167 



interior. Toward the east, in the bluish dis- 

 tance, appeared for the last time the high chain 

 of the Cunavami mountains. It's long, hori- 

 zontal ridge reminded us of the Mesa of Bergan- 

 tin, near Cumana ; but it terminates by a trun- 

 cated summit. The Peak of Calitamini (the 

 name given to this summit) glows at sunset as 

 with a reddish fire. This appearance is every 

 day the same. No one ever approached this 

 mountain, the height of which does not exceed 

 six hundred toises*. I believe this splendor, 

 commonly reddish and sometimes silvery, to be 

 a reflexion produced by large plates of talc, or 

 by gneiss passing into mica-slate. The whole 

 of this country contains granitic rocks, on which 

 here and there, in little plains, an argillaceous 

 grit-stone immediately reposes, containing frag- 

 ments of quartz, and of brown iron ore. 



In going to the embarcadere, we caught on 

 the trunk of a heveaf a new species of tree frog, 

 remarkable for it's beautiful colours ; it had a 

 yellow belly, the back and head of a fine velvet- 

 ty purple, and a very narrow stripe of white 

 from the point of the nose to the hinder ex- 

 tremities. This frog was two inches long, and 

 allied to the rana tinctoria, the blood of which, 



* It is seen at Maypures under an apparent angle of 

 1° 27 '. 



f One of the trees, the milk of which yields caoutchouc. 



