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Alexander von Humboldt: „Baron Humboldt“, in: ders., Sämtliche Schriften digital, herausgegeben von Oliver Lubrich und Thomas Nehrlich, Universität Bern 2021. URL: <https://humboldt.unibe.ch/text/1804-Baron_Humboldt-13-neu> [abgerufen am 29.03.2024].

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Titel Baron Humboldt
Jahr 1804
Ort Richmond, Virginia
Nachweis
in: The Enquirer 1:41 (26. September 1804), S. [4]; 1:42 (29. September 1804), S. [4].
Sprache Englisch
Typografischer Befund Antiqua (mit lang-s); Spaltensatz; Auszeichnung: Kursivierung; Fußnoten mit Asterisken.
Identifikation
Textnummer Druckausgabe: II.23
Dateiname: 1804-Baron_Humboldt-13-neu
Statistiken
Seitenanzahl: 2
Spaltenanzahl: 2
Zeichenanzahl: 23660

Weitere Fassungen
Baron Humboldt (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1804, Englisch)
Notice d’un voyage aux tropiques, exécuté par MM. Humboldt et Bonpland, en 1799, 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803 et 1804. Par J.-C. Delamétherie (Paris, 1804, Französisch)
Baron Humboldt (New York City, New York, 1804, Englisch)
Baron Humboldt (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1804, Englisch)
Baron Humboldt (New York City, New York, 1804, Englisch)
Baron Humboldt (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1804, Englisch)
Baron Humboldt (Charleston, South Carolina, 1804, Englisch)
Baron Humboldt (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1804, Englisch)
Baron Humboldt (Washington, District of Columbia, 1804, Englisch)
Travels of Baron Humboldt (Kingston, New York, 1804, Englisch)
Baron Humboldt (Washington, District of Columbia, 1804, Englisch)
Baron Humboldt (Amherst, New Hampshire, 1804, Englisch)
Baron Humboldt (Richmond, Virginia, 1804, Englisch)
Baron Humboldt (New Bedford, Massachusetts, 1804, Englisch)
Baron Humboldt (Dover, New Hampshire, 1804, Englisch)
Auszug aus Delametheriés vorläufiger Nachricht von der durch die Herren v. Humboldt und Bonpland in den Jahren 1799, 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803 und 1804 nach den Wendekreisen unternommenen Reise (Wien, 1804, Deutsch)
Reise der Herren von Humboldt und Bonpland nach den Wendekreisen In den Jahren 1799 bis 1804. Eine gedrängte Uebersicht des Auszugs ihrer Memoiren v. J. C. Delametherie. Nach dem Französischen übertragen von Schirges Dr. (Hannover, 1805, Deutsch)
J. C. Delametherie’s vorläufige Nachricht von der durch die Herren v. Humboldt und Bonpland in den Jahren 1799, 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803 und 1804 nach den Wendekreisen unternommenen Reise (Weimar, 1805, Deutsch)
Short Account of the Travels between the Tropics, by Messrs. Humboldt and Bonpland, in 1799, 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803, and 1804. By J. C. Delametherie (London, 1805, Englisch)
J. C. Delametherie’s vorläufige Nachricht von der durch die Herren von Humboldt und Bonpland in den Jahren 1799, 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803 und 1804 nach den Wendekreisen unternommenen Reise (Salzburg, 1805, Deutsch)
Account of the Travels between the Tropics of Messrs. Humboldt and Bonpland, in 1799, 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803, and 1804. By J. C. Delamétherie (London, 1805, Englisch)
Travels in South America (Edinburgh, 1805, Englisch)
Voyage de Humboldt et Bonpland en Amérique, tiré du magasin littéraire de Philadelphie, publié en juillet 1804 (Paris, 1807, Französisch)
|4|

BARON HUMBOLDT.


From the “Literary Magazine, and AmericanRegiſter.”
ORIGINAL COMMUNICATION.

