Through the Crater's Rim story

shortstory: Through the Crater's Rim (1926) · 1926-09 · Alpheus Hyatt Verrill

An adventurer hacks his way through man-eating trees to find an hitherto uncontacted people living in the crater of an extinct volcano.

5 total · 2 major · 3 minor

ThemeLevelMotivation
god and follower major The hidden city dwellers thought Hazen a god by all appearances, and treated him accordingly.
primitive point of view major We saw a 1920s era depiction of what an uncontacted people living in the Central American jungle might be like. For example, the hidden city dwellers were very curious about Hazen's apparent ability to breathe fire, which was noting more than him smoking his pipe.
Ancient Aztec mythology minor The hidden city dwellers turned out to be isolated descendants of the Aztecs, and the story culminated with their high priest attempting to sacrifice Hazen to their gods.
human sacrifice minor The high priest attempted to sacrifice Hazen to their gods.
human vs. environment minor Hazen had to hack through a forest of man-eating trees to reach a city hidden in the crater of an extinct volcano. [forest]