East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1862-01-07


ooh, no, master" replied the guide,
with nervous anxiety; edo not do it it
might cost you your life"
"At least / will risk it, il You will
agree TO wait for me-" said ], fully de-
termined OH the venture, even though l
were to 90 without his consent.
al will watt" lie answered, "but re-
member, master, you 60 down against my
advice"
The crater or hollow was about fifty
feet in depth, with gently sloping sides
and using my pointed stick with the
greatest care, / forthwith began the de-
scent, often stopping to try the temper
of the lava with my hand, and finding it
gradually grow warmer as | proceeded,
though not sufficiently so to excite my
alarm. In a short time l reached the
bottom, and stood on the verge of one of
the seams or chasms, which opened far
down into the mountain. 1t was about
four feet in width, zigzag in shape, and
emitted strongly the peculiar odor before
mentioned. A small, trickling stream,
from a melting layer Of ice above, was
running into it, but could only see that
it was lost in the deep darkness below
from which came mp kind of Kissing,
boiling, surging sound, with something
like rumbling shock at light intervals,
and gentle puffs of heated air.
The place, the scene, and withal the
sense of danger connected with it, held
me there by sort of magnetic fascina-
, ton, and / soon found myself strongly
tempted to make fatal plunge into the
! awful abyss. Knowing by experience
that reason is not always able to govern
!, and control the actions in such cases, i
Q forced myself back few feet, but still
5 remained near the opening, deaf to the
f entrcaties of my frightened guide, who
, now began TO implore me to return be-
fore it should be too late. AS the dread
D volcano had not been in action for more
| than thirty years before his birth, | be-
: lieved that he could know no more of the
! danger thar myself, and therefore pre-
h ferred TO act from the dictates of my owl
G feelings rather than his fears; ard as
8 was to pay him well for his services,
d felt but little disposed to be hurried from
Q a place which had cost me SO much time
y money and trouble to visit.
y Giving no heed, therefore, to his earn
c est solicitations, l now resolved to sound
e if possible, the depth Of the chaSm before
Is me, and then proceeded to inspect thu
Is others; and for this purpose | pried OF
from larger one small block of lava
It and advancing to the very edge of tn
|; chasm, dropped it down, and listened t.
o the hollow reverberations, as it wen
| bounding from side to side, long after i
e was lost to the eye. Tho depth was 81
d immense that heard it for more than
g minute, and then it seemed rather to di
D. out from distance than to cease becaus
,e of the block having reached its destina
1 ton. 1t was an awful depth, and fear
r fully impressed me with the terrible; anc
9 as drew back with shudder, gust o
?. hot, sulphurous air rushed and roared up
n ward, followed by o steam-like vapor
is and heavy, hollow sound, as if canno
y had been discharged far down in tn
10 bowels of the earth.
TX This new manifestation of the power
is of Nature fairly startled me into desir
n, for flight, and / had already turned fC
ne the purpose, when suddenly there came
in sort of rumbling crash, and the giount
w shaking, heaving and rolling under M
Ill began to'crumble off into the dread abys
o. j was thrown down, and, on my hand
Ky and knees, praying God for mercy, wa
Is- scrambling over it and upward, to say
lie myself from most horrible fate, whe
two blocks, rolling together, caught m
) feet and legs between them, and withor
actually crushing, held them as in vic
nu Then came another crash and crumbl
10 the lava slid away from behind me, and
was left upon the very verge Of the awf
10 gulf, now widened to some fifteen
~ twenty feet, down into which locke
with horror-strained eyes, only to $,
, darkness and death below, and breatl
10 the almost suffocating vapors that rushe
d. up from that seemingly bottomless pi
+" Oh, the horrors of that awful realization
What pen or tongue can portray them
:, There helpless, but conscious prisone
" suspended over the mouth of black ar
= heated abyss, to be hurled downward
n a r L.