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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Our Host Had
The Rare Good Fortune To Escape These Dangers.
After having
witnessed the death of a great number of his friends, he withdrew
from the coast to the mountains of Cocollar.
Nothing can be compared to the majestic tranquillity which the
aspect of the firmament presents in this solitary region. When
tracing with the eye, at night-fall, the meadows which bounded the
horizon, - the plain covered with verdure and gently undulated, we
thought we beheld from afar, 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 luminous insects flying in the
air, the constellations which shone in the south; every object
seemed to tell us how far we were from our native land. If amidst
this exotic nature we heard from the depth of the valley the
tinkling of a bell, or the lowing of herds, the remembrance of our
country was awakened suddenly. The sounds were like distant voices
resounding from beyond the ocean, and with magical power
transporting us from one hemisphere to the other. Strange mobility
of the imagination of man, eternal source of our enjoyments and our
pains!
We began in the cool of the morning to climb the Turimiquiri. This
is the name given to the summit of the Cocollar, which, with the
Brigantine, forms one single mass of mountain, formerly called by
the natives the Sierra de los Tageres. We travelled along a part of
the road on horses, which roam about these savannahs; but some of
them are used to the saddle.
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