Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-04-24

. MS HALL way ds ne Cdtft1l Dul " isADN III
/ cause OF the disturbance.
Bring that candle | cried. "W hite-
house has gone over the bank"
And from down below us IN the bushes,
a dozen yards or more, like the echo OF
the voice of the dead. came the rather
impatient and emphatic exclamation;
Yes, why don't You bring that candle?
! can't find my hat"
Are you hurtW
"No"
"Wnat are you doing there, then?'
"Hunting for that internal hat. Where's
my norse?'
him 2"
"He's gone down the bank; somewhere
near Catargo by this time, ] suspect. /
took two double somersauits on his back
and then thought ia get OH
The guide went after the horse and
found him trembling with eXcitem eut
with his saddle under his belly and his
bridle half torn off, but still uuiniured.
Mr. Whitehouse clambered up the bank.
ana IL was determined to postpone fur
tner operations until daylight. So we sat
down around a fire and discussed things
until the light began to filter through the
forest. Then the climb was resumed, and
we got out Of the woods Just in time To see
the sun rise out Of what looked like n
rose like an island in a shOreless sea of
clouds. Great banks of fOaming vapOr,
rolling and plungIng in the wind that
always rises with the dawn, as the surf
does on the shoals.
Below us was spread ont all Costa Rica,
and the surf-fringed shore OF two oceans.
SKY, sea and land were one vast rainbow,
mingling tints Of blue and green. Noun
tains seemed 10 hang in the air as the
clouds surrounded them; long lines OF I'M
broken forests stretched away into a mir
age. which seemed to show the earth in
verified; the fields Of sugaTcane, a brill
liant green, looked like strings OF gigantic
emeralds on the earth's bosom, while the
yellow fields of corn, bali harvested, re-
sembled sand hills, rolling and weltering
under the trOpic sun. Here and there
were clusters Of houses, with white
churches rising in their midst, and
streams linking them together like silver
bands.
Far Off on the horizon, which sur
rounded the picture like a circular
frame, 1t was difficult to tell where the
sky and the ocean met, their cOlOrs
blending lmperceptibly. We would not
have known the two seas were there had
not the expectation of view of both the
Atlantic and Pacific from the same point
been one OF the objects of the climb, this
being the only spot in the world from
which both oceans are visible.
We plOughed through ashes almost up
to the horses knees toward the crater OF
the volcano, which yawued on the oppO-
site side of the peak. Following the crest
OF a ridge of pumice stone and ashes,
which had been thrown out in ages past,
and were as regularly piled as II the
hands OF men had dumped them there,
we looked down on one side into a large
gorge 5000 feet deep, to the foot of which
a stone would roll without meeting an
impeachment, and on the other into a basin
formed by the mountain side, and the
heaps Of ashes that lay in a regular win
row around it-a basin about 800 feet
deep and quarter of a mile across from
the top of one bank TO the top of the
other.
The bottom was hOneycombed with
craters. where it looked as if the earth
had broken through in irregular circles.
There were seven or eight these craters,
some of them centuries Old. the last and
largest having opened within the memory
of living men. The older ones We're black
and half filled VITA ashes cast from those
Of later origin, while 1.-THE new One.n as
the guide called il, perhaps a quarter of a
century old, was bOttomless as far as we
could see, and its walls were yellow with
sulphur and white with half-burned lime
stone. We cast huge stones over and
heard them strike the sides of the crater
as they went down INTO an abyss which
man has never measured.
We were glad we went while we were
down there, but were sorry when we tried
to go back, for the walls of the basin are
loose ashes, light and flinty, and our feet
sank into them almost TO our knees. The
ashes were fresh and crisp, and there was
no sight Of vegetation for distance of
1000 feet or more down the outside bank.
The wall Of ashes arose at least 500 and
in some places 900 feet around the crater.
and the guide, who said he mad visited
the place at intervals during the last
thirteen years, said that most of them
had accumulated since the last eruption
six years ago.
There was a very marked odOr of sui
phur IN the crater while we were there.
and the guide, who crawled close to the
edge, reported vapOr coming from the bot
tom, but the rest of us could not perceive
IT. There were many evidences Of recent
discharges, however, one of the most pro-
nOunced being the presence OF flakes Of
sulphur on the ground, which must have
been deposited there since the last rain
fall.
SOME VOLCANIC THEORIZING.
1t is the prevailing theory among local
amateur scientists that the five active
volcanoes OF Costa Rica are connected by
underground passages, and are all chin
neys of the same terrestrial furnace: that
more than one is seldom active, but that
at least one is always in a state Of erup-
ton, rs an escape for gas and vapors from
the subterranean fires; that il is invaria-
bly, the rule for earthquakes Of great force
to follow a suppression Of activity in all
OF them, and sense Of relief ALWAYS pre-
walls when the discharges are heavy and
frequent.
If this place is 10 be often visited, ar
rangements should be made for reaching
the craters, as the climb is not only diff
cult, but exceedingly dangerous. -Four
or i've steps az time exhausted all our
strength, which was weakened by the rare
atmosphere Of that altitude, and when
these steps had to be repeated. for the
ashes would slide down in great banks
when disturbed we We're 50 tired and dis
cOuraged that we wished that we were
children and could sit down and cry.
When the summit was reached we were
glad 70 lie Nat down on our backs in the
ashes aud thank Heaven that we were
ont OF the tolls az last.
The descent from the summit was made
rapidly, Of course, and was interesting
only IN observing the perils we had I'M
consciously passed over i'm the darkness
IL Is said that fools will rush where
angels fear 10 tread, and, looking back
upon a trail whose hidden dangers were
a nfHIU. IL 40. q b..