The daily gazette., 1875-04-12
d NIGHT IN II CRATER.
Fearful Adventure of I'tOO Ddr-
tnQ AmericaHs.

| GN IhE NOLCANO OP POPO
. CATAPETL-swooNING WHILE DANG
LING OVER A TERRIBLE EABYss-sLEEI
ING IN THE BOWELS OF THE EARTH
From the Clepeland Leader.
succeeded in reaching an altitud
OF nearly $18, 900 feet, and then CAV
out on account of previous illness
from which / had not fully recovered
and was compelled to return to rancl
down on the climber line" Here
awaited the return of the party, whicl
was composed of Col. Grasty. of Vir
ginia, and MIR. Harry Stevens, O
Cleveland, who had accompanied m,
from home.
The gigantic crater Is about on,
mile in diameter and $500 feet deep
and, almost incredible to believe, bu
nevertheless true, there is a settlement
consisting of forty sulphur miners in
the bottom of this awful cavity, theil
only mode of ingress and egress from
this internal region 1eing by the means
of windlass and / 900 feet of rope, by
which they are lowered down to shelf
In the side of the abyss, the rest of the
journey downward being reformed on
foot, over long and steep descent,
The thoughts of Grasty and Stevens
were,now turned to the horrible gulf
that yawned before them, for in it
they must pass the night, which would
fall in the course of two or three hours;
for it was alike impossible to spend it
on the mountain top or to return to
the climber line" An Indian en-
ployee of the sulphur mine had pre-
laI hn
their letter of introduction to Senor
Corchado, the superintendent of the
mine, who immediately repaired to the
summit, where he met them half or
three-quarters of an hour after their
arrival.
Corchado, "The Old Man of the
Mountain" is singular character.
Born in Tiamacas, he has always lived
ON the mountain, or in his present
birthstone homo, where his fatherlived
and died before him. He has been in
timately connected with .Popocatapetl
and everything associated with the
great volcano for over u half century.
lie now lives at the bottom of the era
ter, 4,50O feet below its rocky ruin.
To this strange abode he welcomed
Grasty and Stevens with heartiness and
real hospitality.
ENTERING THE VOLCANO.
They zigzagged down the bleared
and blackened rocks about two hun
dred feet, and came to windless call
ed ''El Malacate." From this was sus.
pended cable about an inch and q
half in diameter and thousand feet
long. From this point they obtained
magnificent view of the crater, whose
walls rose in all directions in frightful
wildness and sublimity. They at once
appreciated its enormous Dimensions.
Nearly a mile below them was the
bottom, almost lost in the darkness
and distance. To illustrate the great
depth it would be no exaggeration to
say that If you were to take Mount
Vesuvins, which is 4,500 feet high,
and turn it upside down and stick it in
the crater, it would about fill it.
This gulf presents ore of the grand
est sights on earth, and has a terrible
fascination for the beholder. The
most stolid are greatly impressed,
while the susceptible are completely
overwhelmed by it awful .sublimity.
Grasty and Stevens peered over the
ledge where stood the windlass, and
saw far, far below them level rock
that formed the top of a long, steep
declivity, at the foot of which was a
black spot. This they were told was
the miners house. They were to de-
scend to the declivIty by the rope,
having accepted Corchado's inyitahon
to spend the night below. Corchado
and Stevens went first. They were
tied to the cable in such manner that
they sat side by side.
For about the distance of 100 feet
the ledge from which they made their
wild leap projected out over the pre-
cipice and consequently they hung free
and dangling in midair. 1t was only
minute or two however, before they
came to place where the cliff bellied
out futher than the windlass rock,
and they were compelled to kick
against its strong front to keep clear
of it. Immense clouds of sulphurous
steam and gases rolled skyward from |
beneath this projection. These nau-
seated Stevens, and set him to vomit- |
ing badly. They were now out of |
sight of the people above them. Stevens
afterward said he felt that he was 90 |
ing straight into the jaws of hell. Cn |
every side of them was gigantic and |
ruin of cracked cliffs and blis.
tered crags,ss Beneath them were pools
of liquid and burning sulphur that
trickled in little rivulets from the gas.
he'd and fire-marked walls of the crater.
Noxious vapors floated through the air
all seemed a horrible nightmare.
They reached the declivity in safety
after fearful journey of ten minutes,
and united themselves. The rope was
then pulled up.
THE FUMES OF AvERNUs.
The Colonel proceeded 10 tie him
self on. Through some mistake the
rope that went round has back slipped
down too low. He dropped from the
orag, still weak from the suffering he
had experienced in the ascent. Every.
hing went well until he got to the
place where the precipice bulges out.
Here disaster took him. A cloud of {
yas-laden vapor enveloped him, and he {
'ainted away with yet seven hundred {
% descend. d.-Corchado and Stevens a
aw him let go of the rope, throw his c