Captain Tillard's Account of the Volcanic Island of Sabrina.

Approaching, says he, the island of St. Michael's, on Sunday, June 12, 1811, in his Majesty's sloop Sabrina, under my command, we occasionally observed, rising in the horizon, two or three columns of smoke, such as would have been occasioned by an action between two ships, to which cause we universally attributed its origin. This opinion was, however, in a very short time changed, from the smoke increasing and ascending in much larger bodies than could possibly have been produced by such an event; and having heard an account, prior to our sailing from Lisbon, that in the preceding January or February a volcano had burst out within the sea near St. Michael's, we immediately concluded that the smoke we saw proceeded from that cause, and on our anchoring next morning in the road of Ponta del Gada, we found this conjecture correct as to the cause, but not to the time; the eruption of January having totally subsided, and the present one having only burst forth two days prior to our approach, and about three miles distant from the one before alluded to.

Desirous of examining as minutely as possible a contention so extraordinary between two such powerful elements, I set off from the city of Ponta del Gada on the morning of the 14th, in company with Mr. Read, the Consul General of the Azores, and two other gentlemen. After riding about twenty miles across the N.W. end of the island of St. Michael's, we came to the edge of a cliff, from whence the volcano burst suddenly upon our view in the most terrific and awful grandeur. It was only a short mile from the base of the cliff, which was nearly perpendicular, and formed the margin of the sea; the cliff being, as nearly as I could judge, from three to four hundred feet high. To give you an adequate idea of the scene by description is far beyond my powers; but for your satisfaction I shall attempt it.

Imagine an immense body of smoke rising from the sea,

the surface of which was marked by the silvery rippling of the waves, occasioned by the light and steady breezes incidental to those climates in summer. In a quiescent state, it had the appearance of a circular cloud revolving on the water like an horizontal wheel, in various and irregular involutions, expanding itself gradually on the lee side, when suddenly a column of the blackest cinders, ashes, and stones would shoot up in form of a spire at an angle of from ten to twenty degrees from a perpendicular line, the angle of inclination being universally to windward: this was rapidly succeeded by a second, third, and fourth, each acquiring greater velocity, and overtopping the other till they had attained an altitude as much above the level of our eye, as the sea was below it. As the impetus with which the columns were severally propelled, diminished, and their ascending motion had nearly ceased, they broke into various branches resembling a groupe of pines, these again forming themselves into festoons of white feathery smoke in the most fanciful manner imaginable, intermixed with the finest particles of falling ashes, which at one time assumed the appearance of innumerable plumes of black and white ostrich feathers surmounting each other; at another, that of the light wavy branches of a weeping willow.

During these bursts, the most vivid flashes of lightning continually issued from the densest part of the volcano; and the cloud of smoke now ascending to an altitude much above the highest point to which the ashes were projected, rolled off in large masses of fleecy clouds, gradually expanding themselves before the wind in a direction nearly horizontal, and drawing up to them a quantity of water-spouts, which formed a most beautiful and striking addition to the general appearance of the scene.

That part of the sea where the volcano was situated, was upwards of thirty fathoms deep, and at the time of our viewing it the volcano was only four days old. Soon after our arrival on the cliff, a peasant observed he could discern a peak above the water: we looked, but could not see it; however, in less than half an hour it was plainly visible, and before we quitted the place, which was about three hours from the time of our arrival, a complete crater

was formed above the water, not less than twenty feet high on the side where the greatest quantity of ashes fell; the diameter of the crater being apparently about four or five hundred feet.

The great eruptions were generally attended with a noise like the continued firing of cannon and musquetry intermixed, as also with slight shocks of earthquakes, several of which having been felt by my companions, but none by myself, I had become half sceptical, and thought their opinion rose merely from the force of imagination; but while we were sitting within five or six yards of the edge of the cliff, partaking of a slight repast which had been brought with us, and were all busily engaged, one of the most magnificent bursts took place which we had yet witnessed, accompanied by a very severe shock of an earthquake. The instantaneous and involuntary movement of each was to spring upon his feet, and I said, "This admits of no doubt." The words had scarce passed my lips, before we observed a large portion of the face of the cliff, about fifty yards on our left, falling, which it did with a violent crash. So soon as our first consternation had a little subsided, we removed about ten or a dozen yards further from the edge of the cliff, and finished our dinner.

