File:Mountain adventures in various parts of the world (1876) (14801001103).jpg

Identifier: mountainadventur00head (find matches)
Title: Mountain adventures in various parts of the world
Year: 1876 (1870s)
Authors: Headley, Joel Tyler, 1813-1897
Subjects: Mountaineering
Publisher: New York, Scribner, Armstrong, and co.
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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sent out two of his overseers with abouttwenty-five Negroes and Sepoy convicts to make allnecessary preparations. They carried with them asort of tent, and ropes, crow-bars, a portable ladder,provisions, and everything we could possibly wantfor three or four days, as we intended to remain onthe shoulder of the mountain, close to the base ofPeter Botte, until we either succeeded, or were con-vinced of its impossibility. These men had workedhard, and on our arriving at the foot of the moun-tain we found the tent and all our tools, etc., safelylodged on the shoulder of Peter Botte. I may aswell describe here the appearance of the mountain.From most points of view it seems to rise out of therange which runs nearly parallel to that part of thesea-coast which forms the Bay of Port Louis ; buton arriving at its base you find that it is actuallyseparated from the rest of the range by a ravine orcleft of tremendous depth. Seen from the town (asyou will perceive by the sketch) it appears a cone
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4«^BA PETER BOTTE, MAURITIUS PETER BOTTE. 281 with a large overhanging rock at its summit, butso extraordinarily sharp and knife-like is this, incommon with all the rocks on the island, that whenseen end on, as the sailors say, it appears nearlyquite perpendicular. In fact, I have seen it in fiftydifferent points of view, and cannot yet assign to itany one precise form. But to my tale. We dined that evening and slept at the houseof a Frenchman in the plain below, and rose earlynext morning much exhausted by the attacks ofbugs. All our preparations being made, we started,and a more picturesque line of march I have seldomseen. Our van was composed of about fifteen or twentySepoys of every variety of costume, together with afew Negroes carrying our food, dry clothes, etc.Our path lay up a very steep ravine formed by therains in the wet season, which having loosened allthe stones, made it anything but pleasant; thosebelow were obliged to keep a bright look out fortumbling rocks, and one

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