Different excursions have been made with the object of ascending8 the Monte Blanco, but hitherto in vain. Not long since it was attempted by a French baron10, but he and his guide were for twenty days in the woods, and then returned, their provisions failing them.
"You should ascend7 the Monte Blanco," said Sir William Ouseley to me. "You are a man at large, with nothing to do. It is just the work for you." This was Sir William's satire11 on the lightness of my ordinary occupations. Light as they might be, however, I had neither time nor courage for an undertaking12 such as that; so I determined13 to satisfy myself with the Irazu.
It happened, rather unfortunately for me, that at the moment of my arrival at San José, a large party, consisting of Sir William's family and others, were in the very act of visiting the mountain. Those, therefore, who were anxious to see the sight, and willing to undergo the labour, thus had their opportunity; and it became impossible for me to make up a second party. One hope I had. The Secretary of Legation had not gone. Official occupation, joined to a dislike of mud and rough stones, had kept him at home. Perhaps I might prevail. The intensity14 of that work might give way before a week's unremitting labour, and that Sybarite propensity15 might be overcome.
But all my eloquence16 was of no avail. An absence of a day and a half only was required; and three were spent in proving that this could not be effected. The stones and mud too were becoming worse and worse, for the rainy season had commenced. In fact, the Secretary of Legation would not budge17. "Le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle," said the Secretary of Legation; whereupon he lighted another cigar, and took a turn in the grass hammock. Now in my mind it must be a very bad game indeed that is not worth the candle; and almost any game is better than no game at all.
I was thus in deep trouble, making up my mind to go alone, or rather alone with my guide;—for the due appreciation18 of which state of loneliness it must be borne in mind that, as I do not speak a word of Spanish, I should have no possible means of communication with the guide,—when a low and mild voice fell upon my ear, offering me its proprietor19 as my companion.
"I went up with Sir William last week," said the mild voice; "and if you will permit me, I shall be happy to go with you. I should like to see it twice; and I live at Cartago on the way."
It was quite clear that the owner of the voice was sacrificing himself, and offering to repeat this troublesome journey merely out of good nature; but the service which he proposed to render me was too essential, and I could not afford to reject the offer. He lived in the country and spoke20 Spanish, and was, moreover, a mild, kind-hearted little gentleman, very suitable as a companion, and not given too pertinaciously21 to a will of his own. Now the Secretary of Legation would have driven me mad half a score of times during the journey. He would have deafened22 me with politics, and with such politics too! So that on the whole I knew myself to be well off with the mild voice.
"You must go through Cartago," said the mild voice, "and I live there. We will dine there at the inn to-morrow, and then do a portion of our work the same evening." It was so arranged. I was to be with him the next day at three, with a guide and two mules24.
On the next morning it rained provokingly. I ought to have started at twelve; but at that time it was pouring, and neither the guide nor the mules showed themselves. "You will never get there," said the Secretary of Legation, looking up to the murky25 clouds with a gleam of delight. "The game is never worth such a candle as that." "I shall get there most assuredly," said I, rather sulkily, "let the candle cost what it may." But still the mules did not come.
Men have no idea of time in any country that is or has been connected with Spain. "Yes, se?or; you said twelve, and it is now only two! Well, three. The day is long, se?or; there is plenty of time. Vaminos? Since you are in such a hurry, shall we make a start of it?"
At half-past two o'clock so spoke—not my guide, for, as will be seen by-and-by, he never spoke at all—but my guide's owner, who came accompanying the mules. In huge hurry, with sundry26 mute exclamations27, uttered by my countenance28 since my tongue was unintelligible29, and with appeals to my watch which should have broken the man's heart as I thrust it into his face, I clomb into my saddle. And then a poor-looking, shoeless creature, with a small straw hat tied on to his head by a handkerchief, with difficulty poised30 himself on the other beast "Vamos," I exclaimed, and trotted31 down the street; for I knew that in that direction lay the road to Cartago. "God be with you," said the Secretary of Legation. "The rainy season has set in permanently32, I know; but perhaps you may have half an hour of sunshine now and again. I hope you will enjoy yourself."
It was not raining when I started, and in fact did not rain again the whole afternoon. I trotted valiantly33 down the street, knowing my way so far; but at the bottom of the town the roads divided, and I waited for my guide. "Go on first," said I, pointing along the road. But he did not understand me, and stood still. "Go on," said I, getting behind his mule23 as though to drive him. But he merely stared, and shuffled34 himself to the other side of the road. "Cartago," I shouted, meaning that he was to show me the way there. "Si, se?or," he replied; and backed himself into the ditch out of my way. He was certainly the stupidest man I ever met in my life, and I believe the Secretary of Legation had selected him on purpose.
