The Hawaiian gazette., 1868-12-23
Cascrns and Saeserranean
Passages


rspean SSsScs, Volcsnces and earthquakes, Il
Is natural to expect ehsSgn< In the surface of
tremendous Gcpth. Sp9eVs also in the interior
which have rot oecn tllca ap With masses of
stoae similar TO the materials of the earth
Itself. bat By water, air OF vapor with those
cavities q SroteS2ne ard romantic appear
arcs that arr found In the mountainous re-
gionS, ThsrV arr few ustnrsl objects which
have awakened uorv curiosity, or raore
s;rcogiy affected the imagination. than the
hollow PLACES of various formS aud sizes,
common 10 districts which have been subject
70 great physical disturbance. Their seola.
sion and gio0u. their GntaStic architecture,
the eject ot tOreAlis0s upon their numerous
erystslizatiOnS, the augmentation Of SQUAD
and its rvyerecFation. together With their ur-
known extent in many csSeS-sll these causes
contribute to Invest the cavities Of the earth
With exeisiug Interest. nor i Il strange to
iud them iuterw0vcp with traditions and
mythol0SiSs Of uuSulighisoed nations. On
account u their Sombrc interior and StrSuSe
Outline bSiag adapted toSlmf-Nss npon an X
uorans poPuiaeS. and give effect to religious
ooseryances, the pries,hoods 0f antiquity 10
e3tizcd IN eaveruS their AlSe divirities, aud
celebrated sanguinary rites UQoa the natural
sltarS found Ia their rrcSSSes. \ cave, with
prieSteSs seated upon tripod al its mouth,
pretending to ineale vap0r irom the late
rsor which Inspired knowledge of future
Dclpai3n oracle. reveFenced BY the minds Of
Grvee, and res0rted 20 BY the prOuieSt nlon-
srchS Of the sneicnt world The cavern,
alons with the deep forest, commended itself
10 the primitive Inhabitants Of Northern ER-
rope by It's mystery sud gloom, as an appro-
pirate spot for the performance Of a oarhar>
Gus worship, aud many local titles of such
sites preserve the memory Of their former
uses.
In Iudis the largest use has been made OF
caverns for religious purposes, aud immense
Pains have been taken with their sdornment,
extension and architecture, al Elephants,
>alsetts, and EllOra, where there are elahor-
I s,ely-wrought temples constructed, probably
cut Of snail natural ereyiees in the rock.
We shall now refer to few OF those cavities
which are entirely the workmanship Of ma
/ ture, with whose form msn has not interme1-
/ died, Sn5 notice the principle phenomenS
which they exhibit.
| That extensive cavities exist in the interior
/ OF the crust OF the globe Is evident from the
/ phsuomeua Of volcanoes and earthquakes.
/ They are not accessible TO observation, but
/ the repeated trsmblinSs Of the soil in various
I plSccS, aud experiments made OF oscillations
/ OF the pendulum, point TO the conclusion
/ that there are large underlying bellows at
no great distance iron the surface. Of which
/ the superficial land forms the root The Ia
/ ble-lsud Of Quito, aid the burning mountain
q
/ powerful volcanoes upon the earth. are sup
/ posed 70 be examples Of this. Condamine
/ believed that 4 considerable portion of the
/ former mountain was to be regarded as the
dome OF an enormous vAult; and Parrot has
shown il to be highly probable, by careful
calculation, that cavity Of At least cubic
! mile and bali exists beneath its surface
I The rumbling noise, like that Of distant
/ thunder, which. on the testimony Of Hum
/ bol1t, usually prseeisS and accompanies the
/ eruption Of its volcanoes affords evidence in
/ fzvor of this sapposiiiOu, and as an ineresse
Of the suhisrransau vae1ity must be the nee
SzaEy syys55i ,Gst be 6oSaS y j.
