The daily gazette., 1875-04-12

= augmented by the arrival of number
OF peon miners from below, descended
the sloping side of the crater. Cor
chado and his Indians led the wav.
slowly followed by Grasty, who was
, supported by Stevens and q peon. AZ
ter they had got about half way down
the steep:theylexperienced from the Ice
and stones great difficulty in travelling.
The most annoying thing, however.
was the constant dangers they were in
OF being crushed by the huge hunks
oil ice and rock that were continually
rolling down. The debris is the mat
ter that is loosened daily by the sun.
whose warmth strikes off its icy fetters
and suffers gravity to have its way. AT
Ter two hours slippery degcemlisQ
they reached.
| THE BOTTOM OF THE PIT
about half after A in the afternoon of
thanksgiving day. 1t was now more
than fourteen hours since they had
LETT the ranch on the timber line
During this time they had assembled
over 5000 feet to the summit, and then
descended 4,5C0 feet into the bowels
OF the volcano. That is, they were
about II hours going up 5000 feet, and
hours going down, including stop
pages at the end of the crater, Here
they found hut made of stones, in
haDlted by the sulphur miners. Cn
arriving at the hut they Immediately
Threw themselves upon q pile of
mats and sought slumber, but tney Law
all the long night wearied and worn.
rolling and tossing in Intellectual at.
tempts to gain little sleep. The
next norningCorchado prepared break
last, and summoned them TO partakc
OF 1t. Aside from drinking a cup of
cotee, they could eat nothing. Their
stomachs were not used to the treat
ment they had been receiving the past
thirty-slX hours and so refused to be
comforted. Their lungs too were dis
gusted with the vapidity of the irand
the gaseous exhalations of the 'brcath-
ing holes" These they now visit in
company with their kind and gener-
GUS host. They aIe the mighty tis-
sures that appear in every direction in
the bottom of this vast cavity. They
are not very broad, but are deep. From
these fissures dense masses of yapor
and smoke, heavily laden with sub
limated sulphur. This condenses as
soon as the steam strikes the cold air
above and then falls in fine sprinkle
on the surrounding rocks. This pro.
cess has been going on for ages, until
the whole interior of this great orifice
IS thickly coated with remarkable
line quality of the flour of sulphur
IHls Is in quantities that arc inexhaus-
tlble, and some day will produce a
colossal fortune for its owner, Ger.
Ochoa. Forty miners are now engac-
cd In excavatlng and hosting it to tho
top of the crater.
10 return to tho chasms. however
The party visited the largest and paz.
cd down into it. They could see no
bottom, for it ended in styglan dark
ness. They rolled huge stone into
its ragged throat A series of reports
caused by the missile bounding from
side to side of the pit, came back .loud
at first, but gradually diminishing nm
tll they died away in the awful DEPTHS
below. The other holes were yomit.
ing steam and making great noise.
which at times seemed like the slow
and laborIng throb of Cyclopean en-
ginery. AT others it sounded like thc
nellowlng and shrieking of devils,-
having now seen everything that
could be seen, they bid their new made
out long to-be.remembered friend Cor
chado, farewell, and set out to rerurn.
accompanied by four Indians.
THE ASCENT.
The $500 feet to climb TO the end of
the rope was fearful job, but the as
cent by the rope was still worse. They
were compelled to kick and push
against the cliff necessarily to prevent
being dragged to pieces on the sbarp
rocks. They got to the top in safety,
however, and there found more poems
to take them to the climber line"
lhey made the descent by sitting down
on piece of thick mating, with an
Indian seated behind each of them to
steer this novel vehicle while sliding
uoWn the mountain, over the snow
and Ice. They descended six miles in
less than twenty minutes.
One time, while buried in a thick
cloud, they came near slip
ping into the Barranca del Mnerte,
chasm 5000 feet deep, On reaching
the end of the snow fields they found
their horses at La Cruz and then rode
to Tlamacas. When | met them
scarcely recognized them, they were
SO haggard, sunburnt, bruised and dir.
".
When Cortez conquered Mexico.
Popccatapetl was in state of combus
lion, and throwing out vast volumes
of smoke, which could be seen for
hundred miles in every direction.
Now the quantity is SO small that it
,an be seen only after arriving at its
base. The first white man 10 ascend
It was Francisco Montana, in 1919.
He was sent to the crater for Il supply
1f sulphur for Cortez, and to impress
he Aztecs with the courage of the
Spaniards, Since then numerous as
tensions have been made by eminent
avans, travellers and adventures from
europe and the United State.
Mrs. John w. Foster, the wife of
ur Minister, and Mrs. Arthur Terry,
f Connecticut, are the only women
hat ever scaled Popocatapetit to its top,
nd Col. s. g. Grasty and Harry Stev-
ns, of Cleveland, are the only foreign