These plants are small and do not cover the surface, and the general appearance of the mountain is bald and barren.

Our progress was slow. We could not climb longer than fifteen minutes without stopping to rest; but we thoroughly enjoyed it, as the party was iolly and the night grand. It happened that this was the season when shooting stars are most numerous, and we amused ourselves try ing to count them. Sometimes as many as half a dozen would be flying across the sky in opposite directions, and the effect was very pretty. We counted several hundred of them.

During our stops for rest, the guide told us something of the history of the mountain. Its fires are always burning, and when they were first kindled no one knows. In historic times many destructive eruptions have occurred at irregular intervals, and native records contain full accounts of them. It seems that when the mountain is ejecting smoke there is little danger of eruption, but when the smoke ceases for long periods it is tolerably sure to erupt. This is due to the accumulation of sulphur, which abounds in the crater.

In Japan and China, certain gods are thought to reside in mountains like Asama, and temples or shrines are erected to their honor on the summit. It is customary for the people to resort to them for worship, and the best-known mountains are visited by large numbers of pilgrims each year. Early in April all the men in the village near Asama go up the mountain, after having carefully purified themselves. Each person takes a bamboo pipe filled with water, with which he occasionally wets his straw sandals to keep them from being burned.

With a recital of such interesting items as these, the guide, who was well informed on all things pertaining to the mountain, entertained us at each stop.

After many alternate climbs and rests, we approached the summit, and the ascent became steeper and more difficult. The path was narrow and the sides of the mountain so precipitous that it made one dizzy to look down. The change in temperature was very perceptible.

It was

quite warm at the foot, and we had taken off our coats, but we soon put them on again; then we buttoned them up closely;

VOL. XXXI-3

next we put on our overcoats, and finally wrapped ourselves up in blankets.

When we were almost exhausted with climbing, the path wound around a high point and emerged on a small plateau. Higher up to the left we saw the sulphur fumes and smoke rising thick and fast, and we knew the crater was near. Another short climb, and we stood on its edge. It was just three o'clock in the morning.

My first sensation was one of awe and fear. There, only a few feet away, seen indistinctly through the gloom and smoke, was an immense opening into the very heart of the mountain. From the vast depths below came a great roaring sound, a weird hissing, sputtering, and cracking; and dense volumes of smoke and sulphurous vapor were rolling up and almost suffocating us. The strong fumes inflamed our nostrils, and made our eyes smart.

We hoped to see a boiling lake of fire and brimstone at the bottom of the crater, -which lake is said to be visible at times, --but the smoke and vapor obscured the view, and we could not see to any great depth. Along the sides of the crater, jets of steam and smoke were issuing from the crevices of the rocks as from steam-pipes, and the ground around was hot. through the darkness, it appeared a terrible yawning gulf, ready to swallow us up.

Seen

Many loose stones were lying about the edge of the crater, and we amused ourselves by rolling them into it and hearing them tumble to the bottom. At first there was a sound as of rapid rolling down a rough decline; then tumbling over cliff after cliff; then a long silent period of suspense; and finally a great splash into a liquid mass far below. As the reverberations gradually died away in the big pit, a heavier cloud of smoke would rise and the sulphur odors increase in intensity. The excitement of rolling these. stones was so great that some members of the party would venture too near the edge, and there was continual remonstrance about it; but the one that remonstrated loudest, caught by the same fascination, would be the very next one to venture beyond prudent limits.

After looking down into the depths and rolling stones until tired, we sought out a spot partially sheltered from the piercing winds, and, wrapping our blankets closely about us, opened our lunch and ate ravenously. Then we chose a suitable spot from which to watch the sun rise, and sat down to wait for it. It was now four o'clock, and already lines of gray had streaked the east. The whole horizon gradually assumed a dim reddish hue, and it seemed likely that the sun would appear at any one of half a dozen places. There was lively guessing as to just where he would come up; but we were not long left in doubt. By degrees the golden light seemed to gather in one place, and the glorious sun appeared in solemn state.

