THE VOLCANO IRAZJJ II7 



over the summit, and continued intermittently until Decem- 

 ber of the same year. The smoke was followed by rumblings, 

 flames were visible at night and there were many eruptions 

 of ashes, stones and other burning particles, covering the 

 volcano and its surroundings. The ashes fell upon the streets, 

 roofs and patios of Cartago, the fields and trees of the vi- 

 cinity and, at times, the finer particles, entering the eyes, 

 nostrils and mouths of the Inhabitants, caused sneezing 

 and coughing. On March 3 the governor sent an expedition 

 of ten persons to visit the summit — the first recorded ascent 

 of the mountain. They reported that in the midst of an 

 opening having almost two leagues' circumference was a fire 

 like a pan of tar and "that it ejected from time to time 

 ashes, sand and small stones, the quantity of these that had 

 fallen on all the neighborhood, as well as of larger rocks, be- 

 ing so great that they could load a hundred ships of large 

 size." In the absence of any exact statement as to the size 

 of these "large rocks " it is not possible to determine whether 

 any of the boulders that now litter the slopes of Irazu 

 were ejected in 1723 or (if due to any eruption at all) are 

 to be ascribed to an earlier, pre-Spanish eruption. De la 

 Haya's account mentions the masses of ashes that sifted over 

 the city, while a bombardment of such boulders as these 

 would inevitably have crushed the houses and could hardly 

 have failed of special mention. 



There was a series of earthquakes accompanying this 

 eruption, the most violent lasting from September, 1723, 

 to February, 1724, although they did not cause any very 

 great damage. 



The ascent of Irazu offered no particular difficulty, as it 

 was possible to ride the entire distance, but it was a fairly 

 long and expensive trip if one wished to do more than make 

 a flying visit of a few hours, and the mountain was so fre- 

 quently cloud-capped that we did not attempt it as often 



