Near the Maypures village grows an Impressive tree some 60 feet high called by the colonists the fruta de burro. It is a new species of annona. The tree is famous for its aromatic fruit whose infusion is an efficient febrifuge. The poor missionaries of the Orinoco who suffer tertian fevers most of the year rarely travel without a little bag of fruta de burro.

We turned to the right to visit the ice cave situated at 1, toises, just under the perpetual snow altitude limit. During winter the grotto fills with ice and snow and, as the sun's rays do not penetrate its interior, summer heat is unable to melt the frozen water.

We were all on deck sunk in sad thoughts. There was no doubt that the fever raging on board had taken a pernicious turn. Our glances were fixed on a deserted mountainous coast, intermittently lit by the moon. The calm sea shone with a feeble phosphorescence. We heard only the monotonous cries of large sea birds seeking the shore. A deep calm reigned in these lonely places, but nature's calm contrasted with the painful feelings agitating us. Towards eight that night the dead man's knell was tolled; at this lugubrious signal the sailors stopped work and kneeled in short prayers in a touching ceremony, which, recalling the times when the early Christians saw themselves as members of the same family, brought us together in a common sorrow. At night the young Asturian's corpse was carried to the bridge, and the priest arranged to delay dropping him into the sea until dawn, according to the Roman Catholic rite. Everybody mourned the bad luck of this young man who but a few days before had seemed so fresh and healthy.