POPOCATEPETL AND IXTACCIHUATL—FARRINGTON. 85 
‘« Feb. 27, 1851, two Frenchmen ascended the mountain, and to 
them Pieschel erroneously ascribes the first investigation of the sul- 
phur deposits. The names of these men arenot known. They seem 
to have made many scientific observations, and the description of the 
interior of the crater given by them is accurate and complete. In 
addition Pieschel gives some account of the ascent accomplished in 
January, 1853, by the Marquis de Radepont and the artist Pingret, as 
well as the one made by himself with companions on March 26 of the 
same year. | 
‘In September, 1855, an expedition was made by Truqui and 
Craveri, which seems to have borne no results of value. 
“In January, 1857, however, an expedition under commission from 
the Mexican government made an ascent which resulted in the most 
complete and accurate measurements of Popocatepetl that have yet 
been obtained. It was a well-organized, scientific commission, com- 
posed of the engineers, A. Sonntag, J. Laverriere, F. Sumichrast, 
Salazar and Ochoa. The union of trigonometric, barometric and 
thermometric observations, as carried on by this commission and 
reported by Laverriere and Sonntag, is so thorough and satisfactory 
that one is justified in giving the utmost confidence to the measure- 
ments obtained. 
«« The next scientific visitors to the mountain were the geologists of 
the French-Mexican Commission, viz.:—A. Dollfus, L. de Montser- 
rat and Paul Pavie. They ascended the volcano April 23, 1865. 
They were not able to reach the highest peak, or Pico Mayor, on 
account of unfavorable weather, but their other measurements agree 
well with those of Sonntag. In 1882, members of the French Com- 
mission, sent to Puebla to observe the transit of Venus, ascended the 
mountain. 
‘A trigonometric measurement of the height was also made by 
Miguel Ponce de Leon in 1870 from the observatory of the School of 
Mines of the City of Mexico. 
‘Of late the ascent of Popocatepetl has become almost a fad of 
foreign travelers, but of those who attempt it not all succeed. Thus 
the widely experienced traveler, Gerhard von Rath, was obliged to 
give up the ascent a short distance from the summit in April, 1884, 
and of our party only one—Lenk—was so fortunate as to reach the 
desired peak.” 
Besides the ascents above recorded, several American travelers 
have published accounts of their trip to the summit. 
Mr. Frederick A. Ober in his book, ‘‘ Travels in Mexico,’’* has 
given a charming account of an ascent made by him ‘alone with 
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