2l8 



NATURAL SCIENCE. 



December, 1879, and he remained in Ecuador till the end of the 

 following July. He first made for Chimborazo, the highest peak in 

 this part of the Andes, and one which had never previously been 

 scaled. This was successfully ascended on the 4th January ; the 

 summit was reached from a camp, the highest of three, placed at an 

 elevation of 17,285 ft. At the second camp, both Mr. Whymper and 

 the Carrels were prostrated by mountain sickness in a very acute 

 form ; this rendered it necessary to proceed slowly so as to become 

 gradually acclimatised to the low atmospheric pressure. Mr. 

 Whymper proposed to camp on the summit, but the Carrels struck 

 work and declined to reascend, for Louis Carrel, having failed to provide 

 himself with gaiters, had had his feet frost-bitten ; as it was their own 

 fault, the guides concealed this fact as long possible. Mr. Whymper 

 was also taken ill, so that climbing had to be temporarily abandoned, 

 and the party retired to Ambato to be doctored. On recovery, they 

 went north to Quito, ascending Corazon (15,871 ft.), and Cotopaxi 

 (19,613 ft.) on the way. They camped for a night close below 



Fig. I. — Aiguilles on Chimborazo. 



the summit of the latter, and Mr. Whymper draws a most graphic 

 picture of the interior of the crater at night. Just as a treat to the 

 guides, as a change from the " severely scientific " ascent of Cotopaxi, 

 Mr. Whymper turned aside and climbed the sharp peak of 

 Sincholagua : it was the first ascent and it will probably be the last 

 for a good long time. After passing through Quito, Mr. Whymper 

 made the first ascents of Antisana and Cayambe, the third and 

 fourth peaks in height in the Northern Andes. Disappointed in the 

 eastward view from Cayambe, he crossed the watershed, and after a 

 miserable week of perpetual rain in a district that was as wet as a satu- 

 rated sponge, he climbed Saraurcu ; but the mists again robbed him of 

 the cherished view into the basin of the Upper Amazons. The quest 

 for antiquities then led Mr. Whymper into the extreme north of 

 Ecuador, where he found old pottery, and stone implements, and the 

 way up Cotocachi (16,301 ft.). On the return journey, he reascended 



