48 CAMPING WITH THE PRESIDENT 



and scalloped and fluted, and suggesting some vitreous 

 formation, or rare carving of enormous, many-colored 

 precious stones. It looks quite unearthly, and, though 

 the devil's frying pan, and ink pot, and the Stygian 

 caves are not far off, the suggestion is of something 

 celestial rather than of the nether regions, — a vision 

 of jasper walls, and of amethyst battlements. 



With Captain Chittenden I climbed to the top, step- 

 ping over the rills and creeks of steaming hot water, 

 and looked at the marvelously clear, cerulean, but 

 boihng, pools on the summit. The water seemed as 

 unearthly in its beauty and purity as the gigantic 

 sculpturing that held it. 



The Stygian caves are still farther up the mountain, 

 ■ — little pockets in the rocks, or well-holes in the ground 

 at your feet, filled with deadly carbon dioxide. We 

 saw birds' feathers and quills in all of them. The 

 birds hop into them, probably in quest of food or 

 seeking shelter, and they never come out. We saw the 

 body of a martin on the bank of one hole. Into one 

 we sank a lighted torch, and it was extinguished as 

 quickly as if we had dropped it into water. Each cave 

 or niche is a death valley on a small scale. Near by 

 we came upon a steaming pool, or lakelet, of an acre 

 or more in extent. A pair of mallard ducks were swim- 

 ming about in one end of it, — the cool end. When we 

 approached, they swam slowly over into the warmer 

 water. As they progressed, the w^ater got hotter and 

 hotter, and the ducks' discomfort was evident. Pre- 

 sently they stopped, and turned toward us, half appeal- 

 ingly, as I thought. They could go no farther; would 

 we please come no nearer ? As I took another step or 

 two, up they rose and disappeared over the hill. Had 



