The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-12-12

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 Suddenly the silence is broken by a great and startling underground rumb- ling. and a huge column of a dark col ored liquid is thrown to a vast height from a spot near the centre of the lake. The column ordinarily rises to a height varying from 25O to 800 feet. Almost instantly a vast cloud of vapor sur rounds the column and rises to an im- mense height.
 The crater, which is conical in form, has an extreme altitude of $500 feet above sea level. Its upper diamenter in about 3.20O feet, and it's depth about I 1000, while the diameter of the lake approximates 1,6OO. From time to time small columns of vapor curl upward form various points of it's surface, and sometimes the frequency of these is so great that the entire lake resembles boiling caIdron. The walls of the crater are less steep at the south side, the point at which the traveller has ap- preached it, and only from her is the descent to the bottom possible. Even from this point the undertaking is diffi- cult and even hazardous and should not be attempted without a guide.
 By a strange optical delusion, the distance to the lake from the rim of the crater appears vastly less than it really is, and full hour of fairly scrambling is required to make the de- scent. The scarcely defined path is at times dangerous running around boul- ders and along overlapping precipices and frequently offering the poorest kind of foothold because of its cover ing of lose and slippery volcanic ash. About half way down is the juro del macho, small stream of deliciously sweet water.
 When the bottom Is attained the traveller will find it, to his advantage to move about with exercise of con- siderable care because of numerous concealed holes filled with a slimy substance, consisting mainly of sul- phate of lime, with a large excess of sulphuric acid. This hardens in few moments when exposed to the air, and consequently the pits are covered with slight shell that renders 1t almost impossible to distinguish between them and solid ground. If a foot goes through this thin crust aside from the resulting inconvenience at the moment, lit will be found that in few days the shoe will be destroyed, as the seams cannot resist the acid action.
 The lake at closer view is found to be covered with clouds of vapor and it is impossible to see for any distance. Among other gases, sulphur dioxide is lpresent in considerable quantities, and at times the smell becomes unbearabie. sulphur is found in numbers of places and the sand" of the beach is coln- posed almost entirely of rounded bits of this substance. At close range the water is grayish in color and it Is so acid that it almost burns the tongue when tasted. Any dark cloth moisten- ed with the liquid instantly becomes red and is ultimately destroyed. Chemical analysis of the water reveals large percentages of sulphurous and sulphuric acids, sulpate of lime and bother substances, and it contains be- sides a considerable deposit of volcanic ash. The temperaturetat ithe shore, while varying considerably, ranges around 115 degrees Fahrenheit
 During his last visit the writer wit messed some of the largest eruptions ever recorded. During one of these the tremendous columns of dark liquid , rose to an estimated height of 1000 feet and was about 300 feet in diameter, The waves produced on the lake by such an outbursts are formidable, and long after the eruption has ceased the roar as they Break against the rocky sides of the crater is plainly heard , from the edge above. Provided care Is taken to select spot beyond reach of the incoming waves there is little danger in viewing ang eruption from below. and the sight iss one that the observer, thrilled with fear and excite ment, will never forget.
 The eruptions do not succeed one another at regular intervals Some times the outburst does not take place for several hours, while at others as many as three or four will occur within an hour. To the writer it ap- pears that the more violent eruptions take place in the early morning, even before sunrise, and that the intensity of the convulsion decreases as the day advances There is popular be- lief that any unusual noise produced in the vicinity of the crater will cause an eruption, but tests with the com bined voices of number of persons, and discharge of firearms, carried out by the writer's party, usually proved futile.
 Considerable difference of opinion has arisen as to the manner in which the volcanic ashes which sometimes fall on the surrounding cone are thrown from the crater. Various ob- iservers believe that there are open- jings on the east side of the giant pit, and that the ashes are elected from these. On the last expedition, the writer's party observed 8 fall of ash after every large eruption, and this seemed to come directly from the puff of steam or vapor A possible explana- ton is that large quantity of the wa- 1ter comes out during an eruption at @ II temperature much above the boiling point, evaporates, and leaves dry ashes which it contained, to be scattered by the wind.
 At a distance of some hundreds of wards from the edge of the crater, land separated from it by small ele- vation, is found natural curiosity in 4Lo Sbaoa of a ronst charming little blu