they might not come down upon some one beneath him.
Our ascent now. was extremely slow and difficult, but
we kept on, though sometimes the top of the mountain
seemed as far off as the stars, until we were
within about five hundred feet of the summit, when
we came to a horizontal band of loose, angular fragments
of lava from two to six inches in diameter.
The mountain-side in that place rose at least at an
angle of thirty-five degrees, but to us, in .either looking
up or down, it seemed almost perpendicular.
The band of stones was about two hundred feet wide,
and so loose that, when one was touched, frequently
half a dozen would go rattling down the mountain.
I had got about half-way across this dangerous place,
when the stones on which my feet were placed gave
way. This, of course, threw my whole weight on
my hands, and at once the rocks, which I was holding
with the clinched grasp of death, also gave way,
and I began to slide downward. The natives on
either side of me cried out, but no one dared to
catch me for fear that I should carry him down also.
Among the loose rocks, a few ferns grew up and
spread out their leaves to the sunlight. As I felt
myself going down, I chanced to roll to my right side
and notice one of them, and, quick as a flash of light,
the thought crossed my mind that my only hope was
to seize that fern. This I did with my right hand,
burying my elbow among the loose stones with the
same motion, and that, thanks to a kind Providence,
was sufficient to stop me; if it had broken, in less than a
minute—probably in thirty or forty seconds—I should
have been dashed to pieces on the rough rocks beneath.
The whole certainly occurred in a less
space of time than it takes to read two lines on this
page. I found myself safe—drew a long breath of
relief—thanked God it was well with me and, kicking
away the loose stones with my heels, turned
round and kept on climbing. Above this band of ,
loose stones the surface of the mountain was covered
with a crust formed chiefly of the sulphur washed
down by the rains, which have also formed many
small grooves. Here we made better progress,
though it seemed the next thing to climbing the
side of a brick house; and I thought I should
certainly be eligible to the “ Alpine Club ” if I
ever got down alive. At this moment the natives
above us gave a loud shout, and I supposed of course
that some one had lost his footing and was going
down to certain death. “Look out! Look out!—
Great rocks a/re coming ! ” was the order they gave
u s; and the next instant several small blocks, and
one great flake of lava two feet in diameter, bounded
by us with the speed of lightning. “ Here is am-
other!’1'1 It is coming straight for us, and it will
take out one of our number to a certainty, I thought.
I had stood up in the front of battle when shot and
shell were flying, and men were falling; but now to
see the danger coming, and to feel that I was perfectly
helpless, I must confess, made me shudder, and
I crouched down in the groove where I was, hoping
it might bound over me : and at that instant, a fragment
of lava, a foot square, leaped up from the mountain
and passed directly over the head of a coolie a
few feet to my right, clearing him by not more than