1893 
Cofre d© 
Perot© 
muddy and the time passed miserably. 
The following day the clouds opened a little and we could see out 
down the canon for a short time, I got out the hunters but they only 
killed a single squirrel, have trapped here Arvicola. Sjtomys. 
Geomys. and a Putorius despite the bad weather, 
. This afternoon the 3 never os who went down yesterday came back and 
were evidently well stocked with aguardiente. After supper they show- 
4 
ed their happy frame of mind by songs and broad jests with one another 
and finally two of them began a rhyming contest which they kept up in 
give and take couplets for several hours. Considering the fact that 
i 
they were ignorant mestizo muleteers it was surprising the facility 
with which they kept up their fire of rhymed repartee. Each couplet 
was answered almost at once and the good hits were the source of great 
laughter in which the victim joined. The sport finally became rather 
maudlin and I turned in. 
The following morning turned out to be clear and pleasant as the 
final effort of the storm of yesterday was to whiten the hilltops above 
timberline. This morning, however, no sign of the snow could be seen 
■ *« * ' 4- ■ *■** **~ *.. r *; 
and, in company with my assistant, I ascended the mountain to the ex- 
treme summit. The "Cofre" from, which the mountain takes its name is a 
huge oblong mass of lava about ^ of a mil© long and 75 to 100 yards wide 
and from 150 to 250 feet high perched boldly on the extreme summit of 
the mountain. Its base at the surface of the ground rests on a deep 
layer of loose volcanic material such as forms the rims of craters in 
this region. 
To the southeast is an abrupt deep desoent of 1000 feet or more to 
an open level platform which is again succeeded by an abrupt desoent 
into the surrounding pine forest. Everywhere on the summit and down to 
about 11,000 feet at least on the north side are visible the effeots of 
