Personal Narrative Of Travels To The Equinoctial Regions Of America During The Years 1799-1804 - Volume 3 - By Alexander Von Humboldt And Aime Bonpland.
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The Geographer Hondius Has Filled Up This Void; And Has Even
Added To His Map A Table Of Longitudes And
Latitudes, among which
figure the laguna del Dorado, and the Ville Imperiale de Manoas.
Raleigh, when at anchor near the
Punta del Gallo* in the island of
Trinidad (* The northern part of La Punta de Icacos, which is the
south-east cape of the island of Trinidad. Christopher Columbus cast
anchor there on August 3, 1498. A great confusion exists in the
denomination of the different capes of the island of Trinidad; and as
recently, since the expedition of Fidalgo and Churruca, the Spaniards
reckon the longitudes in South America west of La Punta de la Galera
(latitude 10 degrees 50 minutes, longitude 63 degrees 20 minutes), it
is important to fix the attention of geographers on this point.
Columbus called the south-east cape of the island Punta Galera, on
account of the form of a rock. From Punta de la Galera he sailed to
the west and landed at a low cape, which he calls Punta del Arenal;
this is our Punta de Icacos. In this passage, near a place (Punta de
la Playa) where he stopped to take in water (perhaps at the mouth of
the Rio Erin), he saw to the south, for the first time, the continent
of America, which he called Isla Santa. It was, therefore, the eastern
coast of the province of Cumana, to the east of the Cano Macareo, near
Punta Redonda, and not the mountainous coast of Paria (Isla de Gracia,
of Columbus), which was first discovered.), made his lieutenants
explore the mouths of the Orinoco, principally those of Capuri, Grand
Amana (Manamo Grande), and Macureo (Macareo). As his ships drew a
great deal of water, he found it difficult to enter the bocas chicas,
and was obliged to construct flat-bottomed barks.
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