Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804 — Volume 3Humboldt, Alexander von
History
Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804 — Volume 3
Humboldt, Alexander von
Natural history -- South America; Scientific expeditions; South America -- Description and travel
parts, and had signalled the captain to bring to; but the signal not
being promptly answered, a gun was fired from the sloop and a
midshipman sent on board our vessel. He was a polite young man, and
gave me hopes that the lancha, which was laden with cacao, would be
given up, and that on the following day we might pursue our voyage. In
the meantime he invited me to accompany him on board the sloop,
assuring me that his commander, Captain Garnier, would furnish me with
better accommodation for the night than I should find in the vessel
from Halifax.
I accepted these obliging offers and was received with the utmost
kindness by Captain Garnier, who had made the voyage to the north-west
coast of America with Vancouver, and who appeared to be highly
interested in all I related to him respecting the great cataracts of
Atures and Maypures, the bifurcation of the Orinoco and its
communication with the Amazon. He introduced to me several of his
officers who had been with Lord Macartney in China. I had not, during
the space of a year, enjoyed the society of so many well-informed
persons. They had learned from the English newspapers the object of my
enterprise. I was treated with great confidence and the commander gave
me up his own state-room. They gave me at parting the astronomical
Ephemerides for those years which I had not been able to procure in
France or Spain. I am indebted to Captain Garnier for the observations
I was enabled to make on the satellites beyond the equator and I feel
it a duty to record here the gratitude I feel for his kindness. Coming
from the forests of Cassiquiare, and having been confined during whole
months to the narrow circle of missionary life, we felt a high
gratification at meeting for the first time with men who had sailed
round the world, and whose ideas were enlarged by so extensive and
varied a course. I quitted the English vessel with impressions which
are not yet effaced from my remembrance, and which rendered me more
than ever satisfied with the career on which I had entered.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account