The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-06-04

hemmed them in. The poor ANIMALS seemed
aware Of the danger, + 1T saw no way OF escape.
The fiery lava drew nearer and nearer, w sne
heat made them restless, but they would not
rnn. They bravely looked the bloody foe In the
face, stood firm till it reached them, then fell
in the stream-a sadden cloud Of smoke follow
ed and not sign remsired. Thus one after
another fell till over two hundred were con-
sumed.
AN incident which ought not to be omitted
is the shower of ashes which preceded the
eruption. During Monday night, prior to the
eruption, the ground throughout the district
was covered with coating OF fine sand and
light pumice stone, of light yellowish color
Where this shower Of sand and pumice stone
came from is as yet unknown, but probably
from some vent hole near the crater.
Ths suferipgs and alarm experienced by the
residents Of Kau during the two weeks that the
earthquakes and eruptions continued prior to
their leaving, appears to have been great.
Night after night they were compelled to sleep
on the mountain ridge back Of the village, ex-
posed to the damp winds and rain from the
sea, subsisting on taro and fishes when they
could get these, or fasting when they could
not. The whole district is in ruins, field OF
desolatiop, and probably five hundred thousand
dollars would not restore it to what 1t was q
month ago. It is no wonder that the foreigners
are leaving the place, with the intention OF never
returning to it again. The number OF deaths
Will be between eighty and one hundred. The
exact number may not be known for some time,
as some persons are missing whose absence
may yet be accounted for.
The tidal wave was much greater than before
reported. It rolled over the tops OF the cocoa
nut trees, probably sixty feet high, and drove
the floating rubbish, timber, &C., inland Q dfs-
tance OF quarter Of mile IN some places,
taking with it, when it returned to the sea,
houses, men, women, and almost everything
movable.
THEORY OF THE ERUPTION.
The eruption is by far one of the grandest
that history has ever recorded, and sadly
enough has lost about one hundred lives at
Hawaiiaps, no white men, though the escape
of Captain Brown and family, near whose house
the lava burst forth, was narrow. This ls the
idea Of the volcano: The mountain OF Mauna
Loa has base of three hundred miles In clr-
cumference, an active crater at its Mokuwowro,
and another on its eastern flank about one
third Of its height from the sea Kilaueu, and
at various points on the hanks terminal
craters, whence lava has burst olt in the
ages past. When, therefore, the mountains
begin to labor with internal heat and the pres
sure Of the lava becomes too great for the
vulsions until break occurs and the internal
cauldron is lapp q. We never know where thus
vent will open. At the last eruption, in 1859. it
opened in the northern flank, and flowed sixty
miles through desolate region before reach
ing the sea. This tune it has opened on the
western flank, only twelve miles from the sea,
which it reached in three hours. 1t has taken
q part of the island where no flow has occurred
for ages past, destroying grassy plains, houses
and cattle. The vent is so low down that the
flow is rapid, and immense amounts will be
thrown out as you may judge, for already Ko-
lui Point is extended out mile into the ses.
The flow usually continues some months, put
Of q visit and will be full Of volcanic phenomena
for months.