190 



CARACCAS BAY AND RIVER. 



[1825. 



place irf the month of January, 1803, was preceded by a frightful 

 phenomenon — the sudden melting of the snows that covered the 

 mountain. For more than twenty years neither smoke nor any dis- 

 tinguishable vapour had issued from the crater ; and yet, in a single 

 night, the subterranean fire had become so active, that at sunrise the 

 external walls of the cone, strongly heated, had become naked, and 

 had acquired the black colour which is peculiar to vitrified scoriae. At 

 the port of Guayaquil, fifty-two leagues in a straight line from the edge 

 of the crater, Humboldt heard, day and night, the roaring of this vol- 

 cano, like repeated discharges of artillery.* 



The country on both sides of Caraccas bay and river is the most 

 beautiful that can possibly be imagined. The soil is rich and fertile, 

 producing in great abundance cocoa, coffee, rice, Indian corn, tobacco, 

 and a great variety of excellent fruits. Among other valuable woods 

 are laurel, ebony, cedar, saffron, cinnamon, balsam, and oak. All 

 kinds of vegetables are plenty, as are also honey and wax. This is 

 one of the best places on the coast to procure a cargo of cocoa, as you 

 may depend on its being of the very best quality that grows in this 

 country ; whereas, if you go to Guayaquil to procure this article, you 

 are liable to be imposed upon by adulterations. The best coffee and 

 wax may likewise be had at this place, and at a much lower rate than 

 at Guayaquil. 



Among the animal productions of this country are cattle, horses, 

 sheep, goats, hogs, and poultry, in abundance. The forests are well 

 tenanted with a great variety of wild animals, including a multitude 

 of birds of very beautiful plumage. The usual temperature of the 

 atmosphere being warm and moist, brings into existence innumerable 

 swarms of insects and animals of a noxious kind. But the period of 

 their existence is not very protracted, as the south-west winds, which 

 generally prevail from May to December inclusive, destroy them in 

 great numbers. In the height of the wet season, the alligators and 

 other disagreeable reptiles spread themselves over the country, and 

 become very troublesome to the natives ; but in the fair-weather season 

 they cause very little annoyance. 



The south-west winds, just alluded to, commence blowing about 

 noon, and continue until after daylight the next morning. During 

 those months of the year in which these winds prevail, the atmosphere 

 is very clear, and it is seldom or never known to rain ; but from Janu- 

 ary to the last of April the heat is very oppressive, accompanied with 

 frequent and heavy falls of rain, with tremendous thunder-storms, and 

 very sharp lightning. 



There are several small towns situated on the banks of this river ; 

 and near the head of it is quite a populous one, called Hipperhapper. 

 The country beyond this, towards the Andes, is prolific in vegetable 

 productions, gold-dust, manilla, copal, and many valuable drugs. 



February 3d. — Having transacted the business which took me into 

 Caraccas Bay, and procured some necessary refreshments for our 

 cruise, we got under way on Saturday, the 29th of January, shaping 

 our course for Cocos Island, at which we arrived on Thursday, the 

 3d of February. 



* Malte Brim's System of Geography, vol. ii. p. 292. 



