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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They seldom fly; and, from
the slowness of their movements, I should have supposed they were
benumbed by the cold of the mountains.
The people, in these
regions, call them angelitos (little angels), because they very
seldom sting. They are no doubt of the genus Apis, of the division
melipones. It has been erroneously affirmed that these bees, which
are peculiar to the New World, are destitute of all offensive
weapons. Their sting is indeed comparatively feeble, and they use
it seldom; but a person, not fully convinced of the harmlessness of
these angelitos, can scarcely divest himself of a sensation of
fear. I must confess, that, whilst engaged in my astronomical
observations, I was often on the point of letting my instruments
fall, when I felt my hands and face covered with these hairy bees.
Our guides assured us that they attempt to defend themselves only
when irritated by being seized by their legs. I was not tempted to
try the experiment on myself.
The dip of the needle at the Silla was one centesimal degree less
than in the town of Caracas. In collecting the observations which I
made during calm weather and in very favourable circumstances, on
the mountains as well as along the coast, it would at first seem,
that we discover, in that part of the globe, a certain influence of
the heights on the dip of the needle, and the intensity of the
magnetical forces; but we must remark, that the dip at Caracas is
much greater than could be supposed, from the situation of the
town, and that the magnetical phenomena are modified by the
proximity of certain rocks, which constitute so many particular
centres or little systems of attraction.* (* I have seen fragments
of quartz traversed by parallel bands of magnetic iron, carried
into the valley of Caracas by the waters descending from the
Galipano and the Cerro de Avila.
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