I was obliged to choose my own road out of two, and luckily chose the right one. Had I gone wrong, I doubt whether the man would have had wit enough to put me right. I again trotted on; but in a quarter of an hour was obliged to wait, for my attendant was behind me, out of sight, and I felt myself bound to look after my traps, which were fastened to his mule. "Come on," I shouted in good broad English as soon as I saw him. "Why the mischief35 don't you come on?" And my voice was so pitched, that on this occasion I think he did understand something of what I meant.
"Co-o-ome along," I repeated, as he gently drew up to me. And I hit his mule sharply on the crupper with my stick. "Spur him," I said; and I explained what I meant by sticking my own rowels into my own beast. Whereupon the guide showed me that he had no spurs.
Now if there be one rule of life more strictly36 kept in Costa Rica than another, it is this, that no man ever mounts horse or mule without spurs. A man in England would as soon think of hunting without breeches. No muleteer was ever seen without them. And when a mule is hired, if the hirer have no saddle, he may chance to have to ride without one; but if he have no spurs, he will always be supplied.
I took off one of my own, which, by-the-by, I had borrowed out of the Secretary of Legation's establishment, and offered it to the man, remembering the well-known doctrine37 of Hudibras. He then showed me that one of his hands was tied up, and that he could not put the spur on. Consequently I was driven to dismount myself, and to act equerry to this knight38. Thrice on the road I had to do so, for twice the spur slipped from off his naked foot. Even with this I could not bring him on. It is four leagues, or about sixteen miles, from San José to Cartago, and with all my hastening we were three hours on the road.
The way lay through a rich and finely-cultivated country. The whole of this is now called the valley of San José, and consists, in truth, of a broad plateau, diversified39 by moderate hills and valleys, but all being at a considerable height; that is, from three to four thousand feet above the sea. The road also is fairly good; so good that a species of omnibus runs on it daily, there being some considerable traffic between the places; for Cartago is the second town in the republic.
Cartago is now the second town, but not long since it was the capital. It was, however, destroyed by an earthquake; and though it has been rebuilt, it has never again taken its former position. Its present population is said to be ten thousand; but this includes not only the suburbs, but the adjacent villages. The town covers a large tract40 of ground, which is divided into long, broad, parallel streets, with a large pláza in the middle; as though it had been expected that a fine Utopian city would have sprung up. Alas41! there is nothing fine about it, and very little that is Utopian.
Lingering near the hotel door, almost now in a state of despair, I met him of the mild voice. "Yes; he had been waiting for three hours, certainly," he mildly said, as I spurred my beast up to the door. "Now that I was come it was all right; and on the whole he rather liked waiting—that is, when it did not result in waiting for nothing." And then we sat down to dinner at the Cartago hotel.
This also was kept by a German, who after a little hesitation42 confessed that he had come to the country as a filibuster43. "You have fallen on your legs pretty well," said I; for he had a comfortable house, and gave us a decent dinner. "Yes," said he, rather dubiously44; "but when I came to Costa Rica I intended to do better than this." He might, however, remember that not one in five hundred of them had done so well.
And then another guide had to be found, for it was clear that the one I had brought with me was useless. And I had a visit to make; for my friend lived with a widow lady, who would be grieved, he said, if I passed through without seeing her. So I did call on her. I saw her again on my return through Cartago, as I shall specify45.
With all these delays it was dark when we started. Our plan was to ride up to an upland pasture farm at which visitors to the mountain generally stop, to sleep there for a few hours, and then to start between three and four so as to reach the top of the mountain by sunrise. Now I perfectly46 well remember what I said with reference to sunrises from mountain-tops on the occasion of that disastrous47 visit to the Blue Mountain Peak in Jamaica; how I then swore that I would never do another mountain sunrise, having always failed lamentably48 in such attempts. I remember, and did remember this; and as far as the sunrise was concerned would certainly have had nothing to do with the Irazu at five o'clock, a.m.
But the volcano and the crater49 made the matter very different. They were my attractions; and as the mild voice suggested an early hour, it would not have become me to have hesitated. "Start at four?" "Certainly," I said. "The beds at the potrero"—such was the name they gave the place at which we stopped—"will not be soft enough to keep us sleeping." "No," said the mild voice, "they are not soft." And so we proceeded.
Our road was very rough, and very steep; and the night was very dark. It was rough at first, and then it became slippery, which was worse. I had no idea that earth could be so slippery. My mule, which was a very fine one, fell under me repeatedly, being altogether unable to keep her footing. On these occasions she usually scrambled50 up, with me still on her back. Once, however, near the beginning of my difficulties, I thought to relieve her; and to do so I got off her. I soon found my mistake. I immediately slipped down on my hands and knees, and found it impossible to stand on my feet. I did not sink into the mud, but slipped off it—down, down, down, as if I were going back to Cartago, all alone in the dark. It was with difficulty that I again mounted my beast; but when there, there I remained let her fall as she would. At eleven o'clock we reached the potrero.
