The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1852-05-06

L u IN = Senlwlsh islands. ".
1 VA havs 8en, lately. brief accounts Of a
tysAdleruptio1ton the mountain Of Mauna Loa.
M ~ isIandsspf Hawaii, received by way Of
tCsdt1nis. He latest accounts from the Scene
$of IL fiery Sltaton are to the 9th of March,
at which time the spectacle is said to have been
sublime beyond anything of the kind ever wit
messed The eruption exceeds ia grandeur any
Of the volcanic commissions OF Mauna l.oa ever
before seen by white men on the islands, and
| great fears were euterisis ed for the safety of
the beautiful town of Hilo, We subjoin nc
counts of its action from tile 9. IotyBesidn -
-. We haye received verbal information in re-
gard TO the state of the eruption, as late as the
Gth Of March from the leewdfd side OF Ha~aii!'
AT that date the light from The flowing current
WINS A. bright il had been at amy former period,
sufficient to enabiena person to pick up a
needle from thc ground at midnight, from which
fact the inference is drawn that the current is
still flowing on toward the sea, IA we
"Tbe current seems to have broken out
through M old 6ssuxe, about one third downthe
side of Mauna LOs. on the northwest side, and
not frtm the ola cysey Oh the summit called
Mokuoweow eo. The altitude of the present
eruption is about 10000 feet above the level Of
tho sea- and fron, the bay Of Iljlo, (Byron's Bay)
must be some 50 or 60 miles, Ii i SUCCEED
in reaching the ocean at the point supposed, at
ter having AZ up all the ravines. gnches and in-
CAPABILITIES or very broken country, it will UNI
doubtedly be one of the most extensive erup-
tons Of modern times. 'n".'sAi
at would seem, from the last note from Mr.,
Coau. that ths stream had divided-one part
taking m eAsterly course towards Puma, while
the other took . northerly one, towards Hilo.
This may 90 divide the volume of lava that
neither branch will reach the sea : but from the
latest accounts, the northery branch was still
burning is way through dense forest. and If
the amply holds out long enough, il will natur-
ally fall into the course OF the Waikiki river,
and follow il TO where it dsembogues into the
bay, at Hilo. We snxiously wait further in,
teIligebee" ~ at'eae.,t,i ,,ri bit, ,asai
An abstract FROM correspondents letter, in
the ~ lynesian, is of 80 much interest that we
copy il entire, a jet Of lava playing five hun-
bred feet in the air must be indeed a msgni6'
cent and sublime sight: "@' a''a
| Shy an accurate measurement of the enor-
nous jet Of glowing lava, where It first broke
forth on the side of Mauna LJa, ii was ascer-
tanned to be five hundred feet high. This was
upon the superstition that it was thirty miles
| distant We are OF the opinion that it WAS a
greater distance, say from forty TO sixty miles.
| With glass, the play Of this jet, at night, was
distinctly observed, and more sublime sight
can scarcely BE- imagined. A column of molten
lava, glowing with the most intense heat, and
projecting into the air to distance Of five hun.
| dred feet, was sight 80 rare and at the same
! time so awfuliy grand, as TO excite the most
| lively feelings OF awe and admiration, even
when viewed at distance Of forty or fifty miles.
How much more awe inspiring would 1t have
| been at a distance of one or two mile, where
| the sounds accompanying such an eruption could
| have been heard. The fall Of such a column
would doubtless cause the earth to tremble !;
and the roar Of the rushing mass would have
been like the mighty waves of the ocean beating
| upon a rock bound coast. . H irgyi -fiie ip91t
~" The diameter. Of this Jet ID supposed TO he
over one hundred feet, and this We can easily
believe, when we reflect that from il proceeded
the river oflava that flowed off from il toward
the sea. In some places tho river ia a mile wide,
and in Others more contracted. Atsoms points
[ it has filed up ravines one hundred, two hum
| bred and three hundred feet In depth, md still
it flowed on. II entered heavy forest, and the
! giant growth Of centuries is cut down before it
| like grass before the mower's scyihe 7 No o..
stacle can arrest it in its descent to the sea.
Mounds are covered over, ravnss are filled up,
forests are DESTROYED and the habitations Of men
are consumed like fax in u furnace Truly,
i lie toucheth t g hills and they smoke a., 4 +
/ ..We have not yet heard o. any destruction
\ ofIife from the eruption now in progress. A
rumor has, reached US that asmall native village
hassbeen destroyed, but OF, this we have no an.
4 thentc intelligence Should it reach the sea
without destroying life property, IL will be a
matter circumstances, and almost unhoped for
Il exemption. A large number ofnthe residents
of Honolulu had gone TO Hawaii to witness the
upheayngs Of Marua Lot" ',Tn'W r3tg b
|4sAnother letter. after stating that the lava had
burned through the, woods 10 within fifteen
miles of fdilo, and was still progressing, adds;
"The side Of the mountain has opened about
midway it's dome, and the lava ,pours out with
lunrestrained effort, and comes rolling, tumbling
and flashing on towards fIilo.i 1t is accom-.
panied with frequent explosions Az night, the
Imagination cannot conceive 4 spectacle more
EawfulIy grand. The immense flow 81 lava re-
fleets upon the clouds its cherry red hue, and az
they gather in deasty about the mountain, are
| caught up by the upward current Of atmosphere,
and hurried withirapidity into every imaginable
shape, representing in the heavens a wild pictu-
I rescue scane" ~ li~ ,ropta0pmi
f. The. eruption, ii appears, commenced on The
18th of February ut o'clock in the morning u
/ mi Correspondence q the Baltimore san.i'H' o.
The Abolition Conrention ~ Burleigh and Fred
! 'AE " q ti77i pDOugLdS.l lnog
1890 y 1o' CircINnATi, April 80, 1854. q
u. When l. wrote you last, I had not attended
the Abolition or anti-sayery convention, which
4 is holding its session in this city. On looking
over the remarks of the, editor of the Gatetie,
of this city, this moruing,I was not a little
amused at comment upon the assemblage He
said he seated himself amidst h beyy Of pretty
yellow girls, apparently as an inducement for
others, to attend the convention, or with view
to get up rivalry as to numbers among the
blacks and whites. i rather suspect the editors
course had the desired effect, for on my entering
that body, tod day, iwas struck with the mixture
of black spirits and white, whosat side by side,
i Among the white portion, beheld a number Of
young aud very lovely women, all possessing an
intellectual expression Of countenauce., Ia 1900
Burleigh, the Abolition poet, has been en-
deavoring to be the bright particular STAR OF
this convention, for he has been haranguins III
Z ever since the convention assembled (Which was