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Article DESCRIPTION OF THE PEAK OF TENERIFFE. Page 1 of 5 →
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Description Of The Peak Of Teneriffe.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PEAK OF TENERIFFE .
S 7 R 0 K SIS GEORGE STAUS'TOS ' S ACCOUNT OF LOUD MACARTNEY ' S EMBASSY TO CHINA .
L"ROM Orotava the ascent of the mountain , towards the Peak of •* - Teneriffe , is generally attempted . The time of the year , late in October , was , indeed , unfavourable to such an undertaking . The cold in the mountains , at this season , was described by the natives , in the neighbourhood , to be intolerable ; the snow and hail now fell frequently with such suddenness and violence as-to overwhelm those who were exposed to them . Still , however , the ascent was not
declared to be impossible . If the two succeeding days , at the expiration of which it was necessary to join the ships at Santa Cruz , should luckily prove fair , and the weather calm , the object , it was hoped , might be attained . The opportunity , to the same persons , would not probably recur ; and they determined to try theilffehance : deeming the progress they mig ht make , however inconsiderable it should prove , towards the summit of the mountain , a gratification superior to what anv other excursion could afford .
The morning of the twenty-third of October was serene , and promised a good day . Fahrenheit ' s thermometer , near the sea side , was at seventy-six degrees in the shade . The huge cone of the Peak , towering above a bed of fleecy clouds , seemed to overhang the city of Orotava , though at the distance of several miles . The party set out about noonand pioceeded for some time through a pleasant
valemost-, , ly covered with vineyards , which produce a sweet and agreeable wine ; they soon began to ascend the mountain , along the sloping side of a deep valley , almost entirely covered with a grove of large chesnut trees . Ontiie edge of the mountain were thinly scattered a few solitary huts , partly hid in the thick shrubbery that surrounded them . After passing the valley of chesnut treesthe party presently arrived at the
, summit of the first , called the Green Mountain , on wdiich there was a level plain of considerable extent , covered with heath , growing several feet high , and interspersed with myrtle , laurel , and whortleberry shrub ( vaccinium ) , all in great luxuriance ; but no . cultivation was
attempted there by man ; nor was , indeed , thereabouts any human habitation . At the termination of this plain commenced a second mountain , very different in appearance from the former . Its steep sides were craggy and barren . The road lay along' a dangerous ascent on the brink of precipices . Liltle verdure appeared but what was afforded by the Spanish broom and cytistus , which seemed to thrive in the rock j' surface of lava with wdiich this
mountain was almost covered . " A few pine trees were thinly scattered on its sides . Several wild goats were found thereabouts , being the only quadruped observed to dwell upon those mountains . The party continued to ascend , by rugged and narrow paths , depending chiefl y for their safety on the sure-footedness of their mules , VOL . IX . Y
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Description Of The Peak Of Teneriffe.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PEAK OF TENERIFFE .
S 7 R 0 K SIS GEORGE STAUS'TOS ' S ACCOUNT OF LOUD MACARTNEY ' S EMBASSY TO CHINA .
L"ROM Orotava the ascent of the mountain , towards the Peak of •* - Teneriffe , is generally attempted . The time of the year , late in October , was , indeed , unfavourable to such an undertaking . The cold in the mountains , at this season , was described by the natives , in the neighbourhood , to be intolerable ; the snow and hail now fell frequently with such suddenness and violence as-to overwhelm those who were exposed to them . Still , however , the ascent was not
declared to be impossible . If the two succeeding days , at the expiration of which it was necessary to join the ships at Santa Cruz , should luckily prove fair , and the weather calm , the object , it was hoped , might be attained . The opportunity , to the same persons , would not probably recur ; and they determined to try theilffehance : deeming the progress they mig ht make , however inconsiderable it should prove , towards the summit of the mountain , a gratification superior to what anv other excursion could afford .
The morning of the twenty-third of October was serene , and promised a good day . Fahrenheit ' s thermometer , near the sea side , was at seventy-six degrees in the shade . The huge cone of the Peak , towering above a bed of fleecy clouds , seemed to overhang the city of Orotava , though at the distance of several miles . The party set out about noonand pioceeded for some time through a pleasant
valemost-, , ly covered with vineyards , which produce a sweet and agreeable wine ; they soon began to ascend the mountain , along the sloping side of a deep valley , almost entirely covered with a grove of large chesnut trees . Ontiie edge of the mountain were thinly scattered a few solitary huts , partly hid in the thick shrubbery that surrounded them . After passing the valley of chesnut treesthe party presently arrived at the
, summit of the first , called the Green Mountain , on wdiich there was a level plain of considerable extent , covered with heath , growing several feet high , and interspersed with myrtle , laurel , and whortleberry shrub ( vaccinium ) , all in great luxuriance ; but no . cultivation was
attempted there by man ; nor was , indeed , thereabouts any human habitation . At the termination of this plain commenced a second mountain , very different in appearance from the former . Its steep sides were craggy and barren . The road lay along' a dangerous ascent on the brink of precipices . Liltle verdure appeared but what was afforded by the Spanish broom and cytistus , which seemed to thrive in the rock j' surface of lava with wdiich this
mountain was almost covered . " A few pine trees were thinly scattered on its sides . Several wild goats were found thereabouts , being the only quadruped observed to dwell upon those mountains . The party continued to ascend , by rugged and narrow paths , depending chiefl y for their safety on the sure-footedness of their mules , VOL . IX . Y