OUR GREATEST NATIONAL MONUMENT 



269 



summit while it was yet clear. A breeze 

 had sprung up out of the northeast and 

 we knew it was only a question of time 

 before our mountain would be hidden in 

 the clouds. Indeed, they had begun to 

 gather already. 



We made rapid progress now, over the 

 smooth snow-field, circling the base of 

 the cone, for the low point in the crater 

 rim lay on the side opposite to our ap- 

 proach. We were in the clouds now, but 

 had a glimpse out across the range to the 

 Pacific. 



When we came around under the low 

 notch in the rim, we sat down and waited 

 for a break in the clouds to get our bear- 

 ings before taking the last steep slope, 

 eating our lunch as we waited. 



Hardly more than a hundred yards 

 away was the hillock where we had stop- 

 ped on our attempt from the opposite 

 side. This time, however, we never 

 doubted but that we should soon have 

 our chance, for the clouds were only be- 

 ginning to gather. Indeed, we had 

 hardly begun to eat when they blew off a 

 little. 



There was the crater rim, seemingly 

 only a few steps directly above us. Great 

 masses of steam came rolling up close 

 against it, but as we were on the wind- 

 ward side they were quickly carried off 

 in the opposite direction. 



From a distance the smoke of Martin 

 always appears snow white, but from our 

 position it took on a weird lemon-yellow 

 color, which Dr. Fenner suggested must 

 be due to reflection from a large body of 

 sulphur within the crater. 



The rim seemed so close that, dropping 

 my cracker, I started for it, but before 

 I could go a dozen steps the clouds closed 

 in again. But we had our bearings now. 

 As soon as we had finished our lunch we 

 started up, so as to be on the rim when 

 the next break came. 



That last pitch, 250 feet it proved 

 when we climbed it, was the steepest 

 slope I have ever attempted. If it had 

 been rock climbing, it would have been 

 easy; but it was boulder clay left there 

 by a glacier which had capped the moun- 

 tain during its dormant period. 



The slope was 60 ° by the clinometer 

 (as compared with about 30 in a steep 

 railroad embankment). The round boul- 



ders on which we depended for foot- and 

 hand-holds were loosely held in the un- 

 cemented clay, so that it was extremely 

 difficult to hang on. 



Finally we reached the rim at 5,300 

 feet, but were unable to see anything in 

 the cloud and steam that beset us. Inside 

 the first sharp edge we found a slight 

 depression, and then a second similar 

 sharp inner rim. The original rim had 

 evidently broken loose and slumped into 

 the hole a little. 



In the depression between the two rims 

 was a little pool, over which we bent to 

 secure a drink, for we had only snow 

 with our lunch; but — ugh! it was strong 

 acid. The fumes at the rim were dis- 

 agreeable, and I was glad to retreat into 

 a little hollow, where I could take notes 

 in comparative comfort. 



DESCENDING INTO THE CRATER OF 

 MT. MARTIN 



After a little, Fenner came back out 

 of the cloud and reported that if we used 

 our handkerchiefs for respirators we 

 could go down inside the crater. So we 

 all held our handkerchiefs to our noses 

 and plunged over the edge. 



On the rim we could see readily 50 feet 

 through the cloud, but once inside it thick- 

 ened rapidly until, only a few feet below 

 the rim, we could hardly see each other, 

 though standing close together. 



Whenever a gust of wind swept the 

 smoke back a few feet, we leaped on 

 farther down until the obscurity closed 

 over us again, and we were compelled to 

 halt for fear of stepping off the edge of 

 the precipice into the vent that we knew 

 must be at the bottom of the funnel. 



There we stood huddled together, like 

 ninnies, panting through our handker- 

 chiefs and pulling down our hats in futile 

 efforts to protect our smarting eyes. If 

 we loosened our handkerchiefs a little to 

 get a freer breath, we got a suffocating 

 draft that at once compelled us to clamp 

 the protection back again. 



Silent as ghosts we stood until one of 

 us, caught by the ridiculous attitudes of 

 his companions, burst out laughing, set- 

 ting us all a-snickering behind our hand- 

 kerchiefs like school-boys who fear the 

 teacher's wrath, for we durst not lift our 

 handkerchiefs to let in the fumes. 