On the succeeding day, June 15th, having the consul and some other friends on board, I weighed, and proceeded with the ship towards the volcano, with the intention of witnessing a night view; but in this expectation we were greatly disappointed, from the wind freshening and the weather becoming thick and hazy, and also from the volcano itself being clearly more quiescent than it was the preceding day. It seldom emitted any lightning, but occasionally as much flame as may be seen to issue from the top of a glass-house or foundery chimney.

On passing directly under the great cloud of smoke, about three or four miles distant from the volcano, the decks of the ship were covered with fine black ashes, which fell intermixed with small rain. We returned the next morning, and late on the evening of the same day I took my leave of St. Michael's to complete my cruize.

Returning again towards St. Michael's on the 4th

of July, I was obliged, by the state of the wind, to pass with the ship very close to the island, which was now completely formed by the volcano, being nearly the height of Matlock High Tor, about eighty yards above the sea. At this time it was perfectly tranquil; which circumstance determined me to land, and explore it more narrowly.

I left the ship in one of the boats, accompanied by some of the officers. As we approached, we perceived that it was still smoking in many parts, and upon our reaching the island, found the surf on the beach very high. Rowing round the lee side, with some little difficulty, by the aid of an oar, as a pole, I jumped on shore, and was followed by the other officers. We found a narrow beach of black ashes, from which the side of the island rose in general too steep to admit of our ascending; and where we could have climbed up, the mass of water was much too hot to allow our proceeding more than a few yards in the ascent.

The declivity below the surface of the sea was equally steep, having seven fathoms water scarce the boat's length from the shore, and at the distance of twenty or thirty yards we sounded twenty-five fathoms.

From walking round it in about twelve minutes, I should judge that it was something less than a mile in circumference; but the most extraordinary part was the crater, the mouth of which, on the side facing St. Michael's, was nearly level with the sea. It was filled with water, at that time boiling, and was emptying itself into the sea by a small stream about six yards over, and by which I should suppose it was continually filled again at high water. This stream, close to the edge of the sea, was so hot, as only to admit the finger to be dipped suddenly in, and taken out again immediately.

It appeared evident, by the formation of this part of the island, that the sea had, during the eruptions, broke into the crater in two places, as the east side of the small stream was bounded by a precipice, a cliff between twenty and thirty feet high forming a peninsula of about the same dimensions in width, and from fifty to sixty feet long, connected with the

other part of the island by a narrow ridge of cinders and lava, as an isthmus of from forty to fifty feet in length, from which the crater rose in the form of an amphitheatre.

This cliff, at two or three miles distance from the island, had the appearance of a work of art resembling a small fort or block-house. The top of this we were determined, if possible, to attain; but the difficulty we had to encounter in doing so was considerable; the only way to attempt it was up the side of the isthmus, which was so steep that the only mode by which we could effect it, was by fixing the end of an oar at the base, with the assistance of which we forced ourselves up in nearly a backward direction.

Having reached the summit of the isthmus, we found another difficulty, for it was impossible to walk upon it, as the descent on the other side was immediate, and as steep as the one we had ascended; but by throwing our legs across it, as would be done on the ridge of a house, and moving burselves forward by our hands, we at length reached that part of it where it gradually widened itself and formed the summit of the cliff, which we found to have a perfectly flat surface, of the dimensions before stated.

Judging this to be the most conspicuous situation, we here planted the Union, and left a bottle sealed up containing a small account of the origin of the island, and of our having landed upon it, and naming it Sabrina Island.

Within the crater I found the complete skeleton of a guard fish, the bones of which being perfectly burnt, fell to pieces upon attempting to take them up; and by the account of the inhabitants on the coast of St. Michael's, great numbers of fish had been destroyed during the early part of the eruption, as large quantities, probably suffocated or poisoned, were occasionally found drifted into the small inlets or bays.

The island, like other volcanic productions, is composed principally of porous substances, and generally burnt to complete cinders, with occasional masses of a stone, which I should suppose to be a mixture of iron and lime stone.

SECTION V.

MIXED PHENOMENA.

New Island formed in the Bay of Bengal.

20. A new island has been lately formed in the upper part of the Bay of Bengal, by a rapid accre