well greased, with a view to keeping the feet as dry as possible. The guides will generally attend to the needs of the tourist, and will carry an extra wrap or cloak, together with wine and provisions, on their backs.
The lower part of the peak of the volcano has a slope of about twenty degrees, while the angle increases in ascending until it reaches about forty-five degrees just below the summit.
Travelers should keep their alpenstocks on the upper side of the incline while ascending the peak; and, in case of a slip, the weight of the body must be immediately thrown on the alpenstock. Tourists are not tied together by a rope, as in Switzerland. The air is so rarefied that one is compelled to walk very slowly. During the latter part of the ascent it is difficult to make more than two hundred yards in an hour. In general, six hours will be required to reach the top of the peak from Tlamacas. The upper part of it is covered with ice, and is practically a glacier, having a very uneven surface.
The crater is not visible until one arrives at the edge. A rough estimate of its dimensions would give the diameter at 500 yards, and the depth at 150 yards. There are several fumaroles in the crater from which sulphurous-acid gas is emitted, and a small pond is to be found at the bottom. According to the author's thermometer, the temperature of the air on the summit, at ten o'clock a. m., was 32° Fahr. Clouds usually envelop the peak of Popocatepetl after ten o'clock in the forenoon, and the tourist should endeavor to reach the summit by that hour.
We have not space to describe the view, which is so extensive that a region of about 100,000 square miles in area is visible. Suffice it to say that the Gulf of Mexico (150 miles distant) may be seen on a clear day. On account of the highly rarefied atmosphere, not longer than one hour should be passed on the summit.
