Humbolt's travels and discoveries in South America . reshing. This palm-tree, withlarge shining leaves folded like a fan, preserves a beau-tiful verdme at the period of the greatest drought. Itssight alone produces an agreeable sensation of coolness,and the murichi, loaded with scaly fruit, contrastssingularly with the mournful aspect of the palma decohija, the foliage of which is always gray and coveredwith dust. The Llaneros believe that the formerattracts the vapom in the air; and that for this reasonwater is constantly found at its foot when dug for toa certain depth. The effect is confoun
Humbolt's travels and discoveries in South America . reshing. This palm-tree, withlarge shining leaves folded like a fan, preserves a beau-tiful verdme at the period of the greatest drought. Itssight alone produces an agreeable sensation of coolness,and the murichi, loaded with scaly fruit, contrastssingularly with the mournful aspect of the palma decohija, the foliage of which is always gray and coveredwith dust. The Llaneros believe that the formerattracts the vapom in the air; and that for this reasonwater is constantly found at its foot when dug for toa certain depth. The effect is confounded with thecause. The murichi gi^ows best in moist places ; andit may rather be said, that the water attracts the natives of the Orinoco, by analogous reasoning,pretend that the great serpents contribute to pre-serve humidity in a canton. You would look in vainfor water-serpents, said an old Indian of Javeta to usgravely, * where there are no marshes, because thewater collects no more when you imprudently kill theserpents that attract Tlie Fan Palm; JOURNEY ACROSS THE LLANOS. 113 Chapter X. Journey across tlie Llanos—Fatigue of travelling—Farm of El Cayman—Town of Calabozo—An ingenious inhabitant—Gymnoti, or elec-trical eels—Combat between the eels and horses—Description of thegymnoti—Effects of their shocks—The natives dread of them—Departm-e from Calabozo—Heat and dust of the Llanos—An Indiangirl found exhausted on the ground—The river TJrituco and itscrocodiles—Singular story of a crocodile—Arrival at San Fernando—Heat of that place—Periodical immdations, and destruction ofhorses. [1800.] Our travellers, as we have said, entered the Llanos ontlie 12th. After passing two nights on horseback, andseeking in vain in the day-time for some shelter fromthe ardour of the sun beneath the tufts of the murichipalm-trees, they arrived just before the third night setin, at a little farm called El Cayman, or the they found a
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