M. Rivero's Analj/sis of the Watei- of the Rio Vinagre. 109 



litre: sulphuric acid, I'OSO ; muriatic acid, 0*184; alumine, 

 0.240; lime, 0.160; and some indications of iron*. The 

 presence of muriatic acid confirms the observations made on 

 the vapours and the stony productions of Vesuvius and of se- 

 veral other volcanos." Rivero. 



I had made known, at the time of my return from America, 

 the presence of the sulj^huric and muriatic acids in the water 

 of the Rio Vinagre, which the aborigines call Pusambio (See 

 Views of the Cordilleras, and Monuments of the People of 

 America, vol. ii. p. 1 66 ; Barometric Levelling of the Andes, 

 No. 126; Caldas, Sainanario del Ntievo Reijno de Grcmada, 

 t. i. p. 265) ; but not being furnished with the salts of barytes, 

 I had engaged MM. Rivero and Boussingault, when they 

 departed for Bogota, to verify these facts. The analysis, which 

 we owe to one of these expert chemists, is the first which has 

 been attempted on the water of the Rio Vinagre. I shall give 

 some extracts from the journal of my travels, in great part still 

 unpublished, explanatory of the local circum-stances. 



The town of Popayan is situated in the beautiful valley of 

 the Rio Cauca, on the Bogota road to Quito, at the foot of 

 the two great volcanos of Purace and Sotara. These volca- 

 nos, almost extinct, and exhibiting only the phaenomena of 

 solfataras, form part of the central chain of the Andes of New 

 Granada. At 1° 5.5' and 2° 20' of north latitude, the group 

 of mountains which hicloses the sources of the Magdalena is 

 divided into three branches, of which the eastern is continued 

 towards Timana and the Nevados of Chita and of Merida ; 

 the intermediate and central one towards the Panmios of 

 Guanacas and of Quimdiu ; the western towards the platini- 

 ierous district of the Choco and the isthmus of Panama. In 

 ascending from the town of Popayan to the sunnnit of the 

 volcano of Purace, M. Bompland and 1 ibund at the height 

 of" 8672 feet a little plain (Llano del Corazon), inhabited by 

 poor Indian husbandmen. This plain is se))aratcd from the 

 rest of the acclivity, v/ith which it would otherwise be con- 

 tinuous, by two ravines extremely deej): it is at the edge of 

 these precipices that the village of Purace is built. Sj)rings 

 rise every where from the trachytic rock ; each garden is sur- 



• It cannot be doubted that tlie indications arc l)y grammes and fractions 

 of {grammes : a litre of the water of the Rio Vinaijrc includes 1-080 gramme 

 of su|)l)uric acid and 0')H4 fjrainme of nuiriatic acid. This |)ro|)ortion 

 of siil|)lniric acid, is ncvertiiclcss very sensible to the taste, and is mani- 

 fested l)v an abundant precipitate with the salts of harytes. 



I'l'lie litre lieiiif; 2'1 MS pints, the contents of tlie water in Knglish };raiMS 

 will he ns fnllows; sulphurii acid KiGH; nniriatic acid 'i'M ; ahnnine 

 • i 7; lime i'\7- - IvuiT.) 



K'lindcd 



