A search of Savedra's saddlebag testified to my statement. The head-waiter was brought.
"I thought you ordered twelve drinks," he said. Spanish for twelve is "doce" and for two is "dos," the pronunciation being near enough for a man to misunderstand purposely. The head-waiter did this trick.
View towards the Argentine Frontier from the Slopes of Volcano Chillán
We left the hotel on horseback and for the first few kilometers it was the steepest climb that I have ever made on the back of an animal. The narrow path zigzagged up the nose of a mountain, exceedingly dangerous, and as my beast had an English saddle, I several times slid off onto his rump while making the ascent. I did not know that it was possible for horses to climb like that, and I thought that I had previously been in very steep places in California.
Glacier Covered with Fresh Snow on the Volcano
After riding some distance we came to a small glacier, and dismounted to cross a creek at its mouth. The horses were panting, puffing, and sweating but when we came to the creek Savedra let them drink all they wanted of the cold ice water. This astonished me, but he said that they were used to it. This glacier was cavernous for the stream flowed out of a hole at its mouth. Soon another glacier was reached, this one fairly long, which we crossed and then came out upon a lava field. We had to dismount before coming to the lava field and feel our way, for some fresh snow had fallen on the glacier, which was in some places up to the horses' bellies. From the lava field we got our first good view of the volcano summit. It was several miles off in front of us up a direct steep ascent over glaciers, snow fields, lava, and ashes. It was in eruption and was making a terrible noise. A great column of white smoke rose to half a kilometer high until the air currents caused it to be borne horizontally away in white cloud patches. I was frightened and expressed my thoughts that we were near enough to the crater.