226 



THE CRATER ELEVATION. 



short rest — fancying themselves very near the end of their labors, 

 and deceived by the great rarefaction of the air, which made objects 

 appear much nearer than they really were, they forgot what they 

 had already undergone, and Mr. Glennie was entirely taken up 

 with the prospect of soon putting his barometer in operation on 

 the very summit. At this time Quintana who had smoked a good 

 deal and was otherwise much fatigued, complained of excessive 

 headache and fell down exhausted. They concluded that at these 

 great elevations smoking is as impracticable as the use of ardent 

 spirits. The servant was vainly encouraged to proceed, and finding 

 it impossible, they directed him to await their return where he was. 



They had before them a smooth expanse of sand, which on their 

 left was covered, from the summit down, with ice or crystallized 

 snow, forming a great variety of cubic and prismatic figures. Con- 

 tinuing their ascent along the edge of this snow, they heard a noise 

 like distant thunder, and concluding that it was raining somewhere, 

 they proceeded about a league, making frequent halts, being greatly 

 distressed with violent pains in the head and knees, nausea, and 

 difficulty of respiration. They had passed the whole day in 

 absolute solitude ; encountering neither plant, bird nor even the 

 least insect. All they saw around them, were fractured rocks, that 

 had undergone fusion, blistered fragments, and heaps of rub- 

 bish, sand and ashes. While contemplating these images of de- 

 struction, they unexpectedly, about five o'clock P. M., arrived at 

 the border of an immense abyss, throwing up a shower of stones, 

 with a noise similar to that produced by the waves of the sea beat- 

 ing against a wall. Natural emotion and surprise obliged them to 

 recede some paces. Their hair stood on end — their shoulders fell — 

 and they felt a sudden nauseating emptiness of the stomach. With- 

 out being able to speak, they could but look at each other, until this 

 sensation of sickness and horror had subsided. They then returned 

 to observe the crater, and examined the barometer, whose mer- 

 curial column measured only 15.63 English inches, while the ther- 

 mometer attached to it was at 39° and the detached one 33° Fah- 

 renheit. They then sat down to contemplate the scene around 

 them, to take notes, and make drawings. 



They observed that most of the stones which were thrown up in 

 the eruptions, fell within the crater, the rest fell over the south side. 

 The dull sound which was constantly heard within increased from 

 time to time, and terminated with an explosion, at which time 

 stones, sand, and ashes were thrown up. Those eruptions were 

 frequent — some stronger than others. From various places in the 



