Sketch of the Life of Mr. David Douglas. 343 



the sea, though the sky was remarkably clear. It is a horizon of 

 itself, and about seven miles in diameter. I ought, ere now, to 

 have said that the Bird Catcher's knowledge of the volcanoes did 

 not rise above the woody region, and now he and my two other 

 followers were unable to proceed further. Leaving these three 

 behind, and accompanied by only Calipso, I went on about two 

 miles and a half, when the great terminal volcano or cone of 

 Mouna Roa burst on my view : all my attempts to scale the black 

 ledge here were ineffectual, as the fissures in the lava were so 

 much concealed, though not protected, by the snow, that the un- 

 dertaking was accompanied with great danger. Most reluctantly 

 was I obliged to return, without being able to measure accurately 

 its extraordinary depth. From this point I walked along upon 

 the brink of the high ledge, along the east side, to the hump, so 

 to speak, of the mountain, the point, which, as seen from Mouna 

 Kuah, appears the highest. As I stood on the brink of the ledge 

 the wind whirled up from the cavity with such furious violence 

 that I could scarcely keep my footing within twenty paces of it. 

 The circumference of the black ledge of the nearly circular cra- 

 ter, described as nearly as my circumstances would allow me to 

 ascertain, is six miles and a quarter. The ancient crater has an 

 extent of about 24 miles. The depth of the ledge from the high- 

 est part (perpendicular station on the east side) by an accurate 

 measurement with a line and plummet, is twelve hundred and 

 seventy feet. It appears to have filled up considerably all round ; 

 that part to the north of the circle seeming to have, at no very 

 remote period, undergone the most violent activity, not by boiling 

 and overflowing, nor by discharging under ground, but by throw- 

 ing out stones of immense size to the distance of miles around its 

 opening, together with ashes and sand. Terrible chasms exist at 

 the bottom, appearing, in some places, as if the mountain had 

 been rent to its very roots; no termination can be seen to their 

 depth, even when the eye is aided with a good glass, and the sky 

 is clear of smoke, and the sun shining brightly. Fearful indeed 

 must the spectacle have been, when this volcano was in a state of 

 activity. The part to the south of the circle, where the outlet 

 of lava has evidently been, must have enjoyed a long period of 

 repose. Were it not for the dykes on the west end, which shew 

 the extent of the ancient cauldron, and the direction of the lava, 

 together with its proximity to the existing volcano, there is little 

 to arrest the eye of the naturalist over the greater portion of 



