273 



years under seal. It was not restored to the 

 Inhabitants of Cura, till 1802. Mr. Depons has 

 related at large the circumstances of this singu- 

 lar cause *. 



After having bathed in the little river of San 

 Juan, the bottom of which is of basaltic gruen- 

 stein, in cool and limpid water, we continued 

 our journey at two in the morning, by Ortiz and 

 Parapara, to the Mesa de Paja, The road of 

 the Llanos being at that time infested with rob- 

 bers, several travellers joined us, in order to form 

 a sort of caravan. We continued going down 

 hill during six or seven hours ; and we skirted 

 the Cerro de Flores, near which the road turns 

 off, that leads to the great village of San Jose 

 de Tisnao. We passed the farms of Luque and 

 Juncalito, to enter the valleys, which, on account 

 of the bad road, and the blue colour of the 

 slates, bear the names of Malpasso and Piedras 

 azules. 



This ground forms the ancient shore of the 

 great basin of the Steppes, and furnishes inte- 

 resting researches to the geologist. We there 

 find trap formations, which, probably more re- 

 cent than the veins of diabasis near the town of 

 Caraccas, seem to belong to the rocks of igneous 

 formation. They are not long and narrow 

 streams, as in a part of Auvergne, but large 



VOL. IV. 



* Vol. in, p. 178. 

 T 



