NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE. 
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ancient craters at the summit of the Peak of Ternate, and the ridges forming the old 
borders of these craters and the outer portions of the bottoms of the craters themselves 
are traversed in succession on the way to the terminal modern cone of eruption which 
stands in the inner of the two. The outermost and oldest of the craters is a wild-looking 
place, inhabited by numerous wild pigs and deer, and is covered with a growth of bushes 
and a small tree fern, and three other species of ferns, 1 and with these grow a Club-moss 
{Lycopodium) and a Whortleberry ( Vaccinium). The shrubs apparently belonged to 
only two species, and the flora seemed a very poor one in number of species. The second 
ridge, marking the summit of the inner extinct crater, is about 50 feet higher than the 
outer one. Within this inner crater there is scarcely any vegetation, only a few scattered 
blades of grass. Here a large mass of lava was met with, evidently recently ejected 
from the active crater, and hurled to this distance. The mass had a smooth reddened 
surface, and was deeply split all over by cracks evidently formed by contraction on 
cooling. The terminal cone itself is entirely devoid of vegetation. The cavity of the 
inner extinct crater from which it rises is filled up, except at its margin, by the results 
of later eruptions, hence the base of the terminal cone lies about 60 feet above the 
level of the margin of this crater, and is approached by a gentle ascent. The cone itself 
rises steeply and suddenly, with a slope of 30°, and is about 350 feet in height. The 
guides had hesitated somewhat when we ascended the slope leading out of the first 
extinct crater, and had done their best to persuade us not to go any farther, telling us 
that it was dangerous to proceed. They lagged behind as we approached the terminal 
cone, and as soon as we began to climb it, turned round and ran back as fast as they 
could go. We were told afterwards that they have strong superstitious fears concerning 
the volcano, and believe that if any one climbs the terminal cone, a terrible eruption and 
earthquake are certain to ensue. It appeared as if there might be some real risk in the 
ascent. The cone is not composed of ashes, but of masses of basaltic lava of various sizes; 
all of these on the surface appeared freshly fractured and split, as if quite recently thrown 
out of the crater, and broken up on cooling. At the summit, a slope of 30°, exactly the 
same as that of the outside of the cone, the natural slope, no doubt, of the lava fragments, 
leads down into the crater, from a sharp ridge, along which we walked. A dense smoke 
rose from the interior of the crater, and hid its form and extent entirely from view. The 
wind was easterly (E. by N.), and drove the smoke away from the side of the crater on 
which we were. The smoke is excessively suffocating, and a sudden shift in the wind 
might be fatal to any one who was a short way down within the crater, or even at some 
places on its margin. It would not be easy to get down' it in some places, at all events 
in a hurry. It was only possible to descend about 20 yards into the crater, and even 
then the vapours inhaled were very trying. Steam and acid vapours issued from cracks 
) Gleichenia dichotoma, Pteris incisa, Polypodium plilebiscopum ; J. G. Baker, F.R.S., On the Polynesian Ferns of 
the Challenger Expedition, Journ. Linn. Soc. Lond. (Bot.), vol. xv. pp. 104-113, 1877. 
(NARR. CHALL. EXP. — VOL. I. — 1885.) 
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