142 Miscellaneous Intelligence. 
regular declivity ; but the cunts of rocks, which we readily cisngsin 
resented no outlet to the When we had made nearly thee 
circuit of this mighty Scan and without success, we oe 
journey towards Quito, reserving the execution of our plan till we should 
be better fortified against the rigorous climate of the higher Cordilleras, 
“ After visiting Pichincha, Pe icteet and other giants of the Andes, we 
again found ourselves, on the 2d of November, at the foot of Chim! 
We pitched our camp at a Pela of 4700 metres, a little below ie 
of perpetual snow, in a valley bétween Arenal ¢ and the point where the — 
Riobamba route separates from that of Quito. We intended to spend 
the following day in collecting plants and hunting deer and birds, en: 
deavoring, at the same time, to determine oe the places which 
might afford us the most easy access to the st 
“We took up our quarters under a luge eel rock, which afforded 
us sufficient protection against the northwest wind, but gave us no shelter 
in the event of rain. Rain had fallen in the afternoon. The weather — 
cleared at night-fall, the sky became sprinkled with myriads of stars, and 
imborazo was delineated, in all its splendor, on the azure and sparky 
ling vault of the firmamen 
n the morning of the 3d of November, at five o'clock, when day 
had ee yet dawned in the Spenoctal at we left our camp in chat 
of our people, and departed on ou ans expedition, carrying 
_ us a cotfee-pot, two thermometers, a compass, matches, and tobacco. 
steep hill, sandy and rough with hie: which separated us from 
perpetual snow, occasioned us so much fatigue at our outset, that tw 
to the otbomn of a ia , Which we follo wed, and from the exe 
rad ab we distinguished very clearly the summit of the mountain, entil 
ree Irom snow ‘ 
“ After galing half an hour on the snow, vegetation suddenly ceased 
and we saw no other livi ing thing but two large partridges, and on the 
rocks a few lichens of the families Idiothalamus and Ilymeno othalamus 
At this point of our ascent we collected some dry branches of cbuq 
gua, and» a bundle of them which we tied to our backs. We 
‘still to scale i: immense rock of trachyte, from the top of which 
summit of Chimb ~ ee seesiee to us so near, that we thought we 
- reach it in half an h a 
ur ascent was so sien, that we were soon obliged, from fatigt 
ake frequent stoppages to recover our breath. Thirst also began o 
severely felt, ade in order to moderate it, we almost alw ays 2 sno 
our mouths. But we felt no symptoms of illness or any mor’ id 
such as is spoken of by the majority of travellers who have 
a ap mountains. 
these heights the socepliens column is still — & a . 
