The National tribune., 1902-08-14

and Santa Misericordia were completely
destroyed.
ATTEMPTS TO REACH THE FIERY CRATER
| Those familiar with the difficulties oil
ascending MayOn will await with inter
est the report of the two soldiers who are
said to have recently succeeded in reach
/ ing its crater. Two Franciscan friais IN
toJ2, to alfay the super s,tious dread of
| the natives for this volcano attempted
its ascent. One never returned: but the
other. despite the sutfocating gases went
50 far us TO impress the Indians with the
belief that he possessed supernatural
| power, and he made many converts His
terrible experience, however, caused an
illness which resulted in his death within
| the year.
a medal was struck by Spanish So
ciety. Amigos del Pals" Sept. 4, 1873.
commemorative of the ascent of Mayon
by Don Antonio SiguenZa; but as he never
gave an account of its summit or crater
it appeared doubtful whether he actually
reached the top.
Two young Scotchmen Patton and
Stewart. appear to have succeeded 1S5S)
in getting to the crater. but rs they were
prevented by the noxious gases from re-
| naming more than two or three minutes"
they gave no account of it. They did re-
celve, however, an official certificate from
the Spanish Alcadc that they had been
| 'A'It w Ptsh.S IL lew uDliiFS IDr II.
Herr JaSor, Il German scientist, in Sep
tember, 1859, made the ascent from the
south side, haltIng 'at the edge of Il
broad and deep chasm, from which issued
particularly dense yapor." He says:
| Apparently we were on the brink of
crater. but the thick fumes of the disa-
greeable vapOr made it impossible for us
to guess at the breadth of the fssure.
The absolute top of the volcano consisted
of ridge, nearly 10 feet thick, of solid
masses of stone covered with crust of
lava blcached by the action of escaping
gas. Several irregular blocks of stone ly-
| ing about showed that the heap had once
been little higher. When, now and
again. the gusts of wind made riffs in
the vapor, we perceived at the northern
corner of the plateau several rocky col
umns at least. 100 feet high, which had
hitherto withstood both storm and erup-
tlon. Il afterwards had an opportunity of
observing the summit from Daraga with
n capital telescope on a very clear day,
when | noticed that the northern side of
the crater was considerably higher than
its southern edge"
So it appears that he did not reach the
very top.
DR.. Samuel Kneeland. in 1881. after
looking the mountain over and the diff
culties of its ascent, gave it up He also
tells of fcllow-traveler, an Italian and
| professional mountain climber, who had
done Mauna Loa, Tongaria in New Zea-
land. Mount Etna, Mount Blanc Vesu-
vius. the mountains of Central America.
| Mexico and California. Mount Everest
and Fujiyama, and who, with all his ex-
! perience, was forced to give up Mayon
as insurmountable."
A scientific writer in Mature" July %,
1886. admits that after climbing some
1000 feet he failed to reach the top be-
cause of 'incandescent stones and ashes"
| In Af...s ~.
| is reported to have lost "over 100 feet of
its hight, and Feb. "a. 1890. after a dis
charge Of whte-hot bombs which drove
| the inhabitants miles away. nearly 400
feet of its summit toppled and fell over
Ashes and lava have since replaced these
losses to some extent. %
! MayOn gives the name to an alleged
volcanic SYSTEM including the extinct vol
cano of Colasi. on the north side of San
| Miguel Bay. and following the Carabal-
los Sur and Sierra Madre Mountains. on
the east coast of I.uzon, to the extinct
| volcano of Caua. in the extreme north
east. and the volcanoes of the Islas de
| Bayuyanes, north. In its southern course
this system is supposed from Bulusan to
dip under the sea between Masbate and
| Samar, reapnear in the extinct volcano
! Of CaOlangOjan. Leyte. to make another
dive beneath the waves and. rising in
Mindanao, to include Apo, Matutum. Blu
tulitH. lHt NDlCdliOeS OF tHe
group and Sanguir of the Celebes.
VOLCANO OF TAAL.
| Besides the three active volcanoes men,
toned, Luzon possesses Taal, in Bombon
Lake, which has Il record for destructive
ness quite equal to Mayor. Though but
JG6 feet high, it can be seen in clear
weather from the steamer in passing along
| the west coast.
The earliest recorded eruption seems to
have followed the earthquake of 1910;
| for about that time, according to DIR.
Gaspar's Historic de Fiipinas." Father
| Albuquerque went to the island to exOr
else the evil spirits and allay the horrible
| sounds, ''groaning voices and sad lamenta-
tiOns."
The following year, whilst Fray
Thomas Abresi was parish priest Of Taal,
thunder and plaintive cries were again
heard; therefore the priest had a cross