I now came down from my ladder, and, moving
the bar, I felt there was really a hollow into which the rubbish fell,
but apparently very little below the level we were working on. I took a
long pole and probed the cavity, and found that it must be of
considerable size. My boys wished to have the opening enlarged and to
enter immediately, but this I strictly forbade; for, as I leaned forward
to examine it through the opening, a rush of mephitic air gave me a sort
of vertigo. "Come away, children," cried I, in terror; "the air you
would breathe there is certain death." I explained to them that, under
certain circumstances, carbonic acid gas was frequently accumulated in
caves or grottoes, rendering the air unfit for respiration; producing
giddiness of the head, fainting, and eventually death. I sent them to
collect some hay, which I lighted and threw into the cave; this was
immediately extinguished; we repeated the experiment several times with
the same result. I now saw that more active means must be resorted to.
We had brought from the vessel a box of fireworks, intended for signals;
I threw into the cave, by a cord, a quantity of rockets, grenades, &c.,
and scattered a train of gunpowder from them; to this I applied a long
match, and we retired to a little distance.
Pages:
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210