ON THE VOLCANIC PHENOMENA OF JAPAN. 217 



Palmer, R.E., estimated the depth, as being between 500 and 600 feet. 

 This estimate was based on the convergence of the walls of the crater, 

 which he saw to the depth of about 300 feet, and the diameter of the 

 crater, which he estimated, by walking round a semi-circumference, as 

 about 370 yards. Previous estimates of the diameter had been 200 yards, 

 three-fourths of a mile, and 1,000 metres. The Japanese say that the 

 periphery is 3| miles. These last estimates, as pointed out by Colonel 

 Palmer, are nearly in the ratio of 10, 81, 85, and 150 ! 



These wildly discordant results as to the dimensions of Asama, and 

 the increasing curiosity on this question, led me, in conjunction with 

 Messrs. Dun, Glover, and Stevens, to face the fatigue of ascending 

 Asama for the third time. We left our resting-place (Kutskake) at the 

 foot of the mountain at 4.30 on the morning of October 2, and in com- 

 pany with five coolies we reached the summit at 11 a.m. After a short 

 rest we commenced our measuring operations, the general arrangements 

 of which were entirely the suggestion of Mr. Dun. Before Mr. Dun 

 made his suggestion the various schemes which were proposed would, to 

 my mind, have been unpractical and unsatisfactory. One suggestion 

 was to roll a cannon-ball, with a string attached, down the crater ; 

 another was to shoot an arrow carrying a string into the hole ; a third 

 suggestion was to fly a kite across the crater, &c., &c. 



Mr. Dun's method, which I subsequently learnt was similar to a 

 method devised by the late Mr. Mallet, was as follows : — First, a light 

 rope some 500 yards in length was attached to a block of rock lying on 

 a high portion of the rim of the crater. Next, this rope, which I shall 

 call the cross-line, was carried round the edge of the crater for about 150 

 or 200 yards. Here a heavy brass ring was tied upon it, and through 

 the ring was passed the end of a copper wire coiled on a large reel. This 

 was the sounding- line. Close to the ring a string, which I shall call the 

 guy-rope, was made fast to the cross-line. This being completed, the 

 cross-line was then carried on round the rim of the crater until it reached 

 an eminence, as near as we could judge, opposite to the point where the 

 other end of it was attached to the block of rock. After this the line 

 was jerked clear of pinnacles and boulders lying round the edge of the 

 crater. The cross-line now formed two sides of a triangle, stretching 

 across the crater from where the ring and lowering apparatus were to 

 two points diametrically opposite to each other. By letting out the guy- 

 rope, the cross-rope could be stretched until it formed a diameter to the 

 cratei", with the ring in the middle. The getting of these ropes into 

 position was a matter of no little difficulty. First was the fact that 

 clouds of vapours not only prevented us from seeing from station to 

 station, but also from seeing far out into the crater. Secondly, on 

 account of the hissing and bubbling noises in the crater itself, we could 

 only communicate with each other by sound for short distances. And, 

 thirdly, there was the difficulty of clearing the cross-rope from the ragged 

 edges of the crater, which involved considerable risks in climbing. All 

 being ready, word was passed along to haul on the cross-rope ; and, as it 

 tightened, the guy-line was let out, together with the sounding-line, 

 running parallel to it, but passing through the ring. Owing to the 

 twisting of the cross-line by tension, and the consequent revolution of 

 the ring, the wire was broken, and the first attempt at sounding failed. 

 This difficulty was overcome by attaching the guy-rope to the ring itself. 

 Very luckily the sounding-wire, having been entangled in the cross-rope 



