New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-12-20
SANDWICH ISLANDS.
THE GREAT VOLCANIC ERUPTION.
,ssssposlesce Of The N. Y. Tribune.
Huo. Hawaii, Thursday, Oct. IS, 1855.

HILo, Hawaii, Thursday, Oct IL, 1855.
Did you ever hear OF Hawai- 1t 10 q grain o.
dust in the wide Pacific. II 10 the apex OF
mountain whose base IL covered by those deep
waters not yet sounded by the mariners plummet
1t is heap Of basa,ic rocks, thrown up 10 fusion
from immeasurable depths below. IL Is the Top
Of chimney leading down to the burning oo"e's
Of the earth 1t is one Of the saietyVaiVes OF our
planet, through which escape the steam and gases
vhieh might sbatter our mundane abode 1t IL
eem IN the bosom of the ocean. 1t is an oasis in
4 wilderness of waters-an emerald DO yer which
alarms and encbsnts the restless pilgrim. 1t is a
little landscape in which are combined the beauti.
full the lovely, the charming, the picturesque, the
romantic, the inimitable the wild, the grand, the
lofty, the sublime, the awful, the terrific. Laugh
ing landscape', merry rills, dashing cascades,
waving forests, smoking scOria, frowniDg preci
pices, mural haiti nents, cloud capped noun
"tains," and laundering volcanoes all cluster
here, and al are encircled by the deep blue sea-
and frDged with snowy foam. Hawaii is prize
for which mighty nations have struggled, and over
which they nov watch with jealous interest.
And mOre-It is a field where Christianity and
civilization have begun to shed their genial beams
"A Jewel plucked from the hand Of Satan to adOrn
the oiadem IF Emmanuel Bat to the point. We
propote to give you brief sketch OF one OF the
me Of wonder ul volcanic eruptions ever witnessed
ON our planet. You are aware thai we have
permanent volcauO-Kilauea-som thirty miles
from Hilo This is a vast pit about ten miles in
circuit and varying in depth fcOm 600 to 200
feet Within this cauldrOa the fires ara always
burning, sometimes sluggishly, then again with
fearful yehemence, while the ebOn floor Of the
crater 10 yaised hundreds If feet by upheavng
forces and successive OverfOwings, aud again de
pressed by lateral and subterrsnean dsgorgem sns.
For several months past this crater has been in
teDsely active You may have read the published
accounts of our grand eruptons of 1910, 43 and
'b2 beside several minor ones. All these were
wonders of a startling kind But an eruption is
now in progress which eclpses all these. Its seat
is near the summit Of Mauna LOa, (L0ng MOuntain)
1000 feet above Sea level Kilauea 10 only 1000
feet high, and 10 80 miles from the pre.eat erup-
ton. The altitude Of Mauna Loa is nearly $4,000
feet Ii lisa vast volcanic dome. c)mpOted Of Stag,
scoris, pumice, and other earthly matter, thrown
I'D from ths bowels of the earth in an gueoqs state
and hesped in wild and jagged masses to its present
hight And still the process of disagreement goes
on and still the PlutOnic bull rises, and from bis
lapced heart a CORY stream gushes forth. On the
evening OF the l1th Of August point of lisht was
seen on the mountain, which, in short time, ross
and spread and flooded those high attitudes with
allowing radiance. An immense valve had opened,
out of which rushed floods of igneous fusion and
poured down the mountain sides in dazzling
brightness. Down, dozen the fiery current rolled
diving into caves, rendiDg their mineral roofs
exploding vast powders melting the rocks-start-
hpg The wild bull the rough goat and the mountain
bird with it's awful Misunderstanding up the
heavens with lorid glare, and sending off its gy
rating and cOnvolyipg clouds Of black, dun, white,
blue, purple and scarlet on the wings Of every
Id aEa and adj ilaI tbo
atmosphere, and the sight" was like devouripg FIRE
"on the top of the mount" For 65 days this
fearful furnace has been in full blast aud still the
fountain 10 not exhausted, The main stream, in.
elu6ing all its vii dings, we estimate at 60 miles
long, with al average breadth Of three miles.
Lateral streams shoot of at all angles from the
main trunk, and sometimes the great stream sep
arat<s into several channels. which again unite,
thus forming many islsnds down the side and at
The base of the mountain. The depth may vary
from three to 800 feet On the plains at toe base
sf the mountain it spreads aud forms lakes and
seas of five, Elk or eight miles in breadth. The
superfcial area now covered with the snolder-
Mo masses may be lis 200 acres. This is Plutos
farm, or the Stag from Vulcans forge. Its cubic
measurement we will not attempt, nor will we
weigh its ponderous masses. The great hre-pump
still works with awful force at its high foustain,
and the molten river rusbes maoly DO IN TOWARD
Hilo It's terminus is in deDse forest In the
rear. and here at the distance Of some ten miles,
IL in pnasjpg down ancient trees, consuming all
vegetable lite, filing raviner, esti1g up the soil,
dripbipp the streams blasting the rocks, winding
among the hills or heaving them FROM their bases,
levelpg ridges, overcoming all distractions, grad
ing its own iron way, and moving In sullen prog
ress upon as. Our atmosphere is loaded with
dizzy smoke and mineral gases, through which
the suns rays struggle with yellow and slckly
Bght, and all nature seems shrOuded as ia funeral
drapery. Never was Hilo so busbed so inquiriog,
90 thoughtful. Many keep vgils the hvelong
night, and during the day plan modes of convey
ahce and places Of deposit for the little earthly
substance they have collected And etill the fiery
ruin fingers in the woods, and .tl We hope and
pray that the breath which bndled will eAtinguish
it-that high behest from the Eternal Throne will
ray, " Hitherto and no further" In an airline
the seat of eruption is about 45 miles from
Hilo but so toItuOus is the route that one has TO
travel 65 or 20 miles TO reach it. Between the
port of Hil0 and the mountain dense forest some
30 miles wide nterposes. This forest /, so filled
and entapged with tropical Jungle as to be ion
penetrable by mon except on condition of cutting
and beating his way step by step, often at the rate
Of one or two miles a day. Wild streams of water
from the mountains do, however, tsar their way
through the woods, bringing with them, in times
of freshet, trees, shrubs, vines, leaves, rubbish
and earth, leaving a channel of hard basal
dis rocks Such channel is, in dry time, the
best track through the forest On the I'd inst. .
Mr.. McCully (Of Yale), with myself and four ma
tives started for the scene and the source of the
present eruption Taking toe channel OF q stream
which enters Hlo Bay as our path, we advanced
with much toll through the dense jungle along it's
banks, and rested at nigh, at the roots Of al an
cient tree-hsviDg made about twelve miles. The
next day we mace about twelve miles more, for
the most part in the rocky bed of the itream, the
water being low. Volcanic smoke dlled the forest
and ehaJred leaves came floating 90 the breeze
and falling into the Wild channel we we're thrs al
ng At night, when the shades gathered over