"Having dressed ourselves in overalls and jumpers, with candles and
geological hammers in hand we set out for our destination. On
approaching the tunnel my guide at once began to throw stones into the
bushes on either side of the entrance. When asked why he threw the
stones, he replied that about the mouth of old tunnels rattlesnakes are
wont to resort to get out of the burning sun.

"Not finding any rattlers, we proceeded down the incline to the mouth of
the tunnel. Finding the mouth not obstructed, and lighting our candles,
we entered. Sometimes crawling on our hands and knees over fallen rock
with scarcely a foot of extra room above our heads, then stooping low,
then walking upright, again crawling between huge masses of rock and
earth, and crowding between slanting monoliths, we made our way through
the mud and water dripping on us from the roof above.

"When part way in, the guide hesitated and declared that we were taking
our lives in our hands if we went farther; that the five-ton rock lying
in front of our path had very recently fallen from the roof, probably a
week before, possibly a day or only an hour before. Pointing to the roof
with his candle he said: 'Do you see that piece of rock partly detached
and ready to fall at any moment?'

"Acknowledging the threatening conditions, I urged: 'If not too
dangerous, I do wish that we might go on until we find the tree.'

"Said he: 'If you promise not to strike any of these rocks with your
hammer, we will venture a little farther.'

"You may be assured that I not only promised, but obeyed.

"At this juncture, I must confess, a peculiar sensation came over me
when I thought of the possibility of being buried alive or crushed to
death in this subterranean cavern, yet pride kept me from showing the
white feather.

"The guide, going ahead and examining the walls and roof, called back to
me in a low voice, saying, 'We are now safer.'

"Having traversed the main tunnel for a distance of upward of eight
hundred feet, and carefully avoiding its branches, we finally came to
the object of our search. This tree, four feet in diameter, of opalized
wood, stands upright on the left side of the tunnel. The lava had burned
off the bark and partly carbonized the outside part, and then the whole
had subsequently taken the form of opal silica. There is a space of
about four inches between the tree and the surrounding lava.

"By raising the candles above our heads we could look