The Lansing state Republican. [volume] (Lansing, Mich.) 1855-1874, 1861-12-11
I 1ERRlBLE ADvESrURE on a VOL.
CASO.

Mr.. Carl Steinman visited Mount Heela, in Ice.
hand, just before its terrible eruption in lS46,
and the follosing is his narrative Of Q fearful
adventure which happened 70 him upon thar sub
lime and desolate elevation:
Having secured guide set out at an early
hour on the morning following my arrival At
SAlsun, (at the foot of the extinct volcano).
praying for fair weather. good luck and q safe
return.
The scenery, even from the 6rst, WAS % dif-
ferent from any had ever seen outside Of Ice
land a. to be worthy of better description than
l am able 10 give. Suffice il to say that, a. you
push Oh, ascending snmmit after summit on your
way to the great and awful centre OF all. you find
the danger, dreariness and desolation crease
to the most terrible subnlty, till at last
when you do finally stand on the highest
point in this unliving world Of chaos, you in
stinctively pray God. with an icy shudder shiv
erirg through your miserable frame to restore
you TO the life you seem to have left forever be
hipd you.
U, how shall | attempt to convey to any mind
the awful scene OF desolstion that surrounded
me when at last stood more than four thous
and feet above the level Of the sea, on the high
Est peak OF barren Hecla! Six mortal hous-
three on horseback ard three on foot-had
been csmbering upwards from the world below !;
and now. among the very clouds that rolled and
swept around me, / stood in a world OF lava
mountaiac, ice and snow-the lava black a. mid
| night, the snow Of binding whiteness-and not
III all that region tree. q bush. q shrub. blade
or even solitary living thing. excepting self and
guide. Far as the eye could reach, when the
moving clouds permitted me to See, was q sue.
cesson Of black. rugged hills. ,now crowned
peaks. g'istening glaciers and ice bound streams,
INTO WhOAp nifnn To 10 hu f,of hsd
ever penetrsted-a world without plant or life
| the very dssolaiion of desolaiiOn-6led with
yawning chasms, dreadful abysses and midnight
caves which have never echoed anS sound but
| the thunders of heaven, and the groanngs and
| convulsions Of earth So wild and terrible was
the scene that felt strange thrill. like madness
| rush through my shivering frame and quver
about my dizzy brain, and shouted to break
! the stiffness Of death, and heard my voice come
dismallv back, 10 hundred hoes, til. il seemed
to be lost in the bowels of the unproductive
earth.
Wrapping one Of the blankets about me, to
protect mo from the freezing cod. and cautiously
using my pointed stick to try every foot Of GROUND
before me, l now began to move about over
5iocks and heaps, and hills of lava, and across
narrow chasms, and pit falls and patches Of sno.
and ice, my faithful guide keeping nes-. and Of
ten warning me to be careful of my steps In
this manner At length ascended . ridge OF con-
siderable elevation, stumbling my way to the
| top, and now and then displscng fragments OF
lava that rolled crashing down behind mo. A.
yet had seen no signs Of the mouth Of the era
ter, which eighty years before had vomired forth
It's terrific and desolsling stream of melted black
sand but on reaching the summit Of this ridge
looked down into sort OF basin ~ -. s,n,, .nr
lower side, and having sc--. '"ie. " h;ob ,hs
seams or chasms III us ceh'er, "''o "N"
melting snow and ice on its sides we're running
| in small streams. A peculiar aud not very agree
able odor came up with thin, smoky vapor, and
fancied I could hear distant sound, something
between gursle and a rumole. -,
81 suppose this is the original crater, said
turning to the guide.
The fellow was a. pale % death, and every
feature expressed surprise allied to fear
have you never sssh tSsi: spos i6sl5rSS SSe~'"d'"
~ have seen this place before, master" ht
replied, "but never anything like this. When
was here last there was no hollow here, but only
a level plain of ice aud snow"
"Indeed!" exclaimed l, feeling strangely inte
rested, "what then do you infer that there il
about to be q fresh eruption?"
81 fear 90, master: what else can have cause
this changef You see there is heat below
which has melted the thick glscies. and only
few streaks Of ice now remain upon part Of th'
sides, while the centre is gone"
"And the ground here has q slight feeling o
warmth, tool" rtjoined a. bent down and lai
my hand upon it.
"Let us leave, MASTER" returned the fellow
alarm. ! do not like to remain here We ma
, be destroyed at any moment. Let US hasten dow
and report what We have seen"
"Nay," said /, feeling strangely interested an
fascinated by the perOus novelty" IL do no
think there is any immediate danger, for tn
. snow and ice is plain to be seen, have melte
away slowly, and before 60 away never to re
turn, ] should like to venture into this basin an
look down into one Of those chasms"
; "Oh, no. master!" replied the guide, Wit
, nervous anxiety "do not do il! it might col
you your life :"
"At least I will risk il, If you will agree I
wait for me !" said I, fully determined on .h
venture, even though we're to 60 without h
consent.
81 will watt" he answered, "but remembe
: master, you 60 down without my advice"
The crater or hollow was about thirty feet
( depth. With gently sloping sides; and using q
4 pointed stick With the greatest care forthsit
began the descent, often stepping to try Il
temper Of the lava with nv hand and finding
a graOuaiiy grow warm aS prOcee0eO, tuOuk
! not sufficiently 90 to excite any alarm. In sho
|, time ! reached the bottom, and stood on tt
!, verge of one of the seams or chssn, which opel
!. ed tar, far down into the heart of the mountain
II was about four feet in width. zgzag in chap
and emitted strongly the peculiar odor bsfo
r mentioned. A small trickling stream from
melting layer ef ice above, was running into il
, but could only see that it was lost in the dee
!. darkness below from which came up kind
n hissing, boiling, surging sound. with somethi'
\ Ike Q rumblng shock at intervals, and gent
puffs Of heated air.
5. The place, the scene and withal, the sense
a danger connected with il, held me here With
e sort Of magnetic fascination and l coon -four
myself strongly tempted to make . fatal plum,
/" into the awful abyss Knowing by experien
it that reason is not always able to govern q
t, control the action in such cases, forced mys,
back few feet, but still remained near the op
d ming, deaf to the entreaties OF nv frghten
le guide, who had nov began to implore me to Z
( turn before il should be too late. As the dre
a volcano had not been in action for more th
thirty years before his birth, I believed that
b could know no more of the danger than myse
es and therefore preferred to acs from the dictat
of my own feelings rather than bis tears al
" - was to pay him well for his services, 4
4 but little disposed to be hurried from . pl.
}; which had cost me 90 much time, money q
+ trouble to visit.
Giving no heed, therefore, to his earnest sol
irations, nov resolved to sound, if possible. t
n. depth of the chasm before me, and then pI
ps ceed to inspect the others; and for this purpo
le I or;ed o6 from a larger one n ANAL block of