The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1855-12-22

n the world. The Goddess the Psh,
,s;rnino deity Of this Island, was married,
iong lime ago, but finding afterward, that
- was not supremely happy-doubtless
owing 10 some little family jars-she became
kOohoo, or angry, and separated nom ner
husband, giving him the mountain oil MAUI
ma Kea, f5r his dwelling place, and reserv-
inc Mauna Loa for her own. She agreed
mat the lava from her volcano should never
overaew Mauna Kea--which It Is little like
II 10 do, Mauna Kea being $4,000 feet high.
Whenever the volcano is in an active stale,
the natives saw, Pail is hOohOO roG, Every
nn4ry) aud in the olden time 1t was tneir
costom to offer sacrifices TO apPease her
wrath. Even now, the Oldest OF them
sometimes practice this rite. A few days
hefore our arrival, a very aged native, oi
ve,able appearance, with hair as white as
snow came from a distant part OF the Is
Isnd 10 perform this sacrifice, and for the
nnrpose, brought pig, cooked whole. With
munh difficulty and danger-his limbs
scarce able to support him-he reached the
edge of the burning crater, and kneellng
down, with his face toward the glowing cal
dton. and his long.silvery locks streaming
In The wind-amid the smoke and sitting
vspor, while the roaring and rumbiing from
beneath seemed to and an unearthly solemn
.ity 10 the scene, he offered up his earnest
prayer to his mighty ahd terrible deity anu
ihen cast his oblation into the fiery lake be-
low. ,.
renee, detailed by one OF the natives whlle
we were sitting around our camp nre')
with all the eloquence they possess IN such
iurue measnre, was thrilled with interest,
and to my Imagination no scens eeGid be
presented which would afford better materials
for painter for grand and interesting pic
ture. The sincerity of that old man-into
whose darkened mind scarce shadow or q
raw of light and truth had ever penetrated,
who had thus forced his perlious way into
that place SO fraught with danger, and bow
ed himself to worship, even in the very pre-
sence of that enraged and awful Deity, W hose
wrathful mutterings made the mountain to
tremble and quake, and whose breath was
fame of fire-would put to shame the de-
votion of many an enlightened Christian in
your most favored land. After leaving thi:
burning lake, we went to a small cone which
we saw in the distance belching out smoke
and steam, and when we reached its summit
and looked down into it, we Involuntary
Jumped back. About fifty feet below III
was river OF lava running with great veto
city, while the place on which we were
standing was intensely hot, and seemet
nelrly ready to crumble off into the frery
abyss below.
Our next visit was to "a larger crater, very
difficult of access, and having attained th'
brink, we beheld sight that might caus
the boIdest to tremble. A vast river of Law
was rushing in a mighty, angry torrent, owe
some obstruction, so that there was, o
seemed to be, fall of several feet, causin
the ground to tremble beneath our feet, an
filling our ears with great roaring, rumblin
sound, such as we never before heard. Thi
place--like ten thousand furnaces, hottie
and fercer than Nebuchadnezzar's burnin
below us-seened, indeed, "L'inferno,
and had his Satanic Majesty, then and tier'
surrounded by his myriad host of friend
been holding high revel, he could scarcel
have produced such combination ofstrang
and diabolical sounds. Our position bein
one OF imminent danger, we were not indis
posed to hasten our departure. We spen
the night in hut on the edge of the oil
crater, but we were not dlsposeu 10 sIee
much--the sight we beheld after night shu
in was too intensely attractive. The effet
of the glare Of light. flashing continuall
from twenty different places upon the thic
darkness around, accompanied by the col
fused groaning and signing of the laborir
mountain, was, if possible, more unearth
and fascinating than that produced upon I
in the day time.
The next morning we turned our face
homeward, and, descending slowly, posse
tnat night at the halfway house; and the TO
lowing day reached Hi]o. and embarked ft
Honolulu, where we arrived without casua
ty or incident worthy of notice, on ii
morning of the 18th, and feeling well r
paid for the time and trouble we had take
70 visit the great Volcano of Kilonea:
Louis: