THE IMPOSSIBLE. 75 



near a spring, the water of which they found de- 

 licious. Its temperature was 72*5, while that of 

 the air was 83 '7. From the top of a sandstone-hill 

 in the vicinity they had a splendid view of the sea 

 and part of the coast, while in the intervening space 

 the tops of the trees, intermixed with flowery lianas, 

 formed a vast carpet of deep verdure. As they ad- 

 vanced towards the south-west the soil became dry 

 and loose. They ascended a group of rather high 

 mountains, destitute of vegetation, and having steep 

 declivities. This ridge is named the Impossible, it 

 being imagined that in case of invasion it might 

 afford a safe retreat to the inhabitants of Cumana. 

 The prospect was finer and more extensive than 

 from the fountain above mentioned. 



They arrived on the summit only a little before 

 dusk. The setting of the sun was accompanied by 

 a very rapid diminution of temperature, the ther- 

 mometer suddenly falling from 77 '4 to 70'S^, 

 although the air was calm. They passed the night 

 in a house at which there was a military post of eight 

 men, commanded by a Spanish sergeant. When, 

 afte'r the capture of Trinidad by the English in 1797, 

 Cumana was threatened, many of the people fled 

 to Cumanacoa, leaving the more valuable of their 

 property in sheds constructed on this ridge. The 

 solitude of the place reminded Humboldt of the 

 nights which he had passed on the top of St. Gothard. 

 Several parts of the surrounding forests were burn- 

 ing, and the reddish flames arising amid clouds of 

 smoke, presented a most impressive spectacle. The 

 shepherds set fire to the woods for the purpose of 

 improving the pasturage, though conflagrations are 

 often caused by the negligence of the wandering 

 Indians. The number of old trees on the road from 

 Cumana to Cumanacoa has been greatly reduced by 

 these accidents ; and in several parts of the province 

 the dryness has increased, owing both to the dimi- 

 nution of the forests and the frequency of earth- 

 . quakes which produce crevices in the soil. 