/ ing landscape will ultimately tall in, and this
| piece Of i1bie-land become an immense de-
/ pressiOa- The quantity of material seOoped
/ out Of the inferior Of the earth by volcanic
I vaeuities in which the largest mountains
/ would have ample space II has been esti-
| mated that EtnA, in one Of It's last most i'm
/ pOrtant eruptious, that Of 116q, threw out
/ mass Of lava equal Ia volume to a cone ), $50
/ feet in height, and II 90 feet in breadth, OF
nearly four times larger than Yesayius and
i fourteen such erupttous would produce 4
mass equal 10 Mont Blanc, reckoning from
/ the level Of the sea, and twenty-six such
/ iar-e eruptiO1s have occurred since the
twelfth century In 17s3. when the earth
1 quake Of Cal1oriz occurred, the Skap,ar vol
eal0, in Iceland, poured fourth stream of
/ lava MY miles long, between twelve aud if-
/ in thickness, which must have been equal TO
/ SIX times the mass Of Mont Blanc, and two
/ and half times that Of ChimboraLO-
In the volcanic rocks, eavern formations
are very common. and one Of the most splen-
/ did examples 0ecurs in the bssalr, rock Of
eoupdritivsly modern igne0uS origin This
/ Is the IIkn3Wu cave Of FinzaI in the isl
u - . -.
coast OF Scotland, composed entirely Of
amOrphOus and pillared 5asalt- The name Of
L the Island : derived from is singular struc-
I tEre-Stad4 siguifying in the Norwegian Ian
/ EuAZs, 4 people who were early on this coast,
4 star, and nsurzfIvsly column The ba-
s4lfie columns have in various places yielded
/ to the action OF the waves which have SCOOP
/ ed out ewes Of the most picturesque descrip-
I ton, the chief OF which are the Boat cave,
l the COruOrsnt e4Ve-=O called from the num-
L Der OF these birds visiting the spot-and the
/ great cave of FInZal
It + remarkable that this grand natural OBJ
/ jecr should have remained comparatively IN
1 k1aEn, Until Sir Joseph Banks had his atteu-
L ton Accidentally directed 10 Il, and Uzy be
said to have discovered il 10 the Inhabitants
I Of South Britain This great cavern consists
/ Of J tIvE like m1sz AZ tire base, and oftEO
ranges Of 5asaltie columns resting upon il.
I which present to the eye Gu appearance Of
reg1l1ritF almost architectural, and support
1 ing an irregular ceiling Of rock According
to the measarements Of Sir Joseph Banks,
I the cave from the rock without i three hun
drst and seEeuty-One feet, six inches; the
breadth AZ tue mouth, 6fty-three feet, seven
L inches the height Of arch at the mouth one
/ hundred and seventeen feet, six inches /;
depth Of water AZ the mouth, eighteen feet /;
and at the bottom Of the cave nine feet
/ The echo Of the waves which wash into
u =
/ Li4imhbinn- The Cave Of music ACuIIoch
| TEuarkz. If too much admiration has
been lEvished on il by some, aud IT, in CON
I se41snce, more recent visitors have left it
I With disappointment, il must be reeolleeted
that all description are but pictures Of the
/ feelings Of the narrator; it i, moreover, a.
/ unreasonable to eIpect that the same OBJ
| jectz should prodoes corresponding effects
On al uiuds, on the enlighte1ed and On the
TEizzr, a. that ever individual should alike
/ Be sensible Of the merits Of Phidizs znd
/ Raphael Of eophOcies and Of Shakespeare
BAT 4 this cave were even destitute of that
order and symmetry, that richness arising
from Multiplicity of parts combined With
I greatness ef dimension and simplicity Of
lsngth, the tziizhf gloom half co1ee1Ifng
the PLAYFUL 11d E1Tinz effects Of rejected
/ hZzf- the ec1o Of the measured surge zs Il
risez and falls, the transparent green of the
water and the profound and GiEy solitude
| q the whole scene- could not AL strongly
to impress mind zifted with aay sense Of
! bea1ry IN ART Or In nature, z1d Il viii be
compelled % admit & Is not without cause
that sch great celebrity has been conferred
On the cave Of FiBzzLD
CETsrns oee1r ID modern porphyry In the
neizhbo1rhood of Q1ito, znd even 10 mod
en- laFzs. the election of which has taken
pizes Ulrhin the nsmoy q nzn- Flinders
has made y acqzziEfed With ezTes in the