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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The Groups Of Columnar Cactus And Opuntia Produce The Same Effect
In The Arid Lands Of Equinoctial America As The Junceae And The
Hydrocharides In The Marshes Of Our Northern Climes.
Places in
which the larger species of the strong cactus are collected in
groups are considered as almost impenetrable.
These places are
called Tunales; and they are impervious not only to the native, who
goes naked to the waist, but are formidable even to those who are
fully clothed. In our solitary rambles we sometimes endeavoured to
penetrate into the Tunal that crowns the summit of the castle hill,
a part of which is crossed by a pathway, where we could have
studied, amidst thousands of specimens, the organization of this
singular plant. Sometimes night suddenly overtook us, for there is
scarcely any twilight in this climate; and we then found ourselves
dangerously situated, as the Cascabel, or rattle-snake, the Coral,
and other vipers armed with poisonous fangs, frequent these
scorched and arid haunts, to deposit their eggs in the sand.
The castle of San Antonio is built at the western extremity of the
hill, but not on the most elevated point, being commanded on the
east by an unfortified summit. The Tunal is considered both here
and everywhere in the Spanish colonies as a very important means of
military defence; and when earthen works are raised, the engineers
are eager to propagate the thorny opuntia, and promote its growth,
as they are careful to keep crocodiles in the ditches of fortified
places.
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