Page:Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 1.djvu/248

224 from the highest one, a great volume of smoke, as thick as a house, continually comes forth, not only by day, but also by night, rising to the clouds as straight as a pillar, and it appears to come out with such force, that although on the top of the mountain a strong wind prevails, it does not turn it. As I have always wished to give a very detailed account of this country to Your Highness, I wanted to know about this mystery, which seemed somewhat marvellous, so I sent ten of my companions, who seemed adapted for such an enterprise, accompanied by some natives of the country to guide them, charging them to climb the said mountains, and learn the secret of that smoke, whence and how it came. They went, and strove, and did all that was possible to scale it, but never were able to do so on account of the quantity of snow which lay on the mountain, and the clouds of ashes which are blown about on it, and also because they could not endure the great cold which prevails there. They nearly reached the top, however, and so high was it, that, when they were up there, the smoke began to come out, and they say it came with such an impetus and noise as if the entire mountain was about to sink; so they descended, and brought with them a considerable quantity of snow and icicles, which seemed a strange thing to see in these parts, for according to the opinion of the pilots, they belong to the tropics. They say especially that this country is situated in the twentieth degree, which is parallel to the island of Hispaniola, where the heat is continually very great.