707 



crying out to them to extend their arms at the 

 moment when the cracked ground was ready to 

 swallow them up. When this courageous wo- 

 man heard the astonishment that was expressed 

 at a presence of mind so extraordinary, she an- 

 swered with great simplicity, " I had been told 

 in my infancy, if the earthquake surprise you 

 in a house, place yourself under a doorway, that 

 communicates from one apartment to another; 

 if you be in the open air, and feel the ground 

 opening beneath you, extend both your arms, 

 and try to support yourself on the edge of the 

 crevice." Thus in savage regions, or in coun- 

 tries exposed to frequent convulsions, man is 

 prepared to struggle with the beasts of the 

 forest, to deliver himself from the jaws of the 

 crocodile, and to escape from the conflict of the 

 elements. 



Whenever, in very hot and damp years, per- 

 nicious fevers become common at Angostura, 

 the problem is discussed, whether the govern- 

 ment did right in transferring the town from the 

 Vieja Guayana to the Strait between the 

 island of Maruanta and the confluence of 

 the Rio Orocopiche. It is asserted, that the 

 ancient town, standing nearer the sea, en- 

 joyed the advantage of the cooling breezes ; 

 and that the great mortality prevailing there 

 was less owing to local causes, than to the way 

 of living of the inhabitants. The fertile and 



2 z 2 



