an Attempt to ascend Chimborazo. 89 



have a peculiarly wintery aspect, that awakens in the traveller 

 a certain feeling of sadness, owing doubtless to the circumstance 

 that, in order to reach them, the most picturesque scenes are 

 traversed, and also to regret at exchanging the climate of the 

 tropics for that of the north. 



From my dwelling I looked out on Capac-uru, Tunguragua, 

 Cubille, Carguairazo, and finally towards the north on Chim- 

 borazo ; I saw also several other celebrated mountains of the 

 Paramos, and which, though not covered with perpetual snow, 

 are not the less interesting to the geologist. 



The mighty amphitheatre of snow which bounds on all sides 

 the horizon of Rio-Bamba, presents incessantly subjects for ob- 

 servations of the most varied description. It is singular to 

 watch the varying aspect of these glaciers at different hours of 

 the day, to see how their apparent height is, by the action 

 of atmospheric refraction, perpetually changing. With what 

 interest does not one contemplate the display, in so small 

 a space, of all the chief meteorological phenomena. Here 

 one of those immense broad clouds, which were by Saussure so 

 well named parasitical clouds (Schmarotzerwolkeri), begins to 

 attach itself to the middle portion of a trachyte cone ; it ad- 

 heres firmly to it, and is not at all affected by the wind, how- 

 ever strong it may be. Soon a flash of lightning darts from 

 the centre of this mass of vapour ; hail, mixed with rain, de- 

 scends on the foot of the mountain, while its snowy summit, 

 which the storm cannot reach, is brilliantly illuminated by the 

 sun. At a greater distance, rises a summit of bright shining 

 ice ; its outline is delineated with sharpness on the blue heaven, 

 and all the peculiarities of its form are distinctly visible. The 

 atmosphere is of remarkable purity, nevertheless the snowy sum- 

 mit becomes covered by a cloud. The cloud seems to come 

 from the interior of the mountain, — one could almost believe 

 he sees smoke ascending; a little later this cloud is nothing 

 more than a thin vapour, and then is entirely dissipated. But 

 not long afterwards it again appears, merely once more to va- 

 nish. This intermitting formation of clouds is a very frequent 

 occurrence on the summits of snowy mountains. It is to be 

 seen more particularly in fine weather, and always some hours 

 after the culmination of the sun. Under such circumstances. 



