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VOLCANO COENONG APIE.

ACCOUNT OF A VISIT TO THE CRATER OF TIM
VOLCANO GOENONO APIE, ONE OF THE ISLANDS
OF BANDA.. BY CAPTAIN VESHEUL.

[From the Neer .Noittkty Mopezher.]

" In the year 1817," says M. V., " being in the
Archipelago of Banda, with his Majesty's ship
Admiral tverisea, of which I had the command,
commissioned by the Government to receive from
the English possession of those islands so celebrated
for their print ipal production, the nutmeg; I formed
the design of visiting the Giteliong A pie, or volcano
situated 111 one of these islands, sod of ascending to
the summit as nearly us posioble. Being fond of
drawing, I promised myself s rich harvest fur my
collection of locban sketches and drawings.
" •I'he little island of Goenong A pie rises in the
form of a cone above the surface of the ocean; two-
thirds are covered wiili cocoa and other trees, the
rest is arid, and bears the traces of lass in &titre:it
directions, which lead to the flattened summit.
The island does not produce any spires, but sonic
of the inhabitants of Banda have ins& in-the lower
part some gardens, the most considerable of which
belongs to Mr. Vetter, officer of the royal marine
its the colonies, and command_ ant of the port of
Banda. Formerly there were also some forts to
protect the western outlet, but wine now exist.

" the sd of April writ* the day I fixed for the
execution of this arduous expedition. I preferred
the night, in order to avoid the excesiove heat of the
sun ; and the wore so, as the full wows favoured
our enterprise.

" Mr. Vetter offered some of his slaves to mire
us as guides, and several officers of the ship Evert-
sen joined our party. Au hour after midnight we
weal un board a bust, and proceeded to the
country-house of Mr. Vetter, whose dwelling, with
several other habitations, had been almost entirely
demolished by the earthquake in October, 1816.
There we put aside our superfluous clothes, and,
carrying bamboo canes, we proceeded to the execu-
tion of our project. Several negroes of our com-
pany carried the necessary refreshments, and the
flags of the Netherland., which we propo,ed to
place on the edge of the critter. The utglit was
magnificent ; 10011 every thing around us was de-
sert, and very often we were enveloped in darkness
by the thick foliage of the trees, shrubs, sod other
plants, so that we were obliged to feel with our
canes, and to climb front rock to rock, in order to
find a practicable path. One of the Indians who
preceded armed with a kind of axe called
klenang, with which he cut away the branches that
impeded our progress, pointed out to us the clefts
in the rocks, produced as it seems by earthquakes.
We were often obliged to go along way about, in
order to avoid the crevices, which oere frequently
very broad and deep, holding, as we proceeded
along their black edges, by the brambles and ferns
which grow there in an abundance, and to au ex-
traordinary height.
" The moat varied scenes, sometimes agreeable,
and sometimes terrible, opened themselves to our
view whenever a beam of the moon penetrated the
darkness which surrounded us. Here trees with
their branches interlaced, there ancient trunks over-
thrown or rooted up, every where enormous steep
rocks, some wholly barren, some covered with a •
kind of verdure; the damp delta in which served
as retreats for monstrous serpents, the sight of
which terrified us whenever we discovered them by

their biwiug. %Ve found here ounterotts majestic
cocoa trees, loaded with fruit. By degrees we ad-
vanced, and as the thickness of the trees, mud the
verdure of them, as well as the rocks, risibly

Molted, we enjoyed moreuott more the lustre's( the

queen of night, and we had ►eason to hope that we
should soon he at the end of our pilgrimage on the
barren part of ilie,mountain. It was about half-
past four in the moruing when we •t last arrived;
and the scene which offered itself to our view amply
repaid our latigues. The whole cone appeared from
the bottom like an extremely smooth masse, formed
of heaps of lava ; the summit was enveloped in
sulphureous cloud., issuing from the crater, gently
agitated by the eight breeze, and their edges silvered
by the beams of the moon. From time to time
flashes or quick eruptions of fire issued from the
interior of the volcano. A nionroful silence pre-
vailed mound us, the ocean was Weeded with the
clouds, and the islands seemed to float beneath our
fret in the dim perspective.
" After having reposed some moments in this
place we undertook the dangerous and fatiguing
task of ascending a slope of 30 degrees, and
climbing over a moose of moving stones. As in
coming lodse they drew otheis along with them, we
were obliged to keep in 3 line abreast of each other,
in order to avoid mutual injury when we were
thrown down by these stones. It often happened,
that when we leaned upon the largest masses, they
loosened, and lamed our hands and feet, At pretty
short totervals we had opportunities of treating upon
knit, g►owt•g between the rocks; then we took
breath, and refreshed ourselves with a beverage
which we bath carried with us.

