326 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap, xviii. 



were still, I think, not less than 5000 feet above us (or 25,000 to 

 26,000 feet above the sea), and they extended far to the south 

 before the dust of which they were composed began to fall upon 

 the summit of Chimborazo. It commenced to settle about ten 

 minutes after our arrival, and in the course of an hour caused the 

 snowy summit to look like a ploughed field. It filled our eyes and 

 nostrils, rendered eating and drinking impossible,^ and at last 

 reduced us to breathing through handkerchiefs. The brass and 

 glass of the mercurial barometer, like everything else, became 

 coated with this all-pervading dust, but the vernier afforded pro- 

 tection to the portion of the tube which was behind it, and this 

 protected part remained reasonably bright, while all the rest of 

 the tube above and below was thickly encrusted. The height of 

 the barometer on the summit of Chimborazo, on July 3, 1880, was 

 registered in this manner by a volcanic eruption which occurred 

 more than sixty miles away ! 



The surrounding country became obscured as soon as the fall- 

 ing dust reached our level, and thus our last ascent in Ecuador, 

 like all the rest, rendered no view from the summit. By 2 o'clock 

 in the afternoon even the Pointe Veintemilla could not be seen, 

 and the darkness continued to increase so much that by 2.30 p.m. 

 we thought it was best to depart. The last thing done, before 

 leaving, was photographing the top of Chimborazo. The sky was 

 dark with the clouds of ash, the people shivered under a tempera- 

 ture of 15° Faht., the wind fluttered everything that could move, 

 the snow gave a poor foundation for the stand, and the gloom 

 made focussing uncertain. All the conditions were favourable for 

 the production of a bad photograph, and the result was just what 

 might be expected. It is reproduced literally here, without em- 

 bellishment, an authentic record of a memorable occasion.^ 



1 My observed temperature on the summit of Chimborazo, on July 3, was 96°"3 

 Faht. See Appendix F. 



2 An 'instantaneous' plate was exposed for one minute, and it was necessary 

 to keep wiping the lens during the whole of the operation. The engraving shews 

 the dust commencing to settle among the ripples in the snow. 