The house here was little more than a rancho or hut; one of those log farm buildings which settlers make when they first clear the timber from a part of their selected lots, intending to replace them in a year or two by such tidy little houses; but so rarely fulfilling their intentions. All through Costa Rica such ranchos are common. On the coffee plantations51 and in the more highly-cultivated part of the country, round the towns for instance, and along the road to Punta-arenas, the farmers have a better class of residence. They inhabit long, low-built houses, with tiled roofs and a ground floor only, not at all unlike farmers' houses in Ireland, only that there they are thatched or slated52. Away from such patches of cultivation53, one seldom finds any house better than a log-built rancho.
But the rancho had a door, and that door was fastened; so we knocked and hallooed—"Dito," cried the guide; such being, I presume, the familiar sobriquet54 of his friend within. "Dito," sang out my mild friend with all his small energy of voice. "Dito," shouted I; and I think that my voice was the one which wakened the sleepers55 within.
We were soon admitted into the hut, and found that we were by no means the first comers. As soon as a candle was lighted we saw that there were four bedsteads in the room, and that two of them were occupied. There were, however, two left for my friend and myself. And it appeared also that the occupiers were friends of my friend. They were German savants, one by profession an architect and the other a doctor, who had come up into the woods looking for birds, beasts, and botanical treasures, and had already been there some three or four days. They were amply supplied with provisions, and immediately offered us supper. The architect sat up in bed to welcome us, and the doctor got up to clear the two spare beds of his trappings.
There is a luck in these things. I remember once clambering to the top of Scafell-Pike, in Cumberland—if it chance to be in Westmoreland I beg the county's pardon. I expected nothing more than men generally look for on the tops of mountains; but to my great surprise I found a tent. I ventured to look in, and there I saw two officers of the Engineers, friends of my own, sharpening their knives preparatory to the dissection56 of a roast goose. And beside the goose stood a bottle of brandy. Now I always looked on that as a direct dispensation of Providence57. Walking down the mountain that same evening to Whitehaven, I stopped at a small public-house on the side of Enerdale, and called for some whisky and water. The article produced was not good, and so I said, appealing to an elderly gentleman in black, who sat by the hobside, very contemplative. "Ah," said he; "you can't get good drink in these parts, sir; I know that so well that I generally bring a bottle of my own." I immediately opened a warm conversation with that gentleman. He was a clergyman of a neighbouring parish; and in a few minutes a magnum of port had made its appearance out of a neighbouring cupboard. That I thought was another dispensation of Providence. It was odd that they should have come together; but the facts are as I state them.
I did venture on a glass of brandy and water and a slight morsel58 of bread and meat, and then I prepared to throw myself on the bed immediately opposite to the doctor's. As I did so I saw something move inside the doctor's bed. "My wife is there," said the doctor, seeing the direction of my eyes. "Oh!" said I; and I at once became very moderate in the slight change which I made in my toilet.
We were to start at four, and at four precisely59 I woke. As my friend had said, there was little to tempt9 me to sleep. The great drawback to the comfort of these ranchos is the quantity of dirt which continually falls out of the roof into one's eyes. Then the boards are hard of course, and of course, also, they are infested60 with vermin. They tell you indeed of scorpions61 and centipedes, of preternatural wasps62, and musquitos as big as young ostriches63; but I found none of these large-looming beasts of prey64. Of beasts of a smaller size I did find more than plenty.
At four I was up, but my friend was very unwilling65 to stir. It was long before I could induce the mild voice to make itself heard in any way. At that time it was fine, but it was long before I could get the muleteer. When I had done so, and he had thrown their grass to the beasts, it began to rain—of course. "It rains like the d——" said I, very crossly. "Does it?" said the mild voice from the bed. "I am so sorry;" and in half a second he was again in the land of dreams. The doctor snored; but from the furthest remote comer I could see the eye of the doctor's wife looking out at me.
It was between six and seven when we started. At that time it was not raining, but the clouds looked as like rain as the Secretary of Legation could have desired. And the two Germans were anything but consolatory66 in their prophecies. "You'll not see a stick or a stone," said the architect; "you'd better stop and breakfast with us." "It is very dangerous to be wet in the mountains, very dangerous," said the doctor. "It is a bad morning, certainly," pleaded the mild voice piteously. The doctor's wife said nothing, but I could see her eyes looking out at the weather. How on earth was she to get herself dressed, it occurred to me then, if we should postpone67 our journey and remain there?
