99 



hygrometric observations prove, that the atmos- 

 phere of Cumana and Araya contains near nine 

 tenths of the quantity of watery vapours neces- 

 sary to it's perfect saturation. It is this air, at 

 once hot and humid, that nourishes the veget- 

 able fountains, the cucurbitaceous plants, the 

 agaves and melocactuses half-buried in the sand. 

 When we visited the peninsula the preceding 

 year, there was a dreadful scarcity of water; 

 the goats, wanting grass, died by hundreds. 

 During our stay at the Oroonoko, the order of 

 the seasons seemed to be entirely changed. At 

 Araya, Cochen, and even in the island of Mar- 

 garetta, it had rained abundantly ; and the re- 

 membrance of those showers occupied the 

 imagination of the inhabitants, as a fall of aero- 

 lites would that of the naturalists of Europe. 



The Indian who was our guide scarcely knew 

 in what direction we should find the ore of alum ; 

 he was ignorant of it's real situation. This ig- 

 norance of localities characterizes here almost 

 all the guides, who are chosen among the most 

 indolent class of the people. We wandered for 

 eight or nine hours, among rocks totally bare of 

 vegetation. The micaceous slate passes some- 

 times to clayslate of a darkish gray. I was 

 again struck by the extreme regularity in the 

 direction and inclination of the strata. They 

 run north 50° east, inclining from 60° to 70° to 

 the north west. This is the general direction^ 



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