The following abſtract of the American Tra-vels of the celebrated Baron Humboldt and hiscompanion Bonpland, has been drawn up fromnotes which the former has kindly furniſhed, andwill ſupercede the many very incorrect accountshitherto publiſhed relative to this intereſting ob-ject.
Baron Humboldt, having travelled from theyear 1790, as a naturaliſt, through Germany,Poland, France, Switzerland, and through partsof England, Italy, Hungary, and Spain, cameto Paris in 1798, when he received an invitation,from the directors of the national muſeum, toaccompany captain Baudin in his voyage roundthe world.—Citizen Alexander Aime GoujonBonpland, a native of Rochelle, and brought upin the Paris muſeum, was alſo to have accompa-nied them; when on the point of departing thewhole plan was ſuſpended until a more favora-ble opportunity, owing to the recommencementof the war with Auſtria, and to the conſequentwant of funds. Mr. Humboldt, who, from 1792, had concei-ved the plan of travelling through India at hisown expence, with a view of adding to theknowledge of the ſciences connected with natu-ral hiſtory, then reſolved to follow the learnedmen, who had gone on the expedition to Egypt.—His plan was to go to Algiers in the Swediſhfrigate which carried the Conſul Skoldebrandt,to follow the caravan which goes from Algiers to Mecca, going through Egypt to Arabia, andthence by the Perſian gulph to the Engliſh Eaſt-India eſtabliſhments. The war which unex-pectedly broke out in October 1798, betweenFrance and the Barbary powers, and the trou-bles in the Eaſt, prevented Mr. Humboldt fromembarking at Marſeilles, where he had beenfruitleſsly two months waiting to proceed. Im-patient at this delay, and continuing firm in hisdetermination to go to Egypt, he went to Spain,hoping to paſs more readily under the Spaniſhflag from Carthagena to Algiers and Tunis. Hetook with him the large collection of philoſophi-cal, chemical, and aſtronomical inſtruments,which he had purchaſed in England andFrance. From a happy concurrence of circumſtances,he obtained, in February, 1799, from the courtof Madrid, a permiſſion to viſit the Spaniſh co-lonies of the two Americas, a permiſſion whichwas granted with a liberality and frankneſs,which was honorable to the government and toa philoſophic age. After a reſidence of ſomemonths at the Spaniſh court, during which timethe king ſhowed a ſtrong perſonal intereſt in theplan, Mr. Humboldt, in June, 1799, left Eu-rope, accompanied by Mr. Bonpland, who, toa profound knowledge in botany and zoology,added an indefatigable zeal. It is with thisfriend that Mr. Humboldt has accompliſhed, athis own expence, his travels in the two hemiſ-pheres, by land and ſea, probably the moſt ex-tenſive which any individual has ever underta-ken. Theſe two travellers left Corunna in the Spa-niſh ſhip Pizarro, for the Canary Iſlands, wherethey aſcended to the crater of the Peak ofTeyde, and made experiments on the analyſisof the air. In July they arrived at the port ofCumana, in South America. In 1799, 1800,they viſited the coaſt of Paria, the miſſions ofthe Chaymas Indians, the province of New An-daluſia (a country which had been rent by themoſt dreadful earthquakes, the hotteſt, and yetthe moſt healthy in the world) of New Barcelo-na, of Venezuela, and of Spaniſh Guayana.