VIEW PROM THE COCOLLAR. 83 



to the remarks of the natives respecting the probability chap, vil 

 of an increase in the frequency of the agitations to which 

 New Andalusia had so often been subjected. The cause 

 of the luminous exhalations, however, they were unable 

 to ascertain. 



On the 12th they continued their journey to the Convent of 

 convent of Caripe, tlie principal station of the Chayma *"'"''?'-'■ 

 missions, choosing, instead of the direct road, the line of 

 the mountains Cocollar and Turimiquiri. At the Hato 

 de Cocollar, a solitary farm situated on a small elevated 

 plain, they rested for some days, and liad the good for- 

 tune to enjoy at once a delightful climate and the 

 hospitality of the proprietor. From this elevated point, 

 as far as the eye could reach, they saw only naked 

 savannahs, although in the neighbouring valleys they 

 found tufts of scattered trees, and a profusion of beau- 

 tiful flowers. The upper part of the mountain was 

 destitute of wood, though covered with gramineous 

 plants, — a cii'cumstance which Humboldt attributes 

 more to the custom of burning the forests than to the 

 elevation of the ground, which is not sufficient to prevent 

 the growth of trees. 



Their host, Don Mathias Yturburi, a native of Biscay, i^o" 

 had visited the New World with an expedition the YtmbmL 

 object of whicli was to form establishments for procuring 

 timber for the Spanish navy. But these natives of a 

 colder climate were unable to support the fatigue of so 

 laborious an occupation, the heat, and the effect of 

 noxious vapours. Destructive fevers carried off most of 

 the party, when this individual withdrew from the 

 coast, and settling on the Cocollar, became the undis- 

 turbed possessor of five leagues of savannahs, among 

 which he enjoyed independence and health. 



" Nothing," says Humboldt, " can be compared to the Tmpreesion 

 impression of the majestic tranquillity left on the mind 

 by the view of the firmament in this solitary place. 

 Following with the eye, at evening-tide, those meadows 

 which stretch along the horizon, and the gently undu- 

 lated plain covered with plants, we thought we saw in 



