Voyage au centre de la terre. English Page 18

  CHAPTER XV.

  SNAEFELL AT LAST

  Snaefell is 5,000 feet high. Its double cone forms the limit of atrachytic belt which stands out distinctly in the mountain system ofthe island. From our starting point we could see the two peaks boldlyprojected against the dark grey sky; I could see an enormous cap ofsnow coming low down upon the giant's brow.

  We walked in single file, headed by the hunter, who ascended bynarrow tracks, where two could not have gone abreast. There wastherefore no room for conversation.

  After we had passed the basaltic wall of the fiord of Stapi we passedover a vegetable fibrous peat bog, left from the ancient vegetationof this peninsula. The vast quantity of this unworked fuel would besufficient to warm the whole population of Iceland for a century;this vast turbary measured in certain ravines had in many places adepth of seventy feet, and presented layers of carbonized remains ofvegetation alternating with thinner layers of tufaceous pumice.

  As a true nephew of the Professor Liedenbrock, and in spite of mydismal prospects, I could not help observing with interest themineralogical curiosities which lay about me as in a vast museum, andI constructed for myself a complete geological account of Iceland.

  This most curious island has evidently been projected from the bottomof the sea at a comparatively recent date. Possibly, it may still besubject to gradual elevation. If this is the case, its origin maywell be attributed to subterranean fires. Therefore, in this case,the theory of Sir Humphry Davy, Saknussemm's document, and my uncle'stheories would all go off in smoke. This hypothesis led me to examinewith more attention the appearance of the surface, and I soon arrivedat a conclusion as to the nature of the forces which presided at itsbirth.

  Iceland, which is entirely devoid of alluvial soil, is whollycomposed of volcanic tufa, that is to say, an agglomeration of porousrocks and stones. Before the volcanoes broke out it consisted of traprocks slowly upraised to the level of the sea by the action ofcentral forces. The internal fires had not yet forced their waythrough.

  But at a later period a wide chasm formed diagonally from south-westto north-east, through which was gradually forced out the trachytewhich was to form a mountain chain. No violence accompanied thischange; the matter thrown out was in vast quantities, and the liquidmaterial oozing out from the abysses of the earth slowly spread inextensive plains or in hillocky masses. To this period belong thefelspar, syenites, and porphyries.

  But with the help of this outflow the thickness of the crust of theisland increased materially, and therefore also its powers ofresistance. It may easily be conceived what vast quantities ofelastic gases, what masses of molten matter accumulated beneath itssolid surface whilst no exit was practicable after the cooling of thetrachytic crust. 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 Snaefell.

  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 hunter, never spoke, and ate theirbreakfasts in silence.

  We were now beginning to scale the steep sides of Snaefell. 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 climb them, andthese stony cliffs had to be tacked round, not without greatdifficulty. Then we helped each other with our sticks.

  I must admit that my uncle kept as close to me as he could; he neverlost sight of me, and in many straits his arm furnished me with apowerful support. He himself seemed to possess an instinct forequilibrium, for he never stumbled. The Icelanders, though burdenedwith our loads, climbed with the agility of mountaineers.

  To judge by the distant appearance of the summit of Snaefell, it wouldhave seemed too steep to ascend on our side. Fortunately, after anhour of fatigue and athletic exercises, in the midst of the vastsurface of snow presented by the hollow between the two peaks, a kindof staircase appeared unexpectedly which greatly facilitated ourascent. It was formed by one of those torrents of stones flung up bythe eruptions, called 'sting' by the Icelanders. If this torrent hadnot been arrested in its fall by the formation of the sides of themountain, it would have gone on to the sea and formed more islands.

  Such as it was, it did us good service. The steepness increased, butthese stone steps allowed us to rise with facility, and even withsuch rapidity that, having rested for a moment while my companionscontinued their ascent, I perceived them already reduced by distanceto microscopic dimensions.

  At seven we had ascended the two thousand steps of this grandstaircase, and we had attained a bulge in the mountain, a kind of bedon which rested the cone proper of the crater.

  Three thousand two hundred feet below us stretched the sea. We hadpassed the limit of perpetual snow, which, on account of the moistureof the climate, is at a greater elevation in Iceland than the highlatitude would give reason to suppose. The cold was excessively keen.The wind was blowing violently. I was exhausted. The Professor sawthat my limbs were refusing to perform their office, and in spite ofhis impatience he decided on stopping. He therefore spoke to thehunter, who shook his head, saying:

  "_Ofvanfoer._"

  "It seems we must go higher," said my uncle.

  Then he asked Hans for his reason.

  "_Mistour,_" replied the guide.

  "_Ja Mistour,_" said one of the Icelanders in a tone of alarm.

  "What does that word mean?" I asked uneasily.

  "Look!" said my uncle.

  I looked down upon the plain. An immense column of pulverized pumice,sand and dust was rising with a whirling circular motion like awaterspout; the wind was lashing it on to that side of Snaefell wherewe were holding on; this dense veil, hung across the sun, threw adeep shadow over the mountain. If that huge revolving pillar s
lopeddown, it would involve us in its whirling eddies. This phenomenon,which is not unfrequent when the wind blows from the glaciers, iscalled in Icelandic 'mistour.'

  "_Hastigt! hastigt!_" cried our guide.

  Without knowing Danish I understood at once that we must follow Hansat the top of our speed. He began to circle round the cone of thecrater, but in a diagonal direction so as to facilitate our progress.Presently the dust storm fell upon the mountain, which quivered underthe shock; the loose stones, caught with the irresistible blasts ofwind, flew about in a perfect hail as in an eruption. Happily we wereon the opposite side, and sheltered from all harm. But for theprecaution of our guide, our mangled bodies, torn and pounded intofragments, would have been carried afar like the ruins hurled alongby some unknown meteor.

  Yet Hans did not think it prudent to spend the night upon the sidesof the cone. We continued our zigzag climb. The fifteen hundredremaining feet took us five hours to clear; the circuitous route, thediagonal and the counter marches, must have measured at least threeleagues. I could stand it no longer. I was yielding to the effects ofhunger and cold. The rarefied air scarcely gave play to the action ofmy lungs.

  At last, at eleven in the sunlight night, the summit of Snaefell wasreached, and before going in for shelter into the crater I had timeto observe the midnight sun, at his lowest point, gilding with hispale rays the island that slept at my feet.