Show f U t i THE TH E ph EAK A k VP 0 11 1 A A correspondent of tile the K new ew orleans picayune gives a graphic description loil of f an un attempt in january last bya by a company numbering twenty or to scale seale the snowy peak peau of orizaba according to humboldt Humbo UH the highest peak 6 ak in mexico and the handsomest handsome t in fit the t ph world the party had bad resolved resolved on treading where white awhile a mans foot never neven n ventured before P and anticipated ra two fihs at least the correspondent describes the incidents of the first days ascent a ardd arid ild tid continues c ac at sunrise ewe ewo wo reached the sone wone chapel and nd tower feet above the levet level of or I 1 tavel the asca one after the other our cai company p a y I 1 filed nto 0 the tho gateway ay for he hp n night t of it its 0 origin rigin there is no history lof L of its age generations genera tlona tiona long since since dumb kaev naught but a phep shepherd lierd ilerd would nat wat wot eross tross its threshold at night time ifor sek so e 1 shelter from storm asi afi a tormo torro if lf a coronet were on offered ered him the frost that flight WAS sharp and heavy the bare hard earth was wag white all ail and the morning light revealed the nei nel neighboring borin stream iced over as it ale ble siept slept t a oa on in the narrow harrow level above lie lle abysses thair drifted down from om ahe snow region glo gio I 1 and an d man mau ma n and horse shivered in the ma blast thermometers were low and so 0 were the spirits of the party complaints were many and enthusiasm had flagged alarmingly A vote then would have havo disclosed two thirds of the party in favor of retreating brom from this thia point there chere was no horse path here ended all signs of human or travel and upward for feet in interminable layers of rock and cinders and above these and on the pyramidal ridges from the ruined tower gleamed in the sun until ones onea head became dizzy at the sight close packed snow and thousands of ice iee pinnacles pinnacle over these we were to clamber before reaching the summit some of the arty party breathe breathed 4 heavily even at this beight height and were averse to proceeding furth further br horses were picketed within the walled wailed yard of the ruined chapel artists packed their apparatus engin fersth ein eln instruments and with a plenteous supply of the tho brandy brands in each mans pocket the guides were directed to commande the ascent Then followed promiscuously americans englishmen mexicans ins one lone after the other singing whistling and jesting as we trudged along rot lot long did these noisy demonstrations last however for the breach came hard and tho fhe hand ban dl and feet and senses were required fo for the hazardous journey aa we advanced new now n w difficulties arose ledges were precipitous and ailt barely passable rocks of rag h ki sandstone came rolling and slide by u usi uri drifts of snow from the 1 0 to topmost ridges glided swiftly fr from heir their I 1 p places r 1 l acenas as the sun rose in in the he heavens and huge flat lee ice blocks a at t time tim escame orme ormo whirling by us like cannon balls ball f when on a rise of feet the party separated sepe rated some taking the leilh snow ridges others the gorges or gullies there lis jis a mean difference in height between the two aften 00 fedt feet the gullies run up to the summit with oc breaks parallel with the ridges and the surface composed of debris a collection of centuries a spongy black earthy earth through which we sank to the knees and where no snow or ice lay but brt through which at noonday noon noo day dayi ran the drippings droppings drip pings s that from the high snow eilus clina the fau fountains stains winding through h the gorges increased as they descended and uniting sometimes below swept in a thundering torrent down the ahe mountain side these streams li had adworn worn beds a hundred feet feed deeper yet than the general level of the gullies the formation of rocks and earth differed in no wise from that further down here and there lay huge piles of gray limestone and sandstone and specks of quartz promiscuously intermingled ter mingled angled some flat and edged others with regular layers of time and sandstone rents fearfully deep in the mountain side disclosed curiously disposed strata of the upper lower and intermediate ter mediate sections of geologic formation great gaping mouths in the rocky sides send out sulp sulphuric hurle hurie fumes fames and aud in one mammoth opening lay heaps of sulphur and arid further back pillars of pitr purplish stone the result of drippings droppings drip pings 30 feet high there are no evidences of recent irruptions perhaps none for year ye birj ird hilt but the fact that the summit is bare bake and black aud and that occasional whIrl smoke are emitted froni front tife the crater indica indicates the shouldering ing condition only of the volcano at present the ascent was continued in an hu almost direct line toward the top up to within 2000 feet of the summit level the whole feet were in motion but scattered at great distances from each other some almost out of sight afi on the conical cliffy holpe some tolling telling abreast up the dark galleys gul leys at this time some bome began to fail fall a and nd fall by tha thel way blood began to pass from and ears cara and faces were swollen so that old friends knew each other only by the dress A few con the journey 1000 feet higher lay a do down wn shepton sl epton the snow or black dust gasped cpr far breath aad awoke some dropped every few minutes it was impossible to keep awake awa awn keall kenil all ali the time but started starred lid tip up again as soon toon catching the tho breath the painful oppressive atmosphere weighed heavily upon the loaded artists urtis ts and ano they with one accord and wIth without parley turned and rt retraced traced their steps towards the spot where fell early the and ear teak eak l lunged choko thoko those on sent whirling under their feet feed rocks and patches of black eath earth and iee ice clefts that thit seemed to hang bang in air above the affrighted explorers in the gullies beneath land and snow sections were continually started under the feet of those above and snowdrifts snow drifts often fell burying us at times in the debris the sun was by this time in and beat down fiercely blinding us and starting a thousand little rills from the exposed ledges that seemed in the sunbeams silver veins as they slid noiselessly down the tall iee ice pillars and ran along the rocky sides clear as crystal till they went flamin foaming g and leaping into the surging stream below ko no sign of tree or orah rub or grass blade or hardy flower all silence and nd snow and black desolation rifted drifted rocks wierd unseemly piles of frozen earth and ice upward nilst