1890.] Geography and Travel. 945 
perfect cone; others are long but narrow, their tops presenting fre- 
quently from 3 to 5 peaks or cones which are arranged in linear succes- 
sion. This peculiar shape is not caused by erosion, nor can it be a 
mere freak of nature, as this mountain-form presents itself too often to 
us in our excursions through Honduras. It must be based upon similar 
physical and mechanical laws which we find effect the columnar, 
pentagonal, or hexagonal structure of a great series of volcanic rocks. 
We continue our journey, and encounter, towards the interior, in a 
north-easterly direction from Gnoscoran, the interesting crater-ranges 
` or crater-valleys in the neighborhood of the village of Langli. From 
there we proceed to the mountains of Curraren. 
The official topographical map of Honduras, made in 1860, which 
is usually considered the most correct, proves useless to us as soon as 
we enter the interior mountain wilderness of Honduras. It is impossi- 
ble to locate ourselves by aid of the map, as even the principal moun- 
tains and villages or towns have been too incorrectly determined in 
regard to their relative positions. Twice I.became lost in the wild 
mountains of Honduras on account of some grave error in the map, 
having each time a narrow escape from starvation. As we proceed to 
Curraren we are surrounded by high walls and mountains of white 
andesite tufa, which are built upon each other in the form of terraces. 
On the white surface of the mountains numerous veinlets or lodes of 
mineral deposits, such as copper, silver, and lead, intersect each other, 
indicating, in the distance, by their greenish or reddish colored out- 
corps, the probable existence of some valuable mineral deposits. We 
really encounter the ‘‘ main y” on our arrival on the top of the 
mountain, and find a large vein of argentiferous gold quartz, which 
is worked at present by some enterprising native. 
It is impossible to speak of series or ranges of mountains in this 
district; the whole neighborhood is but a chaos of mountains, some 
f-destroyed or gone, others only deprived of their original ‘‘ caps ' 
of porphyry, which at one time crowned their gigantic forms. 
The terraced fronts of the mountains before us are of a decidedly 
columnar sub-arrangement, and principally so when, most ex, 
to the action of water and air. 
The tendency of basalt, andesite, rhyolite, and a number of other 
eruptive rocks to assume a columnar structure appears mainly after 
original coherent and firm material has undergone some alteration 
and decomposition by aid of atmospheric influences. 
There is no stability in those columnar walls, traversed with hori- 
zontal bands or layers of clay. As soon as the latter are taken away 
