Slcetch of the Life of Mr, David Douglas. 34-5 



generally the lowest, and they become thinner towards the sur- 

 face. In some places I counted twenty-seven of these layers, 

 horizontal, and preserving the declination of the mountain. In 

 the caves which I explored near my camp, which are from forty 

 to seventy feet deep, thin strata of earth intervene between suc- 

 cessive beds of lava, but none is found nearer the surface than 

 thirteen layers. No trace of animal, shell, or fish, could I detect 

 in any of the caverns or caves, either in this mountain or Mouna 

 Kuah. At four P. M. I returned to the centre of the dome, where 

 I found the three men whom 1 have left, all huddling together to 

 keep themselves warm. After collecting a few specimens of lava, 

 no time was to be lost in quitting this dreary and terrific scene. 

 The descent was even more fatiguing, dangerous, and distressing 

 than the ascent had proved, and required great caution to escape 

 unhurt : for the natives benumbed with cold, could not walk fast. 

 Darkness came on all too quickly, and though the twilight is of 

 considerable duration, I w^as obliged to halt, as I feared, for the 

 night, in a small cave. Here though sheltered from the N. W. 

 breeze, which set in more and more strongly, as the sun sunk 

 below the horizon, the thermometer fell to 19°, and I was yet 

 far above the line of vegetation, unable to obtain any materials 

 for fire, and destitute of clothing, except the thin garments soaked 

 in perspiration, in which I had travelled all day, and which ren- 

 dered the cold most intense to my feelings. I ventured, between 

 ten and eleven P. M. to make an effort to proceed to the camp. 

 Never shall I forget the joy I felt when the welcome moon, for 

 whose appearance I had long been watching, first shewed herself 

 above the volcano. The singular form which this luminary pre- 

 sented, was most striking. The darkened limb was uppermost, 

 and as I was sitting in darkness, eagerly looking for her appear- 

 ance on the horizon, I descried a narrow silvery belt 4° to 5<^ 

 high, emerging from the lurid fiery cloud of the volcano. This I 

 conceived to be a portion of the hght from the fire, but a few 

 moments shewed me the lovely moon shining in splendour in a 

 cloudless sky, and casting a guiding beam over my rugged path. 

 Her pale face actually threw a glow of warmth into my whole 

 frame, and I joyfully and thankfully rose to scramble over the 

 rough way, in the solitude of the night, rather than await the 

 approach of day in this comfortless place. Not so thought my 

 followers. The bird-catcher and his two companions would not 

 stir ; so with my trusty man Calipso, who follows me like a 

 Can. Nat. 8 Vol. V. No. 5. 



