428 HUMBOLDT'S ATTEMPT TO ASCEND CHIMBORAZO. app. 



G.— HUMBOLDT'S ATTEMPT TO ASCEND CHIMBORAZO. 



"On June 9, 1802, the travellers left Quito for Chimborazo, and on 

 June 33 they climbed almost to the summit of the giant mountain, at that 

 time regarded as the highest in the world, and attained the height never 

 before reached by any human being of 18,096 feet.' Upon reaching an 

 elevation of 15,600 feet, the path, relates Humboldt, became every moment 

 narrower and steeper. The natives, with one exception, refused to accom- 

 pany us farther, and were deaf to entreaties and threatenings, maintaining 

 they suffered more than we did from the rarity of the air. We were left 

 alone — Bonpland, our estimable friend Carlos Montufar, a half-caste Indian 

 from the neighbouring village of San Juan, and myself. 



"By dint of great exertion and considerable patience, we reached a 

 greater height than we had dared to hope for, seeing we had been almost 

 constantly enveloped in mist. In many places the ridge was not wider than 

 from eight to ten inches ! To our left a precipice covered with snow, the 

 surface of which shone like glass from the effects of frost. This thin sheet 

 of ice was at an inclination of about 30°. On the right was a fearful abyss, 

 from 800 to 1000 feet deep, from the sides of which projected huge masses 

 of naked rock. We leant over rather more to this side than the other, for it 

 seemed less to be dreaded than the precipice on our left, where the smooth 

 sides afforded no opportunity of checking a fall by catching hold of project- 

 ing pieces of rock, and where the thin crust of ice furnished no security 

 against being precipitated into the loose snow beneath. ^ 



" The sloping surface of snow extended to such a distance that light 

 pieces of dolerite (the ordy substance at hand), when rolled down the incline, 

 were lost sight of before reaching any resting-place. 



"The rock became more friable, and the ascent increasingly difficult and 

 dangerous. At certain places where it was very steep, we were obliged to 

 use both hands and feet, and the edges of the rock were so sharp that we 

 were painfully cut, especially on our hands. . . . The loose position of the 

 stones upon the narrow ridge necessitated extreme caution, since many 

 masses that appeared to be firmly attached proved to be only embedded in 

 sand. 



"We advanced all the more slowly, as everyplace that seemed insecure 

 had first to be tested. Fortunately, the attempt to reach the summit of 



» It will be seen at a later point there is a claim to have reached the height of 19,28& 

 feet.— ^. ir. 



2 At p. 308, vol. i., of K. Bruhns' Life of Humboldt the following significant sen- 

 tence occurs : " We feared nothing so mnch as the half-frozen snow." This is said in 

 connection with an ascent of Pichincha.— ^. W. 



