26 



hidden in the strata of sandstone, which cover 



to '-■',;< '"I ■ V i ^ * f 



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 1 796, 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. 



