1886.] ` Ascent of thé Volcano of Popocatepetl. 117 
and begin the ascent on foot. Here, owing to sickness induced 
by the altitude, my companions were obliged to return to the 
ranch. Taking Rafael and two gutas I went on. 
The ascent of Popocatepetl is prosaic in the extreme. Much 
to my surprise there were no rocks to clamber over, no difficult 
climbing, but an interminable steeply inclined desert of deep, 
coarse, yielding, volcanic sand, covered with a thin sheet of snow 
—névé+making it exceedingly hard walking, to say nothing of 
the effect of the great altitude upon the heart. The height of the 
lower level of the snow-line Humboldt estimated at 15,300 feet. 
The cone of Popocatepetl is like that of Vesuvius—only more 
so. We roughly estimated the angle of the slope at 30°, but 
judging by our feelings after two or three hours’ climb, it seemed 
like 75°. 
There is no definite trail up the mountain, and at no point on 
the route can the summit or mouth of the crater be seen, so that 
there is no goal in sight to draw one’s attention away from the 
labor and fatigue of the ascent. Looking up hopelessly from 
time to time as we stop to get breath, anxiously trusting to ob- 
tain a glimpse of a rocky peak breaking through the crust, noth- 
ing meets the eye but a vast snowy slope melting away far aloft 
in the sky, the unsullied surface like polished marble of more than 
parian purity, fading gradually away to be replaced by the ee 
fathomless azure of a Mexican sky. 
By eight o'clock the sun had gained more power, the exercise 
warmed us, so that we no longer suffered with the cold, but the 
effect of the intense sunlight upon the eyes was blinding and 
painful; it would have been well-nigh opon to have made 
the ascent without blue goggles. 
Our small procession moved in the following order: my own 
particular gxia, a young, stout, willing Indian picked out a way 
over the rough snow or sand, as the case might be, the- writer 
followed, planting his feet in the prints made by the Indian, and 
Supporting himself with a rude, improvised alpenstock, usually 
held in both hands; behind followed the supernumerary gua, 
carrying the lunch Haake on his back, while Rafael brought up 
the rear, with the air of one fulfilling a contract rather than enjoy- 
ing the ascent. And it was hard work. I have ascended Pike's 
peak three times, walked up Gray’s peak twice, have climbed the 
crater of Mt. Shasta, which is over 12,000 feet high, ascended 
VOL. DORE 9 
