Personal Narrative Of Travels To The Equinoctial Regions Of America During The Years 1799-1804 - Volume 2 - By Alexander Von Humboldt And Aime Bonpland.
- Page 249 of 777 - First - Home
Mr. Barrow
Observed These Curious Effects Of Sands In The Southern Part Of
Africa, On The Banks Of The Orange River.
They have also become the
subject of a very important discussion, in the various hypotheses that
have been formed
Respecting the course of the Niger.* (* Geographers
supposed, for a long period, that the Niger was entirely absorbed by
the sands, and evaporated by the heat of the tropical sun, as no
embouchure could be found on the western coast of Africa to meet the
requirements of so enormous a river. It was discovered, however, by
the Landers, in 1830, that it does really flow into the Atlantic; yet
the cause mentioned above is so powerful, that of all the numerous
branches into which it separates at its mouth, only one (the Nun
River) is navigable even for light ships, and for half the year even
those are unable to enter.)
Near the Vuelta de Basilio, where we landed to collect plants, we saw
on the top of a tree two beautiful little monkeys, black as jet, of
the size of the sai, with prehensile tails. Their physiognomy and
their movements sufficiently showed that they were neither the quato
(Simia beelzebub) nor the chamek, nor any of the Ateles. Our Indians
themselves had never seen any that resembled them. Monkeys, especially
those living in troops, make long emigrations at certain periods, and
consequently it happens that at the beginning of the rainy seasons the
natives discover round their huts different kinds which they have not
before observed.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 249 of 777
Words from 67542 to 67798
of 211397
