The Stamford American., 1906-10-11
CLIMB FIERY VOLCANO
PARTY OF SCIENTISTS MAKE FERROUS ASCENT IN MEXICO.
Several Are Seorched by Burning Lava-Twelve Reach Rim Of Cra- ter After Being Nearly Over
 come by Deadly Gases.

Guadalajara, Mexico. - Thoroughly exhausted, their hands, feet and legs
 burned by contact with red-hot rocks and lava and suffering as the result of having inhaled sulphurous gases for several hours, 12 delegates to the in- ternational geological congress, have returned here after an ascent of the Colima Volcano. the only continuous ly active volcano in North America The party includes W. Harvey Weed, of Washington, D. c. The Washing ton man reached the crater of the volcano. 13,000 feet above the level of the sea.
 In the last 100 years not more than six men have succeed ed in reaching Colima's crater. On account of the precipitous character of the mountain and the thick covering of sand and ashes the ascent of Colima is regard ed as one of the most dangerous in the world. The deadly gases that issue from the crater and the possi- time make the ascent doubly perilous. The last man to attempt to reach the crater was Dr. Peter H. Goldsmith. of Harvard university. He failed, and announced that il was practically i'm possible to get as far as the crater.
 Thirty-tive geolosists started to make the ascent of the volcano. At a cost of S1, 1,000 the state government built T house especially for their ac- commodation at the foot of the noun tain. The entire 35 climbed as far as the end of the timber line. and there 2S lost courage and turned back. The remaining 12 struggled for six hours to reach the crater. Long poles were used to determine footholds, as great pits of sand and ashes, each of them capable of ingulfing dozens of men, exist along Colima's sides. The climbers were half blinded by smoke and steam and in constant danger from the deadly gases, but they per severed. and finally reached the rim of the crater. At the craters edge they encountered hot rocks and lava, thrown out by an explosion the pre- vious night. and these burned through shoes, leggins and gloves Through fear of suffocation. the geologists re- mained but few minutes at the crater. They were able to reach the timber line before night overlook them. and they camped on the noun tain side until the following morn ing.
 The Colima volcano is 125 miles southwest of this city. in about the same latitude as the City of Mexico, and approximately 75 miles from the nearest point of the Pacific coast. For centuries-no one knows how many-Col1ma has been active, and during the last 800 years, at least, often prolonged. During these pc riods of violence the Mexican volcano becomes the rival of Vesuvius as spectacular performer. The thin line of vapor that issues from. the crater continuously in days of compara- tive quiet, gives way to a great pill lar of black smoke; hot rocks of va rious sizes-some of them giant bowl ders-sand and ashes are thrown into the air for hundreds of feet above the crest of the mountain; flames leap from the crater and lightning plays above it and terrifying subter- ranean rumblings and sharp detona- , tionS are heard for many miles. Often the fall of sand and ashes is so dense as to cause extreme darkness during the daylight hours in the vicinity of the volcano.
 Those who climbed to the crater of Colima are: w. Harvey Weed, Wash 1 ington. D. C.; John E. Wolf, Boston; E. O. Hovey. New York; Rudolf Ruede- 1 mann. Albany. N. Y: H. F. Cleland, l Williamson. Mass; H. F. Reed, Balti- 1 more: Frand D. Adams and J. Austen | Bancroft, Montreal: 4. P. Coleman. | Toronto: George Berg and Rudolf l Stobbe, Berlin. Germany, and Tsu- l manaka Xxi, Tokio, Japan.