316 Aero Volcano of Hotham Island. 



the spot bearing N. W. f W., and on steering in that direction, 

 fell in with the Hind cutter at 9, which vessel had left Malta on 

 Sunday the 17th, but had not yet reached the new volcano, ow- 

 ing to calms. The island then bore N. W. by W. six or eight 

 miles distant. At 9h. 45m. the Philomel hove to, three miles to 

 windward. Capt. Smith, with the two masters, and Col. Bathurst, 

 a passenger, left the vessel in boats for the purpose of taking 

 soundings as near as they could approach with safety, but had 

 scarcely got one mile away, when the volcano burst out with a 

 tremendous explosion, resembling the noise of a very Icud thun- 

 der-storm, and flames of fire, like flashes of lightning. The boats 

 were covered with black cinders, which also fell on board the 

 vessel, and all around, to a distance of at least three miles from 

 the volcano. The eruption lasted in all its fury seven minutes, 

 and when the smoke had somewhat cleared away, the island had 

 increased in size twofold. 



The volcano bursts out regularly at about every two hours, 

 and emits all around it a suffocating, sulphureous stench. On 

 first making it a long distance, it resembles a cluster or grove of 

 cypress trees. The English brig Bootle, of Liverpool, an Ame- 

 rican, and one or two foreign vessels, were off" the place. 



Its precise latitude is 37° 7' 30" N. and longitude 12° 44' E. 

 the soundings in the vicinity, say 80 yards off" the island, bearing 

 N. E. are 70 to 75 fathoms; W. |^ of a mile, 72 to 76 fathoms. 

 At five and six miles distance, they vary from 70 to 80 fathoms. 

 The volcano appears composed mostly of cinders of a rusty black 

 colour, having only a sprinkling of lava, of an oblong shape; and 

 the island, as last seen on Friday the 23d, was not less than 

 three quarters of a mile in circumference. The N. W. point is 

 the highest, say about 80 feet above the level of the sea, and 

 gets lower towards the southern extremity. The S. E. side of 

 the crater has fallen in to the side of the sea. The sea is drawn 

 in with a very loud noise, and occasions an immense volume of 

 white vapour to rise up in the air, curling and spreading high 

 and wide: then succeeds rapidly the eruption of cinders and lava, 

 thrown to the height of from 400 to 500 feet, and on some occa- 

 sions to 1000 feet, forking and branching out in all directions in 

 its ascent, and afterwards falling and pouring down in stupen- 

 dous masses, with such violence as to cause a noise like heavy 

 thunder, and making the sea, for a considerable distance around, 



