Digitale Ausgabe

(The following extracts are made from an abſtractof Baron Humboldt’s Travels in America) Baron Humboldt, having travelled fromthe year 1790, as a naturaliſt, throughGermany, Poland, France, Switzerland,and through parts of England, Italy, Hun-gary, and Spain, came to Paris in 1798,when he received an invitation, from thedirectors of the national muſeum, to ac-company captain Baudin in his voyageround the world.—Citizen AlexanderAime Goujon Bonpland, a native of Ro-chelle, and brought up in the Paris muſe-um, was allo to have accompanied them;when on the point of departing, the wholeplan was ſuſpended until a more favour-able opportunity, owing to the recom-mencement of the war with Auſtria, andto the conſequent want of funds. Mr. Humboldt, who, from 1792, hadconceived the plan of travelling throughIndia at his own expenſe, with a view ofadding to the knowledge of the ſciencesconnected with natural hiſtory, then re-ſolved to follow the learned men, who hadgone on the expedition to Egypt.—Hisplan was to go to Algiers in the Swediſhfrigate which carried the conſul Skolde- |Spaltenumbruch| brandt, to follow the caravan which goesfrom Algiers to Mecca, going through Egypt to Arabia, and thence by the Per-ſian gulph to the Engliſh Eaſt-India eſtab-liſhments. The war which unexpectedlybroke out in October 1798, between Franceand the Barbary powers, and the troublesin the Eaſt, prevented Mr. Humboldt from embarking at Marſeilles, where hehad been fruitleſsly two months waitingto proceed. Impatient at this delay, andcontinuing firm in his determination to goto Egypt, he went to Spain, hoping to paſsmore readily under the Spaniſh flag fromCarthagena to Algiers and Tunis. Hetook with him the large collection of phi-loſophical, chemical, and aſtronomical in-ſtruments which he had purchaſed in Eng-land and France. From a happy concurrence of circum-ſtances, he obtained, in February, 1799,from the court of Madrid, a permiſſionwhich was granted with a liberality andfrankneſs, which was honorable to the gov-ernment and to a philoſophic age. Aftera reſidence of ſome months at the Spaniſhcourt, during which time the king ſhoweda ſtrong perſonal intereſt in the plan, Mr. Humboldt, in June, 1799, left Europe, ac-companied by Mr. Bonpland, who, to aprofound knowledge of botany and zoo-logy, added an indefatigable zeal. It iswith this friend that Mr. Humboldt hasaccompliſhed, at his own expenſe, histravels in the two hemiſpheres, by landand ſea, probably the moſt extenſive whichany individual has ever undertaken. Theſe two travellers left Corunna in theSpaniſh ſhip Pizarro, for the Canaryiſlands, where they aſcended to the craterof the Peak of Teyde, and made experi-ments on the analyſis of the air. In Julythey arrived at the port of Cumana, in South America. In 1799, 1800, theyviſited the coaſt of Paria, the miſſions ofthe Chaymas Indians, the provinces ofNew Andaluſia (a country which hadbeen rent by the moſt dreadful earth-quakes, the hotteſt, and yet the moſthealthy; in the world) of New Barcelona,of Venezuela, and of Spaniſh Guayana.—In January, 1800, they left Caraccas toviſit the beautiful vallies of Aragua, wherethe great lake of Valencia recals to themind the views of the lake of Geneva, em-beliſhed by the majeſty of the vegetationof the tropics. From Porto Cabello theycroſſed, to the ſouth, the immenſe plainsof Calabozo, of Apure, and of the Oron-oco, alſo los Llanos, a deſert ſimilar tothoſe of Africa; where in the ſhade (bythe reverberation of heat) the thermome-ter of Reamur roſe to 35 and 37 (111. to115 F.) degrees. The country is perfectlylevel for 2000 ſquare leagues. The ſandevery where repreſents the horizon of theſea, without vegetation; and its dryboſom hides the crocodiles, and the torpidboa (a ſpecies of ſerpent.) The travellinghere, as in all Spaniſh America, exceptMexico, is performed on horſeback.