Digitale Ausgabe

|Spaltenumbruch| THE following abstract of theAmerican Travels of the celebratedbaron Humboldt and his companion Bonpland, has been drawn up fromnotes which the former has kindlyfurnished, and will supersede themany very incorrect accounts hither-to published relative to this interest-ing object. Baron Humboldt, having travelledfrom the year 1790, as a naturalist,through Germany, Poland, France,Switzerland, and through parts ofEngland, Italy, Hungary, and Spain,came to Paris in 1798, when hereceived an invitation, from the di-rectors of the national museum, toaccompany captain Baudin in hisvoyage round the world. Citizen Alexander Aime Gourjon Bonpland,a native of Rochelle, and broughtup in the Paris museum, was alsoto have accompanied them; whenon the point of departing, the wholeplan was suspended until a morefavourable opportunity, owing to there-commencement of the war withAustria, and to the consequent wantof funds. Mr. Humboldt, who, from 1792,had conceived the plan of travellingthrough India at his own expence,with a view of adding to the know-ledge of the sciences connected withnatural history, then resolved tofollow the learned men, who hadgone on the expedition to Egypt.....His plan was to go to Algiers in theSwedish frigate which carried theconsul Skoldebrandt, to follow thecaravan which goes from Algiers toMecca, going through Egypt to Arabia, and thence by the Persiangulph to the English East-India es-tablishments. The war which unex-pectedly broke out in October, 1798,between France and the Barbarypowers, and the troubles in the East,prevented Mr. Humboldt from em- |Spaltenumbruch| barking at Marseilles, where he hadbeen fruitlessly two months waitingto proceed. Impatient at this delay,and continuing firm in his determi-nation to go to Egypt, he went toSpain, hoping to pass more readilyunder the Spanish flag from Cartha-gena to Algiers and Tunis. He tookwith him the large collection of phi-losophical, chemical, and astronomi-cal instruments, which he had pur-chased in England and France. From a happy concurrence ofcircumstances, he obtained, in Fe-bruary, 1789, from the court of Ma-drid, a permission to visit the Spanishcolonies of the two Americas, a per-mission which was granted with aliberality and frankness, which washonourable to the government andto a philosophic age. After a resi-dence of some months at the Spanishcourt, during which time the kingshowed a strong personal interest inthe plan, Mr. Humboldt, in June,1799, left Europe, accompanied byMr. Bonpland, who, to a profoundknowledge in botany and zoology,added an indefatigable zeal. It iswith this friend that Mr. Humboldt has accomplished, at his own ex-pence, his travels in the two hemis-pheres, by land and sea, probablythe most extensive which any indi-vidual has ever undertaken. These two travellers left Corun-na in the Spanish ship Pizarro, forthe Canary islands, where they as-cended to the crater of the Peak ofTeyde, and made experiments onthe analysis of the air. In July theyarrived at the port of Camana, in South America. In 1799, 1800, theyvisited the coast of Paria, the mis-sions of the Chaymas Indians, theprovince of New Andalusia (a coun-try which had been rent by the mostdreadful earthquakes, the hottest,and yet the most healthy, in theworld) of New Barcelona, of Vene- |322| |Spaltenumbruch| zuela, and of Spanish Guayana.....InJanuary, 1800, they left Caraccas tovisit the beautiful vallies of Aragua,where the great lake of Valenciarecals to the mind the views of thelake of Geneva, embellished by themajesty of the vegetation of thetropics. From Porto Cabello theycrossed, to the south, the immenseplains of Caloboza, of Apure, and ofthe Oronoco, also los Llanos, a de-sert similar to those of Africa,where in the shade (by the rever-beration of heat) the thermometerof Reaumur rose to 35 and 37 (111to 115 F.) degrees. The level of thecountry for 2000 square leaguesdoes not differ 5 inches. The sandevery where represents the horizonof the sea, without vegetation; andits dry bosom hides the crocodiles,and the torpid boa (a species ofserpent). The travelling here, asin all Spanish America, except Mex-ico, is performed on horseback.....They passed whole days withoutseeing a palm-tree or the vestige ofa human dwelling. At St. Fernandode Apure, in the provinces of Vari-nas, Messrs. Humboldt and Bon-pland began that fatiguing naviga-tion of nearly 1000 marine leagues,executed in canoes, making a chartof the country by the assistance ofchronometers, the satellites of Jupi-ter, and the lunar distances. Theydescended the river Apure, whichempties itself into the Oronoco, in7 