7* HlSToiiY or 



whole appearance ended, and the mountain remained perf'tctif 

 qiiit^ without any visible smoke or liaine." 



The mntter which is found to roll down from the month of 

 nil volcanoes in general, resembles the dross that is thrown troni 

 n smith's foige. But it is different, perhaps, in various parts of 

 the globe ; for, as we have already said, there is not a quarter of 

 the world that has not its volcanoes. In Asia, particularly in 

 the islands of the Indian Ocean, there are many.* One of tlu 



* Various burning chasms and vo.canoes are to be seen in the Sand wicli 

 Islands. Mr Ellis, iji his Missionary Tour, thus describes a great volcano 

 in Hawaii or Owyhee, which he visited. "About two p. M. the Crater or 

 KiHAUEA suddenly hurst upon our view. We expected to have seen a moun- 

 tain w ith a bi oad base and rouo^h indented sides, composed of loose slags or 

 hardened streams of lava, and whose summit would have presented a rug. 

 (red wall of scoria, forming the rim of a mighty caldron. But instead of this, 

 we found ourselves on the edge of a steep precipice, with a vast plain before 

 us, fifteen or sixteen miles iti circumference, and sunk from 200 to 400 feel 

 below its ortginHl level. The surface of this plain was uueven, and ttrewed 

 over with large stones and volcanic rocks, and in the centre of t was tho 

 ereat crater, at the distance of a mile and a half from the precipice on which 

 we were standing. Our guides led us round towards the north end of the 

 ridge, in order to find a place by wliiih we might descend to tlie plain below. 



We w aiUed on to the north end of the ridge, where, the precipice being 

 less steep, a descent to the plain below seemed practicable. It required, how. 

 ever, the greatest caution, as the stones and fragments of rock fn quentlv 

 gave way under our feet, and rolled down from above ; but with all our care, 

 we did not reach the bottom without several fails and slight bruises. The 

 steep which we had descended was formed of volcanic matter, apparently a 

 light red and gray kind of lava, vesicular, and lying in horizontal strata, 

 varying in thickness from one to forty feet. In a small number of places tho 

 dilferent strata of lava were also rent in perpendicular or oblique directions, 

 from the top to the bottom, either by earthquakes, or other violent convuU 

 gions of the ground connected with the action of the adjacent volcano. After 

 walkii^ some distance over the sunken plain, which in several places souud. 

 ed hollow under our feet, we at length came to the edge of the great crater, 

 where a spectacle, sublime and even appalling, presented itself before us— 



" We stoppetl .ind trembled " 

 Astonishment and awe for some moments rendered us mute, and, like sta- 

 tues, we stood fixed to the spot, with our eyes rivetted on the abyss below. 

 Immediately before us yawned an immense gulf, in the form of a crescent, 

 about two miles in length, from north-east to south-west, nearly a mile ill 

 width, and apparently 800 feet deep. J'he bottom was covered with lava, 

 and the south-west and northern parts of it were <mu vast flood of buroiuss 

 matter, in a state of terrific ebullition, rolling to and fro its " fiery surge" 

 and flaming billows. Fifty-one conical islands, of varied form and size, con. 

 taining so many craters, rose either round the edge or from the surface of 

 the burning lake. Twenty-two constantly emitted columns of gray smoke, 

 or pyramids of brilliant flame ; and several of these at the same time vomiteJ 