—They paſſed whole days without ſeeing apalm-tree or the veſtige of a human dwel-ling. At St. Fernando de Apure, in theprovinces of Varinas, Meſſrs. Humboldt and Bonpland began that fatiguing navi-gation of nearly 1000 marine leagues exe-cuted in canoes, making a chart of thecountry by the aſſiſtance of chronometers,the ſatellites of Jupiter, and the lunar diſ-tances. They deſcended the river Apure,which empties itſelf into the Oronoco, in 7degrees of latitude. They aſcended thelaſt river (paſſing the celebrated cataractsof Maypure and Atures) to the mouth ofthe Guaviare. From thence they aſcendedthe ſmall rivers of Tabapa, Juamini, andTemi. From the miſſion of Sarita theycroſſed by land to the ſources of thefamous Rio Negro, which Condamine ſaw, where it joins the Amazon, and whichhe calls a ſea of freſh water. About 30Indians carried the canoes thro’ the woodsof Mami, Lecythis, and Laurus Cina-momoides, to the cano (or creek) ofPimichin. It was by this ſmall ſtream thatthe travellers entered the Rio Negro, orBlack River, which they deſcended to St.Carlos, which has been erroneouſly ſuppoſedto be placed under the equator, or juſt atthe frontiers of Great Para, in the govern-ment of Braſil. [After continuing to deſcribe at conſiderablelength the travels of the Baron through various partsof South-America, the abſtract concludes as follows:] It was on the weſtern deſcent of the Andes that theſe voyagers, for thefirſt time, had the pleaſure of ſeeing the |Spaltenumbruch| Pacific Ocean. They followed its barrenſides, formerly watered by the canals ofthe Yngas at Santa Guerma, and Lima.They remained ſome months in this in-tereſting capital of Peru, of which the in-habitants are diſtinguiſhed by the vivacityof their genius, and the liberality of theirideas. Mr. Humboldt had the good fortune toobſerve the end of the paſſage of Mercuryover the ſun’s diſk, in the port of Callao.He was aſtoniſhed to find, at ſuch a diſ-tance from Europe, the moſt recent pro-ductions in chemiſtry, mathematics, andmedicine: and he found great activity ofmind in the inhabitants, who, in a climatewhere it never either rains or thunders,have been falſely accuſed of indolence. From Lima our travellers paſſed by ſeato Guayaquil, ſituated on the brink of ariver, where the growth of the palm treeis beautiful beyond deſcription. Theyevery moment heard the rumbling of thevolcano of Cotopaxi, which made an a-larming exploſion on the 6th January, 1803.They immediately ſet off to viſit it aſecond time, when the unexpected intelli-gence of the ſpeedy departure of thefrigate Atalanta determined them to re-turn, after being ſeven days expoſed to thedreadful attacks of the muſquitoes of Ba-baoya and Ujibar. They had a fortunate paſſage, by thePacific Ocean, to Acapulco, the weſternport of the kingdom of New Spain, famousfor the beauty of its harbour, (which ap-pears to have been formed by earthquakes,)for the miſery of its inhabitants, and forits climate, which is equally hot and un-healthy. Mr. Humboldt had originally the in-tention to remain only a few months inMexico, and to haſten his return to Eu-rope; his voyage had already been toomuch protracted, his inſtruments; particu-larly the chronometers, began to be out oforder, and every effort that he made tohave new ones ſent to him proved of noavail; add to this conſideration, that theprogreſs of ſcience is ſo rapid in Europe,that, in a journey that laſts four or fiveyears, great riſk is run of contemplatingthe different phenomena under aſpects,which are no longer intereſting at themoment of publiſhing the reſult of yourlabours. Mr. Humboldt hoped to be inFrance in Auguſt or September, 1803, butthe attractions of a country, ſo beautifuland ſo varied, as is that of the kingdom ofNew Spain, the great hoſpitality of its in-habitants, and the fear of the yellow fever,ſo fatal, from June to