THE CATARACTS OF THE RIO VINAGRE. 227 



the beautiful valley of the Rio Cauea, at the foot of the 

 great volcanoes of Purace and Sotara. They visited these 

 volcanoes during their stay. On ascending from Popayan 

 towards the top of Purace they found, at an elevation of 

 eight thousand feet, a small plain inhabited by Indians, 

 and cultivated with the greatest care. This delightful 

 plain was bounded by two ravines extremely deep, on the 

 brink of which the houses of the village of Purace were 

 built. Waters sprang out profusely from the porphyritic 

 rock ; every garden was inclosed by a hedge of euphor- 

 biums, with slender leaves, and of the most delicate green. 

 Nothing; could be more agreeable than the contrast of 

 this beautiful verdure with the chain of black and arid 

 mountains, which surrounded the volcano, and which 

 were cleft and torn asunder by earthquakes. 



The village of Purace was celebrated in the country 

 for the beautiful cataracts of the Rio Pusambio, the 

 waters of which were acid, and were called by the 

 Spaniards Rio Vinagre. This small river was warm 

 towards its source, and probably owed its origin to the 

 daily melting of the snows, and the sulphur that burned 

 in the interior of the volcano. It formed, near the plains, 

 three cataracts, the two uppermost of which were very 

 striking. Humboldt sketched the second of these in the 

 garden of an Indian, near the house of the missionary of 

 Purace. The water which made its way through a cavern 

 precipitated itself downward nearly four hundred feet. 

 The cascade was extremely picturesque, but the inhabit- 

 ants of Popayan regretted that the river was not ingulfed 

 in some abyss, instead of mingling, as it did, with the Rio 

 Cauca. For the latter river was destitute of fish for four 

 leagues, on account of the mixture of its waters with those 



