232 A VOYAGE TO Book V, 



not to mention our own fufFerings, the frofl «md fnovv, 

 together with the winds^ which blew fo violently, 

 that they feemed endeavouring to tear up that dread- 

 ful volcano by its roots, rendered the making ob- 

 fervations abrolutely impradlicable. Such is indeed 

 the rigour of this climate, that the very beafts avoid 

 it nor could our mules be kept at the place where 

 we, at firft, ordered the Indians to take care of them ; 

 fo that they were obliged to wander in fearch of a 

 milder air, and fometimes to fuch a diftance, that we 

 had often no fmall trouble m finding them. 



At Pucaguaico we however faw the neceffity of 

 either ere6ling the fignal farther to the fouth, or fet- 

 ting up another in the intermediate fpace. Several 

 ,conlukatlons were held, to determine on the bed me- 

 thod ; but, as other things were neceffary to be donp 

 before w^e came to a conclufion, the operations were 

 fufpendcd, and the interval fpent in making obfer- 

 vations on the velocity of found, and other phyfical 

 fubjecls. Every thing being ready for renewing our 

 operations, we a fecond time afcended Pucaguaico on 

 the i6t:h of Augull, and it v/as our good fortune by 

 the 2 2d to have nniHied all our neceffary operations. 



VIIL Signal on the defert Corazon, 



On the 12th of July, before we had finifhed our 

 operations at the ftation of Pucaguaico, we afcended to 

 the delert Gorazon, where we ftaid till the 9th of Augufl. 

 This mountain is neariv of the fame hei2:ht with that 

 of Pichincha; and its loftieil fummit, like that of the 

 fsDrmer, a rock of confiderabie altitude. At the foot 

 of this rock the fignal was ere6led, and thus our Na- 

 tion nearly rcfembled that of Pichincha. There was 

 indeed this confiderable difrerence, that our fufferings 

 from the winds, iroft^ and fnpvvs, were confiderabiy 



IX. SiG? 



