278 BARANCAS NUEVAS, 



ter was at 71*6, they were on their journey to the 

 village of Barancas Nuevas, amid a forest of lofty 

 trees. Half-way between Mahates and that hamlet 

 they found a group of huts elegantly constructed of 

 bamboos, and inhabited by Zambos. Humboldt re- 

 marks, that the intermixture of Indians and negroes 

 is very common in those countries, and that the 

 women of the American tribes have a great liking 

 to the men of the African race. To the east of 

 Mahates the limestone formation, containing corals, 

 ceases to appear ; the predominant rocks being sili- 

 ceous with argillaceous cement, forming alternating 

 beds of small-grained quartzose and slaty sandstone, 

 or conglomerates containing angular fragments of 

 lydian-stone, clay-slate, gneiss, and quartz, and vary- 

 ing in colour from yellowish-gray to brownish-red. 

 Hitherto the narrative of the important journey 

 performed by Humholdt and Bonpland, through those 

 little known but highly interesting regions of South 

 America which were visited by them, has been given 

 as much in detail as is consistent with the nature of 

 a work like the present ; but here, as no minute ac- 

 count of their farther progress has yet been laid be- 

 fore the public, we must cease to follow them step 

 by step, and content ourselves with a brief narra- 

 tive of their proceedings. 



