New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-03-23
ASCENT OF MOUNT OMETAPEC.

In the leland OF Ometapec, in Lske Nicaragua,
there is volcanic mountain rising 20 great gh,,
and forming a conspicuous land mark 70 tie voyages
over the lake This mountan has recently bee,
ascended by three Americans, of whose az vencreswe
have the following account for which we ere ndeb'ed
to w. T.. s. Whitman, Esq. Of Tie SdR FraHeseo
Erening Journal;
On the morning of February ? Capt. A. :. Gaze
per accompanied by Messrs Brooks and McPearso>,
left the steamer Virgin al the Island Of Ometabec With
the objec. of ascending the mountain beariog ne
same name. The party we're amply provided With
srms ammunition and blankets. they arrived 3
the foot of the mountain at 10 clock, and after p:D
curing horses, commenced the ascent For a. le .
mile their way easy and not az a.. toisome, y
road or sdranna being very straight and beauti;a y
clothed with rich verdure. AT II o clock they were
obliged to dispense with their animals aud cOntinre|e
accent on foot.
The road now grew sleeper at every step, and was
macsdamized with laws, When nearly t@othirds ~
the way up they found il extremely difficult TO ,sui
on account of the ntrcacy of the shrubbery, WHOA
grew come five feet high IN average. La some
places they obliged to stop and cut II away p,
was so inpenetrable. Proceeding two hundred yar's
or more they found the shrubbery OF q much lars y
growth the trees being twenty feet high and 400 It
iour inches in diameter az the base. Capt Gardner,
Cd taking bold OF any one OF thAse trss- 10 put oha'
self up found they would not assist hun Ia tne ius
but uproOted Immediately.
A. 20 minutes pas. p. NJ, our party had finished
the ascent and had arrived at the top OF the crSer:
They found its mouth TO be 300 feet IN diameter, q
on tescendiDg they found II came TO apoint ne
distance being 100 feet Il bore marks OF reeat
eruption, but on the contrary, its appearance was
yery inviting il containing miniature forest, esco
tree having dark green NOES hanging down non rs
ysrious branches, presenting luxursnt appexanS e
While searching for curlosifies, capt GEdihT
picked I'D two very singular ones. They were very
an,ioue in appearance and led to believe 'ha,
they were idols On microscopic examlnatlon, 0e
found them 10 be- manufactured OF peculiar KIND Q,
clay the nature of which, rs well rs the perico y
their use, being wholly unknown to tbs natives ~
the slsr d. ,
Our party foand the mo,phere very clesi an'
cold. As they wers unprovided with the necs~1y
instruments they could not make any meteoroioge'
observ atoms.
The view of the surrounding country was celisuil,
they being enabled TO see without the ale oil the gi@
the Pacific Ocean on the West the Atlantic en- ne
East, the mountains of Costa Rcs on the Soutn, .h'
the gold mountains Of Chantts on the North. .bey
ALSO saw with the naked eye the cities Of Greraca-
san Juan del Sur and San Caros, nesting, 81 -
"eIe al the base Of the mountain.
AT 10 minutes past o'clock they commenced ne
descent and at clock they reached the spot where
they had lett Their animals. They were much "a
tgued bat, notwithstanding this they proceeded on
thes until they arrived at the settlement. CAP;
Gndiner, on bis arrival, in narating his account Z
the ascent to one Of the natives who vu 100 years
of age was informed that he was the first white man
who had ever ascended the mountain. The rs,ivss
generally evinced much estonishmeut AZ CAPT. Gar.
direr's recital.
Om.tspec is 6 500 feet high. II Is si.1s,sG IL L.ss
Nicaragua, IL miles distant from Virgin Bay