—In January, 1800, they left Caraccas to viſit thebeautiful vallies of Aragua, where the great lakeof Valencia recals to the mind the views of thelake of Geneva, embelliſhed by the majeſty ofthe vegetation of the tropics. From Porto Ca-bello they croſſed to the ſouth, the immenſeplains of Callaboza, of Apure, and of the Oro-noce, alſo los Llanos, a deſert ſimilar to thoſe of Africa, where in the ſhade (by the reverberationof heat) the thermometer of Reaumur roſe to35 and 37 (111 to 115 F.) degrees. The levelof the country for 2000 ſquare leagues does notdiffer 5 inches. The ſand every where repre-ſents the horizon of the ſea, without vegetation;and its dry boſom hides the crocodiles, and thetorpid boa (a ſpecies of ſerpent.) The travellinghere, as in all Spaniſh America, except Mexico,is performed on horſeback.—They paſſed wholedays without ſeeing a palm-tree, or the veſtigeof a human dwelling. At St. Fernando de E-pure, in the provinces of Varinas, Meſſrs. Hum-boldt and Bonpland began that fatiguing navi-gation of nearly 1000 marine leagues executedin canoes, making a chart of the country by theaſſiſtance of chronometers, the ſatellities of Ju-piter, and the lunar diſtances. They deſcendedthe river Apure, which empties itſelf into the O-renoco, in 7 degrees of latitude. They aſcend-ed the laſt river (paſſing the celebrated cataractsof Maypure and Atures) to the mouth of theGuaviare. From hence they aſcended the ſmallrivers of Tabapa, Juamini, and Temi. Fromthe miſſion of Sarita they croſſed by land to theſources of the famous Rio Negro, which Conda-mine ſaw, where it joins the Amazon, and whichhe calls a ſea of freſh water. About 30 Indianscarried the canoes through the woods of Mami,Lecythis, and Laurus Cinamomoides, to the ca-no (or creek) of Pimichin. It was by this ſmallſtream that the travellers entered the Rio Ne-gro, or Black River, which they deſcended toSt. Carlos, which has been erroneouſly ſuppoſedto be placed under the equator, or juſt at thefrontiers of Great Para, in the government ofBraſil. A canal from Temi to Pimichin, whichfrom the level nature of the ground is very prac-ticable, would preſent a fine internal communi-cation between the Para and the province ofCaracas, a communication infinitely ſhorter thanthat of Caſſiquaire.—From the fortreſs of St.Carlos on the Rio Negro, Mr. H. went north upthat river and the Caſſiquaire to the Oronoco,and on this river to the volcano Daida, or themiſſion of the Eſmeralda, near the ſources ofOronoco: the Indians Guaicas (a race of menalmoſt pigmies, very white and very warlike)render fruitleſs any attempts to reach the ſour-ces themſelves. From the Eſmeralda, Meſſrs. H. and B. went todown the Oronoco, when the waters roſe, to-wards its mouth at St. Thomas de la Guayanaor the Angoſtura. It was during this long navi-gation that they were in a continued ſtate of ſuf-fering, from want of nouriſhment and ſhelterfrom the night rains, from living in the woods,from the muſquetoes, and an infinite variety ofſtinging inſects, and from the impoſſibility of ba-thing, owing to the fierceneſs of the crocodileand the little crab fiſh, and finally the miaſmataof a burning climate. They returned to Cuma-na by the plains of Cari and the miſſion of theCarab Indians, a race of men very different fromany other, and probably, after the Patagoniansthe talleſt and moſt robuſt in the world. After remaining ſome months at New Barce-lona and Cumana, the travellers arrived at theHavanna, after a tedious and dangerous naviga-tion, the veſſel being in the night on the point ofſtriking upon the Vibora rocks. Mr. H. remain-ed three months in the iſland of Cuba, where heoccupied himſelf in aſcertaining the longitudeof the Havanna, and in conſtructing ſtoves onthe ſugar plantations, which have ſince beenpretty generally adopted. They were onpoint of ſetting off for Vera Cruz, meaning, bythe way of Mexico and Acapulco, to go to thePhilippine iſlands, and from thence, if it waspoſſible, by Bombay and Aleppo, to Conſtanti-nople, when ſome falſe reports relative to Bau-din’s voyage alarmed them, and made themchange their