot
stretches a tract of low land, known to navigators
by the name of the Points of Tutumo and of San
Francisco.

The passengers in the boat dreaded the rolling in
a rough sea so much, that they resolved to proceed
to Caraccas by land, and M. Bonpland, following
their example, procured a rich collection of plants.
Humboldt, however, continued the voyage, as it
seemed hazardous to lose sight of the instruments.

Setting sail at the beginning of the night, they
doubled Cape Codera with difficulty, the wind being
unfavourable, and the surges short and high. On
the 21st of November, at sunrise, they were oppo-
site Curuao, to the west of the cape. The Indian
pilot was frightened at seeing an English frigate only
a mile distant ; but they escaped without attracting
notice. The mountains were everywhere precipi-
tous, and from 3200 to 4300 feet high, while along
the shore was a tract of low humid land, glowing
with verdure, and producing a great part of the fruits
found so abundantly in the neighbouring markets.
The peaks of Niguatar and the Silla of Caraccas
form the loftiest summits of this chain. In the
fields and valleys the sugar-cane and maize are cul-
tivated. To the west of Caravalleda the declivities
along-shore are again very steep. After passing this
place they discovered the village of Macuto, the
black rocks of La Guayra covered with batteries,
and in the distance the long promontory of Cabo
Blanco, with conical summits of dazzling white-
ness.

Humboldt landed at Guayra, and in the evening
arrived at Caraccas, four days sooner than his fel-
low-travellers, who had suffered greatly from the

SHARKS LA GUAYRA. 119

rains and inundations. The former he describes as
rather a road than a port, the sea being always agi-
tated, and ships suffering from the action of the wind,
the tideways, the bad anchorage, and the worms.
The lading is taken in with difficulty. The free mu-
lattoes and negroes, who carry the cocoa on board
the ships, are remarkable for their strength. They
go through the water up to their middles, althougli
tliis place abounds in sharks, from which, however,
they have in reality nothing to dread. It is singular,
that while these animals are dangerous and blood-
thirsty -at the island opposite the coast of Caraccas,
at the Roques, at Buenos Ayres, and at Curassao,
they do not disturb persons swimming in the ports
of Guayra and Santa Martha. As an analogous fact,
Humboldt mentions that the crocodiles of one pool
in the Llanos are cowardly, while those of another
attack with the greatest fierceness.

The situation of La Guayra resembles that of
Santa Cruz in Teneriffe ; the houses, which are built
on a flat piece of ground about 610 feet broad, being
backed by a wall of rock, beyond which is a chain
of mountains. The town consists of two parallel
streets, and contains 6000 or 8000 inhabitants. The
heat is greater than even at Cumana, Porto Cabello,
or Coro, the Seabreeze being less felt, and the tem-
perature being increased by the radiant caloric emitted
by the rocks after sunset.

The examination of tlie thermometrical observa-
tions made at La Guayra during nine months by
Don Joseph Herrera enabled Humboldt to compare
the climate of that port with those of Cumana,
Havana, and Vera Cruz. The result of this com-
parison was, that the first mentioned is one of the
hottest places on the globe ; that the quantity of heat
which it receives in the cour.se of a year is a little
greater than that experienced at Cumana ; but that
in November, December, and January, the atmo-
sphere cools to a lower point. The mean temperature

120 YELLOW FEVER.

of the year in these several districts is as follows : —

At La G'liayra, nearly 82'6° ; at Cuniana, 81.2°; at
Vera Cruz, 77-7° ; at Havana, 78'1'= ; while at Rio
Janeiro it is 745° ; at Santa Cruz in Teneriffe, 71 4° ;
at Cairo, 72.3° ; and at Rome, 60-4°.

At the time of Humboldt's visit to La Guayra,
the yellow fever, or caleniura amarilla, had been
known only two years there, and the mortality had
not been very great, as the coiifiuence of strangers
was less than at Havana and Vera Cruz. Some
individuals, even Creoles and mulattoes, were occa-
sionally taken off by remittent attacks, complicated
with bilious symptoms and hemorrhages, and their
death often alarmed unseasoned Europeans ; but the
disease was not propagated. On the coast of Terra
Firma this malignant typhus was known only at
Porto Cabello, Carthagena, and Santa Martha. But
since 1797 things have changed. The extension of
commerce having caused an influx of Europeans and
seamen from the United States, the distemper in
question soon appeared. It is maintained by some,
that it was introduced by a brig from Philadelphia,
while others think it took its birth in the comitry
itself, and attribute its origin to a change in the
constitution of the atmosphere caused by the over-
flowings of the Rio de la Guayra, which inundated
the town. This fever has since continued its rav-
ages, and has proved fatal, not only to troops newly
arrived from Spain, but also to those raised far from
the coast, in the Llanos between Calabozo and Uri-
tuco, a region nearly as hot as La Guayra itself. It
scarcely ever passes beyond the ridge of mountains
that separates this province from the vaUey of Ca-
raccas, which has long been exempted from it. The
following are the principal pathological facts having
reference to this frightful pestilence : —

When a great number of persons, born in a cold
climate, arrive at a port in the torrid zone, the insa-
lubrity of wliich has not been particularly dreaded

YFLLOW FEVER. 1!^1

by navigators, the American typhus (black vomit-
ing, or yellow fever) makes its appearance- These
persons, we may add, are not affected by it during
the passage ; it manifests itself only on the spot.
Has the constitution of the atmosphere been changed t
asks Humboldt ; or, has a new form of disease de-
veloped itself in individuals whose excitability is
raised to a high pitch ?

The malady forthwith attacks other Europeans
born in warmer countries. Immediate contact does
not increase the danger, nor does seclusion diminish
it. When the sick are removed to the interior, and
especially to cooler and more elevated places, they
do not communicate the typhus to the inhabitants.
Whenever a considerable diminution of temperature
occurs, the distemper usually ceases ; but it again
begins at the commencement of the hot season,
although no ship may have entered the harbour for
several months.

The yellow fever disappears periodically at Ha-
vana and at Vera Cruz, when the north winds
carry the cold air of Canada towards the Mexican
Gulf; but as Porto Cabello, La Guayra, New-Bar-
celona, and Cumana possess an extreme equality of
temperature, it is probable that it will become per-
manent there. Happily, the mortality has diminished
since the treatment has been varied according to the
modifications which the disease assumes- In well-
managed hospitals, the number of deaths is often
reduced to eighteen or fifteen in a hundred ; but when
the sick are crowded together the loss increases to
one -half, or even more.

To the west of La Guayra there are several in-
dentations of the land which furnish excellent an-
chorage. The coast is granitic, and a great portion
of it extremely unhealthy. At Cape Blanco the
gneiss passes into mica-slate, containing beds of
chlorite-slate, in which garnets and magnetic sand
occur. On the road to Catia the chlorite-slate is

L

122 ROAD TO CARACCAS.

seen passing into hornblende-slate. At the foot of
the promontory the sea throws on the beach rolled
fragments of a granular mixture of hornblende and
felspar, in which traces of quartz and pyrites are
recognised. On the western declivity of that hill
the gneiss is covered, by a recent sandstone or con-
glomerate, in which are observed angular fragments
of gneiss, quartz, and chlorite, magnetic sand, mad-
repores, and bivalve shells. The latitude of the
cape is 10° 36' 45"; that of La Guayrais 10° 36' 19",
its longitude 67° 5' 49".

The road from La Guayra to Caraccas resembles
the passages over the Alp's ; but as it is kept in tol-
erable repair, it requires only three hours to go with
mules from the port to the capital, and two hours to
return. The ascent commences with a ridge of
rocks, and is extremely laborious. In the steepest
parts the path winds in a zigzag manner. At the
Salto, or Leap, there is a crevice which is passed by
a drawbridge, and on the summit of the mountain
are fortifications. Half-way is La Venta (the Inn) ;
beyond which there is a rise of 960 feet to Guayavo,
which is not far from the highest part of the route.
At the fort of La Cuchilla Humboldt was nearly
made prisoner by some Spanish soldiers, whom he
however contrived to pacify. Round the little inn
several travellers were assembled, who were dis-
puting on the efforts that had been made towards
obtaining independence ; on the hatred of the mulat-
toes against the free negroes and whites ; the wealth
of the monks ; and on the difficulty of holding
slaves in obedience. From Guayavo the road passes
over a smooth table-land covered with alpine plants ;
and here is seen for the first time the capital, stand-
ing nearly 2000 feet lower, in a beautiful valley en-
closed by lofty mountains.

The ridges between La Guayra and Caraccas con-
sist of gneiss. On the south side the eminence,
which bears the name of Avila, is traversed by veins

VENEZUELA. 123

of quartz, containing rutile in prisms of two or three
lines in diameter. The gneiss of the intervening
valley contains red and green garnets, which disap-
pear when the rock passes into mica-slate. Near
the cross of La Guayra, half a league distant from
Caraccas, there were vestiges of blue copper-ore
disseminated in veins of quartz, and small layers of
graphite. Between the former point and the spring
of Sanchorquiz were beds of bluish-gray primitive
limestone, containing mica, and traversed by veins
of white calcareous spar. In this deposite were
found crystals of pyrites and rhomboidal fragments
of sparry iron-ore.

CHAPTER XII.

City of Caraccas and surrounding District.

City of Caraccas— General View of Venezuela— Population— Climate—
Character of the Inhabitants of Caraccas — ^Ascent of the SUla — Geo-
logical Nature of the District, and the Mines.

Caraccas, the capital of the former captain-gen-
eralship of Venezuela, is more known to Europeans
on account of the earthquakes by which it was des-
olated than from its importance in a pohtical or com-
mercial point of view. At the present day it is the
chief city of a district of the same name, forming
part of the republic of Colombia ; though, at the
time of Humboldt's visit, it was the metropolis of a
Spanish colony which contained nearly a million of
inhabitants, and consisted of New- Andalusia, or the
province of Cumana, New-Barcelona, Venezuela or
Caraccas, Coro, and Maracaybo, along the coast ;
and in the interior, the provinces of Varinas and
Guiana.

124 THREE DISTINCT ZONES.

In a genera] point of view Venezuela presents
three distinct zones. Along the shore, and near the
chain of mountains which skirts it, we find culti-
vated land; behind this, savannas or pasturages ; and
beyond the Orinoco, a mass of forests, penetrable
only by means of the rivers by which it is traversed.
In these three belts, the three principal stages of
civihzation are found more distinct than in almost
any other region. We have the life of the wild
hunter in the woody district— the pastoral life in the
savannas— and the agricultural in the valleys and
plains which descend to various parts of the coast.
Missionaries and a few soldiers occupy advanced
posts on the southern frontiers. In this section are
felt the preponderance of force and the abuse of
power. The native tribes are engaged in perpetual
hostilities ; the monks endeavour to augment the
little villages of their missions by availing them-
selves of the dissensions of the Indians ; and the
soldiers live in a state of war with the clergy. In
the second division, that of the plains and prairies,
where food is extremely abundant, little advance has
been made in civilization, and the inhabitants live in
huts partly covered with skins. It is in the third
district alone, where agriculture and commerce are
pursued, that society has made any progress.

In following our travellers through th"ese interest-
ing countries, it is necessary tliat we lose sight in
some measure of the present constitution of the
South American states, and view them simply as
Spanish provinces. When we seek, says Humboldt,
to form a precise idea of those vast regions, which
for ages have been governed by viceroys and cap-
tains-general, we must fix our attention on several
points. We must distinguish the, parts of Spanish
America that are opposite to Asia, and those that are
washed by the Atlantic, — we must observe where the
greatest part of the population is placed, whether near
the coast, or in the interior, or on the table-lands of the

POPULATION OF VENEZUELA", 125

Cordilleras, — we must determine the mimerical pro-
portions between the natives and other inhabitants,
and examine to what race, in each part of the col-
onies, the greater number of whites belong. The
inhabitants'of the different districts of the mother-
country preserve in some measure their moi'al pecu-
liarities in the New World, although they have under-
gone various modifications depending upon the phy-
sical constitution of their new abode.

In Venezuela, whatever is connected with an ad-
variced state of civilization is found along the coast,
which has an extent of more than two hundred
leagues. It is washed by the Caribbean Sea, a kind
of Mediterranean, on the shores of which almost
all the European nations have founded colonies,
and which communicates at several points with the
Atlantic Qcean. Possessing much facility of inter-
course with the inhabitants of other parts of Amer-
ica, and with those of Europe, the natives have ac-
quired a great degree of knowledge and opulence.

The Indians constitute a large proportion of the
agricultural residents in those places only where the
conquerors found regular and long-established gov-
ernments, as in New vSpain and Peru. In the prov-
ince of Caraccas, for example, the native popula-
tion is inconsiderable, having been in 1800 not more
than one-ninth of the whole, while in Mexico it
formed nearly one-half. The black slaves do not
exceed one-fifteenth of the general mass, whereas
in Cuba they were in 1811 as one to three, and in
other West India islands still more numerous. In
the seven United Provinces of Venezuela there
v/ere 60,000 slaves ; while Cuba, which has but one-
eighth of the extent, had 212,000. The blacks of
these countries are so unequally distributed, that in
the district of Caraccas alone there were nearly
40,000, of which one-fifth were mulattoes. Hum-
boldt estimates the Creoles, or Hispauo-Americans,

L3

126 CITY OF CARACCAS.

at 210,000 in a population of 900,000, and the Euro-
peans, not including troops, at 12,000 or 15,000.

Caraccas was then the seat of an audiencia, or
high court of justice, and one of the eight arch-
bishoprics into whicli Spanish America was divided.
Its population in 1800 was about 40,000. In 1766
great devastation was made by the small-pox, from
6000 to 8000 individuals having perished ; but since
that period inoculation has become general. lu
1812 the inhabitants amounted to 50,000, of which
12,000 were destroyed by the earthquakes ; while
the political events which succeeded that catas-
trophe reduced their number to less than twenty
thousand.

The town is situated at the entrance of the valley
of Chacao, which is ten miles in length, eight and a
half miles in breadth, and about 2660 feet above the
level of the sea. The ground occupied by it is a
steep uneven slope. It was founded by Diego de
Losada in 1567. Three small rivers descending
from the mountains traverse the line of its direction ;
it contained eight churches, five convents, and a
theatre capable of holding 1500 or 1800 persons.
The streets were wide, and crossed each other at
right angles ; the houses spacious and lofty.

The small extent of the valley, and the proximity
of the mountains of Avila and the Silla, give a stern
and gloomy character to the scenery, particularly in
November and December, when the vapours accu-
mulate towards evening along the high grounds ; in
June and July, however, the atmosphere is clear and
the air pure and delicious. The two rounded sum-
mits of the latter are seen from Caraccas, nearly
under the same angle of elevation as the Peak of
Teneriffe is observed from Orotava. The first half
of the ascent is covered with grass ; then succeeds
a zone of evergreen trees ; while above this the
rocky masses rise in the form of domes destitute of
vegetation. The cultivated region below forms an

CLIMATE, 127

agreeable contrast to the sombre aspect of the tow-
ering ridges wliich overhang the town, as well as of
the hills to the north.

The climate of Caraccas is a perpetual spring, the
temperature by day being between 68° and 79°, and
by night between 60° and 64°. It is, however, liable
to great variations, and the inhabitants complain of
having several seasons in twenty-four hours, as well
as a too rapid transition from one to another. In
January, for example, a night of which the mean
heat does not exceed 60° is followed by a day in
which the thermometer rises above 71° in the shade.
Although in our mild climates oscillations of this
kind produce no disagreeable effects, yet in the tor-
rid zone Europeans themselves are so acctistomed
to uniformity in the temperature, that a difference
of a few degrees is productive of unpleasant sensa-
tions. This inconvenience is aggravated here by
the position of the town in a narrow valley, which
is at one time swept by a wind from the coast, loaded
with humidity, and depositing its moisture in the
higher regions as the warmth decreases ; and at an-
other by a dry breeze from the interior, which dissi-
pates the vapours and unveils the mountain-summits.
This inconstancy of climate, however, is not pecu-
liar to Caraccas, but is common to the whole equi-
noctial regions near the tropics. Uninterrupted
serenity during a great part of the year prevails only
in the low districts adjoining the sea, or on the ele-
vated table-lands of the interior. The intermediate
zone is misty and variable.

In this province the sky is generally less blue than
at Cumana. The intensity of colour measured by
Saussure's cyanometer was commonly 18=", and
never above 20°, from November to January, while
on the coasts it was from 22° to 25°. The mean
temperature is estimated by Humboldt at 68° or 72°.
The heat very seldom rises to 84°, and in winter
it has been observed to fall as low as 52°. The

128 RESIDENCE AT CARACCAS.

cold at ni^lit is more felt on account of its being
usually accompanied by a misty sky. Rams are
very frequent in April, May, and June. No hail falls
in the low regions of the tropics, but it is seen here
every fourth or fifth year.

The coffee-tree is much cultivated in the valley,
and the sugar-cane thrives even at a still greater
height. The banana, the pineapple, the vine, the
strawberry, the quince, the apple, the peach, to-
gether with maize, pulse, and corn, grow in great
perfection. But although the atmospheric consti-
tution of this alpine vale be favourable to diversified
culture, it is not equally so to the health of the in-
habitants, as the inconstancy of the weather and the
frequent suppression of cutaneous perspiration give
rise to catarrhal affections ; and a European, once
accustomed to the violent heat, enjoys better health
in the low country, where the air is not very humid,
than in the elevated and cooler districts.

The travellers remained two months at Caraccas,
where they lived in a large house in the upper part
of the town, from which they had an extensive view
of the mountain-plain, the ridge of the Gallipano,
and the summit of the SiUa. It was the season of
drouo-ht, and the conflagrations intended to improve
the pasturage produced the most singular effects
when seen at night.

They experienced the gi-eatest kindness from aU
classes of the inhabitants, and more especially from
the captain-general of the province, M. de Guevara
Vascono-elos. Caraccas being situated on the con-
tinent, and its population less mutable than that of
tiie islands, the national manners had not undergone
so material a change. Notwithstanding the increase
of the blacks, says Humboldt, at Caraccas and the
Havana, we seem to he nearer Cadiz and the
United States than in any other part of the New
World. There was nothing to be seen of the cold
and assuming air so common in Europe ; on the

ASCENT OF THE SILLA, 129

contrary, conviviality, candour, uniform cheerful-
ness, and politeness of address, characterized the
natives of Spanish origin. The travellers found in
several famihes a taste for instruction, some know-
ledge of French and Italian literature, and a particular
predilection for music. But there was a total de-
ficiency of scientific attainments ; nor had the sim-
plest of all the physical sciences, botany, a single
cultivator. Previous to 1806 there were no printing-
oflices in Caraccas.

Believing that in a country which presents such
enchanting views, and exhibits such a profusion of
natural productions, he should find many persons
well acquainted with the surrounding mountains,
Humboldt yet failed to discover one individual who
had visited the summit of the Silla. But the gov-
ernor having ordered the proprietor of a plantation
to furnish the philosophers with negro guides who
knew something of the way, they prepared for the
ascent.

As in the whole month of December the moun-
tain had appeared only five times without clouds,
and as at that season two clear days seldom succeed
each other, they were advised to choose for their
excursion an interval when, the clouds being low,
they might hope by passing through them to enter
into a transparent atmosphere. They spent the night
of the 2d of January at a coffee-plantation, near a
ravine, in which the little river Chacaito formed
some fine cascades. At five in .the morning they
set out, accompanied by slaves carrying their instru-
ments, and about seven reached a promontory of the
Silla, connected with the body of the mountain by
a narrow dike. The weather was fine and cool.
They proceeded along this ridge of rocks, between
two deep valleys covered with vegetation ; the large,
shining, and coriaceous leaves, illumined by the sun,
presenting a very picturesque appearance. Beyond
this point the ascent became very steep, the ac-

130 VEGETATION AND MINERALS.

clivity being often from 32° to 33°. The surface
was covered with short grass, which afforded no
support when hiid hold of, and it was impossible to
imprint steps in the gneiss. The persons who had
accompanied them from the town were discouraged,
and at length retired. r .t.

Slender streaks of mist began to issue from the
woods, and aflforded indications of a dense fog. The
familiar loquacity of the negro Creoles formed a
striking contrast to the gravity of the Indians who
had attended the travellers in the missions of Caripe.
They amused themselves at the expense of the de-
serters, among whom was a young Capuchin monk,
a professor of mathematics, who had promised to
fire oflf rockets from the top of the mountain, to an-
nounce to the inhabitants of Caraccas the success

of the expedition. ^ ■, ,,

The eastern peak being the most elevated, they
directed their course to it. The depression between
the two summits has given rise to the name Silla,
which signifies a saddle. From this hollow a ravine
descends towards the valley of Caraccas. This nar-
row openincT originates near the western dome, and
the eastern' summit is accessible only by going first
to the westward of it, straight over the promontory
ofthePuerta.

From the foot of the cascade of Chacaito to an
elevation of 6395 feet they found only savannas or
pastures, among which were observed two small
liliaceous plants with yellow flowers and some bram-
bles Mixed with the latter they expected to find a
wild rose, but were disappointed ; nor did they sub-
sequently meet with a single species of that genus
in any part of South America. .

Sometimes lost in the mist, they made their way
with difficulty, and there being no path, they were
oblio-ed to use their hands in cUmbing the steep and
shppery ascent. A vein of porcelain-clay, the re-
mains of decomoosed felspar, attracted their atten-

ALPINE PLANTS. 131

tion. Whenever the clouds surrounded them the
thermometer fell to 536°; but when the sky was
clear it rose to 69-8°. At the lieight of eOl'l feet
they saw in a ravine a wood of palms, which formed
a striking contrast with the willows scattered at the
bottom of the valley.

After proceeding four hours across the pastures
they entered a small forest. The acclivity became
less steep, and they observed a profusion of rare and
beautiful plants. At the height of 6395 feet the
savannas terminate, and are succeeded by a zone of
shrubs with tortuous branches, rigid leaves, and
large purple flowers, consisting of rhododendra, thi-
baudiae, andromedae, vaccinia, and befariaa.

Leaving this little group of alpine plants they
again found themselves in a savanna, and climbed
over part of the western dome, to descend into the
hollow which separates the two summits. Here
the vegetation was so strong and dense that they
were obliged to cut their way through it. On a
sudden they were enveloped in a thick mist, and
being in danger of coming inadvertently upon the
brink of an enormous wall of rocks, which on the
north side descends perpendicularly to the depth of
more than 6000 feet, were obliged to stop. At this
point, however, the negroes who carried their pro-
visions, and who had been detained by the recreant
philosopher already mentioned, overtook them, when
they made a poor repast, the negroes or the padre
having left nothing but a few olives and a little
bread. The guides were discouraged, and were
with difficulty prevented from returning.

In the midst of the fog the electrometer of Volta,
armed with a smoking match, gave very sensible
signs of atmospheric electricity, varying frequently
from positive to negative, and this, together with
the conflict of small currents of air, appeared to in-
dicate a change of weather. It was only two in the
afternoon, and they yet enteitained some hope of

132 IMMENSE PRECIPICE.

reaching the eastern summit before sunset, and of
returning to the hollow separating the two peaks,
where they might pass the night. With this view
they sent half of their attendants to procure a sup- M
ply, not of olives, but of salt beef. These arrange- ■
ments were scarcely made when the east wind f
began to blow violently, and in less than two minutes
the clouds dispersed. The obstacles presented by
the vegetation gradually diminished as they ap-
proached the eastern summit, in order to attain
which it was necessary to go close to the great pre-
cipice. Hitherto the guests had preserved its lamel-
lar structure ; but as they climbed the cone of the
Silla they found it passing into granite, containing,
instead of garnets, a few scattered crystals of horn-
blende. In three-quarters of an hour they reached
the top of the pyramid, which was covered with
grass, and for a few minutes enjoyed all the serenity
of the sky. The elevation being 8633 feet, the eye
commanded avast range of country. The slope,
which extends nearly to the sea, had an angle of
53° 28', though when viewed from the coast it seems
perpendicular. Humboldt remarks that a precipice
of 6000 or 7000 feet is a phenomenon much rarer
than is usually believed, and that a rock of 1600 feet
of perpendicular height has in vain been sought for
among the Swiss Alps. That of the Silla is partly
covered with vegetation, tufts of befaria; and andro-
medcE appearing as if suspended from the rock.

Seven months had elapsed since they were on the
summit of the Peak of Teneriffe, where the apparent
horizon of the sea is six leagues farther distant than
on the Silla; yet while the boundary line was seen
distinct in the former place it was completely
blended with the air in the latter. The western
dome concealed the town of Caraccas ; but they dis-
tinguished the villages of Chacao and Petare, the
coffee-plantations, and the course of the Rio Gua>Ta.
"While they were examining the part of the sea

BEES — SUMMIT OF THE SILLA. 133

where the horizon was well defined, and the great
chain of mountains in the distant south, a dense fog
arose from the plains, and they were obliged to use
all expedition in completing their observations.

When seated on the rock, employed in determin-
ing the dip of the needle, Humboldt found his hands
covered by a species of hairy bee, a little smaller
than the honey-bee of Europe. These insects make
their nest in the ground, seldom fly, move very
slowly, and are apt to use their sting, the guides
asserting that th«y do so only when seized by the
legs.

The temperature varied from 52° to 57°, accord-
ing as the weather was calm or otherwise. The
dip of the needle was one centesimal degree less
than at Caraccas. The breeze was from the east,
which might indicate that the trade-winds extend
in this latitude much higher than 9600 feet. The
blue of the atmosphere was deeper than on the coasts,
Saussure's cyanometer indicating 26-5°, while at Ca-
raccas it generally gave only 18° in fine dry weather.
The phenomenon that most struck the travellers was
the apparent aridity of the air, which seemed to in-
crease as the mist thickened, the hygrometer retro-
grading, and their clothes remaining dry.

As it would have been imprudent to remain long
in a dense fog on the brink of a precipice, the trav-
ellers descended the eastern dome, and on regaining
the hollow between the two summits, were sur-
prised to find round pebbles of quartz, a phenomenon
which perhaps indicates that the mountain has been
raised by a power applied from below. Relinquish-
ing their design of passing the night in that valley,
and having again found the path which they had cut
through the wood, they soon arrived at the district
of resinous shrubs, where they lingered so long col-
lecting plants that darkness surprised them as they
entered the savanna. The moon was up, but every

M

l34 DESCENT RAVINE OF TlPE.

now and then obscured by clouds. The guides who
carried the instruments shmk off successively to
sleep among tlie cliffs ; and it was not until ten that
the travellers arrived at the bottom of the ravine,
overcome by thirst and fatigue.

During the excursion to the Silla, and in all their
walks in the valley of Caraccas, they were very at-
tentive to the indication of ores which they found in
the gneiss mountains. In America that rock has not
hitherto been found to be very rich in metals ; the
most celebrated mines of Mexico and Peru bemg ni
primitive and transition slate, trap, porphyry, gray-
wacke, and alpine limestone. In several parts of
the region now visited, a small quantity of gold was
found disseminated in veins of quartz, sulphuretted
silver, blue copper-ore, and leadglance ; but these
deposites did not seem of any importance. In the
group of the western mountains of Venezuela the
Spaniards, in 1551, attempted the gold mine of Buria,
but the works were soon given up. In the vicinity
of Caraccas some had also been wrought, but to no
great extent. In short, the mines here afforded
little gratification to the cupidity of the conquerors,
and were almost totally abandoned ; those of Arva,
near San Felipe el Fuerte, being the only ones in
operation when Humboldt visited the country.

In the course of their investigations the travellers
examined the ravine of Tipe, situated in that part
of the valley which opens towards Cape Blanco.
The first portion of the road was over a barren and
rocky soil, on which grew a few plants of Ar-
gemone Mcxicana. On either side of the defile was a
range of bare mountains, and at this spot the plain
on which the town is built communicates with the
coast near Catia by the valleys of Tacagua and
Tipe. In the former they found some plantations
of maize and plantains, and a very extensive one of
cactuses fifteen feet high. They met Avith several

PHENOMENA OF EARTHQUAKES. 135

veins of quartz, containing pyrites, carbonated iron-
ore, sulphuretted silver, and gray copper. Tlie
works that had been undertaken were superficial,
and now filled up.

CHAPTER XIII.

Earthquakes of Caraccas.

Extensive Connexion of Earthquakes-Eruption of the Volcano of St.
Vincent's— Earthqualie of the 26ai March, 1812— Destruction of the
City— Ten Thousand of the Inhabitants killed— Consternation of the
Survivors— Extent of the Commotions.

The valley of Caraccas, a few years after Hum-
boldt's visit, became the theatre of one of those
physical revolutions which from time to time pro-
duce violent alterations upon the surface of our
planet; involving the overthrow of cities, the de-
struction of human life, and a temporary agitatiojj,-
of those elements of nature on which the "Systemrbf
the universe is founded. In the narrative of his
.Tourney to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Con-
tinent, he has recorded all that he could collect with
certainty respecting the earthquake of the 26th
March, 1812, which destroyed the city of Caraccas,
together with 20,000 inhabitants of the province of
Venezuela.

When our travellers visited those countries, they
found it to be a general opinion that the eastern
parts of the coasts were most exposed to the de-
structive effects of such concussions, and that the
elevated districts, remote from the shores, were in
a great measure secure ; but in 1811 all these ideas
were proved groundless.

At Humboldt's arrival in Terra Firma, he was
struck with the connexion which appeared between

136 EARTHQUAKE OF CARACCAS.

the destruction of Cumana in 1797 and the eruption
of volcanoes in the smaller West India islands. A
similar principle was manifested in 1812, in the case
of Caraccas. From the beginning of 1811 till 1813,
a vast extent of the earth's surface, limited by the
meridian of the Azores, the valley of the Ohio, the
cordilteras of New-Grenada, the coasts of Venezuela,
and the volcanoes of the West Indies, was shaken
by subterranean commotions, indicative of a common
agency exerted at a great depth in the interior of
the globe. At the period when these earthquakes
commenced in the valley of the Mississippi, the city
of Caraccas felt the first shock in December, 1811;
and on the 26th of March 1812 it was totally de-
stroyed.

" The inhabitants of Terra Firma were ignorant
of the agitation, which on the one hand the volcano
of the island of St. Vincent had experienced, and on
the other the basin of the Mississippi, where, on the
7th and 8th of February, 1812, the ground was day
and night in a state of continual oscillation. At this
period the province of Venezuela laboured under
great drought ; not a drop of rain had fallen at Ca-
raccas, or to the distance of 311 miles around, during
the five months which preceded the destruction of
the capital. The 26th March was excessively hot ;
the air was calm and the sky cloudless. It was
Holy Thursday, and a great part of the population
was in the churches. The calamities of the day
were preceded by no indications of danger. At
seven minutes after four in the evening the first
commotion was felt. It was so strong as to make
the bells of the churches ring. It lasted from five
to six seconds, and was immediately followed by an-
other shock of from ten to twelve seconds, during
which the ground was in a continual state of undu-
lation, and heaved like a fluid under ebuhition. The
danger was thought to be over, when a prodigious
subterranean noise was heard, resembling the rolling

Destruction of the citv. 137

of thundejf, but louder and more prolonged than that
heard Within the tropics during thunder-storms.
This noise preceded a perpendicular motion of about
three or four seconds, followed by an undulatory
motion of somewhat longer duration. The shocks
were in opposite directions, from north to south and
from east to west. It was impossible that any thing
could resist the motion from beneath upwards, and
the undulations crossing each other. The city of
Caraccas was completely overthrown. Thousands
of the inhabitants (from nine to ten thousand) were
buried under the ruins of the churches and houses.
The procession had not yet set out ; but the crowd
in the churches was so great that nearly three or
four thousand individuals were crushed to death by
the falling in of the vaulted roofs. The explosion
was stronger on the north side of the town, in the
part nearest the mountain of Avila and the Silla.
The churches of the Trinity and Alta Gracia, which
were more than a hundred and fifty feet in height,
and of which the nave was supported by pillars from
twelve to fifteen feet in diameter, left a mass of
ruins nowhere higher than five or six feet. The
sinking of the ruins has been so great that at pres-
ent hardly any vestige remains of the pillars and
columns. The barracks called El Quartel de San
Carlos, situated farther to the north of the church
of the Trinity, on the road to the custom-house de la
Pastora, almost entirely disappeared. A regiment
of troops of the line, which was assembled in it
under arms to join in the procession, was, with the
exception of a few individuals, buried under this
large building. Nine-tenths of the fine town of Ca-
raccas were entirely reduced to ruins. The houses
which did not fall, as those of the street of San Juan,
near the Capuchin Hospital, were so cracked that
no one could venture to live in tliem. The effects
of the earthquake were not quite so disastrous in
the southern and western parts of the town, be-

M2

138 INHUMATION OF THE WOUNDED.

tween the great square and the ravine of Caraguata ;
— there the cathedral, supported by enormous but-
tresses, remains standing.

" In estimating the number of persons killed in
the city of Caraccas at nine or ten thousand, we do
not include those unhappy individuals who were
severely wounded, and perished several months after
from want of food and proper attention. The night
of Holy Thursday presented the most distressing
scenes of desolation and sorrow. The thick cloud
of dust, which rose above the ruins and darkened the
air like a mist, had fallen again to the ground ; the
shocks had ceased ; never was there a finer or quieter
night, — the moon, nearly at the full, illuminated the
rounded summits of the Silla, and the serenity of
the heavens contrasted strongly with the state of
the earth, which was strewn with ruins and dead
bodies. Mothers were seen carrying in their arms
children whom they hoped to recall to life ; desolate
females ran through the city in quest of a brother, a
husband, or a friend, of whose fate they were igno-
rant, and whom they supposed to have been sepa-
rated from them in the crowd. The people pressed
along the streets, which now could only be distin-
guished by heaps of ruins arranged in lines.

"All the calamities experienced in the great
earthquakes of Lisbon, Messina, Lima, and Rio-
bamba were repeated on the fatal day of the 26th
March, 1812. The wounded, buried under the ruins,
implored the assistance of the passers-by with loud
cries, and more than two thousand of them were
dug out. Never was pity displayed in a more af-
fecting manner ; never, we may say, was it seen
more ingeniously active than in the efforts made to
succour the unhappy persons whose groans reached
the ear. There was an entire want of instruments
adapted for digging up the ground and clearing away
the ruins, and^llie people were obliged to use their
hands for the purpose of disinterring the living.

MORAL EFFECTS OF THE EARTHQUAKE. 139

Those who were wounded, as well as the patients
who had escaped from the hospitals, were placed on
the bank of the little river of Guayra, where they
had no other shelter than the foliage of the trees.
Beds, linen for dressing their wounds, surgical in-
sti-uments, medicines, in short, every thing necessary
for their treatment, had been buried in the ruins.
During the first days nothing could be procured, —
not even food. Within the city water became
equally scarce. The commotion had broken the
pipes of the fountains, and the falling in of the earth
had obstructed the springs which supplied them. To
obtain water it was necessary to descend as far as
the Rio Guayra, which was considerably swelled,
and there were no vessels for drawing it.

" There remained to be performed towards the
dead a duty imposed alike by piety and the dread of
infection. As it was impossible to inter so many
thousands of bodies half-buried in the ruins, com-
missioners were appointed to burn them. Funeral-
piles were erected among the heaps of rubbish.
This ceremony lasted several days. Amid so many
public calamities, the people ardently engaged in the
religious exercises which they thought best adapted
to appease the anger of Heaven. Some walked
in bodies chanting funeral-hymns, while others, in
a state of distraction, confessed themselves aloud
in the streets. In this city was now repeated what
had taken place in the province of Quito after the
dreadful earthquake of the 4th February, 1797. Mar-
riages were contracted between persons who for
many years had neglected to sanction their union by
the sacerdotal blessing. Children found parents in
persons who had till then disavowed them ; restitu-
tion was promised by individuals who had never been
accused of theft ; and families who had long been
at enmity drew together, from the feeling of a com-
mon evil. But while in some this feeling seemed to
soften the heart and open it to compassion, it had a

140 COMMOTIONS OP THE EARtH

contrary effect on others, rendering them more obdu-
rate and inhuman. In great calamities vulgar minds
retain still less goodness than strength ; for misfor-
tune acts like the pursuit of literature and the in-
vestigation of nature, which exercise their happy-
influence only upon a few, giving more warmth to
the feelings, more elevation to the mind, and more
benevolence to the character.

" Shocks so violent as these, which in the space
of one minute overthrew the city of Caraccas, could
not be confined to a small portion of the continent-
Their fatal effects extended to the provinces of
Venezuela, Varinas, and Maracaybo, along the coast,
and were more especially felt in the mountains of
the interior. La Guayra, Mayguetia, Antimana,
Baruta, La Vega, San Felipe, and Merida were
almost entirely destroyed. The number of dead
exceeded four or five thousand at La Guayra and
at the villa de San Felipe, near the copper-mines of
Aroa. The earthquake would appear to have been
most violent along a line running from E.N.E. to
W.S.W., from Guayra and Caraccas towards the
high mountains of Niquitas and Merida. It was felt
in the kingdom of New-Grenada, from the ramifica-
tions of the lofty Sierra of Santa Martha to Santa
Fe de Bogota, and Honda on the banks of the Mag-
dalena, 620 miles distant from Caraccas. In all parts
it was more violent in the cordilleras of gneiss and
mica-slate, or immediately at their base, than in
the plains. This difference was particularly remark-
able in the savannas of Varinas and Casanare. In
the valleys of Aragua, situated between Caraccas
and the town of San Felipe, tlie shocks were very
weak. La Victori^a, Maracay, and Valencia scarcely
suffered, notwithstanding the proximity of the capi-
tal. At Valecillo, not many leagues distant from
Valencia, the {rround opened and emitted so great a
mass of water that a new torrent was formed. The
same phenomenon took place near Porto Cabello.

IN OTHER DISTRICTS. 141

On the other hand, the Lake of Maracaybo underwent
considerable diminution. At Coro no commotion
was felt, although the town was situated on the coast
between other towns which suffered. The fishermen
who had passed the day of the 26th March in the
island of Orchila, 130 miles N.E. of La Guayra,
were not sensible of any shock."

Towards the east of Caraccas the commotions
were very violent, especially bej^ond Caurimare, in
the valley of Capaya, and as far as the meridian of
Cape Codera, while they were very feeble on the
coasts of New-Barcelona, Cumana, and Paria, though
these shores are known to have been formerly shaken
by volcanic vapours.

Fifteen or eighteen hours after the great catas-
trophe the ground ceased to be agitated ; but subse-
quently to the 27th the tremblings recommenced,
and were accompanied with very loud subterranean
noises. Frequently not less than fifteen oscillations
were felt in one day. On the 5th April there was
an earthquake almost as severe as that of the 12th
March. The surface was in continuous undulation
during several hours, large masses of earth fell in
the mountains, and enormous rocks were detached
from the Silla.

While violent agitations were experienced in the
valley of the Mississippi, in the island of St. Vincent,
and in the province of Venezuela, a subterranean
noise, resembling an explosion of artillery, was
heard at Caraccas, at Calabozo, and on the banks of
the Rio Apure, over the space of four thousand
square leagues. This sound began at two in the
morning of the 30th April, and was as loud on the
coast as at the distance of eighty leagues. It was
everywhere taken for the firing of guns. On the
same day a great eruption of the volcano of the
island of St. Vincent took place. This mountain
had not ejected lava since 1718, and hardly any
smoke was issuing from it, when in May, 1811, fre-

142 DEPARTURE fROM dARACCAS.

quent shocks occurred, and a discharge of ashes,
attended with a tremendous bellowing, followed on
the 27th April next year. On the 30th the lava
flowed, and after a course of four hours reached the
sea. The explosions resembled alternate volleys
of very large cannon and musketry. As the space
between the volcano of St. Vincent and the Rio
Apure is 725 miles, these were heard at a distance
equal to that between Vesuvius and Paris, and must
have been propagated by the earth, and not by

the air. . ^ . ,, . .

After adducing numerous nistances ot the comci-
dence of volcamc eruptions and earthquakes, Hum-
boldt endeavours to prove that subterranean com-
munications extend to vast distances, that the phe-
nomena of volcanoes and earthquakes are intimately
connected, and that the latter have certain lines of
direction.

CHAPTER XIV.

Journey from Caraccas to the Lake of Valencia.

Departure from Caraccas-La Buenavista-Valleys of San Pedro ami thff
Tuv-MantproIa-Zamang-tree- Valleys of Aragua-Lake of Valencia
-Diminution of Us Waters-Hot Spriugs-.Taguar-New-Valencia-
Thermal Waters of La Trincliera-Porto Cabello-Cow-tree-Cocoa-
plaittations-General View of the Littoral District of Venezuela.

Leaving the city of Caraccas, on their way to the
Orinoco, our travellers slept the first night at the
base of the woody mountains which close the valley
towards the south-west. They followed the right
bank of the Rio Guayra, as far as the village Anti-
mano, by an excellent road, partly scooped out of
the rock The mountains were all ot gneiss or
mica-slate. A little before reaching that hamlet they

COFFEE PLANTATIONS. 143

observed two large veins of gneiss in the slate, con-
taining balls of granular diabase or greenstone, com-
posed of felspar and hornblende, with garnet dis-
seminated. In the vicinity all the orchards were
full of peach-trees covered with flowers. Between
Antimano and Ajuntas, they crossed the Rio Guayra
seventeen times, and proceeded along the bottom of
the valley. The river was bordered by a gramineous
plant, the Gynei'ium saccharoides, which sometimes
reaches the height of 32 feet, while the huts were
surrounded by enormous trees of Laurus persea,
covered by creepers. They passed the night in a
sugar-plantation. In a square house were nearly
eighty negroes, lying on skins of oxen spread on the
floor, while a dozen fires were bui-ning in the yard,
at which people were cooking.

A great predilection for the culture of the coff"ee-
tree was entertained in the province. The young
plants were chiefly procured by exposing the seeds
to germination between plaintain-leaves. They
were then sown, and produced shoots better adapted
to bear the heat of the sun than such as spring up in
the shade of the plantations. The tree bears flowers
only the second year, and its blossoms last only
twenty-four hours. The returns of the third year
are very abundant ; at an average each plant yield-
ing a pound and a half or two pounds of cofl'ee.
Humboldt remarks, that although it is not yet a
century since the first trees were introduced at
Surinam and in the West Indies, the produce of
America already amounts to fifteen millions of pias-
ters, or 2,437,500^. sterling.

On the 8th February the travellers set out at sun-
rise, and after passing the junction of the two small
rivers San Pedro and Macarao, which form the Rio
Guayra, ascended a steep hill to the table-land of La
Buenavista. The country here had a wild appear-
ance, and was thickly wooded. The road, which
was so much frequented that long files of mules and

144 VALLEY OF THE TUY.

oxen met them at every step, was cut out of a tal-
cose gneiss, in a state of decomposition. Descend-
ing from that point, they came upon a ravine, in
which a fine spring formed several cascades. Here
they found an abundant and diversified vegetation,
consisting of arborescent ferns, more than twenty-
seven feet high, heliconias, plumerias, broAvneae,
gigantic fiss, palms, and other plants. The brownea,
which bears four or five hundred purple flowers in a
single thyrsus, reaches the height of fifty or sixty
feet.

At the base of the wooded mountain of Higuerota
they entered the small village of San Pedro, situated
in a basin where several valleys meet. Plantains,
potatoes, and coifee were sedulously cultivated.
The rock was mica-slate, filled with garnets, and
containing beds of serpentine of a fine green, varied
with spots of a lighter tint.

Ascending from the low ground, they passed by
the farms of Las Lagunetas and Garavatos, near the
latter of which there is a mica-slate rock of a singular
form,— that of a ridge, or wall, crowned by a tower.
The country is mountainous, and almost entirely
uninhabited ; but beyond this they entered a fertile
district, covered with hamlets and small towns.
This beautiful region is the valley of the Tuy, where
they spent two days at the plantation of Don Jose
de Manterola, on the bank of the river, the water of
which Avas as clear as crystal. Here they observed
three species of sugar-cane, the old creole, the Ota-
heitan, and the Batavian, which are easily distin-
guished, and of -uiiich the most valuable is the Ota-
heitan, as it not only yields a third more of juice
than the Creole cane, but furnishes a much greater
quantity of fuel.

As this valley, like most other parts of the Span-
ish colonies, has its gold mine, Humboldt was de-
sired to visit it. In the ravine leading to it an enor-
mous tree fixed the attention of the travellers. It

GIGANTIC TREE. 145

had grown on a steep declivity above a house, which
it was apprehended it might injure in its fall, should
the earth happen to give way. It had therefore been
burnt near the root, and cut so as to sink between
some large fig-trees, which would prevent it from
rolling down. It was eight and a half feet in diam-
eter at the lower end, four feet five inches at the
other (the top having been burnt off), and one hun-
dred and sixty feet in length. The rocks were mica-
slate passing into talc-slate, and contained masses
of bluish granular limestone, together with graphite.
At the place where the gold-mine was said to have
been they found some vestiges of a vein of quartz ;
but the subsidence of the earth, in consequence of
the rain, rendered it impossible to make any observa-
tion. The travellers, however, found a recompense
for their fatigues in the harvest of plants which they
made in the thick forest aboimding in cedraelas,
browneas, and fig-trees. They were struck by th.e
woody excrescences, which, as far as twenty feet
above the ground, augment the thickness of the lat-
ter. Some of these trunks were observed to be
twenty-three feet in diameter near the roots.

At the plantation of Tuy, the dip of the needle
was 41 ■6'^, and the intensity of the magnetic power
was indicated by 228 oscillations in ten minutes.
The variation of the former was 4° 30' N.E. The
zodiacal light appeared almost every night with ex-
traordinary brilliancy.

On the 11th, at sunrise, they left the plantation of
Manterola, and proceeded along the beautiful banks
of the river. At a farm by the way they found a
negress more than a hundred years old, seated be-
fore a smaU hut,'to enjoy the benefit of the sun's
rays, the heat of which, according to her grandson,
kept her alive. As they drew near to Victoria the
ground became smoother, and resembled the bottom
of a lake, the waters of which had been drained off.
The neighbouring hills were composed of calcareous

N

146 ZAMANG OF GUAYRA.

tufa. Fields of corn were mingled with crops of
sugar-canes, coffee, and plantains. The level of
the country above the sea is only from 576 to 640
yards ; and, except in the district of Quatro Villas
in the island of Cuba, wheat is scarcely cultivated
in large quantities in any other part of the equinoc-
tial regions. La Victoria and the neighbouring vil-
lage of San Matheo yielded 4000 quintals, or 3622
cwt., annually. It is sown in December, and is fit
for being cut in seventy or seventy-five days. Tlie
grain is large and white, and the average produce is
three or four times as much as in Europe. The cul-
ture of the sugar-cane, however, is still more pro-
ductive.

Proceeding slowly on their way, the travellers
passed through the villages of San Matheo, Turmero,
and Maracay, where every thing- was indicative of
prosperity. " On leaving the village of Turmero,"
says Humboldt, " we discover, at the distance of a
league, an object which appears on the horizon like
a round hillock, or a tumulus covered with vegeta-
tion. It is not a hill, however, nor a group of very
close trees, but a single tree, the celebrated Zamang
of Guaijra, known over the whole province for the
enormous extent of its branches, which form a hemi-
spherical top of 614 feet in circumference. The
zamang is a beautiful species of mimosa, whose
tortuous branches divide by forking. Its slim and
dehcate foliage is agreeably detached on the blue of
the sky. We rested a long while beneath this
vegetable arch. The trunk of the Guayra zamang,
which grows on the road from Turmero to Maracay,
is not more than sixty-four feet high and nine and a
half in diameter ; but its real beauty consists in the
general form of its top. The branches stretch out
like the spokes of a great umbrella, and all incline
towards the ground, from which they uniformly re-
main twelve or fifteen feet distant. The circumfe-
rence of the branches or foliage is so regular, that I

POPULATION. 147

found the different diameters 205 and 198 feet. One
side of the tree was entirely stripped of leaves from
the effect of drought, while on the other both foliage
and flowers remained. The branches were covered
with creeping-plants. The inhabitants of these val-
leys, and especially the Indians, have a great vene-
ration for the Guayra zamang, which the first con-
querors seem to have found nearly in the same state
as that in which we now see it. Since it has been
attentively observed, no change has been noticed in
its size or form. It must be at least as old as the
dragon-tree of Orotava. Near Turmero and the
Hacienda de Cura, there are other trees of the same
species, with larger trunks ; but their hemispherical
tops do not spread so widely."

The valleys of Aragua at this time contained
more than 52,000 inhabitants, on a space thirteen
leagues in length and two in breadth : making 2000
to a square league, which is almost equal to the
densest population of France. The houses were all
of masonry, and every court contained cocoa-trees,
rising above the habitations ; besides wheat, sugar,
cacao, cotton, and coffee, indigo is cultivated to a
great extent.

In this district the travellers experienced the
greatest kindness, more especially from the persons
with whom they had associated in Caraccas, and
who possessed large estates in these highly-improved
and beautiful plains. At the Hacienda de Cura they
spent seven very agreeable days in a small habita-
tion surrounded by thickets, on the Lake of Valen-
cia. Their host, Count Tovar, had begmi to let out
lands to poor persons, with the view of rendering
slaves less necessary to the landholders ; and his
example was happily followed by other proprietors.
Here they lived after the manner of the rich ; they
bathed twice, slept three times, and made three
meals in twenty-four hours.

The valleys of Aragua form a narrow basin be-

148 VALLEYS OF ARAGITA.

tween granitic and calcareous mountains of unequal
height. On the north they are separated from the
coast by the Sierra Mariara, and on the south from
the steppes by the chain of Guacimo and Yusma.
On the east and west they are bounded by hills of
smaller elevation, the rivers from which unite their
streams, and are collected in an inland lake which
has no communication with the sea. This body of
water, named the Lake of Valencia, and by the In-
dians called Tacarigua, is larger than the Lake of
Neufchatel, but in its general form has more resem-
blance to that of Geneva. The southern banks are
desert, and backed by a screen of high mountains,
while the northern shores are decked with the rich
cultivation of the sugar-cane, coifee-tree, and cot-
ton. " Paths bordered with cestrum, azedarach, and
other shrubs always in flower, traverse the plain
and join the scattered farms. Every house is sur-
rounded by a tuft of trees. The ceiba, with large
yellow flowers, gives a peculiar character to the
landscape, as it unites its branches with those of
the purple erythrina. The mixture and brilliancy
of the vegetable colours form a contrast to the un-
varied tint of a cloudless sky. In the dry season,
when the burning soil is covered with a wavy vapour,
artificial irrigations keep up its verdure and fecundity.
Here and there the granitic rocks pierce the culti-
vated land, and enormous masses rise abruptly in
the midst of the plain, their bare and fissured sur-
faces affording nourishment to some succulent
plants, which prepare a soil for future ages. Often
on the summit of these detached hills, a fig-tree or
a clusia, with juicy leaves, have fixed their roots in
the rock, and overlook the landscape. With their
dead and withered branches they seem like signals
erected on a steep hill. The form of these emi-
nences reveals the secret of their origin ; for when
the whole of this valley was filled with water, and
the waves beat against the base of the peaks of

LAKE OF VALENCIA. 149

Mariara, the Devil's Wall, and the coast chain, these
rocky hills were shoals or islets."