It ended in our starting just two hours after the prescribed time. The road up from the potrero is very steep almost the whole way to the summit, but it was not so muddy as that we had passed over on the preceding evening. For some little way there were patches of cultivation, the ground bearing sweet potatoes and Indian corn. Then we came into a tract of beautiful forest scenery. The land, though steep, was broken, and only partially68 covered with trees. The grass in patches was as good as in an English park, and the views through the open bits of the forest were very lovely. In four or five different places we found the ground sufficiently69 open for all the requirements of a picturesque70 country house, and no prettier site for such a house could well be found. This was by far the finest scenery that I had hitherto seen in Costa Rica; but even here there was a want of water. In ascending the mountain we saw some magnificent forest trees, generally of the kind called cotton-trees in Jamaica. There were oaks also—so called there—very nearly approaching our holm-oak in colour and foliage71, but much larger than that tree is with us. They were all more or less covered with parasite72 plants, and those parasites73 certainly add greatly to the beauty of the supporting trunk.
By degrees we got into thick forest—forest I mean so thick that it affords no views. You see and feel the trees that are close to you, but see nothing else. And here the path became so steep that we were obliged to dismount and let the beasts clamber up by themselves; and the mist became very thick, so much so that we could hardly trace our path; and then the guide said that he thought he had lost his way.
"People often do come out and go back again without ever reaching the crater at all, don't they?" said the mild voice.
"Very often," said the guide.
"But we won't be such people," said I.
"Oh no!" said the mild voice. "Not if we can help it."
"And we will help it. Allons; andiamos; vamos."
The first word which an Englishman learns in any language is that which signifies a determination to proceed.
And we did proceed, turning now hither and now thither74, groping about in the mist, till at last the wood was all left behind us, and we were out among long grass on a mountain-side. "And now," said the guide, "unless the mist clears I can't say which way we ought to go."
The words were hardly out of his mouth when the mist did clear itself away altogether from one side of us. Looking down to the left, we could see far away into the valleys beneath, over large forests, and across a lower range of hills, till the eye could reach the cultivated plateau below. But on the other side, looking up to a mountain higher still than that on which we stood, all was not only misty75, but perfectly dark and inscrutable.
The guide however now knew the spot. We were near the summit of Irazu, and a further ride of a quarter of an hour took us there; and indeed here there was no difficulty in riding. The side of the hill was covered with grass, and not over steep. "There," said the mild voice, pointing to a broad, bushy, stumpy tree, "there is the place where Lady Ouseley breakfasted." And he looked at our modest havresack. "And we will breakfast there too," I answered. "But we will go down the crater first."
"Oh, yes; certainly," said the mild voice. "But perhaps—I don't know—I am not sure I can go exactly down into the crater."
The crater of the volcano is not at the top of the mountain, or rather it is not at what is now the top of the mountain; so that at first one has to look down upon it. I doubt even whether the volcano has ever effected the absolute summit. I may as well state here that the height of the mountain on which we were now standing76 is supposed to be 11,500 feet above the sea-level.
Luckily for us, though the mist reached to us where we stood, everything to the left of us was clear, and we could look down, down into the crater as into a basin. Everything was clear, so that we could count the different orifices, eight in number, of which two, however, had almost run themselves into one; and see, as far as it was possible to see, how the present formation of the volcano had been brought about.
It was as though a very large excavation77 had been made on the side of a hill, commencing, indeed, not quite from the summit, but very near it, and leaving a vast hole—not deep in proportion to its surface—sloping down the mountain-side. This huge excavation, which I take to be the extent of the crater, for it has evidently been all formed by the irruption of volcanic matter, is divided into two parts, a broken fragment of a mountain now lying between them; and the smaller of these two has lost all volcanic appearance. It is a good deal covered with bush and scrubby forest trees, and seems to have no remaining connection with sulphur and brimstone.
The other part, in which the crater now absolutely in use is situated78, is a large hollow in the mountain-side, which might perhaps contain a farm of six hundred acres. Not having been able to measure it, I know no other way of describing what appeared to me to be its size. But a great portion of this again has lost all its volcanic appendages79; except, indeed, that lumps of lava are scattered80 over the whole of it, as they are, though more sparingly, over the mountain beyond. There is a ledge81 of rock running round the interior of this division of the excavation, half-way down it, like a row of seats in a Roman amphitheatre, or an excrescence, if one can fancy such, half-way down a teacup. The ground above this ledge is of course more extensive than that below, as the hollow narrows towards the bottom. The present working mouth of the volcanic, and all those that have been working for many a long year—the eight in number of which I have spoken—lie at the bottom of this lowest hollow. This I should say might contain a farm of about two hundred acres.
Such was the form of the land on which we looked down. The descent from the top to the ledge was easy enough, and was made by myself and my friend with considerable rapidity. I started at a pace which convinced him that I should break my neck, and he followed, gallantly82 resolving to die with me. "You'll surely kill yourself, Mr. Trollope; you surely will," said the mild voice. And yet he never deserted83 me.
