Part 2

The “Castano de Cento Cavilli,” or Great Chestnut Tree of 18 Mount Etna

Mount Vesuvius 22

Mount Hecla and the Geysers 29

Mont Blanc and the Glaciers 38

The Peak of Teneriffe 59

Peter Botte’s Mountain 74

Bridge over the Wye 92

Source of the Jumna 109

St. Michael’s Volcano 122

Sabrina Island 125

Grotto of Antiparos 136

The Mammoth Cave 141

Diamond Washing in Brazil 171

Discovery of Silver in Peru 179

Silver Mine at Königsberg, Sweden 185

Gold Washing in California 188

Place where Gold was first discovered in Australia 190

Copper Mine in Cornwall 207

Thin Plates of Coal 213

Great Salt Mine of Cracow 225

Icebergs, or Ice-Islands 236

The Maelstrom 250

Niagara Falls 256

Niagara Falls on the American side 259

Suspension Bridge over Niagara River 265

Falls of Montmorenci 270

Catskill Falls 274

Dropping Well at Knaresborough, England 283

The Emigrant Family 293

Specter of the Brocken 320

Ship refracted in the Air 327

Waterspout on the Ocean 346

Temple of Isis at Pompeii 356

Papyri 361

Earthquake at Lisbon 394

Natural Bridge in Virginia 428

Skeleton of the Siberian Mammoth 456

The Sphinx and Pyramids 492

Entrance to one of the Pyramids of Gizeh 499

Entrance to the Tombs of Sakkara 507

Great Gallery of the Tombs of Sakkara 510

Cleopatra’s Needle 521

The Two Colossi 535

The Nilometer 565

African Birds-nest 568

Tower near Babylon 573

Colossal Winged Bull from Nineveh 584

Jacob’s Well 591

Church of the Holy Sepulcher 595

Mount Tabor 597

The Areopagus 608

Temple of Jupiter Olympius 609

Great Wall of China 615

Porcelain Tower at Nankin 617

Jupiter Pluvius, or the Apennine Jupiter 622

The Leaning Tower at Pisa 624

The Coliseum at Rome 629

Ancient Roman Aqueduct 638

The Arch of Titus 640

St. Peter’s as seen from the Tiber 643

The Eddystone Light-house 648

Stonehenge 653

The First Church in England 661

Strasburg Cathedral 666

The Crystal Palace in New York 697

The Capitol at Washington 712

The Smithsonian Institute 715

The Washington Monument 716

The Bunker-Hill Monument 720

Vergnais’s Herculean Bridge 725

The Britannia Tubular Bridge 728

The High Bridge at Harlem 733

The Boston Reservoir 735

Aqueduct on the Peat Forest Canal 736

Tunnel in Shakspeare’s Cliff 740

The Colossus of Rhodes 742

The Emperor Fountain 747

The Air Balloon 750

Early Navigation 756

The Launch of a Packet-Ship 757

Fulton’s First Steamboat 759

An Ocean Steamer 762

Chinese Junks 766

The Banyan-Tree 769

The Reindeer Sledge 772

The Prairie on Fire 775

The Date-Palm 779

The Bamboo-Tree 782

Continental Money 783

The Signal Telegraph 785

The Electro-Magnetic Telegraph 787

Faust taking First Proof from movable types 789

Franklin’s Printing-Press 790

Hoe’s Eight-Cylinder Power Press 792

The India-Rubber Tree 793

The Old Round Tower at Newport 795

Submarine or Diving Armor 796

Manner of working the Diving-Armor 797

Tree House in Caffraria 799

The Camphor-Tree 801

Tree Temple at Matibo in Piedmont 803

Ant-Hills of the White Ant 805

Huts in Kamtschatka 806

Taking a Whale 807

Landing of the Pilgrims 809

Plymouth Rock 810

Early Settlers of New England going to Church 811

THE

=Wonders of the World.=

MOUNTAINS.

“And lo! the mountains print the distant sky, And o’er their airy tops faint clouds are driven, So softly blending that the cheated eye, Forgets or which is earth, or which is heaven!”—FAY.

“Mountains and all hills—let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.”—DAVID.