But the Lake of Valencia is remarkable for other
circumstances than its beauties. From a careful ex-
amination, Humboldt was convinced that in very re-
mote times, the whole valley, from the mountains
of Cocuyza to those of Torito and Nirgua, and from
the Sierra of Mariara to that of Guigue, Guacimo,
and La Palma, had been filled with water. The
form of the promontories and their abrupt slopes in-
dicate the shores of an alpine lake. The same little
shells (helicites and valvatae) which occur at the
present day in the Lake of Valencia are found in
layers three or four feet thick in the heart of the
country, as far as Turmero and La Concesion, near
Victoria. These facts prove a retreat of the waters ;
but no evidence exists that any considerable diminu-
tion of them has taken place in recent times, al-
though within the thirty years preceding Humboldt's
visit the gradual desiccation of this great basin had
excited general attention. This, however, is not de--
pendent upon subterranean channels, as some sup-,
pose, but upon the effects of evaporation, increased
by the changes operated upon the surftice of the
country. Forests, by sheltering the soil from the
direct action of the sun, diminish the waste of moist-
ure ; consequently, when they are imprudently de-
stroyed, the springs become less abundant, or are
entirely dried up. Till the middle of the last cen-
tury the mountains that surround the valleys of
Aragua were covered with woods, and the plains with
thickets, interspersed with large trees. As cultiva-
tion increased, the sylvan vegetation suffered ; and
as the evaporation in this district is excessively pow-
erful, the httle rivers were dried up in the lower
portion of their course during a great part of the
year. The land that surrounds the lake being quite
flat and even, the decrease of a few inches in the
level of the water exposed a vast extent of ground,

N2

150 LAKE or VALENCIA.

and as it retired the planters took possession of the
new land.

The idea that the lake will soon entirely disappear
Humboldt treats as chimerical, considering it proba-
ble that a period will shortly arrive when the supply
of waters by the rivers and the evaporation will
balance each other. The mean depth is from 77 to
96 feet, and there are some parts not less than 224
or 256 feet. The length is thirty-four and a half
miles, and the breadth four or five. The tempera-
ture at the surface, in February, was from 73-4° to
74-7°, which was a little lower than the mean tem-
perature of the air.

The Lake of Valencia is covered with beautiful
islands to the number of fifteen, some of which are
cultivated. It is well stocked with fish, although it
furnishes only three kinds, which are soft and in-
sipid. A small crocodile, the bava, which generally
attains the length of three or four feet, is very com-
mon ; but it is remarkable that neither the lake nor
any of the rivers which flow into it have any large
alligators, though these animals abound a few
leagues off, in the streams that unite with the Apure
and Orinoco, or pass directly into the Caribbean
Sea. The islands arc of gneiss, like the surround-
ing country. Of the plants which they produce,
many have been believed to be peculiar to the dis-
trict, such as the papaws of the lake, and the toma-
toes of the island of Cura. The aquatic vegeta-
titn along the shores reminded the travellers of the
lakes of Europe, although the species of potamoge-
ton, chara, and equisetum were pecuhar to the New
Continent.

Some of the rivers that flow into this fine sheet
of water owe their origin to hot springs, of which,
however, the travellers were able to examine only
those of Mariara and Las Trincheras. In going up
the Cura towards its source, the mountains of Ma-
riara are seen advancing into the plain, in the form

HOT SPRINGS OF MARIARA. 151

of an amphitheatre composed of steep rocks, crowned
by serrated peaks. The central point is named Rin-
con del Diablo. These masses are composed of a
coarse-grained granite, and are partially covered
with vegetation. In the hills towards the east of
the Rincon is a ravine containing several small
basins, the two uppermost of which are only eight
inches in diameter, while the three lower are from
two to three feet. Their depth varies from three to
fifteen inches, and their temperature is from 133° to
138''. The hot water from these funnels forms a
rill, which thirty feet lower has a temperature of
only 118"4°. These springs are slightly impreg-
nated with sulphuretted hydrogen gas, the fluid hav-
ing a thin pellicle of sulphur ; while a few plants in
the vicinity are crusted with the same substance.
To the south of this ravine, in the plain extending
to the shores of the lake, is another fountain of the
same kind, which issues from a crevice. The water,
which is not so hot, collects in a basin fifteen or
eighteen feet in diameter and three feet deep, in
which the slaves of the neighbouring plantations
wash at the end of the day. Here the travellers also
bathed, and afterward found in the surrounding
woods a great variety of beautiful plants.

While drying themselves in the sun, after coming
out of the pool, a little mulatto approached them,
bowing gravely, and making a long speech on the
virtues of the water. Showing them his hut, he as-
sured them they should find in it all the conveniences
of life ; but his attentions ceased the moment he
heard they had come merely to satisfy their curios-
ity, and had no intention to try the efficacy of the
baths. They are said to be used with success in
rheumatic swellings, old ulcers, and the dreadful
aflfections of the skin called bubas.

On the 21st February, the travellers set out from
the Hacienda de Cura for Guacara and New- Valen-
cia. As the heat was excessive they preferred

152 NEW- VALENCIA.

travelling by night. Near the hamlet of Pimta Za-
muro, at the foot of the lofty mountains of Las
Viruelas, the road was bordered by large mimosas,
sixty feet in height, and with horizontal branches
meeting at a distance of more than fifty yards, so as
to form a most beautiful canopy of verdure. The
night was gloomy, and the Rincon del Diablo with
its serrated clifls appeared from time to time illu-
minated by the burning of the savannas. At a place
where the wood was thickest their horses were
frightened by the yelling of a large jaguar, which
seemed to follow them closely, and which they were
informed had roamed among these mountains for
three years, having escaped the pursuit of the most
intrepid hunters.

They spent the 22d in the house of the Marquis de
Foro, at the village of Guacara, a large Indian com-
munity ; and on the 23d, after visiting Mocundo, an
extensive sugar-plantation near it, they continued
their journey to New-Valencia. They passed a
little wood of palms, of the genus Corypha, the
withered foliage of which, together with the camels
feeding in the plain, and the undulating motion of
the vapours on the arid soil, gave the landscape quite
an African character. The sterility of the land in-
creased as they advanced towards the city, which
is said to have been founded in 1555, by Alonzo
Diaz Moreno, and contains a population of six or
seven thousand individuals. The streets are broad ;
and as the houses are low, they occupied a large ex-
tent of ground. Here the termites, or white ants,
were so numerous, that their excavations resembled
subterranean canals, which, being filled with water
in rainy weather, became extremely dangerous to
the buildings.

On the 26th they set out for the farm of Barbula,
to examine a new road that was making from the
city to Porto Cabello ; and on the 27th visited the
hot springs of La Trinchera, three leagues from Va-

HOT SPRINGS OF LA TRINCHERA. 153

lencia. These fountains were so copious as to form
a rivulet, which, during the greatest droughts, was
two feet deep and eighteen wide. The temperature
of the water was 191'5°. Eggs immersed in them
were boiled in less than four minutes. They issued
from granite, and were strongly impregnated with
sulphuretted hydrogen. A sediment of carbonate
of lime was deposited, and the most luxuriant vege-
tation surrounded the basin, — mimosas, clusias, and
fig-trees, pushing their roots into the water, and ex-
tending their branches over it. Forty feet distant
from these remarkable sources there arose others
which were of the ordinary temperature. Hum-
boldt remarks, that in all climates people show the
same predilection for heat. In Iceland the first
Christian converts would be baptized only in the
tepid streams of Hecla ; and in the torrid zone, the
natives flock from aU parts to the thermal waters.
The river which is formed by the fountains of La
Trinchera runs towards the north-east, and near the
coast expands to a considerable size.

Descending towards Porto Cabello, the travellers
passed through a very picturesque district, beauti-
fied by a most luxuriant vegetation and numerous
cascades. A stratified coarse-grained granite oc-
curred near the road. The heat became suffocating
as they approached the coast, and a reddish vapour
veiled the horizon. In the evening they reached the
town, where they were kindly received by a French
physician, M. Juliac, whose house contained an in-
teresting collection of zoological subjects. This
gentleman was principal surgeon to the royal hospi-
tal, and was celebrated for his profound acquaintance
with the yellow fever. He stated, that when he had
treated his patients by bleeding, aperients, and acid
drinks, in hospitals where the sick were crowded,
the mortality was 33 in 100 among the white Creoles,
and 65 in 100 among recently-disembarked Eu-
ropeans ; but that since a stimulating treatment, and

154 PORTO CABELLO.

the nse of opium, benzoin, and alcoholic draughts
had been substituted for the old debiUtating method,
the mortality had been reduced to 20 in 100 among
EuropeaJis, and 10 among natives.

The heat of Porto Cabello is not so intense as that
of La Guayra, the breeze being stronger and more
regular, and the air having more room to circulate
betvi'een the coast and the mountains. The cause
of the insalubrity o f the atmosphere is therefore to
be sought for in the exhalations that arise from the
shore to the eastward, where at the beginning of the
rainy season tertian fevers prevail, which easily de-
generate into the continued typhoid. It has been
observed that the mestizoes employed in the salt-
works have a yellower skin when they have suifered
several years from these fevers. The fishermen
assert, that the unwholesomeness of the air is owing
to the overflowings of the rivers and not to inunda-
tions of the sea, and it has been found that the
extended cultivation along the banks of the Rio Es-
tevan has rendered them less pestilential.

The salt-works are similar to those of Araya,
near Cumana, but the earth at Porto Cabello con-
tains less muriate of soda. As the employment is
very unhealthy, the poorest persons alone engage in
it. The defence of the coasts of Terra Firma was
maintained at six points, the castle of San Antonio
at Cumana, the fortifications of La Guayra, Porto
Cabello, Fort St. Charles, and Carthagena. Next
to Carthagena the most important place is Porto
Cabello. The harbour is one of the finest in the
world, resembling a basin or little inland lake, open-
ing to the westward by a passage so narrow that
only one vessel can anchor at a time, and is defended
by batteries. The upper part of it is marshy ground
filled with stagnant and putrid water. At the time
of Humboldt's visit the number of inhabitants was
9000.
Leaving Porto Cabello on the 1st March at sun-

COW-TREE. 155

rise, our travellers were astonished at the number of
boats which they saw laden with fruit for the mar-
ket. They returned to the valleys of Aragua, and
again stopped at the farm of JBarbula. Having
heard of a tree, the juice of which resembles milk,
and is used as an article of food, they visited it, and
to their surprise found that the statements which
had been made to them with respect to it were cor-
rect. It is named the palo de vaca or coio-tree, and
has oblong pointed leaves, with a somewhat fleshy
fruit containing one or sometimes two nuts. When
an incision is made in the trunk, there issues abun-
dantly a thick glutinous milky fluid, perfectly free
from acrimony, and having an agreeable smell. It
is drunk by the negroes and free people who work
in the plantations, and the travellers took a consid-
erable quantity of it without the least injurious
effect. When exposed to the air, this juice presents
on its surface a yellowish cheesy substance, in mem-
branous layers, which are elastic, and in five or six
days become som-, and afterward putrefy.

The cow-tree appears to be peculiar to the httoral
Cordillera, and occurs most plentifully between Bar-
bula and the Lake of Maracaybo.

"Among the many curious phenomena," says
Humboldt, " which presented themselves to me in
the course of my travels, I confess there were few
by which my imagination was so powerfully aff"ected
as the cow-tree. All that relates to milk and to the
cereal plants inspires us with an interest, which is
not merely that of the physical knowledge of thino-s,
but which connects itself with another order of ide*as
and feelings. We can hardly imagine how the hu-
man species could exist without farinaceous sub-
stances, and without the nutritious fluid which the
breast of the mother contains, and which is appro-
priated to the condition of the feeble infant. The
amylaceous matter of the cereal plants,— the object
of religious veneration among so many ancient and

156 COW-TREE.

modem nations,— is distributed in the seeds, and de-
posited in the roots of vegetables ; while the milk
which we use as food appears exclusively the pro-
duct of animal organization. Such are the impres-
sions which we receive in early childhood, and such
is the source of the astonishment with which we
are seized on first seeing the cow-tree. Magmficent
forests, majestic rivers, and lofty mountains clad in
perennial snows, are not the objects which we here
admire. A few drops of a vegetable fluid impress
us with an idea of the power and fecundity of na-
ture. On the parched side of a rock grows a tree
with dry and leathery foliage, its large woody roots
scarcely penetrating into the ground. For several
months in the year its leaves are not nioistened by a
shower ; its branches look as if they were dead and
withered ; but when the trunk is bored, a bland and
nourishing milk flows from it. It is at smirise hat
the vegetable fountain flows most freely. At that
time the blacks and natives are seen coming from
all parts, provided with large bowls to receive the
milk, which grows yellow and thickens at its sur-
face Some empty their vessels on the spot, while
others carry theAi to their children One imagines
he sees the family of a shepherd who is distributing
the milk of his flock."

The travellers had resolved to visit the eastern
extremity of the cordiUeras of New-Grenada, where
they end in the Paramos of Tirnotes and Niqmtas;
but learning at Barbula that this excursion would
retard their arrival at the Orinoco thirty-five days,
they judged it prudent to relinquish it, lest they
should fail in the real object of the^r journey, that
of ascertaining by astronomical obs^ervations the
point at which the Rio Negro and the River of Ama-
zons communicate with the former stream. They
therefore returned to Guacara, to take leave ot the
family of the Marquis del Toro, and pass three days
more on the shores of the Lake of Valencia. It

PLANTATIONS OF CACAO. 157

happened to be the time of carnival, and all was
gayety. The games in which the common people
indulged were occasionally not of the most pleasant
kind.*' Some led about an ass laden with water, with
which they sprmkled the apartments wherever they
found an open winaow; while others, carrying bags
full of the hairs of the Dolichos prunens, which ex-
cite great irritation of the skin, blew them into the
faces of those who were passing by. From Gua-
cara they returned to New-Valencia, where they
found a few French emigrants, the only ones they
saw during five years in the Spanish colonies.

The cacao-plantations have always been consid-
ered as the principal source of the prosperity of
these countries. The tree {Theohroma cacao) which
produces this substance is not now found wild in the
woods to the north of the Orinoco, and begins to be
seen only beyond the cataracts of Atures and May-
pures ; but it abounds near the Ventuaro, and on the
Upper Orinoco. In the plantations it vegetates so
vigorously, that flowers spring out even from the
woody roots wherever they are left uncovered. It
suffers from the north-east winds ; and the heavy
showers that faU during the winter season, from De-
cember to March, are veiy injurious to it. Great
humidity is favourable only when it augments grad-
ually, and continues a long time without interrup-
tion. In the dry season, when the leaves and young
fruit are wetted by a heavy shower, the latter falls
to the ground. For these reasons the cacao-har-
vest is very uncertain, and the causes of failure are
increased by the depredations of worms, insects,
birds, and quadrupeds. This branch of agriculture
has the disadvantage, moreover, of obliging the new
planter to wait eight or ten years for the fruits of
his labours, and of yielding an article of very diffi-
cult preservation ; but it requires a much less num-
ber of slaves than most others, one being sufficient
for a thousand trees, which at an average yield

O

158 CONSUMPTION OF CACAO.

twelve fanegas annually. It appeared probable, that
from 1800 to 1806 the yearly produce of the cacao-
plantations of the capitania-general of Caraccas was
at least 193,000 fanegas, or 299,200 bushels, of which
the province of Caraccas furnished three-fourths.
The crops are gathered twice a year, at the end of
June and of December.

Humboldt states, as the result of numerous local
estimates, that Europe consumes, —

23,Ono,000 pounds of cacao, at 12 fr. per cwt.= 27,600.000 fr.

32,000.000 pounds of tea, at 4 fr. per lb =128,000,000

140,000,000 pounds of coffee, at 1 14 fr. per cwt.= I59,000.000
450,000,000 pounds of sugar, at 54 fr. per cwt.=243,000,000

Total value, 23,250,00OZ. sterling, or 558,000,000 fr.

The late vicars have had a very injurious effect on
the cacao-trade of Caraccas ; and the cultivation of
this article seems to be gradually declining. It is as-
serted that the new plantations are not so productive
as the old, the trees not acquiring the same vigour,
and the harvest being later and less abundant. This
is supposed to be owing to exhaustion of the land ;
but Humboldt attributes it rather to the diminution
of moisture caused by cropping.*

In concluding his remarks on the province of Vene-
zuela, our author gives a general view of the soil
and metallic productions of the districts of Aroa,
Barquesimeto, and Carora. From the Sierra Nevada
of Merida, and the Paramos of Niquitao, Bocono,
and Las Rosas, the eastern cordillera of New-Gre-
nada decreases so rapidly in height, that between
the ninth and tenth degrees of latitude it forms only

* Accnrdinff to Maccnllocli, the little u.se made of this excellent beve-
rage in England may be ascribed to the oppressiveness of the duties
■with which it has been loaded, and not to its being unsuiiable to the
public taste. "At this moment {May, 1831)," he says, " Trinidad and
Grenada cacao is worth in bond, in the London market, from 24s. to 65s,
a cwt. ; while the duty is no less than 05.s., being nearly 100 per cent,
upon the finer qualities, and no less than 230 per cent, upon those thai
are inferior '." — Maccullocfi's Dictionary of Commerce, art. Cacao.

GEOLOGY OF THE DISTRICT. 159

a chain of hills, which separates the rivers that join
the Apure and the Orinoco from those that flow
into the Caribbean Sea or the Lake of Valencia.
On this ridge are built the towns of Nirgna, San
Felipe, Barquesimeto, and Tocuyo. The ground
rises towards the south.

In the Cordillera just described, the strata usually
dip to the N.W ; so that the waters flow in that di-
rection over the ledges, forming those numerous
torrents and rivers, the inundations caused by which
are so fatal to the health of the inhabitants from
Cape Codera to the Lake of Maraycabo.

Of the streams that descend N.E. towards the
coast of Porto Cabello and La Puenta de Hicacos,
the most remarkable are the Tocuyo, Aroa, and Ta-
racuy ; the valleys of whict 'vere it not for morbid
miasmata, would perhaps be more populous than
those of Aragua, as the soil is prolific and the wa-
ters navigable. In a lateral valley, opening into that
of the Aroa, are copper-mines; and in the ravines
nearer the sea are similar ores and gold-washings.
The total produce of both amounts to a quantity
varying from 1087 to 1358 cwts. of excellent metal.
Indications of silver and gold have been found in
various parts.

The savannas or llanos of Monai and Carora,
separated from the great plains of Portuguesa and
Calabozo by the mountainous tract of Tocuyo and
Migua, although bare and arid, are oppressed with
miasmata ; and Humboldt seems to think that their
insalubrity may be owing to the disengagement of
sulphuretted hydrogen gas.

160 URSINE, OR HOWLING MONKEYS.

CHAPTER XV.

Journey across the Llanos, from Aragua to San
Fernando.

Mountains between the Valleys of Aragua and tlie Llanos — Their Geologi-
cal Constitution— The Llanos of Caracc-as — Route over the Savanna
to the Rio Apure— Cattle and Deer— Vegetation — Calabozo— Gymnoti
or Electric Eels— Indian Girl — Alligators and Boas — Arrival at San
Fernando de Apure.

From the chain of mountains which borders the
Lake of Valencia towards the south, there stretches
in the same direction a vast extent of level land,
constituting the llanos or savannas of Caraccas ;
and from the cultivated and populous district of
Aragua, embellished with mountains and rivers,
and teeming with vegetation, one descends into a
parched desolate plain, bounded by the horizon. On
this route we now accompany our travellers, who
on the 6th March left the valleys of Aragua, and
keeping along the south-west side of the lake, passed
over a rich champaign country covered with cala-
bashes, watermelons, and plantains. The rising of
the sun was announced by the howling of monkeys,
of which they saw numerous bands moving as in
procession from one tree to another. These crea-
tures (the Simia vrsina) execute their evolutions with
singular uniformity. When the boughs of two trees
do not touch each other, the leader of the party
swings himself by the tail upon the nearest twigs,
the rest following in regular succession. The dis-
tance to which their ho^vlings may be heard was
ascertained by Humboldt to be 1705 yards. The In-
dians assert that one always chants as leader of the
choir ; and the missionaries say that when a female

MOTTNTAINS OF AUAGUA. 161

is on the point of bringing forth, the howlings are
suspended till the moment when the young appears.
The travellers passed the night at the village of
Guigue, near the lake, where they lodged with an
old sergeant, a native of Miircia, who amused them
with a recital of the history of the world in Latin,
which he had learned among the Jesuits. Leaving
this place, they began to ascend the chain of moun-
tains which extends towards La Palma, and from
the top of an elevated platform took their last view
of the valleys of Aragua. The rock was gneiss with
auriferous veins of quartz. Arriving at the hamlet
of Maria Magdalena, they were stopped by the in-
habitants, who wanted to force their muleteers to
hear mass. Seven miles farther on they came to
the Villa de Cura, situated in an arid valley almost
destitute of vegetation. Here they remained for
the night, and joined an assembly of nearly all the
residents in the town to admire in a magic-lantern
a view of the gi-eat capitals of Europe. This place,
which contains a population of four thousand, is
celebrated for the miracles performed by an image
of the Virgin found by an Indian in a ravine.

Continuing to descend the southern declivity of
the range, they passed part of the night of the 11th
at the village of San Juan, remarkable for its hot
springs and the singular form of two mountains in
the neighbourhood, called the INIorros, which rise
like slender peaks from a wall of rocks. At two in
the morning they continued their journey by Ortiz
and Parapara to the Mesa de Paja. The ground over
which they travelled forms the ancient shore of the
llanos ; and as the chain has now been traversed, it
maybe interesting to present a brief view of its geo-
logical constitution.

In the Sierra de Mariara, near Caraccas, the rock
is coarse-grained granite. The valleys of Aragua,
the shores of the Lake of Valencia, its islands, and
the southern branch of the coast chain, are of gneiss

0 2

162 ENTRANCE OF THE LLANOS.

and mica-slate, which are auriferous. At San Juan
some of the rocks were gneiss passing into mica-
slate. On the south of this place the gneiss is con-
cealed beneath a deposit of serpentine, which, far-
ther south, passes into or alternates with green-
stone. This rock is now the principal one, and in
the midst of it rise the Morros of San Juan, com-
posed of crystalline limestone of a greenish-gray
.colour, and containing masses of dark-blue indurated
clay. Behind the Morros is another compact lime-
stone containing shells. The valley that descends
from San Juan to the llanos is filled with trap-rocks
lying upon green-slate. Lower down the rocks take
a basaltic aspect. Farther south the slates disap-
pear, being concealed under a trap-deposit of varied
appearance, but assuming an amygdaloidal charac-
ter, and on the margin of the plainis seen a forma-
tion of clinkstone or porphyry-slate.

The travellers now entered the basin of the llanos.
The sun was almost in the zenith, the ground was
at the temperature of ] 18° or 123°, and the suffo-
cating heat was augmented by the whirls of dust
which incessantly arose from the surface of the
steril soil. All around the plains seemed to ascend
into the sky. The horizon in some parts was clear
and distinct, while in others it seemed undulating or
blended with the atmosphere. The trunks of palm-
trees, stripped of their foliage, and seen from afar
through the haze, resembled the masts of ships dis-
covered on the verge of the ocean.

In order to give some interest to the narrative of
a journey across a tract of so monotonous an aspect,
Humboldt presents a general view of the plains of
America, contrasted with the deserts of Africa, and
the fertile steppes of Asia ; of which, however, the
most striking points alone can be here taken. There
is something awful and melancholy, he says, in the
uniform aspect of these savannas, where everything
seems motiojilcss, and v/hcre the shadow of a cloud

REMARKS ON DESERTS. 163

■ hardly ever falls for months. He even doubts whe-
ther the first sight of the Andes or of the llanos ex-
cites most astonishment ; for as mountainous coun-
tries have a similarity of appearance, whatever may
be the elevation of their summits, the view of a very
elevated range is perhaps not so striking as that of
a boundless plain, spread out like an ocean, and on
all sides mixing with the sky.

It has been said that Europe has its heaths, Asia
its steppes, Africa its deserts, and America its savan-
nas ; and these great divisions of the globe have been
characterized by these circumstances. But as the
term heath always supposes the existence of plants
of that name, and as all the plains of Europe are not
heathy, the description is incorrect. Nor are the
steppes of Asia always covered with saline plants,
some of them being" real deserts ; neither are the
American llanos always grassy. Instead of desig-
nating the vast levels of these different regions by
the nature of the plants which they produce, it seems
proper to distinguish them into deserts and steppes,
or savannas, by which terms would be meant plains
destitute of vegetation, or covered with grasses or
small dicotyledonous plants. The savannas of North
America have been designated by the name of prai-
ries or meadows ; but the phrase is not very applica-
ble to pastures which are often dry. The llanos
and pampas of South America are real steppes, dis-
playing a beautiful verdure in the rainy season, but
during great droughts assuming the aspect of a des-
ert. The grass Is then reduced to powder, the
ground cracks, and the alligators and serpents bury
themselves in the mud, where they remain in a state
of lethargy till they are roused by the showers of
spring. On the borders of rivulets, however, and
around the little pools of stagnant water, thickets
of the IMauritiapalm preserve a brilhant verdure, even
during the driest part of the year.
The principal characteristic of the savannas of

164 MOUNTAINS OF SOUTH AMERICA.

South America is the entire want of hills. In a
space extending to 387 square miles, there is not a
single eminence a foot high. These plains, how-
ever, present two kinds of inequalities : the hancos,
consisting of broken strata of sandstone or lime-
stone, which stand four or five feet above the sur-
face ; and the mesas, composed of small flats or con-
vex mounds, rising gradually to the height of a few
yards. The uniform aspect of these flats, the ex-
treme rarity of inhabitants, the fatigue of travelling
under a burning sky amid clouds of dust, the con-
tinual recession of the horizon, and the successive
appearance of solitary palms, make the steppes ap-
pear far more extensive than they really are. It
has even been imagined that the whole eastern side
of South America, from the Orinoco and the Apure
to the Plata and the Straits of Magellan, is one great
level ; but this is not the case. In order to under-
stand their limitations it will be necessary to take a
general view of the mountain-ranges.

The Cordillera of the coast, where the highest
summit is the Silla of Caraccas, and which is con-
nected by the Paramo de las Rosas to the Nevado
de Merida, and the Andes of New-Grenada, has al-
ready been described. A less elevated but much
larger group of mountains extends from the mouths
of the Guaviare and the Meta, the source of the Ori-
noco, the Marony, and the Essequibo, towards French
and Dutch Guiana. This, which is named the cor-
dillera of Parime, may be followed for a length of
863 miles, and is separated from the Andes of New-
Grenada by a space of 276 miles in breadth. A third
chain of mountains, which connects the Andes of
Peru with the mountains of Brazil, is the cordillera
of Chiguitos, dividing the rivers flowing into the
Amazon from the tributaries of the Plata.

These three transverse chains or groups, extend-
ing from west to east within the limits of the torrid
zone, are separated by level tracts forming the plains

MOUNTAINS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 165

of Caraccas or of the Lower Orinoco, the flats of the
Amazon and Rio Netrro, and those of Buenos Ayres
or La Plata. The middle basin, known by the colo-
nists under the name of the bosques or selvas of the
Amazon, is covered with trees; the southern, the
pampas of Buenos Ayres, with grass ; and the north-
ern, the llanos of Varinas and Caraccas, with plants
of various kinds. i. •, j

The western coasts of South America are bordered
by a wall of mountains, pierced at intervals by vol-
canic fires, and constituting the celebrated corddlera
of the Andes, the mean height of which is 11,830
feet. It extends in the direction of a meridian, send-
ino- out two lateral branches, one in lat. 10° north,
being that of the coast of Caraccas ; the other in lat.
16° and 18° south, forming the cordillera of Chiquitos,
and widening eastward in Brazil into vast table-lands.
Between these lines is a group of granitic mountains,
runnius from 3° to 7° north latitude, in a direction
parallel to the equator, but not united to the Andes.
These three chains have no active volcanoes, and
none of their summits enter the hne of perpetual
snow. They are separated by plains, which are
closed towards the west and open towards the east ;
and they are so low that were the Atlantic to rise
320 feet at the mouth of the Orinoco, and 1280 feet
at the mouth of the Amazon, more than the half of
South America would be covered, and the eastern
declivity of the Andes Avould become a shore of the
ocean.

We now accompany the travellers on their route
from the northern side of the llanos to the banks
of the Apure, in the province of Varinas. After
passing two nights on horseback they arrived at a
little farm called El Cayman, where was a house
surrounded by some small huts covered with reeds
and skins. They found an old negro who had the
management of the farm during his master's ab-
sence. Although he told them of herds composed

166 ALLIGATOR MIRAGE.

of several thousand cows, they asked in vain for
milk, and were obliged to content themselves with
some muddy and fetid water drawn from a neigh-
bouring pool, of which they contrived to drink by
using a linen cloth as a filter. When the mules
were unloaded, they were set at liberty to go and
search for water, and the strangers following them
came upon a copious reservoir surrounded with palm-
trees. Covered with dust and scorched by the sandy
wind of the desert, they plunged into the pool, but
had scarcely begun to enjoy its coolness when the
noise of an alligator floundering in the mud induced
them to make a precipitate retreat. Night coming
on, they wandered about in search of the farm with-
out succeeding in finding it, and at length resolved
to seat themselves under a palm-tree, in a dry spot
surrounded by short grass, when an Indian, who had
been on his round collecting the cattle, coming up
on horseback, was persuaded, though not without
difficulty, to guide them to the house. At two in
the morning they set off, with the view of reaching
Calabozo before noon. The aspect of the country
continued the same. There was no moonlight, but
the great masses of nebulas illumined part of the ter-
restrial horizon as they set out. As the sun as-
cended, the phenomena of mirage presented them-
selves in all their modifications. The little currents
of air that passed along the ground had so variable a
temperature, that in a herd of wild cows some ap-
peared with their legs raised from the surface, while
others rested upon it. The objects were generally
suspended, but no inversion was observed. At sun-
rise the plains assumed a more animated appearance ;
the horses, mules, and oxen, which graze on them
in a state of freedom, after having reposed during the
night beneath the palms, now assembled in crowds.
As the travellers approached Calabozo they saw
troops of small deer feeding in the midst of the
cattle. These animals, which are called, matacani,

VEGETATION OF THE LLANOS — CALABOZO. 167

are a little larger than the roe of Europe, and have
a sleek fawn-colonred pile, spotted with white.
Some of them were entirely of the latter hue.
Their flesh is good ; and their number is so great
that a trade in their skins might be carried on with
advantage ; but the inhabitants are too indolent to
engage in any active occupation.

These steppes were principally covered with
grasses of the genera killingia, cenchrus, and pas-
palum, which at that season scarcely attain a height
of nine or ten inches near Calabozo and St. Jerome
del Pirital, although on the banks of the Apure and
Portuguesa they rise to the length of four feet.
Along with these were mingled some turnerae, mal-
vacae, and mimosae. The pastures are richest on
the banks of the rivers, and under the shade of cory-
pha palms. These trees were singularly uniform in
size ; their height being from twenty-one to twenty-
five feet, and their diameter from eight to ten inches.
The wood is very hard, and the fan-like leaves are
used for roofing the huts scattered over the plains.
A few clumps of a species of rhopala occur here and
there.

The philosophers suff"ered greatly from the heat
in crossing the Mesa de Calabozo. Whenever the
wind blew the temperature rose to 104° or 106°, and
the air was loaded with dust. The guides advised
them to fill their hats with the rhopala leaves, to
prevent the action of the solar rays on the head,
and from this expedient they derived considerable
benefit.

At Calabozo they experienced the most cordial
hospitality from the administrator of the Real Ha-
cienda, Don Miguel Cousin. The town, which is
situated between the Guarico and the Urituco, has
a population of 5000. The principal wealth of the
inhabitants consists of cattle, of which it was com-
puted that there were 98,000 in the neighbour-
ing pastures. M. Depons estimates tho number in

168 CATTLE — ELECTRIC EELS.

the plains, extending from the mouths of the Orinoco
to the Lake of Maracaybo, at 1,200,000 oxen, 180,000
horses, and 90,000 mules ; and in the pampas of
Buenos Ayres it is believed that there are 12,000,000
of cows and 3,000,000 of horses, not including cattle
which have no acknowledged owner. In the llanos
of Caraccas the richer proprietors of the gi'eat hatos,
or cattle-farms, brand 14,000 head every year, and
sell 5000 or 6000. The exportation from the whole
capitania-general amounts annually to 174,000 skins
of oxen and 11,500 of goats, for the West India
islands alone. This stock was first introduced about
1548 by Christoval Rodriguez. They are of the
Spanish breed, and their disposition is so gentle
that a traveller runs no risk of being attacked or
pursued by them. The horses are also descended
from ancestors of the same country, and are gene-
rally of a brown colour. There were no sheep in
the plains.

Humboldt remarks, that when we hear of the
prodigious numbers of oxen, horses, and mules
spread over the plains of America, we forget that in
civilized Europe the aggregate amount is not less
surprising. According to M. Peuchet, France feeds
6,000,000 of the large-horned class ; and in the Aus-
trian monarchy, the oxen, cows, and calves are es-
timated by Mr. Lichtenstein at about 13,400,000.

At Calabozo, in the midst of the llanos, the trav-
ellers found an electrical apparatus nearly as com-
plete as those of Europe, made by a person who had
never seen any such instrument, had received no in-
structions, and was acquainted with the phenomena
of electricity only by reading the Treatise of Sigaud
de la Fond, and Franklin's Memoirs. Next to this
piece of mechanism, the objects that excited the
greatest interest were the electrical eels, or gymnoti,
which abound in the basins of stagnant water and
the confluents of the Orinoco. The dread of the
shocks given by these animals is so great among

FISHING WITH HORSES. 169

the common people and Indians, that for some time
no specimens could be procured, and one which was
at length brought to them afforded very unsatisfac-
tory results.

On the 19th March, at an early hour, they set off
for the village of Rastro de Abaxo, whence they
were conducted by the natives to a stream which,
in the dry season, forms a pool of muddy water sur-
rounded 'by trees. It being very difficult to catch
the gymnoti with nets, on account of their extreme
agility, it w^as resolved to procure some by intoxi-
cating or benumbing them with the roots of certain
plants, which wheif thrown into the water produce
that effect. At this juncture the Indians informed
them that they would fish with horses, and soon
brought from the savanna about thirty of these ani-
mals, which they drove into the pool.

" The extraordinary noise caused by the horses'
hoofs makes the fishes issue from the mud, and ex-
cites them to combat. These yellowish and livid
eels, resembling large aquatic snakes, swim at the
surface of the wate^r, and crowd under the beUies
of the horses and mules. The struggle between
animals of so different an organization affords a very
interesting sight. The Indians, furnished with har-
poons and long slender reeds, closely surround the
pool. Some of them climb the trees, whose branches
stretch horizontally over the water. By their wild
cries and their long reeds they prevent the horses
from coming to the edge of the basin. The eels,
stunned by the noise, defend themselves by repeated
discharges of their electrical batteries, and for a
long time seem likely to obtain the victory. Several
horses sink under the violence of the invisible blows
which they receive in the organs most essential to
life, and, benumbed by the force and frequency of
the shocks, disappear beneath the surface. Others,
panting, with erect mane, and haggard eyes expres-
sive of anguish, raise themselves and endeavour to

P

170 DESCRIPTION OF THE

escape from the storm which overtakes them, but
are driven back by the Indians. A few, however,
succeed in eluding the active vigilance of the fishers;
they gain the shore, stumble at every step, and
stretch themselves out on the sand, exhausted with
fatigue, and having their limbs benumbed by the
electric shocks of the gymnoti.

" In less than five minutes two horses were killed.
The eel, which is five feet long, presses itself against
the belly of the horse, and makes a discharge along
the whole extent of its electric organ. It attacks at
once the heart, the viscera, and the ca;liac plexus of
the abdominal nerves. It is natural that the effect
which a horse experiences should be more powerful
than that produced by the same fish on man, when
he touches it only by one of the extremities. The
horses are probably not killed, but only stunned ;
they are drowned from the impossibility of rising
amid the prolonged struggle between the other horses
and eels."

The gymnoti at length dispersed, and approached
the edge of the pool, when five of them were taken
by means of small harpoons fastened to long cords.
A few more were caught towards evening, and there
was thus obtained a sufficient number of specimens
on which to make experiments. The results of Hum-
boldt's observations on these animals may be stated
briefly, as follows : —

The gymnotus is the largest electrical fish known,
some of those measured by him being from 5 feet 4
inches to 5 feet 7 inches in length. One, 4 feet 1
inch long, weighed 15j Troy pounds, and its trans-
verse diameter was 3 inches 7^ lines. The colour
was a fine olive-green ; the under part of the head
yellow mingled with red. Along the back are two
rows of small yellow spots, each of which contains
an excretory aperture for the mucus, with which
the skin is constantly covered. The swimming-
bladder is of large size, and before it is situated an-

GVMNOTUS ELECTRICUS. 171

Other Of smaller dimensions; the former separated
from the skin by a mass of fat, and restmg upon the
electric organs, which occupy more than two-thirds

of the fish. , ti,„ flrc.+

It would be rash to expose one's self to the hrst
shocks of a very large mdividual,— the pam ana
numbness which follow in such a case benig ex-
tremely violent. When in a state of great weak-
ness, the ammal produces in the person who touches
it a twitching, which is propagated from the hand to
the elbow; a kind of internal vibration lastmg two
or three seconds, and followed by paniful torpidity,
being feh after every stroke. The electric energy
depends upon the will of the creature, and it directs
it towards the point where it feels most strongly
irritated. The organ acts only under the immediate
influence of the brain and heart ; for when one ot
them was cut through the middle, the fore-part ot
the body alone gave shocks. Its action on man is
transmitted and intercepted by the same substances
that transmit and intercept the electrical current of
a conductor charged by a Leyden jar or a Voltaic
nile In the water the shock can be conveyed to
a considerable distance. No spark has ever been ob-
served to issue from the body of the eel when ex-

cited.

The gvmnoti are objects of dread to the natives,
and their presence is considered as tlie principal
cause of the want of fish in the pools of the llanos
All the inhabitants of the waters avoid them ; and
the Indians asserted that when they take young ai-
lio-ators and these animals in the same net, the latter
never display any appearance of wounds, because
they disable their enemies before they are attacked
bv them. It became necessary to change the di-
rection of a road near Urituco, solely because they
were so numerous in a river that they killed many
mules in the course of fording it. , ,, ^ , , ^

On the 24th March the travellers left Calabozo,

172 INDIAN GIRL — CROCODILES.

and advanced southward. As they proceeded they
found the country more dusty, and destitute of herb-
age. The palm-trees gradually disappeared. From
eleven in the morning till sunset the thermometer
kept at 95°. Although the air was calm at the
height of eight or ten feet, the ground was swept by
little currents which raised clouds of dust. About
four in the afternoon, they observed in the savaima
a young Indian girl, twelve or thirteen years of age,
quite naked, lying on her back, exhausted with fa-
tigue and thirst, and with her eyes, nostrils, and
mouth filled with dust. Her breathing was sterto-
rous, and she was unable to answer the questions
put to her. Happily one of the mules was laden
with water, the application of which to her face
aroused her. She was at first frightened, but by de-
grees took courage, and conversed with the guides.
As she could not be prevailed upon to momit the
beasts of burden, nor to return to Urituco, she was
furnished with some water ; upon which she re-
sumed her way, and was soon separated from her
preservers by a cloud of dust.

In the night they forded the Rio Urituco, which is
filled with crocodiles remarkable for their ferocity,
although those of the Rio Tisnao, in the neighbour-
hood, are not at all dangerous. They were shown
a hut or shed, in which a singular scene had been
witnessed by their host of Calabozo, who, having
slept in it upon a bench covered with leather, was
awakened early in the morning by a violent shaking,
accompanied with a horrible noise. Presently an
alligator, two or three feet long, issued from under
the bed, and darted at a dog lying on the threshold,
but missing him, ran towards the river. When the
spot where the laench stood was examined, the dried
mud was found turned up to a considerable depth,
where the alligator had lain in its state of torpidity,
or summer sleep. The hut being situated on the
edge of a pool, and inundated during part of the

MESA DE PAVONES.

173

vear, the animal had no doubt entered at that period
and concealed itself in the mire. Tlie Indians oiten
find enormous boas, or water-serpents, in the same
lethararic state. ,

On the 25th March they passed over the smooth-
est part of the steppes of Caraccas, the Mesa de Pa-
vones. As far as the eye could reach, no object
fifteen inches high could be discovered, excepting
cattle, of which they met some large herds, accom-
nanied by flocks of the crotophaga am, a bird ot a
black colour, with olive reflections. Tliey were ex-
ceedingly tame, and perched upon the quadrupeds in

search of insects. . ^^ r a

Wherever excavations had been made, they tound
the rock to be old red sandstone or conglomerate,
in which were observed fragments of quartz, kiesel-
schiefer, and lydian stone. The cementing clay is
ferruginous, and often of a very bright red. ihis
formation, which covers an extent of several thou-
sand square leagues, rests on the northern margin
of the plains upon transition-slate, and to the south
upon the granites of the Orinoco. , ^ , ,
After wandering a long tune on the desert and
pathless savannas of the Mesa de Pavones, they
were agreeably surprised to find a sohtary farm-
house surrounded with gardens and pools of clear
water Farther on they passed the night near the
villa"-e of San Geronymo del Guyaval, situated on
the banks of the Rio Guarico, which joins the Apure.
The ecclesiastic, who was a young man, and had no
other habitation than his church, received them m
the kindest manner. Crossing the Guanco, they en-
camped in the plain, and early in the morning pur-
sued their way over low grounds, which are often
inundated. On the 27th they arrived at the Villa de
San Fernando, and terminated their journey over the

llanos.

P3

174 SAN FERNANDO DE APURE.

CHAPTER XVI.

Voyage doivn the Rio Apure.

San Fernantio— Commencement of the Rainy Season— Progress of At-
mospherical Plienomena— Cetaceous Animals— Voyage down the Rio
Apure— Vegetation and Wild Animals— Crocodiles, Chiguires, and
Jaguars— Don Ignacio and Donna Isabella— Waler-fovvl— Nocturnal
Bowlings in the Forest— Caribe-fish — Adventure with a Jaguar — Ma-
natees—Mouth of the Rio Apure.

The town of San Fernando, which was founded
only in 1789, is advantageously situated on a large
navigable river, the Apure, a tributary of the Ori-
noco, near the mouth of another stream which
traverses the whole province of Varinas, all the pro-
ductions of which pass through it on their way to
the coast. It is during the rainy season, when the
rivers overflow their banks and inundate a vast ex-
tent of country, that commerce is most active. At
this period the savannas are covered with water to
the depth of twelve or fourteen feet, and present the
appearance of a great lake, in the midst of which
the farm-houses and villages are seen rising on
islands scarcely elevated above the surface. Horses,
mules, and cows perish in great numbers, and afford
abundant food to the zamuros, or carrion vultures,
as well as to the alligators. The inhabitants, to
avoid the force of the currents, and the danger
arising from the trees carried down by tliem, in-
stead of ascending the course of the rivers, find it
safer to cross the flats in their boats.

San Fernando is celebrated for the excessive heat
which prevails there during the greater part of the
year. The travellers found the white sand of the
shores, wherever it was exposed to the sun, to have

INTENSE HEAT THUNDER. 175

a temperature of 126-5°, at two in the afternoon.
The thermometer, raised eighteen inches above the
sand, indicated 109° : and at six feet, 10r7°. The
temperature of the air in the shade was 97°. These
observations were made during a dead cahiti, and
when the wind began to blow, the heat increased
three degrees.

On the 28th March, Humboldt and his companion,
being on the shore at sunrise, heard the thunder
rolling all around, although as yet there were only-
scattered clouds, advanchig in opposite directions
towards the zenith. Deluc's hygrometer was at 53°,
the thermometer stood at 74-7°, and the electrome-
ter gave no particular indication. As the clouds
mustered, the blue of the sky changed to deep azure,
and then to gray ; and when it was completely over-
cast the thermometer rose several degrees. Al-
though a heavy rain fell, the travellers remained
on the shore to observe the electrometer. When
it was held at the height of six feet from the
ground, the pith-balls generally sep-arated only a few
seconds before the lightning was seen. The sep-
aration was four lines. The electric charge re-
mained the same for several minutes, and there were
repeated oscillations from positive to negative. To-
wards the end of the storm the west wind blew with
great impetuosity, and when the clouds dispersed
the thermometer fell to 71-6°.

Humboldt states, that he enters into these details
because Europeans usually confine themselves to a
description of the impression made on their minds
by the solemn spectacle of a tropical thunder-storm ;
and because, in a country where the year is divided
into two great seasons of drought and rain, it is in-
teresting to trace the transition from the one to the
other. In the valleys of Ar-agua, he had from the
18th February observed clouds forming in the even-
ing, and in the beginning of March the accumulation
of vesicular vapours became visible. Flashes of

176 PROGRESS OF ATMOSPHERIC

lightning were seen in the south, and at sunset Vol-
ta's electrometer regularly displayed positive indi-
cations, the separation of the pith-balls being from
three to four lines. After the 26th of the latter
month, the electrical equilibrium of the atmosphere
seemed broken, although the hygrometer still de-
noted great dryness.

The following is an account of the atmospheric
phenomena in the inland districts to the east of the
Cordilleras of Merida and New-Grenada, in the lla-
nos of Venezuela, and the Rio Meta, from the fourth to
the tenth degree of north latitude, wherever the rains
continue from May to October, and consequently in-
clude the period of the greatest heat, which is in
July and August :— " Nothing can equal the purity of
the atmosphere from December to February. The
sky is then constantly without clouds, and should
one appear, it is a phenomenon that occupies all the
attention of the inhabitants. The breeze from the
east and north-east blows with violence. As it
always carries with it air of the same temperature,
the vapours cannot become visible through refrigera-
tion. Towards the end of February and the begin-
ning of March the blue of the sky is less intense ;
the hygrometer gradually indicates greater humid-
ity; the stars are sometimes veiled by a thin stratum
of vapours ; their light ceases to be tranquil and
planetary; and they are seen to sparkle from time
to time at the height of 20° above tlie horizon. At
this period the breeze diminishes in strength, and be-
comes less regular, being more frequently inter-
rupted by dead calms. Clouds accumulate towards
the south-east, appearing like distant mountains
with distinct outlines. From time to time they are
seen to separate from the horizon, and traverse the
celestial vault with a rapidity which has no cor-
respondence with the feebleness of the wind ttat
prevails in the lower strata of the air. At the e )d
of March the southern region of the atmosphere is

PHENOMENA IN THE INTERIOR; 177

illuminated by small electric explosions, like phos-
phorescent gleams confined to a single group of va-
pours. From this period the breeze shifts at inter-
vals, and for several hours, to the west and south-
west, affording a sure indication of the approach of
the rainy season, which, on the Orinoco, conunences
about the end of April. The sky begins to be over-
cast, its azure colour disappears, and a gray tint is
uniformly diffused over it. At the same time the
heat of the atmosphere gradually increases, and in-
stead of scattered clouds the whole vault of the
heavens is overspread with condensed vapours. The
howling-monkeys begin to utter their plaintive cries
long before sunrise. The atmospheric electricity,
which, during the period of the greatest drought,
from December to March, had been almost con-
stantly in the daytime from 1-7 to 2 lines to Volta's
electrometer, becomes extremely variable after
March. During whole days it appears null, and
again, for some hours, the pith-balls of the elec-
trometer diverge from three to four lines. The at-
mosphere, which in the torrid as in the temperate
zone is generally in a state of positive electricity,
passes alternately, in the course of eight or ten
minutes, to the negative state. The rainy season is
that of thunder-storms ; and yet I have found, from
numerous experiments made during three years, that
at this season the electric tension is less in the
lower regions of the atmosphere. Are thunder-
storms the effect of this unequal change of the dif-
ferent superimposed strata of the airl What pre-
vents the electricity from descending towards the
earth in a stratum of air which has become more
humid since the month of March ? At this period
the electricity, in place of being diffused through the
whole atmosphere, would seem to be accumulated
on the outer envelope at the surface of the clouds.
According to M. Gay Lussac, it is the formation of
the cloud itself that carries the fluid towards the sur-

178 ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENA.

face. The storm rises in the plains two hours after
the sun passes through the meridian, and therefore
shortly after the period of the maximum of the di-
urnal heat in the tropics. In the inland districts it
is exceedingly rare to hear thunder at niglit or in the
morning, nocturnal thunder-storms being peculiar to
certain valleys of rivers which have a particular
climate."

It maybe interesting to present a very brief state-
ment of Humboldt's explanation of these phenome-
na : — The season of rains and thunder in the northern
equinoctial zone coincides with the passage of the
sun through the zenith of the place, the cessation
of the breezes or north-east winds, and the frequency
of calms, and furious currents of the atmosphere
from the south-east and south-west, accompanied
with a cloudy sky. While the breeze from the north-
east blowss it prevents the atmosphere from being
saturated Avith moisture. The hot and loaded air of
the torrid zone rises and flows off again towards the
poles, while inferior currents from these last, bring-
ing drier and colder strata, take the place of the
ascending columns. In this manner the humidity,
being prevented from accumulating, passes ofl" to-
wards the temperate and colder regions, so that the
sky is always clear. When the sun, entering the
northern signs, rises towards the zenith, the breeze
from the nortli-east softens, and at length ceases ;
this being the season at which the difference of tem-
perature between the tropics and the contiguous
zone is least. The column of air resting on the
equinoctial zone becomes replete with vapours, be-
cause it is no longer renewed by the current from
the pole ; clouds form in this atmosphere, saturated
and cooled by the effects of radiation and the dilata-
tion of the ascending air, which increases its capacity
for heat in proportion as it is rarefied. Electricity
accumulates in the higher regions in consequence
of the formation of the vesicular vapours, the pre-

VOYAGE DOWN THE APURE 179

cipitation of which is constant during the day, but
generally ceases at night. Tlie showers are more
violent, and accompanied with electrical explosions,
shortly after the maximum of the diurnal heat.
These phenomena continue until the sun enters the
southern signs, when the polar current is re-estab-
lished, because the difference between the heat of
the equinoctial and temperate regions is daily increas-
ing. The air of the tropics being thus renewed, the
rains cease, the vapours are dissolved, and the sky
resumes its azure tint.

At San Fernando, Humboldt observed in the river
long files of cetaceous animals, resembling the com-
mon porpoise. The crocodiles seemed to dislike
them, and dived whenever they approached. They
were three or four feet long, and appear to be pecu-
liar to the great streams of South America, as he
saw some of them above the cataracts of the Ori-
noco, whither they could not have ascended from
the sea.

The rainy season had now commenced, and as the
way to that river by land lies across an unhealthy
and uninteresting flat, they preferred the longer way
by the Rio Apure, and embarked in a large canoe or
lancha, having a pilot and four Indians for crew. A
cabin was constructed in the stern, of sufficient size
to hold a table and benches, and covered with cory-
pha-leaves. They put on board a stock of provi-
sions for a month, while the capuchin missionary,
with whom ihey had lodged during their stay, sup-
plied them with wine, oranges, and tamarinds.
Fishing-instruments, firearms, and some casks of
brandy, for bartering with "the natives, were added
to their store. On the 30th March, at four in the
afternoon, they left San Fernando, accompanied by
Don Nicolas Sopo, brother-in-law of the governor
of the province. The river abounds in fish, ma-
natees, and turtles, and its banks are peopled by
numberless birds, of which the pauxi and guacharaca

180 WILD ANIMALS.

are the most useful to man. Passing the mouth of
the Apurito, they coasted the island of the same
name, formed by the Apure and Guarico, and which
is seventy-six miles in length. On the banks they
saw hut^ of the Yaruroes, who live by hunting and
fishing, and are very skilful in killing jaguars, the
skins of which they dispose of in the Spanish vil-
lages. The night was passed at Diamante, a small
sugar-plantation.

