SOME NEW BOOKS. 



Travels amongst the Great Andes of the Equator. By Edward Whymper. 

 With " Supplementary Appendix " by H. W. Bates, T. G. Bonney, G. A. 

 Boulenger, &c. 2 vols. 8vo. London: J.Murray, 1892. (Vol. ii., 1891.) 



It is now nearly twelve years since Mr. Whymper returned from 

 his expedition among the Andes of Ecuador, and probably the first 

 impression upon receiving the two handsome volumes, in which he 

 records his experiences and discoveries, will generally be one of 

 irritation at having had to wait so long ; and this feeling is somewhat 

 excusable, for Mr. Whymper unquestionably ranks as the most 

 popular English writer on mountaineering. Other climbers may 

 have led the way up more difficult peaks, have added more to our 

 knowledge of the geology of the higher ranges, or have possessed a 

 sounder grasp of the broad outlines of Alpine topography ; but Mr. 

 Whymper's connection with one of the most famous of Swiss 

 mountains, his clear and easy English, his racy humour, and his 

 exquisite wood engravings, have roused an interest in his achieve- 

 ments among a much larger circle of readers than usually follows 

 the progress of mountain exploration. As soon as we get into the 

 book, however, we find that the time has not been wasted, for every 

 page gives evidence of the conscientious care and elaboration which 

 is typical of Mr. Whymper and all his works. He did not go to 

 South America simply to "do" Chimborazo. Mr. Whymper treats his 

 mountains with more respect, and prefers to carry them by a regular 

 campaign rather than a sudden assault. Moreover, besides ordinary 

 exploration, he wished to ascertain the results of a long residence at 

 high elevations, and to test the accuracy of the aneroid as com- 

 pared with the mercurial barometer. For these purposes he would 

 have preferred a higher region, but political troubles then rendered 

 both the Himalaya and the Southern Andes unsuitable for experiment, 

 and so he had to put up with Ecuador. The preparations were 

 most elaborate, and occupied as long a time as the journey itself. 

 Perhaps the only point one feels inclined to question was the wisdom 

 of the selection of J. A. Carrel as chief guide. The mountaineering 

 seems, as a rule, to have been quite easy, and to have afforded few 

 opportunities for the display of Carrel's prowess as a rock climber ; 

 there were difficult rocks such as the aiguilles on Chimborazo (Fig. i)^ 

 but they never came in the way, and for most of the time the 

 guides were only employed as porters, or in other still less congenial 

 work, which could have been equally well done by a man less 

 generously endowed with self-will than the famous J. A. Carrel. 



Mr. Whymper and his guides landed in Guayaquil on the gth 



1 These figures have been reproduced by the kind permission of Mr. Whymper, 

 but they are inadequate representations of the originals. 



