460 



DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS. 



prevailing plant. Further on, along the brink of an abrupt descent, 

 was a mere line of trees; and some difficulty was experienced in get- 

 ting down, on account of the loose fragments. After reaching the sea- 

 side," Mr. Brackenridge found himself " precluded from the water by 

 a low precipice that seemed continuous all along that portion of the 

 island." He succeeded however in "procuring a living Littorina; 

 which he brought back with him," as evidence that he had been at 

 the sea-side during his twelve hours absence; " from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in 

 going and returning" to the Northern brink. The Great Crater being 

 therefore only sixteen miles from the sea, it may excite surprise, that 

 the eruptions should not always traverse this seemingly weaker por- 

 tion of the island. 



I returned to the shed late in the afternoon ; and at dark, in com- 

 pany with John Ely, and a native, descended once more into the Great 

 Crater. On reaching the central pit, a party from the Vincennes was 

 just barely distinguishable, above, on the Western brink of the Crater ; 

 and we could sometimes hear their shouts. We could distinctly feel 

 in our faces the glow of the molten lake : and while looking, a stop- 

 page once took place in the surface-movement; but a new layer soon 

 formed, which passed gradually over the still portion, when the usual 

 movement was resumed. The lava-spouts did not always keep close 

 to the margin, but occasionally shifted their position, to the extreme 

 limit of a hundred feet outwards. On inclining the head laterally, the 

 lake with its banks seemed greatly enlarged ; an optical illusion shared 

 both by my interpreter and myself, and doubtless attributable to the 

 change in the angles of vision. 



The sinking down of the smaller lake after an overflow, proved by 

 no means a quiet process : there was a general bursting up of the sur- 

 face, with violent thrashing, scattering of fragments, and the emission 

 of much light; after a few moments, the banks of the lake came 

 into view, and its surface sinking down soon ceased to be luminous. 

 During the night ensuing, spent by us at the shed, the smaller lake 

 was reported to have again widely overflowed. 



On the morning of the 29 th, I crossed the Isthmus to the Hilo path, 

 and took leave of the Great Crater. 



In considering the causes which once produced a Tropical Climate 

 over the whole Globe, it might be supposed, that the transition of the 

 planet from its molten state would furnish a long-continued supply of 

 heat. The fallacy of such a supposition was now evident. The im- 



