THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



117 



period. Wherever we went conditions 

 were the same. All the vents, big and 

 little, are remarkably constant in their 

 activity. 



As long as steam continues to escape in 

 such quantities, there appears to be little 

 probability of a recurrence of any violent 

 explosions like those of 191 2, for the 

 present activity of the region acts as a 

 safety-valve to relieve the pressure from 

 below and prevent its reaching the danger 

 point. 



FIRST VIEW OF THE TEN THOUSAND 

 SMOKES 



Last year Walter, who had been keep- 

 ing camp the day we discovered the val- 

 ley, had listened to our accounts of its 

 wonders with polite incredulity. I was 

 interested to see what the effect of really 

 seeing the valley might be on an unedu- 

 cated native with no scientific interest to 

 spur him on. 



When we had examined the little f uma- 

 roles in the pass and looked at the dozen 

 or so of others round about, he turned to 

 me with an air of "Well, I thought so all 

 the time," and asked, "And is this the 

 Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes ?" "Oh ! 

 No," I answered; "that is over the rise 

 yonder." 



When we reached a point where we 

 could see on down the valley, his amaze- 

 ment was unbounded. "Why," he ex- 

 claimed, "a whole big valley all full of 

 smoke !" 



I had planned merely to look in and 

 turn back, for we had come a long way — 

 so far that he had frequently remarked 

 on the way up how far we had come and 

 how fast I was walking, and had even 

 asked to rest. But once he caught sight 

 of the valley, he must go on. It was my 

 time to call halt now, for I was thinking 

 of the long way back to camp. But be- 

 fore I could stop him he had gone a 

 couple of miles beyond the pass. He 

 came home with shining eyes, very much 

 excited, and though he was very tired he 

 kept talking to Andrean about the wonder 

 he had seen until late into the night. 



How I wished I could have understood 

 his Russian and heard exactly what sort 

 of an impression the valley had made. I 

 am sure his description must have been 



far more picturesque than anything I 

 could write. 



A WONDERFUL AND AMAZING SIGHT 



It was indeed a wonderful and amaz- 

 ing sight that we looked upon, as we came 

 into the valley from between the two lava 

 mountains which guard the entrance. 

 Nor had this marvel of nature lost any 

 of its allurement in the interval that had 

 passed since the one fleeting glimpse I had 

 had of the phenomenon the year before. 



As far as one could see down the broad 

 flat-floored valley, great columns of white 

 vapor were pouring out of the fissured 

 ground and rising gracefully, until they 

 mingled in a common cloud which hung 

 between the mountain walls on either side. 

 We could not see how far the activity ex- 

 tended, for about 5 miles down the valley 

 the smoke had entirely closed in, cutting 

 off any further view in that direction. 



But we could look far up into the 

 branches, which are given off to east and 

 west from the head of the main valley. 

 To the west the columns of steam could 

 be seen coming out of the ground, close 

 up to the base of the glaciers that wind 

 down from the snowfields of Mt. Mageik, 

 some four miles away. To the east our 

 vision could not penetrate so far because 

 of the prodigious activity in that quarter, 

 where myriads of vents of all sizes were 

 pouring forth immense quantities of 

 smoke. 



CROSSING THE MOUNTAINS AGAINST A 

 HAIL OF PUMICE 



It was four days later before all was 

 in readiness for the whole party to go 

 over. None of those who made that trip 

 will ever forget it. The wind, which had 

 been blowing uncomfortably hard for 

 several days, freshened during the night 

 until it began to carry away our dishes. 

 The wind gauge in the sheltered nook we 

 had selected for our camp showed a ve- 

 locity of 25 miles per hour. Out on the 

 mountain it was blowing twice as hard 

 and directly in our faces. It was so 

 strong as fairly to lift us off our feet at 

 times ; but worse than the wind itself was 

 the hail of sharp pumice which it raised. 

 The pumice cut like a knife whenever it 

 struck our flesh. The others protected 



