68 CAMPS IN THE CARIBBEES. 



der the warm douche only to return again and again. 

 Reaching out my hand, I placed it in a stream of cold 

 water, sulphur water at that, while I sat in this tepid 

 bath. 



What benefits might be derived by those unfor- 

 tunates afflicted with rheumatism and kindred com- 

 plaints, from a dip in these healing waters ! They 

 would need a balloon, though, as means of convey- 

 ance, for only travel-toughened backs and sturdy 

 limbs can accomplish this journey at present. 



My guides boiled coffee, and, that imbibed, we 

 shouldered our traps and marched back on the home- 

 ward trail. We reached the first Soufriere — the val- 

 ley of desolation — and halted, to allow me to take a 

 few photographs, and to cook our breakfast. The 

 sulphur fumes were so strong as to form a coating of 

 sulphide of silver on my negatives, but not to an ex- 

 tent to injure them. 



The largest boiling spring is five feet across. As 

 some of these seemingly boiling springs are not in 

 complete ebullition, but have their waters agitated 

 from escape of gases, I took care to plunge my ther- 

 mometer into all. Several registered two hundred 

 and eight degrees — the lake is more than two thou- 

 sand feet above sea-level — and many one hundred 

 and forty and one hundred and sixty degrees. One 

 unfortunate experimenter, later in the season, plunged 

 a w store " thermometer into one of these springs, and 

 burst it, as its capacity was not equal to such high 

 temperature. 



Perforating the broad fields of calcined stones are 

 little holes, whence issue steam and hot air; very 

 few are inactive. Some, on the hillside, are large 



