Chapter 15 - Page 2

Therefore a time would come when the elastic andexplosive forces of the imprisoned gases would upheave this ponderouscover and drive out for themselves openings through tall chimneys.Hence then the volcano would distend and lift up the crust, and thenburst through a crater suddenly formed at the summit or thinnest partof the volcano.

To the eruption succeeded other volcanic phenomena. Through theoutlets now made first escaped the ejected basalt of which the plainwe had just left presented such marvellous specimens. We were movingover grey rocks of dense and massive formation, which in cooling hadformed into hexagonal prisms. Everywhere around us we saw truncatedcones, formerly so many fiery mouths.

After the exhaustion of the basalt, the volcano, the power of whichgrew by the extinction of the lesser craters, supplied an egress tolava, ashes, and scoriae, of which I could see lengthened screesstreaming down the sides of the mountain like flowing hair.

Such was the succession of phenomena which produced Iceland, allarising from the action of internal fire; and to suppose that themass within did not still exist in a state of liquid incandescencewas absurd; and nothing could surpass the absurdity of fancying thatit was possible to reach the earth's centre.

So I felt a little comforted as we advanced to the assault of Snæfell.

The way was growing more and more arduous, the ascent steeper andsteeper; the loose fragments of rock trembled beneath us, and theutmost care was needed to avoid dangerous falls.

Hans went on as quietly as if he were on level ground; sometimes hedisappeared altogether behind the huge blocks, then a shrill whistlewould direct us on our way to him. Sometimes he would halt, pick up afew bits of stone, build them up into a recognisable form, and thusmade landmarks to guide us in our way back. A very wise precaution initself, but, as things turned out, quite useless.

Three hours' fatiguing march had only brought us to the base of themountain. There Hans bid us come to a halt, and a hasty breakfast wasserved out. My uncle swallowed two mouthfuls at a time to get onfaster. But, whether he liked it or not, this was a rest as well as abreakfast hour and he had to wait till it pleased our guide to moveon, which came to pass in an hour. The three Icelanders, just astaciturn as their comrade the hunted, never spoke, and ate theirbreakfasts in silence.

We were now beginning to scale the steep sides of Snæfell. Its snowysummit, by an optical illusion not unfrequent in mountains, seemedclose to us, and yet how many weary hours it took to reach it! Thestones, adhering by no soil or fibrous roots of vegetation, rolledaway from under our feet, and rushed down the precipice below withthe swiftness of an avalanche.

At some places the flanks of the mountain formed an angle with thehorizon of at least 36 degrees; it was impossible to