RELEASED BY THE ENGLISH CAPTAIN. 195 



and a midshipman sent on board the vessel. He gave 

 Humboldt hopes, that the lancha, which was laden with 

 cocoa, would be given up, and that on the following day 

 they might pursue their voyage. In the meantime he in- 

 vited the traveller to accompany him on board the sloop, 

 assuring him that his commander, Captain Gamier, would 

 furnish him with better accommodation for the night, 

 than he would find in the vessel from Halifax. 



Humboldt accepted these obliging offers, and was re- 

 ceived with the utmost kindness by Captain Gamier, 

 who had made the voyage to the north-west coast of 

 America with Vancouver, and who appeared to be highly 

 interested in all he related to him respecting the great 

 cataracts of Atures and Maypures, the bifurcation of the 

 Orinoco, and its communication with the Amazon. He 

 introduced to him several of his officers, who had been 

 with Lord Macartney in China. Humboldt had not, 

 during the space of a year, enjoyed the society of so 

 many well-informed persons. They had learned from 

 the English newspapers the object of his enterprise. He 

 was treated with great confidence, and the commander 

 gave him up his own state-room. 



The travellers continued their passage the next daj', 

 and were surprised at the depth of the channels between 

 the Caracas Islands, where the sloop worked her way 

 through them almost touching the rocks. Numbers of 

 pelicans, and of flamingoes, which fished in the nooks, or 

 harassed the pelicans in order to seize their prey, indi- 

 cated their approach to the coast of Cumana. At sun- 

 rise the sea-birds suddenly appeared, and animated the 

 scene, reminding the travellers, in these solitary re- 

 gions, of the activity of the cities of Europe at the 



