■^H

324 JOURNEY THROUGH THE INTERIOR OF THE CRIMEA,

cubic fathoms: it covered the whole upper part of the Hill, andwas difperfed in various irregulär currents, fpreading particularlyover the Wert and South fides; its depth being from two tothree arfhines, or from four feet eight inches to feven feet;and the whole refembling in confiftence a ftiff pudding with athick edge. The North-eaftern flream is the deepeft and moftconfiderable, being very broad at its upper part, and extending,together with a narrower one in the Weft-fouth-weft quarter,as far as the level bafis of the mountain. The former is almoftfour hundred fathoms, and the latter is upwards of threehundred fathoms in length. Three others, nearly parallel on theNorth-weft, and one branch to the South, are both fmaller andof lefs extent. Laftly, on the eaftern fide, the mud had formedönly a prolonged round mafs; being interrupted in its far-ther progrefs over that part of the mountain by an elevatedridge. On the furface of all thefe ftreams of mud, I noticed afew fmall heaps, efpecially towards the edges, accumulated bythe pieces of dry cruft, which had been thruft together bythe preflure of the fluid mafs, not unlike what happens inthe breaking up of ice. In two places, the mud had in amanner formed petty ifles, by furrounding the elevated ground.On the upper part of the mountain, around the gulf thatdifcharged this enormous mafs from the bowels of the earth,it is fomewhat thicker; and, on one fide of the crater, therelies a femi-circular piece of the old argillaceous fuper-ftratum,nearly a fathom in extent, and above two arfhines in depth :it is yellower than the frefh mud, and appears to be one-halfof the lid that formerly covered the gulf; being turned over,and partly buried in the mire. The South-weftern ftream only

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