"NO MOUNTAIN FOR ME!"
[CHAPTER XIX.]
THE ASCENT OF POPOCATEPETL CONTINUED.—LAST STEPS OF THE UPWARD JOURNEY.—LOSS OF LIFE ON THE MOUNTAIN.—HOW THREE INDIANS PERISHED.—THE CRATER OF THE VOLCANO.—HOW THE SULPHUR-MINERS EXIST.—DANGERS OF THE CRATER.—THE SOLFATARAS.—CAUGHT IN A STORM.—VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT.—SCENES IN THE CRATER.—A RAPID DESCENT.—TOBOGGANING ON A GRAND SCALE.—HOW THE SULPHUR-MINE ORIGINATED.—NO ERUPTION IN SEVEN THOUSAND YEARS.—RETURN TO AMECAMECA.—EXPLORATION OF THE SURROUNDING COUNTRY.—TOMBS AND THEIR CONTENTS.—CURIOUS INSTANCE OF PRESERVATION.—MONTE SACRO.—"MODERN ANTIQUITIES."—INDIANS WORSHIPPING THE VOLCANO.—EXPERIENCE WITH A RATERO.
"The snow hardened a good deal as we neared the summit," continued Frank; "in fact it was much more like ice than snow, and the walking became more difficult every minute. In some places it was as smooth as glass, and but for our outside stockings and the spikes in our shoes we would have been constantly slipping. Even as it was we had a good many falls, but nobody was seriously hurt by them. There was no danger of a long slide down the mountain, as the guide took us along a route where there were many hummocks, or pillars of ice, so that we brought up against them whenever we had the misfortune to fall down.
"HURRAH FOR THE TOP!"
"Our woollen mittens were a great protection to our hands, which often came in contact with these pillars and would have been cut by them, as their tops and edges were sharp. We are told that persons who have made the ascent without gloves or mittens have had their hands so badly lacerated that they could not be used for days afterwards.