Nearly the whole
time the surges of the further lake taking a southerly direction,
broke with a tremendous noise on the bold craggy cliffs which are
its southern boundary, throwing their gory spray to a height of
fully forty feet. At times an overhanging crag fell in, creating a
vast splash of fire and increased commotion.
Almost close below us there was an intermittent jet of lava, which
kept cooling round what was possibly a blowhole forming a cone with
an open top, which when we first saw it was about six feet high on
its highest side, and about as many in diameter. Up this cone or
chimney heavy jets of lava were thrown every second or two, and
cooling as they fell over its edge, raised it rapidly before our
eyes. Its fiery interior, and the singular sound with which the
lava was vomited up, were very awful. There was no smoke rising
from the lake, only a faint blue vapour which the wind carried in
the opposite direction. The heat was excessive. We were obliged to
stand the whole time, and the soles of our boots were burned, and my
ear and one side of my face were blistered. Although there was no
smoke from the lake itself, there was an awful region to the
westward, of smoke and sound, and rolling clouds of steam and vapour
whose phenomena it was not safe to investigate, where the blowing
cones are, whose fires last night appeared stationary.
Pages:
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112