Equinoctial Regions of America, vol 1 | Page 5

to give a slight sketch of the whole of the collections and
observations which we have accumulated, and the union of which is the
aim and end of every scientific journey. The maritime war, during our
abode in America, having rendered communication with Europe very
uncertain, we found ourselves compelled, in order to diminish the
chance of losses, to form three different collections. Of these, the first
was embarked for Spain and France, the second for the United States
and England, and the third, which was the most considerable, remained
almost constantly under our own eyes. Towards the close of our
expedition, this last collection formed forty-two boxes, containing an
herbal of six thousand equinoctial plants, seeds, shells, insects, and
(what had hitherto never been brought to Europe) geological specimens,
from the Chimborazo, New Grenada, and the banks of the river
Amazon.
After our journey to the Orinoco, we left a part of these collections at
the island of Cuba, intending to take them on our return from Peru to
Mexico. The rest followed us during the space of five years, on the
chain of the Andes, across New Spain, from the shores of the Pacific to
the coasts of the Caribbean Sea. The conveyance of these objects, and
the minute care they required, occasioned embarrassments scarcely
conceiveable even by those who have traversed the most uncultivated
parts of Europe. Our progress was often retarded by the necessity of
dragging after us, during expeditions of five or six months, twelve,
fifteen, and sometimes more than twenty loaded mules, exchanging

these animals every eight or ten days, and superintending the Indians
who were employed in driving the numerous caravan. Often, in order to
add to our collections of new mineral substances, we found ourselves
obliged to throw away others, which we had collected a considerable
time before. These sacrifices were not less vexatious than the losses we
accidentally sustained. Sad experience taught us but too late, that from
the sultry humidity of the climate, and the frequent falls of the beasts of
burden, we could preserve neither the skins of animals hastily prepared,
nor the fishes and reptiles placed in phials filled with alcohol. I enter
into these details, because, though little interesting in themselves, they
serve to show that we had no means of bringing back, in their natural
state, many objects of zoology and comparative anatomy, of which we
have published descriptions and drawings. Notwithstanding some
obstacles, and the expense occasioned by the carriage of these articles, I
had reason to applaud the resolution I had taken before my departure,
of sending to Europe the duplicates only of the productions we
collected. I cannot too often repeat, that when the seas are infested with
privateers, a traveller can be sure only of the objects in his own
possession. A very few of the duplicates, which we shipped for Europe
during our abode in America, were saved; the greater part fell into the
hands of persons who feel no interest for science. When a ship is
condemned in a foreign port, boxes containing only dried plants or
stones, instead of being sent to the scientific men to whom they are
addressed, are put aside and forgotten. Some of our geological
collections taken in the Pacific were, however, more fortunate. We
were indebted for their preservation to the generous activity of Sir
Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society of London, who, amidst
the political agitations of Europe, unceasingly laboured to strengthen
the bonds of union between scientific men of all nations.
In our investigations we have considered each phenomenon under
different aspects, and classed our remarks according to the relations
they bear to each other. To afford an idea of the method we have
followed, I will here add a succinct enumeration of the materials with
which we were furnished for describing the volcanoes of Antisana and
Pichincha, as well as that of Jorullo: the latter, during the night of the
20th of September, 1759, rose from the earth one thousand five
hundred and seventy-eight French feet above the surrounding plains of

Mexico. The position of these singular mountains in longitude and
latitude was ascertained by astronomical observations. We took the
heights of the different parts by the aid of the barometer, and
determined the dip of the needle and the intensity of the magnetic
forces. Our collections contain the plants which are spread over the
flanks of these volcanoes, and specimens of different rocks which,
superposed one upon another, constitute their external coat. We are
enabled to indicate, by measures sufficiently exact, the height above the
level of the ocean, at which we found each group of plants, and each
volcanic rock. Our journals furnish us with a series of observations on
the humidity, the temperature, the electricity, and the degree