31 



Columbus himself *, is, according to my obser- 

 vations, in 65° 4' 5" longitude. It seemed to us 

 so much the more elevated, as the clouds con- 

 cealed from us the view of it's indented top. The 

 physiognomy of the mountains of Paria, then- 

 color, and especially their generally rounded 

 forms, made us suspect, that the coast was gra- 

 nitic ; but we afterwards recognized how delu- 

 sive, even for those who have passed their lives 

 in scaling mountains, are opinions respecting 

 the nature of rocks seen at a distance. 



A dead calm, which lasted several hours, per- 

 mitted us to determine with exactness the inten- 

 sity of the magnetic forces opposite the Cabo de 

 ires Puntas. This intensity was greater than in 

 the open sea, to the east of the island of Tobago, 

 in the ratio of 237 to 229. During the calm 

 the current drew us on rapidly to the west. It's 

 velocity was three miles an hour, and increased 

 as we approached the meridian of Testigos, a 

 heap of rocks which rise up amidst the waters. 

 At the setting of the Moon, the sky was covered 

 with clouds, the wind freshened anew, and the 

 rain descended in one of those torrents, which 

 are peculiar to the torrid zone, and to which we 

 were often exposed during our inland excur- 

 sions. 



The malady which had broke out on board 

 the Pizarro had made rapid progress, from the 



* Month of August, 1598. 



