THE MOUTH OF HADES
"The Volcanoes" is the name given to a most peculiar and terrifying
region in the lower Colorado Desert. Its character is such as to lead
certain of the Indians who inhabit the desert to believe it to be the
gateway to the land of evil spirits. Indeed, it would seem to be the
very gateway to Hades, and one is reminded, upon visiting the region,
of John Bunyan's description of the "Valley of the Shadow of Death"
through which Christian is forced to pass.
"About the midst of this valley I perceived the mouth of hell to be,"
he writes, "and it stood also hard by the wayside. And ever and anon
the flame and smoke would come out in such abundance, with sparks and
hideous noises."
One can almost imagine that Bunyan wrote those lines from the Colorado
Desert, after viewing the "Volcanoes."
Over an area of more than a mile square are scattered hundreds of
cone-like mounds, from one foot to one hundred feet in diameter and of
various heights, all of which are busily engaged in spitting forth
sulphurous vapors, black ooze, boiling mud and water, and other
volcanic matter. Over the region eternally hang dense clouds of steam
and hot vapors, and strange sounds emanate from this diabolical region.
There are hissings, as of monster serpents; strange and ominous
rumblings which come from the bowels of the earth; sharp explosions,
singly or in multitudinous concert, like the running fire of armies
engaged in battle; moaning noises, as of animals or human beings in
distress; thuds and jars, as of heavy bodies falling,--all these and a
multitude of other unusual and unnatural sounds are not reassuring to
timid hearts.
The region is treeless and herbless. Sulphurous soil and sulphurous air
have proven fatal to vegetable life. Not even the cactus or desert sage
can survive the poisons of the soil. Animal life is equally scarce, and
the very birds of the air avoid the locality.
There is a peculiar sensation experienced upon entering this volcanic
region after hours of travel over the desert in the glare of the sun,
which here ever shines from a cloudless sky. As one approaches the
eruptive cones he passes into a shadow which is almost startling after
the brightness so long experienced. The steam-clouds shut out the sun
from this mile of gruesome region, but the heat from the numerous
craters more than makes up for the absence of the fiery rays of the
sun.
In one portion of the volcanic territory is a body of water a quarter
of a mile long, which is known as Lake Juala or Black Lake. Its waters,
which are extremely warm, are inky-black, and the hands, when dipped
therein, are stained. It is not known what minerals or chemicals are
held in solution. It is probable that the waters are poisonous. It may
be, however, that they have wonderful medicinal properties, and that
they are destined to heal the ailments of humanity. However that may
be, this somber sea is in keeping with the region--a fitting lake for
the suburb of Hades.
Earthquakes are of frequent occurrence in the vicinity of the
"Volcanoes." They are in line of the so-called "earthquake belt," which
extends up and down the coast, California being the most frequently
disturbed of the coast States.
Since 1850, when the record of these disturbances was begun, more than
four hundred shocks have been felt in the State. Some of these have
been slight and others have been severe. The earthquake, Christmas
evening of 1900, destroyed the village of Hemet over against the
western side of the desert and caused the death of six persons. In the
year 1812, the mission of San Juan Capistrano was destroyed by an
earthquake, and half a hundred lives were lost.
Certain changes are taking place in this region. Some portions of the
land are slowly sinking and other points are rising. The same
subterranean fires which keep active the hundreds of miniature
volcanoes heat the waters of the Caliente and Matajala hot springs, and
are doubtless responsible for the frequent shiverings of Mother Earth.
There was a time in the history of the earth--long before man was here
to record the history--when a chain of volcanoes extended from Alaska
on the north to Mexico and beyond, on the south. These monster spouters
left their ineffaceable record upon the continent in the way of vast
beds of lava and numerous craters, which the centuries have not been
able to hide. The region known as the "Volcanoes" may be the remnant
of that mighty volcanic period, or it may be the dawning of a new
eruptive season. It is, in either case, a locality to be shunned.