26 



hidden in the strata of sandstone, which cover 

 the Apine limestone. 



We left the Impossible on the 5th of Septem- 

 ber, before sunrise. The descent is very dan- 

 gerous for beasts of burden ; the path being in 

 general but fifteen inches broad, and bordered 

 by precipices. In 1796, the useful project was 

 formed of tracing a fine road from the village 

 of St. Fernando as far as the mountain. A 

 third of this road was even finished : but unfor- 

 tunately it had been begun in the plain, at the 

 foot of the Impossible, so that the most difficult 

 part of the road remained untouched ; and the 

 work was suspended by one of those causes, 

 which produce the failure of almost every plan 

 of improvement in the Spanish colonies. Va- 

 rious civil authorities were anxious to assume 

 to themselves the right of directing the works ; 

 and the people patiently paid the taxes for a 

 road which did not exist, till the Governor of 

 Cumana put an end to this abuse. 



In descending the Impossible, the rock of 

 Alpine limestone reappears under the sand- 

 stone. The strata being generally inclined to 

 the south and south-east, a great number of 

 springs gush out on the southern side of the 

 mountain. In the rainy season of the year, 

 these springs form torrents, which descend in 

 ♦cascades, shaded by the hura, the cuspa, and 

 the silver-leaved cecropia*. 



* Trumpet-tree. 