plan. The gazettes held out theidea that this navigator would proceed fromFrance to Buenos Ayres, and from thence, byCape Horn, for Chili and the coaſt of Peru. Mr. Humboldt had promiſed to Mr. Baudin, and tothe Muſeum of Paris, that wherever he mightbe, he would endeavour to join the expeditionas ſoon as he ſhould know of its having beencommenced. He flattered himſelf that his re-ſearches, and thoſe of his friend Bonpland,might be more uſeful to ſcience, if united tothe labors of the learned men who would ac-company capt. Baudin. Theſe conſiderations induced Mr. Humboldt to ſend his manuſcripts, for 1799 and 1800, di-rect to Europe, and to freight a ſmall ſhoonerat Batabano, intending to go to Carthagena, andfrom thence, as quickly as poſſible, by the iſth-mus of Panama, to the South Sea. He hopedto find capt. Baudin at Guayaquil, or at Lima,and with him to viſit New Holland, and theiſlands of the Pacific Ocean, equally intereſtingin a moral point of view, as by the luxuriance oftheir vegetation. It appeared imprudent to expoſe the manu-ſcripts and collections already made to the riſksof this propoſed navigation. Theſe manu-ſcripts, the fate of which Mr. H. remained igno-rant during three years, and until his arrival inPhiladelphia, arrived ſafe; but one third part ofthe collection was loſt, by ſhipwreck.—Fortu-nately (except the inſects of the Oronoco and ofthe Rio Negro) they were only duplicates; butunhappily friar John Gonzales, monk of the or-der of St. Francis, the friend to whom theywere entruſted, periſhed, with them. He was ayoung man full of ardor, who had penetratedinto this unknown world of Spaniſh Guyanafurther than any other European. Mr. Humboldt left Batabano in March, 1801,and paſſed to the ſouth of the iſland of Cuba, onwhich he determined many geographical poſiti-ons. The paſſage was rendered very long bycalms, and the currents carried the little ſhooner-er too much to the weſt, to the mouth of Attracto. The veſſel put into the river Sinuwhich no botaniſt had ever before viſited, andthey had a very difficult paſſage up to cartha-gena. The ſeaſon being too far advanced for theSouth Sea navigation, the project of croſſing theiſthmus was abandoned; and animated with thedeſire of being acquainted with the celebrated Mutis, and admiring his immenſely rich collec-tions of objects of natural hiſtory, Mr. H. deter-mined to paſs ſome weeks in the woods of Tur-baco, and aſcend (which took 40 days) the beau-tiful river of Madelaine, of the courſe of whichhe ſketched a chart. From Honda, our travellers aſcended throughforeſts of oaks, of melaſtoma and of chincona (thetree which affords the Peruvian bark) to St. Fede Bogota, capital of the kingdom of New-Gre-nada, ſituated in a fine plain, elevated 1360 toiſes(of ſix French feet) above the level of the ſea. Theſuperb collections of Mutis, the majeſtic cataractof the Tequedama (falls of 98 toiſes height) themines of Mariquita, St. Ana, and of Zipaquira,the natural bridge of Scononza, three ſtonesthrown together in the manner of an arch, by anearthquake, theſe curious objects ſtopped theprogreſs of Meſſrs. Humboldt and Bonpland un-til the month of September, 1801. At this time, not withſtanding the rainy ſeaſonhad commenced, they undertook the journey toQuito, and paſſed the Andes of Quindiu, whichare ſnowy mountains covered with wax palm-trees, palmiers a cire, with paſſe flores, paſſionflowers of the growth of trees, ſtorix, and bam-buſa, bamboo. They were during 13 days, ob-liged to paſs on foot through places dreadfullyſwampy, and without any traces of population (To be continued.)
|4| |Spaltenumbruch|

ABSTRACT OF THE AMERICAN TRA-VELS OF BARON HUMBOLDT.


concluded from our last.
