Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian., 1859-04-16
sandwich Islands---afeat Volcanic
cn;ir.f. n gf.t Eruption. JOS 4" 'g-"rI D

sanawich Islanas.--arsat volcanic
nn:jr-i. n gi5 Eruption. JOS 'aE"r4
We have dates from Honolulu to the 18th
of February. The main item of news is that
the volcano of Mauna Loa, on the island OF
Hawaii, the largest of the Sandwich group,
has broken out in an eruption of unparalleled
grandeur. On the mountain side, 10000
feet above the level of the sea, and 1000
below the snow-covered summit, the lava
bursts out, squirting up like fountain in jets
sometimes 500 feet high, never less than
250-and then runs in a stream of liquid fire,
half mile wide 38, miles to the sea, sweep
ing everything before it. ....,r..s -; -... 81
All accounts represent it as the most mag
nificent that has occurred in our islands with
in present memory. The heavens at night
are fully illuminated for hundreds of miles
around, and the sea is Lit with long, slanting
beams. The smoke has been sensibly per-
ceptible here, at distance Of two hundred
miles to windward, and the light discerned
Out at Maui, distant half way to Hawaii, the
illumination has been splendid AS specta-
tor informed me, twas like the blaze of a
matched house within a stones throw.
This Mauna Loa, on the Hawaii, the most
modern island of the group, is thelatest for
med of Hawaiis mountains, and as yet in
complete. Viewing it from Hio, it presents
the outline of bow slightly bent, and at
that distance so regular and arc does its rug
ged outline appear, that an artist who should
truly represent it would be thought not to
have copied nature. 1t appears to be long,
hence its name, Loa. But viewing it from
Waimea, on the right from Kona, opposite
and from Kau, on the left of Hio, our noun
tain presents nowhere its end, and then you
conceive that it is an immense dome. That
seemingly low arch is the highest of Pacific
Ocean Mountains. But it is yet in it's giant
youth. Every new eruption accumulates
new masses upon its broad crown. So that
the process of eruption is not depicting one
by which the mountain throws out its own
bowels, but one of building up, out of materi-
ais drawn from depths so deep and reservoirs
so vast, that this vast base of mountains is
but nipple on the outlet of its discharging
vent.
A gentleman who has visited the volcano
on the 18th of February last writes as fol-
lows:
Our path was rocky and steep, and we
had little time to see and enjoy all these
things.
So ascending with varying scene and climate
we reached the camping ground at distance
of perhaps 16 miles fromthe beach, ten miles
short of the oriice of the volcano and some
80 miles from where it discharges into the
sea, and near to the flowing lava. Night was
the time for observation. The before black
and smoking masses then shone out in hun
dreds of fiery illuminations, and the fountain
head disclosed itself by ajet de Eau varying
from 200 to 800 feet in height, and in dame
ter of base 800 feet, as we conjectured from
an examination at that distance, through our
glasses.
The front of the flow is about 5000 feet in
width, and slowly, irresistably pushes for
ward its high, red wall of fire, rising over
hills and falling over precipices with a calm,
irresistible power, which humbles and be-
Titles all human efforts. Above the crater
rose continually dense column of smoke to
the height of, perhaps 10000 feet. There
was not, however, with this as with the erup-
tons of Etna and Vesuvius, discharge of
cinders, nor perceptibly even of steam. The
was confined to the dense, pure and
perfectly fused heavy lava, and to heavy boul-
ders projected far above the fountain, and fall
ling sometimes back again into the caldron,
and sometimes without the rim, down which
they rolled, for time glowing and visible.
soon turning black and lost to our sight
More like an Icelandic Geyser, as represent
in our biographies than anything else was
this election at this source-now rising, now
falling in columns, uniting, dividing, and jet
ting in spires, pyramids, cones and columns.
Next the crater the flow is not visible from
below, being in valley, after which it divides
itself into numerous streams, occupying five
or six miles IN breadth, and the descent being
precipitous, the flow is rapid but it soon
reaches surface of ligqt descent, and here
the flow is slow and the streams mainly con-
centrated into one. Occasionally cascade
was to be observed. Conceive a Trenton
Falls metamorphosed into fall not sparkling,
foaming, white water, 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
a lake had accumulated behind the obstruc-
ton, and the weight broke it down, and the
released mass rushed down with tremend-
GUS noise and fury through the thick Jungle,
cutting down the trees, rolling off huge bould-
ers from its front of % feet high, resembling
a pile of burning Goals.