The Portland daily press., 1897-08-25

the mountain slope. They arrived oleie
between and 10 O'Clock and engaseo
rooms at the hotel. They were 1oreuha'o
in having letter from Gen Ochoa, VINO
owns the crater to his agent at Ameca-
MEGA, recommending the party TO ohe
latter's attention. The agent procureo
horses for the trip, and at . oclooA IL
the afternoon the cavalcade was ready lor
the ascent.
Mrs. Llewellyn and Mrs. Walenihah
were escorted by r. o. Renaud OF inc Guy
of Mexico. The womens animals hao
mems saddles, the only kind prooarapio
in that part of the country. There "oro
three guides, on foot pack mule "hi0i
required the combined efforts OF man
and boy to drive it, and, last OF ALL u
major domo, called simply the "Senor'
who acted as the general superintendent
of the entire outfit The women's pancnos
were tied on the pack mule, the 'oenor
gave the word, the mule drivers cracheu
their whips over the one patient animal
and the Adventures set forth.
The first objective point was capln'
seven leagues distant, where the parry
intended to pass the night.
Our road led over rough mouDtaln
trail, y writes Mrs. Llewellyn, through
narrow barrancas, where we could almost
reach out on either side and gather tne
ferns and maiden hair. We toiled our
way across streams and through WOODS OF
nr and pine, which lack the spicy aroma
OF our northern forests, getting gllmpSes,
now and again, of the beautiful valley
below. The great white volcano rose IN
an his might before US, his head veiiea
In Heecy clouds. Along the way we
found luxuriant wild penstemans
l1orget-me-nots daisies, fuchsias, cosmos,
the yellow cetauria-a huge, doWny
thistle, resembling the bloom of the sart1-
choke-and the large thorn poppy. One
misses animal life in these Mountains
the sudden rabbit, the road runners, the
chatter of squirrels and the whirr OF IN
sect life. All is silent. The trees became
smaller, and more scattering, until, at
O'Clock, we reached the cabin above the
timber. line.''
This lonely cabin upon the bleak noun
tain side is but rough shelter at best
It was formerly used for refining the sui
phur taken from the crater. Under the
"Senor's" direction, the guides built
fire, at which meal was prepared. Then
the men made for the women the leather
sandals for use in the hard climb of the
morrow. That being done, the weary
travellers rolled themselves in their
blankets and with their feet to the fire
endeavored to sleep.
Il They passed q restless night, for the
rain came down in torrents and poured
through the chinks of the weather beaten
cabin. The panchos proved but poor
protection, under the circumstances, and
at So clock in the morning the two MEM
l l. - 10 n1rrh ella Il
shook the water from their coverings and
gratefully accepted the coffee which had
been prepared.
1.-THE mozos wrapped our feet In fold
upon fold of agate, a very soft bagging
and over this they laced our leather san ;
dals. y says Mrs. Llewellyn. Downing
our large, heavy, cone-shaped straw hats
procured at Amecameca, and putting on
our wells and heavy gloves, we mounted
our horses at 4. 45 and filed silently ND
the narrow path. At o'clock we gained
Las Cruces, a cross, planted in large
bowlder, which marks the place where
the horses leave us. If should make the
should endeavor to pitch camp here and
thus save the ive-mile trip from the
cabin in the early morning.
The mozos returned with the horses
and we three, with our three guides
turned our faces toward the great vol
| CdIlO. ADOub wv O-UQlrQS OIL G06 way I'D
we had our last outlook, for when we
reached the top the clouds rolled in and
obscured our view.
GAS we looked out over the vast ex-
panse we were filed with emotions which
come rarely in a lifetime. We seemed to
look from ocean to ocean. Range after
range of what had seemed high noun
tains lay like rolling land below us. To
the north appeared Iztaccihautlo, The
White Lady with her arms folded peace
fully on her breast, covered with a fall of
snow. Away to the west-50 miles as
the crow fiies-we recognized shadowy
body of water as Lake Texooco. Beside
Mexico. On the other side Puebla ap-
peared as mere speck in the dis lance.
with infinite difficulty we made out
the pyramid of Cholulla, greater in size
than any of Egypt, and on it's topmost
pinnacle the church of the Remedies, a
mere speck ~of white. Here and there,
along the valleys, threads of silver SHIN
mered in the sun, marking where, amid the
lowlands, the rivers wound their devious
ways. In the dots upon The plains we
recognized SO many villages. At this
great height the country loses detail, an
even color.
GAS we mount higher our progress be
lest we be completely unnerved by the
appearance Of the abysses which yawn
beside the trail. Step by step we go
through the lava and the snow. The
summit seems to recede and mock our
efforts. Every few moments we are
forced to rest, feeling that we can go no
farther. But we do not give up the
struggle, and at last we reach the topmost
summit, where we sink upon the snow,
two happy but terrified women.
"Not tor some minutes do we dare to
look down Into the infinite depths. AS
we do SO we breathe the prayer of the
mariner at sea-'Oh, God, 1--WE are so
small, and the creations of thy handiwork
are so great
''No one who has not made this or a
similar ascent can imagine the tremen-
dous nervous strain of the struggle. The
altitude of Popocatepetl is 1880 feet,
but the physical endeavors necessary to
reach its summit are as nothing to the
effect on the emotions of the awe-inspir-
ing surroundings. The crater opens sud-
denly at our very feet and fills us with
new terrors. I should judge the distance
across at about lilometer.. The crater
| seems to be full of water, from which