Among the _wonders_, or uncommon phenomena of the world, may be classed stupendous _mountains_. For though compared with the entire diameter of the earth, the highest elevations on its surface are no more than the inequalities on the skin of the orange to the orange itself, yet to our eyes they often appear immensely lofty and sublime. Descriptions of such vast and striking objects often fail to excite corresponding ideas; so that however accurate or poetical may be the accounts of this class of the prodigies of nature, no just notions of their vastness can be conveyed, by any written or graphical representation. The magnitude of an object must be seen to be duly conceived; and the mountain-wonders of the world will best be understood and felt by those who have visited Wales, Scotland, Switzerland, or the mountainous regions of America or Asia.

THE ANDES.

Some of the loftiest and most extensive mountains in the world, are the Andes, in South America. These stupendous hills, called by the Spaniards the =Cordilleras=, (from the word _cord_ or _chain_,) =i. e.=, the chains of the Andes, stretch north and south near the western coast, from the isthmus of Darien, through the whole of the continent of South America, to the straits of Magellan. In the north, there are three chains of separate ridges; but in advancing from Popayan toward the south, the three chains unite into a single group, which is continued far beyond the equator. In Equador, near Quito, the more elevated summits of this group are ranged in two rows, (as seen in the cut below,) which form a double crest to the Cordilleras. The extent of the Andes mountains is not less than four thousand three hundred miles, from one end to the other.

“Rocks rich in gems, and mountains big with mines, That on the high equator ridgy rise, Whence many a bursting stream auriferous plays.”—THOMSON.

In this country, the operations of nature appear to have been carried on on a larger scale, and with a bolder hand, than elsewhere; and in consequence, the whole is distinguished by a peculiar magnificence. Even the plain of Quito, which may be considered as the base of the Andes, is more elevated above the sea than the summits of many European mountains. In different places the Andes rise more than one-third higher than the famous peak of Teneriffe, the highest land in the ancient hemisphere. Their cloud-enveloped summits, though exposed to the rays of the sun in the torrid zone, are covered with eternal snows, and below them the storm is seen to burst, and the exploring traveler hears the thunder roll, and sees the lightnings dart beneath his feet. Throughout the whole of the range of these extensive mountains, as far as they have been explored, there is a certain boundary, above which the snow never melts; which boundary, in the torrid zone, has been ascertained to be fourteen thousand, six hundred feet, or nearly three miles above the level of the sea.

The ascent to the plain of Quito, on which stands Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, Pichincha, &c., is thus described by Don Juan de Ulloa:

“The ruggedness of the road from Taraguaga, leading up the mountain, is not easily described. The declivity is so great, in some parts, that the mules can scarcely keep their footing; and, in others, the acclivity is equally difficult. The trouble of sending people before to mend the road, the pain arising from the many falls and bruises, and the being constantly wet to the skin, might be supported; but these inconveniences are augmented by the sight of such frightful precipices and deep abysses, as excite in the mind constant terror. The road, in some places, is so steep, and yet so narrow, that the mules are obliged to slide down without making any use whatever of their feet. On one side of the rider, in this situation, rises an eminence of many hundred yards; and, on the other, is an abyss of equal depth; so that, if he should give the least check to his mule, and destroy the equilibrium, both must inevitably perish.

“Having traveled nine days in this manner, slowly winding along the sides of the mountains, we began to find the whole country covered with a hoar-frost; and a hut, in which we reposed, had ice in it. At length, after a perilous journey of fifteen days, we arrived upon a plain, at the extremity of which stands the city of Quito, the capital of one of the most charming regions in the world. Here, in the center of the torrid zone, the heat is not only very tolerable, but, in some places, the cold is even painful. Here the inhabitants enjoy the temperature and advantages of perpetual spring; the fields being constantly covered with verdure, and enameled with flowers of the most lively colors. But although this beautiful region is more elevated than any other country in the world, and it employs so many days of painful journey in the ascent, it is itself overlooked by tremendous mountains, their sides being covered with snow, while their summits are flaming with volcanoes. These mountains seem piled one upon the other, and to rise, with great boldness, to an astonishing hight. However, at a determined point above the surface of the sea, the congelation is found at the same hight in all the mountains. Those parts which are not subject to a continual frost, have here and there growing upon them a species of rush, resembling the broom, but much softer and more flexible. Toward the extremity of the part where the rush grows, and the cold begins to increase, is found a vegetable with a round bulbous head. Higher still, the earth is bare of vegetation, and seems covered with eternal snow. The most remarkable of the Andes are the mountains of Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, and Pichincha.”