degrees of latitude. They ascend-ed the last river (passing the cele-brated cataracts of Mapure and A-tures) to the mouth of the Guaviare.From thence they ascended thesmall rivers of Tabapa, Juamini, andTenie. From the mission of Saritathey crossed by land to the sourcesof the famous Rio Negro, which Con-damine saw, where it joins the Ama-zon, and which he calls a sea offresh water. About 30 Indians car-ried the canoes through woods ofMami Lecythis and Laurus Cina-momoides to the cano (or creek) ofPemichin. It was by this smallstream that the travellers enteredthe Rio Negro, or Black River,which they descended to St. Carlos, |Spaltenumbruch| which has been erroneously suppos-ed to be placed under the equator,or just at the frontiers of Great Pa-ra, in the government of Bresil. Acanal from Tenie to Pemichin, whichfrom the level nature of the groundis very practicable, would present afine internal communication betweenthe Para and the province of Car-racas, a communication infinitelyshorter than that of Cassiquiare.....From the fortress of St. Carlos onthe Rio Negro, Mr. H. went northup that river and the Cassiquiare tothe Oronoco, and on this river tothe volcano Daida or the mission ofthe Esmeralda, near the sources ofthe Oronoco: the Indians Guaicas(a race of men almost pigmies, verywhite and very warlike) renderfruitless any attempts to reach thesources themselves. From the Esmeralda Messrs. H.& B. went down the Oronoco, whenthe waters rose, towards its mouthsat St. Thomas de la Guayana, or the Angostura. It was during this longnavigation that they were in a con-tinued state of suffering, from wantof nourishment, and shelter from thenight rains, from living in the woods,from the mosquetoes, and an infinitevariety of stinging insects, and fromthe impossibility of bathing, owingto the fierceness of the crocodileand the little carib fish, and finallythe miasmata of a burning climate.They returned to Cumana by theplains of Cari and the mission of theCarib Indians, a race of men verydifferent from any other, and pro-bably, after the Patagonians, thetallest and most robust in the world. After remaining some months at New Barcelona and Cumana, thetravellers arrived at the Havanna,after a tedious and dangerous navi-gation, the vessel being in the nighton the point of striking upon the Vibora rocks. Mr. H. remained threemonths in the island of Cuba, wherehe occupied himself in ascertainingthe longitude of the Havanna, and inconstructing stoves on the sugarplantations, which have since beenpretty generally adopted. They wereon the point of setting off for Vera |323| |Spaltenumbruch| Cruz, meaning, by the way ofMexico and Acapulco, to go to thePhilipine Islands, and from thence,if it was possible, by Bombay and Aleppo, to Constantinople, whensome false reports relative to Bau-din’s voyage alarmed them, andmade them change their plan. Thegazettes held out the idea that thisnavigator would proceed fromFrance to Buenos Ayres, and fromthence, by Cape Horn, for Chili andthe coast of Peru. Mr. Humboldt had promised to Mr. Baudin and tothe Museum of Paris, that wher-ever he might be, he would endea-vour to join the expedition, as soonas he should know of its having beencommenced. He flattered himselfthat his researches, and those of hisfriend Bonpland, might be moreuseful to science, if united to the la-bours of the learned men who wouldaccompany captain Baudin. These considerations induced Mr. Humboldt to send his manuscripts,for 1799 and 1800, direct to Europe,and to freight a small schooner at Batabano, intending to go to Car-thagena, and from thence, as quick-ly as possible, by the Isthmus of Pa-nama, to the South Sea. He hopedto find captain Baudin at Guayaquil,or at Lima, and with him to visitNew Holland, and the islands of thePacific Ocean, equally interestingin a moral point of view, as by theluxuriance of their vegetation. It appeared imprudent to exposethe manuscripts and collections al-ready made to the risks of this pro-posed navigation. These manu-scripts, of the fate of which Mr. H.remained ignorant during threeyears, and until his arrival in Phi-ladelphia, arrived safe, but one thirdpart of the collection was lost byshipwreck. Fortunately (except theinsects of the Oronoco and of theRio Negro) they were only dupli-cates; but unhappily friar JohnGonzales, monk of the order of St. Francis, the friend to whom theywere entrusted, perished with them.He was a young man full of ardour,who had penetrated into this un- |Spaltenumbruch| known world of Spanish Guayanafurther than any other European. Mr. Humboldt left Batabano inMarch, 1801, and passed to thesouth of the