The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-09-10

a march of three hours across the MalIays they
reached the foot of the Sugar-loaf, which was 30
steep that they were compelled TO climb IL by an
| old current of lava, and, on gaining the summit,
! they could hardly stand for the violence OF the
west wind. The crater surrounded by
| parapet of lava, aud through breach in its
wall the travellers we're enabled to approach the
funnel which was about three hundred feet
across in its widest part. The heat was percep-
! tible only ut u few crevices, which gave vent to
! aqueous vapors and n buzzing sound. The view
/ from this height very fine, and the atmo-
! sphere had now crown so transparent that they
| could even distinguish the different shades of
vegetation. and the vessels at anchor in the port
of Orotava. On their return they saw hocks of
canaries of brilliant green color
On June % the Pizarro left Santa Cruz and
sailed for South America. North of the Cape de
Verde Islands they saw masses of the tropic
grape, which grows ON submarine rocks forty
degrees north and south of the equator. From
the twentv-second degree they found the sea
alive with hymg-llsh which threw themselves
eighteen feet out of the water, and sometimes
fell upon the deck. When the ship entered on
the torrid zone, the voyagers began to study the
strange beauties OF a new armament. On the
night of July they first saw the Southern Cross.
The latter part of the passage was less fortunate
than the commCu cement; u malignant fever
broke out ON board, and a young Austrian,
whose mother was Il widow, died of it, and was
buried in the sea ut sunrise. Humboldt aud
Bonpland determined to leave the infected ship,
and on the morning of July 10 they perceived II
low island with sandy hills, which appeared like
an agitated sea from the effects of the mirage.
On the following day the mountains Of New
Andalusia rose before them, and
CuInana
And its castles were seen amidst groups of cocoa
trees. The spenaOr of the sky the vivid color
ing OF the vegetation all proclaimed the grand
character of tropic regions.
The travellers presented their credentials, and
were cordially received by the Governor, who
assigned them a house well situated for astro-
nomical and meteorological observations.
IlnTiN
Araya, their object being to see the salt mines,
and to make geological observations on the
mountains that composed it, They started mt
two O'Clock on a lovely cool morning, and sailed
up the little river MauZanares, which was bordered
with trees of gigantic growth-mimosas, ceibas,
and erythrinas-w whilst swarms of phosphOres-
cent insects gstencd in the air.
AT the sat-mines they saw barefooted shoe
maker, of Castian descent, who had collected
the traditions of the country, and who told them
some curious particulars of the pearls of
Cabagua, specimens of which he gave to Hum
boldt. He was a crave and dgnifed person,
who despised riches, and the limit of whose
ambition was the possession of an ass strong
enough to carry a Load of plantans.
They then preceded to the Castle Of Araya,
which stood on an arid mountain, and looked
less like the labor of man than like gigantic
rocks of the prinIrtal world. They passed a
night in an Indian hut, and in the morning they
visited the ruins of st. Iago; the walls had been
blown down. but blocks of freestone, seven and
test their enormous strength.
Expedition TO san Fernando.
Their next expedition was to the mountains of
the Indian missions The first they reached was
that of San Fernando, where an aged but fat
and jOvial missionary received them kindly. and
lodged them for the night. The village and the
extreme neatness Of the Indian huts, reminded
them of the establishments of the Moravian
Brethren in Germany; the dwellings were built
singly but in long, wide streets, crossing each
other at right angles. The square in the centre
of the village contained the church, the mission
house, and cara yanserai for travellers. In
these regions, every German was considered q
miner and every frenchman n physician; and
both travellers had numerous calls upon their
skill; wherever Humboldt went, specimens of
ore were brought TO him, and the inhabitants
wished him to explore wonderful crevice in
their mountains, nine hundred feet wide,
and filed with trees interviewer to-
gether, because they believed that it con-
tained a gold mine. Humboldt consented,
and, assisted by Indians and accompanied
by dogs as protection against the jaguars, he
and Bonpland set forth on their expedition.
Two caverns opened into this mountain, which
emitted fiery eXhalations, and the path by which
they Journeyed was sort OF narrow cornice
above precipice between two and three hun
dred feet deep. The farther they advanced the
more dense the vegetation became; they col
lected plants ut every step, and the Indians
made incisions in the trees that they might OBJ
serve the beautiful red and yellow woods that
composed them The supposed gold mine
proved to be nothing but an excavation in a
! black stratum of mari, which contained abund-
ance Of pyrites. Humboldt however, could not
! succeed in convincing the Indians of the fact;
! they were persuaded that the metallic grains
washed down in the water must from their bril-
! liancy be gold.
The travellers next proceeded Onwards to the
| Convent of Caribe the principal station of the
missions. They were received by the monks
with great hospitality and found numerous
society in the convent. Humboldt was lodged in
the cell of the Superior, which contained good
! selection of books.
The Great cavern of Gunchedo
was three league from the convent and the
travellers set ont To- see it, accompanied by n
party of monks and the Indian magistrate
Their way lay Chiefly through the bed of tor
rent, and they came suddenly upon the cavern,
pierced in the vertical face of the rock and
forming an arch Eighty feet wide and upwards
of seventy feet high. A river issued from It, the
rock was covered with gigantic trees, and wild
vines waved in tc~luons before the mouth OF the
cavern. 1t was Inhabited by nocturnal birds,
whose fat was a cl ef article of food and COM
merce amongst the Indians The explorers en-
tered the arch, and following the course OF the
river within il. they saw heliconias, palm trees,
and arums growing on its banks; vegetation did
not disappear until forty PAGES from the mouth
of the cavern. They advanced four hundred
and fifty feet without torches, and where
the light began to fail they heard the hideous,
hoarse cries OF the nocturnal birds repeated
again and again by the subterranean echoes.
Their nests were tmnel-shaped, and the
roof of the cavern rdded with them
like sieve The Indians fixed torches upon
, long poles to show them TO the travellers, and
= scared by the light, the birds redoubled theil
| cries and answered each other from the re.
motest parts OF the cavern. The river was from
: twenty-eight TO thirty feet wide, but it was