186 



left two days before, would have succeeded in the meanwhile in 

 clearing a path to the top. But the many serious difficulties offered 

 by the locality and by the vegetation had caused that their efforts 

 had not been crowned with success. An excellent report of their 

 doings was given by Fransen Herderschee in the paper 

 cited at the head of this chapter. From this paper I derive the 

 following data: 



The lower slopes on the south-eastern side of the island were still clothed with 

 a very dense vegetation of Saccharum spontancum L. (glagah). When after a toil of 

 many hours a number of coolies had cut a path through that vegetation the explorers 

 made on May 5th the first effort to reach the top of the mountain. After having 

 crossed with much trouble some narrow steep-sided ravines they reached a broad, less 

 deep ravine the stony bottom of which bore a meagre vegetation; this ravine seemed 

 to be an old lava-stream; it did not run through but branched into several smaller 

 ones. On the branching point the explorers ascended one of the sides of the ravine 

 and continued their way along one of the ridges, which was repeatedly traversed by 

 narrow crevices. After a weary march of some hours they had made but little progress. 

 Therefore they descended into the nearest ravine of 5 6 in. depth, the bottom 

 of which consisted of volcanic ashes. The vegetation of this ravine (See p. 187) consisted 

 mainly of trees of 10-15 in. height and of three species of terrestrial orchids. 

 In an upward direction the ravine continually narrowed till it ended in a narrow 

 cleft. Then the explorers cut their way over a narrow -SaccAarum-clad ridge till about 

 50 m. further a new ravine was reached. In the mean time it had become noon, for 

 which reason they decided to arrange a camping-place for the night on the side of 

 the ravine. Most of the coolies they sent back to the beach to fetch food, water and 

 other necessaries; the trip was continued with 2 coolies only. After excessive efforts a 

 main-ravine was reached at least in which the original rock-formation, the old volcano- 

 mantle, lay bare. Then it had become too late to go on and the explorers returned 

 to the camping-place- 



In the early morning of May 6th the trip was continued. Soon already the explorers 

 reached the main-ravine in which they made considerable progress. Here the trees 

 were higher (10 20 m.J than in the lower ravines and gave rather much shadow; 

 ferns and grasses were also found. Suddenly the way was blocked by large rocks 

 behind which, however, the ravine continued. The ascent became continually more 

 difficult; at every moment rocks obstructed the way. At an altitude of + 275 m. the 

 explorers passed a steep, slippery cataract (then waterless) of + 5 m. height which 

 was clothed with grasses and ferns (see p. 188). Above this cataract the ravine 

 divided into brandies of which the explorers followed the western-most one, bounded 

 on the east-side by a vertical wall- After having ascended somewhat less than 100 m. 

 the explorers were arrested by a vertical wall which they climbed with the aid of a 

 tree-trunk. By doing so they reached a ridge not covered with Saccharum but mainly 

 with shrubs. Towards the top of the mountain this ridge became gradually narrower; 

 at least it had a breadth of only Vii m. and was bounded on either side by a deep 

 ravine. At an altitude of 400 in. the ridge was suddenly interrupted by a deep trans- 

 verse cleft. As it had become too late to go on the explorers decided to return to 

 the camping-place in the ravine. 



So far the report of Fransen Herderschee. On May 

 7th I myself, in the company of the others ascended the south-eastern 

 slopes thereby following mostly the path cut under the direction of 



