crater, he peered into the depths of the dark abyss, and there
beheld the glowing lava boiling as if in a huge caldron. A thick
mist coming on, he unwarily advanced to within a few feet of the
rapid slope descending into the crater, and was within an ace of
toppling over into the fiery gulf beneath. What a pity it would
have been had he fallen in! We should have had no "Personal
Narrative," no "Cosmos."

[Illustration: Pichinca]

There are in this region of South America other two great
volcanoes, named Antisana and Sangay. The former has not been in
action since 1718, but is remarkable for the immense beds of lava
which it has amassed around it during its former eruptions. Sangay,
again, has ever since 1728 been in a state of almost perpetual
activity--in this respect resembling Stromboli, which, however, it
far exceeds in height, its summit being nearly 18,000 feet above
the level of the sea. The eruptions of this mountain are
accompanied by loud explosions, which are heard at great distances,
and they succeed each other with immense rapidity. The fumes
emitted are sometimes gray, sometimes orange; and the matters
ejected are cinders, dross, and spherical masses of stone. These
last are often two feet in diameter, and in strong explosions as
many as sixty of them may be thrown out at a time. They are glowing
at a white heat, and for the most part they fall back into the vent
of the crater. Sometimes, however, they alight on the edge of the
cone--imparting to it a temporary brilliancy; but the mass of the
cone, being composed of loose black cinders, has a most dismal
aspect.