of the cone at about 3800 [34] feet above the sea, where be- gins the thousand foot steep climb to the summit plateau of the volcano. The side of the cone is steep, averaging from 40° to 45°, and the ascent is a veritable climb, which it is ad- visable to take early in the morn- ing to avoid the force rays of the tropical sun. The whole cone is thickly covered with long moss, the masses of which are beautiful at this season of the year with their shades of light yellowish green, greenish yellow and flesh pink. At about noon M. de La Ron- cière and I reached the hut built by the Club des Montagn.