The Water Evaporated Without Leaving A Trace Of Deposit
On The Handkerchief, And There Was No Crust Round Its Margin.
It
boiled and bubbled with great force.
Three hours more of exhausting toil, which almost knocked up the
horses, brought us to the apparent ridge, and I was delighted to
find that it consisted of a lateral range of tufa cones, which I
estimate as being from 200 to 350, or even 400 feet high. They are
densely covered with trees of considerable age, and a rich deposit
of mould; but their conical form is still admirably defined. An
hour of very severe work, and energetic use of the knife on the
part of the Aino, took me to the top of one of these through a mass
of entangled and gigantic vegetation, and I was amply repaid by
finding a deep, well-defined crateriform cavity of great depth,
with its sides richly clothed with vegetation, closely resembling
some of the old cones in the island of Kauai. This cone is
partially girdled by a stream, which in one place has cut through a
bank of both red and black volcanic ash. All the usual phenomena
of volcanic regions are probably to be met with north of Shiraoi,
and I hope they will at some future time be made the object of
careful investigation.
In spite of the desperate and almost overwhelming fatigue, I have
enjoyed few things more than that "exploring expedition." If the
Japanese have no one to talk to they croon hideous discords to
themselves, and it was a relief to leave Ito behind and get away
with an Aino, who was at once silent, trustworthy, and faithful.
Two bright rivers bubbling over beds of red pebbles run down to
Shiraoi out of the back country, and my directions, which were
translated to the Aino, were to follow up one of these and go into
the mountains in the direction of one I pointed out till I said
"Shiraoi." It was one of those exquisite mornings which are seen
sometimes in the Scotch Highlands before rain, with intense
clearness and visibility, a blue atmosphere, a cloudless sky, blue
summits, heavy dew, and glorious sunshine, and under these
circumstances scenery beautiful in itself became entrancing.
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