| Show II 11 u mt old t a ascent of ca aliina lam i borazo bol razo i 1 i 1 from the life travels handbooks and books of alexander anderaon and erYon von humboldt we WB extract the fal irwing wing interesting account I 1 I 1 I 1 on the dayot da YO june Jine I 1 the birthday of oe ilia brother boldt commenced his as asi i cant of accompanied by babon boni r land fand and carlos de a your young anish naturalist they started from I 1 lae plain of tapia at an elevation of over ne thousand fee feet ting abi arid tableland table land its ats near the village of lican the ancient residence dence of the sovereigns of 0 quito quite anin lican to the summit cummi t of oe fas hs nearly five leagues 19 a a waight straight 1111 lanc hey follow ed the plain leaving behind of indians indiana bound to the market of f hcan and a slowly ascending baited for mk ali e night attebe at the litt little levil lage of calai calpi I at the lotof lit rose before them 0 ii the lacht of the settin setting aunt eun the s foreground vas veiled an fn the vaporous ira porous dimness that ped the lower lowel strata of the aiex air but abut as aa diey viey cat cast thit eye towards ta the summit Ilni nit it matched arched af ched its itself elf aroh 1 tb the 6 deep alve blue sky phy aliey tsar above the region of ligneous flato an and dalpin alpine shrubs h toad belt belt of affsa gi like ai a glided gilded yeow carp carpet bea e abra this was acas d of ana nd these eternal lee ice aid snow sn ar wa As the groa dak darka the beaven above peered to 0 o erow r W brighter their all was dazzled NO iu if tho the reful refulgent gent splendor of the snow girly early the rf r arx f coining their indian james aides acke them and they began to chamb the mountain on mhd bile sli ie traversing the great plains which rose like terraces one above adoth ai iother I 1 r until ibey reached the plain of hisgun I 1 tn til e ive elve four honored haril red ft feet above the level 0 b the a wished to ma I 1 a measurement to ascertain ah certain tae the height of the summit but it W in lachick thick clouds from time to ti time mi they caught a momentary allme glimpse 0 of it through h 0 openings nines in iii the clouds but ut the gra gradually darkening they continued ato ascend until they e deac reached tb the e littfe lake or of yana cocha c a a ci circular relar ba b a gaii in ff 0 4 one hundred an and thirty rl feet in ulam eteri t erp it ft ads was the most elevated elevate a spot dt yet reached by b man ont of mountains three thousand three b hundred andr feet fee higher crinthe rinthe rin the euln summit mit of I 1 mont blanc here L TJ sli owed ed a height of fourteen thousand three lu audred dred and fifty feet crossing the yellow belt of grass which they had bad seen overnight they came calein ia creglon of angile here rocks rosean rose in columns fifty or sixty feet high and looked like trunks of trees ti Tia velling the aisles of this enchanted forest of stone over fields of new fajen fa ien snow enow they gained a narrow ridge which led directly to the summit of chimborazo Chim borazo and by which alone they might hope to reach it for the snow around was too soft and am yielding to be ventured upon the path became steeper and narrow er and at last the guides refused to go any further when they were mere sixteen thousand five file hundred feet afeei high ill all but one left them nothing daunted however the travelers wint went 0 on eni eloped in a thick mist the yath path which they were ascending was in laces s ces not more than eight or ter ier inches T tro road ad the natives iia tives ca call 11 it a knife blade on one hand band was a declivity of snow covered with a glassy coating of ice ice on we the other a chasm of 1000 feet deep deef the bottom of which was coveted with masses casseh of naked rocks they inclined inid their bodi bodies es over ever the chasm dangerous it was for they dared not trust themselves to the snowy patch on the opposite side llad had they stumbled they would either have been buried in the mingled mil aled snow and ice ce or would have rolled headlong down the steep the character of the rock which was brittle and crum crumbling bIlio inar increased eased the difficulty lot the ascent here and there they were obliged to crawl on thel their hands bandi and aid feet the sharp edges of the rock wounded them and an d I 1 left ft behind them a bloody frail rail ahey they marched marched in single file testing with their potes zhe stability of the rocks be tore fore them this precaution was very ne de ves essary sary as many of the rocks were lying loose on n the brink of thi the precia precipice i ice desirous of knowing low how much of the poun mountain remained to be ascended for 0 r the summit was as continued hidden from their sight humboldt opened the barometer or on a paint point where the path wag was broad enough to allow two persons persona to sit side by gidej side the mercury indicated a height of eighteen thousand three hundred and eighty feet the temperature of the air air WILs was 98 ue degrees g gres and th that at of the earth i they proceeded for another 0 the hour conr and found d taie e rocky path less ess steep he mist Vo however wever was thicker than iier eier they tow how began to suffer as severely er ely fi bioni ora the ex they breath M etli difilI difficulty ty and slat lat was iv as still more me e felt like vom vomiting it th their air lelas ea ir 3 sward swam their lips lin and gums bled pro i isely anil and their thear eyelid y v lidd an fume a u ao etc abar barged ed w t bl bloomil 0 d fr frota ti ee time ta time great be judg idi proba ioba damo swooping dona api u the ter ibar Is I 1 pas galin sailing grandly hway aay and resembling ali 13 gut erod galy around it was 11 as impossible to fetza opting lo jo the narrow narrowness nes 0 of I 1 he led ledge ge but Ilum boldt judged that they ivere cere depte a s bonpland Bon Don saw yellow butterflies lutter flies tt ft I 1 hade to lower down impey lv tj 1 Vinal 1 dinall lythe the beltsos belts oi cl loud cloud parted and nd ley saw on the sudden the vast dome of Chim chimborazo bici borazo it seemed deemed hear bear them so near that ina in a few minutes alie they might i each it the led ledges too seem to fa river vo the them by becoming broader th they ey hurried onward onvad for a distance tx cited with hope of soon standing stand ilig on the pinnacle all at oi 0 ce the path was stopped bya by a chasm chasin four bun candre dreI 1 feet deep and eighty feet broad there was v as no way by W winch hi i they could cr brosi it the difficulty was insurmountable to tantalize tant alue them thein still further they th saw that thai the path went forward on the other ide bide odthe of the ledge lede evi evidently I reaching the summit it if they could have but grossed that chasm I 1 it was one in the afternoon and they were benumbed benumb fd with colda cold they were fet above the level of bof t the s sea i the leu best of clouds closed again and the peak v was as lost the mist grew thicker and and everything indicated a storta storm there was nothing nol liing left them but bit to descend halting long enough to col elect lect a few specimens or of the rock they rei retraced t their steps A storm stormon of bail 0 01 er t took ook them thom but as they ula dis discarded corded into a lower lowe I 1 a atmosphere amos here it changed into snow when VV L an they bey t had reached the little lake of yana cocha fuhere they left their mules they found the ground covered with snova ory several fral inches deep beffie dusk they reached the indian village of calpi calai a and f I 1 etere entertained that night by the priest so ended the attempt to scale the summit amit of Chim chimborazo borAzo |
