260 ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT. 



Truly a region as deeply interesting as any explorer could desire 

 to visit. 



Humboldt's first letter, addressed to his brother, gives evi- 

 dence of the agreeable impressions he had received : 



1 Puerto Orotava, at the foot of the Peak of Teneriffe : 

 ' June 20, 1799. 



' I am quite in a state of ecstacy at finding myself at 

 length on African soil, surrounded by cocoa-nut palms and 

 bananas. By aid of a strong breeze from the north-west, and 

 meeting fortunately with but few vessels to detain us, we reached 

 the coast of Morocco in ten days ; on the 17th of June we 

 landed at Grraciosa, and by the 19th we were in the harbour of 

 Santa Cruz at Teneriffe. 



4 The company on board was very agreeable ; I felt particu- 

 larly attracted to a young man from the Canary Islands, Don 

 Francesco Salcedo, who possessed the confiding manner and 

 lively intelligence peculiar to the inhabitants of these favoured 

 islands. I have made a great many observations, especially 

 in astronomy and chemistry on the purity of the air, the 

 temperature of the ocean, &c. The nights were magnificent ; in 

 this clear, tranquil atmosphere it was quite possible to read the 

 sextant in the brilliant moonlight, and then the southern 

 constellations, Lupus and the Centaur ! What splendid nights ! 

 We caught a specimen of that very rare animal the dagyza, 

 near the spot where it was first discovered by Banks ; we also 

 fished up from a depth of 50 fathoms a new kind of plant, green 

 and with vine-shaped leaves, but not a fucus. The sea was 

 phosphorescent every evening. As we neared Madeira some 

 birds made their appearance, and accompanied us throughout 

 the day. 



' At Grraciosa we landed to ascertain if there were any English 

 frigates cruising off Teneriffe, and on being assured there were 

 none, we continued our voyage, fortunately arriving without even 

 sighting a man of war. How we contrived to do so is quite 

 incomprehensible, for an hour after our arrival no fewer than 

 six English frigates appeared off the harbour. We have no 

 occasion to apprehend anything further from them until we 

 reach the West Indies. My health is excellent, and I get 



