314 Mr. Jones’s Account of a Volcano 
the rocks ; and in the hole was found various pieces. of ftone, 
which appeared to be diflolved by fire, and the fides of the 
rock blackened by fire ; fo that this hole muft have been filled 
up fince the eruption took place. 
The miners inform me, that in the morning they frequently 
obferve upon the earth that has been thrown out, fomething 
very white, and by touching it with their tongue fuppofe it to 
be falt- petre. 
In my late fearch, I went to the top of the Mountain, di- 
rectly above the place where the before-mentioned eruption 
happened, to fee if there was a crater. The peak is fmall, and. 
there are about twenty rods of ground on the fummit, which is. 
(rather hollow, where water ftands in a wet feafon (as is com- 
j mon in mountainous countries) but no regular crater. The 
hollow is oblong, and would. have been,- propably, had there: 
been a great volcano (unlefs the heat had been fo inteníe.as to 
have diffolved a prodigious ridge of folid rock, about fifty feet 
to the weft of this hole) fo to the top of the Mountain, which 
forms one fide of a darge dingle, from the top to the bottom of 
the Mountain, four or five hundred feet perpendicular ; where 
immenfe quantities of rock have fallen down, occafioned, proba- 
bly, by explofions in the. Mountains, or earthquakes. That 
there have been various explofions in the-Mountain, is beyond a 
doubt, and in various places, which have occafioned great quan- 
tities c£ ftone and rock to fall from the Mountain ; but I am 
inclined to think thefe explofions ; are not frequent, as formerly, 
even fifty years ago; for I am told by ancient people of vera- 
city, who formerly dwelt at Fort- Dummer (oppofite the Moun- 
tain) that there were Lue explofions, and fire and finoke 
were emitted, 
eT s 
