The Montgomery tribune., 1910-09-02

Orzaba is a sacred mountain in Aztec myth
ology The legend runs that Quetzalcoatl, Goa
of the Air" and indeed the great prophet ana
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 a beautiful peacock
Ixtaccihuatl the ruin of volcano, might be
known as 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 if one pronounces Xtaccl'
huat as if it were written Istac-seewatl. 1t VIII
be close enough in view of our meager knowledge
of this ancient idiom.
This mountain is 1920 feet high with snow
line at Ii 800 feet, and Cortez was the first Euro
pean to cross it when he passed to the valley
of Mexico on his campaign of conquest. A Ger
man named Sonneschmidt dominated it in 1172
while almost a century later, in 1858, party OF
French engineers scaled its soping sides.
And now we come to that Vesuvius of Amer
ica Popocatapet "the mountain of smoke for
such is the significance of the word In the IAN
guage of the Aztecs. 1t rises in glorious eeva'
ton 1874 feet above the sea, and although some
40 miles from tho City of Mexico seems to stand
a sentinel at its very gates. Indian tradition mas
it that both Popocatapetl and lXtaccihuatl were
thrown up from the plain after violent earth
by the gradual piling up of lava and rocks after
various eruptions. The last of these disturbances
occurred in 1902.
To whom the honor of first surmountng Po-
nocatapetl 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 1t IS
only within forty years that these geological prob
lens have received the attention of adventurous
scientists although Humboldt made explorations
and ascents in South America 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, snow-clad sides to
the top, 2O,49S feet above the broad Pacific
The great mountains Antisana and Cayamba
both over 10000 feet elevation, also succumbed
to the untring Whymper, and the record of his
deeds of danger climbing in the equatorial Andes
is a classic of the annals of geological eXplora
ton After these coossi 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 tableland Of Chile stood cloud-crested Acan
cagua, rising grandly to- the skies, while Tupun
gato Illimani, apd Sorata still defed the mos
determined to surmount their topmost heights
Acancagua, the highest of the Andean peaks
(23OS0 feet) the first to fall a prize t.
daring climbers, for Mr.. e. A. Fitzgerald, tn,
English geoogist, fitted out expedition IL
1897, and although personally compelled by sick
ness to abandon his attempt to reach the SUNNI
when within a short distance of realizing hi
ambition, of his companions Burbriggen, th
guide. went to the very apex, and later Mr. S
Vines and Santi Nicola members of the FitzgeI
aid expedition, also arrived at the top. Later, IL
ip nrtin iptran IN,,o
lish alpinist made the ascent of Mount Acanca
qua and placed the peak Illimani to his cred,
Conway was not, however, content with this vic
tory. but pushed on to place Mount Sorato o.
his roll Of first ascents.