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NARRATIVE OF A 



a light brown colour, was boiling furiously, and rising in 

 bubbles three or four feet high. The steam ascended in a 

 dense white cloud, and spread for a considerable distance 

 round, as I stood for some time on the bank of this natu- 

 ral cauldron, gazing with awe upon its tremendous vortex. 

 The heat was so great on the surface of the ground, near 

 the borders of the lakes, that had our feet not been pro- 

 tected by thick shoes, it could not have been endured. 

 On thrusting a knife into the ground, the blade, when 

 drawn out, after a few seconds, was so hot as to burn the 

 fingers. Our horses, which, according to the custom 

 of the country, were not shod, exhibited such symp- 

 toms of uneasiness, owing to the state of the ground 

 beneath them, or in consequence of the strong smell of the 

 steam, that it was found necessary to leave them tied at 

 some distance from the scene. In some places ,a little 

 column of smoke issued fiercely from a hole in the 

 ground, while in others, the water, in a boiling state, 

 gushed out like a fountain.* The ebullitions of these 

 lakes, or springs, have formed, on the borders of them, a 

 deposit of the finest clay, and of every variety of colours. 

 But it does not appear that the natives have profited by 

 the facility thus afforded them for the manufacture of pot- 

 tery. And although nothing would be more easy than 

 to establish there the finest mineral baths in the world, 

 this object has never occupied their attention. 



* In relation to these lakes, Le Sage's translation of Querubin de la 

 Honda, contains the following passage: " Aupres de la ville de Trinidad 

 (Aguachapa) on voit dansun endroit fort bas, sortir de la terre, sansdiscon- 

 tinuation, une dpaisse et noire fume'e, melee quelquefois de souffre et do 

 tourbillons de feu." 



