We Reach Mount Sneffels The Reykir

: A Journey To The Centre Of The Earth

Stapi is a town consisting of thirty huts, built on a large plain of

lava, exposed to the rays of the sun, reflected from the volcano. It

stretches its humble tenements along the end of a little fjord,

surrounded by a basaltic wall of the most singular character.



Basalt is a brown rock of igneous origin. It assumes regular forms,

which astonish by their singular appearance. Here we found Nature

proceeding geometrically, and working quite after a human fashion, as if

she had employed the plummet line, the compass and the rule. If

elsewhere she produces grand artistic effects by piling up huge masses

without order or connection if elsewhere we see truncated cones,

imperfect pyramids, with an odd succession of lines; here, as if wishing

to give a lesson in regularity, and preceding the architects of the

early ages, she has erected a severe order of architecture, which

neither the splendors of Babylon nor the marvels of Greece ever

surpassed.



I had often heard of the Giant's Causeway in Ireland, and of Fingal's

Cave in one of the Hebrides, but the grand spectacle of a real basaltic

formation had never yet come before my eyes.



This at Stapi gave us an idea of one in all its wonderful beauty and

grace.



The wall of the fjord, like nearly the whole of the peninsula, consisted

of a series of vertical columns, in height about thirty feet. These

upright pillars of stone, of the finest proportions, supported an

archivault of horizontal columns which formed a kind of half-vaulted

roof above the sea. At certain intervals, and below this natural basin,

the eye was pleased and surprised by the sight of oval openings through

which the outward waves came thundering in volleys of foam. Some banks

of basalt, torn from their fastenings by the fury of the waves, lay

scattered on the ground like the ruins of an ancient temple ruins

eternally young, over which the storms of ages swept without producing

any perceptible effect!



This was the last stage of our journey. Hans had brought us along with

fidelity and intelligence, and I began to feel somewhat more comfortable

when I reflected that he was to accompany us still farther on our way.



When we halted before the house of the Rector, a small and incommodious

cabin, neither handsome nor more comfortable than those of his

neighbors, I saw a man in the act of shoeing a horse, a hammer in his

hand, and a leathern apron tied round his waist.



"Be happy," said the eider-down hunter, using his national salutation in

his own language.



"God dag good day!" replied the former, in excellent Danish.



"Kyrkoherde," cried Hans, turning round and introducing him to my uncle.



"The Rector," repeated the worthy Professor; "it appears, my dear Harry,

that this worthy man is the Rector, and is not above doing his own

work."



During the speaking of these words the guide intimated to the Kyrkoherde

what was the true state of the case. The good man, ceasing from his

occupation, gave a kind of halloo, upon which a tall woman, almost a

giantess, came out of the hut. She was at least six feet high, which in

that region is something considerable.



My first impression was one of horror. I thought she had come to give us

the Icelandic kiss. I had, however, nothing to fear, for she did not

even show much inclination to receive us into her house.



The room devoted to strangers appeared to me to be by far the worst in

the presbytery; it was narrow, dirty and offensive. There was, however,

no choice about the matter. The Rector had no notion of practicing the

usual cordial and antique hospitality. Far from it. Before the day was

over, I found we had to deal with a blacksmith, a fisherman, a hunter, a

carpenter, anything but a clergyman. It must be said in his favor that

we had caught him on a weekday; probably he appeared to greater

advantage on the Sunday.



These poor priests receive from the Danish Government a most

ridiculously inadequate salary, and collect one quarter of the tithe of

their parish not more than sixty marks current, or about L3 10s.

sterling. Hence the necessity of working to live. In truth, we soon

found that our host did not count civility among the cardinal virtues.



My uncle soon became aware of the kind of man he had to deal with.

Instead of a worthy and learned scholar, he found a dull ill-mannered

peasant. He therefore resolved to start on his great expedition as soon

as possible. He did not care about fatigue, and resolved to spend a few

days in the mountains.



The preparations for our departure were made the very next day after our

arrival at Stapi; Hans now hired three Icelanders to take the place of

the horses which could no longer carry our luggage. When, however,

these worthy islanders had reached the bottom of the crater, they were

to go back and leave us to ourselves. This point was settled before they

would agree to start.



On this occasion, my uncle partly confided in Hans, the eider-duck

hunter, and gave him to understand that it was his intention to continue

his exploration of the volcano to the last possible limits.



Hans listened calmly, and then nodded his head. To go there, or

elsewhere, to bury himself in the bowels of the earth, or to travel over

its summits, was all the same to him! As for me, amused and occupied by

the incidents of travel, I had begun to forget the inevitable future;

but now I was once more destined to realize the actual state of affairs.

What was to be done? Run away? But if I really had intended to leave

Professor Hardwigg to his fate, it should have been at Hamburg and not

at the foot of Sneffels.



One idea, above all others, began to trouble me: a very terrible idea,

and one calculated to shake the nerves of a man even less sensitive than

myself.



"Let us consider the matter," I said to myself; "we are going to ascend

the Sneffels mountain. Well and good. We are about to pay a visit to the

very bottom of the crater. Good, still. Others have done it and did not

perish from that course.



