The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1901-02-23
AMERICAN SCIENCE IN THE ANDES


several months he Instruments had to be
left to their fate. Occasionally they
broke down long before the limit of time
was reached. The meteorograph had been
successfully tested in normal conditions,
but the whirling winds, as often as not
sweeping straight up the slope of the
mountain and throwing the thermometer
INTO complete confusion, and the drifting
snow which every now and then almost
overwhelmed the station, were things
with which it could not always contend
Nevertheless, if one recalls the enormous
dl.hculties, the results obtained were ra.
markedly y co1npreh ensire, ,, and, taking
them year by year, if not day bv dav
complete.
There has been no lack of Dicturesoue
interest. to accompany tht various as
cents CT Ell Msti, as may be ren,7i;,-
imagined. Here, for example, is a MAYA
graph from Prof. S. T. lsailey's accounr
OF the establishment Of the station in his
Introduction to the volume, in the An
lials' OF the Harvard observatory, which
treats of 'Peruvian Meteorology" FL
Nlsfl is volcanic mountain, and the
summit, 1t appears, was marked with an
iron cross over a Century ago by Spanish
priests from A1equipa to guard against
the eruption of the great crater Which
Gtlll, as then, sends out its sulphurous
Vapors into the air. Prof Bailey is writ
Ing Of the ascent Of Sept. IS. 1898. as the
party under his charge was nearing the
summit:
The Indians were not enthusiastic;
two IF them, who went ahead to recon-
Eoitre, thought the place too difficult for
mules. / thought differently, and on
careful examination found a route where
by descending fifty or seventy-1ive feet
We avoided the cliff and gained the bot
tom of the ravine. The way then led
across q bad slope Of coarse pebbles
where it was impossible to make a good
trail. but, this once crossed. the remain
der of the route was, strangely enough
the easiest of the whole ascent. At I "a
p. m. we got our first view of the observ-
atory, and by small mirrors gave and re-
cciVed flashes in return. About ten min
utes later we reached the cross, situa ted
Il few feet southwest of the highest p yu;
Of the mountain. About fifteen minutes
before reaching the summit the Indians
caught sight OF the cross and this sight.
assuring them that success was certain
and their hard labors nearly over kinllel
in them more enthusiasm than they dis
played at any other time. On our ar
rival at the summit each Of the Indians
in turn embraced first me and then Mr..
Waterbury. Each then removed his hae
and knelt at the foot of the cross kiss
ing first the base and then the arms.
Ther. they drank our health and after
ward dug a little hole just at the apex
!; of the mountain and placed therein cocoa,
poured wine upon it and covered it with
earth. After Selecting the site for the
proposed shelters. and making a sketch
and a few photographs, we sent the.
mules and apparatus back by two of the
men,
Later, in October, the ascent was again
made in force, the difficulties, as before
increasing as the journey neared it's enI.
From this time on" says Prof Bailey
1T was q constant struggle to keep all
the loads in motion. The work was ex-
ceedingly hard for the drivers and In
dams. Each man carried some instru-
mcnt or package in addition to leading
mule. The loads, though not especially
heavy, were extremely awkward in
shape and we're in constant need of re-
adjustment. In the more difficult places
it was necessary for one man to lead and
another to walk behind and steady each
mule. About the middle of the route,
the men announced that they could go
no further that day, that men and
animals were exhausted. Two strong
and opposite influences were powerfully
at work with them. On the one hand if
the station were established that dav
their engagement was nearly over, while
If abandoned hare, they would be needed
for another expedition. This, together
with their physical condition, inclined
them to refuse to proceed. Fortunately
this situation was not unexpected, and
mad been guarded by a counter-inf1uence
Calisaya, the mule owner, and Francisco,
our regular driver, had each been prom
lsed ten soles extra, when the station was
a fact, if they obeyed orders implicitly.
Each % the six Indians who had ascend
ed previously had been promised five
soles on the same conditions. The others
also hoped for an extra fee
For these men, who generally earn
about 90 cents per day, this was a con-
siderable sum. This, they were now in
formed. would be forfeited if they stop
ped without permission. I was not open
to persuasion. Coaxing, complaining, and
swearing were alike ineffective. After
lullCuI ana plenty OF Stlmulant in the
form of "Disco,'' to which the men are
accustomed, and without which they
would not work at this altitude, they.
concluded to proceed, and the loads hav-
ing been rearranged. in order to partial
ly relieve one nearly exhausted mule. we
advanced. Several of the men, including
Calisaya, had not assembled the mountain
before. This proved an advantage; for,
during the last two hours, misled by the
appearances, they thought each moment
that the summit was just ahead We
reached the cross at $50 p. m. Here
the men rested for half an hour and
took a lunch. 1t was arranged that Mr.
II. c. Bailey should give his special at
tention to making views Of the craters
and surroundings. He had been suffering
for the last two hours from mountain
sickness, but went to work promptly and
attended to it Dersistently until he had
exposed all the plates we had brought,
when he became completely exhausted. .
1t IS probable that no such difficulties
were ever met and overcome before in
:he pursuit of meteorological investiga- q
ion. taS II i
Gave Child as Security.
Spokane Cor San Francisco Chronicle.
fafl, ,%rsxy