On the 31st a contrary wind obliged them to re-
main on shore till noon, when they embarked, and
as they proceeded found the river gradually widen-
ing; one of its banks being generally sandy and
barren, the other higher and covered with tall trees.
Sometimes, however, it was bordered on both sides
by forests, and resembled a straight canal 320 yards
in breadth. Bushes of sauso {Hemiesia castaneifo-
lia) formed along the margins a kind of hedge about
four feet high, in whicli the jaguars, tapirs, and
pecaris had made openings for the purpose of drink-
ing; and as these animals manifest little fear at the
approach of a boat, the travellers had the pleasure
of viewing them as they walked slowly along the
shore, until they disappeared in the forest. When
the sauso-hedge was at a distance from the current,
crocodiles were often seen in parties of eight or ten,
stretched out on the sand motionless, and with their
jaws opened at right angles. These monstrous rep-
tiles were so numerous, that throughout the whole
course of the river there were usually five or six in
view, although the waters had scarcely begun to
rise, and hundreds were still buried in the mud of the
savannas. A dead individual which they found was
17 feet 9 inches long, and another, a male, was more
than 23. This species is not a cayman or alligator,
but a real crocodile, with feet dentated on the outer
edge hke that of the Nile. The Indians informed
them, that scarcely a year passes at San Fernando
without two or three persons being drowned by them,

CROCODILES AND CHIGUIRES. 181

and related the history of a young girl of Urituco,
who, by singular presence of mind, made her escape
from one. Finding herself seized and carried into
the water, she felt for the eyes of the animal, and
thrust her fingers into them ; when the crocodile let
her loose, after biting off the lower part of her left
arm. Notwithstanding the quantity of blood which
she lost, she was stiU able to reach the shore by
swimming with the right hand. Mungo Park's
guide, Isaaco, effected his preservation from a croco-
dile by employing the same means. The motions
of these animals are abrupt and rapid when they
attack an object, although they move very slowly
when not excited. In running they make a rustling
noise, which seems to proceed from their scales, and
appear higher on their legs than when at rest, at the
same time bending the back. They generally ad-
vance in a straight line, but can easily turn when
they please. They swim with great facility, even
against the most rapid current. On the Apure they
seemed to live chiefly on the chiguires {Cavia capy-
bara), which feed in herds on the banks, and are of
the size of our pigs. These creatures have no
weapons for defence, and are alternately the prey
of the jaguars on land and of the crocodiles in the
water.

Stopping belovv the mouth of the Cano de la Fi-
guera, in a sinuosity called La Vuelta del Joval, they
measured the velocity of the current at its surface,
which was only 3 "4 feet in a second. Here they
were surrounded by chiguires, swimming like dogs,
with the head and neck out of the water. A large
crocodile, which was sleeping on the shore in the
midst of a troop of these animals, awoke at the
approach of the canoe, and moved slowly into the
stream without frightening the others. Near the Jo-
val every thing assumed a wild and awful aspect.
Here they saw an enormous jaguar stretched beneath
the shade of a large zamang or mimosa, it had

Q

182 JAGUAR.

just killed a chiguire, which it held with one of its
paws, while the zamuro-vultures were assembled in
flocks around it. It was curious to observe the
mixture of boldness and timidity which these birds
exhibited, for although they advanced within two
feet of the tiger, they instantly shrank back at the
least motion which he made. In order to examine
more nearly their manners, the travellers went into
the little boat ; when the tyrant of the forest with-
drew behind the sauso-bushes, leaving his victim,
which the vultures in the mean time attempted to
devour, but were soon put to flight by his rushing
into the midst of them.*

Continuing to descend the river, they met with a
great herd of chiguires that the tiger had dispersed,
and from which he had selected his prey. These
animals seemed not to be afraid of men, for they saw
the travellers land without agitation, but the sight of
a dog put them to flight. They ran so slowly that
the people succeeded in catching two of them. It is
the largest of the Glircs, or gnawing animals. Its
flesh has a disagreeable smell of musk, although

* 111 the province of Tiicuman, the fommoii mode of killing the jaguar
is to trace him to his lair hy the wool left on the bushes, if he has carried
otr a sheep, or by means ol' a ilog trained for the purpose. On finding
the enemy the gaucho puts himself into a position for receiving him on
the point of a bayonet or spear, at the tirst spring which he makes, and
thus waits tmtil the dogs drive him out; an exploit which he performs
with such coolness and dexterity that there is scarcely an instance of
failure. " In a recent instance, relaled by our capitaz, the business was
not so quickly completed. The animal Jay stretched at full length on the
ground, like a gorged cat. Instead of showing anger and attacking his
enemies with fury, he was playful, and disposed rather to parley with the
dogs wilh good-humour than to take their attack in sober earnestness.
He was now tired upon, and a ball lodged in his shoulder; on which he
sprang so quickly on his watching assailant, that he not only buried the
bayone-t in his body, but tiunbled over tlie capitaz who held it, and they
floundered on the ground together, the man being completely in his
clutches. ' 1 thought,' said the brave fellow, ' I was no longer a capitaz,
while I hold my arm up to protect my throat, which the animal seemed in
the act of seizing ; but when I expected to feel his fangs in my llesh, the
green fire of his eyes which blazed upon me, flashed out in a moment.
He fell on me and expired at the very instant I thought myself lost ios
ever.' '^—Captain Andrews's Travels in Houth America, vol. i. p. 219.

JAGUAR-HUNTER. 185

liams are made of it in the country, which are eaten
during Lent ; as this quadruped, according to eccle-
siastical zoology, is esteemed a fisli.

The travellers passed the nigiit as usual in the open
air, although in a plantation, the proprietor of which,
a jaguar-hunter, half-naked, and as brown as a Zambo,
prided himself on being of the European race, and
called his wife and daughter, who were as slightly
clothed as himself. Donna Isabella and Donna Man- ■
uela. Humboldt had brought a chiguire ; but his
host assured him such food was not fit for white
gentlemen like them, at the same time offering him
venison. As this aspiring personage had neither
house nor hut, he invited the strangers to sling their
liammocks near his own, between two trees ; which
they accordingly did. They soon found reason, how-
ever, to regret that they had not obtained better shel-
ter; for after midnight a thunder-storm came on,
which wetted them to the skin. Donna Isabella's
cat had perched on one of the trees, and fell into a
cot, the inmate of which imagined he was attacked
by some wild beast, and could hardly be quieted.

At sunrise, the lodgers took leave of Don Ignacio
and his lady, and proceeded on their voyage. The
weather was a little cooler, the thermometer having
fallen from 86° to 75°, but the temperature of the
river continued at 79° or 80°. One might imagine
that on smooth ground, where no eminence can be
distinguished, the stream would have hollowed out
an even bed for itself ; but this is by no means the
case ; the two banks not opposing equal resistance
to the water. Below the Joval the mass of the cur-
rent is a little wider, and forms a perfectly straight
channel, margined on either side by lofty trees. It
was here about 290 yards broad. They passed a
low island densely covered by flamingoes, roseate
spoonbills, herons, and water-hens, which presented
a most diversified mixture of colours. On the right
bank tliey found a little Indian mission, consisting of

Q2

186 NOCTURNAL HOWLINGS.

sixteen huts constructed of palm-leaves, and inhab-
ited by a tribe of the Guamoes. These Christians
were unable to furnish them with the provisions
which they wanted, but hospitably offered them dried
fish and water. The night was spent on a bare and
very extensive beach. The forest being impenetra-
ble, they had great difficulty in obtaining dry wood
to light fires for the purpose of keeping off the wild
beasts. But the night was calm, with beautiful
moonlight. Finding no tree on the banks, they stuck
their oars in the sand, and suspended their hammocks
upon them. About eleven there arose in the wood
so terrific a noise that it was impossible to sleep.
The Indians distinguished the cries of sapajous, alou-
ates, jaguars, cougars, pecaris, sloths, carassows,
panakas, and other gallinaceous birds. When the
tigers approached the edge of the forest, a dog which
the travellers had began to howl and seek refuge
under their cots. Sometimes, after a long silence,
the cry of the ferocious animal came from the tops
of the trees, when it was followed by the sharp
and long whistling of the monkeys. Humboldt sup-
poses the noise thus made by the inhabitants of
the thicket, at certain hours of the night, to be
the effect of some contest that has arisen among
them.

On the 2d April they set sail before sunrise. The
river was ploughed by porpoises, and the shore
crowded with aquatic birds ; while some of the latter,
perched on the floating timber, were endeavouring
to surprise the fish that preferred the middle of the
stream.' The navigation is rather dangerous, on ac-
count of the large trees which remain obliquely fixed
in the mud, and the canoe touched several times.
Near the island of Carizales, they saw enormous
trunks covered with plotuses or darters, and below
it observed a diminution of the waters of the river,
owing to infiltration and evaporation. Near the
Vuelta de Basilio, where they landed to gather

ADVENTURES WITH A JAGUAR. 187

plants, they saw on a tree two beautiful jet-black
monkeys of an iniknown species, and also a nest
of iguanas, which was pointed out by the Indians.
The flesh of this lizard is very white, and, next to
that of the armadillo, is the best food to be found in
the huts of the natives. Towards evening it rained,
and swallows were seen skimming along the water.
They also saw a flock of parrots pursued by hawks.
The night was passed on the beach.

On the 3d they proceeded down the river in their
solitary course. The sailors caught the fish known
in the country by the name of caribe ; which, although
only four or five inches in length, attacks persons
who go into the water, and with its sharp triangular
teeth often tears considerable portions of flesh from
their legs. When pieces of meat are cast into the
river, clouds of these little fishes appear in a few
minutes. There are three varieties in the Orinoco ;
one of which seems to be the Salmo rhombeus of
Linnaeus. At noon they stopped in a desert spot
called Algodonal, when Humboldt left his companions
and went along the beach to observe a group of
crocodiles sleeping in the sun. Some little herons
of a white colour were walking along their backs,
and even on their heads. As he was proceeding,
his eyes directed towards the river, he discovered
recent footmarks of a beast of prey, and turning
towards the forest, found himself within eighty steps
of an enormously large jaguar. Although extremely
frightened, he yet retained sufficient command of
himself to follow the advice which the Indians had
so often given, and continued to walk without mov-
ing his arms, making a large circuit towards the edge
of the water. As the distance increased he accele-
rated his pace, and at length, judging it safe to look
about, did so, and saw the tiger in the same spot.
Arriving at the boat out of breath, he related his ad-
venture to the natives, who seemed to think it nothing
extraordinary. In the evening they passed the mouth

188

MANATEES.

of the Cano del Manati, so named on aceonntof tlie
vast number of manatees cauglil there. Tliis aquatic
herbivorous animal generally attains the leno-th of
ten or twelve feet, and abounds in the Orinoco below
t1ie cataracts, the Rio Meta, and the Apure. T'he
flesh, although very savoury and resembling pork is
considered unwholesome ; but it is in request durino-
Lent, being classed by the monks among tishes^
The fat is used for lamps in the churches, as well as
lor cooking; while the hide is cut into slips to supply
the place of cordage. Whips are also made of it in
the Spanish colonies for the castigation of negroes
and other slaves. The fires lighted by the boatmen
on the shore attracted the crocodiles and dolphins
Two persons kept watch during the night. A jao-uar
with her cub approached the encampment, but was
driven away by the attendants ; and soon after the
dog was bitten in the nose by a large bat or vam-
pire.

On the 4th they intended to pass the night at
Vuelta del Palmito ; but as the Indians were goino-
to sling the hammocks they found two tigers con"
cealed behind a tree, and it was judged safer to re-
embark and sleep on the island of Apurito. Multi-
tudes of gnats made their appearance regularly at
sunset, and covered their faces and hands. On the
5th they were much struck by the diminution the
waters of the Apure had undergone, which they
attributed chieliy to absorption by the sand and evap-
oration. It was only from 128 to 170 yards broad
and about twenty feet deep. Humboldt estimates
the mean fall of this river at 14 inches in a mile.
The canoe touched several times on shoals as they
approached the point of junction, and it became ne-
cessary to tow it by means of a line.

THE ORINOCO. 189

CHAPTER XVII.

Voyage up the Orinoco.

Ascent of the Orinoco— Port of Encaramada- Traditions of a universal
Deluge— Gathering of Turtles' Eggs— Two Species described— Mode
of collecting the Eggs and of manufacturing the Oil— Probable Num-
ber of these Animals on the Orinoco— Decorations of the Indians-
Encampment of Pararuma— Height of the Inundations of the Ori-
noco—Rapids of Tabage.

Leaving the Rio Apure, the travellers entered the
Orinoco, and presently found themselves in a coun-
try of an entirely different aspect. As far as the
eye could reach there lay before them a sheet of
water, the waves of which, from the conflict of the
breeze and the current, rose to the height of several
feet. The long files of herons, flamingoes, and
spoonbills which were observed on the Apure had
disappeared ; and all that supphed the place of those
multitudes of animated beings by whom they had
been lately accompanied was here and there a croco-
dile swimming in the agitated stream. The hori-
zon was bounded by a girdle of forests, separated
from the river by a broad beach, the bare and
parched surface of which refracted the solar rays
into the semblance of pools.

The wind was favourable for sailing up the Ori-
noco ; but the short broken waves at the junction of
the two rivers were exceedingly disagreeable. They
passed the Punta Curiquima, a granitic promontory,
between which and the mouth of the Apure the
breadth of the stream was ascertained to be 4063
yards, and in the rainy season it extends to 11,760.
The temperature of the water was in the middle of
the current 82 9°, and near the shores 84 6°. They

190 CARIB INDIANS.

first went up towards the south-west as far as the
shore of the Guaricoto Indians on the left bank, and
then toAvards the soutli. The mountains of Encara-
mada, forming a continued chain from west to east,
seemed to rise from the water as distant land rises
on the horizon at sea. The beach was composed
of clay intermixed with scales of mica, deposited
m very thin strata. At the port of Encaramada,
where they stopped for some time, they met with a
Carib cacique going up the river in his canoe to
gather turtles' eggs. He was armed with a bow and
arrows, as were his attendants, and, like them, he
was naked and painted red. These Indians were
tall and athletic, and, with their hair cut straight
across the forehead, their eyebrows painted black,
and their glooUiy but animated countenances liad a
singular appearance. The travellers were surprised
to find that the anterior portion of the cranium is
not so depressed as those of the Caribs are usually
represented to be. The women carried their infants
on their backs. The shore is here formed by a rock
forty or fifty feet high, composed of blocks of gran-
ite piled upon each other ; the surface of which was
of a dark-gray colour, although the interior was red-
dish-white. The night was passed in a creek oppo-
site the mouth of the Rio CabuUare. The evening was
beautiful, with moonlight ; but towards twelve the
north-east wind blew so violently that they became
apprehensive for the safety of their canoe.

On the 6th, continuing to ascend, they saw the
southern side of the mountains of Encaramada,
which stretch along the right bank of the river, and
are inhabited by Indians of a gentle character, and
addicted to agriculture. There is a tradition here,
and elsewhere on the Orinoco, among the natives,
" That at the time of the Great Waters, when their
fathers were obliged to betake themselves to their
canoes in order to escape the general inundation,
the waves of the sea beat upon the rocks of Encara-

TRADITIONS OF A DELUGE. 191

madii." When the Tamanacs are asked how the
human race survived this great deluge they say,
" Tliat a man and a woman saved themselves upon a
liigh mountain called Tamanacu, situated on the
bank of the Aseveru, and that, throwing behind
them, over their heads, the fruits of the Mauritia
palm, they saw arising from the nuts of these fruits
the men and women who repeopled the earth."
Thus, among the natives of America, a fable similar
to that of Pyrrha and Deucalion commemorates the
grand catastrophe of a general inundation. Hum-
boldt, in reference to the same event, mentions that
hieroglypliic figures are often found along the Ori-
noco sculptured on rocks now inaccessible but by
scaffolding, and that the natives, when asked how
these figures could have been made, answer with a
smile, as relating a fact of which a stranger alone
could be ignorant, " That at the period of the Great
Waters their fathers went to that height in boats."

" These ancient traditions of the human race,"
says Humboldt, " which we find dispersed over the
surface of the globe, like the fragments of a vast
shipwreck, are of the greatest interest in the philo-
sophical study of our species. Like certain families
of plants, which, notwithstanding the diversity of
climates and the influence of heiglits, retain the im-
press of a common type, the traditions respecting
the primitive state of the globe present among all
nations a resemblance that fills us with astonish-
ment ; so many different languages belonging to
branches which appear to have no connexion with
each other, transmit the same facts to us. The sub-
stance of tiie traditions respecting the destroyed
races and the renovation of nature is everywhere
almost the same, although each nation gives it a
local colouring. In the great continents, as in the
smallest islands of the Pacific Ocean, it is always on
the highest and nearest mountain that the remains
of the human race were saved ; and this event ap-

Jfllg EGG-HARVEST.

pears so much the more recent the more unculti-
vated the nations are, and the shorter the period
since they have begun to acquire a knowledge of
themselves. When we attentively examine the
Mexican monuments anterior to the discovery of
America, — penetrate into the forests of the Orinoco,
and become aware of the smallness of the Euro-
pean estabhshments, their solitude, and the state of
the tribes which retain their independence,— we can-
not allow ourselves to attribute the agreement of ■£
these accounts to the intluence of missionaries and I
to that of Christianity upon national traditions. Nor I
is it more probable that the sight of marme bodies ^
found on the summits of mountains presented to the
tribes of the Orinoco the idea of those great inun-
dations which for some time extinguished the germs
of organic life upon the globe.— The country which
extends from the right bank of the Orinoco to the
Casiquiare and the Rio Negro consists of primitive
rocks. I saw there a small deposite of sandstone j
or conglomerate, but no secondary limestone, and I
no trace of petrifactions."

At eleven in the morning the travellers landed on
an island celebrated for the turtle fishery, or the
"harvest of eggs," which takes place annually.
Here they found encamped more than 300 Indians
of different races, each tribe, distinguished by its
peculiar mode of painting, keeping separate from the
rest, together with a few white men who had come
to purchase egg-oil from them. The missionary of
Uruana, whose presence was necessary to procure
a supply for the lamp of the church and keep the
natives in order, received the strangers with kind-
ness, and made the tour of the island with them ;
showing them, by means of a pole which he thinist
into the sand, the extent of the stratum of eggs, that
had been deposited wherever there were no emi-
nences. The Indians asserted, that in coming up the
Orinoco, from its mouth to the junction of the Apure,

AQUATIC TORTOISES. 193

there is no place where eggs can be collected in
abundance ; and the only three spots Avhere the
turtles assemble annually in great numbers are situ-
ated between the mouth of the A pure and the great
cataracts. These animals do not seem to pass be-
yond the falls, the species found above Atures and
Maypures being different.

The arrau or tortuga, which deposites the eggs
that are so much valued on the Lower Orinoco, is
a large fresh-water tortoise, with webbed feet, a
very flat head, a deep groove between the eyes, and
an upper shell composed of five central, eight lateral,
and twenty-four marginal scutella or plates. The
colour is dark-gray above and orange beneath.
When of full size it weighs from forty to fifty pounds.
The eggs are much larger than those of a pigeon,
and are covered with a calcareous crust.

The terekay, the species which occurs above the
cataracts, is much smaller. It has the same num-
ber of dorsal plates, but the colour is oUve green,
with two spots of red mixed with yehow on the top of
the head, and a prickly appendage under the chin.
The eggs have an agreeable taste, and are much
sought after, but are not deposited in masses like
those of the tortuga. This variety is found below
the cataracts as well as in the Apure, the Urituco,
the Guarico, and the small rivers of the llanos of
Caraccas.

The period at which the arrau deposites its eggs
is when the river is lowest. About the beginning
of February these creatures issue from the water
and warm themselves on the beach, remaining there
a great part of the day. Early in the month of
March they assemble on the islands where they
breed, when thousands are to be seen ranged in files
along the shores. The Indians place sentinels at
certain distances to prevent them from being dis-
turbed, and the people who pass in boats are told to
keep in the middle of the river. The laying of the

R

194 HARVEST OF TORTOISE-EGGS.

eggs begins soon after sunset, and is continued
throughout the night. The anunal digs a hole tliree
feet in diameter and two in breadth with its hind
feet, which are very long and furnished with crooked
claws. So pressing is the desire which it feels to
get rid of its burden, that great confusion prevads,
and an immense number of eggs is broken. Some
of the tortoises are surprised by day before they
have finished the operation, and becoming insensi-
ble to danger, continue to work with the greatest
diligence even in the presence of the fishers.

The Indians assemble about the beginning of
April, and commence operations under the direction
of the missionaries, who divide the egg-ground into
portions. The leading person among them hrst
examines by means of a long pole or cane how lar
the bed extends, and then allots the shares. The
natives remove the earth with their hands, gather
up the eggs, and carry them in baskets to the camp,
where they throw them into long wooden troughs
filled with water. They are next brok en and stirred,
and remain exposed to the sun until the yolk, which
swims at the surface, has time to inspissate, when
it is taken off and boiled. The oil thus obtained is
limpid and destitute of smell, and is used for lamps
as well as for cooking. The shores of the missions
of Uruana furnish 1000 botijas or jars annually, and
the three stations jointly may be supposed to furnish
5000 It requires 5000 eggs to fill a jar ; and il we
estimate at 100 or 116 the number which one tor-
toise produces, and allow one-third to be broken at
the time of laying, we may presume that 3f ,000 ot
these animals assemble every year, and lay 33 000,000
of esfgs This calculation, however, is much below
the truth. Manyofthemlayonly60or70; great^num-
bers of them again are devoured by jaguars ; the In-
dians take away a considerable quantity to eat them
. dried in the sun, and break nearly as many while
gathering them ; and, besides, the proportion that is

ASCENT OF THE ORINOCO- 195

hatched is such that Humboldt saw the whole shore
near the encampment of Uruana swarmmg with
young ones. Moreover, all the arraus do not as-
semble on the three shores of the encampments, but
many lay elsewhere. The number which annually
deposite their eggs on the shores of the Lower Ori-
noco may, therefore, be estimated at httle short of
a miUion. The travellers were shown the shells
of large turtles which had been emptied by the
jaguars. These animals surprise them on the sand,
and turn them on their back in order to devour them
at their ease ; they dig up the eggs also : and, to-
gether with the gallinazo vulture and the herons,
destroy thousands of their brood.

After procuring some fresh provision, and taking
leave of the missionary, they set sail in the after-
noon. The wind blew in squalls, and after they had
entered the mountainous part of the country, they
found the canoe not very safe when under sail ; but
the master was desirous of showing off to the In-
dians, and in going close upon the wind almost upset
his vessel, which filled with water, and nearly foun-
dered. In the evening they landed on a barren
island, where they supped under a beautiful moon-
light, with turtle-shells for seats, and indulged their
imagination with the picture of a shipwrecked man,
wandering on the desert shores of the Orinoco amid
rivers full of crocodiles and caribe fishes. The night
was intensely hot, and not finding trees on which to
sling their hammocks, they slept on skins spread on
the ground. To their surprise the jaguars swam to
the island, although they had kindled fires to pre-
vent them; but these animals did not venture to
attack them.

On the 7th they passed the mouth of the Rio
Arauca, which is frequented by immense numbers
of birds. They also saw the mission of Uruana, at
the foot of a mountain composed of detached blocks
of granite, in the caverns formed by which hiero^

196 MOUNTAINOUS DISTRICT.

glyphic figures are sculptured. Measuring the
breadth of the Orinoco here, they found it, at a dis-
tance of 670 miles from the mouth, to be 5700 yards,
or nearly three miles. The temperature of the
water at its surface was 82°. As the strength of
the current increased, the progress of the boat be-
came much slower, while at one time the woods de-
prived them of the wind, and at another a violent
gust descended from the mountain-passes. Opposite
the lake of Capanaparo, which communicates with
the river, the number of crocodiles was increased.
The Indians asserted that they came in troops to
the water from the savannas, where they lie buried
in the solid mud until the first showers awaken
them. Humboldt remarks, that the dry season of
the torrid zone corresponds to the winter of the
temperate regions of the globe ; and that while the
alligators of North America become torpid through
excess of cold, the crocodiles of the llanos are
reduced to the same state through deficiency of
moisture.

They now entered the passage of the Baraguan,
where the Orinoco is hemmed in by precipices of
granite, forming part of a range of mountains
through which it has found or forced a channel.
Like all the other granitic hills which they observed
on this river, they were formed of enormous cubical
masses piled upon each other. Landing in the mid-
dle of the strait, they found the breadth of the stream
to be 1895 yards. They looked in vain for plants in
the fissures of the rocks ; but the stones were cov-
ered with multitudes of lizards. There was not a
breath of wind, and the heat was so intense that the
thermometer placed against the rock rose to 122 '4°.
" How vivid," says Humboldt, " is the impression
which the noontide quiet of nature produces in these
burning climates ! The beasts of the forest retire
to the thickets, and the birds conceal themselves
among the fohage or in the crevices of rocks. Yet

INTENSE HEAT PARARUMA. 197

amid this apparent silence, should one Hsten atten-
tively, he hears a stifled sound, a continued murmur,
ahum of insects, that fill the lower strata of the air.
Nothing is more adapted to excite in man a senti-
ment of the extent and power of organic life. My-
riads of insects crawl on the ground, and flutter
round the plants scorched by the heat of the sun.
A confused noise issues from every bush, from the
decayed trunks of the trees, the fissures of the rocks,
and from the ground, which is undermined by lizards,
miUipedes, andblindworms. It is a voice proclaim-
ing to us that all nature breathes, that under a thou-
sand different forms life is diffused in the cracked
and dusty soil, as in the bosom of the waters, and in
the air that circulates around us. The water of the
river was very disagreeable here, as it had a musky
smell and a sweetish taste. In some parts it was
pretty good ; but in others it seemed loaded with
gelatinous matter, which the natives attribute to pu-
trified crocodiles."

After sleeping at the foot of an eminence they
continued their voyage, and passed the mouths of
several rivers ; and on the 9th arrived, early in the
morning, at the beach of Pararuma, where they
found an encampment of Indians, who had assem-
bled to search the sands for turtles' eggs. The pilot,
who had brought them from San Fernando de Apure,
would not undertake to accompany them farther;
but they procured a boat from one of the mission-
aries who had come to the egg-harvest.

This assemblage or encampment afforded to the
travellers an interesting subject of study. " How
difficult," says Humboldt, " to recognise in this in-
fancy of society, this collection of dull, taciturn, and
unimpassioned Indians, the original character of our
species ! Human nature is not seen here arrayed
in that gentle simplicity of which poets in every
language have drawn such enchanting pictures.
The savage of the Orinoco appeared to us as hideous

R2

198 ENCAMPMENT OF INDIANS.

as the savage of the Mississippi described by the
philosophical traveller who best knew how to paint
man in the various regions of the globe. One would
fain persuade himself that these natives of the soil,
crouched near the fire, or seated on large shells of
turtles, their bodies covered with earth and grease,
and their eyes stupidly fixed for whole hours on the
drink which they are preparing, far from being the
original type of our species, are a degenerated race,
the feeble remains of nations which, after being long
scattered in the forests, have been again immersed
in barbarism.'"

Red paint is the ordinary decoration of these
tribes. The most common kind is obtained from
the seeds of the Bixa orellana, and is called anotto,
achote, or roucou. Another much more expensive
species is extracted from the leaves of Bignoma
chica. Both these are red ; but a black ingredient is
obtained from the Gem-pa Americana, and is called
caruto. These pigments are mixed with turtle-oil
or grease, and are variously applied according to na-
tional or individual taste. The Caribs and Otomacs
colour only the head and hair, while the Salivas
smear the whole body ; but there prevails in general
as great a diversity in the mode of staining as is
found in Europe in respect to dress ; and at Para-
ruma the travellers saw some Indians painted with a
blue jacket and black buttons. Women advanced in
years are fonder of being thus ornamented than the
younger ladies ; and so expensive is this mode of
decoration, that an industrious man can hardly gain
enough by the labour of a fortnight to adorn himself
with chica, of which the missionaries make an article
of traffic. After all, the paintings that cost so much
are liable to be effaced by a heavy shower ; although
the caruto long resists the action of water, as the
travellers found by disagreeable experience ; for
having one day in sport marked their faces with
spots and strokes of it, it was not entirely removed

SAGACITY OF THE TITI MONKEY. 199

till after a long period. It has been supposed that
this usage prevents the Indians from being stung by
insects ; but this was found to be incorrect. The
preference given by the American tribes to the red
colour, Humboldt supposes to be owing to the tend-
ency which nations feel to attribute the idea of
beauty to whatever characterizes their national
complexion.

The encampment of Pararuma also afforded the
travellers an opportunity of examining several ani-
jnals they had not before seen alive, and which the
"Indians brought to exchange with the missionaries
for fish-h6oks and other necessaries. Among these
specimens were gallitoes, or rock-manakins, mon-
keys of different species, of which the titi or Simia
sciurea seems to have been a special favourite with
Humboldt. He mentions a very interesting fact
illustrative of the sagacity of this creature. One
which he had purchased of the natives distinguished
the different plates of a work on natural history so
well, that when an engraving which contained zoo-
logical representations was placedbefore it, it rapidly
advanced its little hand to catch a grasshopper or a
wasp ; which was the more remarkable as the
figures were not coloured. Humboldt observes, that
he never heard of any the most perfect picture of
hares or deer producing the least effect upon a
hound, and doubts if there be a well-ascertained ex-
ample of a dog having recognised a full-length por-
trait of its master.

The canoe which they had procured was forty-
two feet long and three broad. The missionary of
Atures and Maypures had offered to accompany
them as far as the frontiers of Brazil, and made pre-
parations for the voyage. Two Indians who were
to form part of the crew were chained during the
night to prevent their escape ; and on the morning
of the 10th the company set out. Tlie vessel was
found to be extremely incommodious. To gain

200 SCENERY.

something in breadth a kind of frame had been ex-
tended over the gunwale in the hinder part of it ; but
the roof of leaves which covered it was so low that
the travellers were obliged to lie down, or sit nearly
double, while in rainy weather the feet were liable
to be wetted. The natives, seated two and two,
were furnished with paddles three feet long, and
rowed with surprising uniformity to the cadence of
a monotonous and melancholy song. Small cages,
containing birds and monkeys, were suspended to
the shed, and the dried plants and instruments were
placed beneath it. To their numerous inconve-
niences was added the continual torment of the mos-
quitoes, which they were unable by any means to
alleviate. Every night, when they established their
watch, the collection of animals and instruments
occupied the centre, around which were placed first
their own hammocks, and then those of the Indians,
while fires were lighted to intimidate the jaguars.
At sunrise the monkeys in the cages answered the
cries of those in the forests, affording an aftecting
display of sympathy between the captive and the
free.

Above the deserted mission of Pararuma the river
is full of islands, and divides into several branches.
Its total breadth is about 6395 yards. The country
becomes more wooded. A granitic prism, termi-
Bated by a flat surface covered with a tuft of trees,
rises to the height of 213 feet in the midst of the
forest. Farther on the river narrows ; and upon the
east is an eminence, on Avhich the Jesuits formerly
maintained a garrison for protecting the missions
against the inroads of the Caribs, and for extending
what, in the Spanish colonies, was called the con-
quest of souls, which of course was eflfected through
the conquest of bodies. The soldiers made incur-
sions into the territories of the independent Indians,
killed all who offered resistance, burned their huts,
destroyed the plantations, and made prisoners of the

CARICHANA INDIANS. 201

old men, women, and children, who were afterward
divided among their establishments. The river again
contracted, and rapids began to make their appear-
ance, the shores becoming sinuous and precipitous.
In a bay between two promontories of granite, they
landed at what is called the Port of Carichana, and
proceeded to the mission of that name, situated at
the distance of two miles and a half from the bank,
where they were hospitably received at the priest's
house. The Christian converts at this station were
Salivas, a social and mild people, having a great taste
for music.

Among these Indians they found a white woman,
the sister of a Jesuit of New-Grenada, and expe-
rienced great pleasure in conversing with her with-
out the aid of a third person. In every mission,
says Humboldt, there are at least two interpreters,
for the purpose of communicating between the
monks and the catechumens, the former seldom
studying the language of the latter. They are na-
tives, somewhat less stupid than the rest, but ill
adapted for their office. They always attended the
travellers in their excursions ; but little more could
be got from them than a mere affirmation or nega-
tion. Sometimes, in attempting to hold intercourse
with the Indians, he preferred the language of signs, —
a method which he recommends to travellers, as the
variety of languages spoken on the Meta, Orinoco,
Casiquiare, and Rio Negro is so great, that no one
could ever make himself understood in them all.

The scenery around the mission of Carichana ap-
peared delightful. The village was situated on a
grassy plain, bounded by mountains. Banks of rock,
often more than 850 feet in circumference, scarcely
elevated a few inches above the savannas, and
nearly destitute of vegetation, give a peculiar char-
acter to the country. On these stony flats they
eagerly observed the rising vegetation in the differ-
ent stages of its development : lichens cleaving to the

202 MARKS OF INUNDATIONS.

rock and collected into crusts ; a few succulent plants
growing among little portions of quartz-sand ; and
tufts of evergreen shrubs springing up in the black
mould deposited in the hollows. At the distance
of eight or ten miles from the religious house they
found a rich and diversified assemblage of plants,
among which M. Bonpland obtained numerous new
species. Here grew the Dipterioc odnrata, which fur-
nishes excellent timber, and of which the fruit is
known in Europe by the name of tonkay or tongo
bean.

In a narrow part of the river the marks of the
great inundations were 45 feet above the surface ;
but at various places black bands and erosions are
seen, 106, or even 138 feet above the present highest
increase of the waters. " Is this river, then," says
Humboldt, " the Orinoco, which appears to us so im-
posing and majestic, merely the feeble remnant
of those immense currents of fresh water which,
swelled by alpine snows, or by more abundant rains,
everywhere shaded by dense forests, and destitute
of those beaches which favour evaporation, formerly
traversed the regions to the east of the Andes, like
arms of inland seas '\ What must then have been
the state of those low countries of Guiana, which
now experience the effects of annual inundations ■?
What a prodigious number of crocodiles, laman-
tines, and boas must have inhabited these vast
regions, alternately converted into pools of stagnant
water and arid plains ! The more peaceful world m
which we live has succeeded to a tumultuous world.
Bones of mastodons and real American elephants
are found dispersed over the platforms of the Andes.
The megatherium inhabited the plains of Uruguay.
By digging the earth more deeply in high valleys,
which at the present day are unable to nourish palms
or tree-ferns, we discover strata of coal containing
gigantic remains of monocotyledonous plants. There
was therefore a remote period, when the tribes of

THUNDER-STORM MYSTERIOUS SOUNDS. 203

Vegetables were differently distributed; when the
animals were larger, the rivers wider and deeper.
There stop the monuments of nature which we can
consult. We are ignorant if the human race, which
at the time of the discovery of America scarcely
presented a few feeble tribes to the east of the Cor-
dilleras, had yet descended into the plains, or if the
ancient tradition of the Great Waters, which we
find among all the races of the Orinoco, Erevato,
and Caura, belong to other climates, whence it had
been transferred to this part of the new continent."
On the 11th they left Carichana at two in the
afternoon, and found the river more and more en-
cumbered by blocks of granite. At the large rock
known by the name of Piedradel Tigre, the depth is
so great that no bottom can be found with a line of
140 feet. Towards evening they encountered a
thunder-storm, which for a time drove away the
mosquitoes that had tormented them during the day.
At the cataract of Cariven the current vvas so rapid
that they had great difficulty in landing; but at
length two Saliva Indians swam to the shore, and
drew the canoe to the side with a rope. The thun-
der continued a part of the night, and the river in-
creased considerably. The granitic rock on which
they slept is one of those from which travellers on
the Orinoco have heard subterranean sounds, re-
sembling those of an organ, emitted about sunrise.
Humboldt supposes that these must be produced by
the passage of rarefied air through the fissures, and
seems to think that the impulse of the fluid against
the elastic scales of mica which intercept the crev-
ices may contribute to modify their expression.*

* Many examples of mysterious sounds produced under similar eir-
cUmstances are on record. In the autumn of 1838, a recent traveller
crossing the Pyrenees, when in a wild pass with the Maladetta moun-
tain opposite, heard "a dull, low, moaning, JEolian sound, which alone
broke upon the deathly silence, evidently proceeding from the body of
this mighty mass." The air was perfectly calm, and clear to an extra-
ordinary degree ; no waterfall could be seen even with the aid of a tele-

204

MAJESTIC SCENERY.

On the 12th they set off at four in the morning
The Indians rowed twelve hours and a half without
mtermission, during which time they took no other
nourishment than cassava and plantains. The bed
of the river, to the length of 1280 yards, was full of
granite rocks, the channels between which were
often very narrow, insomuch that the canoe was
sometimes jammed in between two blocks. When
the current was too strong the sailors leaped out and
Avarped the boat along. The rocks were of all di-
mensions, rounded, very dark, ghjssv like lead, and
destitute of vegetation. No crocodiles were seen
in these rapids. The left bank of the Orinoco, from
Cabruto to the mouth of the Rio Serianico, a dis-
tance of nearly two degrees of latitude, is entirely
uninhabited ; but to the westward of these rapids
an enterprising individual, Don Fehx Relinchon, had
formed a village of Jaruro and Otomac Indians. At
nine in the morning they arrived at the mouth of
the Meta, which, next to the Guaviare, is the largest
river that joins the Orinoco. At the union of these
streams the scenery is of a very impressive charac-
ter. Solitary peaks rise on the eastern side, appear-
ing in the distance like ruined castles, while vast
sandy shores intervene between the bank and the
forests. They passed two hours on a large rock in
the middle of the Orinoco, upon which Humboldt

scope, and no cause could be as.signed for ihe plienomenon, unless Ihe
suns rays, "althat inument impinging in all ll)eir glory on every point
and peak ol the snowy heights," hnd .some sliare " in vibratin" these
n)Ountain-chords."-JV 3/. Mag. xx.x. 341. The granite sia.ueo? Mem!
non IS well known to have emitted suunds when the morninir beams
darted upon it; and MM. Jomard, Jollois, and Devilliers heard^a noise
resembling that o( ihe breaking of a string, which procee.ied at sunrise
trom a monument of granite situated near the centre of the spot on
which .Elands the palace of Carnac. Singular sounds have been heard
Jrom Ihe iiiierior of a mountain near Tor, in Arabia Petisa They are
familiartothe iialives, who ascribe them to a convent of monks miracu-
lously preserved under ground, and were heard by M. Seeizen' and Mr
Oray, the only European travellers who have visited the place. For ati
account of these curious phenomena, the reader msv be referred to Dr
Brewater's Letters on Kalurol Magic, forming Ko. L. of the Family

MISSION OF SAN BORJA. 205

succeeded in fixing his instruments, and in deter-
mining the longitude of the embouchure of tiie Meta ;
a river which will one day be of great political im-
portance to the inhabitants of Guiana and Venezuela,
as it is navigable to the foot of the Andes of New-
Grenada. Above this point the current was com-
paratively free from shoals ; and in the evening they
reached the rapids of Tabaje. As the Indians
would not venture to pass them, they were obliged
to land, and repose on a craggy platform having a
slope of more than eighteen degrees, and having its
crevices filled with bats. The cries of the jaguar
were heard very near during the whole night ; the
sky was of a tremendous blackness ; and the hoarse
noise of the rapids blended with the thunder which
rolled at a distance among the woods.

Early in the morning they cleared the rapids, and
disembarked at the new mission of San Borja, where
tliey found six houses inhabited by uncatechised
Guahiboes, who differed in nothing from the wild
natives. The faces of the young girls wei'e marked
with black spots. This people had not painted their
bodies, and several of them had beards, of which
they seemed proud, taking the travellers by the
chin, and showing by signs that they were like
themselves. In continuing to ascend the river, they
found the heat less intense, the temperature during
the day being 79° or 80°, and at night about 75° ;
but the torment of the mosquitoes increased. The
crocodiles which they saw were all of the extraor-
dinary size of twenty-four or twenty-five feet.

The night was spent on the beach ; but the suffer-
ings inflicted by the flies induced the travellers to
start at five in the morning. On the island of Gua-
chaco, where they stopped to breakfast, they found
the granite covered by a sandstone or conglomerate,
containing fragments of quartz and felspar cemented
by indurated clay, and exhibiting small veins of
brown iron-ore. Passing the mouth of the Rio Pa-

S

206 MISSION OF ATURES.

rueni, they slept on the island of Panumana, which
they found rich in plants, and where they again
observed the low shelves of rock partially coated
with the vegetation wliich they had admired at
Carichana-

CHAPTER XVIII,

Voyage up the Orinoco continued.

Mission of Atures— Epidemic Fevers — Black Crust of Granitic Rocks —
Causes of Depoimlation of the Missions — Falls of Apures — Scenery —
Anecdote of a Jaguar — Domestic Animals — Wild Man of the Woods
— Mosquitoes and other poisonous Insects — Mission and Cataracts of
Maypures — Scenery — Inhabitants — Spice-trees — San Fernando de Ata-
bapo — S:in Baltasar — The Motner's Rock— Vegetation — Dolphins —
San Antonio de Javita — Indians— Elastic Gum— Serpents— Portage of
the Pimichin— Arrival at the Rio Negro, a Branch of the Amazon —
Ascent of the Casiijuiare

Leaving the island of Panumana at an early hour,
the navigators continued to ascend the Orinoco, the
scenery on which became more interesting the
nearer they approached the great cataracts. The
sky was in part obscured, and lightnings tlashed
among the dense clouds ; but no thunder was heard.
On the western bank of the river they perceived the
fires of an encampment of Guahiboes, to intimidate
whom some shots were discharged by the direction
of the missionary. In the evening they arrived at
the foot of the great fall, and passed the night at the
mission of Atures, in its neighbourhood. The flat
savanna which surrounds the village seemed to
Humboldt to have formerly been the bed of the
Orinoco.

This station was found to be in a deplorable state,
the Indians Jiaving gradually deserted it until only

Noxious exhalations from the rocks. 207

forty-seven remained. At its foundation in 1748
several tribes had been assembled, which subse-
quently dispersed, and their places were supplied
by the Guahiboes, who belong to the lowest grade
of uncivilized society, and a few families of Macoes.
The epidemic fevers, which prevail here at the com-
mencement of the rainy season, contributed greatly
to the decay of the establishment. This distemper
is ascribed to the violent heats, excessive humidity
of the air, bad food, and, as the natives believe, to
the noxious exhalations that i-ise from the bare rocks
of the rapids. This last is a curious circumstance,
and, as Humboldt remarks, is the mor§ worthy of
attention on account of its being connected with a
fact that has been observed in several parts of the
world, although it has not yet been sufficiently ex-
plained.

Among the cataracts and falls of the Orinoco, the
granite rocks, wherever they are periodically sub-
mersed, become smooth, and seem as if coated with
black lead. The crust is only 0'3 of a line in thick-
ness, and occurs chiefly on the quartzy parts of the
stone, which is coarse-grained, and contains solitary
crystals of hornblende. The same appearance is
presented at the cataracts of Syene as well as those
of the Congo. This black deposite, according to
Mr. Children's analysis, consists of oxide of iron
and manganese, to which some experiments of
Humboldt induced him to add carbon and super-
carburetted iron. The phenomenon has hitherto
been observed only in the torrid zone, in rivers that
overflow periodically and are bounded by primitive
rocks, and is supposed by our author to arise from
the precipitation of substances chymically dissolved
in the water, and not from an efHorescence of mat-
ters-contained in the rocks themselves. The Indians
and missionaries assert, that the exhalations from
these rocks are unwholesome, and consider i^ dan-
gerous to sleep on granite near the river ; and our

208 DEPOPULATION OF THE MISSIONS.

travellers, without entirely crediting this assertion,
usually took care to avoid the black rocks at night.
But the danger of reposing on them, Humboldt
thinks, may rather be owing to the very great degree
of warmth they retain during the night, which was
found to be 85-5°, while that of the air was 78-8°.
In the day their temperature was 118-4°, and the
heat which they emitted was stifling.

Among the causes of the depopulation of the
missions, Humboldt mentions the general insalubrity
of the climate, bad nourishment, want of proper
treatment in the diseases of children, and the prac-
tice of preventing pregnancy by the use of dele-
terious herbs. Among the savages of Guiana, when
twins are produced one is always destroyed, from
the idea that to bring more than one at a time into
the world is to resemble rats, opossums, and the
vilest animals ; and that two children born at once
cannot belong to the same father. When any phy-
sical deformity occurs in an infant, the father puts
it to death, and those of a feeble constitution some-
times undergo the same fate, because the care which
they require is disagreeable. " Such," says Hum-
boldt, " is the simplicity of manners, — the boasted
happiness of man in the state of nature ! He kills
his son to escape the ridicule of having twins, or
to avoid travelling more slowly, — in fact to avoid a
little inconvenience."

The two great cataracts of the Orinoco are formed
by the passage of the river across a chain of granitic
mountains, constituting part of the Parime range.
By the natives they are called Mapara and Quittuna;
but the missionaries have denominated them the
falls of Atures and Maypures, after the first tribes
which they assembled in the nearest villages. They
are only forty-one miles distant from each other,
and are not more than 345 miles west of the Cor-
dilleras of New-Grenada. They divide the Chri.s-
tian establishments of Spanish Guiana into two uu-

I

SCENERY OF THE LOWER CATARACT. 209

equal parts ; those situated between the lower
cataract, or that of Apures, being called the missions
of the Lower Orinoco, and those between the upper
cataract and the mountains of Duida being called
the missions of the Upper Orinoco. The length of
the lower section, including its sinuosities, is 897
miles, while that of the upper is 576 miles. The
navigation of the river extends from its mouth to
the point where it meets tlie Anaveni near the lower
cataract, although in the upper part of this division
there are rapids which can be passed only in small
boats. The principal danger, however, is that which
arises from natural rafts, consisting of trees inter-
woven with lianas, and covered with aquatic plants
carried down by the current. The cataracts are
formed by bars stretching across the bed of the
river, which forces its way through a break in the
mountains ; but beyond this rugged pass the course
is again open for a length of more than 576 miles.

The scenery in the vicinity of the lower fall is
described as exceedingly beautiful. To the west of
Atures, a pyramidal mountain, the Peak of Uniana,
rises from a plain to the height of nearly 3200 feet.
The savannas, which are covered with grasses and
slender plants, though never inundated by tlie river,
present a surprising luxuriance and diversity of
vegetation. Piles of granitic blocks rise here and
there, and at the margins of the plains occur deep
valleys and ravines, the humid soil of which is
covered with arums, heliconias, and lianas. The
shelves of primitive rocks, scarcely elevated above
the plain, are partially coated with lichens and
mosses, together with succulent plants, and tufts of
evergreen shrubs with shining leaves. On all sides
the horizon is bounded by mountains, overgrown
with forests of laurels, among which clusters of
palms rise to the height of more than a hundred
feet, their slender stems supporting tufts of feathery
foliage. To the east of Atures other mountains ap-

S 2

210 CATARACTS OF THE ORINOCO.

pear, the ridge of which is composed of pointed
cliffs, rising like huge pillars above the trees. Wheu
these columnar masses are situated near the Orinoco,
flamingoes, herons, and other wading birds perch
on their summits, and look like sentinels. In the
vicinity of the cataracts, the moisture which is dif-
fused in the air produces a perpetual verdure, and
wherever soil has accumulated on the plains, it is
occupied by the beautiful shrubs of the mountains.

The rainy season had scarcely commenced, yet
the vegetation displayed all the vigour and brilliancy
which on the coast it assumes only towards the
end of the rains. The old trunks were decorated
with orchideae, bannisterias, bignonias, arums, and
other parasitic plants. Mimosas, figs, and laurels
were the prevaihng trees in the woody spots ; and
in the vicinity of the cataract were groups of heli-
conias, bamboos, and palms.

Along a space of more than five miles the bed of
the Orinoco is traversed by numerous dikes of rock,
forming natural dams, filled with islands of every
form, some rocky and precipitous, while others re-
semble shoals. By these the river is broken up into
torrents, which are ever dashing their spray against
the rocks. They are all furnished with sylvan vege-
tation, and resemble a mass of palm-trees rising amid
the foam of the waters. The current is divided into
a multitude of rapids, each endeavouring to force a
passage through the narrows, and is everywhere
ingulfed in caverns, in one of which the traveUers
heard the water rolling at once over their heads and
beneath their feet.

Notwithstanding the formidable aspect of this long
succession of falls, the Indians pass many of them
in their canoes. When ascending they swim on
before, and after repeated efforts succeed in fixing a
rope to a point of rock, and thus draw the canoe up
the rapid. Sometimes it fills with water, and is not
unfrequently dashed to pieces against the shelves ;

CATARACTS OF THE ORINOCO. 211

upon which the sailors again swim, though not with-
out difficulty, through tlie whirlpools to the nearest
island. When the bars are very high the vessels
are taken ashore, and drawn upon rollers, made of the
branches of trees, to a place where the river again
becomes navigable. During the flood, however, this
operation is seldom necessary.

Although the rapids of the Orinoco form a long
series of falls, the noise of which is heard at the dis-
tance of more than three miles, yet the rocks were
found by Humboldt not to have a greater height than
thirty feet perpendicular. He thinks it probable that
a considerable part of the water is lost by passing
into subterranean cavities, independently of that
which disappears by being dispersed in the atmo-
sphere. Numberless holes and sinuosities are formed
in the crevices by the friction of the sand and quartz
pebbles ; but he does not consider that any great
change is effected in the general form of the cata-
racts by the action of the water, the granite being
too hard to be worn away to a great extent. The
Indians assert that the stony barriers preserve the
same aspect ; but that the partial torrents into which
the river divides itself are changed in their direc-
tion, and carry sometimes more, sometimes less
water towards one or other bank.

When the rush of the cataracts is heard in the
plain that surrounds the mission of Atures, one ima-
gines he is near a coast skirted by reefs and break-
ers. The noise is thrice as loud by night as by day.
This circumstance had struck the padre and the In-
dians, and Humboldt attributes it to the cessation
of the sun's action, which is productive of number-
less currents and undulations of the air, impeding
the progress of sound by presenting spaces of differ-
ent density.

The jaguars, which abound everywhere on the
Orinoco, are so numerous here that they come into
the village, and devour the pigs of the poor Indians.

212 .ANECDOTE OF A JAGUAR.

The missionary related a striking instance of the
familiarity of these animals :—" Two Indian chil-
dren, a boy and girl, eight or nine years of age, were
sitting among the grass near the village ot Atures,
in the midst of a savanna. It was two in the after-
noon when a jaguar issued from the forest and ap-
proached the children, gamboling around them ; some-
times concealing itself among the long grass, and
again springing forward, with his back curved and
his head lowered, as is usual with our cats. The
little boy was unaware of the danger in which he
was placed, and became sensible of it only when the
iaguar struck him on the head with one of his paws
The blows thus inflicted were at first slight, but
gradually became ruder. The claws of the jaguar
wounded the child, and blood flowed with violence
The little girl then took up a branch of a tree and
struck the animal, which fled before her. The In-
dians, hearing the cries of the cluldren, ran up and
saw the iacruar, which bounded off without showing
Iny drspolitiok to defend itself."-" What," asks
Humboldt, " meant this fit of playfulness in an ani-
mal which, although not diflicuU to be tamed in our
menao-eries, is always so ferocious and cruel in the
Sate Sf freedom 1 If we choose to admit that, bemg
sure of its prey, it played with the young Indian
as the domestic cat plays with a bird, the wings of
which have been clipped, how can we account for
the forbearance of a large jaguar when pursued by
a little girl 1 If the jaguar was not pressed by hun-
ger why should it have gone up to the children^
There are mysteries in the aflfections and hatreds
of animals We have seen lions kill three or four
dogs which were put into their cage, and instantly
caFess another which had the courage to seize the
royal beast by the mane. Man is ignorant of he
sources of these instincts. It would seem hat
weakness inspires more interest the more confiding
it is."

