Phenix Gazette

From the Baltimore Gazette

In the Mercury of the 17th May, published at Vera Cruz, we have the following account of the ascent of Messrs. William and Frederick Glennie, in the employ of the Mining Company, and Mr. Taylor of Mexico, to the summit of the celebrated volcano of Popocatepetl. It may be proper to remark here, that of the many attempts that have been made to reach the top of this stupendous volcano, the present is the only one that has succeeded. The account is given in an extract from the Journal of the gentlemen who conducted the interesting enterprise. On the morning of the 15th May they set out from Mexico, provided with all the instruments necessary for the prosecution of their design; such as barometers, theodolites, chronometer, &c. and passed the night at the village of Ameca.

The following day they proceeded along the road of Puebla, which passes between the two volcanoes, with the intention of going to Allisco; and when at the loftier pass, they took the road of Neverd, leading to the right; and having arrived at the height at which vegetation ceased (which according to their chronometers was 12693 feet above the level of the sea) they met some peasants, by whom they were informed that they could neither ascend to the summit on that side, nor proceed to Allisco, on account of the sand, which entirely prevented all passage in that direction; they were therefore obliged to descend and returning to the road they had left, to pass the night in the town of St. Nicholas de los Ranchos.

On the 18th they continued their journey towards Allisco; the road leads to the east of the volcano and along the edge of an extensive plain covered with rocks of an immense size and loose stones, which appeared to be pieces of the rock that had perhaps once occupied the aperture of the present crater. Knowing that the town of Tochimilco was nearer to the volcano, our adventurers determined to proceed to it in order to gain more information with regard to their expedition. The Governor Olivares, who although the proprietor of the territory upon which the volcano is situated had never visited it, not only furnished them with every thing they desired, offered to accompany, and provide them with guides and servants to carry their various instruments, but also gave them the most pressing invitation to his house at St. Cataline, situated at the foot of the mountain.

The succeeding day they availed themselves of the invitation of the Governor—and shortly after their arrival at his plantation, he informed them that his occupations would not permit him to ascend with them, he however furnished them with a guide who conducted them through a thick copse to the limits of the growth of Pines, which they found to be at the height of 12,541 feet above the level of the sea. Here they passed the night by the side of a large fire wrapt in their cloaks; about twelve it rained and a short time afterwards there fell a very heavy frost.

On the 20th they determined to reach the summit, and giving their instruments to the care of the servants mounted their mules and began the ascent at half past three in the morning by the light of the moon. In a very short time they passed the bounds of all vegetation and entered a sand plain covered with loose stones, (in passing which the mules were so much fatigued that our travellers were obliged to abandon them and pursue the journey on foot,) a measure to which they were also impelled by the sight of the immense overhanging precipices which it would have been impossible to pass with the mules.

They therefore in perseverance of their determination threw their cloaks and two bottles of water over their shoulders, and proceeded up the declivity, making their way with the greatest difficulty over an uneven surface, composed of sand rocks and fragments of pumice stone. Desirous of reaching some precipices which appeared to them to extend almost to the desired summit, they pushed forward with the greatest ardour, and for some time with considerable celerity, but they found that the difficulties of the ascent were only beginning, so frightful and dangerous was the precipice and so insecure their foot hold, that, though exerting almost supernatural efforts, they were enabled to make but very little progress, by reason of the sandy nature of the soil and the total want of any bush or shrub by which they might support themselves.

In addition to these disadvantages the exertions they were obliged to use, and the diminished pressure of the air, caused such excessive fatigue, that they were obliged to rest themselves every fifteen or twenty steps, and after toiling on in this manner for half a mile, they at length arrived at the rocks so ardently desired; where they found their Indians who were waiting for them, having ascended the mountain with more ease and greater speed. At this height the thermometer maintained itself at 28° of Fahrenheit, (2° below 0 of Reaumur) the heavens were here perfectly clear; but a dense cloud of vapour enveloped the horizon and prevented them from seeing any thing, in the direction of it. At eight in the morning the sun began to appear.

As soon as they joined the Indians they took a light breakfast and continued the ascent by means of some large stones which having rolled from a more elevated situation had lodged against each other, so as to form a row somewhat in the manner of stepping stones, but so insecurely, and loosely arranged that they frequently rolled from under the person walking, and went thundering down the side of the mountain, endangering the safety of the persons who might happen to be below and putting in motion numbers of rocks similarly situated.

