400 Prof. T. G. Bonney. On the [Nov. 27, 



" There is no regularly formed crater upon the south, west, or 

 eastern sides of Cotocachi. I canr.ot speak of the northern and north- 

 western sides, which I have only seen from comparatively low ground 

 at a considerable distance. 



" In the neighbourhood of the mountain Cotocachi the surface of the 

 earth is more fissured than any other part of Ecuador. The district 

 about Cotopaxi, to which I have adverted when speaking of that 

 mountain, alone presents anything comparable to the extraordinary 

 series of chasms which seam or star the soil in the central portion of 

 the flat land of the Province of Imbabnra. From below, the traveller 

 is made aware of their existence by occasionally having to skirt their 

 sides for several miles, in a direction, perhaps, the very contrary of 

 that which he desires to take ; but their full extent is only perceived 

 when one looks down upon the flat land from a considerable elevation, 

 and then it is seen that the whole country in this vicinity is fissured 

 by earthquake cracks, often several miles long, and sometimes 

 hundreds of feet across. 



" This neighbourhood has experienced very severe earthquakes 

 during the last few centuries, the most recent happening shortly 

 after midnight on August 16, 1868. Several persons independently 

 pointed out to me a fissure, which had opened on this occasion, 

 not less than 5 miles long, and varying in width from a few yards to 

 several hundreds of feet. This earthquake was an affair of a few 

 seconds, and in that brief interval almost the whole buildings within 

 10 miles were ruined, and tens of thousands perished. The priest of 

 Cotocachi town informed me that that place was totally destroyed 

 not a single house being left erect. At Ibarra (about 13 miles distant 

 from the mountain), Senor T. Gomez de la Torre, the greatest landed 

 proprietor of this region, informed me that there were lists extant 

 showing that 20,000 persons perished in that town alone a statement 

 that is scarcely credible, as the town of Ibarra has not the appearance 

 of a place with so considerable a number of inhabitants. Respecting 

 the widespread havoc which was caused on this single occasion, there 

 is not, however, any question. The towns of Otovalo and Cotocachi 

 had well nigh been rebuilt ; but, at the time of my visit, most of the 

 public edifices of Ibarra still remained in ruins, including schools, the 

 hospital, a convent, and six churches, besides the church of the 

 Jesuits, the finest building in the town, and the most imposing, edifice 

 I saw in Ecuador." (E. W.) 



From this peak two specimens have been brought by Mr. Whymper 

 one from the summit rock, another from about 200 feet below it. 

 The former is a purplish-grey rock, containing small whitish felspar 

 crystals, with a good many minute vesicles. These have made the 

 preparation of a slice a rather difficult task, and it is not so thin as I 

 could desire. The ground-mass, however, appears to consist of a glassy 



