The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1895-11-21


Il the gullies- In all the gorges that furrow
the hills in every direction ferns grow
j with wonderful lnxuliance, the wood
wardia radicans, with graceful frontis
six ald ei4ht feet long, mingled with
masses VI IVY similar to the 'sEnglish''
variety. among hich scarlet orchids and
other bright flowers bloom.
a few miles OF such travelling. steadily
I ui AND up and suddenly particularly
louelY lidge comes to an end mon tile
YeN bank OF tile tremendous crater, 0
taldeira. whose ga~ning mouth measures
more than two miles straight across. The
vast, ronpa pot has circumference of
slx miles at tAe top gradually decreasing
to a thia q that area at the bottom. and
the sides II H. lined with heath and Java
brushes. are 50 nearly perpendicular that
IL looks like an enormous funnel sunk
/ =, 600 feet into the earth. If it happens
to be free from clouds, the Spectacle IS
! indeed aWe-inspiring. The only entrance
% the pit is down the rocky and tortuous
ped OF a stream passage AS dangerous
~ It IS 0lfflcult. often apparently ending
~ abrupt projections from which YOU
must either leap o. fall. The guide says,
g caninho nae esta bonn (the road is
good fer nothing and tells you Of young
American who lost his life in making the
descent z few years ago; but when YOU
| see dozens pf men and women toiling up
| baretooted, all with great sheaves on
| their head, You determine To venture II.
Down the steep trail you CO. assisted bv
the protesting, but always trustworthy
guide scramblng, sliding, jumping.
| tumbling; often turning angles SO sharp
that you cannot trace the way 4 ward
ahead and ia making the 4 900 feet to the
bottom You are obliged to traverse at least
three times that distance in dizzy zig
Gags. Il takes the best mountaineer more
more than an hour to do it; again and
again meeting peasants staggering mp
wards under heavy loads, you are LOST in
wonder 1T Tile paiiast industry. or depth
ot poverty, which impells them to such
effort for nv small return Their sheaves
are of PUSHES. gathered Ill Tile bottom OF
the crater. Which they VIII .'season' at
home AND llen braid inso mating. u eat-
TN ropes. Wont may buy plenty Of these
rone-eqils m the market, each three yalds
ipn9, ~ patank five CENTS But link
~ the hardship and toll that have gone Ia
make one y theHi-the miles Of weary
walking laIefeatcd through rocky rayines
% The snmnit VI Tic Caldera. he fatiguing
descent INTO tAe pit tile houls If hard
laRai I'LL tAe broilihg sun. tile long climbs
ug aEan unGei the burden I'LL for five
cents when the PUSHES are gathered
they ale lirst tied into small packages,
and then these ale bound together into aa
immense bundle, 50 disposed that a round
place Is left II the middle through which
the bearer thIusts his head.
Arrived tAe bottom, you find the door
Of the crater undulating, slightly DOGGY
ii places, and covered with spongy moss
into which tie feet sink ankle deep at
every step, with occasional dry patches
where mint ana tansy flourish. A dark
tarn occupies the centre-not Of turbid
water, as at the first glance yon fancy.
bat clear as crystal beneath its thick GOV
ering of the interviewer leaves and stems
OF some aquatic plant. Line and plum
met have never sounded the dethps of this
Tartarean lake, but tradition gives it d.
rect communication with the ocean.
few cattle gre near its borders, chow in
the world did they get there?) gulls fit
screaming over, and gold and silver fish
dart among the lily roots. Somebody must
have stocked the pond with the latter
maybe the thrifty Flemings Of former
century because there are no native fish
IN the island, nor snakes, nor reptiles Of
any kind. Close by is the real crater Of
the spot-a miniature volcano several
hundred feet high, with a cavity also in
its centre, the whole covered with a
dense growth of evergreens
The Fayalese peasants, who are by no
means so unimaginative as they appear,
speak POLITICALLY Of the Caldeira as 1.-The
nest of the clouds.'' And truly it is
an apt smile. In the morning the
great basin is completely filled with
clouds, which seem to be shaking ard
pluming themselves after a nights rest.
The great caldron fairly seethes with
them. Higher and higher they rise, until
at last they roll over the brim and pour
down upon the surrounding hills. De
tachments Of them remain on guard all
day. circling around the edge of the abyss,
now lifted high in the air and again fall
ing solidly to the bottom, continually
weaving themselves into thousand fan
tastic shapes. No words can describe the
awful sensation it gives you, when stand
ing at the bottom of the crater, to gaze
upwards and see an ocean Of clouds pour
ing over the edge like second Niagara,
and rolling above you in pillows like those
OF the Atlantic. The terrible walls seem
to close in around you, making escape