The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1868-05-09
{ SIX DOLLARS PER ANNCM.
VOL. XII. No. I3. WHOLE No. G2l.

sihle 10 conceive of a stream flowing with greater
rapiditv than the cataract and river we witnessed
April 10. L; reminded of the Connecticut
River in spring food. with the stream filled
with ice and rushing over the rapids at an impet-
uous rate. The speed is more likely To have been
twenty-five miles an hour than twelve. Where II
ran down the prccipice, at an angle OF about
thirty degrees, it was more narrow ana rapid than
lower down, where it spread out broader. This
was rhe only stream which reached the sea, and
flowed into ii little west of the south point of
the island, at place called kailikii. liz lasted
only five days, the eruption ceasinS entirely
the night of the llth or morning of the 18th
During it's continuance, the atmosphere was
filed with smoke SO dense that the sun appeared
like a ball of fire, and the whole island was
shrouded IN darkness. This smoke came from the
rent or crater, and highly charged with sui
phur. AS il spread over the island, 1T carried a
deadly blast to vegetation, and the leaves of the
more tender plants and vegetables were withered
and died Itdd not kill tie plants in any sections,
that we could learn
Opposite the point OF coast where the lava
reached the sea, small conicai island was
thrown up in the sea, about mile distant from
the shore, consisting Of mud and sand, and emit
ting steam from it's summit. This island has be-
come joined to the main land by the lava flowing
from the eruption. As the lava entered the
sea, clouds of steam and smoke rose up, and flames
of blueish fire emitted, rising from the water
to height of from ten to twenty feet.
was highly charged with sulphur gas and cleo
tricity. and frequent flashes of lightning were seen
directly the lava stream, accompanied with
short claps of thunder These flashes were also
observed less frequently further up the mountain.
Two kinds of lava were erupted during the flow.
1t commenced with stream of smooth, glossy
lava, known here as the pdhoeh0e, which was fol-
lowed by the thick, dirty kind called da. kahu-
ku farm nearly covered with the latter,
which branched out into four wide streams, COW
ering space of four miles wide and long. This
was followed again by the liquid or PdhOeh0e,
which ran into the sea, and continued till the
eruption ceased About 1000 acres OF good pas
turc land were destroyed. besides which the lava
ran over immense district of worthless land.
On the night of the 9th, prior to the erup-
ton, there shower of ashes and pumlcc
stone. which came from this crater, and covered
the country to the distance of ten or fifteen miles
each way. Generally the ashes were not more
than one or two inches in depth, but in some pla-
ces were found to be fifteen. Tie pumice stone
was very light and appears to have been carried
by the wind n great distance. Pieces two and
three inches in size foated ashore at kealakckua
Bay forty-five miles distant.
The roaring of the crater was novel feature to
those who had never visited eruption before.
1t was caused by the rocks thrown cut from the
crater, and the grinding crushing process ofthe
aa as it moved along This al flow appears
composed of half-mclted lava, and as it is pushed
along piled up sometimes fifty or even a hundred
feet high presenting the appearance OF railroad
embankment, the sides having an angle of about
forty degrees, down which the lava stones keep
rolling This stream generally moves along slow
ly, but when the quantity of liquid lava. which
floats and carries along the ad, is abundant, 1T
moves from one to four miles an hour. w hat
makes the difference between the dry 0a lava and
the liuuid paho.hoe which flows like water, is an in
tercsting subject of inquiry that has never been
settled. They both flow from the same craters,
one giving place to the other in turns. Our own
opinion is that the smooth liquid variety obtains
its character by long fusion. while the dd variety
/ (Which appears like half melted stones and dirt
mixed togchcr) consists of the interior surface OF
the earth torn off and thrown out during the erup-
/ tion An examination of the various aa streams
tends To confirm this theory.
Besides the dwelling and premises, which were
completely burned and covered up ten feet deep
by the lava, Mr. Brown lost about one hundred
head of cattle, and other parties about one hun
dred and fifty lead. These cattle appeared to be
paralyzed on the approach of the lava, and made
no efforts to escape 1t is difficult TO estimate the
loss of property in Kahuku, but it may be
roughly set down to at from ten to fifteen thousand
dollars The houses DESTROYED were not expensive,
the main loss being in land and stock
The lava thrown out during this eruption has
been of more porous nature than in most OF the
late ones. Some of the specimens we have seen
are exceedingly light. The shower of brownish
pumice stone, which preceded the lava flow, was
and showed the eruption to possess new char
acter, perhaps the existence of more than
usual steam and gases in its composition.
Some have wondered why the flow ceased so sud
denly-continuing only five days. The cause is
probably this SO soon the steam, which has
been the active agent in producing the earthquake
shocks, and in raising the lava near to the top
of the summit cmter that it lghtened up the clouds
above it, found vents, the eruption lost much OF
its power. and allowed the lava to rapidly subsde,
and the pressure by which it was thrown out
gave way.
The quantity of lava ernpted has not been prob
ably one tenth what discharged in 1859, but
the quantity of steam, gas and smoke discharged
during week must have exceeded what escaped
during ten weeks in 1859, when the volume oi
smoke was comparatively small. We judge so
from it's density over all the group and for thou
sand miles off. This has not occurred in any late
previous eruption to the same extent. The infer
ence therefore may be drawn that when an un-
usual quantity of gases and smoke escape, lese
amount of lava will he discharged; and vice versa
when the quantity of smoke is small the amount
of lava is incrca scd.
Respecting the weather during March, 1T may
be added that ii of the same stormy character
as has prevailed all over the western hemisphere
including the north and south Pacific. Tho
quantity of rain that has fallen on the mountains
of Hawaii has also been large, but to what extent
these have affected the internal fires, and producet
the earthquakes and eruptions. must remain only
n matter of conjecture. The thermometer during
the same month showed no unusual huctuatlon
ranging from 6S' and 10' at sunrise, and o30 t.
SO at noon, with considerable regularity.
DIR. Hillebrand communicates to the GG-ette al
account of his visit to the crater, from which w
take the following
As the principal interest was the discovery OF tn
main of the stream, We ut once went to tina
part of it, where according to common report, tn
lava had issuel. very light dark brown glistenin'
punce stone lay scattered about long before the Law
was seen. Near the flow it increased so much tha
the animals feet sank deep into it at every step
soon reached the rid of hill from which we sur
veyed the place where, according to our guides &C
count, the fountain of lava had been seen. Thi