island of Cuba, onwhich he determined many geo-graphical positions. The passagewas rendered very long by calms,and the currents carried the littleschooner too much to the west, tothe mouths of the Attracto. Thevessel put into the river Sinu,where no botanist had ever beforevisited, and they had a very difficultpassage up to Carthagena. Theseason being too far advanced forthe South Sea navigation, the pro-ject of crossing the isthmus wasabandoned; and animated by thedesire of being acquainted with thecelebrated Mutis, and admiring hisimmensely rich collections of objectsof natural history, Mr. H. determin-ed to pass some weeks in the woodsof Turbaco, and to ascend (whichtook forty days) the beautiful riverof Madalaine, of the course of whichhe sketched a chart. From Honda, our travellers as-cended through forests of oaks, of melastomo, and of cinchona (thetree which affords the Peruvianbark), to St. Fe de Bogota, capitalof the kingdom of New Grenada,situated in a fine plain, elevated1360 toises (of six French feet) abovethe level of the sea. The superbcollections of Mutis, the majesticcataract of the Tequendama (fallsof 98 toises height) the mines ofMariquita, St. Ana, and of Tipaqui-ra, the natural bridge of Scononza(three stones thrown together in themanner of an arch, by an earth-quake), these curious objects stop-ped the progress of Messrs. Hum-boldt and Bonpland until the monthof September, 1801. At this time, notwithstanding therainy season had commenced, theyundertook the journey to Quito, andpassed the Andes of Quindiu, whichare snowy mountains covered withwax palm-trees (palmiers a cire),with passe flores (passion flower) ofthe growth of trees, storax, and |324| |Spaltenumbruch| bambusa (bamboo). They were,during 13 days, obliged to pass onfoot through places dreadfully swam-py, and without any traces of popu-lation. From the village of Carthago, inthe valley of Cauca, they followedthe course of the choco, the countryof Palatina, which was there foundin round pieces of basalte and greenrock (grein stein of Werner), andfossil wood. They pass by Buga toPopayan, a bishop’s see, and situatednear the volcanoes of Sotara andPurace, a most picturesque situa-tion, and enjoying the most deliciousclimate in the world, the thermo-meter of Reamur keeping constantlyat 16 to 18 (68 to 72 Fahr.) Theyascended to the crater of the volca-no of Purace, whose mouth, in themiddle of snow, throws out vapoursof sulphureous hydrogene, with con-tinued and frightful rumbling. From Popayan they passed by thedangerous defiles of Almager, avoid-ing the infected and contagious val-ley of Patia, to Posto, and from thistown, even now situated at the footof a burning volcano, by Tuquerasand the province of Pastos, a flatportion of country, fertile in Euro-pean grain, but elevated more than1500 to 1600 toises above the townsof Ibarra and Quito. They arrived, in January, 1802, atthis beautiful capital, celebrated bythe labours of the illustrious Conda-mine, of Bouger, Godin, Dr. GeorgeJuan, and Ulloa, and still more cele-brated by the great amiability of itsinhabitants, and their happy turnfor the arts. They remained nearly a year in the kingdom of Quito: the heightof its snow-capped mountains, itsterrible earthquakes (that of Febru-ary 7, 1797, swallowed up 42,000inhabitants, in a few seconds), itsfertility, and the manners of its in-habitants, combined to render it themost interesting spot in the universe.After three vain attempts, theytwice succeeded in ascending to thecrater of the volcano of Pichincha,taking with them electrometers, ba-rometers, and hygrometers. Con- |Spaltenumbruch| damine could only stop here a fewminutes, and that without instru-ments. In his time, this immensecrater was cold and filled with snow.Our travellers found it inflamed;distressing information for the townof Quito, which is distant from itonly 5000 to 6000 toises. They made separate visits to thesnowy and porphyritic mountains of Antisana, Cotopaxi, Tungarague,and Chimborazo, the last the high-est point of our globe. They studiedthe geological part of the Cordilleraof the Andes, on which subject no-thing has been published in Europe,mineralogy (if the expression maybe used) having been created, as itwere, since the time of Condamine.The geodesical measurements prov-ed that some mountains, particularlythe volcano of Tungarague, has con-siderably lowered since 1750, whichresult agrees with the observationsmade to them by the inhabitants. During the whole of this part ofthe journey, they were accompaniedby Mr. Charles Montufar , son ofthe marquis of Selva-alegre, of Qui-to, a person zealous for the progressof