CHIMBORAZO.

This is the most lofty and majestic peak of the Andes, and has a circular summit. It is twenty-two thousand feet, or more than four miles high. On the shores of the ocean, after the long rains of winter, Chimborazo appears like a cloud in the horizon. It detaches itself from the neighboring summits, and raises its lofty head over the whole chain of the Andes. Travelers who have approached the summits of Mont Blanc and Mont Rose, are alone capable of feeling the effect of such vast, majestic, and solemn scenery.

The bulk of Chimborazo is so enormous, that the part which the eye embraces at once, near the limit of the snows, is twenty-two thousand, nine hundred and sixty-eight feet, or four miles and a third in breadth. The extreme rarity of the strata of air across which the summits of the Andes are seen, contributes greatly to the splendor of the snow and the magical effect of its reflection. Under the tropics, at a hight of sixteen thousand, four hundred feet, or upward of three miles, the azure vault of the heavens appears of an indigo tint; while, in so pure and transparent an atmosphere, the outlines of the mountains seem to detach themselves from the sky, and produce an effect at once sublime, awful, and profoundly impressive.

With the exception of the loftiest of the Himalaya, in Asia, Chimborazo is the highest known mountain in the world. Humboldt, Bonpland, and Montufar, were persevering enough to approach within one thousand, six hundred feet of the summit of this mighty king of mountains. Being aided in their ascent by a train of volcanic rocks, destitute of snow, they thus attained the amazing hight of nearly four miles above the level of the sea; and the former of these naturalists is persuaded that they might have reached the highest summit, had it not been for the intervention of a great crevice, or gap, which they were unable to cross. They were, therefore, obliged to descend, after experiencing great inconveniences and many unpleasant sensations. For three or four days, even after their return into the plain, they were not free from sickness, and an uncomfortable feeling, owing, as they suppose, to the vast proportion of oxygen in the atmosphere above. Long before they reached the above surprising hight, they had been abandoned by their guides, the Indians, who had taken alarm and were fearful of their lives. So great was the fall of snow on their return, that they could scarcely recognize each other, and they all suffered dreadfully from the intenseness of the cold.

A great number of Spaniards formerly perished in crossing the vast and dangerous deserts which lie on the declivity of Chimborazo; being now, however, better acquainted with them, such misfortunes seldom occur, especially as very few take this route, unless there be a prospect of calm and serene weather.

COTOPAXI.

This mountain is the loftiest of those volcanoes of the Andes which, at recent epochs, have undergone eruptions. Notwithstanding it lies near the equator, its summits are covered with perpetual snows. The absolute hight of Cotopaxi is eighteen thousand, eight hundred and seventy-six feet, or three miles and a half; consequently it is two thousand, six hundred and twenty-two feet, or half a mile, higher than Vesuvius would be, were that mountain placed on the top of the peak of Teneriffe! Cotopaxi is the most mischievous of the volcanoes in the vicinity of Quito, and its explosions are the most frequent and disastrous. The masses of scoriæ, and the pieces of rock, thrown out of this volcano, cover a surface of several square leagues, and would form, were they heaped together, a prodigious mountain. In 1738, the flames of Cotopaxi rose three thousand feet, or upward of half a mile, above the brink of the crater. In 1744, the roarings of this volcano were heard at the distance of six hundred miles. On the fourth of April, 1768, the quantity of ashes ejected at the mouth of Cotopaxi was so great, that it was dark till three in the afternoon. The explosion which took place in 1803, was preceded by the sudden melting of the snows which covered the mountain. For twenty years before no smoke or vapor, that could be perceived, had issued from the crater; but in a single night the subterraneous fires became so active, that at sunrise the external walls of the cone, heated to a very considerable temperature, appeared naked, and of the dark color which is peculiar to vitrified scoriæ. “At the port of Guyaquil,” observes Humboldt, “fifty-two leagues distant in a straight line from the crater, we heard, day and night, the noise of this volcano, like continued discharges of a battery; and we distinguished these tremendous sounds even on the Pacific ocean.”

The form of Cotopaxi is the most beautiful and regular of the colossal summits of the high Andes. It is a perfect cone, which, covered with a perpetual layer of snow, shines with dazzling splendor at the setting of the sun, and detaches itself in the most picturesque manner from the azure vault above. This covering of snow conceals from the eye of the observer even the smallest inequalities of the soil; no point of rock, no stony mass, penetrating this coat of ice, or breaking the regularity of the figure of the cone.