WILD HOGS— :-MONKEYS MOSQUITOES. 213

The cattle introduced by the Jesuits had entirely-
disappeared ; but the Indians rear the cornmon pig
and another kind peculiar to America, and known in
Europe by the name of pecari. A third species of
hog, the apida, which is of a dark-brown colour,
wanders ni large herds composed of several hun-
dreds. M. Bonpland, when upon a botanical excur-
sion, saw a drove of these animals pass near him.
It marched in a close body ; the males before, and
each sow accompanied by her young. The natives
kill them with smaU lances tied to cords. At the
mission they saw a monkey of a new species, which
had been brought up in captivity, and which every
day seized a pig in the court-yard, and remained upon
It from morning to night, in all its wanderings in the
savannas. Here, for the first time, they heard of
the hairy man of the woods, a large animal of the
ape kind, which, according to report, carries off
women, builds huts, and sometimes eats human
flesh. In all his travels in America, Humboldt found
no traces of a large anthropomorphous monkey, al-
though in several places, very distant from each
other, he heard similar accounts of it.

Flies of various kinds unceasingly tormented the
travellers ; mosquitoes and simulia by day, and zan-
cudoes by night. The missionary, observing that
the insects were more abundant in the lowest stra-
tum of the atmosphere, had constructed near the
church a small apartment supported upon palm-
trunks, to which they retired in the evening to dry
their plants and write their journals.* At Maypures

* A similar expedient was tried by a British officer who had joined the
lT.^T"^ """^V '^'",'""' '" '^'^- " T^hese insects"- (the moiqu.toes)!

(hp vuo. h»ni, „p ,V • ^ T^ , ' ""' """ gt^'icraieu una remain near
the wet hanlc of the river. I found a tree in the neighbourhood which I
ascended nearly to Us top with a cord. This I attached firmly to the
Dranche-s and then fi.xed u round me, so that I could not fall, but sit with
safety, although not with much comfort. It was, however with me
«mf llZn^T"^ .n variou.s situations in life-I could eslimateihe nature
and extent of my pleasures and my difficulties merely by comparison ■
and, certainly, although the being tied to the top of a tree as a ileep'ng:

214 MOSQUITOES.

the Indians leave the village at night, and sleep on
the little islands in the midst of the cataracts, where
the insects are less numerous. Humboldt gives an
elaborate account of tliese creatures, of which, how-
ever, the most interesting particulars alone can be
here extracted. In the missions of the Orinoco,
when two persons meet in the morning, the first
questions are, "How did you find the zancudoes
during the night T How are we to-day for the mos-
quitoes V The plague of these animals, however,
is not so general in the torrid zone as is commonly
believed. On the table-lands that have an elevation
of more than 2558 feet, and in very dry plains at a
distance from rivers, they are not more numerous
than in Europe ; but along the valleys, as well as in
moist places on the coast, they continually harass
the traveller ; the lower stratum of air, to the height
of fifteen or twenty feet, being filled with a cloud of
venomous insects. It is a remarkable circumstance
that on the streams, the water of which is of a yel-
lowish-brown colour, the tipulary flies do not make
their appearance. Not less astonishing is the fact,
that the different kinds do not associate together ;
but that at certain hours of the day, distmct species,
as the missionaries say, mount guard. From half
after six in the morning till five in the afternoon the
air is filled with mosquitoes, which are of the genus
Simuliwn, and resemble a common fly. An hour
before sunset small gnats, cahed tempraneroes, suc-
ceed them, to disappear betv.-een six and seven;
after which zancudoes, a species of gnat with very
long legs, come abroad and continue until near sun-
rise, when the former again take their turn. Per-
sons born in the country, whether whites, mulattoes,
negroes, or Indians, all suffer from the sting of these

place was not very agreeable, it was far preferable to being among swarms
of hungry mosquitoes where I had previously lodged. I enjoyed several
hours' sleep, and awoke considerably refreshed." — Robmsun's Journal
of an Expedition vp the Orinoco and Arauca.

PASSAGE OF THE CATARACTS. 215

insects, although not so severely as recently-arrived
Europeans.

The travellers, after remaining two days in the
vicinity of the cataract of Atures, proceeded on the
17th to rejoin their canoe, already conducted by
eight Indians of the mission through the rapids, and
reached it about eleven in the morning, accompanied
by Father Zea, who had procured a small stock of
provisions, consisting of plantains, cassava, and
fowls. The river was now free from shoals ; and
after a few hours they passed the rapids of Garcita,
and perceived numerous small holes at an elevation
of more than 190 feet above the level of the current,
which appeared to have been caused by the erosion
of the waters. The night was spent in the open air,
on the left bank.

On the 18th they set out at three in the morning,
and near five in the afternoon reached the Raudal
des Guahiboes, on the dike of which they landed
Avhile the Indians Avere drawing up the boat. The
gneiss rock exhibited circular holes, produced by
the friction of pebbles, in one of which they prepared
a beverage consisting of water, sugar, and the juice
of acid fruits, for the purpose of allaying the thirst
of the missionary, who was seized by a fever fit;
after which they had the pleasure of bathing in a
quiet place in the midst of the cataracts. After an
hour's delay, the boat having been got up, they re-
embarked their instruments and provisions. The
river was 1705 yards broad, and had to be crossed
obliquely, at a part where the waters rushed with
extreme rapidity towards the bar over which they
were precipitated. In the midst of this dangerous
navigation they were overtaken by a thunder-storm
accompanied by torrents of rain ; and after rowing
twenty minutes found that so far from having made
progress they were approaching the fall. But, as
• the Indians redoubled their eflbrts, the danger was
escaped, and the boat arrived at nightfall in the port of

216 MISSION OF MAYPURES.

Maypures. The night was extremely dark, and the
village was at a considerable distance ; still, as the
missionary caused copal-torches to be lighted, they
proceeded. As the rain ceased the zancudoes re-
appeared, and the flambeaux being extinguished,
they had to grope their way. One of their fellow-
travellers, Don Nicolas Soto, slipped from a round
trunk on which he attempted to cross a gully, but
fortunately received no injury. To add to their
distress, the pilot talked incessantly of venomous
snakes, water-serpents, and tigers. On their arrival
at the mission they found the inhabitants immersed
in profound sleep, and nothing was heard but the
cries of nocturnal birds and the distant roar of the
cataract.

At the village of Maypures they remained three
days, for the purpose of examining the neighbour-
hood. The cataract, called by the Indians Quittuna,
is formed by an archipelago of islands, filling the
bed of the river to the length of 6395 yards, and by
dikes of rock which occasionally join them together.
The largest of these shelves or bars are at Purima-
rimi, Manimi, and the Salto de la Sardina ; the last
of which is about nine feet high. To obtain a full
view of the falls the travellers frequently ascended
the eminence of Manimi, a granitic ridge rising from
the savanna, to the north of the church. " When
one attains the summit of the rock," says Humboldt,
" he suddenly sees a sheet of foam a mile in extent.
Enormous masses of rock, of an iron blackness,
emerge from its bosom, some of a mammillar form,
and grouped like basaltic hills ; others resembling
towers, castles, and ruins. Their dark colour con-
trasts with the silvery whiteness of the foam.
Every rock and islet is covered with tufts of stately
trees. From the base of these prominences, as far
as the eye can reach, there hangs over the river a
dense mist, through which the tops of majestic palms
are seen to penetrate. At evei-y hour of the day this

UPPER CATARACT. 217

sheet of foam presents a different aspect. Some-
times tlie mountain isles and palms project their long
shadows over it; sometimes the rays of the setting
sun are refracted in the humid cloud that covers the
cataract, when coloured arches form, vanish, and
reappear by turns."

The mountain of Manimi forms the eastern limit
of a plain, which presented the same appearance as
that of Atures. Towards the west is a level space
formerly occupied by the waters of the river, and
exhibiting rocks similar to the islands of the cata-
racts. These masses are also crowned with palms ;
and one of them, called Keri, is celebrated in the
country for a white spot, which Humboldt supposed
to be a large nodule of quartz. In an islet amid
the rush of waters there is a similar spot. The
Indians view them with a mysterious interest, be-
lieving they see in the former the image of the moon,
and in the latter that of the sun.

The inhabitants of the mission were Guahiboes
and Macoes. In the time of the Jesuits the number
was six hundred, but it had gradually fallen to less
than sixty. They are represented as gentle, tem-
perate, and cleanly. They cultivate plantains and
cassava, and, like most of the Indians of the Orinoco,
prepare nourishing drinks from the fruits of palms
and other plants. Some of them were occupied in
manufacturing a coarse pottery. Cattle, and espe-
cially goats, had at one time multiplied considerably
at Maypures ; but at the period of Humboldt's visit
none were to be seen in any mission of the Orinoco.
Tame macaws were seen round the huts, and fly-
ing in the fields like pigeons. Their plumage being
of the most vivid tints of purple, blue, and yellow,
these birds are a great ornament to the Indian farm-
yards.

Round the village there grows a majestic tree of
the genus Unona, with straiglit branches rising in the
form of a pyramid, The infusion of the aromatic

T

218 PASSAGE OF THE UPPER CATARACT.

fruit is a powerful febrifuge, and is used as such in
preference to the astringent bark of the cinchona or
Bonplandia trifoliata.

The longitude of this place was found to be 68°
IT 9", the latitude 5° 13' 57"; differing from the best
maps then existing by half a degree of longitude and
as much of latitude. The thermometer during the
night indicated from 80° to 84°, and in the day 86°.
The water of the river was 81.7°, and that of a
spring 82°.

Having spent some days at the mission of May-
pures, the travellers embarked at two in the after-
noon in the canoe procured at the turtle island,
which, although considerably damaged by the care-
lessness of the Indians, was judged sufficient for the
long voyage they had yet to perform. Above the
great cataracts they found themselves, as it were, in a
new world. Towards the east, in the extreme dis-
tance, rose the great chain of the Cunavami moun-
tains, one of the peaks of which, named Calida-
mini, reflects at sunset a reddish glare of light.
After encountering one more rapid they entered
upon smooth water, and passed the night on a rocky
island.

On the 22d they set out at an early hour. The
morning was damp but delicious, and not a breath of
wind was felt ; a perpetual calm reigning to the
south of the cataracts, which Humboldt attributes
to the windings of the rivers, the shelter of moun-
tains, and the almost incessant rains. In the valley
of the Amazon, on the contrary, a strong breeze
rises every day at two in the afternoon, which, how-
ever, is felt only along the line of the current. It
always moves against the stream, and by means of
it a boat may go up the Amazon under sail a length
of 2590 miles. The great salubrity of tliis district
is probably owing to the gale. They passed the
mouths of several streams, and admired the gran-
deur of the cerros of Lipapo, a branch of tlie cordil-

SCENERY OF THE UPPER ORINOCO. 219

ler;j of Parinie, the aspect of which varied every
hour of the day. At sunrise, the dense vegetation
with which they are covered was tinged with a dark-
green inchning to brown, while broad and deep
shadows were projected over the neighbouring plain,
forming a strong contrast with the vivid light diffused
around. Towards noon the shadows disappeared,
and the whole group was veiled in an azure vapour,
which softened the outlines of the rocks, moderated
the effects of light, and gave the landscape an aspect
of calmness and repose. Landing at the mouth of
the Rio Vichada to examine the vegetation, tliey
found numberless small granitic rocks rising from
the plain, and presenting the appearance of prisms,
ruined columns, and towers. The forest was thin,
and at the confluence of the two rivers the rocks
and even the soil were covered with mosses and
lichens. M. Bonpland found several specimens of
Lauras cinnamomoides, a very aromatic species of
cinnamon, which, together with the American nut-
meg, the pimento, and Laurus pucheri, Humboldt re-
marks, would have become important objects of trade,
had not Europe, at the period when the New World
was discovered, been already accustomed to the
spices of India. The travellers rested at night on
the bank of the Orinoco., at the mouth of the Zama.
This river is one of those which are said to have black
Avater, as it appears of a dark-brown or greenish-
black ; and here they entered the system of rivers
to which the name of Aguas Negras is given. The
colour is supposed to be owing to a solution of ve-
getable matter, and the Indians attribute it to the
roots of sarsaparilla.

At five ia the morning of the 23d they continued
their voyage, and passed the mouth of the Rio Ma-
taveni. The banks were still skirted by forests, but
the mountains on the east retired farther back. The
traces left by the floods were not higher than eight
feet. At the place where they passed the night,

220 SAN FERNANDO DE ATABIPO.

multitudes of bats issued from tlie crevices, and
hovered around their hammocks. Next day a violent
rain obliged tliem to set out at a very early hour.
In the afternoon they landed at the Indian planta-
tions of wSan Fernando, and after midnight arrived at
the mission, where they were received with the kind-
est hospitality.

The village of San Fernando de Atabipo is situated
near the confluence of the Orinoco, the Atabipo, and
the Guaviare ; the latter of which Humboldt thinks
might with more propriety be considered the con-
tinuation of the Orinoco than a branch. The num-
ber of inhabitants did not exceed 226. Tlie mission-
ary had the title of president of the stations on the
Orinoco, and superintended the twenty-six ecclesias-
tics settled on its banks, as well as on those of the
Rio Negro, Casiquiare, Atabipo, and Caura. The
Indians were a little more civilized than the inmates
of tlie other establishments, and cultivated cacao in
small quantities, together with cassava and plantains.
They were surrounded with good pasturage, but not
more than seven or eight cows were to be seen.
The most striking object in the neighbourhood was
the pirijao palm, which has a thorny trunk more than
sixty-four feet high, pinnated leaves, and clusters of
fruits two or three inches in diameter, and of a pui'-
ple colour. The fruit furnishes a farinaceous sub-
stance, of a colour resembling that of the yelk of an
egg, which when boiled or roasted affords a very
wholesome and agreeable aliment.

On entering the Rio Atabipo the travellers found
a great change in the scenery, the colour of the
stream, and the constitution of the atmosphere. The
trees were of a different species ; the mosquitoes had
entirely disappeared, and the waters, instead of being
turbid, and loaded with earthy matter, were of a
dark colour, clear, agreeable to the taste, and two
degrees cooler. So great is their transparency, that
the smallest fishes are distinguishabte at the depth

THE PIEDRA DK LA MADRE. 221

of twenty or thirty feet, and the bottom, which con-
sists of white quartzy sand, is usually visible. The
banks covered with plants, among which rise nume-
rous palms, are reflected by the surface of the river
with a vividness almost as bright as that of the ob-
jects themselves. Above the mission no crocodiles
occur, but their place is supplied by bavas and fresh-
water dolphins. The chiguires, howling-monkeys
and zamuro-vultures had disappeared, though jaguars
were still seen, and the water-snakes were extremely
numerous.

On the 26th the travellers advanced only two or
three leagues, and passed the night on a rock near
the Indian plantations of Guapasoso. At two in
the morning they again set out, and continued to
ascend the river. About noon they passed the gra-
nitic rock named Piedra del Tigre, and at the close
of the day had great difficulty in finding a suitable
place for sleeping, owing to the inundation of the
banks. It rained hard from sunset, and as the mis-
sionary had a fit of tertian fever they re-embarked
immediately after midnight. At dawn they landed
to examine a gigantic ceiba-tree, which was nearly
128 feet in height, with a diameter of fifteen or six-
teen feet. On the 29th the air was cooler, but loaded
with vapours, and the current being strong they ad-
vanced slowly. It was night when they arrived
at the mission of San Baltasar, where they lodged
with a Catalan priest, a lively and agreeable per-
son. The village was built with great regularity, and
the plantations seemed better cultivated than clse-
Avhere.

At a late hour in the morning they left his abode,
and after ascending the Atabipo for five miles en-
tered the Rio Temi. A granitic rock on the west-
ern bank of the former river attracted their atten-
tion. It is called the Piedra de la Guahiba or
Piedra de la Madre, and commemorates one of those
acts of oppression of which Europeans are guilty ia

T2

222 ANECDOTE OF AS INDIAN WOMAN.

all countries whenever they come into contact with
savages. In 1797, the missionary of San Fernando
had led his people to the banks of the Rio Gua-
viare on a hostile excursion. In an Indian hut they
found a Guahibo woman, with three children, occu-
pied in preparing cassava-flour. She and her little
ones attempted to escape, but were seized and carried
away. Tlie unhappy female repeatedly fled with her
children from the village, but was always traced by
her Christian countrymen. At lengtli the friar, after
causing her to be severely beaten, resolved to sepa-
rate her from her family, and sent her up the Atabipo
towards the missions of the Rio Negro. Ignorant
of the fate intended for her, but judging by the di-
rection of the sun that her persecutors were carry-
ing her far from her native country, she burst her
fetters, leaped from the boat, and swam to the left
bank of the river. She landed on a rock ; but the
president of the establishment ordered the Indians
to row to the shore and lay hands on her. She was
brought back in the evening, stretched upon the bare
stone (the Piedra de la Madre), scourged with straps
of manatee leather, which are the ordinary whips of
the country, and then dragged to the mission of Ja-
vita, her hands bound behind her back. It was the
rainy season, the night was excessively dark, forests
believed to be impenetrable stretched from that sta-
tion to San Fernando over an extent of 86 miles, and
the only communication between these places was by
the river; yet the Guahibo mother, breaking her
bonds, and eluding the vigilance of her guards,
escaped under niglit, and on the fourth morning was
seen at the village, hovering around the hut which
contained her children. On this journey she must
have undergone hardships from which the most ro-
bust man would have shrunk ; was forced to live upon
ants, to swim numerous streams, and to make her
way through thickets and thorny lianas. And the
reward of all this courage and devotion was — her

ASCENT OF THE RIO TEMI. 223

removal to one of tlie missions of the Upper Ori-
noco, where, despairing of ever seeing her beloved
children, and refusing all kind of nourishment, she
died, a victim to the bigotry and barbarity of wretches
blasphemously calling themselves the ministers of a
religion which inculcates universal benevolence.

Above the mouth of the Guasucavi the travellers
entered the Rio Temi, which runs from south to
north. The ground Avas flat and covered with trees,
over which rose the pirijao palm with its clusters of
peach-like fruits, and the Mauritia aculeata, with fan-
shaped leaves pointing downwards, and marked with
concentric circles of blue and green. Wherever the
river forms sinuosities the forest is flooded to a great
extent ; and, to shorten the route, the boat frequently
pushed through the woods along open avenues of
water four or five feet broad. An Indian furnished
with a large knife stood at the bow continually cut-
ting the branches which obstructed the passage. In
the thickest part of it a shoal of fresh-water dolphins
issued from beneath the trees and surrounded the
vessel. At five in the evening the travellers, after
sticking for some time between two trunks, and ex-
periencing great difficulties, regained the proper
channel, and passed the night near one of the co-
liunnar masses of granite which occasionally protrude
from the level surface.

Setting out before daybreak, they remained in the
bed of the river till sunrise, when, to avoid the force
of the current, they again entered the inundated
forest ; and soon arriving at the junction of the Temi
with the Tuamini, they followed the latter towards
the south-west. At eleven they reached San Anto-
nio de Javita, where they had the pleasure of finding
a very intelligent and agreeable monk : though they
were obliged to remain nearly a week, while the
boat was carried by land to the Rio Negro. For
two days the travellers had felt an extraordinary
irritation on the joints of the fingers and on the back

224 MISSION OF SAN ANTONIO.

of the hands, which the missionary informed them
was caused by insects. Nothing could be distin-
guished with a lens but parallel streaks of a whitish
colour, the form of which has obtained for these ani-
malculas the name of aradores, or ploughmen. A
mulatto woman engaged to extirpate them one by
one, and, digging with a small bit of pointed wood,
at length succeeded in extracting a little round bag;
but Humboldt did not possess sufficient patience to
wait for relief from so tedious an operation. Next
day, however, an Indian effected a radical cure by
means of the infusion of bark stripped from a cer-
tain shrub.

In 1755, before the expedition to the boundaries,
the country between the missions of Javita and San
Baltasar was dependent on Brazil, and the Portu-
guese had advanced fi-om the Rio Negro as far as
the banks of the Temi. An Indian chief, named
Javita, one of their auxiliaries, pushed his hostile
excursions to a distance of more than 345 miles ;
and, being furnished with a patent for drawing the
natives from the forest " for the conc^uest of souls,"
did not fail to make use of it for selling slaves to
his allies. When Solano, one of the leaders of the
expedition just described, arrived at San Fernando
de Atabipo, he seized the adventurer, and by treat-
ing him with gentleness gained him over to the in-
terests of the Spaniards. He was still living when
the travellers proceeded to the Rio Negro ; and, as he
attended them on all their botanical excursions, they
obtained much information from him. He assured,
them, that he had seen almost all the Indian tribes
which inhabit the vast countries between the Upper
Orinoco, the Rio Negro, the Irinida, and the Jupura
devour human flesh. Their cannibalism he consid-
ered as the effect of a system of revenge, as they
eat only enemies who are made prisoners in battle.

The climate of the mission of San Antonio de
Javita is so rainy that the sun and stars are seldom

GIGANTIC TREES ELASTIC GUM. 225

to be seen, and the padre informed the travellers
that it sometimes rained without intermission for
four or five months. The water that fell in five
hours on the 1st of May, Humboldt found to be 21
lines in lieig-ht, and on the 3d of May he collected
14 lines in three hours ; whereas at Paris there fall
only 28 or 30 lines in as many weeks. The tem-
perature is lower than at Maypures, but higher than
on the Rio Negro ; the thermometer standing at SO'^
or 80-6° by day, and at 89-8° by night. .

The Indians of the mission amounted only to 160.
Some of them were employed in the construction
of boats, which are formed of the trunks of a species
of laurel {Oco/ea cymharum), hollowed by means of
fire and the axe. These trees attain a height of
more than a hundred feet, and have a yellow resin-
ous wood, which emits an agreeable odour. The
forest between Javita and Pimichin affords an im-
mense quantity of gigantic timber, as tall occasion-
ally as 116 or 117 feet; but as the trees give out
branches only towards the summit, the travellers
were disappointed, amid so great a profusion of un-
known species, in not being able to procure the
leaves and flowers. Besides, as it rained incessantly
so long a time, M. Bonpland lost the greater part of
his dried specimens. Although no pmes or firs oc-
cur in these woods, b;dsams, resins, and aromatic
gums are abundantly furnished by many other trees,
and are collected as objects of trade by the people
of Javita.

At the mission of San Baltasar they had seen the
natives preparing a kind of elastic gum, which they
said was found under ground; and in the forests
at Javita, the old Indian who accompanied them
showed that it was obtained by digging several feet
deep among the roots of two particular trees, the
Hevea of Aublet and one with pinnate leaves. This
substance, which bears the name of dapicho, is white,
corky, and brittle, with a laminated structure and

226 NATIVE INDIANS.

undulating edges; but on being roasted, it assumes
a black colour, and acquires the properties of caout-
chouc.

The natives of these countries live in hordes of
forty or fifty, and unite under a common chief only
when they wage war with their neighbours. As the
different tribes speak different languages they have
little communication. They cultivate cassava, plan-
tains, and sometimes maize ; but shift from place to
place, so that they entirely lose the advantages re-
sulting in other countries from agricultural habits.
Th(jy have two great objects of worship, — the good
principle, Cachimana, who regulates the seasons
and favours the harvests ; and the evil principle, Jo-
lokiamo, less powerful, but more active and artful.
They have no idols ; but the botuto, or sacred trum-
pet, is an object of veneration, the initiation into
the mysteries of which requires pure manners and
a single life. Women are not permitted to see it,
and are excluded from all the ceremonies of this
religion.

It took the Indians more than four days to drag
the boat upon rollers to the Rio Pimichin. One of
them, a tall strong man, was bitten by a snake, and
was brought to the mission in a very alarming con-
dition. He had dropped down senseless, and was
afterward seized with nausea, vertigo, and a deter-
mination of blood to the head, biit was cured by an
infusion of raiz de mato ; respecting the plant fur-
nishing which Humboldt could obtain no satisfactory
information, although he supposes it to be of the
family of Apocyneae. In the hut of this individual
he observed balls of an earthy and impure salt, two
or three inches in diameter. It is obtained by re-
ducing to ashes the spadix and fruit of a palm-tree,
and consists of muriate of potash and soda, caustic
lime, and other ingredients. The Indians dissolve
a few grains in water, which they drop on the-ir
food.

FORESTS SNAKES RIO NEGRO. 227

Oil the 5th May the travellers set off on foot to
follow their canoe. They had to ford numerous
streams, the passage of which was somewhat dan-
gerous on account of the number of snakes in the
marshes. After passing through dense forests of
lofty trees, among which they noted several new-
species of coffee and other plants, they arrived to-
wards evening at a small farm on the Pimichin, where
tliey passed the night in a deserted hut, not without
apprehension of being bitten by serpents, as they
were obliged to lie on the floor. Before they took
possession of this shed their attendants killed two
great Mapanare snakes, and in the morning a large
viper was found beneath the jaguar-skin on which one
of them had slept. This species of serpent is white on
the belly, spotted with brown'and black on the back,
and grows to the length of four or five feet. Hum-
boldt remarks, that if vipers and rattlesnakes had
such a disposition for offence as is usually supposed,
the human race could not have resisted them in some
parts of America.

Embarking at sunrise, they proceeded down the
Pimiciiin, which is celebrated for the number of its
windiixgs. It is navigable during the whole year,
and has only one rapid. In four hours and a half
they entered the Rio Negro. " The morning," says
Humboldt, "was cool and beautiful; we had been
confined thirty-six days in a narrow canoe, so un-
steady that it would have been overset by any one
rising imprudently from his seat, without warning
the rowers to preserve its balance by leaning to the
opposite side. We had suffered severely from the
stings of insects, but we had withstood the insalu-
brity of the climate ; we had passed without acci-
dent the numerous falls and bars that impede the
mavigation of the rivers, and often render it more
dangerous than long voyages by sea.

" After all that we had endured, I may be allowed
to mention the satisfaction which we felt in having

228 THE RIO NEGRO.

reached the tributaries of the Amazon, — in having
passed the isthmus which separates two great sys-
tems of rivers, — and in having attained a certainty
of fulfilUng the most important object of our jour-
ney,— that of determining by astronomical observa-
tions the course of that arm of the Orinoco which
joins the Rio Negro, and whose existence had been
alternately proved and denied for half a century.
In these inland regions of the New Continent we
almost accustom ourselves to consider man as ines-
sential to the order of nature. The earth is over-
loaded with plants of which nothing impedes the
development. An immense layer of mould evinces
the uninterrupted action of the organic powers.
The crocodiles and boas are masters of the river ;
the jaguar, pecari, dante, and monkeys of numerous
species traverse the forest without fear and with-
out danger, residing there as in an ancient heritage.
On the ocean and on the sands of Africa, we with
dilBculty reconcile ourselves to the disappearance
of man ; but here his absence, in a fertile country
clothed with perpetual verdure, produces a strange
and melancholy feekng."

The Rio Negro, which flows eastward into the
Amazon, was for ages considered of great political
importance by the Spanish government, as it would
liave furnished to the Portuguese an easy introduc-
tion into the missions of Guiana. The jealousies
of these rival nations, the ignorance and diver.sifled
languages of the Indians, the difficulty of penetrat-
ing into these in-land regions, and other causes, ren-
dered the knowledge of the sources as well as the
tributaries of the Negro and Orinoco extremely de-
fective. To endeavour to throw some light on this
geographical point, and in particular to determine
the course of that branch of the Orinoco which
joins the Rio Negro, Avas the great object of Hum-
boldt's journey. This last, or Black River, is so
named on account of the dark colour of its waters,

MISSION OF SAN CARLOS. 329

which are of an amber hue wherever it is shallow,
and dark-brown wherever the depth is great. After
entering it by the Pimichin, and passing the rapid at
the confluence of the two streams, the travellers
soon reached the mission of Maroa, containing 150
Indians, where they purchased some fine toucans.
Passing the station of Tomo, they visited tliat of
Davipe, where they were received by the missionary
with great hospitality. Here they bought some
fowls and a pig, which interested their servants so
much that they pressed them to depart, in order to
reach the island of Dapa, where the animal might be
roasted. They arrived at sunset, and found some
cultivated ground and an Indian hut. Four natives
were seated round a fire eating a kind of paste con-
sisting of large ants, of which several bags were
suspended over the fire. There were more than
fourteen persons in this small cabin, lying naked in
hammocks placed above each other. They received
Father Zea with great joy, and two young women
prepared cassava-cakes ; after which the travellers
retired to rest. The family slept only till two in
the morning, when they began to converse in their
hammocks. This custom of being aAvake four or
five hours before sunrise Humboldt found to be gen-
eral among the people of Guiana ; and, hence, when
an attempt is made to surprise them, the first part
of the night is chosen for the purpose.

Proceeding down the Rio Negro, they passed the
mouth of the Casiquiare, the river by which a com-
munication is effected between' the former and the
Orinoco ; and towards evening reached the mission
of San Carlos del Rio Negro, with the commander
of which they lodged. The military establishment
of this frontier post consisted of seventeen soldiers,
ten of whom were detached for the security of the
neighbouring stations. The voyage from the mouth
of the Rio Negro to Grand Para occupying only
twenty or twenty-five days, it would not have taken

V

230 AMAZON-STONES.

nmch more time to have gone down the Amazon
to the coast of Brazil, than to return by the Casi-
qiiiare and Orinoco to that of Caraccas ; but our
travellers were informed that it was difficult to pass
from the Spanish to the Portuguese settlements ;
and it was well for them that they declined this
route, for they afterward learned that instructions
had been issued to seize and convey them to Lisbon.
This project, however, was not countenanced by the
government at home, who, when informed of the
zeal of its subaltern agents, gave instant orders that
the philosophers should not be disturbed in their
pursuits.

Among the Indians of the Rio Negro they found
some of those green pebbles known by the name of
A.mazon-rStones, and wliich are worn as amulets.
The form usually given to them is that of the Perse-
politan cylinders longitudinally perforated. These
hard substances denote a degree of civilization supe-
rior to that of the present inhabitants, who, so far
from being able to cut them, imagine that they are
naturally soft when taken out of the earth, and
harden after they have been moulded by the hand.
They were found to be jade or saussurite, approach-
ing to compact felspar, of a colour passing from
apple to emerald green, translucent on the edges,
and taking a fine polish ; but the substance usually
called Amazon-stone in Europe is differefit, being a
common felspar of a similar colour, coming from the
Uralian Mountains and Lake Onego in Russia.

Connected with this mineral are the warlike wo-
men, whom the travellers of the sixteenth century
named the Amazons of the New World ; and re-
garding whom Humboldt found no satisfactory ac-
counts, although he is disposed to believe that their
existence was not merely imaginary.

The travellers passed three days at San Carlos,
watching the greater part of each night, in the hope
of seizing the moment of the passage of some star

ASCENT OF THE CASIQTJIARE. 231

over the meridian; but the sky was continually
obscured by vapours. On the 10th May they em-
barked a little before sunrise to go up the Rio Negro.
The morning was fine, but as the heat increased the
firmament became darkened. Passing between the
islands of Zaruma and Mibita, covered with dense
vegetation, and ascending the rapids of the Piedra
de Uinumane, they entered the Casiquiare at the
distance of 9^ miles from the fort of San Carlos.
The rock at the rapids was granite, traversed by
numerous veins of quartz several inches broad. The
night was spent at the mission of San Francisco
Solano, on the left bank of the Casiquiare. The
Indians were of two nations, the Pacimonales and
Cheruvichahenas ; and from the latter the travellers
endeavoured to obtain some information respecting
the upper part and sources of the Rio Negro, but
without success. In one of the huts of the former
tribe they purchased two large birds, a toucan and a
macaw, to add to the already considerable stock
which they possessed. Most of the animals were
confined in small cages, while others ran at liberty
all over the boat. At the approach of rain, the
macaws uttered frightful screams, the toucan was
desirous of gaining the shore in order to fish, and
the little monkeys went in search of Father Zea to
obtain shelter in his large sleeves. At night the
leather case containing their provisions was placed
in the centre ; then the instruments and cages ;
around which were suspended the hammocks of the
travellers ; and beyond them the Indians slept, pro-
tected by a circle of fires to keep off the jaguars.

On the 11th they left the mission of San Francisco
Solano at a late hour to make a short day's journey,
for the vapours had begim to break up, and the trav-
ellers were unwilling to go far from the mouth of
the Casiquiare without determining the longitude
and latitude. This they had an opportunity of doing
at night in the neighbourhood of a solitary granite

232 MOSQUITOES — INDIANS.

rock, the Piedra di Culimacari, which they found to
be in lat. 2° 0' 42" north, and long. 67° 13' 26" west.
The determination was of great importance in a
geographical and political point of view, for the
greatest errors existed in maps, and the equator had
been considered as the boundary between the Spanish
and Portuguese possessions.

Leaving the Rock of Culimacari at half after one
in the morning, they proceeded against the current,
which was very rapid. The waters of the Casi-
quiare are white, and the mosquitoes again com-
menced their invasions, becoming more numerous
as the boat receded from the black stream of the Rio
Negro. In the whole course of the Casiquiare they
did not tind in the Christian settlements a population
of 200 individuals, and the free Indians have retired
from its banks. During a great part of the year the
natives subsist on ants. At the mission of Manda-
vaca, which they reached in the evening, they found
a monk who had spent twenty years in the country,
and whose legs were so spotted by the stings of
insects that the whiteness of the skin could scarcely
be perceived. He complained of his solitude, and
the sad necessity which often compelled him to
leave the most atrocious crimes unpunished. An
indigenous alcayde, or overseer, had a few years
before eaten one of his wives, after fattening her by
good feeding. " You cannot imagine," said the
missionary, " all the perversity of this Indian family.
You receive men of a new tribe into the village ;
they appear to be good, mild, and industrious ; but
suffer them to take part in an incursion to bring in
the natives, and you can scarcely prevent them from
murdering all they meet, and hiding some portions
of the dead bodies." The travellers had in their
canoe a fugitive Indian from the Guaisia, who in a
few weeks had become sufficiently civilized to be
very useful. As he was mild and intelligent, they
had some desire of taking him into their service ;

SCENERY OF THE CASIQUIARE. 233

but discovering that his anthropophagous propensi-
ties remained, they gave up the idea. He told them
that " his relations (the people of his tribe) preferred
the inside of the hands in man, as in bears," accom-
panying the assertion with gestures of savage joy.

Although the Indians of the Casiquiare readily
return to their barbarous habits, they manifest, while
in the missions, intelligence, industry, and a great
facility in learning the Spanish tongue. As the
villages are usually inhabited by three or four tribes
who do not understand each other, the language of
their instructer affords a general means of commu-
nication. The soil on the Casiquiare is of excellent
quality. Rice, beans, cotton, sugar, and indigo
thrive wherever they have been tried ; but the hu-
midity of the air, and the swarms of insects, oppose
almost insuperable obstacles to cultivation. Im-
mense bands of white ants destroy every thing that
comes in their way, insomuch, that when a mis-
sionary would cultivate salad or any European
culinary vegetable, he fills an old boat with soil, and
having sown the seeds suspends it with cords, or
elevates it on posts.

From the 14th to the 21st the travellers continued
to ascend the Casiquiare, which flowed with consid-
erable rapidity, having a breadth of 426 yards, and
bordered by two enormous walls of trees hung with
lianas. No openings could be discovered in these
fences ; and at night the Indians had to cut a small
spot with their hatchets to make room enough for
their beds, it being impossible to remain in the canoe
on account of the mosquitoes and heavy rains.
Gi'eat difficulty was experienced in finding wood to
make a fire, the branches being so full of sap that
they would scarcely burn. On shore the pothoses,
arums, and lianas furnished so thick a covering, that
although it rained violently they were completely
sheltered. At their last resting-place on the Casi-

U 2

234 MOUNTAINS OF DUIDA.

quiare, the jaguars carried off their great dog while
they slept.

On the 21st May they again entered the channel
of the Orinoco, three leagues below the mission of
Esmeralda. Here the scenery wore a very impos-
ing aspect, lofty granitic mountains rising on the
northern bank. The celebrated bifurcation of the
river takes place in this manner : The stream, issu-
ing from among the mountains, reaches the opening
of a valley or depression of the ground which ter-
minates at the Rio Negro, and divides into two
branches. The principal branch continues its course
towards the west-north-west, turning round the group
of the mountains of Parime, while the other flows
off southward, and joins the Rio Negro. By this
latter branch our travellers ascended from the river
just mentioned, and again entered the Orinoco, four
weeks after they had left it near the mouth of the
Guaviare. They had still a voyage of 863 miles
to perform before reaching Angostura.

CHAPTER XIX.

Route from Esmeralda to Angostura.

Mission of Esmeralda— Curare Poison — Indians — Duida Mountain^
Descent of the Orinoco — Cave of Ataruipe— Raudalito of Carucari —
Mission of Uruana — Ctiaracter of the Otomacs — Clay eaten by the Na-
tives— Arrival at Angostura — The Travellers attacked by Fever — Fe-
rocity of the Crocodiles.

Opposite the point where the division of the river
takes place, there rises in the form of an amphi-
theatre a group of granitic mountains, of which the
principal one bears the name of Duida. It is about
8500 feet high ; and being perpendicular on the
south and west, bare and stony on the summit, and

CURARE POISON. 235

clothed on its less steep declivities with vast forests,
presents a magnificent spectacle. At the foot of
this huge mass is placed the most solitary and re-
mote Christian settlement on the Upper Orinoco, —
the mission of Esmeralda, containing eighty inhabit-
ants. It is surrounded by a beautiful plain, covered
with grasses of various species, pine-apples, and
clumps of Mauritia palm, and watered by limpid
rills.

There was no monk at the village ; but the trav-
ellers were received with kindness by an old officer,
who, taking them for Catalonian shopkeepers, ad-
mired their simplicity when he saw the bundles of
paper in which their plants were preserved, and
which he supposed they intended for sale. Not-
withstanding the smallness of the mission three In-
dian languages were spoken in it : and among the
inhabitants were some Zamboes, mulattoes, and cop-
per-coloured people. A mineralogical error gave
celebrity to Esmeralda, the rock-crystals and chlo-
ritic quartzes of Duida having been mistaken for
diamonds and emeralds. The converts live in great
poverty, and their misery is augmented by prodi-
gious swarms of mosquitoes. Yet the situation of
the establishment is exceedingly picturesque ; the
surrounding country is possessed of great fertility ;
and plantains, indigo, sugar, and cacao might be pro-
duced in abundance.

This village is the most celebrated spot on the
Orinoco for the manufacture of the curare, a very
active poison employed in war and in the chase, as
well as a remedy for gastric obstructions. Erro-
neous ideas had been entertained of this substance;
but our travellers had an opportunity of seeing it
prepared. When they arrived at Esmeralda, most
of the Indians had just finished an excursion to
gather juvias or the fruit of the bertholletia,* and the

* The delightful Brazil-nut of our shops.

236 CURARE POISON.

liana which yields the curare. Their return was
celebrated by a festival, which lasted several days,
during which they were in a state of intoxication.
One less drunk than the rest was employed in pre-
paring the poison. He was the chymist of the place,
and boasted of his skill, extolling the composition as
superior to any thing that could be made in Europe.
The liana which yields it is named bejuco, and ap-
peared to be of the Strychnos family. The branches
are scraped with a knife, and the bark that comes off
is bruised, and reduced to very thin filaments on the
stone employed for grinding cassava. A cold infu-
sion is prepared by pouring water on this fibrous
mass, in a funnel niacle of a plantain-leaf rolled up
in the form of a cone, and placed in another, some-
what stronger, made of palm-leaves, the whole sup-
ported by a slight framework. A yellowish fluid
filters through the apparatus. It is the venomous
liquor, which, however, acquires strength only when
concentrated by evaporation in a large eartlien pot.
To give it consistence it is mixed with a glutinous
vegetable juice, obtained from a tree named kiraca-
guera. At the moment when this addition is made
to the fluid, now kept in a state of ebullition, the
whole blackens, and coagulates into a substance re-
sembling tar, or thick syrup. The curare may be
tasted without danger ; for, like the venom of ser-
pents, it only acts when introduced directly into the
blood, and the Indians consider it as an excellent
stomachic. It is universally employed by them in
hunting, the tips of their arrows being covered with
it ; and the usual mode of killing domestic fowls is to
scratch the skin with one of these infected weapons.
Other species of vegetable poison are manulactured
in various parts of Guiana.

After seeing this composition prepared, the phi-
losophers accompanied the artist to the festival of
the juvias. In the hut Vviiere tlie revellers were as-
sembled, large roasted monkeys blackened by smoke

INDIAN FEAST — DUIDA. 237

were ranged against the wall. Humboldt imagines
that the habit of eating animals so much resembling
man has in some degree contributed to diminish the
horror of anthropophagy among savages. Apes,
when thus cooked, and especially such as have a
very round head, bear a hideous likeness to a child ;
and for this reason such Europeans as are obliged to
feed upon them separate the head and hands before
the dish is presented at their tables. The flesh is
very lean and dry.

Among the articles brought by the Indians from
their expedition were various interesting vegetable
productions ; fruits of different species, reeds up-
wards of fifteen feet long, perfectly straight and free
of knots, and bark used for making shirts. The
women were employed in serving the men with the
food already mentioned, fermented liquors, and palm-
cabbage, but were not permitted to join in the fes-
tivities. Among all the tribes of the Orinoco the
females live in a sort of slavery, almost the whole
labour devolving upon them. Polygamy is frequently
practised, and on the other hand a kind of polyandry
is established in places where the fair sex are less
numerous. When a native who has several wives
becomes a Christian, the missionaries compel him
to choose her whom he prefers and to dismiss the
others.

The summit of Duida is so steep that no person
has ever ascended it. At the beginning and end of
the rainy season, small flames, which appear to shift,
are seen upon it. On this account the mountain has
been called a volcano, which, however, it is not. The
granite whereof it is composed is full of veins, some
of which being partly open, gaseous and inflamma-
ble vapours may pass through them ; for it is not
probable that the flames are caused by lightning, the
humidity of the climate being such that plants do
not readily take fire.

The travellers had an opportunity of seeing at Es-

238 PROGRESS DOWN THE RIVER.

meralda some of the dwarf and fair Indians, that
ancient traditions had mentioned as living near the
sources of the Orinoco. The Guaicas, or diminu-
tive class, whom they measured, were in general
from 4 feet lOi to 4 feet 114 inches in height ; and it
was said that the whole tribe was of the same stature.
The Guahariboes, or fair variety, were similar to the
others in form and features, and differed only inhav-,
ing the skin of a lighter tint.

On the 23d May, the travellei-s left the mission of
Esmeralda in a state of languor and weakness,
caused by the torment of insects, bad nourishment,
and a long voyage, performed in a narrow and damp
boat. They had not attempted to ascend the Ori-
noco towards its sources, as the country above that
station was inhabited by hostile Indians ; so that of
the two geographical problems connected with the
river, — the position of its sources, and the nature of
its communication with the Rio Negro, — they had
been obliged to content themselves with the solution
of the latter. When they embarked they were sur-
rounded by the mulattoes and others who considered
themselves Spaniards, and who entreated them to
solicit from the governor of Angostura their return
to the llanos, or at least their removal to the mis-
sions of the Rio Negro. Humboldt pleaded the
cause of these proscribed men at a subsequent pe-
riod; but his eiTorts were fruitless. The weather
was very stormy, and the summit of Duida was en-
veloped in clouds ; but the thunders which rolled
there did not disturb the plains. Nor did they, gen-
erally speaking, observe in the valley of the Orinoco
those violent electric explosions which almost every
night, during the rainy season, alarm the traveller
along the Rio Magdalena. After four hours' naviga-
tion in descending the stream, they arrived at the
bifurcation, and reposed on the same beach of the
Casiquiare where, a few days before, their dog had
been carried off by the jaguars. The cries of these

CAVE OF ATARUIPE — SPX,ENDID SCENERY. 239

animals were again heard through the whole night.
The black tiger also occurs in these districts. It is
celebrated for its strength and ferocity, and appears
to be larger than the other, of which, however, it is
probably a variety.

Leaving their resting-place before sunrise, and
sailing with the current, they passed the mouths of
the Cunucunumo, Guanami, and Puruname. The
country was entirely desert, although rude figures
representing the sun, the moon, and different ani-
mals are to be seen on the granite rocks ; attesting
the former existence of a people more civilized
than any that they had seen.

On the 27th May they reached the mission of San
Fernando de Atabipo, where they had lodged a month
before on their ascent towards the Rio Negro. The
president had allowed himself to become very un-
easy respecting the object of their journey ; and re-
quested Humboldt to leave a writing in his hands,
bearing testimony to the good order that prevailed in
the Christian settlements on the Orinoco, and the
mildness with which the natives were treated. This,
however, he declined. From this point they re-
traced their former route, and passed the cataracts.
On the 31st, they landed before sunset at the Puerto
de la Expedicion, for the purpose of visiting the
cave of Ataruipe, which is the sepulchre of an ex-
tinct nation.

" We climbed," says Humboldt, " with difficulty,
and not without danger, a steep rock of granite, en-
tirely destitute of soil. It would have been almost
impossible to fix the foot on this smooth and highly-
inclined surface, had not large crystals of felspar,
which had resisted decomposition, projected from
the rock so as to present points of support. Scarcely
had we reached the summit of the mountain when
we were struck with astonishment at the extraordi-
nary appearance of the surrounding country : — The
foamy bed of the waters was filled with an archi-

240 SEPULCHRAL CAVE.

pelago of islands covered with palms. Towards the
west, on the left bank of the Orinoco, extended the
savannas of the Meta and Casanare, like a sea of
verdure, the misty horizon of which was illuminated
by the rays of the setting sun. The mighty orb,
like a globe of fire suspended over the plain, and the
solitary peak of Uniana, which appeared more lofty
from being wrapped in vapours that softened its out-
lines, contributed to impress a character of sublim-
ity upon the scene. We looked down into a deep
vaUey enclosed on every side. Birds of prey and
goatsuckers winged their solitary way in this inac-
cessible circus. We found pleasure in following
their fleeting shadows as they glided slowly over the
flanks of the rock.

" A narrow ridge led us towards a neighbouring
mountain, the rounded summit of which supported
enormous blocks of granite. These masses are
more than 40 or 50 feet in diameter, and present a
form so perfectly spherical, that, as they seem to
touch the ground only by a small number of points,
it might be supposed that the slightest shock of an
earthquake Avould roll them into the abyss. I do
not remember to have seen anywhere else a similar
phenomenon amid the decompositions of granitic
deposites. If the balls rested upon a rock of a dif-
ferent nature, as is the case with the blocks of Jura,
it might be supposed that they had been rounded by
the action of water, or projected by the force of an
elastic fluid ; but their position on the summit of a
hill of the same nature renders it more probable
that they owe their origin to a gradual decomposi-
tion of the rock.

" The most remote part of the valley is covered
by a dense forest. In this shady and solitary place,
on the declivity of a steep mountain, opens the cave
of Ataruipe. It is less a cave than a projecting
rock, in which the waters have scooped a great hol-
low, when, in the ancient revolutions of our planet,

SEPULCHRAL CAVE. 241

they had reached to that height. In this tomb of a
whole extinct tribe we soon counted nearly 600
skeletons in good preservation, and arranged so
regularly that it would have been diflicult to make
an error in numbering them. Each skeleton rests
upon a kind of basket formed of the petioles of
palms. These baskets, which the natives call ma-
pires, have the form of a square bag. Their size is
proportional to the age of the dead ; and there are
even some for infants which had died at the moment
of birth. We saw them from ten inches and a half
to three feet six inches and a half in length. All
the skeletons are bent, and so entire that not a rib
or a bone of the fingers or toes is wanting. The
bones have been prepared in three different ways, —
whitened in the air and sun, died red with onoto, a
colouring matter obtained from the Blxa orellana ;
or, like mummies, covered with odorous resins, and
enveloped in leaves of heliconia and banana. The
Indians related to us that the corpse is first placed
in the humid earth, that the flesh may be consumed
by degrees. Some months after, it is taken out, and
the flesh that remains on the bones is scraped off
with sharp stones. Several tribes of Guiana still
follow this practice. Near the mapires or baskets
there were vases of half-burnt clay, which appeared
to contain the bones of the same family. The
largest of these vases or funeral urns are three feet
two inches high, and four feet six inches long.
They are of a greenish-gray colour, and have an
oval form, not unpleasant to the eye. The handles
are made in the form of crocodiles or serpents, and
the edge is encircled by meanders, labyrinths, and
grecques, with narrow lines variously combined.
These paintings are seen in all coimtries, among
nations placed at the greatest distances from each
other, and the most different in respect to civiliza-
tion. The inhabitants of the little mission of May-
pures execute them at the present day on their most

X

242 SEPULCHRAL CAVE.

common pottery. They adora the shields of the
Otaheitans, the fishing-instruments of the Esquimaux,
the walls of the Mexican palace of Mitla, and the
vases of Magna Graecia.

" We opened, to the great concern of our guides,
several mapires, for the purpose of attentively ex-
amining the form of the sculls. They all presented
the characters of the American race, — ^^two or three
only approached the Caucasian form. We took
several sculls, the skeleton of a child of six or seven
years, and those of two full-grown men, of the na-
tion of the Atures. All these bones, some painted
red, others covered with odorous resins, were placed
in the mapires or baskets already described. They
formed nearly the whole lading of a mule ; and, as
we were aware of the superstitious aversion which
the natives show towards dead bodies, after they
have given them burial, we carefully covered the
baskets with new mats. Unfortunately for us, the
penetration of the Indians, and the extreme delicacy
of their organs of smell, rendered our precautions
useless. Wherever we stopped, — in the Carib mis-
sions, in the midst of the llanos, between Angos-
tura and New-Barcelona, — the natives collected
around our mules to admire the monkeys which we
had brought from the Orinoco. These good people
had scarcely touched our baggage when they pre-
dicted the approaching death of the beast of burden
'that carried the dead.' In vain we told them that
they were deceived in their conjectures, that the
panniers contained bones of crocodiles and laman-
tins ; they persisted in repeating that they smelt the
resin which surrounded the skeletons, and that ' they
were some of their old relatives.'

" We departed in silence from the cave of Ata-
ruipe. It was one of those calm and serene nights
which are so common in the torrid zone. The stars
shone with a mild and planetary light ; their scintil-
lation was scarcely perceptible at the horizon, which

CATARACTS OF ATURES. 243

seemed illuminated by the great nebute of tbe south-
ern hemisphere. Multitudes of insects diffused a
reddish light over the air. The ground, profusely-
covered with plants, shone with those living and
moving lights as if the stars of the firmament had
fallen upon the savanna. On leaving the cave, we
repeatedly stopped to admire the beauty of this ex-
traordinary place. The scented vanilla and festoons
of bignonise decorated its entrance ; while the sum-
mit of the overhanging hill was crowned by arrowy
palm-trees that waved murmuring in the air."

Similar caves are said to exist to the north of
the cataracts ; but the tombs of the Indians of the
Orinoco have not been sufficiently examined, be-
cause they do not, like those of Peru, contain
treasures.

