Jorullo--Great Monument--Jorullo's Estate--Interruption to his
Quiet--His Estate Swells--Swallows Two Rivers--Throws up
Ovens--Becomes a Burning Mountain--Popocatepetl--Spanish
Ascents--Orizaba --Muller's Ascent--Morne-Garou--Pelée---La
Soufriere
What a fortunate man was Mr. Jorullo! Old Cheops, king of Egypt,
spent vast sums of money, many long years, and the labour of
myriads of his subjects, in erecting the Great Pyramid as a
monument to his memory. But Mr. Jorullo, without his having to lay
down a single Mexican dollar, and without any labour, either of his
own or of his servants, had a magnificent monument raised to his
memory in a single night. Jorullo's monument, too, is far bigger
than the pyramid of Cheops--being nearly four times the height, and
occupying a much larger extent of ground. Whether it will last as
long as the pyramid has done, time only can show.
You would doubtless like to know how this great monument was
reared. Here is the story:--Don Pedro di Jorullo was a Mexican
gentleman who lived about the middle of the last century. He was a
landed proprietor--the owner of a nice little farm of great
fertility, situated to the westward of the city of Mexico, and
about ninety miles from the coast of the Pacific Ocean. The ground
was well watered by artificial means, and produced abundant crops
of indigo and sugar-cane. Thus Mr. Jorullo was a very thriving
well-to-do sort of man.
[Illustration: Jorullo]
This gentleman's prosperity continued without interruption till the
month of June 1759, when, to the great alarm of his servants
dwelling on the estate, strange underground rumblings were heard,
accompanied by frequent shakings of the ground. These continued for
nearly two months; but at the end of that time all became quiet
again, and Mr. Jorullo's servants slept in fancied security. On the
night of the 28th of September, however, their slumbers were
suddenly broken by a return of the horrible underground
rumblings--thundering more loudly than before. The next night, these
subterranean thunders became so loud, that the Indian servants
started from their beds, and fled in terror to the mountains in the
neighbourhood. Gazing thence, after day had dawned, they beheld to
their astonishment that a tract of ground from three to four square
miles in extent, with their master's farm in the middle of it, had
been upheaved in the shape of an inflated bladder. At the edges
this singular elevation rises only about thirty-nine feet above the
old level of the plain; but so great is the general convexity of
the mound, that towards the centre it swells up to five hundred and
twenty-four feet above the original level.
The Indians affirmed that they saw flames issue from the ground
throughout an extent of more than half a square league, while
fragments of burning rocks were thrown to enormous heights. Thick
clouds of ashes rose into the air, illuminated by glowing fires
beneath; and the surface of the ground seemed to swell into
billows, like those of a tempestuous sea. Into the vast burning
chasms, whence these ejections were thrown, two rivers plunged in
cataracts; but the water only increased the violence of the
eruption. It was thrown into steam with explosive force, and great
quantities of mud and balls of basalt were ejected. On the surface
of the swollen mound there were formed thousands of small cones,
from six to ten feet in height, and sending forth steam to heights
varying from twenty to thirty feet.
Out of a chasm in the midst of these cones, or ovens, as the
natives call them, there rose six large masses, the highest of
which is sixteen hundred feet in height, and constitutes the
volcano of Jorullo. The eruptions of this central volcano continued
till February 1760 with extreme violence--the crater throwing out
large quantities of lava; but in the succeeding years it became
less turbulent in its activity. It still, however, continues to
burn; and the mountain emits from the wide crater at its summit
several jets of vapour. The foregoing woodcut gives a view of this
volcano, and of the little steaming ovens which stud the whole
ground around it, giving it at a distance the appearance of the sea
in a storm. And now confess that Mr. Jorullo's monument is far
grander than the pyramid of Cheops. Surely the loss of his farm was
amply compensated to him, by the perpetuation of his memory and his
name, through the rearing of such a marvellous cenotaph.
For a long time after the first eruption, the ground for a great
distance round the volcano was too hot to be habitable or capable
of cultivation. It is now, however, so much cooled down, that it is
once more covered with vegetation; and even some small portions of
the raised ground containing the ovens have been again brought
under culture.
Besides this volcano, so recent in its origin, Mexico contains
other five--Orizaba, Toluca, Tuxtla, Popocatepetl, and Colima. What
is rather remarkable, these five, together with Jorullo, all lie
nearly in a straight line running east and west. The tracts of
country which these volcanoes have desolated with their lavas are
called by the Mexicans the "Malpays."
