File:A retrospect of forty years, 1825-1865 (1911) (14594169228).jpg

Identifier: retrospectoffort01butl (find matches)
Title: A retrospect of forty years, 1825-1865
Year: 1911 (1910s)
Authors: Butler, William Allen, 1825-1902 Butler, Harriet Allen, d. 1914, ed
Subjects: United States -- Politics and government 1815-1861 New York (State) -- Politics and government 1775-1865
Publisher: New York, C. Scribner's Sons
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

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teady blaze was ac-counted for; there had been an eruption and the new lava,a tremendous stream of fire, twenty or thirty feet broad,was rolling from the foot of the cone (the flames came outat the top, the lava issued from below) across the scorchedplains to the edge of the mountain. To call it a stream offire comes as near the reality as possible, but it must notbe supposed that it flowed as fast as water. It rolledalong very much as a huge mass of mud would do; atthe rate, as I judged by comparing its course with sta-tionary objects, of from two to three miles an hour, insome places faster, in others slower, as the channel wasunobstructed or otherwise. The part of the area in whichwe had stood when previously on the mountain was cov-ered entirely by the stream, and it was almost impossi-ble to approach anywhere near it by reason of the extremeheat. We mounted to one of the ridges, and sat therelooking at the torrent winding its way slowly along, as wewaited for the sun to rise. 160
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A RETROSPECT OF FORTY YEARS In the mean time the views all around were mostsuperb, and I hardly knew where most to fix my eyes,whether on the bright plains and sea and islands below,or on the mountain itself, or on the hills over which the sunwas making his way. After the sunrise, which was fine,though somewhat obscured by clouds, we told the guideto take us across the lava, and said that we would mountto the top of the cone itself; for we had been watchingthe showers and perceived that on one side of the conethe stones never fell. He led the way and we followed.It was like walking over plates of burning iron, thoughwe went far out of the way of the stream. AlthoughI wore cork soles there were some places where my feetcould hardly endure the heat. In every crevice underour path the blaze was perfectly bright and the atmos-phere all around like that in a furnace. It was worsearound the fountain-head of the lava. At the foot ofthe cone there was a vapor bath of sulphur such as Ihope nev

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