260 A Geographical and Geological Sketch 



mouth of the crater appears to be shut up, and the possibiUty 

 of getting out almost precluded. This, with the associations 

 which are naturally formed in a person's mind, when he recol- 

 lects that he is in the bowels of a volcano, gives the whole a 

 gloomy and awful aspect. A musket, fired from a particular 

 spot in this crater, afforded an interesting illustration of one of 

 the laws of sound ; for the report was repeated distinctly seven 

 times, and the two first and two last echoes were consider- 

 ably louder than the intermediate ones — appearing as if the 

 sound had struck at seven points, in its passage round the sides 

 of the crater, commencing with those nearest to where it ori- 

 ginated, and returning to the same spot, after having per- 

 formed its circuit. The ascent from the crater is, as may be 

 supposed from its steepness, extremely laborious. 



To reach the summit of the rock of Mount Misery, it 

 is necessary to take a different course from that which 

 leads to the crater, commencing on the opposite or north 

 side of the mountain. This is an extremely fatiguing un- 

 dertaking. About one-third part of the way up in this 

 direction, there commences an extraordinary natural path, 

 lying along the top of a ridge of rock, very remarkable for 

 its thinness and height, being mostly not more than from 

 two to four feet wide on '^the top, while its sides descend 

 almost perpendicularly to the depth of from one to two hun- 

 dred feet ; thus, as it were, forming a gigantic wall, up the 

 centre of an immense ravine. All along the top of this ridge, 

 however, narrow as it is, there are trees and shrubs in abun- 

 dance, most of the large ones hanging over the precipice as 

 if they could scarcely remain a moment in their situation. 

 This ridge continues, I think, about two-thirds of the way up 

 the mountain, and in the part above it, there is a very sen- 

 sible change in the air and in the appearanceof the vegetation. 

 The former begins to feel very cool, and the latter becomes 

 stunted and low. Proceeding on, these changes are still more 

 observable ; the traveller is now above the regions of those 

 plants which have hitherto adorned his path. The cabbage- 

 tree no longer waves its graceful branches, nor does the 

 rough but beautiful tree-fern rear its stately form upon these 

 heights; the ground is covered with low, succulent plants, 