"Night's candles are burnt out, and jocund day

Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops."

A more beautiful sunrise it has never been my lot to witness. The sublimity of God's handiwork was reverently spoken of, and we all felt ourselves drawn nearer to Him who made the mountains and the sun. After feasting the eye on the glories of the sunrise until satisfied, we climbed to a higher point just back of us, to get a view of the landscape.

My halting pen is quite inadequate to convey a fit impression of the scene spread out before us. The glad earth, just wakened from slumber by the sunbeams, was rejoicing in the new day. Look which way we would, as far as eye could reach, mountain was piled on mountain, and the valleys between were filled with white, fleecy clouds, from which the mountain tops protruded. Far away to the south. stood grand Fuji, towering solitary and alone; while off in the west appeared the high Shinano range, its tops white with snow. The mountains nearer us, covered with green trees, were glistening in the morning sun. From our feet miles away down into the plain stretched the great wastes of lava and stone; and to crown all, the terrible crater at our side was continually roaring, hissing, and sputtering, and shooting up its eternal columns of fiery smoke. A scene so beautiful, and at

the same time, so awe-inspiring, we had never beheld.

After seeing the crater by daylight we were able to form a much better idea of it. It was a vast fiery hole, about half a mile in width. The crater is remarkable for its depth. It has baffled all attempts at measurement; but those who have had an opportunity to look down its sides when comparatively little steam was escaping judge it to be several thousand feet deep, and perhaps as deep as the mountain is high above the plain. A large city could. be tumbled into its capacious depths.

Wishing to get a good look at the volcano from all sides, we walked around its full circumference. There is a large crevice on the north side where one can approach pretty near, and from here we could see hundreds of feet down the perpendicular cliffs. The stones were burnt white and red, and here and there the yellow brimstone was oozing from them. As we were gazing into the lurid depths from this point, clouds of sulphurous smoke shot up so strong as to drive us hurriedly back from the edge; but as soon as the winds chased them away, we approached again.

It was from this opening in the crater's side that a vast stream of molten lava issued in the last great eruption, and ran down the mountain-side, instantly destroying several villages and large forests that were in its path. We could trace its course from this point, and see the great desert of ashes and stone still extending far down into the plains-a huge winding serpent, lying against the mountain.

On this side of the crater are ugly fissures of unknown depth; some narrow, others broad and impassable. Hissing volumes of steam and smoke issued from them, whispering of the smoldering fires underneath the thin crust. We found one sheltered little nook that was quite warm, steam issuing into it from all sides. this altitude of 8,500 feet it was very, very cold, and our teeth were chattering; so we climbed down into the little nook and warmed ourselves by this natural radiator.

At

Going around to the south side, we found a considerable plateau, extending back from the crater for a quarter of a

mile, and ending in a mighty precipice. Gazing out on this plateau, on the farthest edge of which stood two of our party, through the steam and smoke rising from the fissures in the intervening space, and then seeing the awful pit of fire behind, Doré's illustrations of Dante's Inferno were vividly recalled to mind. I wonder if that grand and sad Italian saw anything more weird and awful than this in the infernal regions?

What

After going all around the crater, we sat down on its edge, and busied ourselves with thoughts of it. What irresistible force has been here displayed ! fiery messengers of death have emerged from this pit! The last destructive eruption, which occurred in 1783, was one of the most frightful of which we have record in the history of volcanoes. The guide sat down by our side and told us of that last eruption.

For five years the mountain had been closed, and no smoke had issued from it. Little by little it began to burn again, and the smoke gradually increased until it reached such proportions as had never been seen before. The column was more than one hundred and fifty feet wide, and it shot straight up into the sky. This unusual smoking continued for two days, to the terror of the people in the neighboring provinces. Soon the mountain became more active. There was an ejection of lava and stone accompanied by a great noise, and then columns of living fire were thrown far up into the heavens. The whole mountain seemed to be on fire, burning lava and sulphur rolling down to its very foot. The noise was like that of a thousand thunders. Enormous red-hot Enormous red-hot rocks were vomited forth, and flew hissing through the air. The people deserted their villages, and many were killed by falling stones as they fled. In Karuizawa lava was piled to a depth of four feet, and half of the town burned. The waters in the rivers becoming poisoned by ashes and cinders, all the fishes died. All vegetation and timber in parts of two provinces was completely destroyed. At midday it suddenly became so dark the people were compelled to use lanterns.

