CHAP. VII. SOME MORE " TREASURES''! 155 



bility of considerable error in any of the determinations, it would 

 seem that Cotopaxi has materially increased its elevation in the 

 course of the last century and a half. 



The time to descend had now arrived, and at 11.30 a.m. our 

 Ecuadorians should have remounted to assist in carrying our 

 baggage down again. The weather, however, was abominable, 

 and they preferred to leave the work to us. After depositing 

 our more bulky stores at the foot of the great slope of ash, we 

 tramped down to the first camp. The feet of Louis were still 

 in a very tender state, and he could not take part in racing ; 

 but Jean-Antoine and I went down as hard as we could, and 

 descended the 4,300 feet in 110 minutes. Two days more elapsed 

 before animals could be brought from Machachi for the retreat, 

 and it was late on the 21st before we got clear of Cotopaxi. 

 The night was dark, and the path invisible ; but guided by the 

 bells we gained the hamlet, and encamped once more in the 

 chapel of Ped regal. 



The rest of my Machachi men now returned home, and the 

 authorities lost no time in interviewing them, for these poor 

 noodles were possessed with the idea that we were in search of 

 gold. " Tell us, what did they do ? "" Said my men, " The Doctor, 

 dressed like a king, went from one place to another, looking 

 about ; but after a time Sefior Juan and Senor Luis seemed 

 afraid of him, for they tied him up with a rope.^' ^'Enough of 

 this; tell us, did they find treasure?^' ^^We think they did. 

 They went down on their hands and knees searching for it, and 

 they wrapjied what they took in paper and brought it away.^^ 

 *'Was it gold?" '' We do not know, but it was very heavy." 

 This, though true, was rather misleading. The " royal " attire 

 which so impressed them consisted of the Ulster coat and dress- 

 ing-gown underneath, crowned by the Dundee whaling-cap ; and 

 the " treasures " we carried away were samples of the jagged 

 crest and debris of the terminal slope. 



