Page:Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican, Vol 2.djvu/221

Rh and manufactured one in the camp. It was proposed to get up a rivalry as to which flag should be planted first, but we came to the conclusion at last, that should the summit be reached, the honor should be equally shared. As night came on, we enjoyed a most magnificent sight; the clouds gathered round the foot of the mountain so as to entirely obstruct our view, while the distant lightning flash, darting from cloud to cloud, was visible far beneath our feet; the sky overhead being bright and beautiful. We were encamped at an elevation, according to the barometer, of 12,000 feet, about double that of the highest peak of the White Mountains—while the summit still raised its snow-white head above us to a height nearly equal to that of Mount Washington above the sea, and seemed to frown upon the pigmies who dared to attempt to scale its giddy, and, as yet, unascended height. At daylight on the morning of the 10th of May, we were again in motion; many of the party had already given out, so that there were but twenty-four persons to start on the final journey. In a few minutes we were at the foot of the snow, and taking the route over which there seemed to be the least of it, passed for half or three-fourths of a mile over loose volcanic sand. On measuring the slope of this, I found it to be 33°. It was by far the most difficult portion of our ascent;—sinking up to our knees in sand, we seemed to go back about as far as we stepped forward, while the rarefied condition of the atmosphere made exertion painful in the extreme; indeed, during the whole of this day's ascent, it was impossible to advance fifty paces without stopping to take breath. When not exerting ourselves, we could breathe with comparative ease; but the moment we moved, we were reminded of our great elevation. I can only compare the sensation to that felt by a person who, after running at the top of his speed, is ready to sink down from sheer exhaustion.

"At length, however, we reached firm rock, and it was quite a relief to be able once more to climb with our hands and feet. But we were yet far from the point at which we were aiming, and before reaching it were to be many times sorely disappointed. A projecting crag, far above, would be hailed as the summit; step after step the weary body was dragged along, until at length it was reached; but, once there, it was found to be but the base of another still higher;—this, too, being overcome, another was discovered above. Thus, time after time, were our expectations crushed, till hope seemed almost to have forsaken us, and one after another dropped behind in despair. But—'advance'—was our motto, and onward we pushed, until at length the efforts of some of the party were