The travellers staid at the mission of Atures only
so long as was necessary for the passage of their
canoe through the great falls. The priest, Bernardo
Zea, who had accompanied them to the Rio Negro,
remained behind. His ague had not been removed ;
but its attacks had become an habitual evil, to which
he now paid little attention. Fevers of a more de-
structive kind prevailed in the establishment, inso-
much that the greater part of the inmates were con-
fined to their hammocks. Again embarked on the
Orinoco the travellers ventured to descend the lower
half of the rapids of Atures, landing here and there
to climb the rocks, among whicli the golden manakin
{Pipra rupicola), one of the most beautiful birds of
the tropics, builds its nest. At the Raudalito of
Carucari, they entered some of the caverns formed
by the piling up of granite blocks, and enjoyed the
extraordinary spectacle of the river dashing in a
sheet of foam over their heads. The boat was to
coast the eastern bank of a narrow island, and take
them in after a long circuit ; but it did not make its
appearance, and night approaching, together with a
tremendous thunder-storm, M. Bonpland was de-

244 CLAY EATEN BY THE OTOMACS.

sirous of swimming across, in order to seek assist-
ance at Atures from Father Zea. Humboldt and
the other person who was with them dissuaded him
with difficulty from so hazardous an enterprise ; and
shortly after two large crocodiles made their appear-
ance, attracted by the plaintive cries of the monkeys.
At length the Indians arrived with the vessel, and
the navigation was continued during part of the
night. At Carichana the missionary received them
with kindness. Here the travellers remained some
days to recruit their exhausted strength, and M.
Bonpland had the satisfaction of dissecting a
manatee.

From Carichana they went in two days to the
mission of Uruana, the situation of which is ex-
tremely picturesque, the village being placed at the
foot of a lofty granitic mountain, the columnar
rocks appearing at intervals above the trees. Here
the river is more than 4263 yards broad, and runs in
a straight line directly east. The hamlet is inhabited
by the Otomacs, one of the rudest of the American
tribes. These Indians swallow quantities of earth
for the purpose of allaying hunger. "VVIien the
waters are low they live on fish and turtles ; but
when the rivers swell, and it becomes difficult to
procure that food, they eat daily a large pOrtion of
clay. The travellers found in their hiits heaps of it
in the form of balls, piled up in pyramids three or
four feet high. This substance is fine and unctuous,
of a yellowish-gray colour, containing silica and
alumina, with three or four per cent, of lime. Being
a restless and turbulent people, with unbridled pas-
sions and excessively given to intoxication, the little
village of Uruana is more difficult to govern than
any of the other missions. By inhaling at the nose
the powder obtained from the pods of the Acacia
niopo they throw themselves into a state of intoxi-
cation bordering on madness, that lasts several days,
during which dreadful murders are committed. The

PROGRESS DOWN THE ORINOCO. 245

most vindictive cover the nail of the thumb with the
curare poison, the sUffhtest scratch beuig thus suffi-
cient to produce death. When this crime is per-
petrated at night they throw the body into the river.
"Every time," said the monk, " that I see the wo-
men fetch water from a part of the shore to which
they do not usually go for it, I suspect that a murder
has been committed in my mission." ^ ^ ,^

On the 7th June the travellers took leave of Father
Ramon Bueno, whom Humboldt eulogizes as the
only one of ten missionaries of Guiana whom they
had seen who appeared to be attentive to any thing
that regarded the natives. The night v/as passed at
the island of Cucurupara, to the east of which is the
mouth of the Cano de la Tortuga. On its southern
bank is the almost deserted station of San Miguel
de la Tortuga, in the neighbourhood of which, ac-
cording to the Indians, are otters with a very fine
fur, and lizards with two feet.

From the island of Cucurupara to Angostura, the
capital of Guiana, a distance of little less than 328
miles, the travellers were only nine days on the
water On the 8th June they landed at a farm op-
posite the mouth of the Apure, where Humboldt ob-
tained some good observations of latitude and longi-
tude ; and on the 9th met a great number of boats
laden with goods, on their way to that river. Here
Don Nicolas Soto, who had accompanied them on
their voyage to the Rio Negro, took leave and re-
turned to his family. As they advanced the popu-
lation became more considerable, consisting almost
exclusively of whites, negroes, and mulattoes. On
the nth they passed the mouth of the Rio Caura,
near which is a small lake formed in 1790 by the
sinking of the ground in consequence of an earth-
quake. The Boca del Infierno and the Randal de
Camiseta, a series of whirlpools and rapids caused
by a chain of small rocks, were the only remarkable
features that occurred until they reached Angostura.

X3

246 ARRIVAL AT ANGOSTURA.

On arriving at the capital, they hastened to present
themselves to Don Fehpe de Ynciarte, the governor
of Guiana, who received them in the most obhging
manner. A painful circumstance forced tliem to
remain a whole month in this place. They were
both, a few daJ^s after their arrival, attacked by a
disorder, which in M. Bonpland assumed the char-
acter of a typhoid fever. A mulatto servant, who
had attended them from Cumana, was similarly
affected. His death was announced on the ninth
day ; but he had only fallen into a state of insensi-
bility, which lasted several hours, and was followed
by a salutary crisis. Humboldt escaped with a very
violent attack, during which he was made to take a
mixture of honey and the extract of Cortex angosiura.
He recovered on the following day. His fellow-
traveller remained in a very alarming state for several
weeks, but retained sufficient strength of mind to
prescribe for himself. His fever was incessant, and
complicated with dysentery ; but, in his case too, the
issue was favourable. At this period no epidemic
prevailed in the town, and the air was salubrious ; so
that the germ of the disease had probably been
caught in the damp forests of the Upper Orinoco.

Angostura, so named from its being placed on a
narrow part of the river, stands at the foot of a hill
of hornblende-slate destitute of vegetation. The
streets are regular, and generally parallel to the
course of the stream. The houses are high, agree-
able, and built of stone ; although the town is not
exempt from earthquakes. At the period of this
visit the population was only 6000. There is little
variety in the surrounding scenery ; but the view of
the river is singularly majestic. When the waters
are high they inundate the quays, and it sometimes
happens that even in the streets imprudent persons
fall a prey to the crocodiles, which are very nume-
rous.

Humboldt relates that, at the time of his stay at

CROCODILES. 247

Angostura, an Indian from the island of Margarita
having gone to anchor his canoe in a cove where
there were not three feet of water, a very fierce
crocodile that frequented the spot seized him by the
leg and carried him oflf. With astonishing courage
he searched for a knife in his pocket, but not finding
it, thrust his fingers into the animal's eyes. The
monster, however, did not let go his hold, but plunged
to the bottom of the river, and, after drowning his
victim, came to the surface and dragged the body to
an island.

The number of individuals who perish annually
in this manner is very great, especially in villages
where the neiglibouring grounds are inundated. The
same crocodiles remain long in the same places, and
become more daring from year to year, especially,
as the Indians assert, if they have once tasted human
flesh. They are not easily killed, as their skin is
impenetrable, — the throat and the space beneath the
shoulder being the only parts where a ball or spear
can enter. The natives catch them with large iron
hooks baited with meat, and attached to a chain fas-
tened to a tree. After the animal has struggled for
a considerable time, they attack it with lances.

Affecting examples are related of the intrepidity
of African slaves in attempting to rescue their mas-
ters from the jaws of these voracious reptiles. Not
many years ago, in the llanos of Calabozo, a negro,
attracted by the cries of his owner, armed himself
with a long knife, and, plunging into the river, forced
the animal, by scooping out its eyes, to leave its
prey and take to flight. The natives, being daily
exposed to similar dangers, think little of them.
They observe the manners of the crocodile as the
torero studies those of the bull ; and quietly calcu-
late the motions of the enemy, its means of attack,
and the degree of its audacity.

The general nature of the vast regions bordering
on the Orinoco may be sufficiently learned from the

248 JOURNEY FROM ANGOSTURA.

above condensed narrative ; and we think it unne-
cessary to follow our learned author through his
description of that portion of the river which extends
from Angostura to its mouths, especially as it is not
founded on personal observation.

CHAPTER XX.

Journey across the Llanos to New-Barcelona.

Departure from Angostura — Village of Cari — Natives — New-Barcelona —
Hot Springs — Crocodiles — Passage to Cumana.

It was night when our travellers for the last time
crossed the bed of the Orinoco. They intended to
rest near the little fort of San Rafael, and in the
morning begin their journey over the llanos of
Venezuela, with the view of proceeding to Cumana
or New-Barcelona, whence they might sail to the
island of Ciiba, and thence again to Mexico. There
they purposed to remain a year, and to take a passage
in the galleon from Acapulco to Manilla.

The botanical and geological collections which
they had brought from Esmeralda and the Rio Negro
had greatly increased their baggage ; and as it would
have been hazardous to lose sight of such stores,
they journeyed but slowly over the deserts, which
they crossed in thirteen days. This eastern part of
the llanos, between Angostura and Barcelona, is
similar to that already described on the passage from
the valley of Aragua to San Fernando de Apure ; but
the breeze is felt with greater force, although at this
period it had ceased. They spent the first night at
the house of a Frenchman, a native of Lyons, who
received them with the kindest hospitality. He was
employed in joining wood by means of a kind of glue

TO NEW-BARCELONA CARIES. 249

called guayca, which resembles the best made from
animal substances, and is found between the bark
and alburnum of the Combrelum guayca, a kind of
creeping plant.

On the third day they arrived at the missions of
Cari. Some showers had recently revived the vege-
tation. A thick turf was formed of small grasses
and herbaceous sensitive plants, while a few fan-
palms, rhopalas, and malpighias, rose at great dis-
tances from each other. The humid spots were
distinguishable by groups of mauritias, which were
loaded with enormous clusters of red fruit. The
plain undulated from the effect of mirage, the heat
was excessive, and the travellers found temporary
rehef under the shade of the trees, which had, how-
ever, attracted numerous birds and insects.

On the 13th July they arrived at the village of
Cari, where, as usual, they lodged with the clergy-
man, who could scarcely comprehend how natives
of the north of Europe should have arrived at his
dwelling from the frontiers of Brazil. They found
more than 500 Caribs in the hamlet, and saw many
more at the surrounding missions. They were of
large stature, from five feet nine inches to six feet
two. The men had the lower part of the body
wrapped in a piece of dark-blue cloth, while the
women had merely a narrow band. This race differs
from the other Indians, not only in being taller, but
also in the greater regularity of their features, in
having the nose less flattened, and the cheek-bones
less prominent. The hair of the head is partially
shaven, only a circular tuft being left on the top, —
a custom that might be supposed to have been bor-
rowed from the monks, but which is equally preva-
lent among those who have preserved their inde-
pendence. Both males and females are careful to
ornament their persons with paint. The Caribs,
once so powerful, now inhabit but a small part of
the country which they occupied at the time when

250 CARIB MISSIONS.

America was discovered. They have been exter-
minated in the West India islands and the coasts of
Darien, but in the provinces of New-Barcelona and
Spanish Guiana have formed populous vilLiges, under
the government of the missions. Humboldt esti-
mates the number inhabiting tlie llanos of sPiritoo
and the banks of the Caroni and Cuyuni at more
than 35,000, and the total amount of the pure race at
40,000.

The missionary led tlie travellers into several
huts, -where they found the greatest order and clean-
Iniess, but were shocked by the torments that the
women inflicted on their infants, for the purpose of
raising the flesh in alternate bands from the ankle
to the top of the thigh ; a practice which the monks
had in vain attempted to abolish. This effect was
produced by narrow ligatures, which seemed to
obstruct the circulation of the blood, although it did
not weaken the action of the muscles. The fore-
head, however, was not flattened, but left in its
natural form.

On leaving the mission the pliilosophers had some
diflficulty in settling with their Indian muleteers, who
had discovered among the baggage the skeletons
brought from the cavern of Ataruipe, and were per-
suaded that the animals which carried such a load
would perish on the journey. The Rio Cari was
crossed in a boat, and the Rio de Agua Clara by
fording. The same objects everywhere recurred;
huts constructed of reeds and roofed with skins;
mounted men guarding the herds: cattle, horses,'
and mides running half wild. No sheep or goats
were seen, these animals being unable to escape from
the jaguars.

On the 15th they arrived at the Villa del Pao,
where they found some fruit-trees as well as cocoa-
palms, which properly belong to the coast. As they
advanced the sky became clearer, the soil more
dusty, and the atmosphere more fiery. The intense

ROBBERS NEW-BARCELONA. 251

heat, however, was not entirely owing to the tem-
perature of the air, but arose partly from the fine
sand mingled with it. On the night of the 16th they
rested at the Indian vihage of' Santa Cruz de Ca-
chipo. The warmth had increased so much that
they would have preferred travelling by night ; but
the country was infested by robbers, who murdered
the whites that fell into their hands. These were
malefactors who had escaped from the prisons on
the coast and from the missions, and hved in the
llanos in a manner similar to that of the Bedouin
Arabs. Those vast plains, Humboldt thinks, can
hardly ever be subjected to cultivation, although he
is persuaded that in the lapse of ages, if placed under
a government favourable to industry, they will lose
much of the wild aspect which they have hitherto
retained.

After travelling three days they began to perceive
the chain of the mountains of Cumana, which sepa-
rates the hanos from the coast of the Caribbean Sea.
It appeared at first like a fog-bank, which by de-
grees condensed, assumed a bluish tint, and became
bounded by sinuous outlines. Although the llanos
of Venezuela are bordered on the south by granitic
mountains, exhibiting in their broken summits traces
of violent convulsions, no blocks were found scat-
tered upon them. The same remark is to be made
m regard to the other great plains of South America.
These circumstances, as Humboldt remarks, seem
to prove that the granitic masses scattered over
the sandy plains of the Baltic are a local phenome-
non, and must have originated in some great con-
vulsion which took place in the northern regions of
Europe.

On the 23d July they arrived at the town of New-
Barcelona, less fatigued by the heat, to which they
had Ijeen so long accustomed, than harassed by the
sand-wind, that causes painful chaps in the skin.
They were kindly received by a wealthy merchant

252 HOT-SPRINGS CROCODILES.

of French extraction, Don Pedro Lavi6. This town
was founded in 1637, and in 1800 contained more
than 16,000 inhabitants. The chmate is not so hot
as that of Cumana, but very damp, and in the rainy
season rather unheahhy. M. Bonpland had by this
time regained his strength and activity, but his com-
panion suffered more at Barcelona than he had done
at Angostura. One of those extraordinary tropical
rains, during which drops of enormous size fall at
sunset, had produced uneasy sensations that seemed
to threaten an attack of typhus, a disease then preva-
lent on the coast. They remained nearly a month
at Barcelona, where they found their friend Juan
Gonzales, who, having resolved to go to Europe,
meant to accompany them as far as Cuba.

At the distance of seven miles to the south-east
of New-Barcelona rises a chain of lofty mountains
connected with the Cerro del Bergantin, which is
seen from Cumana. When Humboldt's health was
sufficiently restored, the travellers made an excur-
sion in that direction, for the purpose of examining
the hot-springs in the neighbourhood. These are
impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen, and issue
from a quartzose sandstone, lying on a compact lime-
stone resembling that of Jura. The temperature of
the water was 109-8°. Their host had lent them
one of his finest saddle-horses, warning them at the
same time not to ford the little river of Narigual,
which is infested with crocodiles. They passed
over by a kind of bridge formed of the trunks of
trees, and made their animals swim, holding them
by the bridles. Humboldt's suddenly disappeared,
and the guides conjectured that it had been seized
by the caymans.

The crocodiles of the Rio Neveri are numerous,
but less ferocious than those of the Orinoco. The
people of New-Barcelona convey wood to market
by floating tlie logs on the river, while the proprie-
tors swim here and there to set them loose when

ARRIVAL AT CUMANA. 253

they are stopped by the banks. This could not be
done in most of the South American rivers infested
by those animals. There is no la lian suhiirb as at
Cumaaa, and the few natives seea in the taw;i are
from the neighbouring missions, or inhabitants of
huts scattered in the plain. They are of a mixed
race, indolent, and addicted to drinking.

The packet-boats from Corunna to Havana and
Mexico laad been due three months, so that they
were supposed to have been taken by the English
cruisers ; when our travellers, anxious to reach Cu-
mana, in order to avail tnemselves of the first op-
portunity for Vera Cruz, hired an open vessel. It
was laden with cacao, and carried on a contraband
trade with the island of Trinidad ; for which reason
the proprietor thought he had nothing to fear from
the British ; but they had scarcely reached the nar-
row channel between the continent and the islands
of Borracha and the Chimanas, when they met an
armed boat, which, hailing them at a great distance,
fired some musket-shot at them. It belonged to a
privateer of Hahfax, and the travellers were forth-
with carried on board ; but while Humboldt was ne-
gotiating in the cabin, a noise was heard upon deck,
and something was whispered to the master, who
instantly left him in consternation. An English
sloop of war, the Hawk, had come up, and inade
signals to the latter to bring to ; which he not having
promptly obeyed, a gun was fired, and a midshipman
sent to demand the reason. Humboldt accompanied
this officer to the sloop, where Captain Garnier re-
ceived him with the greatest kindness. Next day
they continued their voyage, and at nine in the
morning reached the Gulf of Cariaco. The castle
of San Antonio, the forest of cactuses, the scattered
huts of the Guayquerias, and all the features of a
landscape well known to them, rose upon the view;
and as they landed at Cumana they were greeted by
their numerous friends, who were overjoyed to find

254 . t NATIVE ALUM.

untrue a report of their death on the Orinoco, which
had been current for several months. The port was
every day more strictly blockaded, and the vain ex-
pectation of Spanish packets retained them two
months and a half longer ; during which time they
occupied themselves in completing their investiga-
tion of the plants of the country, in examining fhe
geology of the eastern part of the peninsula of Araya,
and in making astronomical observations, together
with experiments on refraction, evaporation, and at-
mospheric electricity. They also sent off some of
their more valuable collections to France.

Having been informed that the Indians brought to
the town considerable quantities of native alum found
in the mountains, they made an excursion for the
purpose of ascertaining its position. Disembarking
near Cape Caney they inspected the old salt-pit, now
converted into a lake by an irruption of the sea, the
ruins of the castle of Araya, and the limestone-
mountain of Earigon, which contained fossil shells
in perfect preservation. When they visited that
peninsula the precedhig year, there was a dreadful
scarcity of water. But during their absence on the
Orinoco it had rained abundantly on various parts
along the coast; and the remembrance of these
showers occupied the imagination of the natives as
a fall of meteoric stones would engage that of the
naturalists of Europe.

Their Indian guide was ignorant of the situation
of the alum, and they wandered for eight or nine
hours among the rocks, which consisted of mica-
slate passing into clay-slate, traversed by veins of
quartz, and containing small beds of graphite. At
length, descending towards the northern coast of
the peninsula, they found the substance for which
they were searching, in a ravine of very difficult ac-
cess. Here the mica-slate suddenly changed into
carburetted and shining clay-slate, and the springs
were impregnated with yellow oxide of iron. The

EUROPEAN NATIONS IN AMETIICA. 255

sides of the neighbouring cliffs were covered with
capillary crystals of sulphate of alumina, and real
beds two inches thick of native alum, extended in
the clay-slate as far as the eye could reach. The
formation appeared to be primitive, as it contained
cyanite, rutile, and garnets.

Returning to Cumana, they made preparations for
their departure, and availing themselves of an Ameri-
can vessel, laden at New-Barcelona for Cuba, they
set out on the 16th November, and crossed for the
third time the Gulf of Cariaco. The night v/as cool
and delicious, and it was not without emotion that
they saw for the last time the disk of the moon illu-
minating the summits of the cocoa-trees along the
banks of the Manzanares. The breeze was strong,
and in less than six hours they anchored near the
Morro of New-Barcelona.

The continental part of the New World is divided
between three nations of European origin, of which
one, the most powerful, is of Germanic race, and
the two others belong to Latin Europe. The latter
are more numerous than the former ; the inhabitants
of Spanish and Portuguese America constituting a
population double that of the regions possessed by
the English. The French, Dutch, and Danish pos-
sessions of the New Continent are of small extent,
and the Russian colonies are as yet of little impor-
tance. The free Africans of Hayti are the only
other people possessed of territory, excepting the
native Indians. The British and Portuguese colo-
nists have peopled only the coasts opposite to Eu-
rope ; but the Spaniards have passed over the Andes,
and made settlementsin the most western provinces,
where alone they discovered traces of ancient civili-
zation. In the eastern districts the inhabitants who
fell into the hands of the two former nations were
wandering tribes of hunters, while in the remoter
parts the Spaniards found agricultural states and
flourishing empires ; and these circumstances have

256 VOYAGE TO CUBA.

greatly influenced the present condition of these
countries. Among other instances may be men-
tioned the almost total exclusion of African slaves
from the latter colonies, and the comfortable con-
dition of the natives of American race, who live by
agriculture, and are governed by European laws.

But with respect to the political constitution and
relations of the provinces visited by the travellers,
it is not expedient here to enter into the details
which they have given, more especially as those
colonies have lately undergone revolutions that have
converted them into independent states, the history
of which would aflbrd materials for many volumes.
The very interesting sketch of the physical con-
stitution of South America presented by Humboldt
must also be passed over, because, in the condensed
form to which it would necessarily be reduced, it
could not afford an adequate idea of the subject. We
must therefore, with our travellers, take leave of
Terra Firma, and accompany them on their passage
to Havana.

CHAPTER XXI.

Passage to Havana, and Residence in Cuba.

Passage from New-Barcelona to Havana — Description of the latter — Ex-
tent of Cnba— Geological Consiiiulioii— Vegetation — fliniaie— Popula-
tion—Agriculture — Exports — Preparations for joinnig Capiain Baudia's
Expeditroii— Journey to Balabaao, and Voyage to Trinidad de Cuba.

Humboldt and his companion sailed from the Road
of New-Barcelona on the 24th November at nine in
the evening, and next day at noon reached the island
of Tortuga, remarkable for its lowness and want of
vegetation. On the 26th there was a dead calm,
and about nine in the morning a fine halo formed

ARRIVAL AT HAVANA. 257

round the sun, while the temperature of the air fell
thfee degrees. The circle of this meteor, M^iich
was one degree in breadth, displayed the most beau-
tiful colours of the rainbow, while its interior and
the whole vault of the sky was azure without the
least haze. The sea was covered with a bluish scum,
which under the microscope appeared to be formed
of filaments, that seemed to be fragments of fuci.
On tlie 27th they passed near the island of Orchila,
composed of gneiss and covered with plants, and
towards sunset discovered the summits of the Roca
de Afuera, over which the clouds were accumulated.
Indications of stormy weather increased, the waves
rose, and waterspouts threatened. On the night of
the 2d December a curious optical phenomenon pre-
sented itself. The full moon was very high. On
its side, forty-five minutes before its passage over
the meridian, a great arc suddenly appeared, having
the prismatic colours, but of a gloomy aspect. It
seemed higher than the moon, had a breadth of
nearly two degrees, and remained stationary for
several minutes ; after which it gradually descended,
and sank below the horizon. The sailors were filled
with astonishment at this moving arch, which they
supposed to announce wind. Next night M. Bon-
pland and several passengers saw, at the distance of
a quarter of a mile, a small flame, which ran on the
surface of the sea towards the south-west, and illu-
minated the atmosphere. On the 4th and 6th they
encountered rough weather, with heavy rain, ac-
companied by thunder, and were in considerable
danger on the bank of Vibora. At length, on the
19th, they anchored in the port of Havana, after a
boisterous passage of twenty-five days.

Cuba is the largest of the West India islands, and
on account of its" great fertility, its naval establish-
ments, the nature of its population — of v/hich three-
fifths are composed of freemen.— and its geographi-
cal position, is of great political importance. Of aJl

Y2

258 HAVANA.

the Spanish colonies it is that which has most pros-
pered; insomuch, that not only has its revenue suf-
ficed for its own wants, but during the struggle
between the mother-country and her continental
provinces, it furnished considerable sums to the
former.

The appearance which Havana presents at the
entrance of the port is exceedingly beautiful and
picturesque. The opening is only about 426 yards
wide, defended by fortifications ; after which a basin,
upwards of two miles in its greatest diameter, and
communicating with three creeks, expands to the
view. The city is built on a promontory, bounded
on the north by the fort of La Punta, and on the
south by the arsenals. On the western side it is
protected by two castles, placed at the distance of
1407 and 2643 yards, the intermediate space being
occupied by the suburbs. The pubhc edifices are
less remarkable for their beauty than for the solidity
of their construction, and the streets are in general
narrow and unpaved, in consequence of which they
are extremely dirty and disagreeable. But there
are two fine public walks to which the inhabitants
resort.

Although the town of Havana, properly so called,
is only 1918 yards long and 1066 broad, it con-
tains more than 44,000 inhabitants. The two great
suburbs of Jesu-Maria and the Salud accommodate
nearly an equal population. In 1810 the amount
was as follows : —

Whites 41,227

Free Pardos, or copper-coloured men . . 9,743 ( q- ,.„

Free Blacks 16,606 i *''^*''

PardosSlaves 2,297) 00700

Black Slaves 26,431 \ ••••-».'^»

96,304

There are two hospitals in the town, the number
of sick admitted into which is considerable. Owing

EXTENT AND GEOLOGY OF CUBA. 259

to the heat of the climate, the filth of the town, and
the mfluence of the shore, there is usually a great
accumulation of disease, and the yellow fever or
black vomiting is prevalent. The markets are well
supplied.

A peculiar character is given to the landscape in
the vicinity of Havana by the palma real (Oreo-
doxa regia), the trunk of which, enlarged a little to-
wards the middle, attains a height varying from 60
to 85 feet, and is crowned by pinnated leaves rising
perpendicularly, and curved at the point. Numerous
country-houses of light and elegant construction
surround the bay, to which the proprietors retreat
when the yellow fever rages in the town.

The island of Cuba is nearly as large as Portugal;
its greatest length being 783^ miles, and its mean
breadth 51| miles. More than four-fifths of its ex-
tent is composed of low lands ; but it is traversed
in various directions by ranges of mountains, the
highest of which are said to attain an altitude of
7674 feet. The western part consists of granite,
gneiss, and primitive slates ; which, as well as the
central district, contains two formations of compact
limestone, one of argillaceous sandstone, and an-
other of gypsum. The first of these presents large
caves near Matanzas and Jaruco, and is filled with
numerous species of fossils. The secondary forma-
tions to the east of the Havana are pierced by
syenitic and euphotide rocks, accompanied with ser-
pentine. No volcanic eruptions, properly so called,
have hitherto been discovered.

Owing to the cavernous structure of the limestone
deposites, the great inclination of their strata, the
small breadth of the island, and the frequency and
nakedness of the plains, there are very few rivers of
any n^agnitude, and a large portion of the territory
is subject to severe droughts. Yet the undulating
surface of the country, the continually renewed ver-
dure, and the distribution of vegetable forms, give

260 VEGETATION, CLIMATE, POPULATION,

rise to the most varied and beautiful landscapes.
The hills and savannas are decorated by palms of
several species, trees of other families, and shrubs
constantly covered with flowers. Wild orange-trees
ten or fifteen feet in height, and bearing a small fruit,
are common, and probably existed before the intro-
duction of the cultivated variety by Europeans. A
species of pine {Pinus occidentalis) occurs here and
in St. Domingo, but has not been seen in any of the
other West India islands.

The climate of Havana, although tropical, is
marked by an unequal distribution of heat at different
periods of the year, indicating a transition to the
climates of the temperate zone. The mean tem-
perature is 78-3°, but in the interior only 73-4°. The
hottest months, July and August, do not give a
greater average than 82'4°, and the coldest, Decem-
ber and January, present the mean of 69-8°. In
summer the thermometer does not rise above 82°
or 86°, and its depression in winter so low as 50° or
53'5° is rare. When the north wind blows several
weeks, ice is sometimes formed at night at a little
distance from the coast, at an inconsiderable eleva-
tion above the sea. Yet the great lowerings of
temperature which occasionally take place are of so
short duration, that the palm-trees, bananas, or the
sugar-cane do not suffer from them. Snow never
falls, and hail so rarely that it is only observed dur-
ing thunder-storms, and Avith blasts from the S.S.W.
once in fifteen or twenty years. The changes how-
ever are very rapid, and the inhabitants complain
of cold when the thermometer falls quickly to 70°.
Hurricanes are of much less frequent occurrence in
Cuba than in the other West India islands.

In 1817 the population was estimated at 630,980.
There were 290,021 whites, 115,691 free copper-
coloured men, and 225,268 slaves. The original
inhabitants have entirely disappeared, as in all the
other Wes. India islands. Intellectual cultivation

AND AGRICULTURE OF CUBA. 261

is almost entirely restricted to the whites; and
although in Havana the first society is not per-
ceptibly inferior to that of the richest commercial
cities in Europe, a rudeness of manners prevails in
the small towns and plantations.

The common cereal grasses are cultivated in
Cuba, together with the tropical productions peculiar
to these countries ; but the principal exports consist
of tobacco, coffee, sugar, and wax. The sugar-cane
is planted in the rainy season, from July to October,
and cut from February to May. The rapid diminu-
tion of wood in the island has caused the want of
fuel to be felt in the manufacture of sugar, and
Humboldt, during his stay, attempted several new
constructions with the view of diminishing the ex-
penditure of it.*

The tobacco of Cuba is celebrated in every part
of Europe. The districts which produce the most
aromatic kind are situated to the west of the
Havana, in the Vuelta de Abago ; bat that grown
to the east of the capital on the banks of the Mayari,
in the province of Santiago, at Himias, and in other
places, is also of excellent quality. In 1827 the
produce was about 113/214 cwts., of which 17,888
were exported. The value of this commodity
shipped in 1828 was 105,991^. 13.y. id., and in 1829,
142,910/. Cotton and indigo, although cultivated,
are not to any extent made articles of commerce.

Towards the end of April the travellers, having
finished the observations which they had proposed
to make, were on the point of sailing to Vera Cruz ;
but inteUigence communicated bj' means of the
public papers respecting Captain Baudin's expedi-
tion, led them to relinquish the project of crossing

* By the custom-house returns, 156,158,924 lbs. of sugar were ex-
ported fronft'Cubn in 18-27; and if the quantity smuggled be estimated at
one-fourth more, the total amount woulil be nearly 200.000,000168. In
the same year llie exportation of coflT^-e amounted to upwards of
60,000,000 lbs., but it has since fallen off considerably.— See MaccuUoch's
Diet, nf Commerce, art. Havana.

262 DEPARTURE FROM HAVANA.

Mexico in order to proceed to the Philippine Islands.
It had been announced that two French vessels, the
Geographe and the Naturaliste, had sailed for Cape
Horn, and that they were to go along the coast of
Chili and Peru, and from thence to New-Holland.
Humboldt had promised to join them wherever he
could reach tlie ships, and M. Bonpland resolved to
divide their plants into three portions, one of which
was sent to Germany by way of England, another
to France by Cadiz, and the third left in Cuba.
Their friend Fray Juan Gonzales, an estimable
young man, who had followed them to the Havana
on his way to Spain, carried part of their collections
with him, including the insects found on the Orinoco
and Rio Negro ; but the vessel in which he em-
barked foundered in a storm on the coast of Africa.
General Don Gonzalo O'Farrill being then in Prussia
as minister of the Spanish court, Humboldt was en-
abled, through the agency of Don Ygnacio, the
general's brother, to procure a supply of money ;
and having made all the necessary preparations for
the new enterprise, freighted a Catalonian sloop for
Porto Bello, or Carthagena, according as the wea-
ther should permit.

On the 6th of March the travellers, finding that
the vessel was ready to receive them, set out for
Batabano, where they arrived on the 8th. This is
a poor village, surrounded by marshes, covered with
rushes and plants of the Iris family, among which
appear here and there a few stunted palms. The
marshes are infested by two species of crocodile,
one of which has an elongated snout, and is very
ferocious. The back is dark-green, the belly white,
and the flanks are covered with yellow spots.

On the 9th March our travellers again set sail in a
small sloop, and proceeded through the Gulf of Ba-
tabano, which is bounded by a low and swampy
coast. Humboldt employed himself in examining
the influence which the bottom of the sea produces

TURTLE-FISHING. 263

on the temperature of its surface, and in determin-
ing the position of some remarkable islands. The
water of the gulf was so shallow, that the sloop
often struck ; but the ground being soft and the
weather calm, no damage was sustained. At sunset
they anchored near the pass of Don Cristoval, which
was entirely deserted, although in the time of Co-
lumbus it was possessed by fishermen. The inhab-
itants of Cuba then employed a singidar method for
procuring turtles ; they fastened a long cord to the
tail of a species of echineis or stickmg-fish, which
has a flat disk, with a sucking apparatus on its head.
By means of this it stuck to the turtle, and was
pulled ashore, carrying the latter with it. The same
artifice is resorted to by the natives of certain parts
of the African coast.

They were three days on their passage through
the archipelago of the Jardines and Jardinillos,
small islands and shoals partly covered with vegeta-
tion : remaining at anchor during the night, and in
the day visiting those which were of most easy ac-
cess. The rocks were found to be fragmentary,
consisting of pieces of coral, cemented by carbon-
ate of lime, and interspersed with quartzy sand. On
the Cayo Bonito, where they first landed, they ob-
served- a layer of sand and broken shells five or six
inches thick, covering a formation of madrepore. It
was shaded by a forest of rhizophorae, intermixed
Avith euphorbiae, grasses, and other plants, together
with the magnificent Tournefortia gnaphalioidcs, with
silvery leaves and odoriferous flowers. The sailors
had been searching for langoustes ;* but not finding
any, avenged themselves on the young pelicans
perched on the trees. The old birds hovered aromid,
uttering hoarse and plaintive cries, and the young
defended themselves with vigour, although in vain ;
for the sailors, armed with sticks and cutlasses,

* A kind of shrimp, or lobster.

264 CAYO TLAMENCO RIO GUAtTRABO.

made cruel havoc amonp; them. " On our arrival,"
says Humholdt, " a profound calm prevailed on this
little spot of earth; but now every thing seemed to
say, — Man has passed here."

On the morning of the Uth they visited the Cayo
Flamenco, the centre of which is depressed, and
only 15 inches above the surface of the sea. The
water was brackish, while in other cayos it is quite
fresh ; a circumstance difficult to be accounted for
in small islands scarcely elevated above the ocean,
unless the springs be supposed to come from the
neighbouring coast by means of hydrostatic pres-
sure. Humboldt was informed by Don Francisco le
Maur, that in the Bay of Xagua, to the east of the
Jardinillos, fresh water gushes up in several places
from the bottom with such force as to prove danger-
ous for small canoes. Vessels sometimes take in
supphes from them; and the lamantins, or fresh-
water cetacea, abound in the neighbourhood.

To the east of Cape Flamenco they passed close
to the Piedras de Diea-o Perez, and in the evening
landed at Cayo de Piedras, two rocks forming
the eastern extremity of the Jardinillos, on which
many vessels are lost. They are nearly destitute
of shrubs, the shipwrecked crews having cut them
down to make signals. Next day, turning round the
passao-e between the northern cape of the Cayo and
the island of Cuba,-ihev entered a sea free from
breakers, and of a dark-blue colour ; the increase of
temperature in which indicated a great augmenta-
tion of depth. The thermometer Avas at 79-2° ;
whereas in the shoal-water of the Jardinillos it had
been seen as low as 72'7°, the air being from 77° to
80-6° during the day. Passing in succession the
marshy coast of Camareos, the entrance of the
Bahia de Xagua, and the mouth of the Rio San Juan,
along a naked and desert coast, they entered on the
14th the Rio Guaurabo to land their pilot. Disem-
barking in the evening, they made preparations for

RECEPTION AT TRINIDAD OF CUBA. 265

observing the passage of certain stars over the me-
ridian, but were interrupted by some merchants that
had dined on board a foreign ship newly arrived, and
who invited the strangers to accompany them to the
town ; which thBy did, mounted two and two on the
same horse. The road to Trinidad is nearly five
miles in length, over a level plain, covered with a
beautiful vegetation, to which the Miraguama palm,
a species of corypha, gave a peculiar character.
The houses are situated on a steep declivity, about
746 feet above the level of the sea, and command a
magnificent view of the ocean, the two ports, a
forest of palms, and the mountains of San Juan. The
travellers were received with the kindest hospitality
by the administrator of the Real Hacienda, M. Mu-
noz. The Teniente Governador, who was nephew
to the celebrated astronomer Don Antonio Ulloa,
gave them a grand entertainment, at which they met
with some French emigrants of Saint Domingo.
The evening was passed very agreeably in the house
of one of the richest inhabitants, Don Antonio Pa-
dron, where they foimd assembled all the select
company of the place. Their departure was very
unlike their entrance ; for the municipality caused
them to be conducted to the mouth of the Rio Gu-
aurabo in a splendid carriage, and an ecclesiastic
dressed in velvet celebrated in a sonnet their voyage
up the Orinoco.

The population of Trinidad, with the surrounding
farms, was stated to be 19,000. It has two ports at
the distance of about four miles. Puerto Casilda
and Puerto Guaurabo. On their return to the latter
of these the travellers were much struck by the
prodigious number of phosphorescent insects which
illuminated the grass and foliage. These insects
{Elater noctilucus) are occasionally used for a lamp,
being placed in a calabash perforated with holes ;
and a young woman at Trinidad informed them that,

Z

266 DEPARTURE FROM CUBA.

during a long passage from the mainland, she always
had recourse to tliis light when she gave her child
the breast at night, the captain not allowing any
other on board, for fear of pirates.

CHAPTER XXII.

Voyage from Cuba to Carthagena.

Passage from Trinidad of Cuba to Carthagena— Descrijilion of the latter
— Village of Turbaco — Air-volcanoes— Preparations for ascending tUe
Rio Magdalena.

Leavincj the island of Cuba, the travellers pro-
ceeded in a S.S.E. direction, and on the morning of
the 17th approached the group of the Little Cay-
mans, in the neighbourhood of which they saw nu-
merous turtles of extraordinary size, accompanied
by multitudes of sharks. Passing a seconti time
over the great bank of Vibora, they remarked that
the colour of the troubled waters upon it was of a
dirty-gray, and made observations on the changes of
temperature at the surface produced by the varying
depth of the sea. On quitting this shoal they sailed
between the Baxo Nueva and the lighthouse of Cam-
boy. The weather was remarkably fine, and the
surface of the bay was of an indigo-blue, or violet
tint, on account of tha medusa? which covered it.
Haloes of small dimensions appeared round the
moon. The disappearance of one of them was fol-
lowed by the formation of a great black cloud,
which emitted some drops of rain ; but the sky
soon resumed its serenity, and a long series of fall-
ing-stars and fireballs were seen moving in a direc-
tion contrary to the wind in the lower regions of the
atmosphere, which blew from the north. During

LANDING AT THE RIO SINU. 267

the whole of the 23d March not a single cloud was
seen in the firmament, although the air and the hori-
zon were tinged Avith a fine red colour ; but towards
evemng large bluish clouds formed, and when they
disappeared, converging bands of fleecy vapours were
seen at an immense height. On the 24th they en-
tered tlie kind of gulf bo^inded by the shores of Santa
Martha and Costa Rica, which is frequently agitated
by heavy gales. As they advanced towards the
coast of Darien the north-east wind increased to a
violent degree, and the waves became very rough at
night. At sunrise they perceived part of the archi-
pelago of St. Bernard, and passing the southern ex-
tremity of the Placa de San Bernardo, saw in the
distance the mountains of Tigua. The stormy
weather and contrary winds induced the master of
the vessel to seek shelter in the Rio Sinu, after a
passage of sixteen days.

Landing again on the continent of South America,
they betook themse.lves to the village of Zapote
where they found a great number of sailors, all men
of colour, who had descended the Rio Sinu in their
barks, carrying maize, bananas, poultry, ajid other
articles, to the port of Carthagena. The boats are
flat-bottomed, and the wind having blown violently
on the coast for ten days, they Xvere unable to pro-
ceed on their voyage. These people fatigued the
travellers with idle questions about their books and
instruments, and tried to frighten them with stories
of boas, vipers, and jaguars. Leaving the shores
which are covered with Rhizophora:, they entered a
forest remarkable for the great variety of palm-
trees which it presented. One of them, the JElais
melanococca, is only six feet four inches hio-h, but its
spathaj contain more than 200,000 floAvers, a single
epecimen furnishing 600,000 at the same time The
kernels of the fruit are peeled in water, and the layer
of Oil that rises from them, after being purified by

268 PALM-WINE.

boiling, yields the mantecade corozo, which is used
for lighting churches and houses.

After an hour's walk they found several inhabit-
ants collecting palm-wine. The tree which affords
this liquid is the Palma dolce or Cocos butyracea.
The trunk, which diminishes but little towards the
summit, is first cut down, when an excavation
eighteen inches long, eight broad, and six in depth,
IS made below the place at which the leaves and
spathae come off. After three days the cavity is
found filled with a yellowish-white juice, having a
sweet and vinous flavour, which continues to flow
eighteen or twenty days. The last that comes is less
sweet, but having a greater quantity of alcohol, it is
more highly esteemed. On their way back to the
shore they met with Zambos canying on their shoul-
ders cylinders of palmetto three feet in length, of
which an excellent food is prepared. Night sur-
prised them ; and, having broken an oar in return-
ing on board, they found some difllculty in reaching
the vessel.

The Rio Sinu is of the highest importance for pro-
visioning Carthagena. The gold-washings which
were formerly of great value, especially between its
source and the village of San Geronimo, have almost
entirely ceased, although the province of Antioquia
still furnishes, in its auriferous veins, a vast field for
mining speculations. It would, however, be of more
importance to direct attention to the cultivation of
colonial produce in these districts, especially that
of cacao, which is of superior quality. The real
febrifuge Cinchona also grows at the source of the
Rio Sinu, as well as in the mountains of Abibe and
Maria ; and the proximity of the port of Carthagena
would enhance its value in the trade \vith Europe.

On the 27th March the sloop weighed anchor at
sunrise. The sea was less agitated, although the
wind blew as before. To the north was seen a suc-
cession of small conical mountains, rising in the

DANCER FROM MAROON NEGROES. 269

midst of savannas, where the balsam of Tohi, form-
erly so celebrated as a medicament, is still gathered.
On leaving the Gulf of Morosqnillo they found the
waves swelhiig so high, that the captain was glad to
seek for shelter, and lay-to on tlie north of the vil-
lage of Rincon ; but discovering that they were upon
a coral rock, they preferred the open water, and
finally anchored near the isle of Arenas, on the night
of the 28th. Next day the gale blew with great
violence ; but they again proceeded, hoping to be
able to reach the Boca Chica. The sea was so
rough as to break over the deck, and while they
were running short tacks, a false manoeuvre in set-
ting the sails exposed them for some minutes to im-
minent danger. It was Palm Sunday ; and a Zam-
bo, who had followed them to the Orinoco and re-
mained in their service until they returned to Fi-ance,
did not fail to remind them, that on the same day
the preceding year they had undergone a similar
danger near the mission of Uruana. After this they
took refuge in a creek of the isle of Barn.

As there was to be an eclipse of the moon that
night, and next day an occultation of « Virginis,
Humboldt insisted that the captain should allow one
of the sailors to accompany him by land to the Boca
Chica, the distance being only six miles ; but the
latter refused, on account of the savage state of the
country, in which there was neither path nor hab-
itation; and an incident which occurred justified his
prudence. The travellers were going ashore to
gather plants by moonlight, when there issued from
the thicket a young negro loaded with fetters, and
armed with a cutlass. He urged them to disemba]'k
on a beach covered with large Rhizophoree among
which the sea did not break, and offered to conduct
them to the interior of the island of Baru if they
would give him some clothes ; but his cunning and
savage air, his repeated inquiries as to their being
Spaniards, and the unintelligible words addressed to

Z2

270

CARTIIAGENA.

his companions, who were concealed among the
trees, excited their suspicions, and induced them to
return on board. These blacks were probably Ma-
roon negroes, wlio had escaped from prison. The
appearance of a naked man, wandering on an unin-
habited shore, and unable to rid himself of the chains
fastened round his neck and arm, left a painful im-
pression on the travellers ; but the sailors felt so
little sympathy with these miserable creatures, that
they wished to return and seize the fugitives in
order to sell them at Carthagena.

Next morning they doubled the Punta Gigantes,
and made sail towards the Boca Chica, the entrance
to the port of Carthagena, which is eight or ten
miles farther up. On landing, Humboldt learned
that the expedition appointed to make a survey of
the coast under the command of M. Fidalgo had
not yet put to sea, and this circumstance eliabled
him to ascertain the astronomical position of several
places which it was of importance to determine.

During the six days of their stay at Carthagena,
they made excursions in the neighbourhood, more
especially in the direction of the Boca Grande, and
the hill of Popa, which commands the town. The
port or bay is nearly eleven miles and a half lono-
The small island of Tierra Bomba, at its two ex-
tremities, which approach, the one to a neck of land
from the continent, the other to a cape of the isle
of Bam, forms the only entrance to the harbour.
One of these, named Boca Grande, has been artifi-
cially closed, for the defence of the town, in conse-
quence of an attack attended with partial success
made by Admiral Vernon in 1741. The extent of
the work was 2640 varas, or 2446 yards, and as the
water was from 16 to 20 feet deep, a wall or dike of
stone, from 16 to 21 feet high, was raised on piles
The other opening, the Boca Chica, is from 36 to 38
yards broad, but is daily becoming narrower, while
the currents acting upon the Boca Grande have

RELIGIOUS MUMMERY. 271

opened a breach in it, which they are continually
extending.

The insalubrity of Carthagena, which has been
exaggerated, varies with the state of the great
marshes that surround it. The Cienega de Tesca,
which is upwards of eighteen miles in length, com-
municates with the ocean ; and, when in dry years
the salt-water does not cover the whole plain, the
exhalations that rise from it during the heat of the
day become extremely pernicious. The hilly ground
in the neighbourhood of the town is of limestone,
containing petrifactions, and is covered by a gloomy
vegetation of cactus, Jairopha gossypifolia, crotoh,
and mimosa. While the travellers were searching
for plants, their guides showed them a thick bush
of acacia cornigera, which had acquired celebrity
from the following occurrence : A woman, wearied
of the well-founded jealousy of her husband, bound
him at night with the assistance of her paramour,
and threw him into it. The thorns of this species
of acacia are exceedingly sharp, and of great length,
and the shrub is infested by ants. The more the
unfortunate man struggled, the more severely was
he lacerated by the prickles, and when his cries at
length attracted some persons who were passing, he
was found covered with blood, and cruelly tormented
by the ants.

At Carthagena the travellers met with several
persons whose society was not less agreeable than
instructive ; and in the house of an officer of artil-
lery, Don Domingo Esquiaqui, found a very curious
collection of paintings, models of machinery, and
minerals. They had also an opportunity of witness-
ing the pageant of the Pascua. Nothing, says Hum-
boldt, could rival the oddness of the dresses of the
principal personages in these processions. Beggars,
carrying a crown of thorns on their heads, asked
alms, with crucifixes in their hands, and habited in
black robes. Pilate was arrayed in a garb of striped

273 VILLAGE OF TURBACO.

silk, and the apostles, seated round a large table
covered with sweetmeats, were carried on the shoul-
ders of Zambos. At sunset, effigies of Jews in
French vestments, and formed of straw and other
combustibles, were burnt in the principal streets.

Dreading the insalubrity of the town, the travel-
lers retired on the 6th April to the Indian village
of Turbaco, situated in a beautiful district, at the
entrance of a large forest, about 17i miles to the
south-west of the Popa, one of the most remarkable
summits in the neighbourhood of Carthagena. Here
they remained until they made the necessary pre-
parations for their voyage on the Rio Magdalena,
and for the long journey which they intended to
make to Bogota, Popayan, and Quito. The village
is about 1151 feet above the level of the sea. Snakes
were so numerous that they chased the rats even in
the houses, and pursued the bats on the roofs.
From the terrace surrounding their habitation, they
had a view of the colossal mountains of the Sierra
Nevada de Santa Marta, part of which was covered
with perennial snow. The intervening space, con-
sisting of hills and plains, was adorned with a luxu-
riant vegetation, resembling that of the Orinoco.
There they found gigantic trees, not previously
known, such as the Rhinocarpus excelsa, with spirally-
curved fruit, the Ocotea turhacensis, and the Cava-
nillesia platanifolia ; the large five-winged fruit of
which is suspended from the tips of the branches
like paper lanterns. They botanized every day in
the woods from five in the morning till night, though
they were excessively amioyed by mosquitoes, zan-
cudoes, xegens, and other tipulary insects. In the
midst of these magnificent forests they frequently
saw plantations of bananas and maize, to which the
Indians are fond of retiring at the end of the rainy
season.

The persons who accompanied the travellers on
thes© expeditions often spoke of a marshy ground

VOLCANCITOS OF TURBACO. 275

situated in the midst of a thicket of pahns, and
which they designated by the name of Los Volcan-
citos. They said that, according to a tradition pre-
served in the village, the ground had formerly been
ignited, but that a monk had extinguished it by fre-
quent aspersions of holy water, and converted the
fire-volcano into a water-volcano. Without attach-
ing much credit to this tradition, the philosophers
desired their guides to lead them to the spot. After
traversing a space of about 5300 yards, covered with
trunks of Cavanillesia, Piragra supurba, and Gyro-
carpus, and in which there appeared here and there
projections of a limestone rock containing petrified
corals, they reached an open place of about 908 feet
square, entirely destitute of vegetation, but mar-
gined with tufts of Bromelia karatas. The surface
was composed of layers of clay of a dark-gray
colour, cracked by desiccation into pentagonal and
heptagonal prisms. The volcancitos consist of fif-
teen or twenty small truncated cones rising in the
middle of this area, and having a height of from 19
to 25 feet. The most elevated were on the southern
side, and their circumference at the base was from
78 to 85 yards. On climbing to the top of these
mud-volcanoes, they found them to be terminated
by an aperture, from 16 to 30 inches in diameter,
filled with water, through which air-bubbles obtained
a passage ; about five explosions usually taking
place in two minutes. The force with which the
air rises would lead to the supposition of its being
subjected to considerable pressure, and a rather loud
noise was heard at intervals, preceding the disen-
gagement of it fifteen or eighteen seconds. Each
of the bubbles contained from 12 to 14^ cubic in-
ches of elastic fluid, and their power of expansion
was often so great that the water was projected be-
yond the crater, or flowed over its brim. Some of
the openings by which air escaped were situated in
the plain v/ithout being surrounded by any promi-

276 VOLCANCITOS AND VEGETATION.

nence of the ground. It was observed that when the
apertures, which are not placed at the summit of
the cones, and are enclosed by a little mud wall
from 10 to 15 inches high, are nearly contiguous, the
explosions did not take place at the same time. It
would appear that each crater receives the gas by
distinct canals, or that these, terminating in the
same reservoir of compressed air, oppose greater
or less impediments to the passage of the aeriform
fluids. The cones have no doubt been raised by
these fluids, and the dull sound that precedes the dis-
engagement of them indicates tliat the ground is
hollow. The natives asserted that there had been
no observable change in the form and number of
the cones for twenty years, and that the little cavi-
ties are filled with water even in the driest seasons.
The temperature of this liquid was not higher than
that of the atmosphere ; the latter having been
81-5°, and the former 80-6° or 81°, at the time of
Humboldt's visit. A stick could easily be pushed
into the apertures to the depth of six or seven
feet, and the dark-coloured clay or mud was ex-
ceedingly soft. An ignited body was immediately
extinguished on being immersed in the gas collected
from the bubbles, which was found to be pure azote.
The stay which our travellers made at Turbaco
was uncommonly agreeable, and added greatly to
their collection of plants. " Even now," says Hum-
boldt, writing in 1831, " after so long a lapse of
time, andiifter returning from the banks of the Obi
and the confines of Chinese Zungaria, these bamboo
thickets, that wild luxuriance of vegetation, those
orchidese covering the old trunks of the ocotea and In-
dian fig, that majestic view of the snowy mountains,
that light mist filling the bottom of the valleys at
sunrise, those tufts of gigantic trees rising like ver-
dant islets from a sea of vapours, incessantly pre-
sent themselves to my imagination. At Turbaco
we lived a simple and laborious life. We were young ;

PREPARATIONS FOR DEPARTURE. 277

possessed a similarity of taste and disposition;
looked forward to the future with hope ; were on the
eve of a journey which was tu lead us to the high-
est summits of the Andes, and bring us to volcanoes
inaction in a country continually agitated by earth-
quakes ; and we felt ourselves more happy than at
any other period of our distant expedition. The
years which have since passed, not all exempt from
griefs and pains, have added to the charms of these
impressions ; and I love to think that, in the midst
of his exile in the southern hemisphere, in the soli-
tudes of Paraguay, my unfortunate friend M. Bon-
pland, sometimes remembers with delight our bo-
tanical excursions at Turbaco, the little spring of
Torecillo, the first sight of a gustavia in flower, or
of the cavanillesia loaded with fruits having mem-
branous and transparent edges."

