On two attempts to ascend Chimborazo / by Alexander von Humboldt ; translated from the German, and communicated at the request of the author by Martin Barry.

  • Humboldt, Alexander von, 1769-1859.
Date:
[1837]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On two attempts to ascend Chimborazo / by Alexander von Humboldt ; translated from the German, and communicated at the request of the author by Martin Barry. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    17/25 (page 17)
    Silla de Caracas, to repeat my measurement of the mountain, he saw from time to lime, at the height of 8000 feet, at noon, as the west wind blew, whitish bodies rapidly pass through the air, which he at first took for soaring birds with white plumage, that reflected the sun’s rays. These bodies rose with great ra- pidity out of the valley of Caracas, and surmounting the summit of Silla, took a north-east direction, and reached probably the sea. Some fell upon the southern acclivity of the Silla; they were grass-halms, that had reflected the sun’s rays. Boussin- gault sent me some of these, which still had ears, in a letter to Paris, where my friend and fellow-labourer Kunth instantly recognised them as the Wilfa tenacissiina, which grows in the valley of Caracas, and which he has described in our work. Nova Ge7iera et Species Plaiitarum America AEguinoctialis. I must remark, that we met with no condor on Chimborazo, that powerful vulture, which is so frequent on Antisana and Pich- incha, and which shews great confidence from its ignorance of man. The condor loves pure air, in order the easier from on high to recognise its prey or its food, for it gives dead animals the preference. As the weather became more and more cloudy, we hastened down upon the same ledge of rock, that had favoured our ascent. Caution, however, on account of the uncertainty of the steps, was more necessary than in climbing up. We tarried only just to collect fragments of rock. We foresaw, that in Europe “ a little bit of Chimborazo” would be asked for. At that time, no mountain rock in any part of South America had been named ; the rocks of all the high summits of the Andes were called gra- nite, As we were at the height of about 17,400 feet, it began to hail violently. The hailstones were opaque, and milk-white, with concentric layers. Some appeared considerably flattened by rotation, twenty minutes before we reached the lower limit of perpetual snow, the hail was replaced by snow. The flakes were so dense, that the snow soon covered the ridge of rock many inches deep ; we should have been brought into great danger, had the snow surprised us at the height of 18,000 feet. At a few minutes after two o’clock, we reached the point where our mules were standing. The natives that remained behind, had been very apprehensive for our safety.