The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-10-24

barren pampa. The plaza Of the city
has an elevation of about seYenty-six
| hundred feet but the surrounding plain
| is much higher, and for convenience we
estimate that the Misti, as a separate
and distinct mountain, rises from a
mean elevation Of eleven thousand feet.
We find that its diameter at this alti-
| tude Is 4,312 feet, its height 1918 feet
and it's volume 2,465, 900, 600, 900 cubic
| feet, Assuming the specific gravity of
the materials elected from its crater to
| be two and five-tenths times that of
water, the weight of the mountain IS
| 192, 900 600 900 tons, but this represents
only a small part of the material that
| has been emitted from the volcano, for
| there are vast deposits of lava extend
| ing in all directions, and the deserts for
many miles distant are composed to UNI
| known depths of volcanic ash and rock
During the wet season the storms
| leave Misti covered with snow down to
sixteen thousand feet and sometimes to
| fourteen thousand, but If the following
| day chances to be clear the fresh snow
| will disappear before night. The snow
always lasts longer on the southwest
side of the mountain and on the north
side it disappears very rapidly, which
is due to the fact that we are south of
the equator and that during the clear
months of the year the sun Is north OF
the zenith. 1t Is fact, however, that
snow extends to much lower level on
the neighboring ranges of the noun
tains. This is attributed to internal
heat as the Misti is a volcano in
state of considerable activity, and ex-
hibtions of hot vapor. sulphuric fumes
and other phenomena are apparent to
all observers.
"The cone of the mountain is COM
posed of rugged masses of rock, the re-
mains of ancient lava flows whose an
gle varies between thirty and thirty
five degrees The few persons who
have been fortunate enough to.reach the
summit have been surprised at the ex-
tent and gloomy grandeur of the eeene-
,ry. The crest is Enthusiastically crater
formed by the original upheaval. and
the maximum diameter is about tWen-
ty-eight hundred feet. The diameter OF
new and comparatively modern era
ter is about fifteen hundred feet at the
top and five hundred feet at the bot
tom, which is nearly level and COM
posed of yellow lava and sulphur. The
vapors playing upon this produce the
appearance of boiling sulphur, and in
former times people reported flames |
which, if 1t We're an established fact
would be of great interest.
1.-The first ascents were undoubtedly |
made before the arrival of the Span
iards and are beyond the reach of his
tory and even tradition. Within the
re Lea
wood, which must have been left there |
by human hands, and the old writer's |
report that pagan sacrificial rites were
celebrated there, or perhaps it may
have been the custom among the Indi- |
ans to bury their chiefs at this great |
altitude. The first expedition, in 1877,
found vestiges of a stone structure |
marking the form of two or three
rooms, which still existed two centuries
later, and are matter of great inter-
est. The expedition is said to have as
cended the volcano by ecclesiastical and |
royal authority to investigate the cause
Of dense column of smoke seen ars-
ing from the summit. and al. other times
during the same period similar phenom-
ena appeared, but nothing definite or
authoritative exists on this subject, and
for two centuries al least Ell Misti has
been semi-quescent, emittinb only va
pors in varying quantities.
MANY persons have visited the era
ter during the last two centuries, but
no one has descended into the crater.
With proper appliances this would be
by no means impossible but for the sui
phurous vapors which abound there and
which would probably be fatal to life.
For awhile there was great enthusiasm
for ascending the Misti, but this inter-
est was terminated ine1S7S by the sad
fate of two English tourists-M
Rider and Rothwelt-who assembled, and
in attempting to make the circuit of the
crater lost their way, became exhaust
ed by hunger thirst and fatigue and
persisted among the cliffs on the north
side of the mountain near the present
mule path.
"A variety of coarse grass, known as
'paja and a moss-like plant growing
in large masses, called 'yarats,' are
found as high as fifteen thousand feet,
and scattering specimens are occasion
ally seen at an altitude Of 1900 feet
Nicuna and guanacos feed as high as
fourteen thousand feet, and at sixteen