The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1859-04-23
Volcanic Eruption in the Sandwich Is
lands.

|
m.fceat App.aronce Of tie VoLcano-1 q
hmm Of L,,va Eight Umdred Fcet UgA--
Tie Ercttenae,t at U0n0Lahl
Volcanic cruptions are numerous at Ha
wal, but not within the memory Of the
oldest inhabtant has there been one Sc
beautiful and extensive as this. Probably
the quantity Of lava emitted from the GA
ter of Mokuaweoweo in lSJJ. was larger
but 1t was not thrown up in columns above
| the mouth of the crater, but simply ran
out Of the side Of it through deep gulcl
| the lava being first perceived some miles
below the crater. on the first announce
| ment OF the recent eGuptions, number Ot
! people from Honolulu, including editors
naturalists, curiOsity-scellers, and others
! fastened to the spot. The eruption occur
red on the mountain known as Mauna
! Loa, near the centre Of the Island Of Ia
/ wall. The idrerttscr thus describes the
! scene and circumstances Of the disaster:
! This new crater. for which we find no
native name except "peie how, Che new
! erupton.) Is located on the northern slope
! Of MaUna Loa, at an elevation Of say $500
/ feet above the sea, and an equal distance
/ from the summit OF the mountain. 1t is
| some ten or more miles westward and
about 1 900 feet lower down than the lat
eruption Of lsjj, known as that Of Nolu
aweOWco From the distance al which we
observed it. about ten miles, and from va
/ rious points Of observation, II appeared tC
I be circular, il width being about equal t.
( its breadth, and perhaps 300 feet across
! the mouth. The lava does not simply run
out from the side OF the crater like water
from the side Of bowl, but Is thrown up
IN continuous columns. very much Tx the
o., rtF. Z
Biographies. Sometime. whcu very &c
tive, 4 Spirc or cone of lava woU!I shoot up
like a rocket, or III the form oi a huge py-
raiuid TO q height nearly doubl- the lsac
Of the crater. If tll- mouth Of the crater
j. FIVE hundred feet across. the YeIf.uI:c
ular column must be eight hundred % one
thousand feet in height! Then by watch
ing it with a -py-glaS>. the columns could
be seen 10 diyerge and fall III all IDauHel
Of shapes, Ike beautiful fountain.
BELCHEs OUT STONES OF HUNDREDS or ToAs
WEIGHT.
This part of the scene was one Of true
graudcUT-no words can convey d fuli idea
of il u our readers. The molten fiery
redneSs of the lava, ever varying, ever
changing its form from the simple gu.gling
Of spring 10 the highest fountain con-
ccivGble. /, Z scene that - be viewed VII
be painted. IN 81! .ts sp!euaJr and Ins. -niii-
ccnce. on the !HvInCsy OF the observer TIL
death. L4r.e boulder, OF re.-hot lava
stone. weighing hundreds, If not thou
sands of tons thrown up with Iuconcelya-
ble power high above the liquid mass,
could be seen occasionally falling outside
or on the rim OF the crater tuubliug down
the cones and rolling over the prec.pice.
remaining brilliant Tor = tc.y moments.
n. 1 i
among the Iua>, Of surrounding lava 80
awiuiiy grand - beautiful was this ever
VARYING scene. that IAe observer who SECS
II from good position cannot help watch
ing = with intense delight and increasing
excitement Tor hours together; the only
draw back being the severe cold which i
found III TIE HIght against which travellers
should be prov -ied-
\ densc, heavy column Of smoke conti-
nlially rose out from the crater. bat always
on the north side, and took north-easteF-
" direction, rising IN one continuous CO
lumn far above thc mountain to a height
Of perhaps IootD tre: from the crater
ON leaving the crater. the lava stream
does not appear for SOME distance. say an
eighth Of "a IAiir q, Il cuts away through j
dep rlylue or -U!ch, which hide, il from
. the eye Hog deep this eulch may be J.
, all conjecture. as il ! impossible - get
near enough 10 look into it The tI>t,
then, that We see Of the lava after being
thrown up in the crater l. it, branching
out INTO various streams some distance be
low the tountam-head Instead of run
ning IN one large stream it parts and d.-
yides into a great number. spreading out
over a track Of i've or tx miles IN width
For the first six miles from the crater
hs 4
the lava varies from four To ten miles an
hour, according 10 Jhe descent. Bur after
il reaches the plain, where it IS level, the
stream moves slower Here the streams
are not so numerous a. higher up. there
being principal one which varies and j.
very irregular from an eighth 10 a half a
mile in width, though there are frequent
branches running OFT from ii. This prin-
cipal stream reached the Wainanalii, on
the 3i>t after flow Of eight days from
the 22l of January. This stream. on
reaching the sea. spread out 10 4 half a
mile in width. The sight OF it a. il poured
into the sea, forming clouds of steam .eve-
raj hundred feet high. i represented bv
those who saw it, a. very beautiful On
reaching the plain, where it Is more level.
the lava stream of course moves along
more slowly and i'll one general stream less
divided than above
The length OF the lava stream from the
crater To where il enters the sea at Was
nanalii. we estimated TO be thirty -ht
miles
'On the afternoon Of our arrival at the
camping ground, new stream started
some few miles below the crater, which
had evidently been damned up 10y some
obstruction, and came rushing down with
nd t,,,,t ,o,l, II
thick Jungle which lay in its track, burn
ing the cracking trees, and sending up for
a time thick smoke almost as dense as
that from the crater This stream, from
tho time it broke away from its eInbank-
ment, moved along two miles an hour till
! it reached the vicinity OF our camp, when
its progress was checked, and it moved
not more than d quarter OF mile an
hour But ii formed a grand sight. Here
was stream of lava rolling over the PLAIN,
twenty to twenty-five feet high, and an
eighth of a mile in width, though lis width
varied n great deal, sometimes broader,
sometimes narrower. 1t was. in fact 4
mass or pile of red-hot stones, resembling a
pile OF Goals on fire, borne along 10y the l.
Ouid lava stream underneath. As itmovcd
slowly along large red bouiders would roll
down the sides, breaking into Il thousand
small stones, crushing and burning the
| trees which lay in the track. 1t is impos-
sible to give true conception of the i'm
mense force and power of this lava stream
| bearing along as it does an almost incon-
ceivable mass.
1T reminds us most wildly of the
breaking up of the ice in large river on
! ly the imagination must stretch the com
parison, and suppose the ice piled up ~
feet, and thus borne along by the current
beneath, the whole width of the river
moving at the same time, crashing and
breaking and piling up conesand irregular
masses on top. But even this comparison
| is far below the reality-to be conceived it
| must be seen"
So far, the eruption seems to have done