M. Bonpland's health having suffered severely
during the navigation of the Orinoco and Casiquiare,
they resolved to provide themselves with all the
conveniences necessary to secure their comfort dur-
ing the ascent of the Rio Magdalena. They were
accompanied on this voyage by an old French phy-
sician, M. de Rieux, and two Spaniards. Leaving
Turbaco after a stay of ten days, in a cool and very
dark night, they passed through a wood of bamboos
rising i^rom 40 to 50 feet. At daybreak they reached
Arjona on the borders of the forest, crossed an arm
of the Rio Magdalena in a canoe, and arrived at
Mahates, where they had to wait nearly all day for
the mules which were to convey their baggage to
the place of embai'kation. It was excessively hot,
without a breath of wind, and to add to their vexa-
tion, their only remaining barometer had been broken
in passing the canal ; but they consoled themselves
by examining some beautiful species of parrots
which they obtained from the natives.

On the 20th April, at three in the morning, the
air feeling deliciously cool, although the thermonie-

A a

278 BARANCAS NUEVAS.

ter was at 7r6°, they were on their journey to the
village of Barancas Nuevas, amid a forest of lofty
trees. Half-way between Mahates and that hamlet
they found a group of huts elegantly constructed of
bamboos, and inhabited by Zambos. Humboldt re-
marks, that the intermixture of Indians and negroes
is very common in those countries, and that the
women of the American tribes have a great liking
to the men of the African race. To the east of
Mahates the limestone formation, containing corals,
ceases to appear ; the predominant rocks being sili-
ceous with argillaceous cement, forming alternating
beds of small-grained quartzose and slaty sandstone,
or conglomerates containing angular fragments of
lydian-stone, clay-slate, gneiss, and quartz, and vary-
ing in colour from yellowish-gray to brownish-red.
Hitherto the narrative of the important journey
performed by Humboldt and Bonpland, through those
little known but highly interesting regions of South
America which were visited by them, has been given
as much in detail as is consistent with the nature of
a work like the present ; but here, as no minute ac-
count of their fai-ther progress has yet been laid be-
fore the public, we must cease to follow them step
by step, and content ourselves with a brief narra-
tive of their proceedings.

ASCENT OF THE RIO MAGDALENA.

279

CHAPTER XXIII.

Brief Account of the Journey from Carthagena to Quiio
and Mexico.

Ascent of the Rio Magdalena-Santa Fe de Bogota-Cataract of Tequen-
dama--Namral Bridges of Icononzo-Passage of Qumdm-Cargueros
-Ponavan-QuUo-Cotopaxi and Chimborazo-Route frotn Quito to
Lima-Guayaquil-Mexico-Guariaxuato-Volcan^

mid of Cholula.

It has been already stated that Humboldt, pre-
viously to leaving Paris, had promised Baudni, that
should his projected expedition to the southern hemi-
sphere ever take place, he would endeavour to join it ;
and also that information received by him at <^uba
had induced him to relinquish plans subsequent y
formed, and re-embark for the continent of Soutli
America, with the view of proceeding to Guayaquil
or Lima, where he expected to meet the navigators.
Accordingly he went to Carthagena, where he learned
that the season was too far advanced for sailing from
Panama to Guayaquil. Giving up, therefore, his
intention of crossing the isthmus of Panama, he
passed some days in the forests of Turbaco, and
afterward made preparations for ascending the Kio

This river, from its sources near the equator, flows
almost directly north. "Nature," says a traveller
who sailed up it in 1823, " seems to have designedly
duff the bed of the Magdalena in the midst of the
Cordilleras of Colombia, to form a canal of commu-
nication between the mountains and the sea; yet it
would have made nothing but an unnavigable tor-
rent, had not its course been stopped in many parts
by masses of rock disposed in such a manner as to

280 RIO MAGDALENA — SANTA FE DE BOGOTA.

break its violence. Its waters, thus arrested, flow
gently into the plains of the provinces of Santa
Martha and Carthagena, which they fertilize and
refresh by their evaporation. Three very distinct
temperatures reign on the Magdalena. The sea-
breezes blow from its mouth as far as Monpox;
fronr this town to Morales not a breath of air tem-
pers the heat of the atmosphere, and man would
become a victim to its power, but for the abundant
dews which fall during the night ; from Morales as
far as the sources of the Magdalena, the south wind
moderates the heat of the day, and forms the third
temperature. These land-breezes cause the naviga-
tion of the Magdalena to be rarely fatal to Euro-
peans."* But, according to the same author, multi-
tudes of animals of various species continually harass
the traveller. He cannot bathe on account of the
caymans, and if he venture on shore he is in dan-
ger of being bitten by serpents.

The voyage up this river, which lasted thirty-five
days, was not performed without hazard and incon-
venience. Humboldt sketched a chart of it, while
his friend was busily occupied in examining the
rich and beautiful vegetation of its banks. Disem-
barking at Honda, they proceeded on mules by dan-
gerous paths, through forests of oaks, melastomae,
and cinchonae, to Santa Fe de Bogota, the capital
of New-Grenada. This city stands in a beautiful
valley surrounded by lofty mountains, and which
would appear to have been at a former period the bed
of a great lake. Here the travellers spent several
months in exploring the mineralogical and botanical
treasures of the country, the magnificent cataract
of Tequendama, and the extensive collections of the
celebrated Mutis.

The elevated plain on which this metropolis is
built is 8727 feet above the level of the sea, and

* MoUien's Travels in Colombia.

I

CATARACT OF TEQUENDAMA. 281

is consequently higher than the summit of St. Ber-
nard. The river of Funza, usually called Rio de
Bogota, which drains the valley, has forced its way
through the mountains to the south-west of Santa
Fe, and near the farm of Tequendama rushes from
the plain by a narrow outlet into a crevice, which
descends towards the bed of the Rio Magdalena.
Respecting this ravine, Gonzalo Ximenes do Que-
sada, the conqueror of the country, found the fol-
lowing tradition disseminated among the people : —
In remote times the inhabitants of Bogota were bar-
barians, living without religion, laws, or arts. An old
man on a certain occasion suddenly appeared among
them, of a race unlike that of the natives, and hav-
ing a long bushy beard. He instructed them in the
arts ; but he brought with him a very malignant,
although very beautiful woman, who thwarted all
his benevolent enterprises. By her magical power
she swelled the current of the Funza, and inun-
dated the valley ; so that most of the inhabitants per-
ished, a few only having found refuge in the neigh-
bouring mountains. The aged visiter then drove
his consort from the earth, and she became the moon.
He next broke the rocks that enclosed the valley on
the Tequendama side, and by this means drained off
the waters ; then he introduced the worship of the
sun, appointed two chiefs, and finally withdrew to a
valley, Avhere he lived in the exercise of the most au-
stere penitence during 2000 years.

The cataract of Tequendama presents an assem-
blage of all that is picturesque. The river a little
above it is 144 feet in breadth, but at the crevico
narrows to a width of not more than 12 yards. The
height of the fall, which forms a double bound, is
574 feet, and the column of vapour that rises from
it is visible from Santa Fe at the distance of 17 miles.
The vegetation at the foot of the precipice has a
totally different appearance from that at the sum-
mit ; and while the spectator leaves behind him a

Aa3

282 NATURAL BRIDGES THE ANDES.

plain in which the cereal plants of Europe are cul-
tivated, and sees around him oaks, elms, and other
trees resembling those of the temperate regions of
the northern hemisphere, he looks down upon a
country covered with palms, bananas, and su^-ar-
canes. '^

Leaving Santa Fe, in September, 1801, the travel-
lers passed the natural bridges of Icononzo, formed
by masses of rock lying across a ravine of immense
profundity. The valleys of the cordilleras are gen-
erally crevices, the depth of which is often so great,
that were Vesuvius seated in them its summit would
not exceed that of the nearest mountains. One of
these, that, namely, of Icononzo or Pandi, is pecu-
liarly remarkable for the singular form of its rocks
the naked tops of which present the most picturesque
contrast with the tufts of trees and shrubs which
cover the edges of the gulf. A torrent, named the
Summa Paz, forms two beautiful cascades where it
enters the chasm, and where it again escapes from
It. A natural arch, 47i feet in length and 39 in
breadth, stretches across the fissure at a height of 318
feet above the stream. Sixty-four feet below this
bridge is a second, composed of three enormous
masses of rock, which have fallen so as to support
each other. In the middle of it is a hole, through
which the bottom of the cleft is seen. The torrent,
viewed from this place, seemed to flow through a
dark cavern, whence arose a doleful sound, emitted
by the nocturnal birds that haunt the abyss, thou-
sands of which were seen flying over the surface of
the water, supposed by Humboldt from their appear-
ance to be goatsuckers.

In the kingdom of New-Grenada, from 2° 30' to
5 15' of north latitude, the cordillera of the Andes
is divided into three parallel chains. The eastern
one separates the valley of the Rio Magdalena from
the plains of the Rio Meta, and on its western de-
clivity are the natural bridges of Icononzo above

PASSAGE OF THE QUINDIU.

283

^

mentioned The central chain, which parts the
waters between the basni of the Rio Magdalena
and that of the Rio Cauca, often attanis the hmits
of perpetual snow, and shoots far beyond it m the
colossal summits of Guanacas Baragan, and Qmn-
diu The western ridge cuts off the valley of Cauca
from the province of Choco.and the shores of the
South Sea In passhig from Santa Fe to Popayan
and the banks of the river now mentioned, the trav-
eller has to descend the eastern chain, either by the
Mesa and Tocayma or the bridges of Icononzo, trav-
erse the valley of the Rio Magdalena, and cross the
central chain, as Humboldt did, by the mountam of

Thirmountain, which is considered as the most
difficult passage in the cordiUeras, presents a thick
uninhabited forest, which, in the finest season, can-
not be passed in less than ten or twelve days. 1 rav-
ellers usually furnish themselves Avith a rnonth s
provision, as" it often happens that the melting of
the snow, and the sudden floods arising from it, pre-
vent them from descending. The highest point of
the road is ll,499.i feet above the level of the sea,
and the path, which is very narrow, has in several
places the appearance of a gallery dug m the rock
and left open above. The oxen, which are the beasts
of burden commonly used in the country, can scarcely
force their way through these passages, some ot
which are 6563 feet in length. The rock is covered
with a thick layer of clay, and the numerous gullies
formed by the torrents are filled with mud

In crossing this mountain the philosophers, lul-
lowed by twelve oxen carrying their collections and
instruments, were deluged wit^i rain Their shoes
were torn by the prickles which shoot out from the
roots of the bamboos, so that, unwilling to be carried
on men's backs, they were obliged to walk barefooted.
The usual mode of travelling, however, is in a chair
tied to the back of a carguero or porter. W hen one

284 CARGUEROS, OR MEN-CARRIERS.

reflects on the enormous fatigue to which these bear-
ers are exposed, he is at a loss to conceive how the
employment should be so eagerly embraced by all
the robust young men who live at the foot of the
Andes. The passage of Quindiu is not the only part
of South America which is traversed in this manner.
The whole province of Antioquia is surrounded by
mountains so difficult to be crossed, that those who
refuse to trust themselves to the skill of a carguero,
and are not strong enough' to travel on foot, must re-
linquish all thoughts of leaving the country. The
number of persons who follow this laborious occu-
pation, at Choco, Hague, and Medellin, is so great
that our travellers sometimes met a file of fifty or
sixty. Near the mines of Mexico there are also
individuals who have no other employment than that
of carrying men on their backs.

The cargueros, in crossing the forest of Quindiu,
take with them bundles of the large oval leaves of the
vijao, a plant of the banana family, the peculiar var-
nish of which enables them to resist rain. A hun-
dredweight of these leaves is sufficient to cover a
hut large enough to hold six or eight persons. When
they come to a convenient spot where they intend
to pass the night, the carriers lop a few branches from
the trees, with which they construct a frame ; it is
then divided into squares by the stalks of some climb-
ing plant, or threads of agave, on which are hung
the vijao leaves, by means of a cut made in their
midrib. In one of these tents, which are cool, com-
modious, and perfectly dry, our travellers passed
several days in the valley of Boquia, amid violent
and incessant rains.

From these mountains, where the truncated cone
of Tolima, covered with perennial snow, rises amid
forests of styrax, arborescent pasiflorae, bamboos, and
waxpalms, they descended into the valley of Cauca
towards the west. After resting some time at Ca-
thago and Buga, they coasted the province of Choco,

RIO VINAGRE.

285

where platina is found among rolled fragments of
basalt, greenstone, and fossil wood.

They then went up by Caloto and the muies of
Quilichao to Popayan, which is situated at the base
of the snowy mountains of Purace and Sotara. This
city the capital of New-Grenada, stands mthe beau-
tiful valley of the Rio Cauca, at an elevation of 5906
feet above the sea, and enjoys a deUcious chmate.
On the ascent from Popayan towards the summit of
the volcano of Purace, at a height of 8694 feet, is a
small plain inhabited bv Indians, and cultivated with
the greatest care. It is bounded by two ravines, on
the brink of which is placed a village of the same
name The gardens, which are enclosed with hedges
of euphorbium, are watered by the springs that issue
abundantly from the porphyritic rock ; and nothing
can be more agreeable than the contrast between the
beautiful verdure of this plain and the chain of dark
mountains surrounding the volcano. The hamlet of
Purace, which the travellers visited in November,
1801, is celebrated for the fine cataracts of the Rio
Vina'gre, the waters of which are acid. This little
riverlis warm towards its source, and after forming
three falls, one of which is 394 feet in height and is
exceedingly picturesque, joins the Rio Cauca, which
for 14 miles below the junction is destitute of fish.
The crater of the volcano is filled with boiling water,
which, amid frightful noises, emits vapours of sul-
phuretted hydrogen. .

The travellers then crossed the precipitous Cordil-
leras of Almaquer to Pasto, avoiding the infected and
contagious atmosphere of the valley of Patia. From
the latter town, which is situated at the foot of a
burning volcano, they traversed the elevated plat-
form of the province o^ Los Pastos, celebrated for its
great fertility ; and after a journey of four months,
performed on mules, arrived at Quito on the 6th Jan-
uary, 180-2. .
The climate of this province is remarkably agree-

286 QUITO.

able, and almost invariable. During the months of
December, January, February, and March, it gene-
rally rains every afternoon from half-past one to
five ; but even at this season the evenings and morn-
ings are most beautiful. The temperature is so mild
that vegetation never ceases. " From the terrace
of the government palace there is one of the most
enchanting prospects that human eye ever wit-
nessed, or nature ever exhibited. Looking to the
south, and glancing along towards the north, eleven
mountains covered with perpetual snow present
themselves, their bases apparently resting on the
verdant hills that surround the city, and their heads
piercing the blue arch of heaven, while the clouds
hover midway down them, or seem to crouch at
their feet. Among these the most lofty are Cayam-
beurcu, Imbaburu, Ilinisa, Antisana, Chimborazo,
and the beautifully-magnificent Cotopaxi, crowned
with its volcano."*

Nearly nine months were devoted to researches
of various kinds. They made excursions to the
snowy mountains of Antisana, Cotopaxi, Tungura-
gua, and Chimborazo, the latter of which was con-
sidered as the highest on the globe until it was
found to be exceeded by some of the colossal sum-
mits of the Himmaleh, and even by several in Upper
Peru. In all these journeys they were accompanied
by a young man, son of the Marquis of Selva-alegre,
who subsequently followed them to Peru and Mexi-
co.f They twice ascended to the volcanic summit
of Pichincha, where they made experiments on the
constitution of the air — its elasticity, its electrical,

* Stevenson's Residence in South America, vol. ii. p. 324.

t This accomplished individual, Don Carlos Montufar, of whom our
author speaks with approbation, having connected himself with the
popular party in the struggles of which the Spanish colonies have lately
been the theatre, was seized in Quito, in 1811, by Don Toribio Monies,
sentenced as a traitor, and shot through the back ; after which his heart
was taken out and burnt. — See Stevenson's Residence in South. Americai
vol. iii. p. 44.

cotoPaxi. " 287

magnetic, and hygroscopic qualities,— and the tem-
perature of boiUng water.

Cotopaxi is the loftiest of those volcanoes of the
Andes which have produced eruptions at recent pe-
riods; its absolute height being 18,878 feet. It is
consequently 2625 feet higher than Vesuvius would
be were it placed on the top of the Peak of Teneriffe.
The scoria? and rocks ejected by it, and scattered
over the neighbouring valleys, would form a vast
mountain of themselves. In 1738 its flames rose
2953 feet above the crater; and in 1744 its roarnigs
were heard as far as Honda, on the Magdalena, at
a distance of 690 miles. On the 4th April, 1768,
the quantity of ashes thrown out was so great, that
in the towns of Hambato and Tacunga the inhabit-
ants were obliged to use lanterns in the streets.
The explosion which took place in January, 1803,
was preceded by the sudden melting of the snows
which covered the surface; and our travellers, at
the port of Guayaquil, 179^ miles distant, heard day
and night the noises proceeding from it, like dis-
charges of a battery.

This celebrated mountain is situated to the south-
east of Quito, at the distance of 41 miles, in the
midst of the Andes. Its form is the most beautiful
and regular of all the colossal summits of that
mighty chain; being a perfect cone, which is covered
with snow, and shines with dazzling splendour at
sunset. No rocks project through the icy covering,
except near the edge of the crater, which is sur-
romided by a small circular wall. In ascending it
is extremely difficult to reach the lower boundary
of the snows, the cone being surrounded by deep
ravines ; and, after a near examination of the sum-
mit, Humboldt thinks he may assert that it would
be altogether impossible to reach the brink of the
crater.

It was mentioned that, in the kingdom of New-
Grenada, the Cordilleras of the Andes form three

288 CHIMBORAZO.

chains, in the great longfitudinal valleys of which
flow two large rivers. To the south of Popayan,
on the table-land of Los Pastos, these three chains
unite into a single group, which stretches far be-
yond the equator. This group, in the kingdom of
Quito, presents an extraordinary appearance from
the river of Chota, the most elevated summits being
arranged in two lines, forming, as it were, a double
ridge to the cordilleras. These summits served for
signals to the French academicians when employed
in the measurement of an equinoctial degree. Bou-
guer considered them as two chains, separated by a
longitudinal valley ; but this valley Humboldt views
as the ridge of the Andes itself. It is an elevated
plain, from 8858 to 9515 feet above the level of the
sea; and the volcanic summits of Pichincha, Ca-
yambo, Cotopaxi, and other celebrated peaks, are,
he thinks, so many protuberances of the great mass
of the Andes. In consequence of the elevation of
the territory of Quito, these mountains do not seem
so high as many of much inferior altitude rising
from a lower basis.

On Chimborazo the line marking the inferior
limit of perpetual snow is at a height somewhat ex-
ceeding that of Mont Blanc. On a narrow ledge,
which rises amid the snows on the southern de-
clivity, our travellers attempted on the 23d June to
reach the summit. The point where they stopped
to observe the inclination of the magnetic meridian
was more elevated than any yet attained by man,
being 3609 feet higher than the summit of Mont
Blanc, and more than 3714 feet higher than La Con-
damine and Bouguer reached in 1745 on the Cora-
zon. The ridge to which they climbed, and beyond
which they were prevented from proceeding by a
deep chasm in the snow, was 19,798 feet above the
level of the sea ; but the summit of the mountain
was still 1439 feet higher. The blood issued from
their eyes, lips, and gums. The form of Chimborazo

UPPER AMAZON. 289

is conical, but the top is not truncated, like that of
Cotopaxi, being rounded or semicircular in outline.

While at Quito, Humboldt received a letter from
the National Institute of France, by which he was
apprized that Captain Baudin had set out for New--
Holland by the Cape of Good Hope. He was
obhged therefore to renounce all thoughts of joining
the expedition, although the hope of being able to
meet it had induced him to relinquish his plan of
proceeding from Cuba to Mexico and the Philippine
Islands, and had led him upwards of 3452 miles
southward. The travellers, however, consoled
themselves with the thought of having examined
regions over which the eye of science had never
before glanced; and, resolved henceforth to trust
solely to their own resources, after spending some
months in exploring the Andes, they set out in the
direction of Lima.

They first pointed their course to the great River
Amazon, visiting the ruins of Lactacunga, Hambato,
and Riobamba, in a country the face of which was
entirely changed by the frightful earthquakes of
1797, that destroyed nearly 40,000 of the inhabitants.
They then with great difficulty passed to Loxa,
where in the forests of Gonzanama and Malacates
they examined the trees which yield the Peruvian
bark. The vast extent of ground which they trav-
ersed in the course of their expedition afforded
them better opportunities than any botanist had
ever enjoyed of comparing the different species of
cinchona.

Leaving Loxa they entered Peru by Ayavaca and
Gouncabamba, traversing the ridge of the Andes to
descend to the River Amazon. In two days they
had to cross thirty-five times the Rio de Chayma.
They saw the magnificent remains of the causeway
of the incas, which traversed the porphyritic sum-
mits from Cusco to Assouay, at a height varying
from 7670 to 11,510 feet. At the village of Chamaya,

Bb

290 ARRIVAL AT LIMA.

on a river of the same name, they took ship and de-
scended to the Amazon.

La Condamine, on his return from Quito to Para,
embarked on this river only below Quebrada de
Chuchunga ; and Humboldt, with the view of com-
pleting the map made by the French astronomer,
proceeded as far as the cataracts of Rentama. At
Tomependa, the principal place of the province of
Jaen de Bracamorros, he constructed a map of the
Upper Amazon, from his own observations as well
as from accounts received from the natives. Bon-
pland employed himself, as usual, in examining the
subjects of the vegetable kingdom, among which he
discovered several new species of cinchona.

Returning to Peru, our travellers crossed the cor-
dillera of the Andes the fifth time. In seven degrees
of south latitude they determined the position of the
magnetic equator, or the line in which the needle
has no inchnation. They also examined the mines
of Hualgayoc, where large masses of native silver
are found at an elevation of 12,790 feet above the
sea, and which, together with those of Pasco and
Huantaja3ro, are the richest in Peru. FrOm Caxa-
marca, celebrated for its hot-springs and the ruins
of the palace of Atahualpa, they went down to
Truxillo. In this neighbourhood are the remains
of the ancient Peruvian city Mansiche, adorned by
pyi-amids, in one of which an immense quantity of
gold was discovered in the eighteenth century.
Descending the western slope of the Andes, they
beheld for "the first time the Pacific Ocean, and the
long narrow valley bounded by its shores, in which
rain and thunder are unknown. From Truxillo they
followed the arid coast of the South Sea, and arrived
at Lima, where they remained several months. At
the port of Callao, Humboldt had the satisfaction
of observing the transit of Mercury, although the
thick fog which prevails there sometimes obscures
the Sim for many days in succession.

JOURNEY TO MEXICO.

291

111 January, 1803, the travellers embarked for
Guayaouil, in the vicinity of which they found a
splendid forest of palms, plumeria3, tabernse-montanas,
and scitaminae. Here also they heard the uicessant
noises of the volcano of Cotopaxi, which had expe-
rienced a tremendous agitation on the 6th January.
From Guayaquil they proceeded by sea to Acapulco
hi New-Spain. At first, Humboldt's intention was
to remain only a few months in Mexico, and return
as speedily as possible to Europe, more especially
as his instruments, and in particular the chronome-
ters, were getting out of order, wdiile he found it
impossible to procure others. But the attractions
of so beautiful and diversified a country, the great
hospitality of its inhabitants, and the dread of the
yellow fever of Vera Cruz, which usually attacks
those who descend from the mountains between
June and October, induced him to remain until the
middle of winter.

After making numerous observations and experi-
ments on the atmospherical phenomena, the horary
variations of the barometer, magnetism, and the
natural productions of the country, our travellers
set out in the direction of Mexico ; gradually ascend-
ing by the burning valleys of Mescala and Papagayo,
where the thermometer rose to 89-6° in the shade,
and where the river is crossed on fruits of Crescentia
pmnata, attached to each other by ropes of agave.
Reaching the elevated plains of Chilpantzuigo, Te-
huilotepec, and Tasco, which are situated at a hcght
varying from 3837 to 4476 feet above the sea, they
entered a region blessed with a temperate climate,
and producing oaks, cypresses, pines, tree-ferns, and
the cultivated cereal plants of Europe. After visit-
ing the silver-mines of Tasco, the oldest and formerly
the richest of Mexico, they went up by Cuernaraca
and Guachilaco to the capital. Here they spent
some time in the agreeable occupation of examining
numerous curiosities, antiquities, and institutions, in

292 EXCURSIONS TO THE PROVINCES.

making astronomical observations, in studying the
natural productions of the surrounding countiy, and
in enjoying the society of enlightened individuals.
The longitude of JMexico, which had been misplaced
two degrees on the latest maps, was accurately
determined bj^ a long series of observations.

Our travellers next visited the celebrated mines
of Moran and Real del Monte, and examined the
obsidians of Oyamel, which form layers in pearlstone
and porphyry, and were employed by the ancient
Mexicans for the manufacture of knives. Tlie cas-
cade of Regla, a representation of which forms the
vignette to the present volume, is situated in the
neighbourhood. The regularity of the basaltic col-
umns is as remarkable as that of the deposites of
Staffa. Most of them are perpendicular; though
some are horizontal, and others have various degrees
of inclination. They rest upon a bed of clay, be-
neath which basalt again occurs. Returning from
this excursion in July, 1803, they made another to
the northern part of the kingdom, in the course of
which they inspected the aperture made in the
mountain of Suicog for the purpose of draining the
vahey of Mexico. They next passed by Queretaro,
Salamanca, and the fertile plains of Yrapuato, on the
way to Guanaxuato, a large city placed in a narrow
defile, and celebrated for its mines.

There they remained two months, making re-
searches into tlie geology and botany of the neigh-
bouring country. From thence they proceeded by
the valley of San Jago to Valladolid, the capital of
the ancient kingdom of Mechoacan; and, notwith-
standing a continuance of heavy autumnal rains,
descended by Patzquaro, which is situated on tlie
edge of an extensive lake towards the shores of the
Pacific Ocean, to the plains of Jorullo. Here they
entered the great crater, making their way over
crevices exhaling ignited sulphuretted hydrogen, and

VOLCANO OF JORULLO. 293

experiencing much danger from the brittleness of
the lava.

The formation of this volcano is one of the most
extraordinary phenomena which have been observed
on our globe. The plain of Malpais, covered with
small cones from six to ten feet in height, is part of
an elevated table-land bounded by hills of basalt,
trachyte, and volcanic tufa. From the period of
the discovery of America to the middle of the last
century, this district had underjoone no change of
surface, and the seat of the crater was then covered
with a plantation of indigo and sugar-cane ; when,
in June, 1759, hollow sounds were heard, and a suc-
cession of earthquakes continued for two months,
to the great consternation of the inhabitants. From
the beginning of September every thing seemed to
announce the re-establishment of tranquillity ; but
in the night of the 28th the frightful subterranean
noises again commenced. The Indians fled to the
neighbouring mountains. A tract not less than from
three to four square miles in extent rose up in the
shape of a dome ; and those who witnessed the phe-
nomenon asserted, that flames were seen issuing
from a space of more than six square miles, while
fragments of burning rocks were projected to an
immense height, and the surface of the ground un-
dulated like an agitated sea. Two brooks which
watered the plantations precipitated themselves into
the burning chasms. Thousands of the small cones
described above suddenl}" appeared, and in the midst
of these eminences, called hornitos or ovens, six great
masses, having an elevation of from 1312 to 1640
feet above the original level of the plain, sprang up
from a gulf running from N.N.E. to S.S.W. The
most elevated of these mounds is the great volcano
of JoruUo, which is continually burning. The erup-
tions of this central volcano continued till February,
1760, when they became less frequent. The Indians,
who had abandoned all the villages within thirty

Bb2

294 VOLCANO OF JORULLO.

miles of it, returned once more to their cottages,
and advanced towards the mountains of Aguasarco
and Santa Ines, to contemplate the streams of fire
that issued from the numberless apertures. The
roofs of tlie houses of Queretaro, more than 166
miles distant, were covered with volcanic dust. Mr.
Lyell (Principles of Geology, vol. i. p. 379) states,
on the authority of Captain Vetch, that another
eruption happened in 1819, accompanied by an earth-
quake, during which ashes fell at the city of Gua-
naxuato, 140 miles distant from JoruUo, in such
quantities as to lie six inches deep in the streets.

When Humboldt visited this place, the natives
assured him that the heat of the hornitos had for-
merly been much greater. The thermometer rose
to 203° when placed in the fissures exhaling aqueous
vapour. Each of the cones emitted a thiclc smoke,
and in many of them a subterranean noise was
heard, which seemed to indicate the proximity of a
fluid in ebullition. Two streams were at that period
seen bursting through the argillaceous vaults, and
were found by the traveller to have a temperature
of 126'9°. The Indians give them the names of the
two rivers which had been ingulfed, because in seve-
ral parts of the Malpais great masses of water are
heard flowing in a direction from east to west. Our
author considers all the district to be hollow ; but
Scrope and Lyell find it more suitable to their views
of volcanic agency to represent the conical form
of the ground as resulting from the flow of lava
over the original surface of the plain.

The Indians of this province are represented as
being the most industrious of New-Spain. They
have a remarkable talent for cutting out images in
wood, and dressing them in clothes made of the pith
of an aquatic plant, which being very porous imbibes
the most vivid colours. Two figures of this kind,
which Humboldt brought home for the Queen of
Prussia, are here represented. They exhibit the

INDIANS OF MECHOACAN.

295

characteristic traits of the American race, together
with a strange mixture of the ancient costume with
that which was introduced by the Spaniards.

E"£0»Ofc*

Costumes of the Indians of MecUoacan.

From Valladolid, the ancient kingdom of Mechoa-
can, the travellers returned to Mexico by the ele-
vated plain of Tolucca, after examining the volcanic
mountains in the vicinity. They also visited the
celebrated cheiranthostajniOn of Cervantes, a tree
of which it was at one time supposed there did not
exist more than a single specimen.

At that city they remained several months, for the
purpose of arranging their botanical and geological
collections, calculating the barometrical and trigo-

296 OCCUPATIONS OF THE TRAVELLERS.

nometrical measurements which they had made, and
sketching- the plates of the Geological Atlas which
Humboldt proposed to publish. They also assisted in
placing a colossal equestrian statue of the king, which
liad been cast by a native artist. In January, 1804,
they left Mexico with the intention of examining the
eastern declivity of the cordillera of New-Spain.
They also measured the great pyramid of Cholula, an
extraordinary monument of the Toltecks, from the
summit of which there is a splendid view of the snowy
mountains and beautiful plains of Tlascala. It is
built of bricks, which seemed to have been dried in
the sun, alternating with layers of clay. They then
descended to Xalapa, a city placed at an elevation
of 4138 feet above the sea, in a delightful climate.
The dangerous road which leads from it to Perote,
through almost impenetrable forests, was thrice ba-
rometrically levelled by Humboldt. Near the latter
place is a mountain of basaltic porphyry, remark-
able for the singular form of a small rock placed on
its summit, and which is named the Coffer of Perote.
This elevation commands a very extensive prospect
over the plain of Puebla and the eastern slope of
the Cordilleras of Mexico, which is covered with
dense forests. From it they also saw the harbour
of Vera Cruz, the castle of St. Juan of Ulloa, and
the seacoast.

Before following our travellers across the Atlantic,
it may be useful to present a sketch of the valuable
observations recorded in Humboldt's Political Essay
on the Kingdom of New- Spain, and which are in
part the result of his researches in that interesting
country.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 297

CHAPTER XXIV.

Description of Neio- Spain or Mexico.

General Description of New-Spain or Mexico— Cordilleras— Climates
— Mines— Rivers— Lakes— Soil— Volcanoes — Harbours— Population-
Provinces- Valley of Mexico, and Description of the Capital— Inunda-
tions, and Works undertaken for the Purpose of preventing them.

Previous to Humboldt's visit to New-Spain, the
information possessed in Europe respecting that in-
teresting and important country was exceedingly-
meager and incorrect. The ignorance of the Eu-
ropean conquerors, the indolence of their successors,
the narrow policy of the government, and the want
of scientific enterprise among the Creoles and Span-
iards, left it for centuries a region of dim obscurity,
into which the eye of research v/as unable to pene-
trate. So inaccurate were the maps, that even the
latitude and longitude of the capital remained un-
fixed, and the inhabitants were thrown into conster-
nation by the occurrence of a total eclipse of the sun
on the 21st February, 1803 ; the almanacs, calculating
from a false indication of the meridian, having an-
nounced it as scarcely visible. The determination
of the geographical position of many of the more re-
markable places, that of the altitude of the volcanic
summits and other eminences, together with the vast
mass of intelligence contained in the Political Essay
on New-Spain, served to dispel in some measure the
darkness ; and since the period of Humboldt's visit
numerous travellers have contributed so materially
to our acquaintance with Mexico, that it no longer
remains among the least known of those remote
countries of the globe over which the power of Eu-
rope has extended.

298 SPANISH SETTLEMENTS.

Although the independence of the American states
has now been confirmed, and their political relations
entirely changed since the time our author was there,
the aspect of nature continues the same in those ex-
tensive regions ; and as we have less to do with
their history and national circumstances than with
the discoveries of the learned traveller, we shall
follow, as heretofore, his descriptions of the coun-
tries examined by him in the relations in which they
then stood.

The Spanish settlements in the New Continent
formerly occupied that immense territory comprised
between 41° 43' of south latitude and 37° 48' of north
latitude, equalling the whole length of Africa, and
exceeding the vast regions possessed by the Russian
empire or Great Britain in Asia. They are divided
into nine great governments, of which five, viz. the
viceroyalties of Peru and New Grenada, the capi-
tanias-generales of Guatimala, Porto Rico, and Ca-
raccas, are entirely intertropical ; while the other
four, viz. the viceroyalties of Mexico and Buenos
Ayres, and the capitanias-generales of Chili and Ha-
vana, including the Floridas, are chiefly situated in
the temperate zones. Mexico was the most im-
portant as well as the most civilized of the whole, and
was long considered as such by the court of Madrid.

The name of New-Spain was at first given in 1518
to the province of Yucatan, where the companions
of Grijalva were astonished at the civilization of the
inhabitants. Cortez employed it to denote the whole
empire of Montezuma, though it was subsequently
used in various senses. Humboldt designates by it
the vast country which has for its northern and south-
ern limits the parallels of 38° and 16°. The length
of this region from S.S.E. to N.N.W. is nearly 1678
miles ; its greatest breadth 994 miles. The isthmus
of Tehuantepec, to the south-east of the port of Vera
Cruz, is the narrowest part ; the distance from the At-
lantic Ocean to the South Sea being there only 155

GEOGRAPHICAL RELATIONS OF MEXICO. 299

miles. The question of opening a communication
by a canal between the two oceans at this point, the
isthmus of Panama, or several others which he
mentions, is fully discussed by the author. He dis-
credits the idea that the level of the South Sea is
higher than that of the Gulf of Mexico, and imagines
that were a rupture of the intervening barrier ef-
fected, the current would establish itself in the di-
rection opposite to that usually apprehended.

When a general view is taken of the whole sur-
face of Mexico, it is seen that one-half is situated
within the tropic, while the rest belongs to the tem-
perate zone. This latter portion contains 775,019
square miles. The physical climate of a countiy
does not altogether depend upon its distance from
the pole, but also upon its elevation, its proximity
to the ocean, and other circumstances ; so that of
the 645,850 square miles in the torrid zone, more
than three-fifths have a cold, or at least temperate
atmosphere. The whole interior of Mexico, in fact,
constitutes an immense table-land, having an eleva-
tion which varies from 6562 to 8202 feet above the
level of the sea.

The chain of mountains which forms this vast
plain is continuous vvith the j^ndes of South Amer-
ica. In the southern hemisphere the cordillera is
everywhere broken up by fissures or valleys of small
breadth ; but in Mexico it is theridge itself that con-
stitutes the platform. In Peru the most elevated sum-
mits form the crest of the Andes, while in the other
the prominences are irregularly scattered over the
plain, and have no relation of parallelism to the di-
rection of the cordillera. In Peru and New- Grenada
there are transverse valleys, having sometimes 4590
feet of perpendicular depth, which entirely prevent
the use of carriages ; while in New-Spain vehicles
are used along an extent of more than 1726 miles.
Tlie general height of the table-land of Mexico is
equal to that of Mount Cenis, St. Gothard, or tlie

300 PLATFORMS OF THE ANDES.

Great St. Bernard of the Swiss Alps ; and to deter-
mine this circumstance Humboldt executed five
laborious barometrical surveys, which enabled him
to construct a series of vertical sections of the
country.

In South America the cordillera of the Andes pre-
sents plains completely level at immense altitudes,
such as that on which the city of Santa Fe de Bogota
stands, that of CaxamarcainPeru, and those of An-
tisana, which exceed in heig-ht the summit of the
Peak of Teneriffe. But all these levels are of small
extent, and being- separated by deep valleys are of
difficult access. In Mexico, on the other hand, vast
tracts of champaign country are so approximated to
each other as to form but a sing-le plain occupying
the elongated ridge of the cordillera, and miming
from the 18th to the 40th degree of north latitude.
The descent towards the coasts is by a graduated
series of terraces, which oppose great difficulties to
the communication between the maritime districts
and the interior, presenting at the same time an ex-
traordinary diversity of vegetation.

The plains along the coasts are the only parts that
possess a climate adapted to the productions of the
West Indies, — the mean temperature of those situ-
ated within the tropics, and whose elevation does
not exceed 984 feet, being from 77° to 78-8=', which
is several degrees greater than the mean tempera-
ture of Naples. These fertile regions, which pro-
duce sugar, indigo, cotton, and bananas, are named
Tierras calicntes. Europeans reinaining in them for
any considerable time, particularly in the towns, are
liable to the yellow fever or black vomiting. On
the eastern shores the great heats are occasionally
tempered by strata of refrigerated air brought from
the north by the impetuous winds that blow from
October to March, which frequently cool the atmo-
sphere to such a degree, that at Havana the ther-
mometer descends to 32°, and at Vera Cruz to 608°.

DIVERSITY OF CLIMATE. 301

On the declivities of the cordillera, at the eleva-
tion of 3937 or 4921 feet, there prevails a mild cli-
mate, never varying more than four or five degrees.
To this region, of which the mean annual tempera-
ture is from 68° to 69 '8°, the natives give the name
of Tierras te^npladas. Unfortunately these tracts are
frequently covered with thick fogs, as they occupy
the height to which the clouds usually ascend above
the level of the sea.

The plains which are elevated more than 7218 feet
above that level, and of which the mean temperature
is under 62'6°, are named Tierras frias. Tlie whole
table-land of Mexico belongs to this description,
which the natives consider cold, although the ordi-
nary warmth is equal to that of Rome. There are
plains of still greater elevation, on which, although
they have a mean temperature of from 51 "8° to 55"4°,
equal to that of France and Lombardy, the vegetation
is less vigorous, and European plants do not thrive so
well as in their native soil. The winters there are
not extremely severe, but in summer the sun has
not sufficient power over the rarified air to bring
fruits to perfect maturity.

From the peculiar circumstances of New-Spain, as
here sketched,'the influence of geographical position
upon the vegetation is much less than that of the
height of the ground above the sea. In the nine-
teenth and twentieth degrees of latitude, sugar, cot-
ton, cacao, and indigo are produced abundantly only
at an elevation of from 1968 to 2625 feet. Wheat
thrives on the declivities of the mountains, along a
zone which commences at 4593 feet, and ends at
9843. The banana {Musa paradisiaca), on the fruit
of which the inhabitants of the tropics chiefly sub-
sist, is seldom productive above 5085 feet ; oaks
grow only between 2625 and 9843 feet ; and pines
never descend lower than 6096, nor rise above 13,124
feet.

Cc

302 MIXES RIVERS — LAKES.

The internal provinces of tlie temperate zone en-
joy a climate essentir.lly different from that of the
same parallels in the Old Continent. So remarkable
an inequality prevails indeed between the tempera-
ture of the seasons, that while the winters resemble
those of Germany, the summers are like those of
Sicily. A similar difference exists between the
other parts of America and the corresponding lati-
tudes in Europe ; but it is less perceptible on the
western than on the eastern coasts.

New-Spain possesses a peculiar advantage in the
circumstances under which the precious metals
have been deposited. In Peru, the most important
silver-mines, those of Potosi, Pasco, and Chota, are
placed at an immense elevation ; so that, in work-
ing them, men, provisions, and cattle must be
brought from a distance ; but in Mexico the richest
of these, those, namely, of Guanaxuato, Zacatecas,
Tasco, and Real del Monte, are at moderate heights,
and surrounded by cultivated fields, towns, and
villages.

There are few rivers of consequence in the coun-
try, the Rio Bravo del Norte and the Rio Colorado
being the only ones of any magnitude. The former
has a course of 1767 miles, the latter of 863 ; but
these streams flow in the least cultivated parts of
the comitry, and can have little influence in a com-
mercial point of view until colonization shall extend
to their shores. In the whole equinoctial part of
New-Spain there are only small rivulets, of which
very few can ever become interesting to the mer-
chant.

The numerous lakes, the greater part of which
appear to be annually decreasing in size, are the
remains of immense basins of water that formerly
existed on the elevated plains. Of these may be
mentioned the lake of Chapala, nearly 2067 square
miles in extent; those of the valley of Mexico,

SKOW-LINE Tl'MPERATURE. 303

which comprehend a fourth part of its surx"ace ; that
of Patzcuaro in ValladoHd : and, finally, the lakes
of Mexitlan and Parras in New-Biscay.

The interior of New-Spain, and especially a great
part of the elevated table-land of Anahuac, is arid
and destitute of vegetation ; which arises from the
rapid evaporation in high plains, and the circum-
stance that few of the mountains enter the region
of perpetual snow, which under the equator com-
mences at the height of 15,748 feet, and in the 45th
degree of latitude at that of 8366 feet. In Mexico,
inlhe 19th and 20th degrees, perpetual frost com-
mences, according to Humboldt's measurements, at
15,092 feet of elevation ; so that of the six colossal
summits which are placed in the same line in the
19th parallel of latitude, only four, namely, the
Peak of Orizaba, Popocatepetl, Iztaccihuatl, and
Nevado de Tolucca, are clothed with perennial
snow ; while the Cofre de Perote and the Volcan de
Colmia remain uncovered during the greater part of
the year. None of tlie other mountains rise into so
lofty a region.

In general, in the equinoctial part of New-Spain,
the soil, climate, and vegetation present a similar
character to those of the temperate zone. Although
the table-lands are singularly cold in winter, the
temperature is mucli higher in sunnner than in the
Andes of Peru, because the great mass of the Cor-
dillera of Mexico, and the vast extent of its plains,
produce a reverberation of the sun's rays never ob-
served in elevated countries of greater inequality.

To the north of 20° the rains, which fall only in
June, July, August, and September, very seldom ex-
tend to the interior. The mountains, being composed
of porous amygdaloid and fissured porphyries, pre-
sent few springs ; the filtrated water losing itself in
the crevices opened by ancient volcanic eruptions,
and issuing at the bottom of the cordilleras.

The aridity of the central plain, on which there

304 VOLCANOKS — COASTS.

is a great deficiency of wood, is prejudicial to the
working of tiae mines ; and this natural evil has
been augmented since tlie arrival of Europeans, who
liave not only destroyed the trees without planting
otliers, but have drained a large extent of ground,
and thus increased the saline efflorescences which
cover the surface and are hostile to cultivation.
This dryness, however, is confined to the more ele-
vated plains ; and the declivities of the cordillera
being exposed to humid winds and fogs, their vege-
tation is uncommonly vigorous.

Mexico is less disturbed by earthquakes than
Quito, Guatimala, and Cumana, although these de-
structive commotions are by no means rare on the
western coasts, and in the neighbourhood of the
capital, where, however, they are never so violent
as in other parts of America. There are only five
active volcanoes in all New-Spain; Orizaba, Popo-
catepetl, Tustla, JoruUo, and Colima.

The physical situation of that kingdom confers
inestimable advantages upon it in a commercial
point of view. Under careful cultivation it is capa-
ble of producing all that commerce brings together
from every part of the globe ; sugar, cochineal, cacao,
cotton, coffee, wheat, hemp, flax, silk, oil, and wine.
It furnishes every metal, not even excepting mer-
cury, and is supplied with the finest timber ; but the
coasts oppose obstacles which it will be diflUcult to
overcome. The western shores are indeed furnished
with excellent harbours ; but the eastern are almost
entirely destitute of them, the mouths of the rivers
there being choked up with sands, which are con-
stantly adding to the land. Vera Cruz, the principal
port on this side, is merely an open road. Both
coasts, too, are rendered inaccessible for several
months by severe tempests, which prevent all navi-
gation. The north winds, los 7wrt.es, prevail in the
Mexican Gulf from the autumnal to the vernal equi-
nox. They are very violent in March, though usually

TEMPESTS OF THE GULF OF MEXICO. 305

move moderate in September and October. The
navigators who have long- frequented the port of
Vera Cruz are famiUar with the symptoms of the
conjina: storm, which is preceded by a great cliange
in the barometer, and a sudden interruption in the
regular occurrence of its horary oscillations. At
tirst a gentle land-wind blows from W.N.W., and is
succeeded by a breeze rising from the N.E., then
from the S. A suffocating heat succeeds, and the
water dissolved in the atmosphere is precipitated on
the walls and pavements. The summits of Orizaba,
of the Cofre de Perote, and the mountains of Villa
Rica are cloudless, while their bases are concealed
by vapours. In this state of the air the tempest
commences, usually Avith great impetuosity, and
generally continues three or four days. Occasion-
ally, even in May, June, July, and August, violent
hurricanes are experienced in the Gulf of Mexico.
The navigation of the western coasts is very dan-
gerous in July and August, when sudden gales burst
from the S.W. ; and even in the fine season, from
October to May, furious Avinds sometimes blow from
the N.E. and N.N.E. In short, all the coasts of
New-Spain are at certain periods dangerous to
navigators.

It is probable that Mexico was formerly better in-
habited than it is at present ; but its population was
concentrated in a very small space in the neighbour-
hood of the capital. At the present day it is more
generally distributed than it was before the conquest,
and the number of Indians has increased during the
last century. According to an imperfect, census
made in 1794, the return was estimated at 5,200,000.
The proportion of births to deaths, dining the time
between that period and Humboldt's visit, was found,
from data furnished by the clergy, to be 170: 100 ;
while that of births to the total amount he considers
as 1 in 17, and of the deaths as 1 in 30. The an-
nual number at present born He estimates at nearly

Cc2

306 POPULATION OF NEW-SPAIN.

350,000, and that of deaths at 200,000. It would
thus appear that, if this rate of increase were not
checked from time to time by some extraordinary
cause, the population of New-Spain would double
every nineteen years. In the United States gene-
rally it has doubled, since 1784, every twenty or
twenty-three years ; and in some of them it doubles
in thirteen or fourteen. In France, on the other
hand, the number of inliabitants would double in 214
years, were no wars or contagious diseases to inter-
fere. Such is the difference between countries that
have long been densely peopled and those whose
civilization is of recent date. Humboldt, from vai'i-
ous considerations, assumes the population of Mex-
ico in 1H03 at 5,800,000 : and thinks it extremely
probable tliat in 1808 it exceeded 6,500,000.

The causes which retard the increase of numbers
in Mexico are the small-pox, a disease called by
the Indians matlazahuatl, and famine. The first of
these, which was introduced in 1520, seems to exert
its power at periods of 17 or 18 years. In 1763,
and in 1779, it committed dreadful ravages, having
carried off during the latter, in the capital alone,
more than 9000 persons. In 1797 it was less de-
structive, chiefly in consequence of the zeal Avith
which inoculation was propagated ; between 50,000
and 60,000 individuals having undergone the opera-
tion. The vaccine method was introduced in vari-
ous parts of Mexico and South America at the com-
mencement of the present century. Humboldt
mentions a curious circnmstance, tending to show
that the discovery of our celebrated countryman
Dr. Jenner had long been known to the country
people among tlie Andes of Peru. A negro slave,
who had been inoculated for the small-pox, showed
no symptom of tlie disease, and when the practi-
tioners were about to repeat the operation, told them
he was certain that he should never take it ; for^
when milking cows in the mountains, he had been

EPIDEMIC DISEASES. 307

affected with cutaneous eruptions, caused, as the
herdsmen said, by the contact of pustules sometimes
found on the udders.

The frightful distemper called matlazahuatl, which
is peculiar to the Indian race, seldom appears more
than once in a century. It bears some resemblance
to the yellow fever or black vomiting, which, how-
ever, very seldom attacks the natives. The extent
of its ravages is not known with any degree of cer-
tainty, and it has not yet been submitted to medical
investiffation. Torquedama asserts that in 1545 it
destroyed 800,000, and 2,000,000 in 1576 ; but these
estimates are considered by Humboldt as greatly
exaggerated.

A' third obstacle to the progress of population in
New-Spain is famine. The American Indians, nat-
urally indolent, contented Avith the smallest quan-
tity of food on which life can be supported, and liv-
ing in a fine climate, merely cultivate as much maize,
potatoes, or wheat as is necessary for their own
maintenance, or at most for the additional consump-
tion of the adjacent towns and mines. The in-
habitants of Mexico have increased in a greater ra-
tio than the means of subsistence, and accordingly,
whenever the crops fall short of the demand, or are
damaged by drought or other local causes, famine
ensues. With want of food comes disease ; and
these visitations, which are of not unfrequent occur-
rence, are very destructive.

The working of the mines has also contributed to
the depopulation of America. At the period of the
conquest many Indians perished from excessive toil,
and, as they were forced from their homes to dis-
tant places, they usually died without leaving pro-
geny. In New-Spain, however, such labour has
been free for many years. The number employed
in it does not exceed 28,000 or 30,000, and the mor-
tality among them is not much greater than in other
classes.

308 CHARACTER OF THE INDIANS.

The Mexican population consists of the same ele-
ments as that of tlie other Spanish colonies. Seven
races are distingnished : — 1. Gachupines, or persons
born in Europe ; 2. Spanish Creoles, or whites of
European extraction born in America; 3. Mestizoes,
descendants of whites and Indians ; 4. Mulattocs,
descendants of whites and negroes ; 5. Zamhos, de-
scendants of negroes and Indians ; 6. Indians, of the
indigenous race ; and, 7. African negi-oes.

The Indians appear to constitute at least two-fifths
of the whole. Humboldt seems to favour the opin-
ion, that the Aztecs, who inhabited New-Spain at
the period of the conquest, may have been of
Asiatic origin. As the migrations of the American
tribes have always taken place from north to south,
the native population of this country must necessa-
rily consist of very heterogeneous elements. The
number of languages exceeds 20 ; and of these four-
teen have tolerably complete grammars and diction-
aries. Most of these tongues, so far from being
only dialects of the same, as some authors have as-
serted, present as little affinity to each other as the
Greek and the German. The variety spoken by the
indigenous inhabitants of America forms a very
striking contrast with the small number used in Asia
and Europe. The Aztec or Mexican is the most
widely distributed.