"Sir William got as far as this," said he, when we were on the ledge, but he got no further. "We will do better than Sir William," said I. "We will go down into that hole where we see the sulphur." "Into the very hole?" "Yes. If we get to windward, I think we can get into the very hole. Look at the huge column of white smoke; how it comes all in this direction! On the other side of the crater we should not feel it."
The descent below the ledge into my smaller farm was not made so easily. It must be understood that our guide was left above with the mules. We should have brought two men, whereas we had only brought one; and had therefore to perform our climbing unassisted. I at first attempted it in a direct line, down from where we stood; but I soon found this to be impracticable, and was forced to reascend. The earth was so friable84 that it broke away from me at every motion that I made; and after having gone down a few feet I was glad enough to find myself again on the ledge.
We then walked round considerably85 to the right, probably for more than a quarter of a mile, and there a little spur in the hillside—a buttress86 as it were to the ledge of which I have spoken—made the descent much easier, and I again tried.
"Do not you mind following me," I said to my companion, for I saw that he looked much aghast. "None of Sir William's party went down there," he answered. "Are you sure of that?" I asked. "Quite sure," said the mild voice. "Then what a triumph we will have over Sir William!" and so saying I proceeded. "I think I'll come too," said the mild voice. "If I do break my neck nobody'll be much the worse;" and he did follow me.
There was nothing very difficult in the clambering, but, unfortunately, just as we got to the bottom the mist came pouring down upon us, and I could not but bethink me that I should find it very difficult to make my way up again without seeing any of the landmarks87. I could still see all below me, but I could see nothing that was above. It seemed as though the mist kept at our own level, and that we dragged it with us.
We were soon in one of the eight small craters88 or mouths of which I have spoken. Looking at them from above, they seemed to be nearly on a level, but it now appeared that one or two were considerably higher than the others. We were now in the one that was the highest on that side of the excavation. It was a shallow basin, or rather saucer, perhaps sixty yards in diameter, the bottom of which was composed of smooth light-coloured sandy clay. In dry weather it would partake almost of the nature of sand. Many many years had certainly rolled by since this mouth had been eloquent89 with brimstone.
The place at this time was very cold. My friend had brought a large shawl with him, with which over and over again he attempted to cover my shoulders. I, having meditated90 much on the matter, had left my cloak above. At the present moment I regretted it sorely; but, as matters turned out, it would have half smothered91 me before our walk was over.
We had now nothing for it but to wait till the mist should go off. There was but one open mouth to this mountain—one veritable crater from which a column of smoke and sulphur did then actually issue, and this, though the smell of the brimstone was already oppressive, was at some little distance. Gradually the mist did go off, or rather it shifted itself continually, now ascending far above us, and soon returning to our feet. We then advanced between two other mouths, and came to that which was nearest to the existing crater.
Here the aperture92 was of a very different kind. Though no smoke issued from it, and though there was a small tree growing at the bottom of it,—showing, as I presume, that there had been no eruption93 from thence since the seed of that tree had fallen to the ground,—yet the sides of the crater were as sharp and steep as the walls of a house. Into those which we had hitherto visited we could walk easily; into this no one could descend94 even a single foot, unless, indeed, he descended95 somewhat more than a foot so as to dash himself to pieces at the bottom. They were, when compared together, as the interior of a plate compared to that of a tea-caddy. Now a traveller travelling in such realms would easily extricate96 himself from the plate, but the depths of the tea-caddy would offer him no hope.
Having walked round this mute volcano, we ascended97 to the side of the one which was now smoking, for the aperture to this was considerably higher than that of the last one mentioned. As we were then situated, the smoke was bearing towards us, and every moment it became more oppressive; but I saw, or thought I saw, that we could skirt round to the back of the crater, so as not to get its full volume upon us; and so I proceeded, he of the mild voice mildly expostulating, but always following me.
But when we had ascended to the level of the hole the wind suddenly shifted, and the column of smoke dispersing98 enveloped us altogether. Had it come upon us in all its thickest mass I doubt whether it would not have first stupefied and then choked us. As it was, we ran for it, and succeeded in running out of it. It affected99 me, I think, more powerfully than it did my companion, for he was the first to regain101 his speech. "Sir William, at any rate, saw nothing like that," said he, coughing triumphantly102.