mist and cloud below the sun and sky deep blue overhead beneath bene dene a tt the cloah cloud nield field and the abyss art artists i were out of sight under the clouds descending sc engineers and others lay down or staggered at points anthe way incapable of 0 willing or acting and calling up upon on those in front to return falling rocks became more frequent boulders undermined by the phe he thaw of iee ice came spinning after each other at fabulous rates of speed snow banks would start off themselves from their places and with a sharp cutting sound bound drop into the abyss and be seen no more shafts of ice lee 80 feet long loosened by the falling boulders and snow slides slipped from their moorings fell upon the sandstone cliff below ground into hito fragments and bounding onward between sun and cloud sparkling like ilke diamonds as they fell the winds were sharp and cold but buthot not high sometimes in in the he deep iee lee hollow it struck the sharp crag an and shrieked like the night tempest on a rocky reef once and once only it chopped round and swept the mass of cloud away eastward and hud then distant landmarks and cities and plains were visible and all the mexican volcanoes were distinguishable and with a good telescope we looked looked out over the chiquete Chi quite mountains into info the placid waters of the gulf in a few minutes the wind shifted and cloud and mist trooped back again and hung with a sort of affectionate embrace around the mountain top and sides sound at this height was very distinct alt ait although hough bough it appeared distant when actually near amid the silence that rel rei reigned ened the snapping ice iee i ce shafts and snoie snow slides and falling rocks and even the little waterfall fell painfully upon the ear the thee crashing noises one experiences perien ces in in caverns when a sone strikes the floor or ariit a rill plays upon the rock resemble nearly the sensation and when a boulder broke upon the lower ledge the sound sound quivered witha with a vibratory motion for a long time before it died away the sense of isolation is acute existence is a dream the senses half halt benumbed me memory m ory in a mist and add thought lost in a maze of uncertainty tanty were it not indeed for the continuous struggle to retain vitality the sensation of losing breath and the constant loss of blood one might easily be induced to dream on in la a seeming sleep on a sunny snow ledge or cinder gorge we are now not nearly feet above sea level distinctly as if at our elbow the bound sound sound bound of ahe fhe guides feet striking the solid drift 1000 feet away fell upon the ear Evident evidently lythe the indian pilots who did not count upon our advancing so 0 far became alarmed and indicated a wish to return but gen geu 1 8 urged uria them forward taking himself eif elf a narrow conical ledge pushed after toward the summit notwithstanding the pretentious knowledge of these natives it is very much doubted w whether etbel any living belil being advanced further toward th e summit miff than our party did some time during the war wan wilh mexico twenty of mor adof agajan an army wadk 0 O ander 4 south varolin lan lau I 1 believe made the attempt to reach the top but ho be fell paralyzed after reaching the beight height of feet above the gulf his coin eoin comrades rades proceeded no further r but planted lasted on t lie the pot poti firmly in the rocks a stain stair and on it unfurled the stars and nd stripes the flagstaff remains yet in il its place but not a thread of the fl nag a 9 is left all given to the winds and storm the hall ball sleet and the gale two thirds of our party were out of sight down tho the slope three aadne alo aio ne beside the affrighted guides held t their er w way ay blood 0 oozed from ears 1 nostrils and mouth and veins stood 0 out ut on the forehead in great black lides our footing became more and more uncertain tain the ascent abrupt the stones constan constantly turning and crumbling away awny and betimes huge masses of of earth boulders boulde nj an and d s scoria oria orla loosened by the melting 8 show aw came thundering and arid hissing from above fairly flying past our head heads on to the next projecting ledge and arid great snow drifts broken and crumbled by the colliding rocks avalanche avalanched d down upon our heads ap a perfect berfect storm 0 of f snow and icicles and black earth an and d lava dust one of the guides smitten by a passing drift rolled half dead about thee hundred feet down the slope and was buried for awhile in the debris of snow and earth col C a west pointer was thoroughly exhausted and made as incoherent speeches as a toper in his last struggles to maintain consciousness ness his broken sentences low and indiscreet were indicative of scenes on the chickahominy mustering squadrons in cold weather down tile the mountain side almost under the clouds lay our english friends completely demoralized zed and seemingly discussing on a lava bank sundry bottles of cognac unconscious of the dangers threatening their fellow voyagers voyagers in their perilous journey on the treacherous clit cliff above the miniature cascades disappeared even the dr droppings drippings drip pings 1 disappeared from the rocks forve forne for we bad had d passed the line of thaw snow was beaten down bard hard and compact and glistened like ice as the sun fell upon it but an abundance of loose rocks lay on the surface poised for motion at the slightest touch the guide started more than one as he picked his way some distance in front we heard by the footfall that the courageous S was pushing oli on he was within feet of the app turning into a shilow shallow gulley to avoid the falling boulder when a sliding tumbling noise was heard then a dull click then a fall fail and in a moment a heavy boulder came whizzing by on its down clown ward course someone some one called out IS S has fallen the rock struck him on the shoulder breaking it and hurled him a hundred feet down the steep gulley the guide reached him soon after and we pore bore him slowly down the steep slope abandoning for the time our enterprise ter prise arrived at the tower the mountain streams swollen by the melting snow went foaming and roaring down their rocky beds our horses were picketed as we left them in the morning we passed another night within the roofless chapel and with all the quaint stories and rind gablin fables associated with it slept soundly till rosy fingers of morn streaked the ea eastern sky and down a again ain aln with our wounded comrade into t the e soft warm winds and pine groves we wp picked our way and yet furt further her on to the balmier air of the lowlands where cool streams from the hills hill hillsand sand and peak danced merrily through maguey fields and in the orange shade ahr through ough broad pam pampas pasto to the uio ulo rio bio blanco |