2(52 
EGKE8S FROM THE CATERS. 
to the spot where lie stopped, but the cavern extended still 
farther. The remembrance of this fact was preserved in the 
convent of Caripe, without the exact period being noted. 
The bishop had provided himself with great torches of white 
Castile wax. \V r e had torches composed only of the bark of 
trees and native resin. The thick smoke which issued from 
these torches, in a narrow subterranean passage, hurts the 
eyes and obstructs the respiration. 
On turning back to go out of the cavern, we followed the 
course of the torrent. Before our eyes became dazzled with 
the light of day we saw on the outside of the grotto the water 
of the river sparkling amid the foliage of the trees which 
shaded it. It was like a picture placed in the distance, the 
mouth of the cavern serving as a frame. Having at length 
reached the entrance, we seated ourselves on the bank of the 
rivulet, to rest after our fatigues. We were glad to be 
beyond the hoarse cries of the birds, and to leave a place 
where darkness does not offer even the charm of silence and 
tranquillity. We could scarcely persuade ourselves that the 
name of tho Grotto of Caripe had hitherto been unknown 
in Europe;* for the guacharos alone might have sufficed to 
lender it celebrated. These nocturnal birds have been no 
where yet discovered, except in the mountains of Caripe and 
Cumanacoa. The missionaries had prepared a repast at the 
entry of the cavern. Leaves of the banana and the vijao,+ 
which have a silky lustre, served us as a table-elotli, accord- 
ing to the custom of the country. Nothing was wanting to 
our enjoyment, mot even remembrances, which are so rare 
in those countries, where generations disappear without 
leaving a trace of their existence. 
Before we quit the subterranean rivulet and the noc- 
turnal birds, let us cast a last glance at the cavern of the 
Guacharo, and the whole of the physical phenomena it pre- 
* It is surprising that Father Gili, author of the Saggio di Storia Ame- 
ricana, does not mention it, though he had in his possession a manuscript 
written in 1780 at the convent of Caripe. 1 gave the first information 
respecting the Cueva del Guacharo in 1800, in my letters to Messrs. 
Delambre and Delametherie, published in the Journal de Physique. 
"t Heliconia bihai, Linn. The Creoles have changed the b of the Hav- 
tian word bihao into r, and the h into j, agreeably to the Castilian pro- 
nunciation. 
