CAVE OF ATARUIPE SPLENDID SCENERY. 239 



animals were again heard through the whole night. 

 The black tiger also occurs in these districts. It is 

 celebrated for its strength and ferocity, and appears 

 to be larger than the other, of which, however, it is 

 probably a variety. 



Leaving their resting-place before sunrise, and 

 sailing with the current, they passed the mouths of 

 the Cunucunumo, Guanami, and Puruname. The 

 country was entirely desert, although rude figures 

 representing the sun, the moon, and different ani- 

 mals are to be seen on the granite rocks ; attesting 

 the former existence of a people more civilized 

 than any that they had seen. 



On the 27th May they reached the mission of San 

 Fernando de Atabipo, where they had lodged a month 

 before on their ascent towards the Rio Negro. The 

 president had allowed himself to become very un- 

 easy respecting the object of their journey ; and re- 

 quested Humboldt to leave a writing in his hands, 

 bearing testimony to the good order that prevailed in 

 the Christian settlements on the Orinoco, and the 

 mildness v-ith which the natives were treated. This, 

 however, he declined. From this point they re- 

 traced their former route, and passed the cataracts. 

 On the 31st, they landed before sunset at the Puerto 

 de la Expedicion, for the purpose of visiting the 

 cave of Ataruipe, which is the sepulchre of an ex- 

 tinct nation. 



" We climbed," says Humboldt, " with difficulty, 

 and not without danger, a steep rock of granite, en- 

 tirely destitute of soil. It would have been almost 

 impossible to fix the foot on this smooth and highly- 

 inclined surface, had not large crystals of felspar, 

 which had resisted decomposition, projected from 

 the rock so as to present points of support. Scarcely 

 had we reached the summit of the mountain when 

 we were struck with astonishment at the extraordi- 

 nary appearance of the surrounding country : The 

 foamy bed of the waters was filled with an archi- 