" Suddenly the horizon cleared up, and we per-

crived the extremity of the ocean, and the clouds
floatins around us like a gilded zoue; it was the
r approach of dawn. At the same time the morninK-
gun wee heard from the breilstit. and the noise re-
petted from one island to another iiiseuribly died
sway, like that of thunder upon the vast sulfate of
the ocean. The dawning light showed us the err-
: dure of the trees below our fret like an even carpet,
varied only by different lints of colour of the roofs
of the houses and the farts Nein' suit Losithoer.
The eon now rose in all its splendour; he isetsisd
majestically from the bosom of the ocean, and his
brilliant ia)s were reflected by the waves of the
cshuest arr. We seemed to float with the steep
Pico on which we tood, hawing above our heads
the Pt leiirst sky. No expression to adequate to
paint so artuinshiing a picture.

" Nleaottinie the sulphuric vapour which issued
from the crater begun to incommode utt, anti our
situation appested the more cinical, as we found
the tactile* at every successive step more and more
loose, and the riiMe they wink in lathing was aug-
mented by that which was braid iit the interior of
the crater, thick sulphuric exhalations issued with

violence from the clefts of the mountain, in the sick*

of which we heard a confused rumbling uozae, resent..
1 bling_l_he roaring of the sea mooted by a tempest.
" We at last arrived at the upper edge of the

.....-,,.,1

'crater, with oar shoes and clothes half burnt, fir,,,
our hands wounded by the sharp lava. The sp.
pearance of the interior of the crater, which is In
the form of it 'funnel, is singularly striking; the
whole surface is covered with a lava of the mart
beautiful yellow colour imaginable, the smoke
issued from a number of channels or tubes of sul-
phur, frequently accompanied by a hollow round.
The crater itself may ha calculated at about .-o,j
feet in diameter, and the buttons is divided into tan
parts. Orr the north side the bottom is not visible,
the edge. are steep, so that their greater' thin Icon*
does not exceed Intr feet. On the south Stile the
buttons is seen covered ..:10.1 an immense qu,totoy
of ruck., which appear to have been thrown too it
by the last eruption, the 'meet of which are visible
in a deep furrow of lava 'errors the whole 11,4.11,01111..
" We went on as fa'r ret the trip bf a pr..k ,},lOl
rises on the northern side; it was there that I.hr:-
tenant tie Tong and myself placed the atalidird .4
the Netherlands. We found there also a cast warp
which had run away from the fain of Mr. Vetter,
situated at the foot of the mountain. It seems
that this bird was suffocated by the aulphareous
atmosphere.

" The wind began to blow from the south, and,
as it drove the thick sulphuric clouds Gout the
entraust of the crater, we had a mind 10 tl3llllllt.
more utterly r part allot interior. For this pa:pose
we kept our handlterchiels tied before our nose, and
mouths, to preserve then, from the exotic gar, and "
descended into the volcano. The sulphur upon
which we walked broke and crackled like frozen
snow, and the bent of the ground obliged ui
to b; a I 'toy •in motion. Sometimes a hollow sound
was heard under our free: the smoke, continually
effervesccht, issued from the, veins of crystalized
sulphur, and escaping with violence, evaporated in
the air. The rays of the sun fallitig on the crust
of sulphur, mixed with a very brillialit saltpetre,
produced a magical effect : but when we arrived at
the erf;e of the second region of the bottom of the
crater, we perceived a thick and boiling vapour.
" This vapour not permit:Mg us to advance, cr
remain any lotiger *herr we were, we turned hack,
and went out of the crater loaded with beautiful
pieces of lava and crystalized sulphur. We were the
more eager to get out, as we feared being suffo-
cated by a change of the wind. Our Indians were
still more afraid to remain than we were; aid it
1111171 be coufr,red that our situation was imminent:y
dangerous, thrice a hew months after we bud visited
this place the south part of the crater, into *loch
we had entered, sunk iu, with all the rocks which
it continued.

" When we had got out of this abyss we rested
for half un hour, and tl►en proceeded to the most
clfficult part of our expedition—this was to de.
scrod. One of our companions was so terrified at
the sight of a declivity of four thousand feet, and
of a slippery and almost perpendicular road which
we had to pass, that his•fear checking his respira-
tion gave us a great deal of trouble, but with the
assistance of the Indians he safely reached the
forestry of the inferior region.
" I found that the best way to desce►►d this cone
covered with lava, was to keep to the places where
the ashes of the lava are the finest, leaning upon a
bamboo cane, and to let myself glide down till
was up to my knees in the ashes, then to extricate
myself and begin the operation again. It was
this manner, which is, however, very fatiguing sod
painful to the feet, that I succeeded in rest:llll,4
the end of the barren part of the mountain. in
such cases great care roust be token at to fall for.
wards, as such a fall might be fatal.
" We were all extremely fatigued and thirsty.
our stock of liquor being exhausted; and proceed-
ing with difficulty from one tree to another, we ar.
rived at length, weary and overcome, at a little
Indian hut, where we laid down upon the grass.
One of our party was unable to utter a single word;
however, the cocoa-pine and a piece of water-melon.
which each of us took, soon restored us, and at
noon we regained the valley of Neira, with our
clothes in tatters, utmost without shoes, and braised
and wretched all over. During all the time of our
expedit►ou our frieude below had observed us with
telescopes.
" The standard which we had placed on the
upper rock was seen for a long time floating in tl•e
air, but at last it disappeared, being cousunted by
the sulphureous vapour."