[Note: this transcription was produced by an automatic OCR engine]

LOLOWAY—MALO—THE BANKS ISLANDS 263

of the mountain, and the forest is swampy; but on
the old road we advanced quite rapidly, and soon
found ourselves on the edge of a plateau, from which
two streams fell down in grand cascades, close together,
their silver ribbons gleaming brightly in the dark
woods. One river was milk-white with sulphur pre-
cipitate, the other had red water, probably owing to
iron deposits. The water was warm, and grew still
warmer the farther up we followed the river. Suddenly
we came upon a bare slope, over certain spots of
which steam-clouds hung, while penetrating fumes
irritated one’s eyes and nose. We had come to the
lower margin of the sulphur springs, and the path led
directly across the sulphur rocks. Mounting higher,
we heard the hissing of steam more distinctly, and
soon we were in the midst of numerous hillocks with
bright yellow tops, and steam hissing and whistling
as it shot out of cracks, to condense in the air into
a white cloud. The whole ground seemed furrowed
with channels and crevasses, beneath which one heard
mysterious noises; one’s step sounded hollow, and at
our side ran a dark stream, which carried the hot
sulphur water to the shore. Great boulders lay
about, some of them so balanced that a slight touch
sent them rolling into the depths, where they broke
into atoms. Sometimes we were surrounded by a
thick cloud, until a breeze carried it away, and we
had a clear view over the hot, dark desert, up to the
mountain—top. It was uncanny in the midst of those
viciously hissing hillocks, and I could not blame my
boys for turning green with fear and wishing to go