pyramidical hills
We entered a dead level plain of orange-colored sand, surrounded by
pyramidical hills. The surface was strewn with objects resembling cannon
shot and grape of all sizes from a 32-pounder downward, and looked like
the old battle-field of some infernal region–rocks glowing with heat,
not a vestige of vegetation, barren, withering desolation. The slow
rocking step of the camels was most irksome, and, despite the heat, I
dismounted to examine the Satanic bombs and cannon shot. Many of them
were as perfectly round as though cast in a mould, others were
egg-shaped, and all were hollow. With some difficulty I broke them, and
found them to contain a bright red sand. They were, in fact, volcanic
bombs that had been formed by the ejection of molten lava to a great
height from active volcanoes; these had become globular in falling, and,
having cooled before they reached the earth, they retained their forms
as hard spherical bodies, precisely resembling cannon shot. The exterior
was brown, and appeared to be rich in iron. The smaller specimens were
the more perfect spheres, as they cooled quickly; but many of the
heavier masses had evidently reached the earth when only half
solidified, and had collapsed upon falling. The sandy plain was covered
with such vestiges of volcanic action, and the infernal bombs lay as
imperishable relics of a hailstorm such as may have destroyed Sodom and
Gomorrah.

• But _our_ life is never made up of talking and dreaming, delightful
• Upon questioning Minna, she gave us a graphic description of the
• Not a man was in sight! Everybody had bolted, and I stood in advance of
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