I hope that I may never feel or smell anything like it again. This smoke is emitted from the earth at the bottom of a deep hole very similar to that above described. The sides of it all round are so steep that it is impossible to make even an attempt to descend it. By holding each other's hands we could look over into it one at a time, and see the very jaws103 in the rock from which the stream of sulphur ascends104. It comes out quite yellow, almost a dark yellow, but gradually blanches105 as it expands in its course. These jaws in the rock are not in the centre of the bottom of the pit, but in a sharp angle, as it were, so that the smoke comes up against one side or wall, and that side is perfectly encrusted with the sulphur. It was at the end of the orifice, exactly opposite to this, that we knelt down and looked over.
The smoke when it struck upon us, immediately above this wall, was hot and thick and full of brimstone. The stench for a moment was very bad; but the effect went off at once, as soon as we were out of it.
The mild voice grasped my hand very tightly as he crept to the edge and looked over. "Ah!" he said, rejoicing greatly, "Sir William never saw that, nor any of his party; I am so glad I came again with you. I wonder whether anybody ever was here before." Hundreds doubtless have been, and thousands will be. Nine out of every ten men in London, between the ages of fifteen and fifty, would think little of the trouble and less of the danger of getting there; but I could not interfere106 with the triumph of my friend, so I merely remarked that it certainly was a very singular place.
And then we had to reascend. It was now past eleven o'clock, and as yet we had had no breakfast, for I cannot call that cup of coffee which we took at starting a breakfast, even though the German architect handed to each of us from out of his bed a hunch107 of beef and a crust of bread. Luckily the air was clear for a while, so that we could see what we were about, and we began to climb up on the side opposite to that by which we had descended.
And here I happened to mention that Miss Ouseley had commissioned me to get two bits of lava, one smooth and the other rough—unfortunately, for at once the mild voice declared that he had found two morsels108 which would exactly suit the lady's taste. I looked round, and, lo! there was my small friend with two huge stones, each weighing about twenty pounds, which, on the side of the mountain, he was endeavouring to pack under his arms. Now, the mountain here was very steep and very friable; the burnt shingle109 slipped from under our feet at every step; and, to make matters worse, we were climbing in a slanting110 direction.
"My dear fellow, it would kill you to carry those lumps to the top," I said; "do not think of it."
But he persevered111. "There were no lumps of lava such as those," he said, "to be found at the top. They were just what Miss Ouseley wanted. He thought he would be able to manage with them. They were not so very heavy, if only the ground did not slip so much." I said what I could, but it was of no avail, and he followed me slowly with his sore burden.
I never knew the weather change with such rapidity. At this moment the sun was bright and very hot, and I could hardly bear my coat on my shoulders as I crept up that hill. How my little friend followed with his shawl and the lava rocks I cannot conceive. But, to own the truth, going down hill suits me better than going up. Years and obesity112 tell upon the wind sooner than they do on the legs—so, at least, it is with me. Now my mild friend hardly weighed fifteen ounces, while I—!
And then, when we were again on the ridge113, it began to rain most gloriously. Hitherto we had had mist, but this was a regular down-pour of rain—such moisture as the Secretary of Legation had been praying for ever since we started. Again and again the mild voice offered me the shawl, which, when I refused it, he wrapped round the lumps of lava, scorning to be drier than his companion. From the summit to the ledge we had come down fast enough, but the ascent114 was very different. I, at any rate, was very tired, and my friend was by no means as fresh as he had been. We were both in want of food, and our clothes were heavy with wet. He also still carried his lumps of lava.
At last, all raining as it was, I sat down. How far we might still be from the top I could not see; but be it far or be it near, nature required rest. I threw myself on the ground, and the mild voice not unwillingly115 crouched116 down close to me. "Now we can both have the shawl," said he, and he put it over our joint117 shoulders; that is, he put the shawl on mine while the fringe hung over his own. In half a minute we were both asleep, almost in each other's arms.
Men when they sleep thus on a mountain-side in the rain do not usually sleep long. Forty winks118 is generally acknowledged. Our nap may have amounted to eighty each, but I doubt whether it was more. We started together, rubbed our eyes, jumped to our feet, and prepared ourselves for work. But, alas! where was the lava?
My impression is that in my sleep I must have kicked the stones and sent them rolling. At any rate, they were gone. Dark and wet as it was, we both went down a yard or two, but it was in vain; nothing could be seen of them. The mild voice handed me the shawl, preparing to descend in their search; but this was too much. "You will only lose yourself," said I, laying hold of him, "and I shall have to look for your bones. Besides, I want my breakfast! We will get other specimens119 above."
"And perhaps they will be just as good," said he, cheerfully, when he found that he would not be allowed to have his way.
"Every bit," said I. And so we trudged120 on, and at last reached our mules. From this point men see, or think that they see, the two oceans—the Atlantic and the Pacific—and this sight to many is one of the main objects of the ascent. We saw neither the one ocean nor the other.
