196 On the Volcanic Character of the Island of Haisodii. 



three or four miles, they reached the top of one of the ridges, 

 on the western side of the mountain." They met with straw- 

 berries which were rather insipid, and with raspberries which 

 were white and large, but not so well flavoured as those of 

 Europe and America. 



" Between nine and ten in the forenoon they arrived at a 

 large extinguished crater, about a mile in circumference, and 

 apparently 400 feet deep. The sides were regularly sloped, 

 and at the bottom was a small mound, with an aperture in its 

 top. By the side of this large crater, divided from it by a nar- 

 row ridge of volcanic rocks, was another, fifty-six leet in cir- 

 cumference, from which volumes of sulphurous smoke and 

 vapour continually ascended. No bottom could be seen, and 

 on throwing stones into it, they were heard to strike against 

 its sides for eight seconds, but not to reach its bottom. There 

 were two other apertures very near this, nine feet in diameter, 

 and apparently about two hundred feet deep. Walking along 

 its giddy verge, they could distinguish the course of two prin- 

 cipal streams, that had issued from it in the great eruption 

 about the year 1 800. One had taken a direction nearly north- 

 east. The other had flowed to the north-west, in broad irre- 

 sistible torrents, for a distance of from 12 to 15 miles to the 

 sea, and, driving back the waters, had extended the boun- 

 daries of the island. The party attempted to descend the 

 great crater, but the steepness of its sides prevented their ex- 

 amining it so fully as they desired. After spending some time 

 there, they walked along the ridge between three and four 

 miles, and examined sixteen different craters, similar in their 

 construction to the first they met with, though generally 

 smaller in their dimensions. The whole ridge appeared little 

 less than an assemblage of craters, which, in different ages, 

 had deluged the valleys below with floods of lava, or showers 

 of burning cinders. Some of them appeared to have reposed 

 a long period, as they were covered with earth and clothed 

 with verdure. Trees of considerable size were growing in 

 some of them." They found a fruit resembling the whortle- 

 berry, which, although insipid, was juicy, and supplied the 

 place of water. The party were however unable to reach the 

 summit, as they had been a day and two nights without water 

 and saw no prospect of procuring any. After passing another 

 night on the lava, they therefore reluctantly returned towards 

 Kairua. In their descent, they discovered an excellent spring 

 of water, by which the party were much refreshed. They 

 had travelled so constantly upon the sharp points of lava, that 

 their shoes were nearly destroyed, and they returned almost 

 barefoot to the governor's at Kairua. Although the attempt 



to 



