CHAP. XVI. REPULSED AGAIN. 297 



other attempt to scale Illiniza, proceeding south for about five miles 

 along the high road, and then turning south-westv^^ards (through 

 the yards of a farm just past the Bridge of Jambeli) across some 

 flat, open ground (which by Ecuadorians would be called imramo 

 and in English Common or Moorland) steering towards the depres- 

 sion between the two peaks/ David Beltran had got a pet Llama, 

 which was borrowed experimentally for this occasion, and it trotted 

 alongside our party without giving trouble, wearing an expression 

 of demure self-satisfaction on its face, as if perpetually saying to 

 itself, '' Gentlemen, see how well I go ! Look how nicely I behave ! ^' 

 It was loaded with the photographic apparatus and other small 

 matters, amounting in all to about 24 lbs., and carried that amount 

 easily. Camped at 4 p.m. slightly lower than the Col between 

 Great and Little Illiniza, against a large block of lava,^ at a very 

 bare and exposed spot (15,446 feet) ; and sent all, except the 

 Carrels, 2000 feet lower, down to wood and water. Snow fell 

 heavily during the night, and it blew hard from E.S.E. Min. 

 temp. 26° -5 Eaht. 



In the morning, the first part of our way led over moderately 

 inclined debris, and then up the rather ill-defined northern arete. 

 At 8.30 a.m. we clearly overtopped Little Illiniza,® and about 9 

 came to the foot of the terminal cliff of glacier which crowns the 

 summit of the main peak. Depositing here the mercurial baro- 

 meter and other impedimenta, we quitted the arete and commenced 

 a traverse of the eastern face, over ice- varnished ledges, beneath a 

 canopy of icicles that garnished the crest of the ridge. " Let 



1 Immense numbers of the butterfly Fieru xanthodice, Lucas, were flying over 

 this ground. 



2 "A moderately dark-grey, slightly vesicular, 'trachyte.' . . There are the 

 usual granules of magnetite, and some minute colourless crystallites which may be 

 apatite. . . The rock is a hornblendic augite-andesite, containing also some mica 

 and hypersthene."— Prof. T. G. Bonney, Pt'oc. Rcyyal Soc, Nov. 27, 1884. 



^ As the greatest height we reached on this day appeared to be 16,992 feet, I 

 think the elevation assigned by Messrs. Reiss & Stiibel to Little Illiniza (16,936 feet) 

 is too much. See page 131. 



2 Q 



