|Seitenumbruch|
A Burning Day on the Orinoco.—On the nakedrocks which formed the shores we saw only, besidesan old withered stem of Aubletia and a new Apoci-nea, a few silvery croton shrubs. A thermometerobserved in the shade, but brought within a fewinches of the towering mass of granite rock, rose toabove 122 degrees Fahr. All distant objects hadwave-like undulating outlines, the effect of mirage;not a breath of air stirred the fine dust-like sand.The sun was in the zenith, and the flood of lightwhich he poured down upon the river, and which,from a slight rippling movement of the waters,flashed sparkling back, rendered still more sensiblethe red haze which veiled the distance. All thenaked rocks and boulders around were covered witha countless number of large thick-scaled iguanas,gecko lizards, and variously spotted salamanders.Motionless, with uplifted heads and open mouths,they appeared to inhale the burning air with ecstasy.At such times the larger animals seek shelter in therecesses of the forest, and the birds hide themselvesunder the thick foliage of the trees or in the cleftsof the rocks; but if, in this apparent entire stillnessof nature, one listens for the faintest tones which anattentive ear can seize, there is perceived an all-pervading rustling sound, a humming and flutteringof insects close to the ground, and in the lower strataof the atmosphere. Everything announces a worldof organic activity and life. In every bush, in thecracked bark of the trees, in the earth underminedby insects, life stirs audibly. It is, as it were, one ofthe many voices of nature, heard only by the sensi-tive and reverent ear of her true votaries.—Humboldt’sAspects of Nature.
