Phillips.^ 0?i the Volcanoes of the Pacific. 539 



inclination to risk the experiment, which would be something 

 like examining the interior of the mouth of a cannon, not know- 

 ing the instant it might go off. You feel that you are far enough 

 when you stand on the edge of the outer cup. The hissing, 

 panting, blowing, and strange unearthly sounds from these 

 great gulfs, as you look down and along, are fearful, and pre- 

 sently you are aw^e-struck with the thundering deafening roar 

 of an eruption, which baffles description. The simultaneous 

 bursting of a number of steam - engine boilers, or the ex- 

 plosion of a ton of gunpovt^der, or the united volley from a 

 regiment or two of infantry and artillery might be some- 

 thing like it. Then up fly the great crimson flakes of liquid 

 lava, which gradually blacken and consolidate, and descend. 

 More solid blocks of stone fly up with these softer masses, 

 and rise far above them to a height of 200 ft. and 300 ft. from 

 the edge of the cup. The most of this matter falls right down 

 again into the crater. It sometimes takes a slant, however, 

 as you see from the masses of obsidian or volcanic glass and 

 scoria all about, so that you require to have your wits about 

 you, keep a look-out overhead, and be ready to ' stand from 

 under.' Clouds of steam and thick black smoke also rise with 

 every eruption. This smoke goes, of course, with the pre- 

 vailing wind, and the atmosphere for miles in that direction is 

 charged with the dark volcanic dust. The volcano was to the 

 west of where we lived. The first day we had a westerly 

 wind Mr. Nisbet and I were busy out-of-doors putting up the 

 roof of our house. We felt a strange sensation about the eyes 

 and nostrils, and could not jmagine what it was which was 

 gathering on our hands and arms. Presently we discovered 

 that the clouds of black dust from the volcano were coming in 

 our direction, and that the atmosphere was loaded with the 

 finest dark-grey particles. Next morning every leaf and blade 

 of grass was covered with a thin coating of something like the 

 finest steel filings. Our people were in the habit of praying 

 to their gods for a change of wind on such occasions, and 

 that, we were told, was pretty much the case all over the 

 island. Every one, when annoyed with the smoke and dust, 

 prays that they may be sent elsewhere. At Port Eesolution 

 we seldom had a westerly wind, and, as it did not last above 

 a day or two, we did not suffer much inconvenience from the 

 volcano ; but that dust must be very troublesome to settle- 

 ments in a westerly direction. Captain Cook speaks of having 

 been annoyed by this volcanic dust. He did not venture so 

 far inland as to visit the volcano. The account, however, 

 ■which he recorded of the frequency of the eruptions, and their 

 appeatance from the harbour, is interesting and useful, as it 

 is an exact description of the working of the volcano at the 

 present day. Speaking of the mountain on the west side of 