The Indians of New-Spain bear a general resem-
blance to those of Florida, Canada, Peru, and Brazil.
They have the same dingy copper colour, straight
and smooth hair, deficient beard, squat body, elon-
gated and oblique eyes, prominent cheekbones, and
thick lips. But although the American tribes have
thus a certain uniformity of character, they differ
as much from each other as the numerous varieties
of the European or Caucasian race. Those who
live in this province have a more swarthy complex-
ion than the inhabitants of the warmest par4;s of the
south. They have also a much more abundant

DISTRICTS OR INTENDANCIES. 309

beard than the other tribes, and in the neighbour-
hood of the capital they even wear small mousta-
ches. Pursuing a quiet and indolent life, and ac-
custom'ed to uniform nourishment of a vegetable
nature, they would no doubt attain a very great lon-
gevity were they not extremely addicted to drunk-
enness. They exist in a state of great moral de-
gradation, being entirely destitute of religion, al-
though they have exchanged their original rites for
those of Catholicism. The men are grave, melan-
cholic, and taciturn ; forming a striking contrast to
the negroes, who for this reason are preferred by
the Indian women. Long habituated to slavery,
they patiently suffer the privations to which they
are frequently subjected ; opposing to them only a
degree of cumiing, veiled under the appearance of
apathy and stupidity. Although destitute of imagi-
nation, they are remarkable for the facility with
which they acquire a knowledge of languages ; and,
notwithstanding their usual taciturnity, they become
loquacious and eloquent when excited by important
occurrences. It is unnecessary to speak of the ne-
groes, of whom there are very few in Mexico, their
character being the same as in other countries where
slavery is permitted.

No city of the New Continent, not even except-
ing those of the United States, possesses more im-
portant scientific establishments than Mexico. Of
these Humboldt mentions particularly the School of
Mines, the Botanic Garden, which has however
fallen into a state of neglect, and the Academy of
Fine Arts. The influence of this institution is per-
ceptible in the symmetry of the buildings which
adorn the capital.

New-Spain is divided into 15 districts, which he
arranges as follows : —

I. In the Temperate Zone — 82,000 square leagues ;
677,000 inhabitants, or eight to the square league —

310 INTENDANCY OF MEXICO.

(1,059,193 square miles ; inhabitants f^ to the square
mile).

A. Northern Region, in the interior.

1. Province of New-Mexico, along the Rio del Norte, to the north

of the parallel of 31".

2. Intendaucy of New-Biscay, to the south-west of the Rio del

Norte, on the central table-land.

B. North-western Region, in the vicinity of the Pacific Ocean.

3. Province of New-California, on tiie north-west coast of North

America.

4. Province of Old California, the southern e.xtremity of which en-

ters the torrid zone.

5. Intendancy of La Sonora, which also passes the tropic.

C. North-eastern Region, adjoining the Gulf of Me.xico.

6. Intendancy of Sau Luis Potosi.

II. In the Torrid Zone — 36,500 square leagues :
5,160,000 inhabitants, or 141 to the square league —
(471,470 square miles; inhabitants 11 to the square
mile).

D. Central Region.

7. Intendancy of Zacatecas.

8. Intendancy of Gnadalaxara.

9. Intendancy of Guanaxuato.

10. Intendancy of Valladulid.

11. Intendancy of Mexico.

12. Intendancy of Puebla.

13. Intendancy of Vera Cru^.

E. South-western Region.

14. Intendancy of Oaxaca.

15. Intendancy of Merida.

Without attempting to present an analysis of our
author's statistical account of these different prov-
inces, we shall select from his descriptions those
parts which may prove most interesting to the gen-
eral reader.

1. The intendancy of Mexico is entirely within
the torrid zone. More than two-thirds of it are
mountainous, and contain extensive plains elevated
from 2131 to 2451 feet above the sea. Only one
summit, the Nevado de Tolucca, 15,158 feet in
height, enters the region of perpetual snow.

The valley of Mexico, or Tenochtitlan, which is

CITY OF MEXICO. 311

of an oval form, is situated in the centre of the Cor-
dillera of Anahuac, and is 63 miles in length by 43
in breadth. It is surrounded by a ridge of moun-
tains, more elevated on the southern side, where it
is confined by the great volcanoes of La Puebla,
Popocatepe'il, and Iztaccihuatl. The capital stands
in the immediate vicinity of one of the great lakes
which exist in this beautiful valley, although for-
merly it was placed on an island in that sheet of
water, and communicated with the shore by three
great dikes. This city is represented l)y Humboldt
as one of the finest ever built by Europeans in either
hemisphere, and all travellers agree in admiring its
beauty. " From an eminence," says Captain Lyon
in his interesting Journal, " we came suddenly in
sight of the great valley of Mexico, with its beauti-
ful city appearing in the centre, surrounded by di-
verging shady paseos, bright fields, and picturesque
haciendas. The great lake of Tezcuco lay imme-
diately beyond it, shaded by a low floating cloud of
exhalations from its surface, which hid from our
view the bases of the volcanoes of Popocatepetl and
Iztaccihuatl ; while their sno\v>' summits, brightly
glowmg beneath the direct rays of the sun, which
but partially illumined the plains, gave a delightfully
novel appearance to the' Avhole scene before me.
I was, however, at this distance, disappointed as to
the size of Mexico ; but its lively whiteness and
freedom from smoke, the magnitude of the churches,
and the extreme regidarity of its structure, gave it
an appearance which can never be seen in a Euro-
pean city, and declare it unique, perhaps unequalled
in its kind."

The ground it occupies is everywhere perfectly
level, the streets are regular and broad, the architec-
ture generally of a very pure style, and many of the
buildings are remarkably beautiful. Two kinds of
hewn stone, a porous amygdaloid and a glassy fel-
spar porphyry, are used. The houses are not loaded

312 ANCIENT MONUMENTS.

with decorations, nor disfigured by wooden balconies
and galleries. The roofs are terraced; and the
streets, which are clean and well lighted, have very
broad pavements. The water of the lake is brack-
ish, as is that of all the wells ; but the city is sup-
plied by two fine aqueducts. The objects which
generally attract the notice of travellers are, 1. The
cathedral, which has two towers ornamented with
pilasters and statues ; 2. The treasury ; 3. The con-
vents, of which the most distinguished is that of
St. Francis ; 4. The hospital ; 5. The acordada, a fine
building, of which the prisons are spacious and well
aired ; 6. The school of mines ; 7. The botanical
garden ; 8. The university ; 9. The academy of fine
arts ; 10. The equestrian statue of Charles IV., in
the great square.

Few remains of ancient monuments are to be
found in the town or its vicinity. Of those that
exist, the chief are the ruins of the Aztec dikes
and aqueducts ; the sacrificial stone, adorned with a
relievo representing the triumph of a Mexican king;
the great calendar in the plaza mayor ; the colossal
statue of the goddess Teoyaomiqui, in one of the
galleries of the university ; the Aztec manuscripts
or hieroglyphic al pictures preserved in the house of
the viceroys ; and the foundations of the palace be-
longing to the sovereigns of Alcolhuacan at Tezcuco.

The only remarkable antiquities in the valley of
Mexico are the remains of the two pyramids of San
Juan de Teotihuacan, to the north-east of the lake
of Tezcuco, consecrated to the sun and moon. One
of these in its present state is a hundred and fifty
feet in height, the other a hundred and forty-four.
The interior is clay mixed with small stones, while
the facings are of porous amygdaloid, and they are
surrounded by a group of smaller elevation, dis-
posed in a regular series. Another ancient object
worthy of notice is the military intrenchment of
Xochicalco, to the S.S.W. of the town of Cuerna-

CONSUMPTION OF MEXICO. 313

vaco, near Teteama. It consists of a hill 387 feet
high, surrounded by ditches or trenches, and divided
into five terraces covered with masonry ; the vv^hole
forming a truncated pyramid, the four faces of
which correspond to the four cardinal points. The
porphyritic stones are adorned with hieroglyphical
figures, among which are crocodiles, and men sit-
ting cross-legged in the Asiatic manner. Other
relics and places connected with the history of the
conquest are shown to the stranger ; but of these it
is unnecessary to speak.

Our author estimates the population of Mexico as
follows : —

Inhabifanta.

While Europeans 2,500

While Creoles 65,000

Copper-coloured natives 33,000

Mesiizoes, mixture of whites and Indians 86,500

Mulattoes 10,000

137,000

The annual number of births for a mean term of
100 years is 5930, and that of deaths 5050 ; while in
New-Spain, in general, the relation of the births to
the population is as 1 to 17, and that of the deaths
as 1 to 30, so that the mortality in the capital ap-
pears much greater. The great conflux of sick per-
sons to the hospitals, and, on the other hand, the
celibacy of the numerous clergy, the progress of
luxury, and other causes, induce this disproportion.

According to researches made by the Count de
Revillagigedo, the consmnption of Mexico in 1791
was as follows : —

1. AWMAT, FOOD.

Oxen 16,300

Calves 450

Sheep 278,923

Hogs 50,f576

Kids and Rabbits 24,000

Dd

Fowls 1 ,255,340

Ducks 125,000

Turkeys 205,000

Pigeons 65,.1(H

Partridges 140,000

314 LAKES.

II. GRAIN.

Maize, or Indian com— cargas of 3 fanegas, 117,224=5-15,219 IS.

bushels.
Barley— cargas, 40,219=187,002 I. S. bu.shels.
Wheat flour— cargas of 12 anobas, 130,000=353,229 cwt.

III. LIQUIDS.

Pulque, the fermented juice of agave— cargas, 294,790=800,987 cwts.
Wine and vinegar— barrels of 4.4 arrobas, 4,007=71,756 I. S. galls.
Brandy- barrels, 12,(100=101,052 I. S. galls.
Spanish oil— arrobas of 25 pounds, 6,585=15,530 I. S. galls.

The market is abuiidantlj^ supplied witli vegetables
of numerous kinds, wliich are brought in every morn-
ing b}^ the Indians in boats. Most of these are cul-
tivated on the chinampas or gardens, some of which
float upon the neighbouring sheet of water, while
others are fixed in the marshy grounds.*

The surface of the four principal lakes in the val-
ley of Mexico occupies nearh' a tenth of its extent,
or 168 square miles. The lake of Xochimilco con-
tains 49i, that of Tezcuco 77, of San Christobal 27^,
and of Zumpango 9/^, square miles. The valley
itself is a basin enclosed by a wall of porphyritic
mountains, and all the water furnished by the sur-
rounding Cordilleras is collected in it. No stream
issues from it excepting the brook of Tequisquiac,
which joins the Rio de Tula. The lakes rise by
stages in proportion to their distance from its centre,
or, in other words, from tlie site of the capital.
Next to the lake of Tezcuco, IMexico is the least ele-
vated point of the valley, the plaza mayor or gi-eat
square being only 1 foot 1 inch higher than the mean
level of its water, which is 11} feet lower than that
of San Christobal. Zumpango, which is the most

* " These are long narrow strips of ground redeemed from the sur-
rounding swamp, and intersected by small canals. They all appear to
abound in very fine vegetables, and lively-foliaged poplars generally
shadowed their extremities. The little gardens constructed on bushes,
or wooden rafts, no longer exist in the immediate vicinity of Mexico ; but
1 learned that some may yet be seen at Inchimilco, a place near San Au-
gustin de las Caevas." — Captaui Lyon's Journal nf o. Residence and
Tour in the Rejytiblic of Mexico, vol. ii. p. 110.

INUNDATIONS. 315

northern, is 29-211 inches higher than the surface
of Tezcuco ; Avhile that of Chalco, at the southern
extremity, is only 3-632 feet more elevated than the
great square of Mexico.

In consequence of this peculiarity, the city has,
for a long- series of ages, been exposed to inunda-
tions. The lake of Zumpango, swelled by an unusual
rise of the Rio de Guautitlan, flows over into that of
San Christobal, which again bursts the dike that
sep-arates it from Tezcuco. The water of this last
is consequently augmented, and flows with impet-
uosity into the streets of Mexico. Since the arrival
of the Spaniards the town has experienced five
great floods, the latest of which happened in 1629.
In more recent periods there have been several
alarming appearances, but the city was preserved
from any actual loss by the desague or canal, w^hich
■was formed for the purpose.

The situation of the capital is more exposed to
danger, because the bed of the lake is progressively
rising in consequence of the mud carried into it, and
the difference between it and the level of the plain
diminishing. Previous to the conquest, and for some
time after, it was defended by dikes ; but this method
having been found ineff'ectual, the viceroy in 1607
employed Enrico Martinez, a native of Germany, to
eff"ect the evacuation of the lakes. After making an
exact survey of the valley, he presented two plans
for canals, the one to empty those of Tezcuco, Zum-
pango, and San Christobal, the other to drain that of
Zumpango alone. The latter scheme was adopted,
and inconsequence, the famous subterraneous gal-
lery of Nochistongo was commenced on the 28th
November, 1607. Fifteen thousand Indians were
employed, and after eleven months of continued la-
bour the work was completed. Its length was more
than 21,654 feet, its breadth 11-482, and its height
13-780. On the opposite side of the hill of Nochis-
ton^jo is the liio de Tula, which runs into the Rio de

316 INUNDATIONS.

Panuco, and from the northern or farther extremity
of the gallery an open trench, 28,216 feet long-, was
cut to carry the water to the former river. Soon
after the current began to flow through this artificial
chamiel, it gradually occasioned depositions and ero-
sions, so that it became necessary to support the
roof, which was composed of marl and clay. For
this purpose wood was at first employed, and after-
ward masonry; but the arches being soon under-
mined, the passage at length was obstructed.

Several plans were now proposed, and in 1614 the
court of Madrid sent to Mexico a Dutch engineer,
Adrian Boot, who advised the construction of great
dikes after the Indian plan. A new viceroy, how-
ever, having recently arrived, who had never wit-
nessed the effects of an inundation, ordered Marti-
nez to stop up the subterraneous passage, and make
the water of the upper lakes return to the bed of the
Tezcuco, that he might see if the danger were really
so great as it had been represented. Being con-
vinced that it was so, he ordered the German to re-
commence his operations in the gallery. The engi-
neer accordingly proceeded to clear it, and contin-
ued working until the 20tli June, 1629, when finding
the mass of water too great to be received by this
narrow outlet, he closed it in order to prevent its
destruction. In the morning the city of Mexico
was flooded to the depth of three feet, and, con-
trary to expectation, remained in that state for five
years. In this interval various plans were proposed
for draining the neighbouring lake, although none
of them was carried into effect ; but the inundation
at length subsided in consequence of a succession
of earthquakes.

Martinez, who had been imprisoned from a belief
that he had closed the gallery for the purpose of
affording the incredulous a proof of the utility of
his work, was now set at liberty, and constructed
the dike of San Christobal. He was ordered to en-

INTENDANCY OF PUEBLA. 317

large the gallery ; but the operations were conducted
Avith very little energy, and in the end it was deter-
mined to" abandon the plan, to remove the top of the
vault, and to convert it into an open passage by cut-
ting through the hill. A lawyer, named Martm de
Solis, undertook the management of this enterprise ;
though it required nearly two centuries to complete
the work ; the canal not being opened in its whole
leno-th until 1789. As it now appears, it is stated by
Humboldt to be one of the most gigantic hydraulic
operations executed by man. Its length is 67,537 feet,
its o-reatest depth 197, and its greatest breadth 361

The safety of the capital depends, 1st, On the
stone dikes, which prevent the water of the lake of
Zumpano-o from passing into that of San Chnstobal,
and the latter from flowing into the Tezcuco ; 2d,
On the dikes and sluices which prevent the lakes of
Chalco and Xochimilco from overflowing ; 3d, On
the o-reat cut of Enrico Martinez, by which the Rio
de Gliautitlan passes across the hills in the valley
of Tul? ; and, 4th, On the canals by which the Zum-
pano-o and San Christobal may be completely drained.
The1;e means, however expensive and numerous as
they must appear, are insuflicient to secure it against
inundations proceeding from the north and north-
west ; and our author asserts, that it Avill continue ex-
posed to great risks until a canal shall be directly
openedfrom the lake of Tezcuco.

The intendancy of Mexico contains, besides the
capital, several towns of considerable size, of which
the more important are, Tezcuco, Acapulco, Tolucca,
and Queretaro, the latter having a population oi
thirty-five thousand. ■. . n

2 The government of Puebla is wholly situated
in tiie torrid zone, and is bounded on the north-east
by that of Vera Cruz, on the south by the ocean, on
the east by the province of Oaxaca, and on the west
by that of Mexico. It is traversed by the cordille-
ras of Anahuac, and contains the highest mountain

Dd3

318 GUANAXTJATO VALLADOLID.

ill New-Spain, the volcano of Popocatepetl. A great
portion, however, consists of an elevated plain, on
which are cultivated wheat, maize, agave, and fruit-
trees.

The population is concentrated on this table-land,
extending from the eastern slope of the Nevados, or
Snovpy Mountains, to the vicinity of Perote. It
exhibits remarkable vestiges of ancient Mexican
civilization. The great pyramid of Cholula has a
much larger base than any edifice of the kind in the
Old Continent, its horizontal breadth being not less
than 1440 feet ; but its present height is only fifty-
nine yards, while the platform on its summit has a
surface of 45,210 feet.

At the village of Atlixco is seen a cypress {Cu-
pressus disticha) 76 feet in circumference, which is
probably one of the oldest vegetable monuments on
the globe.* There are very considerable saltworks
in this intendancy, and a beautiful marble is quarried
in the vicinity of Puebla. The principal towns are
that just named, containing a population of 67,800,
Cholula, Tlascala, and Atlixco.

3. The intendancy of Guanaxuato, situated on the
ridge of the cordillera of Anahuac, is the most
populous in New-Spain, and contains three cities,
Guanaxuato, Celayo, and Salvatierra, four towns, 37
villages, and 448 farms or haciendas. It is in gene-
ral highly cultivated, and possesses the most import-
ant mines in that section of the New World.

4. The intendancy of Valladolid is bounded on the
north by the Rio de Lerma ; on the east and north-

* "On entering the gardens of Chapultepec (near Mexico), the first
object that strikes the eye is the tnagnifleeiit cypress {Subino Ahuahuete,
or Cupressus distirha), called the Cypress of Montezuma. It had at-
tained its ftill growth when that monarch was on the throne (1520), so
that it must now be at least 400 years old, yet it .still retains ail the vigour
of youthful vegetation. The trunk is 41 ieet in circumference, yet the
height is so majestic as to make even this enormous mass appear slender."
— fVard's Mexico in 1827, vol. ii. p. 230. Tlie same author mentions
another cypress, 38 feet in girtli, and of equal height to that of Monte-
zuma.

GUADALAXARA — ZACATECAS OAXACA.

319

east by that of Mexico ; on the south by the district
of Cxuanaxiiato ; and on the west by the province of
Guadalaxara. Bein? situated on the western de-
chvity of the cordillera of Anahuac and intersected
by hills and beautiful valleys, it in general enjoys a
mild and temperate climate. The volcano of Jorullo^
already described, is situated in this intendancy, which
has three cities, three towns, and 263 villages. The
southern part is inhabited by Indians.

5. The province of Guadalaxara is bounded on the
north by the governments of Sonora and Durango,
on the east by those of Zacatecas and Guanaxuato,
on the south by the district of Valladohd, and on
the west by the Pacific Ocean. Its greatest breadth
is 345 miles, and its greatest length 407. It is
crossed from east to west by the Rio de Santiago,
which is of considerable size. The eastern portion
consists of the elevated platform and western de-
clivity of the Cordilleras of Anahuac. The maritime
parts are covered with forests, which abound in
excellent timber. The volcano of Colima, situated
in this district, is the most western of those of New-
Spain It frequently throws up ashes and smoke;
but its height is not so great as to carry its summit
into the region of perpetual snow. The most re-
markable towns are, Guadalaxara, which has a pop-
ulation of 19,500, San Bias, a port at the mouth ot
the Santiago, and Compostella. ,

6 The intendancy of Zacatecas, bounded on the
north by Durango, on the east by San Luis Potosi,
on the south by Guanaxuato, and on the west by
Guadalaxara, is 293 miles in length, and 176 m
breadth. The table-land, which forms its central
part, is composed of syenite and primitive slate.
Near Zacatecas are nine small lakes, abounding m
muriate and carbonate of soda. This district is very
thinly peopled, although the town has 33,000 inhab-
itants. . , , ,
7. The intendancy of Oaxaca is one of the most

320 INTENDANCY OF MERIDA.

delightful countries in the New Continent, possess-
ing great fertility of soil and salubrity of climate.
It is bounded on the north by Guatimala ; on the west
by the province of Puebla ; and on the south by the
Pacific Ocean. The mountainous parts are composed
of granite and gneiss. The vegetation is every-
where exceedingly beautiful. At the village of
Santa Maria del Tule, ten miles east of the capital,
there is an enormous trunk of Cupressus disticha,
118 feet in circumference, though it seems rather to
be formed of three stems grown into one.

The most remarkable object in this district is the
palace of Mitla, the walls of which are decorated
with grecques and labyrinths in mosaic, resembling
the ornaments of Tuscan vases. It consists of three
edifices, and is morever distinguished from other
ancient Mexican buildings by six porphyritic columns
which support the ceiling of a vast hall. These
pillars have neither base nor capital ; each exhibits
a single block of stone, and the height is about six-
teen feet. Oaxaca, the principal town, contained, in
the year 1792, twenty-four thousand inhabitants.
Some of the mines are very productive.

8. The intendancy of Merida comprehends the
great peninsula of Yucatan, situated between the
Bay of Campeachy and that of Honduras. It is
bounded on the south by Guatimala, on the east by
the province of Vera Cruz, and on the west by the
English establishments, Avhich extend from the mouth
of the Rio Hondo to the north of tlie Bay of Han-
over. This peninsula is a vast plain, intersected by
a chain of hills ; and though one of the warmest, it
is at the same time one of the healthiest provinces
of equinoctial America. The latter circumstance is
to be attributed to the extreme dryness of the soil
and atmosphere. No European grain is produced ;
but maize, jatropha, and dioscorea are cultivated in
abundance. The Hoematoxylon or Campeachy wood

INTENOANCY OF VERA CRUZ. 321

abounds in several districts. Merida, the capital,
has a population of 10,000.

9. The government of Vera Cruz extends along the
Mexican Gulf from the Rio Baraderas to the great
river of Panuco. The western part forms the de-
clivity of the Cordilleras of Anahuac, from whence,
amid the regions of perpetual snow, the inhabitants
descend in a day to the burning plains of the coast.
In this district are displayed in a remarkable manner
the gradations of vegetation, from the level of the
sea to those elevated summits which are visited with
perennial frost. In ascending, the traveller sees the
physiognomy of the country, the aspect of the sky,
the form of the plants, the figures of animals, the
manners of the inhabitants, and the kind of cultiva-
tion followed by them, assuming a different appear-
ance at every step. Leaving the lower districts,
covered with a beautiful and luxuriant vegetation, he
first enters that in which the oak appears, where he
has no longer cause to dread the yellow fever, so fatal
on the coasts. Forests of liquidambair, near Xalapa,
announce by their freshness the elevation at which
the strata of clouds, suspended over the ocean, come
in contact Avith the basaltic summits of the Cordil-
leras. A little higher the banana ceases to yield
fruit. At the height of San Miguel pines begin to
mingle with the oaks, which continue as far as the
plains of Perote, where the cereal vegetation of
Europe is seen. Beyond this, the former alone
cover the rocks, the tops of which enter the. region
of perpetual frigidity.

At the foot of the cordillera, in the evergreen
forests of Papautla, Nautla, and S. Andre Tuxtla,
grows the vanilla, the fruit of which is used for
perfuming chocolate. The beautiful convolvulus,
whose root furnishes the jalap of the apothecaries,
grows near the Indian villages of Colipa and Mi-
sautla. The pimento-myrtle is produced in the woods
which extend towards the river of Baraderas. On

322 VERA CRUZ.

the declivities of Orizaba tobacco of excellent quality
is cultivated ; and the sarsaparilla grows in the moist
and shady I'avines. Cotton and sugar of excellent
quality are produced along the greater part of the
coast.

In this intendancy are two colossal summits, —
the volcano of Orizaba, which after Popocatepetl is
the highest in New-Spain, and the Cofre de Perote,
which is nearly 1312 feet moi'e elevated than the
Peak of Teneriffe. In its northern part, near the
Indian village of Papautla, is a pyramidal edifice of
great antiquity, situated in the midst of a thick forest.
It is not constructed of bricks, or clay mixed with
stone, and faced with amygdaloid, like those of Cho-
lula and Tectihuacan; on the contrary, the materials
employed have been immense blocks of porphyry.
The base is an exact square, 82 feet on each side,
and the perpendicular height seems to be about sixty.
It is composed of several stages, of which some
are still distinguishable. A great stair of 57 steps
conducts to the truncated summit.

The most remarkable cities are Vera Cruz, Perote,
Cordoba, and Orizaba. The first of these, the centre
of European and West Indian commerce, is beauti-
fully and regularly built ; but it is situated in an arid
plain, destitute of running water, and partly covered
with shifting sand-hills, which contribute to increase
the suffocating heat of the air. In the midst of
these downs are marshy lands covered with rhizo-
phorae and other plants. No stones for architectural
purposes are to be found near tlie city, which is
entirely constructed of coral rock drawn from the
bottom of the sea. The water is Very bad, and is
obtained either by digging in the sandy soil, or by
collecting the rain in cisterns.

Xalapa, the population of which is estimated at
13,000, occupies a very romantic situation at the foot
of the basaltic mountain of Maculttpec, surrounded by
forests of styrax, piper, melastomai, and tree-ferns.

NORTHERN DISTRICTS. 323

The sky is beautiful and serene in summer, but from
December to February it has a most melancholy
aspect, and, whenever the north wind blows, is
overcast to such a degree that the sun and stars are
frequently invisible for two or three weeks together.
Some of the merchants of Vera Cruz have coimtry-
houses at Xalapa, where they enjoy a cool and
agreeable retreat, while the coast is almost unin-
habitable, on account of the intense heats, the mos-
quitoes, and the yellow fever.

10. The captaincy of San Luis Potosi embraces
the whole north-eastern part of New-Spain, and is
extremely diversified in its character. The only
portion which is cold and mountainous is that ad-
joining the province of Zacatecas, and in which are
the rich mines of Charcas, Guadalcagar, and Catorce.
There is a great extent of low ground, partly cul-
tivated, but for the most part barren and uninhabited.
Its coast line is more than 794 miles in length; but'
hardly any commerce enlivens it, owing to the de-
ficiency of harbours. The mouths of the rivers,
too, are blocked up by bars, necks of land, and long
islands running parallel to the coast.

11. New-Biscay or Durango occupies a greater
space of ground than Great Britain and Ireland,
though its population does not exceed 160,000. It is
bounded on the south by Zacatecas and Guadalaxara ;
on the south-east by San Luis ; and on the AVest by
Sonora. On the northern and eastern sides, for more
than 690 miles, it borders on an uncultivated countiy
inhabited by independent Indians. This intendancy
comprehends the northern extremity of the great
table-land of Anahuac, which declines towards the
Rio Grande del Norte.

12. The province of Sonora is still more thinly
peopled than Durango. It extends on the shores of
the Gulf of California more than 966 miles.

13. New-Mexico, which is very sparingly inhabited,

324 CALIFORNIA.

Stretches along the Rio Norte, and has a remarkably
cold climate.

14. Old California equals England in extent oi
territory, but has only a population of 9000. The
soil of this peninsula is parched and sandy, and the
vegetation feeble ; but the sky is constantly clear, and
of a deep blue ; the light clouds which sometimes ap-
pear presenting at sunset the most beautiful shades
of violet, purple, and green. A chain of mountains,
the highest of which is about 5000 feet, runs through
the centre of the peninsula, and is inhabited by ani-
mals resembling the mouflon of Sardinia, which the
Spaniards call wild sheep. The principal attraction
which California has afforded to Europeans since the
16th century is the gi-eat quantity of pearls found in
it, and which, although frequently of an irregular
form, are large and of a very beautiful water. At the
present day, however, this fishery is almost entirely
abandoned.

15. New-California is a long and narrow country,
identifying itself with the shore of the Pacific Ocean
from the isthmus of Old California to Cape Mendo-
cino. It is extremely picturesque, and enjoys a
fertile well-watered soil, with a temperate climate.
Wheat, barley, maize, beans, and other useful plants
thrive well, as do the vine and olive ; but the popula-
tion is scanty compared to the territory. A cordil-
lera of small elevation runs along the coast, and the
forests and prairies are filled with deer of gigantic
size.

PLANTS CULTIVATED IN MEXICO. 325

CHAPTER XXV.

Statistical Account of Neio- Spain continued.

Agriculture of IMexico — Banana, Manioc, and Maize — Cereal Plants

Nutritive Roots and Vegetables — Agave Americana — Colonial Com-
modities—Cattle, and Animal Productions.

A COUNTRY extending from the sixteenth to the
thirty-seventh degree of latitude, and presenting a
great variety of surface, necessarily affords numerous
modifications of climate. Such is the admirable dis-
tribution of heat on the globe, that the strata of the
atmosphere become colder as we ascend, while those
of the sea are warmest near the surface. Hence,
under the tropics, on the declivities of the cordilleras,
and in the depths of the ocean, the plants and marine
animals of the polar regions find a temperature suited
to their development. It may easily be conceived
that, in a mountainous country like Mexico, having
so great a diversity of elevation, temperature, and
soil, the variety of indigenous productions must be
immense ; and that most of the plants cultivated in
other parts of the globe may there find situations
adapted to their nature.

There, however, the principal objects of agricul-
ture are not the productions which European luxury
draws from the West India islands, but the grasses,
nutritive roots, and the agave. The appearance of
the land proclaims to the traveller that the natives
are nourished by the soil, and that they are inde-
pendent of foreign commerce. Yet agriculture is
by no means so flourishing as might be expected
from its natural resources, although considerable im-
provement has been effected of late years. The de-
pressed state of cultivation, it is true^has been attrib-

Ee

326 BANANA.

uted to the existence of numerous rich mines ; but
Humboldt, on the contrar3^ maintains that the work-
ing of these ores has been beneficial in causing many
places to be improved which would otherwise have
remained steril. When a vein is opened on the
barren ridge of the Cordilleras, the new colonists can
only draw the means of subsistence from a great
distance. Want soon excites to industry, and farms
begin to be established in the neighbourhood. The
high price of provisions indemnifies the cultivator
for the hard life to which he is exposed, and the
ravines and valleys become gradually covered Avith
food. When tlie mineral treasures are exhausted, the
Avorkmen no doubt emigrate, so that the population
is diminished ; but the settlers are retained by their
attachment to the spot in which they have passed
their childhood. The Indians, moreover, prefer liv-
ing in the solitudes of the mountains remote from
the whites, and this circumstance tends to increase
the number of inhabitants in such districts.

In describing the vegetable productions of New-
Spain, our author begins with those which form the
principal support of the people, then treats of the
class which affords matei-ials for manufacture, and
ends Avith such as constitute objects of connnerce.

The banana {Musa paradisiaca) is to the inhabitants
of the torrid zone what the cereal grasses — wheat,
barley, and rye — are to Western Asia and Europe,
and what the numerous varieties of rice are to the
natives of India and China. Forster and other
naturalists have maintained that it did not exist in
America previous to the arrival of the Spaniards, but
that it was imported from the Canary Islands in the
beginning of the 16th century; and in support of
this opinion may be adduced tlie silence of Columbus,
Alonzo Negro, Pinzon, Vespucci, and Cortes, with
respect to it. This circumstance, however, only
proves the inattention of these travellers to the pro-
ductions of the soil ; and it is probable that the Musa

BANANA. 327

presented several species indigenous to different
parts of both continents. The space favourable to
the cultivation of this valuable plant in Mexico is
more than 50,000 square leagues, and has nearly a
milhon and a half of inhabitants. In the warm and
humid valleys of Vera Cruz, at the foot of the Cor-
dillera of Orizaba, the fruit occasionally exceeds
ir8 inches in circumference, with a length of seven
or eiglit. A bunch sometimes contains from 160 to
180, and weighs from 66 to 881b. avoirdupois.

Humboldt doubts whether there is any other plant
on the globe which, in so small a space of ground,
can produce so great a mass of nutriment. Eiglit
or nine months after the sucker has been inserted in
the earth the banana begins to form its clusters, and
the fruit maybe gathered in less than a year. When
the stalk is cut, there is always found among the
numerous shoots which have put forth roots one that
bears three months later. A plantation is perpetuated
without any other care than that of cutting the stems
on which the fruit has ripened, and giving the earth
a slight dressing. A spot of 1076 feet may contain
at least from thirty to forty plants, which, in the
space of a year, at a very moderate calculation, will
yield more than 4410 lb. avoirdupois of nutritive sub-
stance. Our author estimates, that the produce of
the banana is to that of wheat as 133 : 1, and to that
of potatoes as 44 ; 1.

In America numerous preparations are made of
this fruit, both before and after its maturity. When
fully ripe it is exposed to the sun, and preserved like
our figs ; the skin becoming black, and exhaling a pe-
culiar odour like that of smoked ham. This dry ban-
ana {Platano passado), which is an object of commerce
in the province of Mechoacan. has an agreeable taste,
and is a very wholesome article of food. Meal or
flour is obtained from it, by being cut into slices, dried
in the sun, and pounded.

It is calculated that the same extent of ground in,

328 MANIOC MAIZE.

Mexico on which the banana is raised is capable
of maintaining fifty individuals, whereas in Europe
under wheat it would not furnish subsistence for two ;
and nothing- strikes a traveller more than the diminu-
tive appearance of the spots under culture round a
hut which contains a numerous family.

The region where it is cultivated produces also the
valuable plant {Jatropha) of which the root, as is
well known, affords the flour of manioc, usually con-
verted into bread, and furnishes what the Spanish
colonists call pan de tierra caliente. This vegetable
is only successfully grown within the tropics, and
in the mountainous region of Mexico is never seen
above the elevation of 2625 feet. Two kinds are
raised, the sweet and the bitter. The root of the
former may be eaten without danger, while that of
the latter is a very active poison. ]3oth may be made
into bread ; but the bitter is preferred for this pur-
pose, the poisonous juice being carefully separated
from the fecula, called cassava, before making the
dough. Raynal asserted that the manioc was trans-
ported from Africa to America to serve for the main-
tenance of the negroes ; but our author shows that
it was cultivated there long before the arrival of
Europeans on that side of the Atlantic. The bread
made of it is very nutritive ; but, being extremely
brittle, it does not answer for distant carriage. The
fecula, however, grated, dried, and smoked, is used
on journeys. The root loses its poisonous qualities
on being boiled, and in this state the decoction is
used as a sauce, although serious accidents some-
times happen when it has not been long enougli ex-
posed to heat. The husbandry of it, we may observe,
requires more care than that of the banana. In this
respect it resembles the potato ; and the roots are
ripe in seven or eight months after the slips have
been planted.

The same region produces maize, the cultivation
of which is more extensive than that of the banana

CULTIVATION OF MAIZE. 329

and manioc. Advancing- towards the central plains,
we meet with fields of this important plant all the
way from the coast to the valley of Tolucca, which
is upwards of 9186 feet above the sea. Although a
great quantity of other grain is produced in Mexico,
this must be considered as the principal food of the
people, as well as of most of the domestic animals,
and the year in which the maize harvest fails is one
of famine and misery to the inhabitants. There is
no longer a doubt among botanists that this plant is
of American origin, and that the Old Continent re-
ceived it from the New.

It does not thrive in Europe where the mean tem-
perature is less than 44° or 46° ; and on the Cordil-
leras of New-Spain rye and barley are seen to vege-
tate vigorously where the cultivation of maize would
not be attended with success. On the other hand,
the latter thrives in the lowest plains of the torrid
zone, where wheat, barley, and rye are not found.
Hence we cannot be surprised to hear that it occu-
pies a much greater extent in equinoctial America
than the grains of the Old Continent.

The fecundity of the Mexican variety is astonishing.
Fertile lands usually afford a return of 300 or 400
fold, and in the neighbourhood of Valladolid a har-
vest is considered defective when it yields only 130
or 150. Even where the soil is most steril the pro-
duce varies from sixty to eighty. The general esti-
mate for the equinoctial region of Mexico may be
considered as a hundred and fifty.

Of all the gramina cultivated by man, none is so
unequal as this in its produce, as it varies in the same
field, according to the season, from forty to 200 or 300
for one. If the harvests are good, the agriculturist
makes his fortune more rapidly than with any other
grain ; but frightful dearths sometimes occur, when
the natives are obliged to feed on unripe fruit, cactus-
berries, and roots. Diseases arise in consequence ;
and these famines are usually attended with a great

Ee2

330 CEREAL PLANTS

mortality among the children. Fowls, turkeys, and
even cattle suffer, so that the traveller can find
neither eggs nor poultry. Scarcities of less severity
are not uncommon, and are especially felt in the mining
districts, where the vast numbers of mules employed
in the process of amalgamation annually consume
an enormous quantity of maize.

Numerous varieties of food are derived from this
plant. The ear is eaten raw or boiled. The grain
when beaten affords a nutritive bread called arepa,
and the meal is employed in making soups or gruels,
which are mixed with sugar, honey, and sometimes
even pounded potatoes. Many kinds of drin^ are
also prepared from it, some resembling beer, others
cider In the valley of Tolucca the stalks are
squeezed between cylinders, and from the fermented
juice a spirituous liquor, called pulquede maJus, is pro-
duced. . , , , ,

In favourable years Mexico yields a much larger
quantity than is necessary for its own consumption;
but as this grain affords less nutritive substance in
proportion to its bulk than the corn of Europe, and
as the roads are generally difficult, obstacles are
presented to its transportation, which, however, will
diminish when the country is more improved.

We come now to the cereal plants which have
been conveyed from the Old to the New Continent
Anecrro slave of Cortes found among the rice which
served to maintain the Spanish army three or four
particles of wheat, which were sown we may sup-
pose, before the year 1500. A Spanish lady,^Iaria
d'Escobar, carried a few grains to Luna, and tlieir
produce was distributed for three years among the
new colonists, each receiving twenty or thirty seex^s.
At Quito the first European corn was sown near the
convent of St. Francis by Father Jose Rixi, a native
of Flanders, and the monks still show, as a precious
reUc, the earthen vessel in which the original wheat
came from Europe. "Why," asks our author,

CULTIVATED IN NEW-SPAIN. 331

« have not men preserved everywhere the names of
those who, in place of ravaging the earth, have en-
riched it with plants useful to the human race V

The temperate region appears most favourable to
the cultivation of the cerealia, or nutritive grasses
known to the ancients, namely, wheat, spelt, barley,
oats, and rye. In the equinoctial part of Mexico
they are nowhere grown in plains of which the
elevation is under '2625 feet ; and on the declivity
of the Cordilleras between Vera Cruz and Acapulco
they commence at the height of 3937. At Xalapa
wheat is raised solely for the straw ; for there it
never produces seed, although in Guatimala grain
ripens at smaller elevations.

Were the soil of New-vSpain watered by more fre-
quent showers, it would be one of the most fertile
portions of the globe. In the equinoctial districts
of that country there are only two seasons, — the
wet, from June or July to September or October,
and the dry, which lasts eight months. The rains,
accompanied with electrical explosions, commence
on the eastern coast, and proceed westward, so that
they begin fifteen or twenty days sooner at Vera
Cruz than on the central plains. Sometimes they
are seen, mixed with sleet and snow, in the elevated
parts during November, December, and January, but
they last only a few days. It is seldom that the in-
habitants have to complain of humidity, and the ex-
cessive drought which prevails from June to Sep-
tember compels them in many parts to have recourse
to artificial irrigation. In places not watered in this
manner, the soil yields pasturage only till March or
April, after v/hich the south wind destroys the grass.
This change is more felt when the preceding year
has been unusually dry, and the wheat suflTers greatly
in May. The rains of June, however, revive the
vegetation, and the fields immediately resume their
verdure.

In lands carefully cultivated the produce is sur-

332 WHEAT RYE OATS.

prising, especially in those which are watered. In
the most fertile part of the table-land between
Queretaro and Leon, the wheat harvest is 35 and 40
for 1 ; and several farms can even reckon on 50 or
60 for 1. At Cholulo the common return is from
30 to 40, but it frequently exceeds from 70 to 80
for 1. In the valley of Mexico maize yields 200, and
wheat 18 or 20. The mean produce of the whole
country may be stated at 20 or 25 for 1. M. Abad,
a canon of the metropolitan church of Valladolid
de Mechoacan, took at random from a field of wheat
forty plants, when he found that each seed had pro-
duced forty, sixty, and even seventy stalks. The
number of grains which the ears contained frequently
exceeded 100 or 120, and the average amount ap-
peared to be 90. Some even exhibited 160. A few
of the elevated tracts, however, are covered with a
kind of clay impenetrable by the roots of herbaceous
plants, and others are arid and naked, in which the
cactus and other prickly shrubs alone vegetate.

The following table exhibits the mean produce
of the cereal olants in diifferent countries of both
continents : —

In France, from 5 lo 6 grains for 1.

In Hungary, Croatia, and Sclavonia, from 8 to 10 grains.

In La Plata, 12 grains.

In the northern part of Mexico, 17 grains.

In eiiuinoclial Mexico, 24 grains.

In the ])roviiice of Pasto in Santa Fe, 25 grains.

In the plain of Caxainarca in Peru, 18 to 20 grains.

The Mexican wheat is of the very best quality,
and equals the finest Andalusian. At Havana it
enters into competition with that of the United
States, which is considered inferior to it ; and when
greater facilities are afforded for exportation it will
become of the highest importance to Europe. In
Mexico grain can hardly be preserved longer than
two or three years ; but the causes of this decay
have not been sufficiently investigated.

PLANTS WITH NTJTRITIVE ROOTS. 333

Rye and barley, which resist cold better than
wheat, are cultivated on the highest regions, but
only to a small extent. Oats do not answer well in
New-Spain, and are very seldom seen even in the
mother-country, where the horses are fed on barley.

The potato appears to have been introduced into
Mexico nearly at the same period as the cereal
grasses of the Old Continent. It is certain that it
was not known there before the arrival of the
Spaniards, at which epoch it was in use in Chih,
Peru, Quito, and New-Grenada. It is supposed by
botanists that it grows spontaneously in the moun-
tamous regions; but our author asserts that this
opmion is erroneous, and that the plant in question
is nowhere to be found uncultivated in any part of
the Cordilleras within the tropics. According to
Mohna, it is a native of aU the fields of Chili, where
another species, the Solanum can, still unknown in
Europe, and even in Quito and Mexico, is grown •
and M. Humboldt seems to consider that country as
the original source of it. It is stated that Sir Walter
Raleigh found it in Virginia in 1584 ; and a question
arises, whether it arrived there from the north or
from Chih, or some other of the Spanish colonies.
Our traveller seems to consider it not improbable
that it had been conveyed from some of the Spanish
colonies by the Enghsh themselves.

The plants cultivated in the highest and coldest
parts of the Andes and Mexican Cordilleras are po-
tatoes, the Tropceolum esculentum, and the Cheno-
podiiim quinoa. The first of these are an important
object in the latter country, as they do not require
much humidity. The Mexicans and Peruvians pre-
serve them for a series of years, by destroying their
power of germinating by exposure to frost, and
afterward drying them,^a practice which our au-
thor thinks might be followed with advantac^e in
Europe. He also recommends obtaining the "seeds
of the potatoes cultivated at Quito and Santa Fe

334 FRUIT-TREES.

which are a foot in diameter, and superior in quahty
to those in the Old Continent. It is unnecessary to
expatiate on the advantages derived from this in-
vahiable root, the use of which now extends from
the extremity of Africa to Lapland, and from the
southern regions of America to Labrador.

The New World is very rich in plants with nu-
tritive roots. Next to the manioc and the potato,
the most important are the oca, the balatc, and the
igname. The first of these {Oxalis tuberosa) grows
in the cold and temperate parts of the cordilleras.
The igname (Dioscorea alata) appears proper to all
the equinoctial regions of the globe. Of the batate
{Convolvulus batatas) several varieties are raised.
The cacomite, a species of Tigridia, the root of which
yields a nutritive farina, numerous varieties of love-
apples {Solanum lycopersicuin), the earth pistachio
or pea-nut {Arachis hypogcBa), and different species
of pimento, are the other useful plants cultivated
there.

The Mexicans now have all the culinary vege-
tables and fruit-trees of Europe ; but it has become
difficult to determine which of the former they pos-
sessed before the arrival of the Spaniards. It is
certain, however, that they had onions, haricots,
gourds, and several varieties of Cicer ; and, in gene-
ral, if we consider the garden-stuffs of the Aztecs
and the great number of farinaceous roots cultivated
in Mexico and Peru, we shall see that they were
not so poor in alimentary plants as some maintain.

The central table-land of New-Spain produces the
ordinary fruits of Europe in the greatest abundance;
and the traveller is surprised to see the tables of the
wealthy inhabitants loaded with the vegetable pro-
ductions of both continents in the most perfect state.
Before the invasion of the Spaniards, Mexico and
the Andes presented several fruits having a great
resemblance to those of Europe. The mountainous
part of South America has a cherry, a nut, an apple,

AGAVE AMERICANA^— PULQUE. 335

a mulberry, a strawberry, a rasp, and a gooseberry,
which are peculiar to it. Oranges and citrons,
which are now cultivated there, appear to have been
introduced, although a small wild orange occurs in
Cuba and on the coast of Terra Firma. The olive-
tree answers perfectly in New-Spain,' but exists
only in very small numbers.

Most civilized nations procure their drinks from
the plants which constitute their principal nourish-
ment, and of which the roots or seeds contain sac-
charine and amylaceous matter. There are few
tribes, indeed, which cultivate these solely for the
purpose of preparing beverages from them ; but in
the New Continent we find a people who not only
extract liquors from the maize, the manioc, and
bananas, but who raise a shrub of the family of the
ananas for the express purpose of converting its juice
into a spirituous liquor. This plant, the maguey
(Agave Americcma), is extensively reared as far as
the Aztec language extends. The finest plantations
of it seen by our traveller were in the valley of
Tolucca and on the plains of Cholula. It yields the
saccharine juice at the period of inflorescence only,
the approach of which is anxiously observed. Near
the latter place, and between Tolucca and Cacanu-
niacan, a maguey eight years old gives signs of de-
veloping Its flowers. The bundle of central leaves
IS now cut, the wound is graduallv enlarged and
covered with the foliage, which is drawn close and
tied at the top. In this wound the vessels seem to
deposite the juice that would naturally have gone to
expand the blossoms. It continues to run two or
three months, and the Indians draw from it three or
four times a-day. A very vigorous plant occasion-
ally yields the quantity of 454 cubic inches a-day for
four or five months. This is so much the more as-
tonishing, that the plantations are usually in the
most and and steril ground. In a good soil the
agave is ready for being cut at the age of five years-

336 WINE — SUGAR.

but in pooi land the harvest cannot be expected in
less than eighteen.

This juice or honey has an agreeable acid taste, and
easily ferments on account of the sugar and mucilage
which abound in it. This process, which is accele-
rated by adding a little old pulque, ends in three or
four days ; and the result is a liquor resembling
cider, but with a very unpleasant smell, hke that of
putrid meat. Europeans who can reconcile them-
selves to the scent, prefer the pulque to every other
liquor, and it is considered as stomachic, invigor-
ating, and nutritive. A very intoxicating brandy,
called mexical, is also obtained from it, and in some
districts is manufactured to a great extent.

The leaves of the agave also supply the place of
hemp and the papyrus of the Egyptians. The paper
on which the ancient Mexicans painted their hiero-
glyphical figures was made of their fibres, macerated
and disposed in layers. The prickles which termi-
nate them formerly served as pins and nails to the
Indians, and the priests pierced their arms and breasts
with them in their acts of expiation.

The vine is cultivated in Mexico, but in so small
a quantity that wine can hardly be considered as a
product of that country ; but the mountainous parts
of New-Spain, Guatimala, New-Grenada, and Ca-
raccas are so well adapted for its growth, that at
some future period they will probably supply the
whole of North America.

Of colonial commodities, or productions which
furnish raw materials for the commerce and manu-
facturing industry of Europe, New-Spain affords
most of those procured from the West Indies. The
cultivation of the sugar-cane has of late years been
carried to such an extent, that the exportation of
sugar from Vera Cruz amounts to more than half a
million of arrobas, or 12,680,000 lb. avoird. ; which,
at 3 piastres the arroba, are equal to 5,925.000 francs,
or 246,875/. sterling. It was conveyed by the Span-

COLONIAL C03IMODITIES. 337

iards from the Canary Islands into St. Domingo, from
whence it was subsequently carried into Cuba and
the province just named. Althoug^h the mean tem-
perature best suited to it is 75° or 77°, it may yet be
successfully reared in places of which the annual
warmth does not exceed 66'^ or 68° ; and as on great
table-lands the heat is increased by the reverbera-
tion of the earth, it is cultivated in Mexico to the
height of 4921 feet, and in favourable exposures
thrives even at an elevation of 6562. The greatest
part of the sugar produced in New- Spain is con-
sumed in the country, and the exportation is very
insignificant compared with that of Cuba, Jamaica,
or St. Domingo.

Cotton, flax, and hemp are not extensively laised,
and very little coffee is used in the coimtry. Cocoa,
vanilla, jalap, and tobacco are cultivated ; but of the
latter there is a considerable importation from Ha-
vana. Indigo is not produced in sufficient quantity
for home consumption.

Since the middle of the sixteenth centur}'', oxen,
horses, sheep, and hogs, introduced by the con-
querors, have multiplied surprisingly in all parts of
New-Spain, and more especially in the vast savannas
of the pi'ovincias inlernas. The exportation of hides
is considerable, as is that of horses and mules.

Our common poultry have only of late years begun
to thrive in Mexico ; but there is a great variety of
native gallinaceous birds in that countr}', such as the
turkey, the hocco or curassow {Crax nigra, C.globice-
ra, C. ;)aMxO, penelopes, and pheasants. The Guinea-
fowl and common duck are also reared ; but the
goose is nowhere to be seen in the Spanish colonies.

The cultivation of the silkworm has never been
extensively tried, although many parts of that con-
tinent seem favourable to it. An enormous quantity
of wax is consumed in the festivals of the church;
and notwithstanding that a large proportion is col-
lected in the country, much is imported from Ha-

Ff

338 METALS OF THE ANCIENT MEXICANS.

vana. Cochineal is obtained to a considerable
amount.

Although pearls were formerly found in great
abundance in various parts of America, the fisheries
have now almost entirely ceased. The western
coast of Mexico abounds in cachalots or spermaceti
whales {Physeter macrocephalus) ; but the natives
have hitherto left the pursuit of these animals to
Europeans.

CHAPTER XXVI.

Mines of New-Spain.

Milling Districts — Metalliferous Veins and Beds — Geological Relations
of the Ores— Produce of the Mines— Recapitulation.

The mines of Mexico have of late years engaged
the attention and excited the enterprise of the Eng-
lish in a more than ordinary degree. The subject
is therefore one of much interest ; but as later in-
formation maybe obtained in several works, and es-
pecially in Ward's " Mexico in 1827," it is unneces-
sary to follov/ our author in all his details.

Long before the voyage of Columbus, the natives
of Mexico were acquainted with the uses of several
metals, and had made considerable proficiency in the
various operations necessary for obtaining them in
a pure state. Cortes, in the historical account of
his expedition, states that gold, silver, copper, lead,
and tin were publicly sold in the great market of
Tenochtitlan. In all the large towns of Anahuac
gold and silver vessels were manufactured ; and the
foreigners, on their first advance to Tenochtitlan,
could not refrain from admiring the ingenuity of the
Mexican goldsmiths. The Aztec tribes extracted

MINING DISTRICTS. 339

lead and tin from the veins of Tlacheo, and obtained
cinnabar from the mines of Chilapan. From copper
found in the mountains of ZacotoUan and Cohuixico
they manufactured their arms, axes, chisels, and
other implements. With the use of iron they seem
to have been unacquainted ; but tliey contrived to
give the requisite hardness to their tools by mixing
a portion of tin with the copper of which they were
composed.

