1 : ¡'
i ■ • :
r 240 ]
able, we puriued our journey to the
foot of the mountain. We had a tent
pitched here, where we propofed to
pafs the night, to enable us to afcend
the mountain with greater fpirits in the
morning. The weather was extremely
favourable, and we had the fatisfailion
o f feeing whatever we wiilied, the
eruption only excepted.
The mountain is iituated in the
fouthern part of the ifland, about four
miles from the fea-coaft, and is divided
into three points at the top, the higheil
of which is that in the middle, and
is, according to an exacfl obfervatioii
with Ramiden’s barometer, fomewhat
above 5000 feet higher than the fea.
We made ufe o f our horfes, but were
obliged to quit them at the firil opening
from which the fire had burfl. This
was a place furrounded with lofty
glazed walls, and filled with high
glazed cliffs, which I cannot compare
with any thing I ever faw before.
A little higher up we found a great
quantity of grit and ilones, and ftill
farther on another opening, which,
though not deep, however defcended
2 lower
W'l-
]
M M
[ 241 ]
lowet* d o w n th a n tha t o f th e h i g h e f t
p o in t . W e t h o u g h t w e p la in ly^ ob^
f e r v e d e v id e n t m a r k s e f h o t b o i l i n g
Wate r in this p l a c e . ^
N o t fa r f r om t h e n c e the m o u n t a in s
b e g a n to be c o v e r e d w i th f n o w , f ome
Ihial l fjpots e x c e p t e d , w h i c h w e r e b a r e .
W e c o u ld n o t at f irft c l i fc e rn th e c a n f e
o f this d i f f e r e n c e , b u t fb o u f o u n d
t l iat it p r o c e e d e d f r om the v a p o u r s
a r i l i n g t r om the m o u n t a in . A s w e
a i c c n d e d h i g h e r , the fe fpo t s b e c am e
l a r g e r ; a n d a b o u t tw o h u n d r e d y a r d s
f r om the f um m i t w e f o u n d a h o l e o f
a b o u t o n e y a r d a n d a h a l f in d i am e t e r ,
f r om w h i c h fo h o t a f l e am e x h a l e d ,
tha t i t p r e v e n t e d us f r om a ( c e r ta in -
m g the d e g r e e o f h e a t w i t h th e t l ie r -
m om e t e r .
T h e c o ld n o w b e g a n to b e v e r y
in t e n f e , as F a h r e n h e i t ’ s t h e rm om e t e r ,
th a t w a s at 5 4 at the f o o t o f th e
m o u n t a in , fel l to 2 4 . T h e w i n d w a s
al fo b e c om e lb v io l e n t , t h a t w e w e r e
f om e t im e s o b l i g e d to l ie d o w n to a v o id
b e i n g t h r o w n in t o th e m o f t d r e a d f u l
p r e c i p i c e s b y its f u r y .
C l W e
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