The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-12-30
AFRICA's ONLY VOLCANO.
The Discovery Made Last Summer by
Count Won Gotten.

New York Sun.
In 1891 when Emin Pasha started
west from Victoria NyanZa on the jour
ney that ended in his violent death he
and his comrade, DR.. Stuhlmann, were
the first white men to see the big noun
tain Mfumbiro. 120 miles from the lake.
which Captain Spoke, many years be-
fore had placed on his map on native
information. They found that Mum
biro was not an isolated cone, but the
most eastern of a hitherto unknown
range of volcanic origin. Their first
purpose was to determine the outlines
of Lake Albert Edward. and they did
not stop TO explore these mountains,
but DIR. Stuhlmann sent home an inter-
esting report of the natives that Virun-
ga, the most western summit of the
chain, was a fire mountain. from whose
top smoke was often seen to issue, and
from which noises were heard like the
believing of cattle.
On Dec 8 cablegram reached
Europe from Count Won Gotten, the
German explorer announcing his arri-
val on the lower Congo after crossing
Africa from east to west. About the
same time "A letter he had written in
central Africa in June last arrived 1t
contained brief, but interesting details
of his visit TO Mount Virunga- There
have been reports of plutonic activity
among the Riff mountains. in north
tiyes have prevented investigation. The
subterranean forces that formed the
great trough and piled up mountains
of lava and ashes east of the great
lakes show by solfataras. hot springs
and other phenomena that they are not
yet entirely spent. But until the dis
covery of Mount Nirunga no active vol
cano was known TO exist in Africa
While still far away Count Won Got
zen saw thin column of smoke ascend
ing from the principal crater. and later
he found that the rim of this orifice is
IL 400 feet above the sea. The volcano.
therefore. is not snow mountain and
is not so tall as its nearest neighbor
on the east, which, according TO Stuhl-
mann, is about l.. 900 feet high. 1T took
Won Gotten several days TO force
passage through the dense forest and I'd
scale the steep mountain side. At last
he stood upon the edge Of the crater and
looked down upon a most interesting
spectacle.
The crater is about a mile in diameter.
and the top of the encircling wall on
which the explorer stood is about $50
feet above the crater floor. The inner
side of the wall was too steep for COM
Portable descent, and in view of what
was going on at the bottom there was
absolutely no temptation to make the
journey.
The yelJow-hued bottom of the crater
floor was as smooth as the surface of a
lake. and the explorer believes he was
looking down upon an expanse of mol
ten lava Above this smooth surface
rose the walls of two orifces. as regu-
larly formed as though they had been
made of masonry. From the more north
ern of the two orifices, which was over
three hundred feet in diameter, small
volume OF smoke was issuing, accom-
panied by a noise that sounded like the
roll of distant thunder. There were un-
mistakable indications that outside Of
this crater another center of eruption
exists on the west side of the mountain.
but the explorer was unable TO push
through the woods to reach it,
For some years a little lake has ap-
peared on the maps some distance south
of the place this volcano has been found
to occupy 1t is Lake Kivu, seen by no
white man until Won Gotten stood on
its shores soon after he had looked
down into the smoking crater. He says
the lake stretched away before him like
a sea- and though ii was clear day,
he could not see its southern shores
He believes the lake is almost as large
as Lake Albert Edward. Its outlet is
supposed TO be the Rusisi river, which
enters the north end Of Lake Tangan-
yika.
1t is too early TO regard the large
prizes of African discovery as all won
when such interesting and important re-
suits reward research as those attained
by the latest traveller across Africa.