From the village of Carthago, in the valley ofCauca, they followed the courſe of the Choco,the country of Platina, which was there foundin round pieces of baſalte and green rock (greinſtein of Werner) and foſſil wood. They paſsby Buga to Popayani a biſhop’s ſee, and ſituatednear the volcanoes of Sotara and Purace, a moſtpictureſque ſituation, and enjoying the moſt de-licious climate in the world, the thermometerof Reamur keeping conſtantly at 16 to 18 (68to 72 Fahr.) They aſcended to the crater of thevolcano of Purace, whoſe mouth, in the middleof ſnow, throws out vapours of ſulpherous hy-drogene, with continued and frightful rumbling. From Popayan they paſſed by the dangerousdefiles of Almager, avoiding the infected & con-tagious valley of Patia, to Poſto, and from thistown, even now ſituated at the foot of a burn-ing volcano, by Tuqueras and the provinces ofPaſtos, a flat portion of country, fertile in Euro-pean grain, but elevated more than 1500 to1600 toiſes above the towns of Ibarra & Quito. They arrived, in January, 1802, at this beau-tiful capital, celebrated by the labours of the il-luſtrious Condamine, of Bouger, Godlin, Don George Juan, and Ulloa, and ſtill more celebra-ted by the great amiability of its inhabitants, &their happy turn for the arts. They remained nearly a year in the kingdomof Quito: the height of its ſnow capt moun-tains, its terrible earthquakes (that of February7, 1797, ſwallowed up 42,000 inhabitants, in afew ſeconds) its fertility, and the manner of itsinhabitants, combined to render it the moſt inte-reſting ſpot in the univerſe. After three vainattempts, they twice ſucceeded in aſcending tothe crater of the volcano of Pichinca, taking withthem electrometers, barometers, and hydrome-ters. Condamine could only ſtop here a fewminutes, and that without inſtruments. In histime, this immenſe crater was cold and filledwith ſnow. Our travellers found it inflamed;diſtreſſing information for the town of Quito,which is diſtant from it only 5000 to 6000 toiſes. They made ſeparate viſits to the ſnowy andporphyritic mountains of Antiſana, Cotopaxi,Tungaraque, and Chimborazo, the laſt the high-eſt point of our globe. They ſtudied the geo-logical part of the Cordillera of the Andes, onwhich ſubject nothing has been publiſhed inEurope, meneralogy (if the expreſſion may beuſed) having been created, as it were, ſince thetime of Condamine. The geodeſical meaſure-ments proved that ſome mountains, particularlythe volcano of Tungaroque, has conſiderablylowered ſince 1750, which reſult agrees with theobſervations made to them by the inhabitants. During the whole of this part of the journey,they were accompanied by Mr. Charles Montu-far, ſon of the Marquis of Selva-alegre, of Quito,a perſon zealous for the progreſs of Science, andwho is, at his own expence, rebuilding the py-ramids of Saraqui, the extremity of the celebra-ted baſis of the triangles of the Spaniſh & Frenchacademicians. This intereſting young man hav-ing followed Mr. Humboldt in the remainder ofhis journey through Peru and the kingdom ofNew Spain, is now on his paſſage with him toEurope. |Spaltenumbruch| Circumſtances were ſo favorable to the effortsof the three travellers, that at Antiſana they aſ-cended 2200 French feet, and at Chimborazo,on June 22, 1802, nearly 3200 feet higher than Condamine was able to carry his inſtruments.They aſcended to 3036 toiſes elevation abovethe level of the ſea, the blood ſtarting from theireyes, lips and gums. An opening, of 80 toiſesdeep, and very wide, prevented them fromreaching the top, from which they were onlydiſtant 134 toiſes. It was at Quito that Mr. Humboldt receiveda letter from the national inſtitute of France, in-forming him that captain Baudin had proceed-ed by the Cape of Good Hope, and that therewas no longer any hope of joining him. After having examined the country over-turned by the earthquake of Riobamba, in 1797,they paſſed by the Andes of Aſſuay to Cuenza.The deſire of comparing the