, 1881-08-14
A BOILING LAKE.
Prof. Wards Adventure In New zen.
land Volcano.

4 AoAs stAA &AUstH4uI6 III a NEW zen.
land Volcano.
| Ettea Aera,d ~
Prof. Henry 4. Ward, formerly of tha
! University Of Rochester, n. T.. is writiny
letters touching his travels in New Zealand
some OF which detail singular experiences
| III his lust he says: I" / came from Auckland
BY steamer south for 125 miles along the east
coast to the town Of Talnanga. | hired !,
tWenty-ton cutter and started to visit the 50,
volcano. We sailed all night, and at flav-
break we haul before us a great mountain NJ
black scori:, $50 feet high, from the ton of
which. with much force, went white clonaa
OF vapor to 4 hight of fully 1000 f+pt
Reaching the shore it was not easy travelling
for i'll places the black pebbles Of the beach
were all astir with water boiling up thropeh
thenl-water so hot that a 1uisstep might
scald the foot seriously. At this point the
crater wall has been broken down almost IN
the sea level, and we coul, look fnto rho
great hollow island. The crater is circular a
full, mile IN diameter. and hemnled in by
Wa!ls many hundred feet high, and very pre-
ctp!tous. The crater floor was m uneven
plain OF yolc:.nic ash and scoria, with many
little fllrlaroles or blow holes, through which
HOT sulphur vapors came wheeling out, while
every few -.1ninutes there was beneath our
feet Il smart trembling and 4 low, duh, rolling
roar. The smoke or vapor began to thicker
as we went along and we soon found tha
cause, We were stopped short BY great
lake OF stealnlng water, quite filling this end
0t the crater. and being as we could see when
either side. The water was too hot to com
fiortably bear the hand in it, aud was further
lnsupportabie to either touch or taste by a
strong infusion Of alum and sulphuric acid
which bit painfully at any scratch or sore
upon our skin. On the further border of the
lake, and half around its shore, was row Of
the most violent solfataras which I have
ever seen. They had built for themselves
little plllar-llke cones from ten to thirty feet,
high, and q yard or two in diameter at their :
base, aud through these open chimneys they
were trumpeting steam and roaring SULPHUR
lc gases with a violence that WIS frightful to
contemplate, and such demoniacal screecil-
ing and din as afflicted our ears, even at the
long distance where we stood, We had
never before heard. We dragged
the row-boat along the volcanoes floor and
launched it upon the boiling lake: The
water OF the lake was of a milky Opaque
was i'll l1ost pl;ecs not over ten feet deep.
Lines upon the shore showed that it daily
rose and fell Slightly with the tide Of the sea
outside, IN many spots the water was boil
while still its.heat was much below the boil
laS point of 2l3 Fahrenheit These we're
dangerous places. the. abundant air in the
'ater diminished materially its buoyaucy,
hem. We landed across the lake at one Of
lie Solfataras nearest to the beach and pro-
eeded to deMolisll it with onr oars. 1t was
chimney about two feet in diameter, clay
Without, and within 1t was lined with crystals
+ sulphur, of beautiful straw-yeIlow,
FLASHED with yermilion spots. Pushing in
he top Of this chimney, tile fragments would
rst fall down its throat ami then come fly
y out into the air, with explosions that
ere aImusingly Ikea prolonged stentorian