82 FieLpD CoLUMBIAN MusEUM—GEOLOGY, VOL. I. 
words, in a state of solfatara activity, which seems itself to be gradu- 
ally disappearing. 
If the accounts of the early Spanish conquerors are to be believed, 
at the time of their arrival, in 1519, the volcano was in a state 
of violent activity, and emitted clouds of smoke (steam) and at 
intervals showers of stones and ashes. This activity continued until 
1523, when a period of rest intervened and then in 1539 a small erup- 
tion of stones and ashes took place. After this no further eruption 
occurred till near the close of June, 1664, when, for more than two 
days a shower of stones and ashes was sent forth. This seems to be 
the last eruption of which there is any knowledge, so that for more 
than two hundred years the volcano has been practically extinct. 
The height, situation and partial activity of the volcano have 
combined to render it from the earliest times an object of great 
interest. Naturally the desire has been strong to ascend to its summit, 
and of these ascents and attempts at ascent many accounts exist. 
The first inhabitants of the region, the Aztecs, were withheld, as 
we know, by superstitious fears from attempting to explore the moun- 
tain. They believed it to be an abode of evil spirits which no one 
could approach.* They therefore, were content to gaze upon it from 
a distance with awe and reverence. A round, artificial hill called 
Tetepetongo still to be seen near Ameca, was, according to the tradi- 
tion, used by them as a place of sacrifice, and its location may indi- 
cate that some worship of the volcano was carried on here. Of this 
nothing is known, however. 
It is to the bold Cortes that the credit of the first attempt at ascent 
of the volcano must be given. Marching with his little band in 1519 
to the Capital of Montezuma his route led over the pass between Popo- 
catepetl and Ixtaccihuatl. The volcano was at that time apparently ina 
state of much greater activity than to-day, and the curiosity of Cortes 
was aroused ‘‘to learn,” as he says, ‘‘the secret of the smoke.”’ Accord- 
ingly, one of his captains, Diego Ordaz by name, was sent with nine 
Spaniards and several natives to make the ascent. ‘‘ Such an undertak- 
ing’’ says Prescott} ‘‘was eminently characteristic of the bold spirit of 
the cavalier of that day, who, not content with the dangers that lay in 
his path, seemed to court them from the mere Quixotic love of adven- 
ture.” It is probable, too, that Cortes wished to impress the natives 
with a sense of his dauntless daring. Whether the bold captain 
Ordaz succeeded in his undertaking is not known. According to the 
account of his chief, he was, after enduring the greatest hardships and 

*Humboldt, Essai Politique, Vol. II, p. 673. 
+Conquest of Mexico, Vol. II, p. 48. 
