The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1859-02-17
HONOLULU. HAWAIIAN ISLANDS,

good position cannot help watching it with in
tense delight and increasing excitement for hours
together the only drawback being the severe
cold of the night, against which travellers should
be provided. -.
A dense heavy column of smoke continually
rose out from the crater, but always on the north
side and took northeasterly direction, rising in
one continuous column far above the mountain,
to height of perhaps 10 900 feet above the cra-
ter This smoke hovers over that island, and in
deed all the islands, and must at times, when the
trade wind luls, obstruct the view During our
stay, however, it passed off from the mountain
leaving the lower atmosphere quite clear. We
watched closely to observe whether, any steam
could be seen issuing, either from the crater or
from any Of the streams of lava, but could not see
any thing that could be called steam or vapor,
unless occasionally very slight indications along
some of the lava streams. None rose from the
crater itself-only dense, heavy smoke, which
came up out of the mouth itself. Considerable
smoke rose along the stream, as the molten lava
came in contact with trees and vegetable masses,
but the mass Of smoke came from the crater ITSELF
Steam was noticed in various places OF the plain,
issuing from the rocks, and near one of the camps
the heat intense that teakettle could be
boiled over it. But this steam was undoubtedly
caused by the heat of the flowing lava which was
about a mile distant, coming in contact with
pools of water in caves OF pits.
+ On leaving the crater, the lava stream does not
appear for some distance, say an eighth of a
mile, as it has cut its way through a deep rayine
gulch, which hides it from the eye. How
deep this gulch is, can only conjecture, as it is
impossible to get near enough to look into it, but
it is probably several hundred feet deep. The
first then that we see Of the lava after being
thrown up in the crater is its branching out
into streams some distance below the fountain
head. Instead of running in one large stream.
it parts and divides into great number-per-
haps as many as ifty-spreading out over a
tract Of five OF six miles in width. For the
first six miles from the crater, the descent is
very rapid, and the flow of the lava varies from
four to ten miles an hour, according to the de-
scent. But after it reaches the plain, where
it is level, it moves slower. Here the streams
are not numerous higher up, there being a
principal one which varies and is very tortuous-
from an eighth to quarter mile in width, though
there arc frequent branches running off from. it.
This principal stream reached the sea at Wal
On the 31st, after flow of eight days from the
time that the eruption commenced on the Odd of
This stream, on reaching the sea,
spread out to about half a mile in width. The
sight of it as it poured into the ocean. forming
clouds of steam several hundred feet high, is re-
presented by those who saw it, very beautiful. |
Some Of the finest scenes of the flow were the |
cascades or falls formed in it before the stream
reached the plain. There were several of them,
and they appeared to be changing and new ones
formed in different localities as streams were
made. One, however, which appeared without |
change for two days, must have been 80 to 100
feet in height First there was a fall, then below
were cascades rapids. To watch this fall |
during the night when the bright red-hot stream
of lava was flowing over it at the rate of ten
miles an hour, like water, was a scene not often
and never to be forgotten. In fact,
the lava near its source had all the characteristics
Of river of water flowing rapidly along. and /
gurgling with cascades, rapids, currents and falls
On reaching the plain, where it is more level,
the lava stream of course moves along more slow
ly and in one general stream less divided than
above. The stream which had run into the sea,
had apparently ceased flowing and was cooled
over, SO that we crossed and recrossed it in many
places, and through the assures we could see the
molten lava with its red-hot glow intense heat
issuing out from them. In many places the sur
face was SO hot that the soles of our shoes would
have been burned had we not kept in rapid
motion. The length of the lava stream from the
crater to where it enters the at Wananalii, is
estimated to be thirty-eight miles.
. On the afternoon of our arrival at the camping
ground, new stream started some few miles below
he crater, which had evidently been damned up by
some obstruction, and came rushing down with tre-
nendous noise and fury through the thick jungle
which lay in its track. burning the cracking
rees, and sending up thick smoke almost as
lense as thas from the crater. This stream, from
he time it broke away from its embankment, moved
long two miles hour till it reached the vicinity
# our camp, when its progress was checked, and it
moved not more than quarter of mile an hour.
But it formed grand sight. Here was stream of
ava rolling over the plain, twenty to twenty-five
eet in height, aud an eighth of mile in width,
hough its width varied great deal, sometimes
,roader, sometimes narrower. 1t was, in fact,
mass or pill of red hot stones resembling pile Of
oais FIRE, borne along by the liquid lava stream
As it moved slowly along, large red
,oulders would roll down the sides, breaking into q
housand small stones, crushing and burning the
which lay in the track 1t is impossible to give
true conception of the immense force and power of
his lava stream, bearing along it does almost
mass. 1t reminds most wildly of
he breaking up of the ice in large river. only the
Imagination must stretch the comparison and sup
the ice piled up twenty-five feet, and thus borne
long by the beneath the whole width Of the
liver moving the time, crashing and break
ng and pilng up and Irregular masses on top.
,nteven this comparison is far below the realityto
e conceived it must be seen. 81 fsi ~ ~.
Such family described, is the eruption now going
n on Hawaii. Our duty as journalists calls on Us
o chronicle q scene beyond the power Of our
en-, We have attempted sketch of it for those
rho cannot witness it, but feel like apologs-i
ng to such as visit the spot and find it as
ctive as when we left They will find our account
cry tame compared with what is there before them
md hardly turn from the scene Of such
majestic display of nature without looking up to Ma
ure' 8 God, and acknowledging Him as the source Of
uch majestic grandeur and omnipotent power.