The rolling of these stones was a source of so great terror to the Indians, that they were extremely desirous of returning, but were prevailed upon to continue for some time further by means of threats and promises; they at last, however, refused obstinately to proceed in the direction they were now taking, as the road became at every step more difficult and hazardous. In consequence of this, our adventurers, perceiving an opening a little to the left, determined to attempt the ascent in that part of the mountain, but their endeavours to reach it were in vain, the passage being stopped up with rubbish, and the clouds beginning to envelope that part of the mountain in perfect darkness; here the Indians stopped, and taking part of the provisions, set off for the place where they had passed the preceding night with the intention of waiting until the rest of the party should descend. This circumstance was very much regretted by the travellers, as they were not able to carry with them the instruments so necessary in making astronomical and other observations. They nevertheless determined to continue their design with the intention of marking the different points so as to facilitate any subsequent attempt.

In a very short time after the Indians had left them, they passed the clouds, and came to an overhanging precipice, which they found the greatest difficulty in surmounting, in consequence of the impossibility of climbing without disturbing the stones, which were easily thrown from their situations, and bounding with the greatest violence from rock to rock, alarmed and threatened the lives of those who were below. But, after an hour's labour, they succeeded in reaching a kind of amphitheatre, formed of basaltic rock. Here again new difficulties presented themselves, being obliged to clamber up on all-fours, and at the greatest risk. They at length arrived at a part formed of sand and pumice stone, from whence they succeeded in reaching a very elevated rock, from which the vast, extensive, and magnificent city of Mexico appeared only as a speck: as one point in the almost boundless space around them. Here they likewise observed that from time to time a shower of small stones came down among them, as if thrown by some person from above. They began also to feel at this stage of their progress, a pain in the head, and a disposition to vomit, which affected the guide more than any of the rest. On consulting their barometer they found that they were at the height of 16,893 feet above the level of the sea, and having taken a light meal, they again resumed their task. We cannot go through an account of the difficulties and dangers which they encountered before they attained the summit of the mountain, nor the perseverance and constancy which they displayed in surmounting the one and braving the other. At the great height at which they had now arrived, the guide Quintana was seized with so severe a pain in the head, accompanied with the vomiting before mentioned, that he was unable to proceed, and they were compelled to leave him where he then was until their descent.

After ascending a little higher they began to perceive a noise somewhat like distant thunder, which they attributed to the rain in some other part of the mountain, and continued toiling on for a considerable distance further, frequently stopping to rest, and violently afflicted with pains in the head and knees, a difficulty of breathing, and the nausea already mentioned, when they suddenly and to their great surprise, found themselves on the very brink of the crater.

They had passed the whole day in the most profound and undisturbed solitude, without having seen a plant, a bird, or the most insignificant insect, in the midst of broken fragments of rocks, and horrible precipices, in continued danger of perishing by a false step, an unsecure hold or the slightest slip of the foot, and now their progress was suddenly and unexpectedly arrested by the appearance of the object of all their labours and sufferings. They were at first astounded by the noise and the showers of stones perpetually ascending from the unfathomable depths of the crater, and involuntarily shrunk back from the awful and appalling spectacle. Here they were again seized with the same deadly sickness from which they had already suffered so much, and it was some time before they were sufficiently recovered to consult their barometer and thermometer (the only instruments they had brought with them.) In the former they found that the column of mercury had risen more than fifteen inches, and that in the thermometer it varied from 33 to 39 degrees.

Proceeding to examine the crater they observed that almost all the stones which were cast up by the frequent and almost uninterrupted eruptions, fell back again within the crater, thus furnishing inexhaustible supply of matter for subsequent eruptions, and that of the very small number that fell outside of the opening, they were observed to descend almost invariably on the south side, and that the noise and the roaring from time to time, rose and subsided in a manner somewhat like the roaring of the sea, now sending forth clouds of ashes and smoke accompanied with a noise like thunder, and again moderated so as scarcely to be heard.

The crater appeared to be nearly of the form of a funnel, the sides inclined in the manner of that instrument and of immense depth, the mouth nearly circular and about a mile in circumference, covered with snow only on the north side, and on the south so narrow and unequal that it was difficult to walk on that side; on the north the brink was broader, and more smooth and level. They were not able on account of the clouds to see more than the summit of Orizaba and the snow capped Sierra situated near it.

Having made these observations, and night coming on, they began to retrace their steps and descended to the spot where they had left their sick guide, intending to remain there all night and visit the summit again the following day; but they found him so much worse than they had apprehended, that it was deemed necessary to convey him to some situation less elevated, and where he could receive assistance. So much was he weakened by his exertions and illness, that he was unable to walk, and our travellers began to descend, carrying him with them, and struggling against the difficulties of the sandy soil with the greatest perseverance and patience. About night they came to the limits of vegetation, and having joined the Indians, proceeded to Ameca, where they arrived about eight o'clock; and on the 22d concluded the expedition by their return to Mexico, after three days excessive fatigue and difficulty. The highest point to which they attained was 17885 feet above the level of the sea.