108 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. v. 



named Lorenzo vowed that he had been to the top. This man 

 was engaged to act as our guide. ^ 



The mountain Corazon has received its name from a resem- 

 blance it is supposed to have to a heart. It is a prominent object 

 from Machachi, placed almost exactly midway between Atacatzo 

 and Illiniza. Its slopes extend to the outlying village of Aloasi, 



MACHACHI AND CORAZON. 



and after rising gently and then abruptly lead one to easy grass 

 land^ which continues uninterruptedly to the foot of a cliff 

 about 800 feet high, that is found at the top of the mountain. 

 With trouble, one might ride, upon the eastern side, to within 

 a thousand feet of the summit. On some days the mountain 

 was almost covered with snow down to 14,500 feet, and on others 

 no snow whatever was seen on any part of it. 



' Local guidance is useful over the lower slopes, as they contain large earth- 

 quake fissures (quebradas) which are occasionally quite impassable. 



