Being a fine morning, I determined to ascend the mountain. As several
parties had before gone up, they had formed a kind of path: at least we
endeavoured to trace the same way; but it requires a great deal of nerve
to attempt it. The sides of the mountain are nearly perpendicular; but,
after ascending about two hundred feet, it is there entirely covered
with wood, which renders the footing much more safe; but in order to
get to the wood, the road is so dangerous, that it made me almost
tremble to think of it,--slippery grey rocks, and many of them
unfortunately loose, so that when we took hold, they separated from the
mass, and fell with a horrid rumbling noise. Here and there were a few
patches of grass, the only thing we could depend upon to assist us in
climbing, which must be done with extreme caution, for the least slip or
false step would dash one to atoms on the rocks below. By keeping our
eyes constantly looking upwards, and continuing to haul ourselves up, by
catching firm hold on this grass, after an hour's painful toil we gained
the summit, where we found ourselves on an extended plain, of several
miles expanse, which terminates in the peak, composed of dark grey lava,
bare and frightful to behold. We proceeded towards it, the plain
gradually rising, but the walking was most fatiguing, over strong rank
grass and fern several feet high, with holes concealed under the roots
in such a way, that no possible caution could prevent our occasionally
falling down into one or other of them, and entirely disappearing, which
caused a boisterous laugh amongst the rest; but it frequently happened,
while one was making merry at the expense of another, down sunk the
laugher himself. A death-like stillness prevailed in these high regions,
and, to my ear, our voices had a strange, unnatural echo, and I fancied
our forms appeared gigantic, whilst the air was piercing cold. The
prospect was altogether very sublime, and filled the mind with awe! On
the one side, the boundless horizon, heaped up with clouds of silvery
brightness, contrasted with some of darker hue, enveloping us in their
vapour, and, passing rapidly away, gave us only casual glances of the
landscape; and, on the other hand, the sterile and cindery peak, with
its venerable head, partly capped with clouds, partly revealing great
patches of red cinders, or lava, intermingled with the black rock,
produced a most extraordinary and dismal effect. It seemed as though it
were still actually burning, to heighten the sublimity of the scene. The
huge albatross appeared here to dread no interloper or enemy; for their
young were on the ground completely uncovered, and the old ones were
stalking around them. This bird is the largest of the aquatic tribe; and
its plumage is of a most delicate white, excepting the back and the tops
of its wings, which are grey: they lay but one egg, on the ground, where
they form a kind of nest, by scraping the earth round it. After the
young one is hatched, it has to remain a year before it can fly; it is
entirely white, and covered with a woolly down, which is very beautiful.
As we approached them, they clapped their beaks, with a very quick
motion, which made a great noise. This, and throwing up the contents of
the stomach, are the only means of offence and defence they seem to
possess. The old ones, which are valuable on account of their feathers,
my companions made dreadful havoc amongst, knocking on the head all they
could come up with. These birds are very helpless on the land, the
great length of their wings precluding them from rising up into the air,
unless they can get to a steep declivity. On the level ground they were
completely at our mercy, but very little was shewn them; and in a very
short space of time the plain was strewn with their bodies, one blow on
the head generally killing them instantly. Five months after, many of
the young birds were still sitting on their nests, and had never moved
away from them; they remain there for a year before they can fly, and
during that long period are fed by the mother. They had greatly
increased in size and beauty since my first visit to them. The semblance
of the young bird, as it sits on the nest, is stately and beautiful. The
white down, which is its first covering, giving place gradually to its
natural grey plumage, leaves half the creature covered with down; the
other half is a fine compact coat of feathers, composed of white and
grey; while the head is of a dazzling, silvery white. Their size is
prodigious, one of them proving a tolerable load. Upon skinning them,
on our return, we found they were covered with a fine white fat, which I
was told was excellent for frying, and other culinary purposes; and the
flesh was quite as delicate, and could scarcely be distinguished in
flavour from lamb. Besides our albatross, the dogs caught some small
birds, about the size of our partridge, but their gait was something
like that of the penguin. The male is of a glossy black, with a bright
red hard crest on the top of the head. The hen is brown. They stand
erect, and have long yellow legs, with which they run very fast; their
wings are small and useless for flying, but they are armed with sharp
spurs for defence, and also, I imagine, for assisting them in climbing,
as they are found generally among the rocks. The name they give this
bird here is simply "cock," its only note being a noise very much
resembling the repetition of that word. Its flesh is plump, fat, and
excellent eating.