﻿4 
  MALLET 
  : 
  VOLCANOES 
  OF 
  BARREN 
  ISLAND 
  AND 
  NARCONDAM. 
  

  

  to 
  have 
  opened 
  in 
  the 
  Chittagong 
  district 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  great 
  earth- 
  

   quake 
  of 
  2nd 
  April 
  1762, 
  1 
  so 
  that 
  there 
  may 
  be 
  a 
  local 
  development 
  of 
  

   heat 
  there 
  also, 
  although 
  less 
  marked 
  than 
  that 
  at 
  Ramri. 
  

  

  BARREN 
  ISLAND. 
  

  

  On 
  approaching 
  Barren 
  Island 
  from 
  Port 
  Blair, 
  or 
  indeed 
  from 
  any 
  

  

  direction 
  but 
  the 
  west, 
  one 
  might 
  naturally 
  be 
  

   General 
  appearance. 
  

  

  puzzled 
  as 
  to 
  how 
  it 
  came 
  to 
  acquire 
  its 
  name, 
  the 
  

  

  outer 
  slopes 
  of 
  the 
  island 
  being 
  covered 
  with 
  dense 
  tree 
  jungle 
  from 
  

  

  near 
  the 
  sea-level 
  to 
  the 
  summit. 
  Only 
  here 
  and 
  there 
  do 
  large 
  

  

  patches 
  of 
  grass 
  appear, 
  while 
  of 
  bare 
  rock 
  there 
  is 
  almost 
  none, 
  save 
  

  

  where 
  the 
  lava 
  has 
  been 
  eaten 
  backwards 
  into 
  cliffs 
  along 
  the 
  surf 
  -washed 
  

  

  coast. 
  On 
  the 
  western 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  island 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  deep 
  breach, 
  giving 
  

  

  entrance 
  to 
  the 
  interior, 
  where 
  one 
  finds 
  oneself 
  in 
  the 
  midst 
  of 
  an 
  

  

  almost 
  circular 
  (slightly 
  oval) 
  amphitheatre 
  about 
  a 
  mile 
  in 
  diameter. 
  

  

  Towards 
  the 
  south-east 
  the 
  declivities, 
  rising 
  to 
  a 
  height 
  of 
  seven 
  or 
  

  

  eight 
  hundred 
  feet 
  above 
  the 
  floor 
  of 
  the 
  crater, 
  or 
  some 
  1,100 
  above 
  the 
  

  

  sea, 
  are 
  well 
  wooded, 
  except 
  where 
  the 
  walls 
  of 
  lava 
  are 
  too 
  precipitous 
  

  

  to 
  afford 
  any 
  footing 
  to 
  vegetation. 
  On 
  the 
  north 
  the 
  slopes 
  are 
  much 
  

  

  less 
  steep 
  and 
  high, 
  with 
  a 
  rounded 
  outline 
  towards 
  the 
  top, 
  and 
  are 
  

  

  largely 
  covered 
  with 
  loose, 
  black, 
  naked 
  ash. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  midst 
  of 
  the 
  amphitheatre 
  rises 
  the 
  central 
  cone 
  to 
  a 
  height 
  

   of 
  about 
  1,000 
  feet 
  above 
  the 
  sea, 
  with, 
  as 
  seen 
  from 
  the 
  west, 
  an 
  almost 
  

   perfectly 
  symmetrical 
  outline, 
  the 
  sides 
  preserving 
  an 
  even 
  slope 
  of 
  32°. 
  

   Scarcely 
  a 
  blade 
  of 
  vegetation 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  seen 
  on 
  the 
  dark 
  ash 
  which 
  covers 
  

   the 
  surface. 
  The 
  truncation 
  at 
  the 
  summit 
  marks 
  the 
  site 
  of 
  the 
  crater, 
  

   and 
  here 
  a 
  thin 
  column 
  of 
  steam 
  rises 
  slowly 
  into 
  the 
  air. 
  

  

  Almost 
  encircling 
  the 
  base 
  of 
  the 
  cone 
  are 
  streams 
  of 
  lava, 
  one 
  of 
  

   which 
  has 
  poured 
  through 
  the 
  breach 
  into 
  the 
  sea, 
  and 
  all 
  covered 
  with 
  

   a 
  rugged, 
  black, 
  and 
  scoriaceous 
  crust, 
  the 
  fissured 
  and 
  hummocky 
  surface 
  

   of 
  which 
  cannot 
  be 
  traversed 
  without 
  difficulty, 
  and 
  which 
  is 
  almost 
  

   absolutely 
  bare 
  of 
  vegetation. 
  2 
  

  

  1 
  J. 
  A. 
  S. 
  B., 
  XII, 
  p. 
  1050. 
  

  

  2 
  Standing 
  on 
  the 
  ash 
  slopes 
  to 
  the 
  north 
  of 
  the 
  cone, 
  and 
  looking 
  down 
  on 
  the 
  lava 
  

   streams, 
  one 
  is 
  reminded, 
  strange 
  as 
  it 
  may 
  appear, 
  of 
  some 
  snowy 
  Himalayan 
  pass. 
  The 
  

  

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