Lesson \xxvi.] VOLCANOS. 275 



flame, and the seaman at a great distance might 

 contemplate at his leisure this terrific illumination 

 of nature." 



Among the great number of curious facts which 

 M. Humboldt has collected in his travels, one of 

 the most extraordinary is the following, which he 

 communicated to the French National Institute. 

 Many of the Volcanos of the Cordilliers of ihe 

 Andes throw up at intervals eruptions of mud 

 mixed with vast quantities of fresh water, and., 

 what is extremely remarkable, an infinite multi- 

 tude of fahes. The Volcano of Imbaburu, for 

 example, once threw up such a vast number of 

 them near the village of Iborra, that their putre r 

 faction caused a sickness. This phenomenon, as- 

 tonishing as it is, is not, however, unfrequent : on 

 the contrary, it very often takes place; and pub- 

 lic authority has preserved accounts of the periods 

 at which this has happened, in an authentic man- 

 ner, along with those of the earthquakes. What 

 is very singular is, that the fish are not broken in 

 the least, although their bodies are very soft ; 

 they d > not even appear to have been exposed to 

 a great heat. The Indians, indeed, assert that 

 they sometimes arrive alive at the foot of the 

 mountain. 



Sometimes these animals are ejected from the 

 mouth of the crater, sometimes they are vomited 

 forth at the lateral cavities; but always at from 

 24 to 26OO yards above the neighbouring plains. 

 M. HumL'olilt thinks that they live in the lakes 

 situated at this height in the inside of the crater : 



and 



