34 



MONS. F. M. COKPI ON THE 



spoken — that is to say, unless they were thrown out first of all, 

 which is also very possible. 



I ascended the whole of the valley to the spot where the village 

 of Kantzorik was situated, which is indicated by a much more 

 strongly marked elevation of the muddj^ mass, in consequence, 

 apparently, of the obstacle which it presented to the surging stream, 

 although debris of houses and enclosures were carried on in great 

 quantities even to the extremity of the gigantic flow, where they 

 are still lying. 



Continuing my progress, I arrived at the foot of the hill abutting 

 on the northern slope of the great mountain, but there in consequence 

 of the numerous deep crevasses, sinkings in and landslips {ehoule- 

 ments clu terrain). I could not reach the summit without much 

 difficulty and fatigue. Finally, after all the trouble of ascending 

 this basaltic cone, I was repaid by the near view of a mountain in 

 full course of demolition. 



The great Eastern Mountain, crevassed in all directions, presented, 

 for an extent of over 400 metres in width, an enormous vacuity 

 produced by the sinking in of a great part of its western flank, and 

 showed a gigantic trench between this part and its base. This 

 trench, this rupture of the mountain, the bottom of which could 

 not be seen in consequence of a fold of the strata, certainly served as 

 the orifice for the issue of the enormous quantity of mud which 

 spread over the valley, exhaling, they said, a strong odour, and bring- 

 ing death and desolation where an instant before there was life and 

 tranquillity, and transforming a smiling and fertile region into a 

 lugubrious cemetery. 



The violent projection of this nearly liquid and incandescent (?) 

 mass tore from the mountain large blocks, which, by their displace- 

 ment, dislocating and aff'ecting the equilibrium of the superior parts, 

 occasioned their fall also. And in fact an enormous portion of the 

 mountain has been carried away by the bluish-grey muddy material, 

 upon which it may be recognized by its yellow colour, arranged 

 in bands of different dimensions over a very great extent of the 

 flow. 



A noise comparable to that produced by the passage of a railway 

 train over a long iron bridge continued to be heard at short inter- 

 vals, and great slips (eboidementa) take place, throwing up a fine 

 powder, which rises into the air like a band of smoke. However, it 

 is impossible to make out whether these noises are produced by the 

 sinking in of the mountain, or whether they are the result of the 

 work of an internal commotion which conjointly provokes these falls. 



I have also ascertained the presence of distinct fissures and of 

 depressions of the ground upon the granitic mountain at the foot of 

 which is situated the village of JSTikhah, 10 kilometres from Kantz- 

 orik ; and I have been told that crevasses of the same nature were 

 also produced at another point 2 or 3 kilometres further on. 



By this cataclysm we certainly recognize the action of an interior 

 fire, but we can only ascertain the result produced. Will this vol- 

 canic action stop at the point it has now attained ? Will this region 



