THE HEART OF THE ANTARCTIC 



on the present occasion we had a far better opportunity 

 for observing the summit of the volcano, for we were 

 only about fifteen miles off and from our point of view 

 the slope of the mountain was more gentle towards the 

 summit. Immediately we stepped outside the door of 

 the hut we were in full view of the greater part of 

 the mountain. The observer taking the meteorological 

 observations every two hours had the mountain in 

 sight, and as Erebus was our high-level meterological 

 observatory, to the crown of which we always looked 

 for indications of wind-currents at that elevation, 

 we naturally saw every phase of activity produced by 

 the fires within. It was for this reason, no doubt, 

 that during the period of our stay in these regions, more 

 especially through the winter months, we were able to 

 record a fairly constant condition of activity on the 

 mountain. It became quite an ordinary thing to hear 

 reports from men who had been outside during the 

 winter that there was a " strong glow on Erebus." 

 These glows at times were much more vivid than at 

 others. On one particular occasion, when the barometer 

 showed a period of extreme depression, the glow was 

 much more active, waxing and waning at intervals of 

 a quarter of an hour through the night, and at other 

 times we have seen great bursts of flame crowning the 

 crater. 



The huge steam column that rises from the crater 

 into the cold air shot up at times to a height of 3000 

 or 4000 ft. before spreading out and receiving its line 

 direction from the air-currents at that particular hour 

 holding the upper atmosphere. There were occasions 

 when the view of this steam cloud became much more 

 vivid, and we found that the best view that could 

 be obtained was when the moon, rising in the eastern 

 sky, passed behind the summit of the mountain. Then, 



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