The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1859-03-17
commencement of Pacific Commercial Advsrtiser)

HILO. Hawaii, req. ~ 1oV0.
Mn. EprroR-Sir ~ would like to inquire what
kind Of weather you have had lately at the metloPo-
l;s The question arises from the windWaro s'ue y :
this island having been visited by an unparaheieu
long season of miserable, stormy and rainy weatner.
which set in about the time of the breaking OUT Q
the new volcano on Mauna Loa, and which mas con-
tinued up to the present moment, Day ana nien''
mourning down in torrents. Probably sucn . oreaiy
time has never before been witnessed by that i"Poi'-
ant parsonage. the " Oldest inhabitant." So in
tensely heavy has the atmosphere been for the 'as'
fo,r veeks. that l question whether the sun has been
seen in the District of Hilo for more than twelve hours
altogether ; and the moon. for this month, have not
heard that any one has even obtained a glimpse OF.
The almanacs had informed us that there would be
. total eclipse of the moon, visible at these islands,
on the 10th ult., from about the hours of lob. Bum.
p. NJ. to Oh. 3Om. A. NJ. With all due Difference to
the knowledge of the astronomers who worked the
calculation. l think they must have made an error
az the eclipse certainly commenced here simultane-
ously with the moons rising, and did not end until
its time for setting. 1t was indeed a total eclipse
Simultaneous with the eruption and accompany
ing bad weather, we have been, and are now Witness
ing what I myself look upen as rather a singular
phenomenon, in the way Of an unusually heavy and
long-continued surf, the which, from the singuiarrty
of its action, (rising and ~subsiding of its own free
will, without any apparent cause that can discovery
l cannot help ascribing in some measure to the effects
of the earthquake or eruption. And why not! Who
knows what submarine communication there may be
with some of the numerous craters on this island.
Bad weather outside may be the cause. and proba-
bly, is.
We read, in accounts written by eyewitness.
that when the extraordinary tide occurred at the
Sandwich Islands in November, A. d. 1887, there
was at the same time an immediate cessation in the
activity of the crater at Kilauea, which, but . few
moments before, had been in an unusual perturbed
state. This present tide, however, I leavesto the
curious and scientific to speculate upon and define.
Whilst you are doing your utmost, Mr.. Editor, q
would hope proftably to yourself,) to cater to a
thankless world, and treating your readers, through
the columns of your paper, to articles entitled "Sights
on Hawaii, and whilst the recent eruption on Mauna
Loa is the general theme of conversation, it may not
be amiss to remind your readers that there is such a
sight on Hawaii as the crater of Kilauea. which.
from the eagerness lately displayed to visit the flow,
/ should imagine has been almost lost sight Of A
lava flow is unquestionably a grand and sublime
sight, and one which nobody, who can possibly spare
the time and means, should omit seeing. 1t is a sight
that cannot be viewed at pleasure, and one which.
0aNiUk Occu SSCHs % dpt " "nn q SOp ouN notAh
impression. Still, there is a far grander and more
wonderful sight at the crater of Kilauea, and to the
scientific and wonder loving 1 would say, if you have
never paid it a visit, by all means go; and there be-
hold the most sublime sight on earth-a world in
agony@a scene which for me to attempt adequately
to convey any idea of would be impossible. AS good,
however, and as graphic a description as | have lately
come across, is from the pen of Count Strzelecki, a
Polish scientific traveller, and published some years
ago in the Ha,Daiian Spectator. A copy of which
Tin the event you should not have the original at
your HANDY 1 beg to send you, part of which you
may not deem unworthy Of transferring to a column
in your paper. Yours, &c,
BYRoN's BAY.
lin reply to the inquiry of our correspondent as to
the weather here. we could state that his description
of what it has been at Hilo is the best we could give
of it, adding however that it has been unusually cold
for this latitude,-northwesterly winds having pre-
vailed more than in former years. Whether these
winds have been caused in any wise by the eruption
or the clouds of smoke lowering about the group, is
more than we can say.1