Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-07
BACK FROM THE ANDES
Miss Peck, Mountain Climber,
Returns to States.
Baked BY HUASCAN
Failed to Scale Highest of the Andean
Peaks.
GUIDES WERE WEAK-HEARTED
Efforts to Reach the Summit of Old
Volcano Abandoned Because of
Frailty Of Man.
GUIDES WERE WEAK-HEARTEI

NEW YORK, December Miss Annie
Peck, who climbs mountains for fun and
who has probably been higher up in the
world than any other American woman, re-
turned to New York from Peru yesterday,
acknowledging herself repulsed but not
beaten by the peak Huascan. Twice she
attempted to reach the summit of this the
loftiest Of the Andes and twice she failed.
She says she will try again.
To climb this UNEMPLOYED volcanic peak
which bears the name of one OF the meas
Of the ancient Peruvian empire has been
the ambition of Miss Peck since She made
her first trip through the Andes several
years ago. Last May she left New York
determined to place little silk American
flag on the summit of the patriarch of all
the Andes
With an outfit chosen through her ex-
perience as a mountain climber Miss Peck
made her way into the Hiatus valley, which
lies at the foot of one of Huascans spurs
Choosing two South Americans to act as
guides and five Indians as porters, the
young woman set out in the early part of
July to climb the more than 10000 feet to
the summit of the cone.
Men Were Weak.
Miss Peck began to realize the frailties
of mere man before the first 5000 feet were
achieved One of the South Americans she
had selected to accompany her was crazy
just crazy, Miss Peck puts it-and the
other was a coward. When the party found
themselves far up in the wilderness of
snow and glacial ice the man who was a
coward quit without shame.
The woman and the six rema ming men
pushed on up the white flank of the noun
tain. Troubles came in assorted lots. The
snow blindness began to affect the In
no on
lost the barometer. At last the Indians
struck.
On the third day of the climbing when
$4,000 feet had been scaled the Indians de-
manded three times the amount of pay Miss
Peck had promised them. She refused and
then all five of the porters began to take
the downward path in long strides. The
one woman there alone with the crazy
Peruvian citizen in the cloud waste called
the Indians back and agreed to their
terms.
The upward march again COM
menced. but before an hour had passed
Miss Peck thought she discovered the
cause for the Indians bellgerency. Six
quarts of raw alcohol brought along for the
purpose of heating the canned food had
been absorbed by the five Indians during
the progress up the mountain. Raw aIco-
hol at the elevation of Is, 600 feet began to
have effect.
There were devils in the air, the Indians
said, and if they gained the summit, where
spirit of Huascan slept, they would all be
turned to stone.
The Retreat.
The woman gave it up. She could not
go on alone and her porters refused to go
on with her. Back down the mountain the
party took its way.
In August the American woman sur
prised the natives about the village of Yum
gay, at the foot of Huascan, by announcing
that she was going to go up the mountain
again. This time she chose new porters
and she took double precautions against
their failing her in making her choice.
But all Indians in South America are
alike, says Miss Peck; they all just as
bad as the worst of them. The second trip
ended like the first. in failure. The porters
were lazy, superstitious and sullen. Each
insisted in eating much as three men
and they We're prone to lie abed late in the
mornings. To complicate things the snow
was very dangerous and there were some
places that had to be crossed which would
have tried the courage of a better man
than an Indian. After 1900 feet had been
climbed Miss Peck again gave it up and
came down the mountain beaten.
Il hope to climb that mountain before l
will. 1t is not absolutely unscalable but
1 will have to get better guides and porters
than l had. With Swiss l can do it,