We got back to the potrero about three, and found our German friends just sitting down to dinner. The architect was seated on his bed on one side of the table arranging the viands121, while the doctor on the other scooped122 out the brains of a strange bird with a penknife. The latter operation he performed with a view of stuffing, not himself, but the animal. They pressed us to dine with them before we started, and we did so, though I must confess that the doctor's occupation rather set me against my food. "If it be not done at once," said he, apologizing, "it can't he done well;" and he scraped, and scraped, and wiped his knife against the edge of the little table on which the dishes were placed. What had become of the doctor's wife I do not know, but she was not at the potrero when we dined there.
It was evening when we got into Cartago, and very tired we were. My mind, however, was made up to go on to San José that night, and ultimately I did so; but before starting, I was bound to repeat my visit to the English lady with whom my mild friend lived. Mrs. X—— was, and I suppose is, the only Englishwoman living in Cartago, and with that sudden intimacy123 which springs up with more than tropical celerity in such places, she told me the singular history of her married life.
The reader would not care that I should repeat it at length, for it would make this chapter too long. Her husband had been engaged in mining operations, and she had come out to Guatemala with him in search of gold. From thence, after a period of partial success, he was enticed124 away into Costa Rica. Some speculation125 there, in which he or his partners were concerned, promised better than that other one in Guatemala, and he went, leaving his young wife and children behind him. Of course he was to return very soon, and of course he did not return at all. Mrs. X—— was left with her children searching for gold herself. "Every evening," she said, "I saw the earth washed myself, and took up with me to the house the gold that was found." What an occupation for a young Englishwoman, the mother of three children! At this time she spoke no Spanish, and had no one with her who spoke English.
And then tidings came from her husband that he could not come to her, and she made up her mind to go to him. She had no money, the gold-washing having failed; her children were without shoes to their feet; she had no female companion; she had no attendant but one native man; and yet, starting from the middle of Guatemala, she made her way to the coast, and thence by ship to Costa Rica.
After that her husband became engaged in what, in those countries, is called "transit126." Now "transit" means the privilege of making money by transporting Americans of the United States over the isthmus127 to and from California, and in most hands has led to fraud, filibustering128, ruin, and destruction. Mr. X——, like many others, was taken in, and according to his widow's account, the matter ended in a deputation being sent, from New York I think, to murder him. He was struck with a life-preserver in the streets of San José, never fully100 recovered from the blow, and then died.
He had become possessed129 of a small estate in the neighbourhood of Cartago, on the proceeds of which the widow was now living. "And will you not return home?" I said. "Yes; when I have got my rights. Look here—" and she brought down a ledger130, showing me that she had all manner of claims to all manner of shares in all manner of mines. "Aurum irrepertum et sic melius situm!" As regards her, it certainly would have been so.
For a coined sovereign, or five-dollar piece, I have the most profound respect. It is about the most faithful servant that a man can have in his employment, and should be held as by no means subject to those scurrilous131 attacks which a pharisaically moral world so often levels at its head. But of all objects of a man's ambition, uncoined gold, gold to be collected in sand, or picked up in nuggets, or washed out of earth, is, to my thinking, the most delusive132 and most dangerous! Who knows, or has known, or ever seen, any man that has returned happy from the diggings, and now sits contented133 under his own fig-tree?
My friend Mrs. X—— was still hankering after the flesh-pots of Egypt, the hidden gold of the Central American mountains. She slapped her hands loudly together, for she was a woman of much energy, and declared that she would have her rights. When she had gotten her rights she would go home. Alas! alas! poor lady!
"And you," said I, to the mild voice, "will not you return?"
"I suppose so," said he, "when Mrs. X—— goes;" and he looked up to the widow as though confessing that he was bound to her service, and would not leave her; not that I think they had the slightest idea of joining their lots together as men and women do. He was too mild for that.
I did ride back to San José that night, and a most frightful134 journey I had of it. I resumed, of course, my speechless, useless, dolt135 of a guide—the man whom the Secretary of Legation had selected for me before I started. Again I put my spur on his foot, and endeavoured to spirit him up to ride before me, so that I might know my way in the dark; but it was in vain; nothing would move him out of a walk, and I was obliged to leave him.
And then it became frightfully dark—pitch dark as men say—dark so that I could not see my mule's ears. I had nothing for it but to trust to her; and soon found, by being taken down into the deep bed of a river and through deep water, that we had left the road by which I had before travelled. The beast did not live in San José I knew, and I looked to be carried to some country rancho at which she would be at home. But in a time sufficiently short, I found myself in San José. The creature had known a shorter cut than that usually taken.
