Historical and descriptive narrative of twenty years' residence in South America (Vol 2 of 3) / Containing travels in Arauco, Chile, Peru, and Colombia; with an account of the revolution, its rise, progress, and results

by active 1803-1825 William Bennet Stevenson

The temperature is so benign, that vegetation never ceases; hence this city is called the evergreen Quito, siempre verde Quito; it is also called the everlasting spring, eterna primavera; both which epithets it may be said to deserve, for the native trees are all evergreens, and the fields on the slopes of the mountains never lose their verdure.

From the terrace of the government palace there is one of the most enchanting prospects that human eye ever witnessed, or nature ever exhibited. Looking to the south, and glancing along towards the north, eleven mountains covered with perpetual snow present themselves, their bases apparently resting on the verdant hills that surround the city, and their heads piercing the blue arch of heaven, while the clouds hover midway down them, or seem to crouch at their feet. Among these, the most lofty are Cayambe urcu, Imbaburu, Ilinisa, Antisana, Chimboraso, and the beautifully magnificent Cotopaxi, crowned with its volcano, which during the greater part of the three years that I was a resident in this part of America was continually ejecting either smoke or flames, not observable during the day, but particularly visible in the morning and evening.

Having mentioned these mountains, I shall give a brief description of the most remarkable in the province of Quito, being the most elevated in the new world, and till the discovery of the Himmalah mountains, considered the highest on the globe.

Chimboraso is the "Giant of the Andes," the hoary head of which may be seen from the mouth of the Guayaquil river, a distance of not less than one hundred and eighty miles; and here the view is certainly more imposing than when we observe it from the plains extended at its foot: seen from that spot it looks like an enormous semi-transparent dome, defined by the deep azure of the sky; at the same time it cannot be mistaken for a cloud, on account of its solid appearance and well defined edges, so different from the aspect of those collections of vapours. The height of this enormous mass, from the level of the sea, was ascertained by M. de Humboldt to be twenty-two thousand four hundred and forty feet. Its height from the road leading to Quito, which passes along the plain at the foot of the mountain called el paramo, or el pajonal, is twelve thousand one hundred and eighty feet, and five thousand four hundred and sixteen feet above the limit of perpetual snow, under the scorching sun of the equator, and sixteen thousand eight hundred and ninety-two above what is computed to be the limit in England.

M. de Humboldt has remarked, that "mountains which would astonish us by their height, if they were placed near the sea shore, seem to be but hills when they rise from the ridge of the Cordilleras." Without scarcely daring to contradict this most scientific traveller, I cannot avoid expressing my own feelings when I viewed Chimboraso, even at its foot. Perhaps my ideas of grandeur are not correct, so that I must appeal to persons of more extensive conceptions, to know whether a mass rising twelve thousand one hundred and eighty feet above the head of an observer can be considered a "hill!" In the comprehensive mind of a philosopher, the base, not only of this mountain, but the whole range of the Andes, may be a matter not worthy of attention, and consequently detached parts of it must form minor objects. I viewed Chimboraso with sensations of inexpressible delight, mixed with a kind of veneration perhaps more strongly impressed, from the consideration, that it was considered the highest mountain on the globe, for at that time (1809) I had not heard it questioned, and much less denied. A kind of reverential awe crept over me as I stood and gazed on this majestic mass, such as may be more easily imagined than described.

The figure of Chimboraso resembles a truncated cone, with a spherical summit. From the foot of the snow its sides are covered with a calcined matter, resembling white sand; and although no tradition exists of its active volcanic state, yet the issuing of some streams of hot water from the north side of it seems to warrant that it is a volcano, or that it possesses volcanic properties; and the circular summit of the mountain has the appearance "of those paps without craters, which the elastic force of the vapours swells up in regions where the hollow crust of the globe is mined by subterraneous fires."

From the melting of the ice, and perhaps with the assistance of some undiscovered springs on the sides of this mountain, the rivers of Huaranda, Huando, and Machala, have their origin.

Cayambe urcu, Cayambe mountain, is the loftiest of the Cordilleras, excepting Chimboraso; its elevation above the level of the sea is nineteen thousand three hundred and sixty feet, and above that of the plasa mayor of Quito nine thousand one hundred and eighteen. It bears some resemblance to Chimboraso in its dome-shaped summit, and, seen from Quito, it is the most majestic. The beauty of the appearance of Cayambe urcu is rendered more interesting at sunset, on a clear evening; Huahua Pichincha, little Pichincha, being due west of it, the shadow of this may be observed gradually covering the foreground of that, and a few seconds before the sun dips in the horizon, the shadow ascends the mountain with great rapidity, and finally, in a moment, the whole is dissolved in darkness. An impression is made on the mind of the observer, that this is caused by an overshadowing, and he remains gazing in expectation that the mountains will again emerge; but the very short duration of twilight soon convinces him that he looks in vain; and when he turns his eyes from Cayambe to search for the other mountains, they are gone also. This colossal mountain is crossed on its summit by the equator, and were it not overtopped by its neighbour Chimboraso, it would appear as if destined by the hand of nature to be a monumental division of the two hemispheres. Cayambe is a volcano; but its crater has never been examined, nor are there any traditions of its being in a state of injurious activity. At the foot there are several vestiges of mines, said to have been very rich when worked by the indians before the conquest of the country, but at present they are entirely abandoned. The rivers which have their origin in the north and west sides of Cayambe empty themselves by the Esmeraldas and Mira into the Pacific; the others into the Atlantic, by the Marañon.

Antisana is a porphyritic mountain; its summit is nineteen thousand one hundred and fifty feet above the level of the sea, on which there is the crater of a volcano: near to the foot of this mountain is the small village of Antisana, situated at the amazing height of thirteen thousand five hundred feet above the sea; it is considered to be the highest inhabited spot on the surface of the globe.

Seen from Quito, Cotopaxi is the most beautiful mountain in the whole range, on account of its shape, being that of a truncated cone, having a flat summit; it is eighteen thousand eight hundred and ninety feet above the level of the sea, and, as already observed, its volcano, the crater opening on the top of the mountain, is in constant activity, appearing sometimes in the morning and evening like a colossal beacon: the flame rises in such a manner, that its light is reflected from the icy coating of the mountain.