Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1868-06-18
THE GREAT EARTHQUAKES.

The latest newspapers from Honolulu,
Sandwich islands, which reached San
francisco on the 22d ult, supply addi-
tional details of the scene at Hilo during
the great convulsions, and interesting
letters from gentlemen who have visited
Mauna Loa and Kilauca since the subsi-
dence of their subterranean fires,
A letter from q resident of Hilo thus
describes the scene at that place:
All Hilo is in the greatest state of ex-
citement. All are panic stricken.
Thursday, the "a, at 405 pm, we ex. /.
perienced the most awful earthquake l
have ever knowB. | was coming from
the tannery to my store when | heard a
loud rumbling noise, like a number of
iron carriages drawn over q rough road
by wild horses. Soon the shock came,
and never shall forget it. The horses
in the pasture took fright and ran and
snorted, the dogs howled, the cocks crew
and hens cackled, the pigeons flew about
as though some one had been firing
among them. The shock lasted a good
while, how long cannot say, but long
enough to make me feel sea sick, and 1t
was with difficulty that ! could stand. On
reaching the store, ssch sight and such
smell greeted me. All the bottles of
pie fruits, preserves, sauces, spices, etc.,
were on the floor, broken. The chimney
Of the cook house was thrown down and
the end of the house burst in. All the
stone walls about the town were fiat;
Reeds new house was also injured, the
foundation is destroyed, some of the
large pillar supports of lava are split.
The sea receded some one hundred and
fifty or two hundred feet, perhaps more,
and when it came back it rose about ten
feet above high wafer mark. No one
slept on Thursday night, the earth was
moving constantly like person breath
ing, and every once in while it would
give shrug. To day it is shaking every
few minutes; my family are all out doors,
afraid to stay in the house. As l write
it is shaking, and occasionally | wait for
il to subside to resume my writing.
Stackpole arrived here to-day. He says
the sea came in and completely demol-
ished every house in the place, and car
ried off about one hundred and sixty
seven bales of pulu, the store and every
thing He described the shock as more
terrible than we had it here.
Hildebrand, who has paid visit to the
great crater, thus describes its appear
ance:
The ground around the crater, parlicu-
larly on the eastern and western sides,
is rent by great number of assures, one
near the Puma road more than twelve
feet wide, aud very deep; others OF lesser
size run parallel to aud cross the kau
road, SO as TO render travel on it very
dangerous. The look k-out house is de-
tached from the mainland by a very deep
crsvasse, aud stands now on an isolated,
overhanging rock, which, at the next
severe conclusion, must tumble into the
pit below. Many small assures are hid
den by grass and bushes, forming so
many traps for the unwary. The Vol
cano House, however, has not suffered,
nor is the ground surrounding it broken
in the least From the walls of Kilauea
large masses of rock have been detached
and thrown down. On the west aud
northeast side, where the fire had been
most active before the great earthquake
Of April 2, the falling masses problb'y
have been at once melted by the lava,
and carried of 10 its stream, for the
walls there remain perpendicular as they
were before, but that part of the wall has
lost portions of its mass is shown too
evidently by the deep crevices along the
western edge just spoken Of, and the par
tial detachment in many places OF large
prisms of rock. But il is on the east and
northwest WALL particularly, that the
character Of the crater has undergone q
change Along the descent on the
second ledge masses of rock, many more
than one hundred tons in weight, oh
struct the path and form abutments TO
the stone pillars-small enttress hills
similar to those observed 10 front Of the
high basaltic wall in KoolAu, Oahu. So,
also, in The deep crater itself, the eastern
wall has lost much Of its perpendicular
dip, aud has become shelving, in part.
The crater itself was entirely devoid
Of LIQUID lava; no incsndescence any
where; pitcby darkness lowered over the
abyss ihe FIRST night I say the 6rst
night, because during the second night
of our stay, between IL aud l an, de-
donations we're heard again, and light re-
appeared for short time IN the South
Lake; white vspors Of steam issued from
The A sor in hundred places, bat Of those
sitting sulphurous aud acid gases for
merly SO overpoweriDg in the neighbor-
hood Of the lakes and ovens, only the
fainiest trace was perceived here and
there. The heat was nowhere 80 great
that We could not keep our footing for
minute Or more, although IN many
places Il would forbid the touch Of The
bare hand. The great South Lake is