Mr Scoresby’s Excursion to Jan May ell's Island. 
been covered by the sea to that extent. Coarse pebbles, and 
afterwards large masses of lava, were seen at a little distance 
from the sea ; blocks of burnt clay, and large masses of red 
clay, partly baked, but still in a friable state, occurred about the 
base and sides of the cliff*; and numerous pointed or angular 
rocks of the floetz-trap formation, in the form of hillocks, were 
seen projecting through the sand. These rocks, when broken, 
appeared of a bluish-grey, or blackish-grey colour. Some of 
the most compact contained numerous greenish crystals of augite 
imbedded in them ; others, which were porous, but very hard, 
contained fewer and smaller crystals than the former. This lat- 
ter seems to me to be the same kind of rock as the celebrated 
German millstone rock. 
After leaving the sea shore, where a few common pebbles, 
such as quartz, porphyry, indurated clay of various colours, 
gravel, sand, and other alluvial substances, together with the 
floetz-trap rocks, were seen, I perceived no other minerals but 
such as bore indubitable marks of recent volcanic action^. 
Seeing a steep and peculiar looking mount close by, from which 
the profusion of cinders, earth-slag, burnt clay, scoriae, &c. 
around us, seemed to have been projected, we hastened to climb 
its loose and rugged sides. The steepness of the hill, and the 
looseness of the materials of which its surface was composed, 
made this ascent a most fatiguing undertaking. We sometimes 
slid backwards several paces, by reason of the nodules of lava 
rolling away from under our feet. We met with no minerals in 
our progress but those of the class of lavas, Avhich in many 
places rung beneath our steps like a number of empty metallic 
vessels. 
About the base of the A olcanic rroimt, we met with A^ast 
blocks of a ponderous rock, of a bluish-black colour, containing 
numerous green-coloured crystalline or vitreous substances (the 
olivine of mineralogists) ; about the middle, scoriae, cinders, and 
earth-sla^, having altogether a broAvnish-black appearance, to- 
gether with large lumps of burnt clay, lay in great abundance ; 
towards the top, masses of half-baked red clay of a friable texture, 
containing semi vitrified and. crystallized substances, occurred ; and 
“ I have been informed that an active volcano has been seen in this island 
wxfchio the last fifty years. 
