The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-06-04
= DEscaRT1oN aF THE VOLCANO.
a lettershum KeaIaEehua, Hawaii, April Is,

DESCRIPTION OF THE VOLCANO.
a letterfur KealaEehua, Hawaii, April 1S,
says: .ss.s s@.-
On ascending the ridge just opposite the
Mamain pafof Kahuka, which was separated
from qsby;a valley about one eighth Of . mile
wide, the whole SCENE opened before us in one
grand pAnorsnna. The valley itself was foored
twenty feet deep, which appears to have. been
the first thrown out, and came from g crater
about tensmilas:n the mountain, which burst.
out ON Tuesday, April z. This crater and stream
had ceased flowing, and the lava was rapidly
cooling, so that ne ventured to stand on it,
) though at the risk OF burning our boot6;and
being choked by the suiphurous gases. On
Tuesday afternoon, at 5 o'clock, new crater,
several miles lower down, and about tao miles
Sairectly hack os tGar..i.: ocsHH'ss residence,
burst out with heavy roar and fightful
crash. The lavs stream commenced flowing
down the beautiful plateau, toward and around
thefarm-h house, and the inmates had barely hme
to escape with what clothes they had on be-
fore the houses were all surrounded and M
closed with streams ofAery lava, varying rom
ave to ffty feet in depth. Fortunately, all
the inmates escaped safely to Waiohinl; but
how narrow the. escape was, and now Taplo1y
the stream flowed, may be inferred from
the fact that the path by which they es-
capped was covered with lava within ten MN
utes after they passed over it. The new crater
WAS at least one and half miles in extent near
Nv circular BY constantly enlargipg its area, by
engulphing the sides. While tho above gentle
man was looking st it, O. tract OF st Least hye
acres in extent tumbled in and Tas sTaliowed we
enlargement lis going on mainly ON the lower
side, towards the farm houses, and 1t ls
thought that its diameter is already about two
miles. Four huge jetso fountains We're con-
tnnslIy being thrown up ont OF thus great era
ter. ever varying In size and height, sometimes
apparently all joined together, and making one
continuous spouting o mile and 8 half long.
From the lower side Of the crater stream OF
iduid, ROLLINS, boiling lava poured out and ran
down the platean, then down. the sides OF the
pail following the track Of the government
road, then along the foot Of the pail or pIeci-
pice five miles to the sea.
FIERY FOUNTAINS.
This was the scene that opened before us as
we assembled the. ridge ON Friday. AT the !eit
were these Sou: grand fou1talns playing with
terrific fury, throwing blood-red lava and huge
stones, some as large as q house, to height
VARYING constantly from five hundred to q
Thousand feet. The grandeur OF this scene no
$ Imagination can pictur.-no one who mas not
seen il can realize.
RIVER OF FIRE.
Then there was the rapid, rolling stream,
rushing and tumbhng like swollen river,
down the hill, over the precipice and down the
cstara.t, with q fury perfectly indescribable.
This river OF fire varied from five hundred to;
twelve hundred OF fifteen hundred feet in
width, and when it is known that the descent
is two Thousand feet in five miles, the state
ment that it ran at the rate OF ten miles an
hour will not be doubted.
The SCENE AT NIGHT.
We waited till night, when the scene was
T. 1,,,xv %hn rrIro
SON red Of the lava, doubly bright, a1d the
lurid glare OF the red smoke clouds that over
hung the whole; the roaring of the rushing
stream, the noise Of the tumbling rocks thrown
out Of the crater, and the flashes of their cleo
trlc ightning-altogetb etber made it surprisingly
grand, and showed that man is nothing as
compared with his Creator.
INCIDENTS OF THE ERUPTION.
The number Of shocks which occurred at
Waiohinu from March 18th. to April 10th is
estimated to have been upwards Of two thou
sand, tb are having been some days between
three ar ] four hundred. The heaviest shock
occurred on Thursday, April 2, being the same
that was felt 80 sensibly at Honolulu. This
destroyed every church and nearly every
dwelling in the whole district, From 1t to u
o'clock OF that day there had been service in
the large church in Waiohipu, and it was
crowded with people. Only four hours after
they Left the heavy shock came. the walls
tumbled in, and tie roof fell fat-all the work
of twenty seconds. At the same instant every
man, woman and child were thrown from their
feet. Horses and cattle dropped down as il
dead. Aman ridipgsUp horseback had his
horseto tumbla under him so suddenly that he
found himself and horse lying fist on the
ground before the thought Of an earthquake
entered his mind.
The earth opened all through the district,
and in some places caused dangerous fis:ures,
while in others it closed uR again. In one
place it closed twenty feet from where 1t open,
ed. These assures make it dangerous to travel
in tho DARK. Everywhere the roads are broken
up. snd il will taks much money and labor to
restore them to their old condition.
As the Kona packet was passing the south
point Of the island, about three miles from the
Shore, a copical island, four hundred feet high,
rose out OF the sea, midway between the ves-
sci and the land, emitting a column OF steam
and amoke. The lava river flows into the sea
at this island, and has extended the shore out
to it one mile at least so that it is now on the
main Land. The packet was 30 near when this
island burst up, that the mud was spattered N
the masts and sells Of the vessel.
The scene Of the eruption was most melan-
choly one to witness. There were hundreds Ut
fine cattle grazing around the farm houses,
when the lava streams surrounded them and