New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-02-20
SCIENCE FOR THE PEOPLE.
cHIMRoRAzO AND CoTOPAX1.

Mr.. Edward Whymper, the Alpine climber,
recently described to London audience nls
ascents of the Andean PEAKS OF ChlmDoIazo anu
NIT of Chimborazo on the Sd of January, of
last year, after a most arduous climb 1n rey
found the wind blowing at the rate OF nifty
miles an hour, from the northeast and drlVing
the snow before it. With extreme diincuity
reading of the mercurial barometer was
Effected The mercury fell to l4.1 inches WIN
n temperature of 21o Fair. This being worked
out in comparison with q nearly simultaneous
observation at Guayaqui gave p, 545 feet IOr
the height of ChimbOrazo. Ihey pegan oh1
descent at twenty minutes past o, with scarcely
an hour and quarter of daylight, anu reacheu
their camp (about II 400 feet above the sea-
leyeD about p. M, having been out nearly
sixteen hours, and OH foot the whole time.
Passing from an extinct to an active v0lcahO'
MIR. WhympeI next gave an account OF his Jour-
ney TO the crater of COtOpaxl. ObserVlng WIN
the telescope, during an enforced stay ~
Macbachi, that much less smoke or Vapor was
given of at night than by day, ne resOiveu;o IN
the 18th Of February the party got to the edge
of the crater, having passed almost the Wuolc
way from their camp at height OF lo,oOV ieet
to the foot of the final cone over snow, anu tntn
over ash mixed with ice. The final cone was
the steepest part of the ascent, and on their side
nresented an angle of $50. When they reacneu
the crater vast quantities OF smoke ana yapoI
were boiling up, aud they could only see portions
not ut all. Their tent was pitched 200 fcet
from the edge of the crater, and during ylo-
lent squall the india-rubber floor OF the teri
was found to be on the point OF melting,
maximum thermometer showing temperature
of 11Oo on one side of the tent, and OF but oO
on the other in the middle IL was To. Out
side IT was intensely cold, and q thermometer
ON the tent cord showed minimum OF IL. Az
night they had fine view of the crater when
has a diameter from north to south OF Z,OOO
feet. and from east to west OF about 1,5OO
feet In the interior the walls descend to the
bottom in a series of steps of precipice, ana
slope a good thousand feet, aud at the bottom
there was a nearly circular spot OF glowing hre,
200 feet in diameter. On the sides OF the In
terror higher up, assures, from which hioker-
ing flames were leaping. showed that the laVa
was red hot O very short distance below the sur
face. The height be found to be $4,000 feet.
The party remained at the top for twenty SIX
consecutive hours, sleeping about 40 feet be-
low the lOfriest point.
turr ed to ChmborazO, and from q second read
ing of the barometer mt 14.029 inches, with
temperature of 15o Fair, he made the height
20, 489 feet. the mean of the two readings CIV
ing 20,517 feet. While on the side OF Chlm.
bOrazO no witnessed magnificent eruption oil
COtopaxi, ashes rising in q column 2O,OOO feet
above the Tim of the crater and then spreading
over an area of many miles. Professor Bonney
had submitted the ash to microscopic eNamina-
ton, and found that the tineness varied from
1000 to $4,000 particles to the grain In
weight and from observation OF the area over
which the ash fell, MIR. Whymper calculated
that at least two million tons must have been
elected In this one eruption.