Captain Grant's Children

Chapter 12 Adventures at 12000 Feet

Chapter 12 Adventures at 12000 Feet

The journey across Chile had hitherto encountered no particularly great obstacle, but now nature's first challenge to man came in the face of towering mountains.

At present, the first problem to be solved is: which way to climb the mountain without leaving the 37° line?
"I only know that there are two roads near here," said the guide. "Is it the Arica road discovered by Mandoza?" asked Paganel.

"Exactly," replied the guide.

"But the two roads, one is northerly and the other is southerly, and neither is on the 37° line."

"Then do you know that there is a third way?" the major asked Paganel.

"Yeah, it's the Andu Valley trail, across the slopes of that volcano. But half a degree out of our line."

"Very well," said Glenarvan, "but do you know this Andu Valley path?"

"Yes, ser. I've walked it before, and I didn't mention it just now, because it's just a shepherd's path," answered the guide.

"Sheep can walk, so we can too. As long as it is in the straight line we want to go, we will go!"

Glenarvan said firmly.Soon, the caravan began to travel through the valley formed by the large limestone.

Unknowingly, the altitude is also increasing.

At 11 o'clock, they came to a small lake with extremely beautiful scenery.And this small lake is the confluence of almost all the nearby rivers.

Further up this small lake, there are plateaus with layers higher and higher.The cattle and sheep of the Indians graze on that plateau.

They entered a swamp of considerable size.Fortunately, these mules have a special ability to cross the swamp, so there is no danger.

At 1 o'clock in the afternoon, they reached the castle of Palana, which is like a crown on its steeple.

But they didn't stop, they walked around without stopping.This section of the road became steeper and steeper, and the stones stepped on by the mules hit the gravel, forming stone waterfalls one after another, rolling into the deep stream.

At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, they successfully arrived at the ruins of the trenches and forts built during the aboriginal uprising in 1770. The poetic and picturesque atmosphere of the ancient battlefield at that time was very touching.

"Isn't it enough that there are high mountains between people, and these blockhouses are added!"

Paganel sighed from the heart.From here on, the road becomes more and more dangerous.The path with a steep slope is winding. On one side is a terrifying abyss, and on the other side is a jagged rock with teeth and claws.

At this moment the mule slowed down and became very careful.They sniffed the stones on the ground with their sharp noses, and walked carefully step by step, at a very slow speed.

Sometimes the lead mule was out of sight after turning a corner, and everyone had to rely on the sound of the bell hanging around the mule's neck to judge where it was.

Sometimes, although there is only a few meters wide abyss between the front team and the rear team, they seem to be heading in two completely opposite directions.

These rocks are all iron-blue, and some have crystal-like spikes standing on them, which are traces left by volcanic eruptions.

The rocks are layered on top of each other, with no pattern to be found, and they are stacked without paying attention to balance at all, but the ingenious support prevents them from falling down immediately; but as long as they are pushed with a little external force, they will completely change their original shape Some look.

The peaks in this area are far from reaching a relatively stable geological state, and frequent volcanic eruptions and earthquakes make them constantly change their shape.

According to this, the road traveled yesterday may be completely lost today.

The guide stood down from time to time, thinking about the shape and direction of the surrounding rocks, judging or guessing which boulder or peak the path should be crushed under.

Glenarvan followed his guide closely, knowing in his heart the distress of his inability to judge; but he said nothing.Because he thought that the guide, like the mule, might have his own special instinct to find the way.In such a situation, reason can't play any role at all, and it can only rely on instinct.

Glenarvan made sense.It's been an entire hour, but the guide has been in a state of hesitation.

Despite the continuous efforts to climb up, the road was still not found after all.Finally, the guide stopped altogether.Facing the abyss and cliffs beneath his feet, because he was completely helpless. "Lost?" asked Glenarvan. "No, ser," answered the guide. "Is that not on that road anymore?" "Still on that road." "Sure?"

"Certainly. You see, here are the ashes of the Indians' fires, and the tracks of the goats."

"Then hear you say that someone has walked by here recently!"

"Yes. But according to the current situation, it is impossible now, because another earthquake has occurred..."

"Mules can't walk, but people can!" said the major.

"Of course. If you are willing to go back with us and find a new way, we and our mules are of course willing to serve you!"

"Then it will be delayed..." "At least three days."

Glenarvan knew in his heart that the guides acted according to the rules, and if the mule could not leave, it had to stop.

When the guide advised them to return, Glenarvan turned his head and asked his party:
"Are you still willing to go on foot?" "Yes!"

Austin answered first. "The crux of the problem now is how to climb over this mountain. As long as you climb over there, you will go downhill, which is much easier than this side! Therefore, everyone must climb over this mountain, no matter what way!"

Paganel said. "Well, it's settled!" Glenarvan said more firmly. "Can you still walk forward with us?"

Glenarvan asked the guide. "But I have to take care of my mule!" "Then please go ahead."

