ir
Avas observed to escape. There Avere so many of
these holes about the place, and the ground seemed
to be so tender, th a t it Avas exceedingly unpleasant,
if not dangerous, to remain long upon it : they are
separated from the mound of the Great Geyser
by a small ravine, the side of Avhich next to the
mud springs Avas composed of argillaceous earth
or bole tinged Av i th a yelloAvish or ochre colour—■
apparently a kind of ferruginous clay. The
sloping descent from the edge of the basin
formed the termination of the opposite side of the
ravine.
This day, the 4th of August, as Avell as the
former one, passed over Avithout any fresh symptoms
of an explosion from the Great Geyser. Annoying
as this Avas in the extreme, Ave had so much set
our minds on an exhibition of its powers, as to
come to a determination not to quit the spot till Ave
had received that gratification, though Ave had very
nearly got to the end of our provisions Avithout the
means of recruiting them. A NorAvegian servant
of Mr. Knudtzon was as anxious as ourseh'es—
indeed, so much so, that he sat up all night—and
fortunately he did so, for about three o’clock in the
morning, Avhen we Avere fast asleep, having been kept
aAvake the greater part of the preceding night by the
rumbling noise under the earth at different periods,
he hastily entered the tent, and said that, from the
incessant noise and the violent rushing of the
steam, he had no doubt an eruption Avas about to
take place. We Avere of course instantly on our
legs; and just as Ave arrived at the spot, a fcAV jets
Avere throAvn up to no great height, and Ave Avere
once more making up our minds to another disappointment,
Avhen suddenly, as if by a violent effort,
the shaft discharged a full column of Avater and
steam, the former mounting in a grand mass to the
height, as Ave estimated it, of between seventy and
eighty feet. 1 must observe, hoAVCA'er, it is but an
estimate, as the rolling volumes of steam generally
enveloped the column of Avater, and accompanied it
to the very highest point, so that it Avas not easy to
get a fair view of it, much less to measure it Avith
any degree of certainty; but I feel pretty confident
that I have not overstated the height. I may here
observe that these rolling clouds, Avhich in common
parlance I have called steam, are not that pure
unmixed steam Avhich is constantly converted into
moisture, and vanishes Avhen it escapes into the
open air, like that Avhich is let off from the boilers
of steam-engines, bnt is here accompanied by a
kind of smoke and spray from the boiling Avater
that require some little time to melt aAvay and
leave the atmosphere clear.
No sooner was the eruption over, and the Avater
had subsided into the shaft, the steam continuino-
to arise, than the birds of Odin made their ap pearance,
and perched themselves on the margin
K