ROAD TO CARACCAS. J 23 



dred ; but when the sick are crowded togetlier, the loss chat xi. 

 increases to one-half or even more. 



To the west of La Guayra there are several indenta- ciiaracter of 

 tions of the land which furnish excellent anchorage. 

 The coast is granitic, and a great portion of it extremely 

 unhealthy. At Cape Blanco the gneiss passes into 

 mica-slate, containing beds of chlorite-slatc, in which 

 garnets and magnetic sand occur. On the road to Catia 

 the chlorite-slate is seen passing into hornblende-slate. 

 At the foot of the promontory the sea throws on the 

 beach rolled fragments of a granular mixture of horn- 

 blende and felspar, in which traces of quartz and pyrites 

 are recognised. On the western declivity of that hill 

 the gneiss is covered by a recent sandstone or conglo- 

 merate, in which are observed angular fragments of 

 gneiss, quartz, and chlorite, magnetic sand, madrepores, 

 and bivalve shells. The latitude of the Cape is 10° 36' 

 45"; that of La Guayra is 10° 36' 19", its longitude 

 67° 5' 49". 



The road from La Guayra to Caraccas resemliles the Road to 

 passages over the Alps ; but, as it is kept in tolerable Caraceas 

 repair, it requires only three hours to go with mules 

 from the port to the capital, and two hours to return. 

 The ascent commences with a ridge of rocks, and is ex- 

 tremely laborious. In the steepest parts the path winds 

 in a zigzag manner. At the Salto, or Leap, there is a 

 crevice which is passed by a drawbridge, and on tlie 

 summit of the mountain are fortifications. Half-way is 

 La Venta (the Lnn) ; beyond which there is a rise of j .; Vcnta. 

 960 feet to Guayavo, wliich is not far from the highest 

 part of the route. At the fort of La Cuchilla, Hum- 

 boldt was nearly made prisoner by some Spanish soldiers, 

 whom he, however, contrived to pacify. Round the 

 little inn several travellers were assembled, who were 

 disputing on the efforts that had been made towards 

 obtaining independence ; on the hatred of the mulattoes 

 against the free negroes and whites ; the wealth of the 

 monks ; and on the difficulty of holding slaves in obe- 

 dience. From Guayavo the road passes over a smooth 



