46 



rate *. Though the weather was cloudy, I suc- 

 ceeded in obtaining some heights of * Centauri, 

 serving to determine the latitude of the place ; 

 which is 8° 37' 57". Some altitudes of the Sun 

 gave me 67° 8' 12" for the longitude, supposing 

 Angostura to be 66° 15' 21". The astronomical 

 determinations of Calabozo -fr and Concep- 

 cion del Pao are sufficiently important to the 

 geography of this country, where, in the midst 

 of savannahs, fixed points are altogether want- 

 ing. Some fruit-trees grow in the vicinity of 

 Pao, which is a rare circumstance in the steppes. 

 We even found some cocoa trees, that appeared 

 very vigorous, notwithstanding the great dis- 

 tance of the sea. I lay some stress on this last 

 observation, because doubts have recently been 

 started respecting the veracity of travellers, who 

 assert, that they saw the cocoa tree, which is a 

 palm of the shore, at Tombuctoo, in the centre 

 of Africa |. It happened to us several times, to 

 see cocoa trees amid the cultivated spots oa the 

 banks of the Rio Magdalena, more than a hun- 

 dred leagues from the coast. 



Five days, which to us appeared very tedious, 

 brought us from Villa del Pao to the port of 



* Cauliu, p. 343. Depons, vol. iii, p. 209. 

 f See above, vol. iv, p. 377. 



I According to the report of the sailor Adams, and that 

 of badjee Talub Ben Jelow, in Fitzclarencc's Route across 

 India, p. 494. 



