FOREST AND STREAM. 
[JAN. 27, 1906. 



L. Z. Joncas. G. E. Hart. 

EB. Tf. D:! Chambers: 
W. M. Brackett. 
A NOTABLE QUARTETTE OF ANGLERS. 
From the Park I went to Coney Island. There 
the sea was shimmering in the golden sunlight 
and the smooth, gentle rollers that reached the 
shore were suggestive of June rather than Janu- 
ary. One felt almost tempted to go in for a swim. 
Altogether the day was the most extraordinary 
I ever saw for this season of the year. 
I should think that the weather prophets must 
be feeling pretty bad. Not a few of them, en- 
couraged by the goings on of Boreas and the Ice 
King last winter and the winter before, came out 
in November with some dire predictions. And 
for the very day I have been writing about one 
of the fraternity, better known than the rest, 
actually predicted a blizzard. I repeat they must 
be feeling pretty bad. But why, O why, don’t 
they try to strike a law of averages in their pre- 
dictions? As a rule, they are all for hard 
weather. Perhaps they think they would not be 
listened to with so much attention unless they 
had something startling to foretell. If so, they are 
probably right, for it is an indisputable fact that 
men are far more interested in bad or evil report 
than good. Anyhow, the business of weather 
prophecy is a melancholy one. If occasionally 
the prophet hits the mark, men, instead of feeling 
grateful to him, rather regard him with resent- 
ment, as in some way responsible for the suffer- 
ing or inconvenience which hard weather entails. 
Then when he doesn’t hit the mark (which is at 
least nine times out of ten) he is held up to pub- 
lic ridicule and this, together with his own dis- 
appointment, must be really a terrible load to 
bear. No wonder weather prophets grow prema- 
turely gray and go about generally with the air 
of men who are hardly used by fate and the world 
at once. FRANK MOoNAN. 
‘New York, Jan. 22. 
A Trip to Popocatepetl. 
Havinc resided in this city four years without 
accompanying any one Of at least four expedi- 
tions which during that time have ascended to 
the historic crater, I was agreeably surprised 
when an old hunting chum and another friend 
invited me to be one of a party to attempt to 
scale the great volcano. 
This is no despicable feat at any time, but 
now, in mid-winter, it appeared even at a dis- 
tance to be a hazardous undertaking. No time 
was to be lost if we wished to avail ourselves 
of the two feast days which had been selected. 
The necessary arrangements were completed by 
telegraphing to the little town of Ameca for 
horses and guides to be in readiness for the 
morrow. We outfitted with canned provisions, 
an oilcloth, three heavy woolen blankets, an 
alpenstock with iron hook on one end and a spike 
on the other, heavy woolen inner clothing, a pair 
of very dark goggles and a green, veil to protect 
the face from the cutting wind. 
In the morning we met at the San Lazaro 
station of the Moreloz Railroad and were off at 
8:15 for Ameca. At this season of the year 
everything is as dry as a powder house, so we 
suffered with the dust until our arrival at 11:30. 
The expedition had been organized by a Swiss 
friend, who was familiar with the work, having 
made the ascent with Baron Waldstein, the nat- 
uralist, some four years before. We found, how- 
ever, that our friend had been suddenly indis- 
posed and very reluctantly had been counselled 
to remain behind. No one in our party having 
any knowledge of the trip before us and four- 
sixths of us being ignorant of the Spanish lan- 
guage, I, as the elder of the remaining two, be- 
came the captain by acclamation—of one voice. 
Our party was composed as follows: Messrs. 
Marcel Monnier, of the Jura, France; R. Walder, 
of Zurich, Switzerland; B. B. Kelley (formerly 
of Boston), City of Mexico; H. K. I. Williams, 
New York city; Frank L. Stott, of Stottville, 
N. Y., and myself. 
On reaching Ameca we proceeded to the store 
of Don Juan Noriega, who, besides arranging for 
the guides and horses, also keeps on sale every- 
thing one may require; in fact, he gives all neces- 
sary instructions, and what is of paramount im- 
portance, he sees that only known thieves go with 
you as guides. To these he gives a few sharp 
words of admonition when they start, and you 
may thus be sure you will make the trip without 
harm, from your own guides at least. 
Strangers have been murdered in these moun- 
tains, but now such occurrences are rare; besides, 
as I have said, only known rascals now go with 
you, and these would be exterminated by the 
authorities directly anything happened to a party 
in their charge. Don Juan has lived at Ameca 
for thirtv-six years and knows everyone of these 
bandits, and he picks out the best only; in fact, 
it would be difficult to make the ascent were it 
not for the kind offices of the genial Don Juan. 
By the arrangements I made for our party of 
six, two guides on horseback were employed to 
accompany us to the snow and horse limit; four 
Indians as guides in the snow ascent, two pack 
animals and saddle horses for the party; the 
guides on horseback bringing two Indians to look 
after their animals as well as the food for them- 
selves, keeping, however, an eye to the crumbs 
of our table. 
At I:45 we were in the saddle, and starting at 
a six-mile pace we left the valley in about three- 
quarters of an hour and began the tedious ascent 
to the rancho, or camping ground, for the night. 
The reins were given the horses here and they 
slowly picked their way up the toilsome ash beds, 
making frequent stops for breath in the more 
abrupt places. Steadily we toiled on, frequently 
dismounting to rest the weary horses, but finding 
this easier to observe in another than to practice. 
Not wishing to spoil my projected fun for the 
morrow, I returned to the saddle much the wiser 
for my short tramp. 
Our Swiss friend was destined to be the un- 
lucky man of the expedition, for in pushing up 
the ascent on foot, he came too near the strictly 
business quarter of a mule, and anyone familiar 
with the natural history of this quadruped, as 
described by: Josh Billings, will at once be en- 
abled to account for the sticking plaster and the 
puffy appearance on Mr. Walder’s cheek. 
Soon after this little incident a shout in the 
advance warned us that we were nearing our 
quarters for the night, and at 6:20 P.M. we ar- 
rived at the rancho. This rancho is composed of 
two crude board houses, one a plant for treating 
the crude sulphur taken out of the crater during 
the summer months, while the other is used as a 
shelter from the cutting wind and frost. 
We at once made an old-fashioned camp fire 
in the middle of the hut, and after a hearty meal 
prepared our couches on a platform about eight 
inches from the ground. Then organizing a re- 
lief guard for the night, we turned in. Here we 
began to feel the effects of the great elevation, 
3,800 metres above sea level (three feet, three 
and six-sixteenths inches to the metre). Those 
who had the strongest lungs suffered most, as 
the thinness of the air breathed but imperfectly 
filled them. 
It is well to note for the benefit of those de- 
siring to make this ascent that they should en- 
tirely discard spirits and coffee until the return 
from the crater. Tea, medium strong, is the best 
beverage; and it is just as well to eat nothing 
but dry bread before going up from the rancho. 
Allow one.of the guides to carry a canteen of 
cold tea to drink sparingly of during the ascent, 
should you become thirsty while on the snow. 
Early (6:15) in the morning saw us on horse- 
back on the way up to Las Cruces, the horse 
limit. The spot is so called from a number of 
wooden crosses placed on the rocks and emble- 
