chimborazo. 231 



limit of eternal snow; the other, a westerly view from 

 the terrace of a beautiful country house, belonging to his 

 friend, the Marquis of Maenza, with whom he occasion- 

 ally lodged during his residence in Quito. 



On the 22nd of June, the birthday of his brother, 

 Humboldt commenced his ascent of Chimborazo, accom- 

 panied by Bonpland and Carlos de Montufar, a young 

 Spanish naturalist. They started from the plain of 

 Tapia, at an elevation of over nine thousand feet. This 

 arid table-land was near the village of Lican, the ancient 

 residence of the sovereigns of Quito. From Lican to 

 the summit of Chimborazo was nearly five leagues in a 

 straight line. They followed the plain, leaving behind 

 them groups of Indians bound to the market of Lican, 

 and slowly ascending halted for the night at the little vil- 

 lage of Calpi. They were now at the foot of Chimbo- 

 razo It rose before them stupendously in the light of 

 the setting sun. The foreground was veiled in the 

 vaporous dimness that striped the lower strata of the 

 air, but as they cast their eyes towards the summit it de- 

 tached itself from the deep blue sky. They saw above 

 the region of ligneous plants and alpine shrubs a broad 

 belt of grass like a gilded yellow carpet. Beyond this 

 was a region of porphyritic rocks, and beyond these 

 rocks, eternal ice and snow. As the earth below grew 

 darker, the heaven above seemed to grow brighter ; their 

 sight was dazzled with the refulgent splendour of the snow. 



Early the next morning their Indian guides awoke 

 them, and they began to climb the mountain on the 

 south-western side, traversing the great plains which 

 rose like terraces, one above another, until they reached 

 the plain of Sisgun, twelve thousand four hundred feet 



