44 
MOUNTAINS. 
■'A'c'U as in Mexico, Pern, and t-ver v other cniintry subje^^J 
to volcanoes, a ground destituie of vegvlable mould, aii'* 
covered with fragments of lavas. 
“ We observed, dm'lng the twilight, a phenoiiienoi' 
which is not unusual on high mountains, but which d'® 
position of die volcano we were .scaling, rendered ver,^ 
striking. A layer of wlfite and fieecy clouds conceaU’” 
from us the sight of the ocean, an.d tiic lower region of tb® 
island, d his layer did not appear above one thousand 
hundred yards high ; the cloiid.s were so uiiil'ormly .spreadj 
and kept so perfect a level, ll)at they wore the appearnnc® 
of a vast plain covered with .viow. The colossal j)yranii“ 
of the Peak, die volcanic .summits of .I.anzerota, of Foria' 
veutura, and the i.sle of Palma, were like rocks amidst tliif 
vast sea of vapours, and their black tints were hi line coi’" 
tost widi the whiteness of the clouds.” 
Jly an astronomical obsei'vation, made at tiie above elev;’.' 
tion at sun-rise, it was ascertained that: the true horizoin 
that is, a part of the sea, was distant one hundred and tliii'T 
nfiles. Our traveller proceeds thus : 
We had yet to scale the steepest part of the mountaiU’ 
the Piton, which forms tlie sumrrtit. ' The slojie of 
small cone, covered with.volcanic aulies, and ftagments 
pumice stone, is so steep, diat it would have been almo^'" 
impossible to reach the top, had we not ascended by 
old current of lava, the wrecks of which have resisted di® 
ravages of time. These wrecks form a wall of scorioi^^ 
rocks, which stretches itself into the midst of the loos® 
ashes. We ascended tlie Piton by giusping tliese hah 
decomposed scoria;, the sharp edges of which remain®* 
often in our hands. We employed nearly half an hour 
scale a hill, the perpendicular height of which does U®^ 
exceed five hundred feet. 
“ When we gained the summit of the Piton, we \vef® 
surprised to find scarcely room enough to seat oui'selves coP" 
veniently. The west wind blew with such violence tb®J 
we could scarcely stand. It was eight in the morning, ao® 
we were frozen with the cold, though the th^moraet®' 
kept a lltde above the freezing point. 
“ The wall, which siwrounds die crater like a parapet, 
so high, that it would be impossible to reach the CaJder®' 
ir on tne eastern side diere were not a breach, wliich seeH** 
