Personal Narrative Of Travels To The Equinoctial Regions Of America During The Years 1799-1804 - Volume 1 - By Alexander Von Humboldt And Aime Bonpland.
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During The Short Space Of Time That The Sky Was Serene At The
Zenith, I Found The Blue Of The Atmosphere Sensibly Deeper Than On
The Coasts.
It is probable that, in the months of July and August,
the difference between the colour of the sky
On the coasts and on
the summit of the Silla is still more considerable, but the
meteorological phenomenon with which M. Bonpland and myself were
most struck during the hour we passed on the mountain, was the
apparent dryness of the air, which seemed to increase as the fog
augmented.
This fog soon became so dense that it would have been imprudent to
remain longer on the edge of a precipice of seven or eight thousand
feet deep.* (* In the direction of north-west the slopes appear
more accessible; and I have been told of a path frequented by
smugglers, which leads to Caravalleda, between the two peaks of the
Silla. From the eastern peak I took the bearings of the western
peak, 64 degrees 40 minutes south-west; and of the houses, which I
was told belonged to Caravalleda, 55 degrees 20 minutes north-west.
) We descended the eastern dome of the Silla, and gathered in our
descent a gramen, which not only forms a new and very remarkable
genus, but which, to our great astonishment, we found again some
time after on the summit of the volcano of Pichincha, at the
distance of four hundred leagues from the Silla, in the southern
hemisphere.* (* Aegopogon cenchroides.) The Lichen floridus, so
common in the north of Europe, covered the branches of the befaria
and the Gualtheria odorata, descending even to the roots of these
shrubs. Examining the mosses which cover the rocks of gneiss in the
valley between the two peaks, I was surprised at finding real
pebbles, - rounded fragments of quartz.* (* Fragments of brown
copper-ore were found mixed with these pebbles, at an elevation of
1170 toises.) It may be conceived that the valley of Caracas was
once an inland lake, before the Rio Guayra found an issue to the
east near Caurimare, at the foot of the hill of Auyamas, and before
the ravine of Tipe opened on the west, in the direction of Gatia
and Cabo Blanco. But how can we imagine that these waters could
ascend as high as the Silla, when the mountains opposite this peak,
those of Ocumare, were too low to prevent their overflow into the
llanos? The pebbles could not have been brought by torrents from
more elevated points, since there is no height that commands the
Silla. Must we admit that they have been heaved up, like all the
mountains which border the coast.
It was half after four in the afternoon when we finished our
observations. Satisfied with the success of our journey, we forgot
that there might be danger in descending in the dark, steep
declivities covered by a smooth and slippery turf. The mist
concealed the valley from us; but we distinguished the double hill
of La Puerta, which, like all objects lying almost perpendicularly
beneath the eye, appeared extremely near. We relinquished our
design of passing the night between the two summits of the Silla,
and having again found the path we had cut through the thick wood
of heliconia, we soon arrived at the Pejual, the region of
odoriferous and resinous plants. The beauty of the befarias, and
their branches covered with large purple flowers, again rivetted
our attention. When, in these climates, a botanist gathers plants
to form his herbal, he becomes difficult in his choice in
proportion to the luxuriance of vegetation. He casts away those
which have been first cut, because they appear less beautiful than
those which were out of reach. Though loaded with plants before
quitting the Pejual, we still regretted not having made a more
ample harvest. We tarried so long in this spot, that night
surprised us as we entered the savannah, at the elevation of
upwards of nine hundred toises.
As there is scarcely any twilight in the tropics, we pass suddenly
from bright daylight to darkness. The moon was on the horizon; but
her disk was veiled from time to time by thick clouds, drifted by a
cold and rough wind. Rapid slopes, covered with yellow and dry
grass, now seen in shade, and now suddenly illumined, seemed like
precipices, the depth of which the eye sought in vain to measure.
We proceeded onwards, in single file, and endeavoured to support
ourselves by our hands, lest we should roll down. The guides, who
carried our instruments, abandoned us successively, to sleep on the
mountain. Among those who remained with us was a Congo black, who
evinced great address, bearing on his head a large dipping-needle:
he held it constantly steady, notwithstanding the extreme declivity
of the rocks. The fog had dispersed by degrees in the bottom of the
valley; and the scattered lights we perceived below us caused a
double illusion. The steeps appeared still more dangerous than they
really were; and, during six hours of continual descent, we seemed
to be always equally near the farms at the foot of the Silla. We
heard very distinctly the voices of men and the notes of guitars.
Sound is generally so well propagated upwards, that in a balloon at
the elevation of three thousand toises, the barking of dogs is
sometimes heard.* (* Gay-Lussac's account of his ascent on the 15th
of September, 1805.)
We did not arrive till ten at night at the bottom of the valley. We
were overcome with fatigue and thirst, having walked for fifteen
hours, nearly without stopping. The soles of our feet were cut and
torn by the asperities of a rocky soil and the hard and dry stalks
of the gramina, for we had been obliged to pull off our boots, the
soles having become too slippery. On declivities devoid of shrubs
or ligneous herbs, which may be grasped by the hand, the danger of
the descent is diminished by walking barefoot.
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