036 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [ANNO 1785. 



pany me, of which I was very glad, as he was a sensible young man ; and with 

 the assistance of '2 negroes we pursued our journey. We found very little ob- 

 struction in our way up, till we got to the place whence I returned ; and there, 

 for about a quarter of a mile, we had considerable difficulty to clear our way 

 through grass and ferns. After we came within a quarter of a mile of the top, 

 we found ourselves suddenly in another climate, the air very cold, and the 

 vegetable productions changed ; here was nothing but barrenness over the whole 

 summit of the mountain. On the confines of the grassy and the barren region I 

 found some beautiful plants. Moss grows here in such plenty, that I frequently 

 sunk up to my knees in it. This is the only place in the West Indies that pro- 

 duced any moss that I have seen. About noon we gained the top of the peak I 

 had directed my course to before; when in an instant we were surprized with one 

 of the grandest and most awful scenes I had ever beheld. I was struck with it 

 amazingly, as I could not have conceived such a very large and so singularly 

 formed an excavation. It is situated on the centre of the mountain, and where 

 the various ridges unite. Its diameter is something more than a mile, and its 

 circumference to appearance a perfect circle. Its depth from the surrounding 

 margin is above a quarter of a mile, and it narrows a little, but very regularly, to 

 the bottom. Its sides are very smooth, and for the most part covered with short 

 moss, except towards the south, where there are a number of small holes and 

 rents. This is the only place where it is possible to go down to the bottom • it 

 is exceedingly dangerous, owing to the numberless small chasms. On the west 

 side is a section of red rock like granite, cut very smooth, and of the same de 

 clivity with the other parts. All the rest of the surrounding sides seem to be 

 composed of sand, that appear to have undergone the action of intense fire. It 

 has a crust quite smooth, of about an inch thick, and hard almost as rock ; after 

 breaking through which, is found nothing but loose sand. In the centre of the 

 bottom is a burning mountain of about a mile in circumference, of a conic form, 

 but quite level. On the summit, out of the centre of the top, arises another 

 mount, 8 or 10 feet high, a perfect cone ; from its apex issues a column of 

 smoke. It is composed of large masses of red granite like rock of various sizes 

 and shapes, which appear to have been split into their present magnitudes by 

 some terrible convulsion of nature, and are piled up very regularly. From most 

 parts of the mountain issue great quantities of smoke, especially on the north 

 side, which appears to be burning from top to bottom, and the heat is so intense, 

 that it is impossible to go upon it. Going round the base is very dangerous, as 

 large masses of rock are constantly splitting with the heat, and tumbling to the 

 bottom. At the bottom, on the north side, is a very large rock split in two ; 

 each of these halves, which are separated to a considerable distance from each 

 other, is rent in all directions, and from the crevices issue efflorescences of a 



