The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-12-02
VOLCANO OF COSTA RIGA.
REMAREABEE CRATER NEAR
 CAPITAL OF ISLAND.

1 CAPITAL OF ISLAND.
 Volume of Black Liquid in One Erup-
 tion Rose Two Thousan dFeet Above
 Pool at Bttom, of Crater-Clouds of
 vapOr That Float Above Surface of
 Water.
 About twenty-five miles to the north west of the city of San Jose, the capi- 1 tai of Costa Rica, is the remarkable | volcano of Poas. This is one of the 1 numerous volcanic mountains of the central chain, writes Albert Rudin in ! the Scientific American, and while not the highest among them, is beyond 1 question one of the most interesting, picturesque and easily accessible. The degree of activity of the volcano varies 1 from time to time, but since last April i the frequency and violence of the erup- 1 tions have largely increased, and num- bers of them have been clearly observ- ed in San Jose.
 At an altitude of S,360 feet the trav- eller suddenly and quite unexpectedly reaches the lip of the crater, and with ] an indeinable sensation of awe and wonder finds himself at the very brink of a vast perpendicular-s pit of seemingly recent origin, at the bottom of which lies a motionless pool of yeI- l Jewish water.
 The sense of deadly stiffness and .des- olation is undisturbed by any indica- | tion of life. The almost vertical walls are devoid of even a vestige of plant creation: not a bird wings it's way 1 through the air; the surface of the pool is without ripple. and even the human voice sounds strange and in- congruous.
 i Suddenly the silence is broken by a great and startling underground rumbl- | ing, and a hugh column of a dark col ored liquid is thrown to a vast height l from a spot near the center of the lake. The column ordinarily rises to height varying from 25O to5OO feet. Almost instantly a vast, cloud of vapor sur rounds the column and rises to an in- mense height.
 The crater, which is conical in form. has an extreme altitude of $500 feet above sea level. Its upper diameter is about 3,200 feet. and it's deth about 1000, while the diameter of the lake approximates 1,60O From time to time small columns of vapor curl upward from various points of its surface, and sometimes the frequency of these is 50 great that the entire lake resembles a boiling caldron. The walls of the cra- ter are less steep at the south side, the point at which the traveller has approached 1t, and only from here is the descent to the bottom possible. Even from this point the undertaking is difficult and even hazardous, and should not be attempted without a guide.
 By 8 strange optical illusion, the dis tance to the lake from the rim of the crater appears vastly les than it really is, and a full hour of fairly rapid scrambling is required to make the de- scent The scarcely defined path is at times dangerous. running around bbulders and along overhanging preci~ sgpiees, and frequently offering the poor est kind of foothold because of its cov- ering of loose and slippery volcanic ash. About half way down Is the juro del maeho, a small stream of delicious ly sweet water.
 When the bottom is attained the traveller vii find it to his advantage to *nlaVe about with the exercise of considerable care because numerous concealed holes filled with slimy sub stance, consisting mainly of sulphate of lime, with large excess of sul- phuric acid. This hardens in a few moments when exposed to the air, and consequently, the pits are covered with a slight shell that renders it 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, it will be found that in a 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 present in considerable quantities, and at times the smell becomes almost un- bearable. Sulphur is found in numbers of places and the sand" of the beach is composed 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. Chem ical analysis of the water reveals large