Volcanic Mountain in St. Vincent’s. 2 $ 
As foon as we could fee, we returned to the ridge we left 
the night before, and began to work with alacrity, as we were 
almoft chilled with cold. I puffied on as fall as poffible, and 
about ten o’clock found the woods began to grow thin. I 
could not fee the top of the mountain, but had a view of fe- 
veral ridges that joined it. From the wind falling, and the 
heat growing intenfe, I thought we mu ft then be under the 
cover of the lurnmit : 1 here found many new plants. About 
eleven A.M. I was overjoyed to have a full view of thefummit 
of the mountain, nearly a mile diftaht from us, and that we 
were nearly out of the woody region. The top feemed to be 
compofed of fix or feven different ridges, very much broken in 
the fides, as if they had buffered great eonvulfions of nature ; 
they were divided by amazing deep ravins, without any water 
in them. I obferved where the ridges meet the edge of a large 
excavation, as it feemed to be, on the higheft part. I imagined 
this might be the mouth of the crater, and directed my courfc 
to a high peak which overlooked it. 1 found here a moft 
beautiful tree which compofed the laft wood. After that I en- 
tered into a thick long grabs, intermixed with fern, which 
branched and ran in every direction. To break it was impof- 
fible, and with great difficulty I could cut it ; fo that in clears 
ingour way through this grabs, eight or ten feet high, there was 
equal difficulty as in the woods, and it feemed to continue 
very near to the top of the mountain. Being now about noon, I 
and the negroes were fo fatigued as hardly to be able to ftand ; 
our thirft very great, to allay which, as much as poffible, we 
chewed the leaves of the Begonia obliqua. Two of the negroes 
returned, and the others faid they would go no farther with 
me, as they muff periffi for want of water, and it would be 
impoffible to get to the bottom before night, and thev muff all 
Yol. LXXV. £ ffie 