November, for thoſewho come from the mountainous partof the country, led him to ſtay a year inthis kingdom. Our travellers aſcended from Acapulco to Taſco, celebrated for its mines, as inter-eſting as they are ancient. They riſe, byſmall degrees, from the ardent valley ofMeſcala and Papagayo, where the ther-mometer of Reaumur ſtands, in the ſhadeconſtantly from 28 to 31 (95 to 101Fah.), in a region 6 or 700 toiſes abovethe level of the ſea, where you find theoaks, the pines, and the fougere (fern) aslarge as trees, and where the Europeangrains are cultivated. They paſſed byTaſco; by Cuerna Vaca, to the capital ofMexico—This city of 150,000 inhabitants,is placed upon the ancient ſite of Texoch-titlan, between the lakes of Tezucco andXochimilco, lakes which have leſſenedſomewhat ſince the Spaniards have openedthe canal of Hucheutoca, in ſight of twoſnow-topped mountains, of which one, Po-pocatepec, is even now an active volcano,ſurrounded by a great number of walks,ſhaded with trees, and by Indian villages. This capital of Mexico, ſituated 1160toiſes above the ſea, in a mild and temperateclimate, may doubtleſs be compared toſome of the fineſt towns in Europe. Greatſcientific eſtabliſhments, ſuch as the Acade-my of Painting, Sculpture, and Engrav-ing, the College of Mines, (owning to theliberality of the Company of Miners ofMexico), and the Botanic Garden, areinſtitutions which do honour to the govern-ment which has created them. After remaining ſome months in thevalley of Mexico, and after fixing the lon-gitude of the capital, which had been laiddown with an error of nearly two degrees,our travellers viſited the mines of Moranand Real del Monte, and the Cerro ofOyamel, where the ancient Mexicans hadthe manufactory of knives made of theobſidian ſtone. They ſoon after paſſed |2| by Queretaro and Salamanca to Guanaxo-ato, a town of fifty thouſand inhabitants,and celebrated for its mines, more richthan thoſe of Potoſi have ever been. Themine of the count of Valenciana, which is1840 French feet perpendicular depth,is the deepeſt and richeſt mine of the uni-verſe. This mine alone gives to its pro-prietor nearly ſix hundred thouſand dollarsannual and conſtant profit. From Guanaxoato they returned bythe valley of St. Jago to Valladolid, in theancient kingdom of Michuacan, one of themoſt fertile and charming provinces of thekingdom. They deſended from Paſcuarotowards the coaſt of the Pacific Ocean tothe plains of Serullo, where, in 1759, inone night, a volcano aroſe from the level,ſurrounded by two thouſand ſmallmouths, from whence ſmoke ſtill continuesto iſſue. They arrived almoſt to the bot-tom of the crater of the great volcano ofSerullo, of which they analized the air,and found it ſtrongly impregnated withcarbonic acid.—They returned to Mexicoby the valley of Toluca, and viſited thevolcano, to the higheſt point of whichthey aſcended, 14.400 French feet abovethe level of the ſea. In the months of January and Febru-ary, 1804, they purſued their reſearcheson the eaſtern deſcent of the Cordilleras,they meaſured the mountains Novados dela Puebla, Popocatyce, Izazihuatle, thegreat peak of Orizaba, and the Cofre dePerote; upon the top of this laſt Mr. Humboldt obſerved the meredian heightof the ſun. In fine, after ſome reſidence atXalappa, they embarked at Vera Cruz, forthe Havannah. They reſumed the col-lections they had left there in 1801, andby the way of Philadelphia, embarked forFrance, in July, 1804, after ſix years ofabſence and labours. A collection of6000 different ſpecies of plants (of whicha greater part are new) and numerousmineralogical, aſtronomical, chemical,and moral obſervations, have been the re-ſult of this expedition. Mr. Humboldt gives the higheſt praiſes to the liberal pro-tection granted to his reſearches by theSpaniſh government. Baron Humboldt was born in Pruſſia,on the 14th of September, 1763.