218 



thro' the thorny bushes. We soon found Correa, and then we 

 cut our way along the ridge of the mountain, and after a great 

 deal of trouble succeeded in arriving at the highest point in the 

 island of Cuba at 2 p. m. 



We passed one splendid place on our way— there was a large 

 narrow piece of rock, like a low wall, at the side of our path, and 

 bending over it, we could look down on the other side. The 

 sight was awful — the rock was perpendicular as far as we could 

 see, and then seemed to lose itself in the thin white vapoury 

 clouds beneath. 



We had brought up the Hypometer, and we immediately set 

 it to work to find out the altitude, by lighting the lamp to make 

 the water boil, after having first ascended a tree to make sure 

 that we were on the highest peak. We could not see very far 

 as there were a great many clouds but the lower peaks were 

 plainly visible all round. I wanted to sleep there in order to 

 see the view in the morning, but the others objected saying it 

 was very cold and damp, which certainly was the case. 



We drank a bottle of sauterene, brought up for the purpose^ — 

 cut our initials on the trees — wrote and signed a piece of paper, 

 stating that we had ascended on 5th April, and put it in a bottle, 

 which we buried, making a small heap of stones round. I cut a 

 very good walking stick and caught two beetles, the only insects 

 I saw, and gathered some moss. We then set fire to a pile of 

 rotten wood and ferns hoping it would spread, but it must have 

 gone out after we left on account of the damp. 



Neither the guide nor any of us knew the trees on the top, all 

 were dwarfish, the largest I should say not over 16 feet, and of 

 very hard wood — the soil seemed to be very good — plenty of 

 loam — and the few stones there seemed to be hardened pieces 

 of clay, very like bricks (lava). 



At the bottom of the ravine we found the bushes cut here 

 and there — some one had apparently crossed between the two 

 peaks, but on the top it was evident that man had never been. 

 The air was very thin and rarified. 



At 3.20 we commenced the descent, as fast as we could go 

 coming down half the way in a sitting position, and wondering 



