INTERIOR OF THE CAVE. 103 
and other parts of the lower districts where such 
diseases prevail. 
The travellers followed the banks of the small river 
which issues from the cavern as far as the mounds of 
calcareous incrustations permitted them, and after- 
wards descended into its bed. ‘The cave preserved 
the same direction, breadth, and height, as at its 
entrance, to the distance of 1554 feet. The natives 
having a belief that the souls of their ancestors in- 
habit its deep recesses, the Indians who accompa- 
nied our travellers could hardly be persuaded to 
venture into it. Shooting at random in the dark, 
they obtained two specimens of the guacharo. Hav- 
ing proceeded to a certain distance, they came to a 
mass of stalactite, beyond which the cave became 
narrower, although it retained its original direction. 
Here the rivulet had deposited a blackish mould re- 
sembling that observed at Muggendorf in Franconia. 
Theseeds, which the birds carry to their young, spring 
up wherever they are dropped into it ; and M. Hum- 
boldt and his friend were astonished to find blanched 
stalks that had attained a height of two feet. 
As the missionaries were unable to persuade the 
Indians to advance farther, the party returned. The 
river, sparkling amid the foliage of the trees, seemed 
like a distant picture, to which the mouth of the 
eave formed a frame. Having sat down at the en- 
trance to enjoy a little needful repose, they partook 
of a repast which the missionaries had prepared, 
and in due time returned to the convent. 
The days which our travellers passed at this re- 
ligious house glided hastily and pleasantly past. 
From morning to night they traversed the forests 
and mountains collecting plants; and when the rains 
