Humbolt's travels and discoveries in South America . ases. At the town of Quito thefirst European corn was sown near the convent ofSt. Francis by Father Jose Rixi, a native of Flanders;and the monks still show, as a precious relic, theearthen vessel in which the original wheat camefrom Europe. Why, asks our author, have notmen preserved everywhere the names of those who,in place of ravaging the earth, have enriched it withplants useful to the human raceV 264 PERUVIAN BARK. After thus spending tlieir time in exploring theAndes, and examining everything else worthy of theirresearch, the travelle
Humbolt's travels and discoveries in South America . ases. At the town of Quito thefirst European corn was sown near the convent ofSt. Francis by Father Jose Rixi, a native of Flanders;and the monks still show, as a precious relic, theearthen vessel in which the original wheat camefrom Europe. Why, asks our author, have notmen preserved everywhere the names of those who,in place of ravaging the earth, have enriched it withplants useful to the human raceV 264 PERUVIAN BARK. After thus spending tlieir time in exploring theAndes, and examining everything else worthy of theirresearch, the travellers set out in the dhection of first pointed their course to the great river Ama-zon, and visited the ruins of Lactacunga, Hambato, andRiobamba, in a country, the face of which was entirelychanged by the frightful earthquakes of 1797, that de-stroyed nearly 40,000 of the inhabitants. They thenwith much difficulty passed to Loxa, where, in theforests of Gonzanama and Malacates, they examinedthe trees which yield the Peruvian bark. They next. Peruvian Bark, PERUVIAN ANTIQUITIES. 26o proceeded to inspect the magnificent remains of thecauseway of the Incas, which traversed the porphyriticsummits of the Andes from Cuzco to Assuay, at aheight varying from 7670 to 11,510 feet. At thevillage of Chamaya, on a river of the same name, theytook ship and descended to the Amazon. With theview of completing the map of this country, made bythe French astronomer. La Condamine, they proceededas far as the cataracts of Rentama; Bonpland employ-ing himself, as usual, in examining the subjects of thevegetable kingdom, among which he discovered severalnew species of Cinchona*. Returning to Peru, they crossed the Cordillera of theAndes for the fifth time. They then proceeded to ex-amine the mines of Hualgayoc, where large masses ofnative silver are found, at an elevation of 11,613 feetabove the sea, and which, together with those of Pascoand Huantajayo, are the richest in Peru. From Caxa-mar
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1846
