MANGROVES. 1 1 "] 



little veins of quartz so common in Lj'dian stone, and CHAP. XI. 



was decomposed at the surface into a yellowish-gray 



crust. 



Setting sail on the 19th at noon, they found the tem- Tcmperamru 

 perature of the sea at its surface to be 78'6° ; but when "* "^"^ ""^ 

 passing through the narrow channel which separates the 

 Piritoos, in three fathoms it was only 76-1°. These 

 islands do not rise more than eight or nine inches above 

 the mean height of the tide, and are covered with long 

 grass. To the westward of the Morro de Barcelona and 

 the mouth of the river Unare, the ocean became more and 

 more agitated as they approached Cape Codera, the 

 influence of which extends to a great distance. Beyond 

 this promontory it always runs very high, althougli a 

 gale of wind is never felt along this coast. It blew 

 fresh during the night, and on the 20th, at sunrise, they 

 were so advanced as to be in expectation of doubling the 

 Cape in a few hours ; but some of the passengers having 

 suffered from sea-sickness, and the pilot being apprehen- 

 sive of danger from the priv'ateers stationed near La 

 Guayra, they made for the shore, and anchored at nine 

 o'clock in the Bay of Iliguerota, westward of the Rio 

 Capaya. 



On landing, they found two or three huts inhabited g^., ^j 

 by mestizo fishermen, the livid tint of whom, together Iliguerota. 

 with the miserable appearance of their children, gave 

 indication of the unhealthy nature of the coast. The 

 sea is so shallow that one cannot go ashore in the 

 smallest boat without wading. The woods come nearly 

 to the beach, which is covered with mangroves, avicen- 

 nias, manchineel-trees, and Suriana maritima, called by 

 the natives romero de la mar. Here as elsewhere the 

 insalubrity of the air is attributed to the exhalations 

 from the first of these plants. A faint and sickly smell 

 was perceived, resembling that of the galleries of 

 deserted mines. The temperature rose to 93-2°, and 

 the water along the whole coast acquired a yellowish- 

 brown tint wherever it was in contact with these trees. 



Struck by this phenomenon, Humboldt gathered a 



