1^2 TR.AVELS THROUGH 



flaming fire, ames, fands, and ftones. The -whole 

 is covered by black fand and afhes, green vitriol, 

 yellow and reddim fulphur, and white falmiac. 

 The fands and ames on this floor, and on both fides 

 of the funnel, are ever fmoking, and often too hoc 

 to be walked upon. By flrong winds, the fulphu- 

 reous fmoke is whirling in the funnel, and almofl 

 intolerable. The eruptions do not conftantly 

 break through the top, but often through the 

 fides of the mountain, from its middle. So did 

 the laft. The erupted lavas lafl for a long while 

 hot and fmoking. I found thofe of the lail erup- 

 tion, a year after, in many places intolerably hot, 

 and fmoking through trie fiffures which had been 

 produced by the coldnefs of the air. This lava 

 torrent broke through the middle fides of the 

 mountain, and, having been ftrongly boiling or 

 fermenting at the eruption, has occafioned by the 

 inclofed air a fubterraneous hole ; which, accerd- 

 ing to my guides, is ftretching, and turning into 

 the lava-mafs, a length of about one hundred and 

 eighty feet. They had flambeaux, and ventured 

 into it. I attempted the fame, as far as the heat 

 would allow me ; and I found its inner fides, as 

 other, failures of hot lavas, covered with white 

 falmiac, which commonly appears on the furface 

 . of the^ lavas two months after the eruptions. If 

 the weather be fair, and the wind driving the 



fmoke 