"That, however, is not the whole matter to be considered. If a road does

really present itself by which to descend into the dark and

subterraneous bowels of Mother Earth, if this thrice unhappy Saknussemm

has really told the truth, we shall be most certainly lost in the midst

of the labyrinth of subterraneous galleries of the volcano. Now, we have

no evidence to prove that Sneffels is really extinct. What proof have we

that an eruption is not shortly about to take place? Because the monster

has slept soundly since 1219, does it follow that he is never to wake?



"If he does wake what is to become of us?"



These were questions worth thinking about, and upon them I reflected

long and deeply. I could not lie down in search of sleep without

dreaming of eruptions. The more I thought, the more I objected to be

reduced to the state of dross and ashes.



I could stand it no longer; so I determined at last to submit the whole

case to my uncle, in the most adroit manner possible, and under the form

of some totally irreconcilable hypothesis.



I sought him. I laid before him my fears, and then drew back in order to

let him get his passion over at his ease.



"I have been thinking about the matter," he said, in the quietest tone

in the world.



What did he mean? Was he at last about to listen to the voice of reason?

Did he think of suspending his projects? It was almost too much

happiness to be true.



I however made no remark. In fact, I was only too anxious not to

interrupt him, and allowed him to reflect at his leisure. After some

moments he spoke out.



"I have been thinking about the matter," he resumed. "Ever since we have

been at Stapi, my mind has been almost solely occupied with the grave

question which has been submitted to me by yourself for nothing would

be unwiser and more inconsistent than to act with imprudence."



"I heartily agree with you, my dear uncle," was my somewhat hopeful

rejoinder.



"It is now six hundred years since Sneffels has spoken, but though now

reduced to a state of utter silence, he may speak again. New volcanic

eruptions are always preceded by perfectly well-known phenomena. I have

closely examined the inhabitants of this region; I have carefully

studied the soil, and I beg to tell you emphatically, my dear Harry,

there will be no eruption at present."



As I listened to his positive affirmations, I was stupefied and could

say nothing.



"I see you doubt my word," said my uncle; "follow me."



I obeyed mechanically.



Leaving the presbytery, the Professor took a road through an opening in

the basaltic rock, which led far away from the sea. We were soon in open

country, if we could give such a name to a place all covered with

volcanic deposits. The whole land seemed crushed under the weight of

enormous stones of trap, of basalt, of granite, of lava, and of all

other volcanic substances.



I could see many spouts of steam rising in the air. These white vapors,

called in the Icelandic language "reykir," come from hot water

fountains, and indicate by their violence the volcanic activity of the

soil. Now the sight of these appeared to justify my apprehension. I was,

therefore, all the more surprised and mortified when my uncle thus

addressed me.



"You see all this smoke, Harry, my boy?"



"Yes, sir."



"Well, as long as you see them thus, you have nothing to fear from the

volcano."



"How can that be?"



"Be careful to remember this," continued the Professor. "At the approach

of an eruption these spouts of vapor redouble their activity to

disappear altogether during the period of volcanic eruption; for the

elastic fluids, no longer having the necessary tension, seek refuge in

the interior of the crater, instead of escaping through the fissures of

the earth. If, then, the steam remains in its normal or habitual state,

if their energy does not increase, and if you add to this, the remark

that the wind is not replaced by heavy atmospheric pressure and dead

calm, you may be quite sure that there is no fear of any immediate

eruption."



"But "



"Enough, my boy. When science has sent forth her fiat it is only to

hear and obey."



I came back to the house quite downcast and disappointed. My uncle had

completely defeated me with his scientific arguments. Nevertheless, I

had still one hope, and that was, when once we were at the bottom of the

crater, that it would be impossible in default of a gallery or tunnel,

to descend any deeper; and this, despite all the learned Saknussemms in

the world.



I passed the whole of the following night with a nightmare on my chest!

and, after unheard-of miseries and tortures, found myself in the very

depths of the earth, from which I was suddenly launched into planetary

space, under the form of an eruptive rock!



Next day, June 23d, Hans calmly awaited us outside the presbytery with

his three companions loaded with provisions, tools, and instruments. Two

iron-shod poles, two guns, and two large game bags, were reserved for my

uncle and myself. Hans, who was a man who never forgot even the minutest

precautions, had added to our baggage a large skin full of water, as an

addition to our gourds. This assured us water for eight days.



It was nine o'clock in the morning when we were quite ready. The rector

and his huge wife or servant, I never knew which, stood at the door to

see us off. They appeared to be about to inflict on us the usual final

kiss of the Icelanders. To our supreme astonishment their adieu took the

shape of a formidable bill, in which they even counted the use of the

pastoral house, really and truly the most abominable and dirty place I

ever was in. The worthy couple cheated and robbed us like a Swiss

innkeeper, and made us feel, by the sum we had to pay, the splendors of

their hospitality.



My uncle, however, paid without bargaining. A man who had made up his

mind to undertake a voyage into the Interior of the Earth, is not the

man to haggle over a few miserable rix-dollars.



This important matter settled, Hans gave the signal for departure, and

some few moments later we had left Stapi.