Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1891-10-28
WOMEN IN A VOLCANO.
Three Americans Make the PeriIous d
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bcchS 1.-Two fOPOC0Lep0CAs
At midnight they rose from the rude
oouches in the mountaineer's hut where
they had rested and made ready. How2
By dressing warmly, wrapping their
feet and limbs in fold upon fold of
cloth, since at every step they must
break the glazed crust, covering the
unmelting SHOWS beneath, and by
shielding with thick wells their eyes
and skin against the glare and sharp
needles of the snow, though it was but
moonlight Slowly then the three
ladies, with their masculine friends
began the long walk. To each lady
was assigned guide familiar with the
route, and it was his duty, as well as
pleasure, to break the way for them by
putting his larger foot down and
through the crust, so that their labor
was only to put their feet into his
tracks.
Six mortal hours of Flooding YEARLY
onward and upward! hardly daring to
look behind, at least not often, upon
the world, seemingly lying in chaos be-
hind them, but themselves pressing up
the snowy heights before them,
wrapped in the moist, cool glissance Of
the cloud land. Long, long before the
sun broke through thu clouds at their
feet upon a sleeping, mist-wrapped
world below, did they see his glorious
flames spring from the far seas, and re-
hected upon the heights toward which
they climbed, though faint his glow till
later hour of that very, very early
morning. But at last, with their feet
wrappings cut to pieces, they stood
upon the borders of the volcano,
Mountain Popocatepetl. Glad enough
were the WORKOUT ladies to rest in q
poor shelter, while their Indian guides
and cook prepared their breakfast.
A faint mist lay rather than rose
upon the crater, and the odor of the
sulphur was already perceptible.
When, breakfast being done and all
preparations made, it became evident
that the three Americans actually in
tended to descend to the sulphur beds
in the bottom of the crater, the poor
Indians were seized with terror. No
woman's foot had ever touched these
dens and caves, these mines of sulphur,
from which their labor had drawn for
centuries, from which Cortes obtained
the means for the fiery conquest of
their forefathers These sources of
supply would be bewitched, despoiled,
should woman's foot ever touch them.
They fell upon their knees and
begged them to desist from the at
tempt But the Americans had not
braved the toll and danger of the as
cent to return unsatisfied Go down
they would The Indians shook their
heads and sighed beneath their breath,
and wondered what kind of men those
fair gentlemen could be who did not
seem to be able to hinder their wives
from carrying out this awful resolu-
ton. But since there seemed to be no
help for it, they prepared themselves to
let down these extraordinary burdens
upon the windlasses. Yes! there was
nothing else for it but to go down as
the gentlemen did upon the cross beam
of the rope, which the Indisns slowly
unwound from above the fair artist, if
so she might be called, keeping herself
from being dashed against the craggy,
yellow-seamed and stained walls by
means of strong cane or stick, with
which she pushed herself away from
the crater sides as she descended.
One of the ladies, not so strong as
the others, became unconscious from
the fumes of sulphur and had to be
hurried up to the air again. What was
the interior like? An immense nearly
circular chamber, of which the floor
was an uneven, yellow-tinted surface,
like a caldron whose contents have
hardened while boiling in huge bub-
bles. Crags and huge spikes or half
pillars or sulphurous masses filed III
the weird shop of the sulphur gnomes
No language can fully describe such
an interior Only those who are will
ing to pay the price which the Ameri-
cans paid can have the remarkable
sensation of seeing and being inside of
volcano. But once more restored to
the upper air, not the least remarkable
part of this adventure remained to be
tried.
Standing on the border, the descent
over the snow slopes, up which they
had toiled the night before, looked
sharp and dangerous; and too sharp
and dangerous it was to attempt by
foot as they had come up. The guides
must take them down on the patatas
Broad-plaited straw mats were these,
as stiff as an ordinary half-inch board
The guide sat in front with steering
pole, which was also a crook of safety,
since, if the descent became too rapid,
there was imminent danger of the
whole party being pitched head over
heels down the steep perilous slope of
ice. Behind the guide sat the ladies,
as boys slide down hill, and at given
signal away they flew.
Such sled trial! Tobogganing is
child's play compared to it The dis
lance up it had taken six hours to climb
was passed over again in just fifteen
minutes. Then the whole party were
once more below the snow limit, and
feeling that they had once more re-
turned to the world in which they had
previously passed their lives, for their
other experiences had seemed to be-
long to another sphere than that of
earth IL