The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1859-11-16

were asconding wa IN many places not
more than eight or ten inches broad ma
tivc~ calIcd ia kuifo-bladc.' On one
hmj wa, 81 dccIiyity Of snow covered with
q CLASSY coating of ice, on the other
r'asm ono thousand feet deep. the bottom
OF which wa, covered with masses of
naked rocks They inclined their bodies
over this ctaSm dangerous as it was, for
they dare not trust themselves to the
snowy pitch, IN the opposite side Had
they stumbled, lhey either would have
been buried in the mingled snow and ice
OF would have rolled hcadlong down the
steep The character of the rock, which
was brittle and crumbing, increased the
difficulty Of tn ascent, Here and there
they we're obliged 10 crawl on their hands
and ieet the sharp edges Of the rock
wounded them, and they left behind them
bloody trail. They marched in single
file. testing with Their poles the stabih y
OF the rocks before them This precautlon
was very necessary, as many OF the rocks
were lying loose on the brink of the PIE.
cipicc. DESTROYS Of knowing how much
OF the mountain remained to be ascended,
Tor the summit was continually hidden
from their sight. Humbodt opened the
barometer on point where the path was
broad enough to allow two persons to sit
side by side; the mercury indicated a
hight OF 1880 feet, The temperature
Of the air was 90 degrees, and that OF the
earth l07 degrees.
They proceeded for another hour, and
found the rocky path less steep; the mist
however, was thicker than ever They
now began to suffer severely from the
extreme rarcfaction of the all. They
breathed with difficulty, and what was
still more disagreeable, felt ike vomiting
Their heads swain, their lips and gums
bled protusely, and their eyelids and eye.
balls were charged with blood.
From time to time great birds, proba-
bly, condors, came swooping down the
terrible pass, sailing grandly away and
little winged insects, resembling flies. fut-
tering gayly around. 1t was impossible
to catch them, owing to the narrowness of
the ledge but HUMBOLDT Judged that
they were Dipteras. Boupland saw yell
low butterflies, little lower down, flying
very near the ground.
Finally the belts OF cloud parted, and
they saw on the sudden, the vast dome Of
Chimborazo. 1t seemed near them, 50
near that in few minutes they might
reach it, The lcdges, too, seemed to favor
them by becoming broader. They hurried
onward for a short distance, excited with
the hope OF soon standing on the pinnacle.
All at once the path vas stopped by
chasm, 400 feet deep, and 90 feet broad.
There was no way by which they could
cross it the difficulty was ipsurmouut-
able. To tantahza them still further,
they saw that the path went forward on
the other side Of the ledge, evidently
reaching the summit Ii they could have
bat crossed that chasm!
/ was one o'clock in the afternoon, and
they were behumbed with cold. They
were l9,200 feet above the level of the
sea
The belt of clouds Closed again, and
the peak was lost The mist grew thicker
and thicker, and everything indicated a
storm there was nothing left them but
to descend. Hating long enough to col
lect Il few specimens Of the rocks they re-
traced their steps a storm of hail over.
took them, but as they descended into a
lower atmosphere it changed into snow.
When they had reached the little lake of
Yana-Cocha where they left their mules,
they found the ground covered with snow,
several inches deep.-Beltre dusk they
reached the Indian village Of Calpi, and
were entertained tha, Light by tue priest.
So ended tue attempt to scale the sum
init of Chimborazo.