528 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



AN ASCENT OF MT. ORIZABA.* 



By Professor ALJA ROBINSON CROOK, 



NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY. 



OEIZABA is the highest mountain in North America whose sum- 

 mit has been reached by mountain climbers. It lies one hundred 

 and fifty miles southeast of Mexico City and less than sixty miles from 

 the Gulf of Mexico and is a most attractive peak for mountaineers. 



I determined to climb it, and after a week spent in Mexico City in 

 the vain attempt to find companions for the journey took the train for 

 San Andres, the railroad station nearest to the village of Chalchicomula, 

 from which the ascent is most favorably begun. A broken axle delayed 

 the train five hours. The passengers wagging their heads said the 

 accident was to be expected, the day was the thirteenth of the month. 

 It was evening when San Andres was reached. The station agent knew 

 of two men in Chalchicomula who could speak English. Fortunately 

 one of them was at home, and we were soon upon a friendly footing. 

 He offered to find guides and horses for me, but proved to be not a 

 very aggressive agent. A native of Florida, crowded out of his coun- 

 try by competition, he was teaching the Mexicans English and receiv- 

 ing for his work eight cents an hour. He was so doubled with 

 rheumatism as to be scarce able to walk. After much encouragement 

 on my part and an hour's talking on his, he engaged two guides. A 

 horse was to be procured. It was eight o'clock at night; the rain was 

 descending in torrents ; I had eaten nothing since morning. We called 

 at several places where horses were reported for hire and where it took 

 the polite proprietors many minutes to explain that they did not have 

 horses. We were making such slow progress that I finally picked my 

 interpreter up in my arms and carried him from place to place through 

 the rain till we had visited half a dozen polite gentlemen and finally 

 obtained the promise of a horse for the morrow. Even the preparation 

 for mountain climbing in that village was uphill work. That night, 

 lying in bed, nursing a toothache, listening to the driving rain outside, 

 remembering the remarks of the villagers that rain and snow storms 

 and avalanches would make the ascent impossible, it seemed the extreme 

 of f oolhardiness to attempt such a thing. 



In the morning the guides were late, and the horse proved to be too 

 weak to carry a man, so I contented myself with putting blanket roll and 



* Photographs by the author. 



