Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1893-08-05
WOMEN IN A VOLCANO.
THEY MAKE A PERlLous DESCENT
INTO PoPocATEPETL.

ms&tsos A1ity noHht&iH Sthico W khfc"
PIucky Americans-They startle the
Guides by Going Into the Crater-slid-
Ing Down the Mountain Side.
At midnight they rose from the rude
rouches in the mountaineers hut where
they had rested, and made ready. How,
BY dressing warmly, wrapping Their
Beet and limbs in fold upon fold OF cloth
prnce at every step they must break the
glazed crust, covering the nnmelting
SHOWS beneath. and - shielding with
thick wells their ewes and skin against
the glare aud sharp needles Of the snow,
though il was but moonlight.
Slowly then the three ladies, with
their masculine friends. began the long
walk To each lady was assigned a
guide familiar with the route. and II
was his duty. as well as pleasure, to
break the way for them by putting his
larger foot down and through the crust
80 that their labor was only to put their
feet into his tracks
Six mortal hours Of plodding YEARLY
onward and upward. hardly daring to
look behind, al least not often. upon the
world, seemingly lying in chaos behind
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 the clouds at their feet upon a
sleeping. mist wrapped world below did
they see his glorious flames spring from
the far seas and reflected upon the
heights toward which they climbed,
though faint his glow till late hour Of
that very, very early morning.
But ut last. with their feet wrappings
cut to pieces they stood upon tine Dor
ders Of the volcano Popocatepetl Glad
enough were the wornout ladies to rest
in poor shelter. while their Indian
guides and cook prepared their break
fast
INVESTIGATING THE VOLCANO.
A faint mist lay rather than rose upon
the air of the crater, and the odor of sui
phur was already perceptible. When.
breakfast being done and all prepare
tions made, 1t became evident that the
three Americans actually intended to de-
scend 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 "A wonan's foot ever
touch them
They fell upon their knees and begged
them to desist from the attempt But
the Americans had not braved the toll
and danger of the ascent TO return I'M
satisfied 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 ont
this awful resolution But, since there
seemed 10 be no help for II. they pre-.
pared themselves 10 let down these ex.
traorlinary burdens upon the wind
lasses.
ies! there was nothing else for ii but
TO go down as the gentlemen did upon
the crossheam Of the rope. which the In
dans slowly unwonud from above the
tair artist, u SO she might be called
keeping herself from being dashed
against the eraggy yellow scanned and
stained walls by means OF strong cane
or stick. with which she pushed herself
away from the crater sides as she de.
scended.
One OF the ladies. not so strong as the
others, became unconscious from the
fumes Of sulphur and had to be hurried
mp To the air again
FASTER THAN ToBooGANING.
What was the interior likeg An i'm.
mense. nearly circular chamber, of
which the floor was an uneven, yellow
tinted surface. p ke n caldron whose con
tents have hardened, while boiling. in
huge bubbles. Crags and huge spikes. OF
half pillars or sulphIrous masses filed
In the weird shop Of the sulphurgnomea
No language can ftiy describe such an
interior. Only those who are willing TO
pay the price which the Americans 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 ad-
venture remained 10 be tried.
Standing on the border, the descent
over the snow slopes mp which they had
toiled the night before looked sharp and
dangerous. aud too sharp and dangerous
1t was to attempt by foot as they had
come up. The guides must take them
down ON the patatas Broad plated straw
mats We're these. as stiff as an ordinary
half inch board The guide sat in front
with a steering pole, which was also
crook Of safety. since. If the descent be-
came 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 tho
ladies, as boys slide down hill, and at a
given signal away they flew.
Such sled triall TobogRauing Ia
rhiids play compared to it, The distance
which 1t 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 returned
TO the world ID which they had previ-
ously passed their lives. for their other
experiences had seemed to belong To an
other sphere thau that Of earth.-Cor
Cincinnati Commercial Gazette.
Woman and the Steam Engine.
II takes sand to run IN engine. 40 il
does to run a woman.
There Is usually great hustle about
IN engine: so there is about woman.