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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It Was A Mixture Of Silex, Alumina,
And Vegetable Detritus.
We walked in thick mud to a spot where we
beheld with astonishment the progress of subterranean vegetation.
The seeds which the birds carry into the grotto to feed their
young, spring up wherever they fix in the mould which covers the
calcareous incrustations.
Blanched stalks, with some half-formed
leaves, had risen to the height of two feet. It was impossible to
ascertain the species of these plants, their form, colour, and
aspect having been changed by the absence of light. These traces of
organization amidst darkness forcibly excited the curiosity of the
natives, who examined them with silent meditation inspired by a
place they seemed to dread. They evidently regarded these
subterranean plants, pale and deformed, as phantoms banished from
the face of the earth. To me the scene recalled one of the happiest
periods of my early youth, a long abode in the mines of Freyberg,
where I made experiments on the effects of blanching (etiolement),
which are very different, according as the air is pure or
overcharged with hydrogen or azote.
The missionaries, with all their authority, could not prevail on
the Indians to penetrate farther into the cavern. As the roof
became lower the cries of the guacharos were more and more shrill.
We were obliged to yield to the pusillanimity of our guides, and
trace back our steps. The appearance of the cavern was however very
uniform. We found that a bishop of St. Thomas of Guiana had gone
farther than ourselves.
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