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1
volcanic
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| adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的 | |
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lava
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| n.熔岩，火山岩 | |
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rumour
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| n.谣言，谣传，传闻 | |
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enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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aboriginal
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| adj.（指动植物）土生的，原产地的，土著的 | |
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ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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tempt
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| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
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baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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satire
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| n.讽刺，讽刺文学，讽刺作品 | |
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undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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propensity
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| n.倾向；习性 | |
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eloquence
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| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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budge
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| v.移动一点儿；改变立场 | |
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appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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pertinaciously
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| adv.坚持地；固执地；坚决地；执拗地 | |
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deafened
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| 使聋( deafen的过去式和过去分词 )； 使隔音 | |
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mule
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| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
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mules
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| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
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25
murky
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| adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗 | |
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26
sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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exclamations
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| n.呼喊( exclamation的名词复数 )；感叹；感叹语；感叹词 | |
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28
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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unintelligible
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| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
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poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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permanently
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| adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地 | |
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valiantly
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| adv.勇敢地，英勇地；雄赳赳 | |
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shuffled
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| v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼 | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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diversified
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| adj.多样化的，多种经营的v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的过去式和过去分词 )；进入新的商业领域 | |
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40
tract
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| n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林) | |
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41
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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42
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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43
filibuster
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| n.妨碍议事，阻挠；v.阻挠 | |
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44
dubiously
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| adv.可疑地，怀疑地 | |
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45
specify
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| vt.指定，详细说明 | |
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46
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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47
disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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48
lamentably
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| adv.哀伤地，拙劣地 | |
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49
crater
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| n.火山口，弹坑 | |
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50
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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51
plantations
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| n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 ) | |
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52
slated
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| 用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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53
cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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54
sobriquet
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| n.绰号 | |
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55
sleepers
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| n.卧铺（通常以复数形式出现）；卧车( sleeper的名词复数 )；轨枕；睡觉（呈某种状态）的人；小耳环 | |
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56
dissection
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| n.分析；解剖 | |
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57
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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58
morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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59
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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60
infested
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| adj.为患的，大批滋生的（常与with搭配）v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 )；遍布于 | |
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61
scorpions
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| n.蝎子( scorpion的名词复数 ) | |
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62
wasps
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| 黄蜂( wasp的名词复数 )； 胡蜂； 易动怒的人； 刻毒的人 | |
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63
ostriches
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| n.鸵鸟( ostrich的名词复数 )；逃避现实的人，不愿正视现实者 | |
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64
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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65
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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consolatory
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| adj.慰问的，可藉慰的 | |
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67
postpone
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| v.延期，推迟 | |
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68
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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71
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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72
parasite
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| n.寄生虫；寄生菌；食客 | |
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73
parasites
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| 寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫 | |
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74
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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76
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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77
excavation
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| n.挖掘，发掘；被挖掘之地 | |
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78
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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appendages
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| n.附属物( appendage的名词复数 )；依附的人；附属器官；附属肢体（如臂、腿、尾等） | |
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80
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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81
ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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82
gallantly
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| adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地 | |
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83
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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84
friable
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| adj.易碎的 | |
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85
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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86
buttress
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| n.支撑物；v.支持 | |
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87
landmarks
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| n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址） | |
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88
craters
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| n.火山口( crater的名词复数 )；弹坑等 | |
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89
eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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90
meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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91
smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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92
aperture
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| n.孔，隙，窄的缺口 | |
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93
eruption
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| n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作 | |
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94
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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95
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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96
extricate
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| v.拯救，救出；解脱 | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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dispersing
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| adj. 分散的 动词disperse的现在分词形式 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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103
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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ascends
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的第三人称单数 ) | |
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blanches
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| v.使变白( blanch的第三人称单数 )；使（植物）不见阳光而变白；酸洗（金属）使有光泽；用沸水烫（杏仁等）以便去皮 | |
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interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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hunch
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| n.预感，直觉 | |
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morsels
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| n.一口( morsel的名词复数 )；（尤指食物）小块，碎屑 | |
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shingle
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| n.木瓦板；小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌)；v.用木瓦板盖（屋顶）；把（女子头发）剪短 | |
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slanting
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| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
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persevered
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| v.坚忍，坚持( persevere的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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obesity
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| n.肥胖，肥大 | |
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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unwillingly
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| adv.不情愿地 | |
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crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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winks
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| v.使眼色( wink的第三人称单数 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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trudged
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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viands
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| n.食品，食物 | |
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scooped
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| v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等） | |
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intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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enticed
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| 诱惑，怂恿( entice的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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transit
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| n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过 | |
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isthmus
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| n.地峡 | |
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filibustering
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| v.阻碍或延宕国会或其他立法机构通过提案( filibuster的现在分词 )；掠夺 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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ledger
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| n.总帐，分类帐；帐簿 | |
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scurrilous
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| adj.下流的，恶意诽谤的 | |
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delusive
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| adj.欺骗的，妄想的 | |
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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dolt
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| n.傻瓜 | |
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