The enterprise. [volume] (Harlem, Mont.) 1899-1926, 1910-09-01

Orizaba is sacred mountain in Aztec myth
oogy. The legend that Quetzalcoatl, COG
of the Air. and indeed the great prophet and
most important figure of the Totec religion, cor
responding to Confucius in China, Mahomet III
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
Ixtaccihuatl the ruin of volcano, might be
known as the despair of the American schoo
teacher, because of it's seemingly unpronounce
able name. However, white woman" for that
is what the word means in the Aztec tongue is
simple of saying, and If one pronounces lxtaccl-
huatl as if it were written Istac-seewatl, it will
be close enough in view of our meager knowledge
of this ancient idiOm.
This mountain is 1920 feet high with snow
line at 1890 feet, and Cortez was the first Euro
pean to cross it when he passed to the valley
of Mexico his campaign of conquest A Ger
man named Sonneschmidt dominated it In l772,
while almost a century later, in 1858, party or
French engineers scaled it's sloping sides.
And now we come to that Vesuvus of Amer
ica Popccatapetl, ''the mountain of smoke, Tor
such is the significance of the word In the IAN
guage of the Aztecs. 1t rises in glorious eleva7
ton 1874 feet above the sea, and although some
so miles from the City of Mexico seems to stand
a sentinel at it's very gates. Indian tradition mas
it that both Popocatapetl and Ixtaccihuatl were
thrown up from the plain after a violent earth
quake and have attained their present heights
by the gradual piling up of lava and rocks after
various eruptions. The last of these disturbances
occurred in 1902
pocatapetl belongs is difficult to determine, but
a distinguished congressman of the United States,
Hon. William Suzer, recently conquered the
mountain of smoke"
South of the sthmus situated the noun
tain monarchs of the western world, and it is
hot
lens have received the attention of adventurous
scientists, although Humboldt made explorations
and ascents in South America as early as 1902
He it was who attempted to scale Chimborazo
"the white watcher of the western SEAS" but
failed to get beyond 10000 feet, a 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 snowclad sides to
the top, 20,498 feet above the broad Pacific.
The great mountains Antsana and Cayamba
both 10000 feet elevation, also succumbed
to the untir!ng Whymper, and the record of his
deeds of danger climbing in the equatorial Andes
is classic Of the annals of geological eXplora
ton. After these colossi of the Corderas had
been conquered, the eyes of the apinists turned
southwark, where still more lofty peaks of unde
termined heights known to exist In the
great tabeland of Chile stood cloudcrested Acan
cagua, rising grandly to the skies, while Tupun
cato, Illimani, and Sorata still defed the most
determined to surmount their topmost heights
Acancagua. the highest of the Andean peaks
(2S0SO feeD, was the first to fall as a prize to
daring climbers for Mr.. E. A. Fitzgerald, the
English geologist fitted out an expedition in
1897, and although personally compelled by sick
ness to abandon his attempt to reach the summit
when within a short distance of realizing his
ambition one or 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, IT.
1898, Sir Martin Conway, another intrepid Eng
lish apinist, made the ascent of Mount Acanca.
qua and placed the peak Illimani to his credit
Conway was not, however content with this vic.
tosy, hut pushed on to place Mount Sorato on
his roll of first ascents.