science, and who is, at his ownexpence, rebuilding the pyramids ofSaraqui, the extremity of the cele-brated bases of the triangles of theSpanish and French academicians.This interesting young man havingfollowed Mr. Humboldt in the re-mainder of his journey through Peruand the kingdom of New Spain, isnow on his passage with him to Eu-rope. Circumstances were so favourableto the efforts of the three travellers,that at Antisana they ascended 2200French feet, and at Chimborazo, onJune 22, 1802, nearly 3200 feet high-er than Condamine was able to carryhis instruments. They ascended to3036 toises elevation above the levelof the sea, the blood starting fromtheir eyes, lips, and gums. Anopening, of 80 toises deep, and verywide, prevented them from reach-ing the top, from which they wereonly distant 134 toises. It was at Quito that Mr. Hum-boldt received a letter from the Na- |325| |Spaltenumbruch| tional Institute of France, informinghim, that captain Baudin had pro-ceeded by the Cape of Good Hope,and that there was no longer anyhope of joining him. After having examined the coun-try overturned by the earthquakeof Riobamba, in 1797, they passedby the Andes of Assuay to Cuenza.The desire of comparing the barks(cinchona) discovered by Mr. Mutis,at Santa Fe de Bagota, and withthose of Popayan, and the cuspa andcuspare of New Andalusia, and ofthe river Caroni (named falselyCortex Augustura), with the cin-chona (barks) of Loxa and Peru,they preferred deviating from thebeaten track from Cuenza to Lima;but they passed with immense diffi-culties in the carriage of their in-struments and collections, by the fo-rest (paramo) of Saragura to Loxa,and from thence to the province of Jaen de Bracamoros. They had tocross thirty-five times, in two days,the river Guancabamba, so danger-ous for its sudden freshes. They sawthe ruins of the superb Ynga road,comparable to the finest roads inFrance, and which went upon theridge of the Andes from Cusco tothe Assuay, accommodated withfountains and taverns. They descended the river Cha-maya, which led them into that of the Amazones, and they navigatedthis last river down to the cataractsof Tomeperda, one of the most fer-tile, but one of the hottest, climatesof the habitable globe. From theAmazone river they returned to thesouth-east by the Cordilleras of the Andes to Montar, where they foundthey had passed the magnetic equa-tor, the inclination being 0, althoughat seven degrees of south latitude.They visited the mines of Hualgua-yoc, where native silver is found atthe height of 2000 toises. Some ofthe veins of these mines contain pe-trified shells, and which, with thoseof Pasco and Huantajayo, are actu-ally the richest of Peru. FromCaxamarca they descended to Trux-illo, in the neighbourhood of which |Spaltenumbruch| are found the ruins of the immensePeruvian city, Mansiche. It was on this western descent ofthe Andes that the three voyagers,for the first time, had the pleasureof seeing the Pacific Ocean. Theyfollowed its barren sides, formerlywatered by the canals of the Yngasat Santa, Guerma, and Lima. Theyremained some months in this inte-resting capital of Peru, of which theinhabitants are distinguished by thevivacity of their genius, and the li-berality of their ideas. Mr. Humboldt had the good for-tune to observe the end of the pas-sage of Mercury over the sun’s disk,in the port of Callao. He was as-tonished to find, at such a distancefrom Europe, the most recent pro-ductions in chemistry, mathematics,and medicine; and he found greatactivity of mind in the inhabitants,who, in a climate where it nevereither rains or thunders, have beenfalsely accused of indolence. From Lima our travellers passedby sea to Guayaquil, situated on thebrink of a river, where the growthof the palm tree is beautiful beyonddescription. They every momentheard the rumbling of the volcanoof Cotopaxi, which made an alarm-ing explosion on the 6th January,1803. They immediately set off tovisit it a second time, when the un-expected intelligence of the speedydeparture of the frigate Atalantadetermined them to return, afterbeing seven days exposed to thedreadful attacks of the mosquitoesof Babaoya and Ujibar. They had a fortunate passage, bythe Pacific Ocean, to Acapulco, thewestern port of the kingdom of NewSpain, famous for the beauty of itsharbour, which appears to havebeen formed by earthquakes, forthe misery of its inhabitants, and forits climate, which is equally hot andunhealthy. Mr. Humboldt had originally theintention to remain only a fewmonths in Mexico, and to hasten hisreturn to Europe; his voyage hadalready been too much protracted, |326| |Spaltenumbruch| his