250 MOUNTAINS ABOUT THE VALLEY OF QUITO. 



ci'ashing from the walls, which swept np in dark, unbroken 

 precipices more than twenty-five hundred feet above us. 

 The winds hurled the clouds within in eddying masses, or 

 drove them fiercely over our heads across the crater. The 

 ground, filled with vents, emitting hot, suftbcating vapors, 

 appeared ready to give way beneath us. It seemed as if 

 Pluto and all the infernal gods had conspii-ed to punish 

 our intrusion on their domains. We may forget the cir- 

 cumstances attendant on many a hiirried lunch, while for- 

 cing our way through tangled forests, or while upon lonely 

 rivers, but always vivid will be our recollections of the 

 little party, and each incident connected with the meal 

 spread upon the plutonic rocks within the crater of Pi- 

 chincha. 



We remained within the crater about an hour, securing 

 some interesting miueralogical specimens, and also obtain- 

 ing representatives of the peculiar species of plants that 

 we found growing at the bottom, and then commenced 

 climbing out. The ascent was extremely toilsome ; for, 

 while it had been raining at the bottom, snow had been 

 falling above to a considerable depth, and this rendered 

 our footing doubly insecure. The rarefaction of the at- 

 mosphere also caused almost complete exhaustion to fol- 

 low our exertions. Up we climbed, slowly mounting, at 

 times, by the assistance of our guide. Gaining a ledge 

 where we might rest, we would throw ourselves down 

 almost in despair of reaching the summit. At length, 

 after thi-ee hours of hard climbing, we once more stood 

 safely upon the rim of the crater, and, as we looked back 

 into the abyss whence we had escaped, we gave joyful 

 expression to our gratitude by singing the good old dox- 

 ology : 



" Praise God from whom all blessings flow, 



Praise Him all creatures here below, 



Praise Him above, ye heavenly host, 



Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." 



