The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1859-03-10

n few lines OF l1teT udtS TIA "
lished may be acceptable 70 your readers
.tsrted on foot for the scene of the eruption on
wadneadav the 18th ult., from the house of Mr.. m
johnson. of Kona, accompanied by three natives IN
the canacitv Of guides and carriers. We arrived ut
the aeiau Of Uni before dark, and passed the night
IN q cave. the entrance Of which commanded . nnof
view Of the 6ery rivers that were rushing down the
mountain side and spreading over the plain. In the
morning we arose early. and after filing our water
vessels at a neighboring spring. directed our course
towards the great column of smoke that rose like .
beacon from the upper crater at a distance OF from
twenty to twenty-five miles. Our route lay fr e
short distance through thick woods and shruobery.
We then emerged on to the solid p~ahoehoe, which is
on the lower part Of the slope, adorned with onia
trees and richly laden ohelo bushes, and found excel
lent walking until we reached the immediate vicinity
Of the crater. We arrived at the upper crater on
Friday noon after an easy journey of two days ana Q
half from the time of leaving MIR. Johnson's. A good
walker. u~nencumbered with baggage, might accom-
plish the distance in half the time
The height of this crater, as nearly as l could esti-
mate from the apparent elevation of the horizon above
the summit of Mount Hualalai, is as much as nine
thousand FIVE hundred feet.
We chose for our camp the same site which had
been previously occupied by MIR. Alexander's party,
and were so fortunate as to find there q calabash full
of water, cool and limpid, saving us an anticipated
ascent to the snow for supplies and we cooker our
mutton aud baked our kalo cakes in the same hot air
holes that had proved SO useful to them before The
air from some of the crevices was heated to SO high q
temperature that a piece of paper or a dry STICK
n,ao,d within it at the surface of the ground ignited
Immediately.
From the camp was visible at night, one of the
40 xhof tho iuvapInaflOn can
conceive. The evening was clear and starlight. and
afforded us a complete view of the flowing lava A
river of lava issuing from the lower, and small
err of the three craters there in action, (probabiy
the one in process of formation at the time of Mr..
Alexander's visit) separated into two streams a short
distance below. and these, after running side by side
for several miles, reunited and descended the decliv-
iy in a common flood, throwing off towards the plain
to the southward in their course fifteen or twenty
smaller streams of lava, some of them miles in length,
and all meandering hither and thither, and inter-
secting one with another. so that the whole slope of
the mountain, for the distance of a days journey, and
a width in some places of three or four miles, pre-
scented the appearance of shining rose-colored lace
work. In the foreground were the two larger active
craters which, although they had ceased to spout
forth lava aud scoria, still threw up flames, and from
which arose immense pillars of smoke and cloud,
looking, in the red reflection from within, like columns
of living fire, reaching to the zenith. and forming a
majestic termination to the brilliant arch OF merry
cloud which, floating above the lava stream. covered
one-half the blue dome from the sea to the crater.
Profting by the favor of a strong sea-breeze, l sue
ceeded in descending a short distance, perhaps twenty
feet, into the upper active crater to a small projecting
ledge. but a sudden whirl of the wind. threatening
me with suffocation, obliged me to retreat again in
double quick time. This crater had changed mate
rally in appearance since the visit of the previous
party. Instead of the comparatively small blow hole,
there was now a deep chasm or rift. some eighty feet
in depth, and ten in width, between whose red-hot
walls a great volume Of steam ascendei, allowing
only an occasional glimpse at the region beneath. At
intervals, however, when an obliging puff OF wind
thinned for an instant the vaporons mass, l could dis
tinguish below IA stream of incandescent lava rushing
forth from the mountain side with almost incredible
velocity. Before leaving the crater the chasm was
again covered, and the river ran beneath the crust
until it again emerged at the other crater, a quarter
of a mile below. We were unable to explore the in
terror of this crater. 1t seemed however to possess
more action than the upper one. Upon leaving 1T,
the stream once more passed under ground and
finally emerged again for the last time at the lower
and smaller crater
During our visit at the lava flow, we were not SO
IOTtuuttt rs ~ IL tuG thhatio "a thI dN VI
clinker beds, which is said to be the most interesting
of all the lava formations. The force of the lava was
distributed entirely among numerous shallow flows Of
pahoehoe, extending slowly into the plain. cutting
down trees and bushes, and spreading desolation
everywhere in its path. One can imagine no more
perfect embodiment of desolation than the old track
of a lava flow. The slow march is accompanied,
when the lava is flowing over a surface of old pahoe-
hoe, by constantly recurring reports caused by the
blowing up Of cavities sometimes at n distance of one
hundred and fifty yards from the stream. Large
rocks are sometimes thrown to a great height by these
explosions, and the reports have been heard in the
night as far as Mr.. Johnson's house, distance of
twenty-five or thirty miles.
The lava had approached to within an hours walk
of the heiau at the time of our leaving the scene of
action. There had probably been little or no diminu-
ton in the quantity of molten matter poured forth
from the mountain side, and there appeared to be
every prospect of its continuing many months.
On the evenings of the 18th and 9th Of February,
being the last two nights before my departure from
Kona, an unusually bright reflection was visible in
the direction of the lava stream-affording ground
for the belief that a new fountain had burst forth.
The light was similar to that observed some weeks
previously at the time of the great jets. which have
been estimated variously at from two hundred aud
sixty to five hundred feet in height
. Parties going to the volcano should carry plenty of
blankets, and go prepared for rainy weather. Ii they
are good pedestrians they had better go on foot. The
Governor Adams road is in good condition, and
though longer. is, unless in very dry weather, pre-
fershle to the DR.. Judd road. People who wish to see
all that is to be seen, should pass at least a week
among the mountains. IT the party is small. COM
Portable shelter can be found in caves, and tents will
be a useless incumbrance, In conclusion I would ex.
press my grateful sense of the kind hospitality ex-
perienced at the hands of MIR. William johnson and
Mr.. Thomas H. Paris, during my stay in Kona.