CHAP. VII. 



NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT. 



149 



the night of February 18, registered by a thermometer placed 

 four feet above the ground and four feet from the tent on its 

 windward side, was 13° Faht., which was the lowest temperature 

 that was observed during the whole of the journey. 



POSITION OF THE TENT ON THE SUMMIT OF COTOPAXI. 



When daylight began to fail, we settled down in the tent, and 

 it is now time to recur to the motive which had taken us to the 

 summit of Cotopaxi. There were three principal questions to 

 which I desired answers. 1. Shall we, upon again reaching the 

 elevation, and experiencing the diminution in pressure which had 

 rendered us incapable on Chimborazo, have a recurrence of our ex- 

 periences upon that mountain ? 2. Or, are we now habituated to 

 a pressure of 16 inches ? 3. If we are habituated to a pressure of 

 16 inches, shall we now be able to remain some length of time at 

 a considerably lower pressure without being rendered incapable ? 



During the ascent I had watched my people with mingled 

 feelings of curiosity and anxiety. Their pace was rather slow,^ 



My head was protected by a knitted woollen headpiece, crowned by a Dundee 

 whaling-cap, with flaps. 



^ Between the first camp and the summit we rose at the rate of 700 feet per 

 hour, which was a fair one for heavily-laden people. My own load weighed 23 

 lbs. All the others carried more than 30 lbs. apiece. 