After the eruption had continued for

two or three days, a great river of mud and lava issued from the crater, on the north side, and flowing down the mountain completely buried the vast forests and all the villages that were in its path. Hundreds of people lost their lives. The mud was intensely hot, and continued boiling and bubbling for twenty-five days.

Forty-two villages were destroyed in this eruption, and a district ten miles square converted into a desert. The natural baths at Kusatsu, thirty miles away, suddenly became so hot that all the bathers perished.

The size of the stones thrown out is quite remarkable. Rocks fifty feet wide and one hundred long were thrown up into the air, and fell like leaves of trees. The largest one on record fell into a river several miles from the mountain, and formed an island. It is two hundred and sixtyfour feet long by one hundred and twenty.

After the guide's recital of these awful happenings the crater possessed an additional interest for us, and we again gave it a good look. Then, with a long, lingering glance at the magnificent panorama spread out before us, we began the descent. One goes down rapidly, and it required just an hour and a half's walking to take us back to the horses.

Tired and hungry, we spread blankets on the ground, threw ourselves upon them, and ate a hearty breakfast. Then mounting our ponies, we set out on our return.

Being in a hurry to get back, and overconfident as to our ability to manage the horses, we ran on ahead of the betto, a rashness for which we paid dearly. Although we tried to stay about ten yards. apart, two of our ponies got together, and had a big fight. We dismounted without ceremony, and finally managed to separate them; but one pony ran away, and we could not catch him until the betto came up. After that we were content to return at a slower pace.

When we finally reached Karuizawa it was with heavy eyes and weary limbs, but no one regretted the weariness or pain. The scenes of the morning were indelibly stamped on our minds, and will remain in memory's picture gallery to brighten many a reminiscent hour in after life.

"D

UMP it in."

"But I say, Kid, is n't that going it a little too strong? Whisky and alcohol's bad enough; but when it comes to brandy and pepper-sauce and-"

"Dump it in. Who's making this punch, anyway?" And Malemute Kid smiled benignantly through the clouds of steam. "By the time you 've been in this country as long as I have, my son, and lived on rabbit-tracks and salmon-belly, you'll learn that Christmas comes only once per annum. And a Christmas without punch is sinking a hole to bedrock with nary a pay-streak."

"Stack up on that fer a high cyard," approved big Jim Belden, who had come down from his claim on Mazy May to spend Christmas, and who, as every one knew, had been living the two months past on straight moose-meat. "Hain't fergot the hooch we uns made on the Tanana, hey yeh?"

"Well, I guess yes. Boys, it would have done your hearts good to see that whole tribe fighting drunk-and all because of a glorious ferment of sugar and sour dough. That was before your time," Malemute Kid said as he turned to Stanley Prince, a young mining expert who had been in two years. "No white women in the country then, and Mason wanted to get married. Ruth's father was chief of the Tananas, and objected, like the rest of the tribe. Stiff? Why, I used my last pound of sugar; finest work in that line I ever did in my life. You should have seen the chase, down the river and across the portage."

"But the squaw?" asked Louis Savoy, the tall French-Canadian, becoming interested; for he had heard of this wild deed, when at Forty Mile the preceding winter.

Then Malemute Kid, who was a born raconteur, told the unvarnished tale of the Northland Lochinvar. More than one rough adventurer of the North felt his

heart-strings draw closer, and experienced vague yearnings for the sunnier pastures of the Southland, where life promised something more than a barren struggle with cold and death.