The most remarkable of these mountains is Popocatepetl. Although it
has long remained in comparative quiet, it was very active at the
time of the Spanish invasion under Cortés. Of the first approach of
the Spaniards to this volcano, and of the attempts made by some of
them to climb to the top, Mr. Prescott, in his history of the
conquest of Mexico, gives the following graphic account:--
"They were passing between two of the highest mountains on the
North American continent, Popocatepetl, 'the hill that smokes' and
Iztaccihuatl, or 'white woman;' a name suggested, doubtless, by the
bright robe of snow spread over its broad and broken surface. A
puerile superstition of the Indians regarded these celebrated
mountains as gods, and Iztaccihuatl as the wife of her more
formidable neighbour. A tradition of a higher character described
the northern volcano as the abode of the departed spirits of wicked
rulers, whose fiery agonies in their prison-house caused the
fearful bellowings and convulsions in times of eruption. It was the
classic fable of antiquity. These superstitious legends had
invested the mountain with a mysterious horror, that made the
natives shrink from attempting its ascent, which, indeed, was, from
natural causes, a work of incredible difficulty.
"The great _volcan_, as Popocatepetl was called, rose to the
enormous height of 17,852 feet above the level of the sea; more
than 2000 feet above the 'monarch of mountains'--the highest
elevation in Europe. During the present century it has rarely given
evidence of its volcanic origin, and 'the hill that smokes' has
almost forfeited its claim to the appellation. But at the time of
the conquest it was frequently in a state of activity, and raged
with uncommon fury while the Spaniards were at Tlascala; an evil
omen, it was thought, for the natives of Anahuac. Its head,
gathered into a regular cone by the deposit of successive
eruptions, wore the usual form of volcanic mountains, when not
disturbed by the falling in of the crater. Soaring towards the
skies, with its silver sheet of everlasting snow, it was seen far
and wide over the broad plains of Mexico and Puebla; the first
object which the morning sun greeted in his rising, the last where
his evening rays were seen to linger, shedding a glorious
effulgence over its head, that contrasted strikingly with the
ruinous waste of sand and lava immediately below, and the deep
fringe of funereal pines that shrouded its base.
"The mysterious terrors which hung over the spot. and the wild love
of adventure, made some of the Spanish cavaliers desirous to
attempt the ascent, which the natives declared no man could
accomplish and live. Cortés encouraged them in the enterprise,
willing to show the Indians that no achievement was above the
dauntless daring of his followers. One of his captains,
accordingly, Diego Ordaz, with nine Spaniards, and several
Tlascalans, encouraged by their example, undertook the ascent. It
was attended with more difficulty than had been anticipated.
"The lower region was clothed with a dense forest, so thickly
matted, that in some places it was scarcely possible to penetrate
it. It grew thinner, however, as they advanced, dwindling by
degrees into a straggling stunted vegetation, till, at the height
of somewhat more than 13,000 feet, it faded away altogether. The
Indians, who had held on thus far; intimidated by the strange
subterraneous sounds of the volcano, even then in a state of
combustion, now left them. The track opened on a black surface of
glazed volcanic sand and of lava, the broken fragments of which,
arrested in its boiling progress in a thousand fantastic forms,
opposed continual impediments to their advance. Amidst these, one
huge rock, the Pico del Fraile, a conspicuous object from below,
rose to the perpendicular height of 150 feet, compelling them to
take a wide circuit. They soon came to the limits of perpetual
snow, where new difficulties presented themselves, as the
treacherous ice gave an imperfect footing, and a false step might
precipitate them into the frozen chasms that yawned around. To
increase their distress, respiration in these aerial regions became
so difficult, that every effort was attended with sharp pains in
the head and limbs. Still they pressed on, till, drawing nearer the
crater, such volumes of smoke, sparks, and cinders were belched
forth from its burning entrails, and driven down the sides of the
mountain, as nearly suffocated and blinded them. It was too much
even for their hardy frames to endure, and, however reluctantly,
they were compelled to abandon the attempt on the eve of its
completion. They brought back some huge icicles--a curious sight in
those tropical regions--as a trophy of their achievement, which,
however imperfect, was sufficient to strike the minds of the
natives with wonder, by showing that with the Spaniards the most
appalling and mysterious perils were only as pastimes. The
undertaking was eminently characteristic of the bold spirit of the
cavalier of that day, who, not content with the dangers that lay in
his path, seemed to court them from the mere Quixotic love of
adventure. A report of the affair was transmitted to the Emperor
Charles V.; and the family of Ordaz was allowed to commemorate the
exploit by assuming a burning mountain on their escutcheon.
