372 BOGOSLOF VOLCANOES. 



took place; riiinbling sounds and a dull roar, similar to the discharge 

 of distant cannon, Avere heard at intervals; and though flames were 

 seen only upon two occasions, yet this is believed to have been due to 

 the little darkness of the season at that latitude." 



In Septeml)er of the following year (iS85) the Corvnn paid another 

 visit to the island, and on leaving in the evening witnessed a most 

 extraordinary spectacle. The summit of the volcano was enveloped 

 in a bright sulphurous light, which burst from long rifts in its side 

 and shone oat against the black sky in the background, a striking and 

 impressive display. 



In 1890, when seen by the AJhatrosf<^ the islands were still connected 

 by the gravel bar or isthmus, and their collective length was estimated 

 at a mile and a quarter (fig. 8). 



The following 3'ear, 1891, it was my good fortune to visit the vol- 

 cano. Returning from the Seal Islands, which we left on the evening 

 of August 10, on board t^iQAlhatross, we made direct for the volcanoes. 

 The night was densely foggy, as usual in Bering Sea in summer, and 



Fk5. 8.— The old and new volcanoes in 1890, from the southwest (being N.i E. ). From photograph 



by U. S. Fish Commission. 



the early morning brought no change. The ship was feeling her way 

 cautiously, with no land in sight, when suddenly, about 7 o'clock, the 

 fog lifted, and we saw directly ahead, and hardly a mile away, the bold 

 front of the new volcano. It was with a thrill of excitement that we 

 saw the precipitous cliffs of the northern end break through the fog, 

 and heard the fierce rush of escaping steam, whose roar, when the 

 engines stopped, drowned all other noises, not excepting the cries of 

 the myriads of sea birds which swarmed about the rocks like bees about 

 a hive. A little farther away, and somewhat to the left, Old Bogoslof 

 soon came into view. The relations of the two are shown in the accom- 

 panying reproduction of a photograph (PI. II) taken by me from the 

 deck of the steamer. The bar or isthmus which from 1884 to 1890 

 connected the two islands had disappeared. From Old Bogoslof an 

 entirely new and verv long spit had formed on the west side, and ex- 

 tended westerly for about a mile, leaving an open channel a quarter of 

 a mile wide between the two islands (chart, PI. Ill, fig. 2). 



