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228 INTENSE HEAT. 
the thermometer placed against the rock rose to 
122°4°.. “ How vivid,’ says Humboldt, “is the 
impression which the noontide quiet of nature pro- 
duces in these burning climates! The beasts of the 
forest retire to the thickets, and the birds conceal 
themselves among the foliage or. in the crevices of 
rocks. Yet amid this apparent silence, should one 
listen attentively, he hears a stifled sound, a con- 
tinued murmur, a hum of insects, that fill the lower 
strata of the air. Nothing is more adapted to ex- 
cite in man a sentiment of the extent and power of 
organic life. Myriads of insects crawl on the ground, 
and flutter round the plants scorched by the heat 
of the sun. A confused noise issues from every bush, 
from the decayed trunks of the trees, the fissures of 
the rocks, and from the ground, which is under- 
mined by lizards, millipedes, and blindworms. It 
is a voice proclaiming to us that all nature breathes, 
that under a thousand different forms life is diffused 
in the cracked and dusty soil, as in the bosom of 
the waters, and in the air that circulates around 
us.” The water of the river was very disagreeable 
here, as it had a musky smell and a sweetish taste. 
In some parts it was pretty good; but in others it 
seemed loaded with gelatinous matter, which the 
natives attribute to putrified crocodiles. 
After sleeping at the foot of an eminence they 
continued their voyage, and passed the mouths of 
several rivers; and on the 9th arrived, early in the 
morning, at the beach of Pararuma, where they 
found an encampment of Indians, who had. assem- 
bled to search the sands for turtles’ eggs. The pilot, 
who had brought them from San Fernando de 
Apure, would not undertake to accompany them far- 
