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a 
106 VERA CRUZ AND CATUARO. 
convent of Vera Cruz, where they intended to pass- 
the night; but little information could be obtained 
on account of their imperfect knowledge of the Spa- 
nish language. 
Continuing to descend amid scattered blocks, they 
unexpectedly found themselves at the end of the fo- 
rest, when they entered a savannah, the verdure of 
which had been renewed by the winter rains. Here 
they had a splendid view of the Sierra del Guacharo, 
the northern declivity of which presented an almost 
perpendicular wall, exceeding 3200 feet in height, 
and scantily covered with vegetation. The ground 
before them.consisted of several level spaces, lying 
above each other like vast steps. The mission of 
Vera Cruz, which is situated in the middle of it, 
they reached in the evening, and next day continued 
their journey toward the Gulf of Cariaco. 
Proceeding on their way, they entered another 
forest, and reached the station of Catuaro, situated 
in avery wild spot, where they lodged at the house 
of the priest. Their host was a doctor of divinity, a 
thin little man, of petulant vivacity, who talked con- 
tinually of a lawsuit in which he was engaged with 
the superior of his convent, and wished to know what 
Humboldt thought of free-will and the souls of ani- 
mals. At this place they met with the corregidor 
of the district, an amiable person, who gave them 
three Indians to assist in cutting a way through the 
forest, the lianas and intertwining branches having 
obstructed the narrow lanes. The little missionary, 
however, insisted on accompanying them to Cariaco, 
and contrived to render the road extremely tedious 
by his observations on the necessity of the slave- 
trade, the innate wickedness of blacks, and the be- 
