NATURAL HISTORY. 



c)07 



iava which has flowed from the 

 higher regions of the peak, and 

 which constitutes the eastern 

 branch of the lava of Mai Pais. — 

 We began to ascend this steep and 

 rapid part of the mountain which 

 is composed of a small white or 

 yellowish ash, mixed with masses 

 of pumice and fragments of lava si- 

 milar to that found in the plains, 

 of which several small pieces that 

 I picked up were in a state of vitri- 

 fication. After a laborious, not to 

 say hazardous ascent of about an 

 hour, the pumice and ash giving 

 way and the mule sinking knee 

 deep at each step, we arrived at 

 about five in the afternoon at the 

 other extremity of the stream of 

 lava, which descending from the 

 summit of the second region of 

 the peak, divides at the foot of the 

 cone into two branches, the one 

 running to the north-west and the 

 other to the north-north-west ; at 

 the extremity of tliis latter are se- 

 veral immense blocks or masses of 

 lava which bear the name of La 

 F^stancia di los Ingleses, and are 

 rocks, not caves as has been stated 

 by some writers. It was here we 

 were to pass the night ; so, lighting 

 a fire made of the dry branches of 

 the Spanish broom, and stretching 

 part of a sail over a portion of the 

 rock, we eat our dinner and laid 

 ourselves down to sleep. I how- 

 ever passed the best part of the 

 night by the fire, the weather be- 

 ing piercing cold ; as I stood by 

 the fire the view all around me was 

 wild and terrific : the moon rose 

 about ten at night, and though in 

 her third quarter, gave sufficient 

 light to show the waste and wilder- 

 ness by which we were surround- 

 ed : the peak and the upper regions 



which we had yet to ascend tower- 

 ed awfully above our heads, while 

 below, the mountains that had ap- 

 peared of such a height in the 

 morning, and had cost us a day's 

 labour to climb, lay stretched as 

 plains at our feet ; from the un- 

 common rarity of the atmosphere 

 the whole vault of heaven appeared 

 studded with innumerable stars, 

 while the valleys of Orotava were 

 hidden from our view by a thin 

 veil of light fleecy clouds, that 

 floated far beneath the elevated 

 spot we had chosen for our resting 

 place; the solemn stillness of the 

 night was only interrupted by the 

 crackling of the fire round which 

 we stood, and by the whistling of 

 the wind, which coming in hollow 

 gusts from the mountains, resem- 

 bled the roar of distant cannon. 



Between two and three in the 

 morning we resumed on foot our 

 ascent of the same pumice moun- 

 tain, the lower part of which we hud 

 climbed on horseback the preced- 

 ing evening; the ascent became how- 

 ever much more rapid and difficult, 

 our feet sinking deep in the ashes 

 at every step. From the uncom- 

 mon sharpness of the declivity we 

 were obliged to stop often to take 

 breath ; after several halts we at 

 last reached the head of the pu- 

 mice hill at its point of intersection 

 with the two streams of lava, the 

 direction of which I have before 

 described. This is the commence- 

 luent of that division of the moun- 

 tain called El Mai Pais : after 

 restinjr some short time here, we 

 began to climb the stream of lava 

 stepping from mass to mass : the 

 ascent is steep, painful and hazard- 

 ous : in some places tlie stream of 

 lava is heaped up in dykes or em- 



