ATHOSEHEKICAt PHENOMENA. 
345 
Indian villages which surround the great lake of Maracaibo. 
He had served on board a privateer belonging to the island 
of St. Domingo, and in consequence of a quarrel with the 
captain he had been left on the coast of Cumana, when the 
ship quitted the port. Having seen the signal which we 
had fixed up for the purpose of observing the height of the 
tides, he had watched the moment when ho could attack us 
on the beach. But why, after having knocked one of us 
down, was he satisfied with simply stealing a hat ? In an 
examination he underwent, his answers were so confused and 
stupid, that it was impossible to clear up our doubts. Some- 
times he maintained that his intention was not to rob us ; 
but that, irritated by the bad treatment he had suffered on 
board the privateer ‘of St. Domingo, he could not resist the 
desire of attacking us, when ho heard us speak French. 
Justice is so tardy in this country, that prisoners, of whom 
the jail is full, may remain seven or eight years without 
being brought to trial; we learnt, therefore, with some satis- 
faction, that a few days after our departure from Cumana, 
the Zatnbo had succeeded in breaking out of the castle of 
San Antonio. 
On the day after this occurrence, the 2Sth of October, 
I was, at five in the morning, on the terrace of our bouse, 
making preparations for the observation of the eclipse. The 
weather was fine and serene. The crescent of Venus, and 
the constellation of the Ship, so splendid from the disposi- 
tion of its immense nebulas, were lost in the rays of the 
rising sun. I had a complete observation of the progress and 
the close of the eclipse. I determined the distance of the 
horns, or the differences of altitude and azimuth, by the 
passage over tbe threads of the quadrant. The eclipse ter- 
minated at 2 h 14' 23-4" mean time, at Cumana. 
During a few days which preceded and followed the eclipse 
of the sun, very remarkable atmospherical phenomena were 
observable. It was what is called in those countries the 
season of winter; that is, of clouds and small electrical 
showers. From the 10th of October to the 3rd of Novem- 
ber, at nightfall, a reddish vapour arose in the horizon, and 
covered, in a few minutes, with a veil more or less thick, 
tlxe azure vault of the sky. Saussure’s hygrometer, far 
from indicating greater humidity, often went back from 