PICHINCHA.

Though celebrated for its great hight, Pichincha is three thousand, eight hundred and forty-nine feet, or three-fourths of a mile, lower than the perpendicular elevation of Cotopaxi. It was formerly a volcano; but the mouth or crater on one of its sides is now covered with sand or calcined matter, so that at present neither smoke nor ashes issue from it.

When it was ascended by Don George Juan and Don Antonio de Ulloa, for the purpose of their astronomical observations, they found the cold on the top of this mountain extremely intense, the wind very violent, and the fog, or, in other words, the cloud, so thick, that objects at the distance of six or eight paces were scarcely discernible. On the air becoming clear, by the clouds descending nearer the earth, in such a manner as to surround the mountain on all sides to a vast distance, these clouds afforded a lively representation of the sea, in which the top of the mountain seemed to stand, like an island in the center.

“With aspect mild, and elevated eye, Behold him seated on a mount serene, Above the fogs of sense, and passion’s storm: All the black cares and tumults of this life, Like harmless thunders, breaking at his feet.”—YOUNG.

When the clouds descended, the astronomers heard the dreadful noise of tempests, which discharged themselves from them on the adjacent country. They saw the lightning issue from the clouds, and heard the thunder roll far beneath them. While the lower parts were thus involved in tempests of thunder and rain, they enjoyed a delightful serenity; the wind abated, the sky cleared, and the enlivening rays of the sun moderated the severity of the cold. But when the clouds rose, their density rendered respiration difficult: snow and hail fell continually, and the winds returned with such violence, that it was impossible to overcome the fear of being blown down the precipices, or of being buried by the accumulation of ice and snow, or by the enormous fragments of rocks which rolled around them. Every crevice in their hut was stopped, and though the hut was small, was crowded with inhabitants, and several lamps were constantly burning, the cold was so great, that each individual was obliged to have a chafing-dish of coals, and several men were employed every morning in removing the snow which had fallen during the night. Their feet were swollen, and they became so tender and sensible, that walking was attended with extreme pain; their hands also were covered with chilblains, and their lips were so swollen and chapped, that every motion in speaking brought blood.

MOUNT ETNA.

“Now under sulphurous Cuma’s sea-bound coast, And vast Sicilia, lies the shaggy breast Of snowy Etna, nurse of endless frost, The pillared prop of heaven, forever pressed: Forth from whose sulph’rous caverns issuing rise Pure liquid fountains of tempestuous fire, Which vail in ruddy mists the noonday skies, While wrapt in smoke the eddying flames aspire, Or gleaming through the night with hideous roar, Far o’er the redd’ning main huge rocky fragments pour.

“But he, Vulcanian monster, to the clouds The fiercest, hottest inundations throws, While, with the burthen of incumbent woods, And Etna’s gloomy cliffs o’erwhelmed he glows. There on his flinty bed outstretch’d he lies, Whose pointed rock his tossing carcass wounds; There with dismay he strikes beholding eyes, Or frights the distant ear with horrid sounds.”—WEST.

Mount Etna, one of the most majestic of all the volcanoes, which the ancients considered as one of the highest mountains in the world, and on the summit of which they believed that Deucalion and Pyrrha sought refuge, to save themselves from the universal deluge, is situated on the plain of Catania, in Sicily.

Its elevation above the level of the sea has been estimated at ten thousand, nine hundred and sixty-three feet, or upward of two miles. On clear days it is distinctly seen from Valetta, the capital of Malta, a distance of one hundred and fifty miles. It is incomparably the largest burning mountain in Europe. From its sides other mountains arise, which, in different ages, have been ejected in single masses from its enormous crater. The most extensive lavas of Vesuvius do not exceed seven miles in length, while those of Etna extend to fifteen, twenty, and some even to thirty miles. The crater of Etna is seldom less than a mile in circuit, and sometimes is two or three miles; but the circumference of the Vesuvian crater is never more than half a mile, even when widely distended, in its most destructive conflagrations. And, lastly, the earthquakes occasioned by these adjacent volcanoes, their eruptions, their showers of ignited stones, and the destruction and desolation which they create, are severally proportionate to their respective dimensions.