ARRIVAL
AT
ANGOSTURA.
519
M u i t a c o and the island o f Ceiba a hill entirely composed o f balls with c o n c e n t r i c layers, in which we perceived a close mixture o f hornblende and feldspar, with some traces o f pyrites. T h e gr端nstein resembles that in the vicinity of C a r a c a s ; but it w a s impossible to ascertain the position of a formation which appeared t o m e to be of the same age as the granite o f Parima. M u i t a c o was the last spot where w e slept in the open air on t h e shore of the O r i n o c o : we proceeded along the river t w o nights more before we reached A n g o s t u r a , which terminated o u r voyage. It would be difficult for me to express the satisfaction we felt on landing at A n g o s t u r a , the capital o f Spanish Guiana. The inconveniences endured at sea in small vessels are trivial in comparison with those that arc suffered under a b u r n i n g sky, surrounded by swarms o f mosquitos, and lying stretched in a canoe, without the possibility o f taking the least bodily exercise. In seventy-five days we had performed a passage o f five hundred leagues (twenty to a d e g r e e ) on the five great rivers, A p u r e , O r i n o c o , A t a b a p o , Rio N e g r o , and Cassiq u i a r e ; and in this vast extent we had found but a very small n u m b e r o f inhabited places. A f t e r the life we had led in the woods, our dress was not in the very best order, y e t nevertheless M. Bonpland and I hastened to present ourselves t o D o n F e l i p e de Y n c i a r t e , t h e g o v e r n o r of t h e province o f Guiana. H e received us in the m o s t cordial m a n ner, and lodged us in the house o f the secretary o f the Intendencia. Coming from an almost desert c o u n t r y , we were struck with the bustle o f the t o w n , though it contained only six thousand inhabitants. We admired the conveniences which industry and c o m m e r c e furnish t o civilized man. H u m b l e dwellings appeared to us magnificent; and every person with whom we conversed, seemed to b e e n d o w e d with superior intelligence. Long privations give a value t o the smallest e n j o y m e n t s ; and I c a n n o t express the pleasure we felt, when we saw for the first time wheaten bread o n the g o v e r n o r ' s table. Sensations of this sort are d o u b t l e s s familiar to all who have made distant v o y a g e s . A painful circumstance obliged us t o s o j o u r n a w h o l e month in the t o w n of Angostura. W e felt ourselves on the first days after our arrival tired and enfeebled, but in perfect health. M . Bonpland began t o examine the small n u m b e r