"The general was not satisfied with the result. Two years after he
sent up another party, under Francisco Montano, a cavalier of
determined resolution. The object was to obtain sulphur to assist
in making gunpowder for the army. The mountain was quiet at the
time, and the expedition was attended with better success. The
Spaniards, five in-number, climbed to the very edge of the crater,
which presented an irregular ellipse at its mouth, more than a
league in circumference. Its depth might be from 800 to 1000 feet.
A lurid flame burned gloomily at the bottom, sending up a
sulphureous steam, which, cooling as it rose, was precipitated on
the sides of the cavity. The party cast lots, and it fell on
Montano himself to descend in a basket into this hideous abyss,
into which he was lowered by his companions to the depth of 400
feet! This was repeated several times, till the adventurous
cavalier had collected a sufficient quantity of sulphur for the
wants of the army."
The more tranquil state of the volcano in modern times having
rendered the summit no longer so difficult of access as it was in
those days, the ascent has been several times achieved--twice in
1827, and again in 1833 and 1834. The crater is now a large oval
basin with precipitous walls, composed of beds of lava, of which
some are black, others of a pale rose tint. At the bottom of the
crater, which is nearly flat, are several conical vents, whence are
continually issuing vapours of variable colour, red, yellow, or
white. The beds of sulphur deposited in this crater are worked for
economical purposes. Two snowy peaks tower above its walls.
Not less magnificent in its proportions is the volcano of Orizaba,
which is nearly of the same height as Popocatepetl. It was very
active about the middle of the sixteenth century, having had
several great eruptions between 1545 and 1560; but since then it
has sunk into comparative repose. This mountain was ascended by
Baron Muller in 1856. A first attempt proved unsuccessful; but by
passing a night in a grotto near the limit of perpetual snow, he
was able on the following day, after a toilsome ascent, to reach
the edge of the crater--not, however, till near sunset. His
experiences, and the scene which was presented to his wondering
gaze, he describes in the following terms:--
"I have achieved my purpose, and joy banishes all my griefs, but
only for a moment; suddenly I fell to the ground, and a stream of
blood gushed from my mouth.
"On recovering, I found myself still close to the crater, and I
then summoned all my strength to gaze and observe as much as
possible. My pen cannot describe either the aspect of those
regions, or the impressions they produced on me. Here seemed to be
the gate of the nether world, enclosing darkness and horror. What
terrible power must have been required to raise and shiver such
enormous masses, to melt them and pile them up like towers, at the
very moment of their cooling and acquiring their actual forms!
"A yellow crust of sulphur coats in several places the internal
walls, and from the bottom rise several volcanic cones. The soil of
the crater, so far as I could see, was covered with snow,
consequently not at all warm. The Indians however affirmed that, at
several points, a hot air issues from crevices in the rocks.
Although I could not verify their statement, it seemed to me
probable; for I have often observed similar phenomena in
Popocatepetl.
"My original intention of passing the night on the crater had for
overpowering reasons become impracticable. The twilight which, in
this latitude, as every one knows, is extremely short, having
already begun, it was necessary to prepare for our return. The two
Indians rolled together the straw mats which they had brought, and
bent them in front so as to form a sort of sledge. We sat down upon
these, and stretching out our legs, allowed ourselves to glide down
on this vehicle. The rapidity with which we were precipitated
increased to such a degree, that our descent was rather like being
shot through the air, than any other mode of locomotion. In a few
minutes we dashed over a space which it had taken us five hours to
climb."
There are several of the West Indian islands of volcanic origin;
and three of them--St. Vincent, Martinique, and Guadaloupe--contain
active volcanoes. The most remarkable is the volcano of Morne-Garou,
in St. Vincent, the eruptions from which have been
particularly violent. In 1812 the ashes which it threw out were so
great in quantity, and projected to so vast a height, that they
were carried to a distance of two hundred miles in the teeth of the
trade-wind. From Mount Pelée, in Martinique, there was an eruption
in August 1851. La Soufriere, the volcano in Guadaloupe, is said to
have been cleft in twain during an earthquake. Its activity has
long been in a subdued state; but it is remarkable for its deposits
of sulphur.