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VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT.

what distinguishes it from all the mountains I have crossed, is its immense precipice on the side of the sea. The shore forms but a narrow edging, and, in looking from the top of the pyramid upon the houses of Caravellada, the wall-sided rocks, by an optical illusion of which I have often spoken, appear almost perpendicular. The true inclination of the slope appeared to me, by an accurate calculation, 53° 23′. The mean inclination of the Pic of Teneriffe is hardly 12° 30′. A precipice of six or seven miles, like that of the Silla of Caraccas, is a phenomenon much rarer than is imagined by those who traverse mountains without measuring their height, bulk, or declivity. Since the revival, in several parts of Europe, of experiments upon the fall of bodies, and upon their deflexion to the south-east, a wall-sided rock, 250 toises of perpendicular height, has been sought in vain throughout all the Alps in Swisserland. The slope of Mont Blanc to the Allée Blanche does not make an angle even of 45°, although, in most geological works, Mont Blanc is described as cut straight down on the south."

After a short stay on the summit, in the midst of which a dense fog arose, our travellers began their descent; and, abandoning their original intention of passing the night in the hollow, entered the savannah as it became dark. "As there is scarcely any twilight betwixt the tropics," says Humboldt, "perfect daylight is followed by sudden darkness. The moon was in the horizon; her face was covered from time to time by heavy clouds driven by a cold impetuous wind. The steep declivities, clothed with yellow, withered grass, were at one time wrapped in obscurity, then suddenly illumined; they looked like precipices, which the eye vainly sought to fathom. We proceeded in a long file, endeavouring

to assist each other with our hands, to prevent rolling down in case of stumbling. The guides who carried our instruments left us, one by one, to go and sleep in the mountain. Among those who remained, was a Congo negro, who excited my admiration by the skill with which he carried upon his head a large dippingneedle, keeping it always in equilibrium, notwithstanding the great steepness of the rocks. The mist began to clear away from the bottom of the valley. The lights which we saw scattered beneath us produced a double illusion, the steeps seeming still more dangerous than they really were, and, during six hours of continual descent, we constantly fancied ourselves near the farm-houses at the foot of the Silla. We heard, very distinctly, human voices, andthe shrill tones of guitars. Generally speaking, so strong is the upward propagation of sound, that, in an aërostatic balloon, the barking of dogs may sometimes be heard at the height of 3000 toises." In illustration of this last observation, it may be mentioned, that at the Cape of Good Hope, from the edge of the Table Mountain, which is 3600 feet high, and the upper part of which rises perpendicularly at the distance of about a mile from Cape Town, every noise made in the town, and even the word of command on the parade, may be distinctly heard.

Venezuela has never produced the precious metals in any abundance. At an early period after the conquest attempts were made by the Spaniards to work gold and silver mines, but were soon abandoned, in consequence of the scanty returns, and the high price of labour. Humboldt, however, thinks that the question, whether Venezuela contains mines worth the trouble of working them, is by no means decided. He observes, that, although in countries where labour is dear, the care of

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MINES OF VENEZUELA.

the government should unquestionably be first devoted to the cultivation of the soil, yet the example of Mexico sufficiently proves that the working of metals does not always impede the progress of agricultural industry. "The most highly-cultivated plains of Mexico," he says, "those which recall to the recollection of travellers the most beautiful fields of France and the south of Germany, extend from Silao towards the Villa de Leon; they border on the mines of Guanaxuato, which alone produce the sixth part of all the silver of the New World."

CHAPTER VII.

Earthquake at Caraccas in 1812-Subterranean commotions in America in 1811 and 1812-Destruction of the city-lamentable loss of life— Exhumation of the wounded-Moral effects of the calamity-Wide extent of the earthquake.

TWELVE years after the visit of our travellers to Caraccas, nine-tenths of the city were destroyed by that most terrible of natural phenomena,-an earthquake. Of this calamitous event, Humboldt collected all the trustworthy information which he could obtain; the result of his inquiries forms one of the most interesting portions of his narrative. At the time of his visit, a general opinion prevailed that the easternmost parts and coasts of the provinces of New Andalusia, New Barcelona, and Caraccas, were the most exposed to the destructive effects of earthquakes. The inhabitants of Cumana dreaded the Valley of Caraccas, on account of its damp and variable climate, and its gloomy and foggy