486 VICTORIA FAI,I£. 



hue to that of dark smoke, and came back in a constant 

 shower, which soon wetted us to the skin. This shower 

 falls chiefly on the opposite side of the fissure, and a few 

 yards back from the lip there stands a straight hedge of 

 evergreen trees, whose leaves are always wet. From 

 their roots a number of little rills run back into the gulf ; 

 but as they flow down the steep wall there, the column of 

 vapour, in its ascent, licks them up clean off the rock, and 

 away they mount again. They are constantly running 

 down, but never reach the bottom. 



On the left of the island we see the water at the bottom, 

 a white rolling mass moving away to the prolongation of 

 the fissure, which branches off near the left bank of the 

 river. A piece of the rock has fallen off a spot on the 

 left of the island, and juts out from the water below, 

 and from it, I judged the distance which the water falls 

 to be about ioo feet. The walls of this gigantic crack 

 are perpendicular, and composed of one homogeneous 

 mass of rock. The edge of that side over which the water 

 falls, is worn off two or three feet, and pieces have fallen 

 away, so as to give it somewhat of a serrated appearance. 

 That over which the water does not fall, is quite straight, 

 except at the left corner, where a rent appears, and a piece 

 seems inclined to fall off. Upon the whole, it is nearly in 

 the state in which it was left at the period of its formation. 

 The rock is dark brown in colour, except about ten feet 

 from the bottom, which is discoloured by the annual 

 rise of the water to that or a greater height. On the left 

 side of the island we have a good view of the mass of 

 water which causes one of the columns of vapour to ascend, 

 as it leaps quite clear of the rock, and forms a thick 

 unbroken fleece all the way to the bottom. Its white- 

 ness gave the idea of snow, a sight I had not seen for 

 many a day. As it broke into (if I may use the term) 

 pieces of water, all rushing on in the same direction, each 

 gave off several rays of foam, exactly as bits of steel, 

 when burnt in oxygen gas, give off rays of sparks. The 

 snow-white sheet seemed like myriads of small comets 

 rushing on in one direction, each of which left behind 

 its nucleus rays of foam. I never saw the appearance 

 referred to noticed elsewhere. It seemed to be the effect 

 of the mass of water leaping at once clear of the rock, 

 and but slowly breaking up into spray. 



I have mentioned that we saw five columns of vapour 