instruments, particularly thechronometers, began to be out oforder, and every effort that he madeto have new ones sent to him provedof no avail; add to this considera-tion, that the progress of science isso rapid in Europe, that, in a jour-ney that lasts four or five years,great risk is run of contemplatingthe different phenomena under as-pects, which are no longer interest-ing at the moment of publishing theresult of your labours. Mr. Hum-boldt hoped to be in France in Au-gust or September, 1803, but the at-tractions of a country, so beautifuland so varied, as is that of the king-dom of New Spain, the great hospi-tality of its inhabitants, and the fearof the yellow fever, so fatal, fromJune to November, for those whocome from the mountainous parts ofthe country, led him to stay a yearin this kingdom. Our travellers ascended from A-capulco to Tasco, celebrated for itsmines, as interesting as they areancient. They rise, by small de-grees, from the ardent valley ofMescala and Papagayo, where thethermometer of Reaumur stands, inthe shade, constantly from 28 to 31(95 to 101 Fah.), in a region 6 or 700 toises above the level of thesea, where you find the oaks, thepines, and the fougere (fern) aslarge as trees, and where the Euro-pean grains are cultivated. Theypassed by Tasco, by Cuerna Vacca,to the capital of Mexico. This city,of 150,000 inhabitants, is placed up-on the ancient site of Texochtitlan,between the lakes of Tezcuco andXochimilco, lakes which have les-sened somewhat since the Spaniardshave opened the canal of Hacheu-toca, in sight of two snow-toppedmountains, of which one, Hopocate-pec, is even now an active volcano,surrounded by a great number ofwalks, shaded with trees, and byIndian villages. This capital of Mexico, situated1160 toises above the sea, in a mildand temperate climate, may doubt-less be compared to some of the fin- |Spaltenumbruch| est towns in Europe. Great scien-tific establishments, such the Aca-demy of Painting, Sculpture, andEngraving, the College of Mines,(owing to the liberality of the Com-pany of Miners of Mexico), andthe Botanic Garden, are institutionswhich do honour to the govern-ment which has created them. After remaining some months inthe valley of Mexico, and after fix-ing the longitude of the capital,which had been laid down with anerror of nearly two degrees, ourtravellers visited the mines of Moranand Real del Monte, and the Cerroof Oyamel, where the ancient Mexi-cans had the manufactory of knivesmade of the obsidian stone. Theysoon after passed by Queretaro andSalamanca to Guanaxoato, a townof fifty thousand inhabitants, andcelebrated for its mines, more richthan those of Potosi have ever been.The mine of the count of Valenci-ana, which is 1840 French feet per-pendicular depth, is the deepest andrichest mine of the universe. Thismine alone gives to its proprietornearly six hundred thousand dol-lars annual and constant profit. From Guanaxoato they returnedby the valley of St. Jago to Vallado-lid, in the ancient kingdom of Mi-chuacan, one of the most fertile andcharming provinces of the kingdom.They descended from Pascuaro to-wards the coast of the Pacific Oceanto the plains of Serullo, where, in1759, in one night, a volcano arosefrom the level, surrounded by twothousand small mouths, from whencesmoke still continues to issue. Theyarrived almost to the bottom of thecrater of the great volcano of Serul-lo, of which they analized the air,and found it strongly impregnatedwith carbonic acid. They returnedto Mexico by the valley of Teluca,and visited the volcano, to the high-est point of which they ascended,14,400 French feet above the levelof the sea. In the months of January andFebruary, 1804, they pursued theirresearches on the eastern descent |327| |Spaltenumbruch| of the Cordilleras, they measuredthe mountains Merados, de la Pue-bla, Popocatyce, Izazihuatli, thegreat peak of Orizaba, and the Cof-re de Perote; upon the top of thislast Mr. Humboldt observed themeridian height of the sun. In fine,after some residence at Xalappa,they embarked at Vera Cruz, forthe Havannah. They resumed thecollections they had left there in1801, and by the way of Philadel-phia, embarked for France, in July, |Spaltenumbruch| 1804, after six years of absence andlabours. A collection of 6000 differ-ent species of plants (of which agreat part are new) and numerousmineralogical, astronomical, che-mical, and moral observations, havebeen the result of this expedition.Mr. Humboldt gives the highestpraises to the liberal protectiongranted to his researches by theSpanish government. Baron Humboldt was born in Prus-sia, on the 14th of September, 1769.