Cinchonas diſco-vered by Mr. Mutis, at Santa Fe de Bogota, andwith thoſe of Popayan, and the cuſpa and cuſ-pare of New Andaluſia, and of the river Caro-ni (named falſely Cortex Anguſtura) with theChichonas of Loxa and Peru, they preferred de-viating from the beaten track from Cuenza toLima; but they paſſed with immenſe difficul-ties in the carriage of their inſtruments and col-lections, by the foreſt (Paramo) of Saragura toLoxa, and from thence to the province of Saende Bracamoros. They had to croſs thirty fivetimes, two days, the river Guancabamba, ſodangerous for its ſudden freſhes. They ſaw theruins of the ſuperb Ynga road comparable tothe fineſt roads in France, and which went uponthe ridge of the Andes from Cuſco to the Aſ-ſuay, accommodated with fountains and ta-verns. They deſcended the river Chamaya, whichled them into that of the Amazones, and theynavigated this laſt river down to the cataracts ofTomeperda, one of the moſt fertile, but one ofthe hotteſt climates of the habitable globe. Fromthe Amazone river they returned to the ſoutheaſt by the Cordillera of the Andes to Montar,where they found they had paſſed the magneticequator, the inclination being 0, although at ſe-ven degrees of ſouth latitude. They viſited themines of Hualguayoc, where native ſilver isfound at the height of 2000 toiſes. Some ofthe veins of theſe mines contain petrified ſhells,and which, with thoſe of Paſco and Huanta-jayo, are actually the richeſt of Peru. FromCaxamarca they deſcended to Truxillo, in theneighbourhood of which are found the ruins ofthe immenſe Peruvian city, Manſiche. It was on this weſtern deſcent of the Andes that the three voyagers, for the firſt time, hadthe pleaſure of ſeeing the Pacific Ocean. Theyfollowed its barren ſides, formerly watered bythe canals of the Yngas at Santa Guerma, andLima. They remained ſome months in this in-tereſting capital of Peru, of which the inhabi-tants are diſtinguiſhed by the vivacity of theirgenius, and the liberality of their ideas. Mr. Humboldt had the good fortune to ob-ſerve the end of the paſſage of Mercury over theſun’s diſk, in the port of Callao. He was aſ-toniſhed to find, at ſuch a diſtance from Europethe moſt recent productions in chemiſtry, ma-thematics, and medicine; and he found greatactivity of mind in the inhabitants, who, in a cli-mate where it never either rains or thunders,have been falſely accuſed of indolence. From Lima our travellers paſſed by ſea toGuayaquil, ſituated on the brink of a river,where the growth of a palm tree is beautiful be-yond deſcription. They every moment heardthe rumbling of the volcano of Cotopaxi, whichmade an alarming exploſion on the 6th January1803. They immediately ſet off to viſit it aſecond time, when the unexpected intelligenceof the ſpeedy departure of the frigate Atalanta,determined them to return, after being ſevendays expoſed to the dreadful attacks of the muſ-quitoes of Babaoya and Ujibar. They had a fortunate paſſage, by the PacificOcean, to Acapulco, the weſtern port of thekingdom of New Spain, famous for the beautyof its harbor, which appears to have been formedby earthquakes, for the miſery of its inhabitantsand for its climate, which is equally hot andunhealthy. Mr. Humboldt had originally the intentionto remain only a few months in Mexico, and tohaſten his return to Europe; his voyage had al-ready been too much protracted, his inſtruments,particularly the chronometers, began to be outof order, and every effort that he made to havenew ones ſent to him proved of no avail; addto this conſideration, that the progreſs of ſci-ence is ſo rapid in Europe, that, in a journeythat laſts four or five years great riſk is run ofcontemplating the different phenomena underaſpects, which are no longer intereſting at themoment of publiſhing the reſult of your labors.Mr. Humboldt hoped to be in France in Au-guſt or September, 1808, but the attractions ofa country, ſo beautiful and ſo varied, as is thatof the kingdom of New Spain, the great