Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1859-04-16
GREAT ERUPTION OF MAUNA LOA.

The volcano on the island Of Hawii tone OF
the Sandwich lslands) has just experienced one
of its grandest eruptions. 1t commenced on
the 23d of January, without any of the premon-
tory symptoms Of earthquakes and subterra-
mean noises, pouring rapid stream of lava
from an opening about 10000 feet above the
level of the sea. The stream of burning lava
reached the sea in the space of five days, flow
ing forty miles, filling up an immense valley in
the mountains and sending off many side
streams. 1t is supposed that the lava has COW
cred about thousand square miles of the sur
face of the island. At Lahaina, a distance of
over one hundred miles from the crater, on Sat
urday night, the 2Ah January, the volcano was
distinctly visible eliminating one-third of the
heavens like that OF an immense and neighbor-
ing conhagration and from elevated positions,
it is asserted that the shoots of liquid flame
could be seen at intervals, as the immense caul-
dron boiled and bubbled.' The sea was light
ed up with the reelection of the flame every
where within one hundred miles of the crater,
and the coasting vessels enjoyed the advantage
without the presence Of a full moon. Lots of
dead fish were observed floating about in the
neighborhood of the islands, both before and
since the commencement Of the eruption, and
the inference is, that they were killed by the
submarine fires or heat connected with the vol
cano.
party who visited the mountain describe
the scene as unexpressibly grand, but language
cannot be found to convey an adequate concep-
ton of its impressiveness. The eruption is on
the west side of Mauna Loa, new crater, esti-
mated at five to eight hundred feet across, hav-
ing formed there from which the liquid mass
was momentarily elected in immense Jets of a
thousand to fifteen hundred feet high, and fall
ing over the sides, poured down towards the
sea. Before entering the sea it destroyed ma
tive village and fine grove of cocoanut trees
and pouring into the bay completely filled up
the little harbor of Wainoualai. The inhabi-
tants of the hamlet were aroused at midnight
and had hardly time to escape, leaving their
property to destruction. One young explorer
of the mountain met with a sad fate, falling
down'a jagged chasm thirty feet in depth and
fatally injuring his spine. A witness of the
sublime spectacle writes to the New York Tri-
bune:
"The front of the floor is about 5000 feet in
width, and slowly, irresistibly pushes forward
Its high, red wall of fire, rising over hills and
falling over preoipices with calm, irresistible
power, which humbles and belittes all human
efforts. Above the crater rose continually a
dense column Of smoke to the height Of per-
haps, 10000 feet There was not, however,
with this as with the eruptions of 4Ktna and
Nesuyus, discharge of cinders, not percepti-
bly, even of steam. The discharge was confined
to the dense, pure and perfectly fused, heavy
lava, and to heavy boulders projected far above
the fountain, and falling, sometimes back again
into the caldron, and sometimes without the
rim, down which they rolled, for a time glow
ing and visible, soon turning black, and lost to
our sight. More like an Icelandic gevser, as
represented in our biographies than anything
else was this election at the source-now rising
now falling, in columns, uniting, dividing and
jetting in spires pyramids, cones and columns
Next the crater the flow is not visible from be-
low, being in valley, after which 1t divides it.
self into numerous streams, occupying five or
SiA "es III uirdutIl, ana Tire ucsceit DriuS pre-
cipitous, the flow is rapid; but it soon reaches
a surface of light descent, and here the flow is
slow and the streams mainly concentrated into
one. Occasionally cascade was to be observ-
ed. Conceive Trenton falls metamorphosed
into fall, not of sparkling, foaming, white wa
ter, but Of fluid iron, going over with sullen
pitch, bearing along cakes of black, congealed
lava as of ice. Set this scene against the great
side of the mountain, in the night, only lighted
by its own fires, wreathed by its own smoke,
and you have what we saw that night from our
mountain camp. Not far below the crater, one
of the new side streams had been damned up
until lake had accumulated behind the OBJ
struction, and the weight broke it down, and
the released mass rushed down with tremen-
dous noise and fury through the thick Jungle,
cutting down the trees, rolling off huge boulders
from its front of twenty-five feet high, resemb-
ling pile of burning Goals"