No. LXXVII. FURTHER OBSERVATIONS ON MOUNTAINS. Again, where Alpine solitudes ascend, GOLDSMITH. I CONCLUDED my former paper with a slight sketch of the variety of picturesque appearances which mountains, in general, exhibit: and these we seldom find forgotten, either in the delineations of the pencil, or in poetical description. Sometimes the pencil, in cool airy halls, THOMSON. If we compare the heights of different mountains, we shall find that the greatest and highest are found under the line. It is thought by some, that the rapidity of the earth's motion, together with the greatness of the tides, in those parts, may have thrown up these stupendous masses of earth. But, to whatever cause it may be attributed, it is a remarkable fact, that the inequalities of the earth's surface are the greatest at or near the equator. The earth, indeed, is very craggy and uneven near the poles; but the heights of the mountains there are very inconsiderable. On the contrary, at the equator, where Nature seems to sport in the amazing size of her productions, the plains are extensive, and the mountains remarkably lofty. Some of them are known to rise three miles in height above the level of the ocean. To enumerate the most remarkable of these, according to their size, I shall begin with the Andes, a prodigious chain of mountains, extending almost the whole length of South America, parallel with the two oceans, and terminating at the straits of Magellan. Of these mountains we have an excellent description by don Juan de Ulloa, who, by command of the king of Spain, went to Peru, in company with the French academicians, to measure a degree of the meridian. His account of his journey up these mountains is so curious, that I cannot forbear to give an extract from it. After many days sailing up the river Guayaquil, he arrived at Caracol, a town situate at the foot of the Andes. Nothing can exceed the inconveniences he had experienced in this voyage, from the flies and mosquitos. We were the whole day (says he) in continual motion, to keep them off; but at night our torments were excessive. Our gloves, indeed, were some defence to our hands, but our faces were entirely exposed; nor were our clothes a sufficient defence for the rest of our bodies; for the stings of these insects, penetrating through the cloth, caused a very painful itching. One night, in coming to anchor near a large and handsome house that was uninhabited, we were no sooner seated in it, than we were attacked, on all sides, by swarms of mosquitos, so that it was impossible to have one moment's quiet. They who had covered themselves with clothes, made for this purpose, found not the smallest defence; wherefore, hoping to find some relief in the open fields, they ventured out, although in danger of suffering, in a more terrible manner, from the serpents. But both places were equally obnoxious. On quitting this inhospitable retreat, we took up our quarters, the next night, in a house that was inhabited; the master of which being informed of the terrible manner we had passed the preceding night, told us gravely, that the house we so greatly complained of, had been forsaken, on account of its being the purgatory of a soul. But we had more reason to believe that it was quitted on account of its being the purgatory of the body. After having journied, upward of three days, through boggy roads, in which the mules sunk to their bellies at every step, we began, at length, to perceive an alteration in the climate; and, after having been long accustomed to heat, we now felt it grown very sensibly colder. "It is remarkable, that at Taraguagua we often see instances of the effects of two opposite temperatures, in two persons happening to meet; one of them leaving the plains below, and the other descending from the mountain. The former thinks the cold so severe, that he wraps himself up in all the garments he can procure; while the latter finds the heat so great, that he is scarcely able to bear any clothes whatever. The one thinks the water so cold, that he avoids being sprinkled by it: the other is so delighted with its warmth, that he uses it as a bath. 'The ruggedness of the road from Taraguagua, leading up the mountain, is not easily described. The declivity is so great, in some parts, that the mules can scarcely keep their footing; and, in others, the acclivity is equally difficult. The trouble of sending people before to mend the road, the pain arising from the many falls and bruises, and the being constantly wet to the skin, might be sup ported, were not these inconveniences augmented by the sight of such frightful precipices, and deep abysses, as excite incessant terror. The road, in some places, is so steep, and yet so narrow, that the mules are obliged to slide down, without making any use whatever of their feet. On one side of the rider, in this situation, rises an eminence of several hundred yards; and, on the other, is an abyss of equal depth; so that, if he should give the least check to his mule, and thus destroy the equilibrium, they must both inevitably perish. Having travelled nine days in this manner, slowly winding along the side of the mountain, we began to find the whole country covered with a hoarfrost; and a hut, in which we reposed, had ice in it. At length, after a perilous journey of fifteen days, we arrived upon the plain, at the extremity of which stands the city of Quito, the capital of one of the most charming regions in the world. Here, in the centre of the torrid zone, the heat is not only very tolerable, but, in some places, the cold is even painful. Here the inhabitants enjoy all the temperature and advantages of perpetual spring; the fields being constantly covered with verdure, and enamelled with flowers of the most lively colours. However, although this beautiful region be more elevated than any other country in the world, and it took up so many days of painful journey, in the ascent, it is overlooked, nevertheless, by tremendous mountains: their sides covered with snow, while their summits are flaming with volcanos. These mountains seem piled one upon the other, and rise to an astonishing height, with great boldness. However, at a determined point above the surface of the sea, the congelation is found at the same height in all the mountains. Those parts which are not subject to a continual frost, have here and there growing upon them a rush, resembling the genista To or broom, but much softer and more flexible. ward the extremity of the part where the rush grows, and the cold begins to increase, is found a vegetable with a round bulbous head, which, when dried, has an amazing elasticity. Higher still, the earth is entirely bare of vegetation, and seems covered with eternal snow. The most remarkable of the Andes are the mountains of Cotopaxi, Chimborazo, and Pichincha. On the top of the latter was my station for measuring a degree of the meridian; where I suffered particular hardships from the intenseness of the cold, and the violence of the storms. The sky around us in general involved in thick fogs, which, when they cleared away, and the clouds, by their gravity, moved nearer to the surface of the earth, appeared surrounding the foot of the mountain, at a vast distance below, like a sea, encompassing an island in the midst of it. When this happened, the horrid noises of tempests were heard from beneath, then discharging themselves on Quito and the neighbouring country. I saw the lightning issue from the clouds, and heard the thunders roll far beneath me. All this time, while the tempest was raging below, the mountain top, where I was placed, enjoyed a delightful serenity. The wind was abated, the sky clear, and the enlivening rays of the sun moderated the severity of the cold. However, this was of no very long duration; for the wind returned with all 1 This mountain is more than three miles above the surface of the sea. It is a celebrated volcano, one of the eruptions of which is described in Ulloa's Voyage, vol. i. p. 442. Vesuvius, and even Ætna, it should be observed, are mere fire-works, compared to the volcanos of the Andes, which, as they are the highest mountains in the world, are the most formidable also for their eruptions. On this subject the inquisitive reader should peruse Humboldt's Travels in South America, for the most recent and correct information. • Some of my readers may here recollect Dr. Young's Character of a Good Man, in his eighth Night; in which one |