292 ANATIIAMA MARANATHA. 



Cuitamba, because in several parts of the Malpays great 

 masses of water were still beard to run from east to west. 



In the opinion of tbe Indians, these extraordinary 

 transformations, tbe surface of tbe eartb raised up and 

 burst by tbe volcanic fire, and tbe mountains of scoria 

 and asbes beaped together, were tbe work of tbe monks, 

 tbe greatest, no doubt, which they have ever produced in 

 tbe two hemispheres! In tbe cottage which Humboldt 

 occupied in the plains of Jorullo, bis Indian host related 

 to him, that, in 1759, Capuchin missionaries came to 

 preach at tbe plantation of San Pedro, and not having 

 met with a favourable reception (perhaps not having got 

 so good a dinner as they expected), they poured out the 

 most horrible and unheard of imprecations against tbe 

 then beautiful and fertile plain, and prophesied that in 

 tbe first place tbe plantation would be swallowed up by 

 flames rising out of the earth, and that afterwards tbe 

 ambient air would cool to such a degree, that tbe neigh- 

 bouring mountains would for ever remain covered with 

 snow and ice. The former of these maledictions having 

 already produced such fatal effects, the Indians contem- 

 plated in tbe increasing coolness of tbe volcano, the 

 sinister presage of a perpetual winter. 



After visiting tbe volcano of Jorullo, and descending, 

 on tbe 19th of September, two hundred and fifty feet into 

 the burnins: crater of tbe central cone, Humboldt re- 

 turned to the capital. Tbe arrangement of bis botanical 

 and geological collections, and tbe regulation and calcu- 

 lation of his barometric and trigonometric measurements, 

 detained him and Bonpland there until tbe beginning of 

 January, 1801. It w^ould have been difficult to have 

 found anywhere, least of all in the dolce far niente of 



