AEBIVAL AT ABUOSTUBA. 
519 
Muitaco and the island of Ceiba a hill entirely com- 
posed of balls with concentric layers, in which we perceived 
a close mixture of hornblende and feldspar, with some traces 
of pyrites. The griinstcin resembles that in the vicinity of 
Caracas ; but it was impossible to ascertain the position of 
a formation which appeared to me to be of the same age as 
the granite of Parima. Muitaco was the last spot where we 
slept in the open air on the shore of the Orinoco : we pro- 
ceeded along tho river two nights more before we reached 
Angostura, which terminated our voyage. 
It would be difficult for me to express the satisfaction wa 
felt on landing at Angostura, the capital of Spanish Guiana. 
The inconveniences endured at sea in small vessels are trivial 
m comparison with those that are suffered under a burning 
sky, surrounded by swarms of mosquitos, and lying stretched 
in a canoe, without the possibility of taking the least bodily 
exercise. In seventy-five days we had performed a passage 
oi five hundred leagues (twenty to a degree) on the five great 
rivers, Apure, Orinoco, Atabapo, Bio Negro, and Cassi- 
quiare ; and in this vast extent we had found but a very 
small number of inhabited places. After the life we had led 
in the woods, our dress was not in the very best order, yet 
nevertheless M. Bonpland and I hastened to present our- 
selves to Don Felipe de Ynciarte, the governor of the pro- 
vince of Guiana, lie received us in the most cordial man- 
ner, and lodged us in the house of the secretary of the Inten- 
dencia. Coming from an almost desert country, we were 
struck with the bustle of the town, though it contained only 
six thousand inhabitants. "Wo admired the conveniences 
which industry and commerce furnish to civilized man. 
Humble dwellings appeared to us magnificent; and every 
person with whom we conversed, seemed to be endowed 
with superior intelligence. Long privations give a value to 
the smallest enjoyments ; and I cannot express the pleasure 
we felt, when wc saw for the first time wheaten bread on 
the governor’s table. Sensations of this sort are doubtless 
familiar to all who have made distant voyages. 
A painful circumstance obliged us to sojourn a whole 
month in the town of Angostura. We felt ourselves on the 
first days after our arrival tired and enfeebled, but in perfect 
health. M. Bonpland began to examine the small number 
