Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1910-09-02

Orizaba is sacred mountain in Aztec myth
ology. The legend runs that Quetzalcoatl, God
of the Air." and indeed the great prophet and
most important figure of the Toltec religion, cor
responding to Confucius in China Mahomet in
India, and of whom the Messiah myth was also
current, died at Coatzacoalcos and his body was
brought to Orizaba His royal remains were con-
sumed by divine fire and his spirit flew heaven
ward under the form of beautiful peacock.
Ixtacchuatl, the ruin of volcano, might be
known the despair Of the American school
teacher, because of its seemingly unpronounce-
able name. However, white woman for that
is what the word means in the Aztec tongue, Is
simple Of saying, and il one pronounces lxtacci-
huatl as If it written Is-tacsee-wat 1t will
be close enough in view of our meager knowledge
of this ancient idiom.
This mountain is 1920 feet high with snow
line at IA 300 feet and Cortez was the first Euro
pean to cross 1t when he passed to the valley
of Mexico on his campaign of conquest. Ger
man named Sonneschmidt dominated 1t in 1772,
while almost a century later in 1853, party of
French engineers scaled its sloping sides.
And come to that Vesuvius of Amer
lea, Popocatapetl, "the mountain of smoke" for
such Is the significance of the word in the Ian
guage of the Aztecs. 1t rises in glorious eleva-
tion 1874 feet above the sea- and although some
so miles from the City of Mexico seems to stand
a sentinel at its very gates. Indian tradition has
1t that both Popocatapetl and Ixtaccihuatl were
thrown up from the plain after violent earth
quake and have attained their present heights
by the gradual ping up of lava and rocks after
various eruptions. The last of these disturbances
occurred in 1902.
To whom the honor of first surmounting Po
pocatapetl belongs is difficult to determine but
distinguished congressman of the United States
Hon. William SulZer, recently conquered the
mountain of smoke"
South of the isthmus are situated the noun
tain monarchs of the western world and 1t is
only within forty years that these geological prob
hoya iuld fhQ ptt Of adv
scientists, although Humboldt made explorations
and ascents In South America as early as 1902
He 1t was who attempted to scale Chimborazo,
"the white watcher of the western SEAS" but
failed to get beyond $4,000 feet, most notable
achievement, however under the circumstances.
The glory of it's conquest belongs to that mas
ter of the Matterhorn, Edward Whymper, who
fought his way up the rugged, snow-clad sides to
the top, 2O,4ss feet above the broad Pacific,
The great mountains Antisana and Cayamba,
both over 10000 feet elevation, also succumbed
to the untiring Whymper and the record of his
deeds of danger climbing In the equatorial Andes
is a classic Of the annals of geological explora-
tion. After these coloss Of the Cordilleras had
been conquered the eyes of the alpinists turned
southwark, where still more lofty peaks of unde-
termned heights were known to exist. In the
great tabeland of Chile stood cloud-crested Acan-
cagua, rising grandly to the skies. while Tupun-
cato, Illimani, and Sorata still deied the most
determined to surmount their topmost heights.
Acancagua, the hlghest OF the Andean peaks
(23080 feet) was the first to fall as a prize to
daring climbers, for Mr.. e. A. Fitzgerald, the
English geoogist, fitted out an expedition in
1897, and although personally compelled by sick
ness to abandon his attempt to reach the summit
when within short distance of realizing his
ambition, one of his companions, Burbriggen. the
guide, went to the very apex, and later Mr.. s.
Vines and Santi Nicola, members of the Fitzger
aid expedition, also arrived at the top. Later, in
1898, Sir Martin Conway, another intrepid Eng
lish alpinist. made the ascent of Mount Acanca
qua and placed the peak Illiman to his credit
Conway was not, however, content with this vic
tory, but pushed on to place Mount sorato OF
his roll of first ascents.