hoſ-pitality of its inhabitants, and the fear of theyellow fever * ſo fatal, from June to November,for thoſe who come from the mountainous partof the country, led him to ſtay a year in thiskingdom. Our travellers aſcended from Acapulco toTaſco, celebrated for its mines, as intereſtingas they are ancient. They riſe, by ſmall degrees,from the ardent valley of Meſcala and Papagayo,where the thermometer of Reaumur ſtands, inthe ſhade, conſtantly from 28 to 31 (95 to 101Fah.) in a region 6 or 700 toiſes above the levelof the ſea, where you find the oaks, the pines,and the fougere (fern) as large as trees, andwhere the European grains are cultivated.They paſſed by Taſco, by Cuerna Vaca, to thecapital of Mexico.—This city of 150,000 inha-bitants, is placed upon the ancient ſcite of Tex-ochtitlan, between the lakes of Tezeuco andXochimilco, lakes which have leſſened ſome-what ſince the Spaniards have opened the ca-nal of Hucheutoca, in ſight of two ſnow toppedmountains, of which one, Popocatepec, is evennow an active volcano, ſurrounded by a greatnumber of walks, ſhaded with trees, and Indianvillages. This capital of Mexico, ſituated 1160 toiſes above the ſea, in a mild and temperate climate,may doubtleſs be compared to ſome of the fineſttowns in Europe. Great ſcientific eſtabliſh-ments, ſuch as the academy of painting, ſculp-ture and engraving, the college of mines, (ow-ing to the liberality of the company of minersof Mexico,) and the Botanic garden, are inſti-tutions which do honor to the governmentwhich has created them. After remaining ſome months in the valleyof Mexico, and after fixing the longitude of thecapital, which has been laid down with an errorof nearly two degrees, our travellers viſited themines of Moran and Real del Monte, and theCerro of Oyamel, where the ancient Mexicanshad the manufactory of knives made of the Ob-ſidian ſtone. They ſoon after paſſed by Que-retaro and Saramanca to Guanaxoato, a townof fifty thouſand inhabitants, and celebrated forits mines, more rich than thoſe of Potoſi haveever been. The mine of the count of Valen-ciana which is 1840 French feet perpendiculardepth, is the deepeſt and richeſt mine of the uni-verſe. This mine alone gives to its proprietornearly ſix hundred thouſand dollars annual andconſtant profit. From Guanaxoato they returned by the val-ley of St. Jago to Valladolid, in the ancientkingdom of Michuacan, one of the moſt fertileand charming provinces of the kingdom.They deſcended from Paſcuaro towards thecoaſt of the Pacific Ocean to the plains of Serul-lo, where in 1759, in 1 night, a volcano aroſe fromthe level, ſurrounded by two thouſand ſmallmouths, from whence ſmoke ſtill continues toiſſue. They arrived almoſt to the bottom of thecrater of the great volcano of Serullo, of whichthey analized the air, and found it ſtrongly im-pregnated with carbonic acid. They returnedto Mexico by the valley of Toluca, and viſitedthe volcano, to the higheſt point of which theyaſcended 14,400 French feet above the level ofthe ſea. In the months of January and February, 1804,they purſued their reſearches on the eaſterndeſcent of the Cordilleras, they meaſured themountains Novados de la Pluebla, Popocatyce,Izazihuatle, the great peak of Orizaba, and theCofre de Perote; upon the top of this laſt Mr. Humboldt obſerved the meredian height of theſun. In fine, after ſome reſidence at Xulappa,they embarked at Verra Cruze, for the Havan-nah. They reſumed the collections they hadleft there in 1801, and by the way of Philadel-phi, embarked for France, in July, 1804, afterfix years of abſence and labours. A collectionof 6000 different ſpecies of plants (of which agreat part are new) and numerous mineralogi-cal, aſtronomical, chemical, and moral obſer-vations, have been the reſult of this expedition.Mr. Humboldt gives the higheſt praiſes to theliberal protection granted to his reſearches bythe Spaniſh government. Baron Humboldt was born in Pruſſia, on the14th of September, 1769.


* Vomito prieto.