40 _ THE GEYSERS OF PLUTON RIVER, 
and small quantities of steam. At these places were 
beds of crystallized sulphur; and in others, sulphur 
was exposed on turning up with a stick the exterior. 
crust. There was every appearance around us that the 
rocks had been subjected to an intense heat, which was 
now gradually abating. After collecting specimens of 
the sulphur and adjacent rocks, we continued further 
up. | 
Another quarter of a mile, over steep hills and across 
deep ravines, brought us to the principal “ geysers.” 
Here was truly a grand prospect, and difficult to de- 
scribe by one unacquainted with such scenes; for to 
speak with scientific precision of such a remarkable spot 
as this, the writer should be familiar with volcanic regions 
and know something of similar phenomena. The action 
here was confined within a narrow ravine, in the moun- 
tain side, running nearly at right angles with Pluton 
River, which we had crossed. The banks were from. 
- one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and fifty 
feet in height, breaking in from the mountain, which 
rose up from ten to fifteen hundred feet above, and 
were wholly composed of decomposed rocks. In the — : 
chasm beneath us, columns of steam were spouting out 
on every side; while deep at the bottom, ran a small 
rivulet. Vegetation of luxuriant growth crowded close 
upon the crumbling rocks, consisting of various kinds 
of shrubbery, pines, oaks, firs, &c. 
We clambered down to the spot where the scori@ 
or burnt rock first appeared, and seated ourselves 
under the shade of a pine tree. From this point I 
took a sketch looking down the gorge. On each side 
of where we sat, some twenty or thirty feet below, 2 
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