The New York herald., 1868-05-09
of safety the entire road was oqys.sa YitA the

the lava pushed cnwsrds 10 the Sea, ana drove the
tated and conyulssd, and huge waves rolled towards
the ocean - n lashed 10 fury BY storm. The
ground thus occupied Is now mass Of lava form.
ing point for at least one mile in length; and a.
the stream continues to descend the probability Is
that it win remain stationary and form portion Of
the island ii
The most terrible shock Of earthquake, which took
place on April burst open the earth at the village
of waischina and tidal wave rushed inwards with
fearful effect 1t was over fifty feet in height, and
swept over the tops Of the high cocoanut trees car
rying death and destruction to persons and property
Throughout the island this shock was felt with fear
ful effect. Buildings Of all kinds were torn from
their foundations and hurled great distances, and
many persons and animals lost their lives.
The scene at the craters was appalling. Huge
rocks were hurled from their mouths, accompanied
by streams Of lava, hot and red which attained an
altitude Of one thousand feet. When it fell it
rushed down the mountain towards the sea at the
rate Of nearly ten miles per hour. The new crater
which was formed on the 9th Of March is over
two miles in circumference 1t vomted rocks and
broad streams Of liquid nre which Illuminated the
night for an area Of over nifty miles.
In addition to the one mile of land formed by
the lava driving back the sea another stream ex-
tending for q distance Of three miles poured
down the mountain, striking the water with ire
mendous shock At this time another earthquake
shock occurred and Immediately after an island,
nearly four hundred feet in height, rose above the
water and was soon after Joined to the island Of
Hawaii by the stream Of lava. I'D Nd M
The eruption of moist red clay took place during
the great earthquake shock and went rushing
the plain below for distance Of three miles. From
immense stream Of water is now pouring down.
The entire section Of country around Mauna
Loa has been desolated. stream Of lava
is flowing under the ground six miles from
the sea and has broken out in four places,
each throwing up brilliant jets Of fre The base Of
the volcano is about thirty miles in circumference
and now presents most barren and desolate aspect
the gases arising from the rent earth having COM
pletey destroyed all vegetation. ano.
The earthquake shocks were felt in all OF the Sand
wich islands, but only around Mauna Loa was the
effect disastrous. anAuit .u m
The eruption still continues with undated VIC.
lence and the scene is Of the most terribly grand
that has ever been witnessed in modern times. From
the crater Of Mauna Loa the huge column Of smoke
continues to ascend hiding from view the skies and
clouds and enveloping the entire country In partial
darkness. Every now and then thick streams Of lava
shoot upwards from the midst Of the SMOKE illumn-
ating everything for Q few minutes. Hundreds of
jets Of flames burst from the lava and are thrown for
distance Of thousand feet, the whole forming
pyrotechnic display Of SURPRISING magnincence.
Shock after shock Of earthquakes convulses the island
and ever and anon the low rumbling sound which
breaks out from amid the din and noise of the erup
ton indicates where the earth has been violently torn
asunder or where the SUBMITS Of huge hills and
mountains have been hurled from their places and
sent rolling downwards to their base.
Up to the present time the damage inflicted has
been confined to the island Of Hawaii, but II the
eruption continues it is feared that the adjacent
islands win feel the effect The loss Of property so
far is estimated at five hundred thousand dollars.
The greatest terror and suffering imaginable exist
on the island. His Majesty the King has issued
sufferers Of the eruption. sloop has been des-
patched already with provisions and other neces-
saries and large number Of persons have started
from this town to witness the grand spectacle.
through its most violent and dangerous period The
discharge of lava and rocks continues however, and
the spectacle is q wildly and terribly grand one.
Manua Loa, or Roa, as It is frequently called, has
been well known to the world for many years past
az Of the most active and terrible volcanoes in
the world. Situated In the centre Of the island Of
Hawaii, one Of the group Of Sandwich Islands, 1t
gradually ascends until n reaches an altitude of
1s 1853 feet was ascertained during the exploring
expedition under Lieutenant Wilkes, OF the United
states Navy. This great height appears to have
been attained by accretion, and, indeed the entire
island Of Hawaii is formed Of the lava which has
been fom time to time, thrown from the craters OF
the volcano. The lower parts Of the mountain are
covered with forests and comparatively fertile
but after reaching certain height everything be-
comes quite barren and nothing but lava mixed
with clay and hardened almost to the consistency of
nint forms the summit This gives 1t smooth and,
as it is quite round the top domelike appearance
The mountain is covered with craters. The prn-
cipal one, known by the name Of Mokua-weo-weo,
Is 900 feet in length by 5000 in width Its
depth varies from 40 to 7so feet and the bottom
traversed with ridges from ten to nifty feet high,
alternating with deep chasms and smooth beds OF
hardened lava These latter are covered with
nssures from which ascend thin clouds Of steam and
smoke. Another formidable, though smaller, crater
is called Pohakuohanalei. These two craters, how
ever DO not to have taken part in the eruption
reported In the telegraphic despatch. The one that
was, or is In action II the great crater of Kiauea