At the period when Humboldt visited New-Spain,
it contained nearly 500 places celebrated for the me-
tallic treasures in their vicinity, and comprehending
nearly 3000 mines. These were divided into 37 dis-
tricts, under the direction of an equal number of
councils {Diputaciones de mineria), as follows : —

I. Intendancy of Guanaxuato.
1. Mining District ofGuanaxuato.

n. Intendancy of Zacatecas.

2. Zacatecas, I 4. Fresnillo,

3. Sombrerete, I 5. Sierra de Pinos.

III. Intendancy of San LuisPotosi.
9. Ojocaliente,

10. San Nicolas de Croix.

6. Catorce,

7. Potosi,

8. Charcas,

IV. Intendancy of Mexico.

11. Pachuca, I 15. Zacnalpan,

12. El Doctor, I 16. Sultejiec,

13. Zuriapan, 1 17. Temastaltepec.

14. Tasco, I

v. Intendancy of Guadalaxar a.

18. Bolanos, I 20. Hostotipaijuillo.

19. Asientosde Ibarra, |

VI. Intendancy of Thtrango.

21. Chihuahua, 24. Cosiguiriachi,

22. Parral, 25. Batopilas.

23. Guarisamey,

VII. Intendancy of Sonora.

26. Alamos,

27. Copala,

28. Cosala,

29. San Francisco Xavier de la

Huerta,

VUI. Intendancy of Valladolid.
33. Angangueo, 1 35. Zilaquaro,

S4. Inguaran, | 36. Tialpajahua,

30. Guadalupe de la Puerta,

31. Santissitna Trinidad de Pena
Blarica,

32. San Francisco Xavier de Alisos.

340 METALLIFEROUS DEP0SITE3.

IX. Intendancy of Oaxaca.
37. Oaxaca.

X. Intendancy of Fuebla,
Several Mines.

XI. Intendancy of Vera Cruz.
'i'hree Mines.

XII. Old CaUfornia.
One Mine.

In the present state of the country the veins are
the most productive, and the minerals disposed in beds
or masses are very rare. The former are chiefly
in primitive or transition rocks, rarely in second-
ary deposites. In the old continent, granite, gneiss,
and mica-slate form the central ridges of the moun-
tain-chains ; but in the cordilleras of America these
rocks seldom appear externally, being covered by
masses of porphyry, greenstone, amygdaloid, basalt,
and other trap-formations. The coast of Acapulco
is composed of granite ; and as we ascend towards
the table-land of Mexico, we see it pierce the por-
phyry for the last time between Zumpango and So-
pilote. Farther to the east, in the province of Oa-
xaca, granite and gneiss are visible in the high plains
which are of great extent, traversed by veins of
gold.

Tin has not yet been observed in the granites of
Mexico. In the mines of Comarya syenite contains
a seam of silver ; while the vein of Guanaxuato, the
richest in America, crosses a primitive clay-slate
passing into talc-slate. The porphyries of Mexico
are for the most part eminently rich in gold and
silver. They are all characterized by the presence
of hornblende and the absence of quartz. Common
felspar is of rare occurrence, but the glassy variety
is frequently observed in them. The rich gold mine
of Villalpando, near Guanaxuato, traverses a por-
phyry, of which the basis is allied to clinkstone, and
in which hornblende is extremely rare. The veins
of Zuriapan intersect porphyries, having a green-
stone basis, and contain a great variety of interest-

MINES OF MEXICO. 341

ing minerals, such as fibrous zeolite, stilbite, gratn-
matite, pycnite, native sulphur, fluor, barytas, corky
asbestus, green garnets, carbonate and chromate of
lead, orpiment, chrysoprase, and fire-opal.

Among the transition rocks, containing ores of
silver, may be mentioned the limestone of the Real
del Cardonal, Xacala, and Lomo del Toro, to the
north of Zuriapan. In Mexico graywacke is also
rich in metals.

The silver-mines of the Real de Catorce, as well
as those of El Doctor and Xaschi, near Zuriapan trav-
erse alpine limestone, which rests on a conglome-
rate with siliceous cement. In that and the Jura
limestone are contained the celebrated silver-mines
of Tasco and Teliuilotepec, in the intendancy of
Mexico ; and in these calcareous rocks the metalli-
ferous veins display the greatest wealth.

It thus appears that the cordilleras of Mexico con-
tain veins in a great variety of rocks, and that the
deposites which furnish almost all the silver exported
from Vera Cruz are primitive slate, graywacke, and
alpine limestone. The mines of Potosi, in Buenos
Ayres, are contained in primitive clay-slate, and the
richest of those of Peru in alpine limestone. Our
author here observes, that there is scarcely a variety
of rock which has not in some country been found
to contain metals, and that the richness of the veins
is for the most part totally independent of the nature
of the beds which they intersect.

Great advantage is derived in working the Mexi-
can mines, from the circumstance that the most im-
portant of them are situated in temperate regions
where the climate is favourable to agriculture. Gua-
naxuato is placed in a ravine, the bottom of which
is somewhat lower than the level of the lakes of the
valley of Mexico. Zacatecas and the Real de Ca-
torce are a little higher ; but the mildness of the
air at these towns, which are surrounded by the
richest mines in the world, is a contrast to the cold

Ff 2

342 PRODUCE OF SILVER.

and disagreeable atmosphere of the Peruvian dis-
tricts.

The produce of the Mexican mines is veiy
unequally apportioned. The 2,500,000 marks, or
1,541,015 troy pounds of silver annually exported
to Europe and Asia from Vera Cruz and Acapulco,
are drawn from a very small number. Guanaxuato,
Zacatecas, and Catorce supply more than the half;
and the vein of Guanaxuato alone yields more than
a fourth part of the whole silver of Mexico, and a
sixth of the produce of all America. The following
is the order in which the richest mines of New-Spain
are placed, with reference to the quantity obtained
from them : —

Guanaxuato, in the intendancy of the same name.
Catorce, in the inlenriancy of San Luis Potosi.
Zacatecas, in the intendancy of the same name.
Real del Monte, in the intendancy of Mexico.
Bolanos, in the intendancy of Gnadalaxara.
Guarisamey, in llie intendancy of Durango.
Sninbrerete, in the intendancy of Zacatecas.
Tasco, in the intemlancy of Mexico.
Batopilas, in the intendancy of Durango.
Zuriapan, in tlie intendancy of Mexico.
Fresnillo, in tlie intendancy of Zacatecas.
Ramos, in the intendancy of San Lnis Potosi.
Parral, in the intendancy of Durango.

The veins of Tasco, Sultepec, Tlapujahua, and
Pachuca were first wrought by the Spaniards.
Those of Zacatecas were next commenced, and that
of San Barnabe was begun in 1548. The principal
one in Guanaxuato was discovered in 1558. As the
total produce of all in Mexico, until the beginning of
the eighteenth century, never exceeded 369,844 troy
pounds of gold and silver yearly, it must be con-
cluded that during the sixteenth little energy was
employed in drawing forth their stores.

The silver extracted in the thirty-seven districts
was deposited in the provincial treasuries established
in the chief places of the intendancies ; and from
the reports of these offices the quantity furnished

PRODUCE OF GOLD. 343

by the different parts of the country may be deter-
mined. The following is an account of the receipts
of eleven of these boards from the year 1785 to
1789 :—

Marks of Silver.

Guanaxuato 2.4()y,000

San LulsPotosi 1.51.5,000

Zacatecas 1 ,205,000

Mexico 1,055.000

Durango 922,000

Ro.sario 668,000

Giiacialiixara 509,000

Pachuea 455,000

Bolaiios 364,000

Sombrerete 320,000

Zuriapan 248,000

Sum for five years.. .9,730,000=5,997,633 troy pounds.

The mean produce of the mines of New-Spain,
including the northern part of New-Biscay and those
of Oaxaca, is estimated at above 1,541,015 troy
pounds of silver, — a quantity equal to two-thirds of
what is annually extracted from the whole globe,
and ten times as much as is furnished by all the
mines of Europe.

On the other hand, the produce of the Mexican
mines in gold is not much greater than those of
Hungary and Transylvania ; amounting in ordinary
years only to 4315 troy pounds. In the former it is
chiefly extracted from river-deposites bj' washing.
Auriferous alluvia are common in the province of •
Sonora, and a great deal of gold has been collected
among the sands with which the bottom of the val-
ley of the Rio Hiaqui, to the east of the missions
of Tarahumara, is covered. Farther to the north,
in Pimeria Alta, masses of native gold weighing five
or six pounds have been found. Part of it is also
extracted from veins intersecting the primitive
mountains. Veins of this metal are most frequent
in the province of Oaxaca, in gneiss and mica-slate.
The last rock is particularly rich in the mines of
Rio San Antonio. Gold is also found pure, or

344 GOLD AND SILVER OF AMERICA.

mixed with silver-ore, in most of those which have
been wrought in Mexico.

The silver supplied by the Mexican veins is ex-
tracted from a great variety of minerals. Most of it
is obtained from sulphuretted silver, arsenical gray-
copper, muriate of silver, prismatic black silver-ore,
ind red silver-ore. Pure or native silver is of com-
paratively rare occurrence.

Copper, tin, iron, lead, and mercury are also pro-
cured in New,Spain, but in very small quantities,
altliough it would appear that they might be found
to a great extent. The mercury occurs in various
deposites, in beds, in secondary formations, and in
veins traversing porphyries ; but the amount ob-
tained has never been sufficient for the process of
amalgamation.

The total value of gold and silver extracted from
the mines of America, between 1499 and 1803, is
estimated by Humboldt at 5,706,700,000 piasters, or
(valuingthe piaster at 45.4i(^.) 1,248,340,625/. sterling.

The annual produce of the mines of the New
World, at the beginning of the present century, is
estimated as follows : —

Gold Silver Value in

Muks. Marks. Dillxrs.

New-Spain 7,000 2,338,220 23,0(X),000

Peru 3,400 011,090 6,240,000

Chili 12,212 20,700 2,060,000

Buenos Ayres 2,200 481,830 4,850,000

New-Grenada 20.505 . . . 2,990,000

Brazil 29,900 . . . 4,300,000

75,217 3,460,840 43,500,000

Valuing the dollar at is. 3d., the total annual produce
would be 9,243,750/.*

* According to Mr. Ward (Mexico in 1827, vol. ii. p. 38^, the annual
average produce of the Mexican mines, before the revolution in 1810,
amounted lo 24.000.000 dollars, or 5,250,00(1/ , and the average exports to
22,000,000, or 4,S12.500Z ; but siiice the revolution the produce has been
reduced to 11,000,000 dollars, or 2,406.250/., whde the exports in specie
have averaged 13,587,052 dollars, or 2,970,19,8/. each year. This reduc-
tion, it is unnecessary to say, has been causud by the uuiiettled state of.

RECAPITULATION. 345

To conclude our brief account of Humboldt's Po-
litical Essay on New-Spain, it may be useful to pre-
sent a few of the more interesting facts in the form
of a recapitulation.

Physical Aspect. — Along the centre of the coun-
try runs a chain of mountains, having a direction
from south-east to north-west, and afterward from
south to north. On the ridge or summit of this
chain are extended vast table-lands or platforms,
which gradually decline towards the temperate zone,
their absolute height within the tropics being from
7543 to 7873 feet. The declivities of the cordilleras
are wooded, while the central table-land is usually

the country, the emioration of the old Spaniards, and the withdrawing
of the funds wliich kept the mines in operation. In 1812, according to
the same authority, the coinage had fallen to four and a half millions of
dollars. It ro,se successively tn six, nine, eleven, and twelve millions,
which was the amount in 1819 in the capital alone. In 1820 the revolu-
tion in Spain caused a considerable fluctuation, and the coinage fell to
10,406,154 dollars. In 1821, when the separation from the mother-
country became inevitable, the coinage sank to five millions ; from which
it fell to three and a halt", and continued in that state during 1823 and
1824. In 1825 the foreign capitals invested began to produce some effect ;
but in 1826 the total amount of coinage in the five mints of the Me.\.ican
republic did not e.xceed 7,463,300 dollars, or 1,632,594/.

In 1827, seven English companies, one German, and two American
were employed in working mines in diiferent parts of Mexico.

ENGLISH COMPANlliS.

1. The Real del Monte Company, Captain Vetch director, with an in-
vested capital of 400,000/.

2. The Bolanos Company, Captains Vetch and Lyon directors, with a
capital of 150,000/.

3. Tlalpujahua Company, Mr. De Rivafinola director, with a capital
of 180,000/.

4. Anglo-Me.\ican Company, Mr. Williamson director ; capital
800,000/. *^

5. United Mexican Companv ; directors, Don Lucas Alaman, Mr.
Glennie, and Mr. A£assis ; capital 800,000/.

6. The Mexican Company.

7. Catorce Company, Mr. Stokes director ; invested capital not above
fiO.OOO/.

At this period nearly three millions sterling of British capital were
invested in the Mexican mines, or had been expended in enterprises im-
mediately connected with them. The sudden change of feeling with
respect to the.se adventures which took place in England in 1826 had
nearly put a stop to the operations commenced with so much energy ;
but confidence having been in some measure restored, it may be l.oped
that the mining companies will yei prove of great advantage both to
Britain and to Mexico.

346 RECAPITULATION.

bare. In the equinoctial region the different climates
rise, as it were, one above another from the shore,
where the mean temperature is about 78°, to the
central plains, wTiere it is about 62°.

Population. — The whole population is estimated
at 5,840,000, of which 4,500,000 are Indians, 1,000,000
Creoles, and 70,000 European Spaniards.

Agriculture. — The banana, manioc, maize, wheat,
and potatoes constitute the principal food of the
people. The maguey or agave may be considered
as the Indian vine. Sugar, cotton, vanilla, cocoa,
indigo, tobacco, wax, and cochineal are plentifully
produced. Cattle are abundant on the great savannas
in the interior.

Mines. — The annual produce in gold is 4289 lb.
troy; in silver, 1,439,832 lb. ; in all, 23,000,000 of
piasters (5,031,250/.), or nearly half the quantity
annually extracted from the mines of America.
The mint of Mexico furnished from 1690 to 1803
more than 1,353,000,000 piasters (295,968,750/.),
and from the discovery of New-Spain to the com-
mencement of the nineteenth century, probably
2,028,000,000 piasters (443,625,000/.). Three mining
districts, Guanaxuato, Zacatecas, and Catorce, yield
nearly half of all the gold and silver of New-Spain.

Manufactures. — The value of the produce of the
manufacturing industry of New-Spain is estimated
at 7,000,000 or 8,000^000 of piasters (valuing the
piaster of exchange at 3^. Vnd., 1,152,083/. to
1,316,667/.). Cotton and woollen cloths, cigars,
soda, soap, gunpowder, and leather are the principal
articles manufactured.

It is scarcely necessary to add, that the regions
of America, which at tlie time of Humboldt's visit
were Spanish colonies, have, after a series of san-
guinary struggles, excited by tiie real or imagined
grievances under which the inhabitants laboured,
now succeeded in acquiring independence. This con-
dition is more suitable than subjection to a remote

RETURN TO EUROPE. 347

power, protracted beyond the period at which such
settlements are themselves fit to become empires.
With colonies it is in some degree as with children.
They receive the* protection necessary for their
growth, and obey at first from weakness and at-
tachment ; but beyond the stage at which they ac-
quire a right to think for themselves, the attempt to
perpetuate subordination necessarily excites a hatred
which eflfectually quenches the feeble gratitude that
man, in any condition, is capable of cherishing. The
political divisions of America, — the land of republi-
can principles, — are foreign to our object, and would
require a more particular description than they
could receive in this volume.

CHAPTER XXVII.

Passage from Vera Cruz to Cuba and Philadelphia,
and Voyage to Europe.

Departure from Mexico — Passage to Havana and PhiladeJphia — Return
to Europe — Results of the Journeys in America.

Leaving the capital of New-Spain, our travellers
descended to the port of Vera Cruz, which is situ-
ated among sand-hills, in a burning and unhealthy
climate. They happily escaped the yellow-fever, —
which prevails there, and attacks persons who have
arrived from the elevated districts as readily as Eu-
ropeans who have come by sea, — and embarked in a
Spanish frigate for Havana, where they had left
part of their specimens. They remained there two
months ; after which they set sail for the United
States, on their passage to which they encountered
a violent storm that lasted seven days. Arriving
at Philadelphia, and afterward visiting Washington,

348 RESULTS OF THE JOURNEYS

they spent eight weeks in that interesting country,
for the purpose of studying its pohtical constitution
and commercial relations. In August, 1804, they
returned to Europe, carrying with them the exten-
sive collections which they had made during their
perilous and fatiguing journeys.

The results of this expedition, conducted with so
much courage and zeal, have been of the highest
importance to science. With respect to natural his-
tory, it may be stated generally, that the mass of in-
formation already laid before the public, as obtained
from the observation of six years, exceeds any thing
that had been presented by the most successful cul-
tivators of the same field during a whole lifetime.
Much light has been thrown on the migrations and
relations of the indigenous tribes of America, their
origin, languages, and manners. The Vucs des Cor-
dillieres el Monumens des Peuples indigenes de FAtne-
rique, 2 vols, folio, published in 1811, contains the
fruit of researches into the antiquities of Mexico
and Peru, together with the description of the more
remarkable scenes of the Andes. It has been trans-
lated into English by Mrs. H. M. Williams. The
animals observed have been described in a work en-
titled Recueil d^ Observations de Zoologie eld'' Anatomie
Comparees, faites dans tin Voyage aux Tropiques, 2
vols. 4to.

In the department of botany the most important
additions have been made to science. Our travel-
lers brought with them to Europe an herbarium con-
sisting of more than 6000 species of plants, and
Bonpland's botanical journal contained descriptions
of four thousand. The valuable works on this sub-
ject that have appeared in consequence of the jour-
ney to America form a new era in the history of
botany. They are as follow : —

1. Essai sur la Geographie des Plantes, ou Tableau-
Physique des Regions Equinoxiales, fonde sur des Ob-
servations et des Mesures faites depuis le lOme degre-

IN AMERICA. 349

de latitude australe, jusq'au lOme degre de latitude
ooreale. 4to.

7' r?' /'^^^'^■^ Equinoxiales Recueillies au Mexique, dans
I lie de Cuba, dans les Provinces de Caracas, de Cu-
mana, &c. 2 vols. fol.

3. Monographic des Melastomes. 2 vols. fol.

4. Nova Genera et Species Plantarum. 3 vols. fol.

, ^- f^(^ Di^tnbutione Geographtca Plantarum secun-
dum LcRli Temperiem et Altitudmem Montium proleso-
inena. 8vo. °

The Essay on the Geography of Plants presents a
general view of the vegetation, zoology, geological
constitution, and other circumstanced, of the equi-
noctial region of the New Continent, from the level
of the sea to the highest summits of the Andes
The second work is by M. Bonpland, and contains
methodical descriptions, in Latin and French, of the
species observed ; together with remarks on their
medicinal properties and their uses in the arts The
Monography of the Melastomas, which is also from
the pen of M. Bonpland, contains upwards of 150
species of these plants, with others collected bv M
Richard m the West Indies and French Guiana '
In his Essai Geognostwue sur le Gisement des Roches
dans les deux Himispheres, published in 1826, and
translated into English, Humboldt presents a table
ot all the formations known to geologists, and insti-
tutes a comparison between the rocks of the Old
Continent and those of the cordillera of the Andes
. Ihe astronomical treatises have been published
m two quarto volumes, under the title of Recueil
d Observations Astronomiques et de Mesures executees
dans leNouveau Continent. This work contains the
original observations made between the 12th decree
of south latitude and the 41st degree of north lati-
tude transits of the sun and stars over the meridian,
occull^ations of satellites, eclipses, &c. ; a treatLe
on astronomical refractions under the torrid zone
considered as the effect of the decrement of caloric

Gg

350 RESULTS OP THE JOURNEYS IN AMERICA.

in the strata of the atmosphere ; the barometric
measurement of the Andes of Mexico, Venezuela,
Quito, and New-Grenada ; together with a table of
nearly 700 geographical positions. The greatest
pains have been taken to verify the calculations.
Our author presented to the Bureau des Longitudes his
astronomical observations on the lunar distances and
the eclipses of Jupiter's satellites, together with the
barometrical elevations, which have been calculated
and verified by M. Prony according to the formulae
of La Place.

In 1817 Humboldt laid before the Academie des
Sciences his map of the Orinoco, exhibiting the junc-
tion of that river with the Amazon by means of the
Casiquiare and Rio Negro.

The brief account of New-Spain, which is pre-
sented in the preceding pages has been extracted
from the Essai Politique sur la Noiwelle Espagne,
originally published in 2 vols. 4to., and translated
into English. With respect to Humboldfs transla-
tors it may be I'emarked, that their want of scientific
knowledge, and more especially of natural history,
renders the English very much inferior to the French
editions.

Most of the above-mentioned publications have
appeared in the names of both travellers. The
various works relating to the journey will make,
when complete, twelve volumes in quarto, three in
folio, two collections of geoaraphical designs, and
one of picturesque views. The detailed narrative
of the expedition occupies four of these volumes ;
but an octavo edition has also been published, under
the title of Voyage aux Eegio7}s Eqiiinoxiales du Nou-
veau Continent, pendant les annees 1799, 1800, 1801,
1802, 1803, et 1804. The translation of this work by
Mrs. Williams is familiar to the English reader.

The labour necessary for reducing the observa-
tions made by our travellers to a condition fit for the
public eye must have been very great ; yet, pos-

bonpland's captivitv. 351

sessed of a mind not less characterized by activity
than the vastness of its acquirements, Humboldt in
the mean while engaged in various investigations,
which he has partly published in the foreign jour-
nals. In concert with M. Gay Lussac, with whom
he lived for several years in the most intimate
friendship, he has made numerous magnetic experi-
ments, and verified Biot's theory respecting the po-
sition of the magnetic equator. They have found
that the great mountain-chains, and even the active
volcanoes, have no appreciable influence on the mag-
netic power ; and have established the fact, that it
gradually diminishes as we recede from the equator.
On the return of the philosophers irom America,
Bonpland was appointed by Bonaparte to the office
of superintending the gardens at Malmaison, where
the Empress Josephine, who was passionately fond
of flowers, had formed a splendid collection of ex-
otics. His amiable disposition, not less than his ac-
quirements, procured for him the esteem of all who
knew him. ' In 1818 he went to Buenos Ayres as
professor of natural history. In 1820 he under-
took an excursion to the interior of Paraguay ; but
when he arrived at St. Anne, on the eastern bank of
the Parana, where he had established a colony of In-
dians, he was unexpectedly surrounded by a large
body of soldiers, who destroyed the plantation and
carried him oft' a prisoner. This was done by the
orders of Dr. Francia, the ruler of Paraguay ; and
the only reason assigned was his having planted the
tea-tree pecuUar to that country, and which forms a
valuable article of exportation. He was confined
chiefly in Santa Martha, but was allowed to practise
as a physician. Humboldt applied in vain for the
liberation of his friend, for whom he appears to have
cherished a sincere affection. According to a late
report, however, he has obtained his liberty, and re-
turned to Buenos Ayres.

In October, 1818, our author was in London,

352 ASIATIC JOURNEY.

where it was said that the allied powers had re-
quested him to draw up a political view of the South
American colonies. In November of the same year
the King of Prussia granted him an annual pension
of 12,000 dollars, with the view of facilitating the
execution of a plan which he had formed of visiting
Asia, and especially the mountains of Thibet. In
the year 1822 he accompanied his majesty to the
congress of Verona, and afterward visited Venice,
Rome, and Naples ; and, in 1827 and 1828, delivered
at Berlin a course of lectures on the physical con-
stitution of the globe, which was attended by the
royal family and the court. But, excepting the re-
sults of his investigations, which have appeared at
intervals, we have no particular account of his occu-
pations until 1829, when he undertook another im-
portant journey to the Uralian Mountains, the fron-
tiers of China, and the Caspian Sea.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Journey to Asia.

Brief Account of Humboldt's Journey to Asia, with a Sketch of the Four
great Chains of IMountains which intersect the Central Part of that
Continent.

No detailed narrative has yet been published of
Humboldt's journey to Asiatic Russia ; and the only
sources of authentic information on the subject are
to be found in a work lately printed at Paris, under
the title of Fragmens de Geologic et de Climatologie
Asiatiques, par A. de Humboldt, from which the fol-
lowing particulars are extracted ; —

This illustrious traveller, accompanied by MM.
Ehrenberg and Gustavus Rose, embarked at Nijnei-

ASIATIC JOURNEY. 353

Novgorod on the Volga, and descended to Kasan and
the Tartar rnins of Bolgari. From thence he went
by Perm to Jekatherinenburg ou the Asiatic side of
the Urahan Mountains, — a vast chain composed of
several ranges running nearly parallel to each other,
of which the highest summits scarcely attain an ele-
vation of 4593 or 4920 feet, but which, like the
Andes, follows the direction of a meridian, from the
tertiary deposites in the neighbourhood of Lake
Aral to the greenstone rocks in the vicinity of the
Frozen Sea. A month was occupied in visiting the
central and northern parts of these mountains,
which abound in alluvial beds, containing gold and
platina, the malachite mines of Goumeschevskoi, the
great magnetic ridge of Blagodad, and the celebrated
deposites at Mourzinsk, in which topaz and beryl are
found. Near Nijnei-Tagilsk, a country which may
be compared to Choco in South America, a mass of
platina weighing about 2U pounds troy has been
found.

From Jekatherinenburg the travellers proceeded
by Tioumen to Tobolsk on the Irtisch, and from
thence by Tara, a steppe or desert of Baraba, which
is dreaded on account of the torments caused by
the multitudes of insects belonging to the family
of Tipidd, to Barnaoul on the banks of the Ob ; the
picturesque lake of Kolyvan; and the rich silver-
mines of Schlangenberg, Riddersk, and Zyrianovski,
situated on the south-western declivity of the Altaic
range, the highest summit of which "is scarcely so
elevated as the Peak of TeneriiTe. The mines of
Kolyvan produce annually upwards of 49,842 troy
pounds.

Proceeding southward from Riddersk to Oust-Ka-
menogosk, they passed through Boukhtarminsk to
the frontier of Chinese Zungaria. They even ob<
tained permission to cross the frontier, in order to
visit the Mongol post of Bates, or Khonimailakhou,
northward of the Lake Dzaisang. Returning from

Gg2

354 ASIATIC JOURNEY.

this place to Oust-Kamenogorsk, they found the
granite divided into nearly horizontal beds and over-
laying a slate-formation, the strata of which were
partly inclined at an angle of 85° and partly
vertical.

From Oust-Kamenogorsk they went along the
steppe of the Middle Horde of the Kirghiz, by Semi-
polatinsk and Onisk and the lines of the Ichim Cos-
sacks and Tobol, to reach the southern part of the
Ural, where, in the vicinity of Miask, in a deposite
of very small extent and at a depth of a few inches,
were found three masses of native gold, two of
which weighed 18-36 and the other 28-36 pounds
troy.

They next proceeded along the Southern Ural to
the fine quarries of green jasper at Orsk, where the
river Jaik crosses the chain from east to west. From
thence they passed by Souberlinsk to Orenburg,
which, notwithstanding its distance from the Cas-
pian Sea, is below the level of the ocean, and then
visited the famous salt-mine of Iletzki, situated in
the steppe of the Little Kirghiz Horde. They after-
ward inspected the principal place of the Ouralsk
Cossacks ; the German colonies of the Saratov gov-
ernment on the left bank of the Volga ; the gi-eat salt-
lake of Elton in the steppe of the Kalmucks ; and a
fine colony of Moravians at Sarepta; and, finally, ar-
rived at Astracan. The principal objects of this
excursion to the Caspian Sea were, the chymical
analysis of its waters, which Mr. Rose intended to
make ; the observation of the barometrical heights ;
and the collection of fishes for the great work of
Barou Cuvier and M. Valenciennes.

From Astracan the travellers returned to Moscow,
by the isthmus which separates the Don and the
Volga, near Tichinskaya, and the country of the Don
Cossacks.

Of the heterogeneous materials composing the
Fragm^ns Asiatiques, part only of which is from the

VOLCANIC ACTION. 355

pen of Humboldt, the memoir on the mountain-
chains and volcanoes in the interior of Asia is the
only one which can add any interest to our pages ;
the rest being of a character too strictly scientific.
Of this paper a brief account is here given.

In our present state of knowledge volcanic phe-
nomena are not to be considered as relating peculiarly
to the science of geology, but rather as a depart-
ment of general physics. When in action they
appear to result from a permanent communication
between the interior of the globe, which is in a state
of fusion, and the atmosphere which envelopes the
hardened and oxydated crust of our planet. Masses
of lava issue like intermittent springs ; and the su-
perposition of their layers which takes place under
our eyes bears a resemblance to that of the ancient
crystalline rocks. On the crest of the cordilleras of
the New World, as well as in the south of Europe
and the western parts of Asia, an intimate connexion
is manifested between the chymical action of volca-
noes, properly so called, or those which produce
rocks, — their form and position permitting the escape
of earthy substances in a state of fusion,— and the
niud-volcanoes of vSouth America, Italy, and the Cas-
pian Sea, which at one period eject fragments of
rocks, flames, and acid vapours, and at another vomit
muddy clay, naphtha, and irrespirable gases. There
is even an obvious relation between the proper vol-
cano and the formation of beds of gypsum and an-
hydrous rock-salt, containing petroleum, condensed
hydrogen, sulphuret of iron, and, occasionally, large
masses of galena ; the origin of hot-springs ; the ar-
rangement of metallic deposites ; earthquakes, which
are ever and anon accompanied by chymical phe-
nomena; and the sometimes sudden, and the some-
times very slow elevations of certain parts of the
earth's surface.

This intimate connexion between these diversified
appearances has of late years served to elucidate

356 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

many problems in geology and physics which had
previously been considered inexplicable. The analo-
gies of observed facts, and the strict investigation
of phenomena of recent occurrence, gradually lead
us to more probable conjectures as to the events of
those remote periods which preceded historical
records. Volcanicity, or the influence which the inte-
rior of our planet exercises upon its external envelope
in the various stages of its refrigeration, on account
of the unequal aggregation in which its component
substances occur, is, at the present day, in a very
diminished condition ; restricted to a small number
of points ; intermittent ; simphfied in its chymical
eflfects ; producing rocks only around small circular
apertures, or over longitudinal cracks of small ex-
tent ; and manifesting its power, at great distances,
only dynamically, by shaking the crust of our planet
in linear directions, or in spaces which remam the
same during a great number of ages. Previous to
the existence of the human race, the action of the
interior of the globe upon the solid crust, which was
increasing in volume, must have modified the tem-
perature of the atmosphere, and rendered the whole
surface capable of giving birth to those productions
which ought to be considered as tropical, since, by
the effect of the radiation and refrigeration of the ex-
terior the relations of the earth to a central body,
the sun, began almost exclusively to determine the
diversity of geographical latitudes.

In those primeval times, also, the elastic fluids,
the volcanic powers of the interior, more energetic
perhaps, and with more facility traversing the oxi-
dated and sohdified crust of the globe, filled this crust
with crevices, and injected it with masses and veins
of basalt, metallic substances, and other matters,
introduced after the solidification of the planet had
been completed. The period of the great geologi-
cal revolutions was that when the communications
between the fluid interior of the planet and its atmo-

ON VOLCANIC ACTION. 357

sphere were more frequent, acting upon a greater
number of points, and when the tendency to establish
these conimuiucations gave rise, in the line of the
long crevices, to the cordiUeras of the Andes and
Himmaleh mountains, the chains of less elevation,
and the ridges whose undulations embellish the land-
scape of our plains. Our author then mentions, as
proofs of these protrusions, the sandstone formations
which extend from the plains of the Magdalena and
Meta, almost without interruption, over platforms
having an elevation varying from 8950 to 10,232 feet •
and the bones of antediluvian animals intermingled
on the summit of the Uralian chain of northern Asia
with transported deposites, containing gold, dia-
monds, and platina. Another evidence of this sub-
terranean action of elastic fluids, which heave up
continents, domes, and mountain-chains, displace
rocks and the organic remains which they contain,
and produce eminences and depressions, is the great
sinking of the ground which occurs in the west of
Asia, of which the Caspian Sea and the Lake Aral
form the lowest part (320 and 205 feet beneath the
level of the ocean), but which extends far into the
interior of the continent, stretching to Saratov and
Orenburg on the Jaik, and probably to the south-east
as far as the lower course of the Sihon (Jaxartes) and
the Amou (the Oxus of the ancients). This depres-
Qo^nV .1 continental mass extending to more than
320 feet below the surface of the ocean, he continues,
has not hitherto obtained the necessary considera-
tion which its importance demands, because it was
not sufficiently known. It appears to him to have an
mtimate connexion with the upheaving of the Cau-
casian Mountains, those of Hindoo-kho, and of the
elevated plain of Persia, which borders the Caspian
Sea and the Mavar-ul-Nahar to the south; and per-
haps more to the eastward, with the elevation of the
great mass of land which is designated by the varae
and mcorrect name of the central plain of Asia.

358 VOLCANO IN CENTRAL ASIA.

This concavity he considers as a crater-country,
similar to the Hipparchus, Archimedes, and Ptolemy
of the moon's surface, which have a diameter ot
more than 100 miles, and which may be rather com-
pared with Bohemia than with our volcanic cones

^"in the course of the journey which Humboldt made
in the summer of 1829 with MM. Ehrenberg and Rose,
he passed in seven weeks over the frontiers ot Chi-
nese Zmiiraria, between the forts of Oust-Kameno-
fforsk, and Bouklitarminsk, and Khonimailakhou (a
Chinese post to the north of the Lake Dzaisang), the
Cossack line of the Kirghiz steppe, and the shores
of the Caspian Sea. In the important commercial
towns of Semipolatinsk, Petropalauska, Trmtzkaia,
Orenburg, and Astracan, he obtained from Tartars,
Bucharians, and Tachkendis information respecting
the Asiatic regions in the vicinity of their native
country. At Orenburg, where caravans of several
thousand camels annually arrive, an enlightened in-
dividual, M. de Gens, has collected a mass of mate^-
rials of the highest importance for the geography ot
Central Asia. Among the numerous descriptions
of routes communicated by this person, our author
found the following remark :-" In proceeding from
Semipolatinsk to Jerkend, when we were arrived at
the Lake Ala-koul or Ala-dinghiz, a little to the north-
east of the great Lake Balkachi, ^^^^^fh receives the
waters of the Ele, we saw a very high mountain
which formerly vomited fire. Even now this mouii-
S; which rises in the lake like a little island, oc-
casions violent storms, which incommode the cara-
vans. For this reason some sheep are sacrificed to
this old volcano by those who pass it."

This account, which was obtained from a Tartar
who travelled at the commencement of the present
century, excited a Uvely interest in our author, more
especial as it brought to ^ind the burning volc^a-
noes of the interior of Asia, made known through

MOUNTAIN-CHAINS. 359

the researches of Abel Remusat and Klaproth in
Chinese books, and whose great distance from the
sea has excited so much surprise. Soon after his
departure from Petersburg he received from M. de
Klosterman, imperial director of police at Semipola-
tinsk, the following particulars, which were obtained
from Bucharians and Tachkendis : —

"The route from Semipolatinsk to Kouldja is
twenty-five days. It passes by the mountains Ala-
chan and Rondegatay, in the steppe of the Middle
Horde of the Kirghiz, the borders of the lake Savan-
de-koul, the Tarbagatai mountains in Zungaria, and
the fiver Emyl. When it has been traversed, the
road unites with that which leads from Tehougeut-
chak to the province of Ele. From the banks of the
Emyl to the lake Ala-koid the distance is 39| miles.
The Tartars estimate the distance of this lake from
Semipolatinsk at 301 miles. It is to the right of the
road, and extends from east to west 66i miles. In the
midst of this lake rises a very high mountain, named
Aral-toube. From this to the Chinese post, situated
between the httle lake Janalache-koul and the river
Baratara, on the banks of which reside Kalmucks, are
reckoned 36 miles."

It is evident that the same mountain is alluded to
in both these accounts ; and with the view of con-
necting it with the volcanoes discovered by Klaproth
and Abel Remusat, mentioned in very ancient Chinese
books as existing in the interior of Asia to the north
and south of Teen-shan, our author presents an ac-
count of the geography of this interesting region.

The middle and internal part of Asia, which forms
neither an immense aggregate of hills nor a contin-
uous platform, is intersected from east to west by
four great systems of mountains, which have exer-
cised a decided influence upon the movements of na-
tions. These systems are, 1. The Altaic, which is
terminated to the west by the mountains of the
Kirghiz ; 2. Teen-shan ; 3. Kwanlun ; and, 4. The

360 ALTAIC SYSTEM.

Himmaleh chain. Between the Altaic range and
Teen-shan are Zungaria and the basin of the Ele ;
between Teen-shan and Kwan-hin, Little or Upper
Bucharia, or Cashgar, Yarkand, Khoten, or Yu-thian,
the great desert, Toorfan, Khamil, and TangOut, or
the Northern Tangout of the Chinese, which must
not be confounded with Thibet or Sefan. Lastly,
between Kwan-lun and the Himmaleh are Eastern
and Western Thibet, in which are Lassa and Ladak.
Were the three elevated plains situated between the
Altai, Teen-shan, Kwan-lun, and the Himmaleh to
be indicated by the position of three alpine lakes, we
might select for this purpose those of Balkachi, Lop,
and Tengri, which correspond to the plains of Zun-
garia, Tangout, and Thibet.

I. System of the Altai. — It surrounds the sources
of the Irtisch and Jenisei or Rem. To the east it
takes the name of Tangnou ; between the lakes Ros-
sogol and Baikal, that of the Sayanian Mountains ; be-
yond this it takes the name of Upper Kentai, and the
Davourian Mountains ; and, lastly, to the north-east
it connects itself with the Jablonnoikhrebet chain,
Khingkhan, and the Aldan mountains, which advance
along the Sea of Ochotzk. The mean latitude of its
prolongation from east to west is between 50° and 51°
30'. The Altaic range, properly so called, scarcely
occupies seven degrees of longitude ; but the north-
ern part of the mountains, surrounding the great
mass of elevated land in the interior of Asia, and oc-
cupying the space comprised between 48° and 51°,
is considered as belonging to this system, because
simple names are more easily retained by the mem-
ory, and because that of A'ltai is more known to
Europeans by its great metalhc richness, which
amounts annually to 45,907 troy pounds of silver, and
1246 troy pounds of gold. The Altaic mountams are
not a chain forming the boundary of a country like
the Himmaleh, which limit the elevated plain of Thi-
bet, and have a rapid slope only on the side next to

TEEN-SHAN MOUNTAINS. 361

India, which is lower. The plains in the neighbour-
hood of the lake Balkachi have not an elevation of
more than 1920 feet above the sea.

Between the meridians of Oust-Kamenogorsk and
Semipolatinsk tlie Altaic system is prolonged, from
east to west under the parallels of 49 and 50 degrees,
by a chain of low mountains, over an extent of 736
miles, as far as the steppe of the Kirghiz. This ridge
has been elevated through a fissure which forms the
line of separation of the streams of the Sara-sou and
Irtisch, and which regularly follows the same direc-
tion over an extent of 16 degrees of longitude. It
consists of stratified granites not intermixed with
gneiss, and of greenstone, porphyry, jasper, and tran-
sition-limestone, in which there occur various me-
tallic substances. This low range does not reach
the southern extremity of the Ural, a chain which,
like the Andes, presents a lojig wall running north
and south, with metallic mines on its eastern slope,
but terminates abruptly in the meridian of Sverino-
govloskoi.

Here commences a remarkable region of lakes,
comprising the group of Balek-koul (lat. 51° 30'),
and that of Koumkoul (lat. 49° 45'), indicating an
ancient communication of a mass of water -with the
lake Ak-sakal, which receives the Tourgai and the
Kamichloi Irghiz, as well as with the lake Aral;
and which would seem from Chinese accounts to
have formed part of a great plain extending to the
borders of the Frozen Sea.

2. System of Teen-shan. — The mean latitude of
this system is the 42d degree. Its highest summit
is perhaps the mass of mountains covered with per-
petual snow, and celebrated under the name of
Bokhda-ovla, from which Pallas gave the designation
of Bogdo to the whole chain. From Bokhda-ovla
and Khatoun-bokhda, the Teen-shan mountains run
eastward towards Bar-koul, where they are suddenly
lowered so as to fall to the level of the elevated

Hh

362 TEEN-SHA?? MOUNTAINS.

desert, called the Great Gobi or Cha-mo, which ex-
tends from Koua-tcheou, a Chinese town, to the
sources of the Argoun. If we now return to Bokhdo-
ovla, we find the western prolongation of these
mountains stretching- to Goudja and Koutche, then
between lake Temoustou and Aksou to the north
of Cashgar, and running towards Samarcand. The
country comprehended between the Altaic chain and
the Teen-shan mountains is shut up to the east,
beyond the meridian of Pekin, by the Khingkhan-
ovla, a lofty ridge, which runs from south-west to
north-east ; but to the west it is. entirely open.

The case is very different with the country limited
by the second and third systems, the Teen-shan and
Kwan-lun ranges ; it being closed to the west by a
transverse ridge, which runs north and souths under
the name of Bolor or Belour-tagh. This chain
separates Little Bucharia from Great Bucharia, the
country of Cashgar, Badakshan, and Upper Djihoun.
Its southern part, which is connected with the Kwan-
lun system, forms a part of the Tsungling of the
Chinese. To the north it joins the chain which
passes to the north-west of Cashgar. Between
Khokand, Dervagel, and Hissar, consequently be-
tween the still unknown sources of the Sihon and
Amou-deria, the Teen-shan rises before lowering
again in the Kanat of Bochara, and presents a group
of high mountains, several of which are covered
with snow even in summer. More to the east it is
less elevated. The road from Semipolatinsk to
Cashgar passes to the east of lake Balkachi and to
the west of lake Ossi-koul, and crosses the Narim,
a tributaiy of the Sihon. At the distance of 69 i
miles from the Narim to the south, it passes over
the Rovat, which has a large cave, and is the highest
point before arriving at the Chinese post to the south
of the Ak-sou, the village of Artuche, and Cashgar.
This city, which is built on the banks of the Ara-

KWAN-LUN SYSTEM. 363

tumen, lias 15,000 houses and 80,000 inhabitants,
although it is smaller than Samarcand.

The western prolongation of the Teen-shan or
the Mouz-tagh, is deserving of particular examina-
tion. At the point where the Bolor or Belour-tagh
joins the Mouz-tagh at right angles, the latter con-
tinues to run without interruption from east to west,
under the name of Asferah-tagh, to the south of the
Sihon, towards Kodjend and Ourat-eppeh in Fer-
ganah. This chain of Asferah, which is covered
Avith perpetual snow, separates the sources of the
Sihon (Jaxartes) from those of the Amou (Oxus). It
turns to the south-west nearly in the meridian of
Kodjend, and in this direction" is named, till it ap-
proaches Samarcand, Aktagh, or Al-Botous. More
to the west, on the fertile banks of the Kohik, com-
mences the vast depression of ground comprising
Great Bucharia and the country of Mavar-ul-Nahar ;
but beyond the Caspian Sea, nearly in the same
latitude and in the same direction as the Teen-shan
range, is seen the Caucasus with its porphyries and
trachytes. It may, therefore, be considered as a
continuation of the fissure upon which the Teen-shan
is raised in the «ast, just as, to the west of the great
fnass of mountains of Adzarbaidjan and Armenia,
Mount Taurus is a continuation of the action of the
fissure of the Himmaleh and Hindoo-Coosh moun-
tains.

3. Kican-lun Si/stem. — The Kwan-lun or Koul-koun
chain is between Khoten, the mountains of Khou-
khou-noor and Eastern Thibet, and the country
named Katchi. It commences to the west at the
Tsung-ling mountains. It is connected with the
transverse chain of Bolor, as observed above, and,
according to the Chinese books, forms its southern
part. This corner of the globe, between Little Thi-
bet and the Boda Kohan, is very little known,
although it is rich in rubies, lapis lazuli, and mineral

364 HIMMALEH MOUNTAINS.

turquois ; and, according to recent accounts, the plain
of Khorassan, which runs in the direction of Herat,
and limits the Hindoo-kho to the north, appears to
be rather a continuation of the Tsungling and of the
whole system of Kwan-lun to the west, than a pro-
longation of the Himmalehs, as is commonly sup-
posed. From the Tsung-ling the Kwan-lun, or Koul-
koun range, runs from west to east towards the
sources of the Hoang-ho or Yellow River, and
penetrates with its snov\'y summits into Chen-si, a
province of China. Nearly in the meridian of these
springs rises the great mass of mountains on the
lake Khoukhou-noor, resting to the north upon the
snowy chain of the Nanshan or Ki-leen-shan, which
also runs from west to east. Between Nanshan and
Teen-shan, the heights of Tangout limit the margin
of the upper desert of Gobi, or Cha-mo, which is
prolonged from south-west to north-east. The
latitude of the central part of the Kwan-lun range is
35° 30'.

4. Himmaleh System. — This system separates the
valleys of Cashmere and Nepaul from Bootan and
Thibet. To the west it rises in the mountain Ja-
vaher to an elevation of 25,746 feet, and to the east
in Dhwalagiri to 28,074 feet above the level of the
sea. Its general direction is from north-west to
south-east, and thus it is not at all panllel to the
Kwanlun range, to which it approaches so near in the
meridian of Attok and .Tellalabad that they seem to
form the same mass of mountains. Following the
Himmaleh range eastward, we find it bordering
Assam on the north, containing the sources of the
Brahmapoutra, passing through the northern part of
Ava, and penetrating into Yun-nan, a province of
China, to the west of Young-tchang. It there ex-
hibits pointed and snow-clad summits. It bends
abruptly to tlie north-east, on the confines of Hou-
kouang, Kiang-si, and Foukian, and advances its

VOLCANIC ELEVATION OF CHAINS. 365

5no\vy peaks towards the ocean ; the island of For-
mosa, the mountains of which are in hke manner
covered during the greater part of summer, bein<r its
termmation. Thus we may follow the Himmaleh
system as a continuous chain from the Eastern
Ocean, through Hindoo-kho, across Candahar and
Khorassan, to beyond the Caspian Sea in -idzar-
baidjan, along an extent of 73 degrees, or half the
length of the Andes. The western extremity, which
IS volcanic (hke the eastern part), loses its character
ot a Cham in the mountains of Armenia, which are
connected with Sangalou, Binglieul, and Kachmir-
daugh, in the pachalic of Erzeroum. The mean
direction of the system is north 55° west

These mountain-chains, with their various rami-
fications and intervening platforms and valleys af-
ford evidence to our author of revolutions anciently
undergone by the crust of the globe ; these haS
been elevated by matter thrust up in the line of
enormous cracks and fissures. The great denressinn
of Central Asia, spoken of above, hrconsfders ?s
haying been caused by the same action. Analo 'ous
to the Caspian Sea and other cavities in this d strict
are the lakes formed in Europe at the foot of he
Alps and which also owe their origin to a sinking
of the ground It is chiefly in the^ ex ent o? t if
depression of Central Asia, and consequeiSy m the
space where the resistance was least, that we find
traces of volcanic action. Several volcanoes a?e
described in this space by ancient Chinese writers
who also mention a variety of volcanic product
such as sal ammoniac and sulphur, which form art des
of commerce. >"niidiucies

"We thus know," says our author, " in the interior
IS upwards of 2500 square geographical miles anri
sea. It mis the half of the longitudinal vallev sit-

Hh2

366 VOLCANIC REGION OF CENTRAL ASIA.

uated between the first and second system of moun-
tains. The principal seat of volcanic action appears
to be in the Teen-shan. Perhaps the colossal
Bokhda-ovla is a trachytic formation, like Chimbo-
razo." On both sides of the Teen-shan violent
earthquakes occur. The city of Aksou was entirely
destroyed at the commencement of the eighteenth
century by a commotion of this nature. In Eastern
Siberia the centre of the circle of shocks appears
to be at Irkutzk, and in the deep basin of the Baikal
lake, in the vicinity of which volcanic products are
observed. But this point of the Altaic range is the
extreme limit of these phenomena, no earthquakes
having been experienced farther to the west, in the
plains of Siberia, between the Altaic and Uralian
ranges, or in any part of the latter.

The volcanic territory of Bichbalik is to the east
of the great depression of Asia. To the south and
west of tliis internal basin we find two cones in ac-
tivity,— Demavend, which is visible from Teheran,
and Seiban of Ararat, which is covered with vitreous
lavas. On both sides of the isthmus between the
Caspian and the Black Sea springs of naphtha and
mud-eruptions are numerous.

On the western margin of the great depression, if
we proceed from the Caucasian isthmus to the north
and north-west, we arrive at the territory of the
great horizontal and tertiary deposites of Southern
Russia and Poland. Here we find igneous rocks
piercing the red'Sandstone of .lekaterinoslav, together
Avith asphaltum and springs impregnated with sul-
phurous gases.

A phenomenon so great as that of the central de-
pression of Asia, Avhich resembles tlie circular val-
leys of the moon, could have been produced only by
a very powerful cause acting in the interior of the
eartli. This cause, while forming the crust of the
globe by sudden raisings and sinkings, probably filled

CONCLUSION. 367

with metallic substances the fissures of the Urahan
and Altaic chains.

It is not the custom of our author to detail per-
sonal adventures, his object being to give a scientific
character to his narrative ; and for this reason his
relations may be less interesting to many readers
than some of the travels and voyages which have of
late been so profusely offered to the public. He is
at present engaged in preparing an account of his
Asiatic tour, the full details of which will appear
under the general title of " A Journey to the Uralian
Range, the Mountains of Kolyvan, the Frontier of
Chinese Zungaria, and the Caspian Sea, made by
Order of the Emperor of Russia, in 18-29, by A. de
Humboldt, G. Ehrenberg, and G. Rose." It will
consist of three distinct works : 1. A geological and
physical view of the north-west of Asia, observa-
tions of terrestrial magnetism, and results of astro-
nomical geography, by Baron Humboldt. 2. The
mineralogical and geological details, the results of
chymical analysis, and the narrative of the journey,
by M. Rose. 3. The botanical and zoological part,
with observations on the distribution of plants and
animals, by M. Ehrenberg.

Any formal eulogy on our illustrious author must
be altogether unnecessary, for his renown has ex-
tended over all parts of the civilized world ; and, at
the present day, there is not a man of science in
Europe whose name is more familiar. Long after
his career shall have terminated, Humboldt will be
remembered as one of the chief ornaments of an
age peculiarly remarkable in the history of the
world.

» THE END.

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iv.

It.

Kos. 1, S, 3 MUiuan's History

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J*, ii. Gleig'8 Bible History. . 2 v.

14. Oi.-iCQyery and Advoatorc
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ITess Josephine. Plat*^.. Ir.
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1 V.

1».

2v.|
2V. I

J V,
3r
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31. Description of Pitcalrn's
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32. "Turner's Sacred History- •

33. S4 Memoirs of celebrated

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35, 38. Landijrs' Africa =

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il, •Ji. ju... -J, Frederic IT. King
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67. Mudie's Guide to th? Ob-
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58. iauies'LiifeofC'
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3 V.

2v.|

IT.

Iv.
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^

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... IV;

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:lv.

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L>