CHAP. XVIII. THE SECOND ASCENT OF CHIMBORAZO. 325 



At 11 a.m.^ getting into the direct rays of the sun, the heat 

 became oppressive, and David, exhausted by his flounderings in 

 the snow, wished to return. ''Impossible, David; it is now or 

 never." Campafia, a light weight, sank in slightly, and shewed no 

 signs of fatigue. At 11,30 a.m., we were again facing Guaranda ; 

 and striking the former route, made as before for the plateau 

 between the two domes, bending round at lirst to the north, and 

 subsequently to the east ; avoiding the lowest part of the hollow, 

 yet occasionally sinking up to the knees. At 1 p.m., when close 

 to the very highest point, a great clamour and cackling broke out 

 amongst the men, for the regular sweep of the dome was inter- 

 rupted by some object. It was the top of our ten-foot pole sticking 

 out of the snow, with a few tattered fragments of the red flag still 

 attached.^ Nature had built a wall of ice about six feet long on 

 the eastern (or windward) side, and the flagstaff stood clear of it 

 in front, with the frayed remnants of serge stiff frozen, pointing 

 like Angers to the south-west, registering the direction of the wind 

 that had prevailed ! ^ 



During this time the clouds from Cotopaxi had been constantly 

 approaching, and about mid-day they passed overhead.^ The sun 

 had become invisible, and temperature had fallen ; and our first 

 care was to dig a trench to leeward of the flagstaff to obtain pro- 

 tection, for the wind felt dangerously cold. Shortly after the 

 barometer was hung up, it read 14*050 inches, with air tempera- 

 ture 30° Faht., and it continued to fall until 2 p.m., and then, 

 with the thermometer at 15° Faht., the mercury stood at 14*028 

 inches, and loive7' it ivould not go} 



When the clouds from Cotopaxi first passed overhead, they 



1 All except the few scraps shewn in the engraving facing p. 326 had been 

 blown away by the wind. 



2 We arrived on the summit at 1.20 p.m., having occupied four hours and a 

 quarter over the ascent of the last sixteen hundred feet. 



2 They had taken six hours to travel about eighty miles. 



4 At 2 p.m., when the Mercurial Barometer (red. to 32° Faht.) was 14-044 

 inches, the Aneroid E read 13"990 inches. 