"You can do without him. I assure you that you can find the road again on the other side of the mountain. I'm no worse than any of you guides."

Paganel said.Glenarvan immediately settled the bill with the mule team, and the food, clothing, tools and weapons were carried by seven people separately.Between the rocks that seemed to go straight up and down, the travel team climbed up step by step with 7 members supporting each other.Mules can't come to this kind of place no matter what.

After two hours of hard climbing, they found the path cut off by the earthquake again!
At this time, they had climbed to the highest step of the Andes, and they seemed to be getting closer to the highest mountain back.

But the trail has disappeared again, and the recent earthquake has completely changed the landscape of this area.

They had no other choice but to aim for the top of the mountain and climb up.

The average height of the peaks here is between 11000 feet and 12600 feet, and there is nothing to choose, just choose a peak at random and climb up.

Fortunately, the weather is relatively peaceful now, and the temperature is not too low; if it is winter between May and October, it is impossible to climb up the mountain, and the severe cold will freeze people to death; Blown away by the hurricane.

In the abyss under their feet, there are countless corpses blown down by the hurricane!
They climbed completely all night, each of them linked their arms to a human chain, and built a human ladder on their shoulders, jumping and climbing for a while, as if they were "trapezes" in a circus.

Murady and Wilson, who are extremely tall and strong, showed their talents in this all-night climbing. They ran back and forth for a while, and pulled this and that for a while, helping everyone overcome one after another seemingly insurmountable difficulties.

Paganel was always full of the passion that is characteristic of their French, and he kept crawling excitedly.

Where is the major?He still maintains his steady style, climbing when he should, walking when he should, and it doesn't even look like there is a single unnecessary movement.Perhaps in his mind, the all-night climb was no different from the ease of going down the mountain!

At 5 o'clock in the morning, they had reached an altitude of 7500 feet-this was calculated from the barometer.

This is the last territory of plants.Small animals jumping in front of you can occasionally be seen. Once a hunter sees them, they may be excited, but for this group of travelers, they no longer have that kind of interest.

The animals were obviously frightened by the hunter's attack, as soon as they saw someone approaching, they fled away.These animals also included llamas and hamsters—a little thing that looked like part hare, part kangaroo, among others.But they are not the animals that live at the highest altitudes.Further up, at an altitude of 9000 feet, there is a particularly beautiful ruminant: the alpaca.

In addition to the long-haired alpaca, there is also a fine-haired goat.The movements of these two animals are extremely fast and agile. You just saw their shadows, and they disappeared into the world of ice and snow in an instant like birds spreading their wings.

At dawn, the sky reflected a pale blue light of ice and snow.The ice on the cliff is cool and slippery to the touch, but there are no cracks in it, so you can't take a step.

Wilson was at the front of the line, exploring carefully along the way.Everyone followed his footsteps and followed up step by step.

No one dares to speak, because making a sound may cause an echo, and the reverberation shakes the snow on the mountain, and an avalanche may occur.

There are not many traces of vegetation, and at 11000 feet, the vegetation will be completely extinct.

At 8 o'clock in the morning, everyone simply ate something, and then moved forward bravely.

Over the ice, across the abyss, past the wooden crosses on the side of the road - each cross is a memorial to an unfortunate accident - and finally, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, reached a desolate open field.

This little flat land between cliffs and precipices was like an island in a stormy sea.Above the head is the dry blue sky, surrounded by the thin and cold air, occasionally there is a howling evil wind blowing on the high stone wall, and then large pieces of broken stones staggered and rolled down the mountain stream.

Because the air is relatively thin, the transmission of the sound has also encountered obstacles, and the sound of the falling rocks cannot be heard at all.

At last the little band of intrepid travellers, too, was exhausted.Especially little Robert, it seemed that he couldn't hold it anymore.At 3 p.m. Glenarvan stopped. "Take a break!"

He could see that no one else would have made such a suggestion had he not suggested it first.

"Rest? Nowhere to rest!" said Paganel. "No, no rest! I, I can still go..." Little Robert shouted dissatisfied.

"Let someone else carry you, boy. We've got to go there anyway, and I think there's a shack there! About two hours more!"

Paganel said. "How about it?"

Glenarvan asked for everyone's opinion. "agree."

Everyone answered in unison. "I carry the baby," Mulla said.Everyone move on.

After two hours, we finally climbed to the highest peak.The thin air again made it difficult for everyone to breathe.I saw blood oozing from the gums and lips!The shortness of breath and the glare of the snow made the warriors who had just climbed the mountain for almost a day and a night feel extremely exhausted, and the terrible alpine symptom—vertigo—began to attack them.

The number of wrestlers began to increase. Once they fell down, it was difficult to get up again, so they had to kneel down to catch their breath.

The vast snowy sea, towering cliffs, the exhausted traveler's first consideration in such a harsh environment is how to spend the night.In such a cold and harsh environment, this is really a fatal problem.

Suddenly the major said peacefully, "Look, there's a cabin over there!"

(End of this chapter)

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