SEPULCHRAL CAVE. 921 
the natives show towards dead bodies, after they 
have given them burial, we carefully covered the 
baskets with new mats. Unfortunately for us, the 
penetration of the Indians, and the extreme delicacy 
of their organs of smell, rendered our precautions use- 
less. Wherever we stopped,—in the Carib missions, 
in the midst of the Llanos, between Angostura and 
New Barcelona,—the natives collected around our 
mules to admire the monkeys which we had brought 
from the Orinoco. These good people had scarcely 
touched our baggage when they predicted the ap- 
proaching death of the beast of burden ‘ that carried 
the dead.’ In vain we told them that they were 
deceived in their conjectures, that the panniers con- 
tained bones of crocodiles and lamantins ; they per- 
sisted in repeating, that they smelt the resin which 
surrounded the skeletons, and that ‘ they were some 
of their old relatives.’ 
“ We departed in silence from the cave of en 
It was one of those calm and serene nights which 
are so common in the torrid zone. The stars shone 
with a mild and planetary light ; their scintillation 
was scarcely perceptible at the horizon, which seem- 
ed illuminated by the great nebule of the southern 
hemisphere. Multitudes of insects diffused a red- 
dish light over the air. The ground, profusely co- 
vered with plants, shone with those living and mov- 
ing lights as if the stars of the firmament had fallen 
upon the savannah. On leaving the cave, we re- 
peatedly stopped to admire the beauty of this extra- 
ordinary place. The scented vanilla and festoons of 
bignonie decorated its entrance ; while the summit 
of the overhanging hill was crowned by arrowy 
palm-trees that waved murmuring in the air.” 