"We struck the Yukon just behind the first ice-run," he concluded, "and the tribe only a quarter of an hour behind. But that saved us; for the second run broke the jam above and shut them out. When they finally got into Nuklukyeto, the whole post was ready for them. And as to the foregathering, ask Father Roubeau here: he performed the ceremony."

The Jesuit took the pipe from his lips, but could only express his gratification with patriarchal smiles, while Protestant and Catholic vigorously applauded.

"By gar!" ejaculated Louis Savoy, who seemed overcome by the romance of it. "La petite squaw; mon Mason brav; By gar!"

Then, as the first tin cups of punch went round, Bettles the Unquenchable sprang to his feet and struck up his favorite drinking song:

"There's Henry Ward Beecher
And Sunday-school teachers,

All drink of the sassafras root;
But you bet all the same,
If it had its right name,

It's the juice of the forbidden fruit."

"O the juice of the forbidden fruit,"

roared out the Bacchanalian chorus,-

"O the juice of the forbidden fruit;
But you bet all the same,
If it had its right name,
It's the juice of the forbidden fruit."

Malemute Kid's frightful concoction did its work; the men of the camps and trails unbent in its genial glow, and jest and song and tales of past adventure went round the board. Aliens from a dozen lands, they toasted each and all. It was the Englishman, Prince, who pledged

"Uncle Sam, the precocious infant of the New World"; the Yankee, Bettles, who drank to "The Queen, God bless her "; and together, Savoy and Meyers, the German trader, clanged their cups to Alsace and Lorraine.

Then Malemute Kid arose, cup in hand, and glanced at the greased-paper window, where the frost stood full three inches thick. "A health to the man on trail this night; may his grub hold out; may his dogs keep their legs; may his matches never miss fire."

Crack! Crack!-they heard the familiar music of the dog-whip, the whining howl of the Malemutes, and the crunch of a sled at it drew up to the cabin. Conversation languished, while they waited the issue expectantly.

"An old-timer; cares for his dogs and then himself," whispered Malemute Kid to Prince, as they listened to the snapping jaws and the wolfish snarls and yelps of pain which proclaimed to their practiced ears that the stranger was beating back their dogs while he fed his own.

Then came the expected knock, sharp and confident, and the stranger entered. Dazzled by the light, he hesitated a moment at the door, giving to all a chance for scrutiny. He was a striking personage, and a most picturesque one, in his Arctic dress of wool and fur. Standing six foot two or three, with proportionate breadth of shoulders and depth of chest, his smooth-shaven face nipped by the cold to a gleaming pink, his long lashes and eyebrows white with ice, and the ear and neck flaps of his great wolfskin cap loosely raised, he seemed, of a verity, the Frost King, just stepped in out of the night. Clasped outside his Mackinaw jacket, a beaded belt held two large Colt's revolvers and a hunting-knife, while he carried, in addition to the inevitable dog-whip, a smokeless rifle of the largest bore and latest pattern. As he came forward, for all his step was firm and elastic, they could see that fatigue bore heavily upon him.

An awkward silence had fallen, but his hearty "What cheer, my lads?" put them quickly at ease, and the next instant Male

A murmur of surprise passed round the circle. And well it might; for it was just midnight and seventy-five miles of rough river trail was not to be sneered at for a twelve hours' run.

The talk soon became impersonal, however, harking back to the trials of childhood. As the young stranger ate of the rude fare, Malemute Kid attentively studied his face. Nor was he long in deciding that it was fair, honest, and open, and that he liked it. Still youthful, the lines had been firmly traced by toil and hardship. Though genial in conversation, and mild when at rest, the blue eyes gave promise of the hard steel-glitter which comes when called into action, especially against odds. The heavy jaw and square-cut chin demonstrated rugged pertinacity and indomitability of purpose. Nor, though the attributes of the lion were there, was there wanting the certain softness, the hint of womanliness, which bespoke an emotional nature-one which could feel, and feel deeply.

So thet 's how me an' the ol' woman got spliced," said Belden, concluding the exciting tale of his courtship. "Here