The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1868-05-06

at;VrtN onsNatiaeie ether tor OFFENSIVE OF &c
feeslve purposes
On Friday mernlag, al rather late heer
NE were again In the saddle. and started on
towards wsiohlna, through a most desolsts
Soaatu, me vas, lava helds on either sid,
% the rad might web be compared with
an sxsssted sea with It's angry waves tossing
az and arrested suddenly In that state by ths
powerful viii Of Him whom the elements
hAvv to obey. Some OF these mighty lava
blocks offered most striking resemblance
10 animals, or even 10 human agurvs; Others
were httroGs earricatarcs Of both, wen.
der whether they did not once serve to the
ancient Inhabitants as models Cor the con
straeTien Of their Idols; their Imagination
would have had but little to do indeed. to
follow up and enlargv or the original design,
In many places the read Was cracked, and at
quite close 70 Il, presenting ehssm some y
feet deep and IS many wide. and laying bare
the different s,ratss Of old laws iows, hidden
TO the eve since untcld centuries. A dead
silence reigued In these regions. not living
being was 10 be seen here. Thus may have
looked the lands with which Satan Invested
his fAyor.;e angel Relisl. In the dark domin-
ion Of Haaes, TO laugh al bis vain and pueril-
Gus efforts to cultivate thea. AAer some
7 four hours riding. that huge lava-6sla ended,
aud NC reached an abandoned shepherds
house, where We found some water for Ms aud
our dried up animals, len behind BY the
I frightened Inhabitants. who had apparently
aed in great hurry from this scene Of grow
ing danger, One more hours ride brought
Us to the summit Of a hill. and here we stop
ped aud gained in awe aud amazement
Before US stretched the Rad to waiohlnu,
which place was said to be only about six
miles distant from us--eut never was there
rad more efeetuslly tahoeed than this one;
never was there any stronghold more power
tally defended agains, any invading force, no
matter what their number and means of
attack might ee-than the village Of waiohi-
na, in the district OF Ksu, on HIS Msjesty's
Isle Of Hawaii was from our side on that
day.
A livid stream Of IRE, apparently eight
miles in length, and on an average, some six
or eight hundred fee, wide, was hurrying its
destructive waves to the SEA at the rate Of at
least eight miles an hour, at a cannon-shot
before us Our place Of observation being
situated pretty nigh at equal distance from
the scarce Of the fow and its fall into the
ocean, namely, four miles from either, and
the tiery stream having needed according to
the statement Of some natives who observed
itl but Que hour 10 clear that distance, be-
heve the calculations as TO the rapidity Of the
dow to be nearly correct
On our left-to the north-east-four active
craters, the cones of which however. were
hidden from our sight BY an elevation Of the
ground, were alternately, and sometimes
Though rarely altogether and at once, in
tremendous state of action, vomiting their
fiery lava jets for whole minutes together to
4 height which reached above the afore-
mentioned elevation BY 500 to 600 feet. The
angry roar by which these formidable erup-
tions were accompanied. greatly contributed
to the grandeur of the scene
On our right--to the southwestern i'm
mense cloud Of steam, enveloping the entire
horizon, yelled the spot where the mighty
ocean waves had to receive that dery hap
tism, which, though it was sure to bring vic
tory to them. and shame and death to their
powerful enemy, yet must here cause a
mighty struggle well worth beholding.
Unfortunately, neither of these two most
attractive points TO the right and left were
to mortAls- Nature is anxious to
throw veil over its grandest and most sub
lime scenes, threatening with immediate de-
struetiou whoever dares to scrutinire too
closely her most sacred and most mysterious
wonders II the sulphury gases, poured
'ourth By numberless quantity of small
ZONES aud assures which bOrdered the lava
low, and the exhaustion Of which were driv-
n directly toward Us BY sharp breeze; II /
hese poisonous gases had permitted any /
lezre- approach, which however, they did !
Tot, the access would nevertheless have been
for on this side the flowing
treAu Of lava (which had broken out on
Wednesday, April 81 there was another one
lose b. AZ the distance Of musket-baII from
IUr observatory. This latter stream had
irOken out OF the nh, and though it had
topped on the preceding day and was cool
~, yet it was still hot enough to set i'm
in a bright blaze any piece Of dry
EOOd thrown upon il or any dry stick stuck
atO il stood near its bank, NY nose in
~ pockrt-handkerrhie[, for long time, and
VAIN place it was, TO be sure Near It,
nd sometimes upon the very flow itself,
umbls offerings Of bananas, breadfruit and
heIos were scattered around; even native
05iceo-pipe bad been sacrificed to appoase
be terrible wrath Of "PeIe huhurf Pigs,I
Az none, which may be considered already
: 4 progress towards civilization
The stealthy wrath with which this fiery
.reau behind vas rolling on il waves to
srtAiH watsry grave, the low growing noise
rat accompanied II, the mighty cloud Of
nOks and sulphurous gases that followed
/, clearly indicating its way Whenever it
seane hidden By an eminencs Of the
round, was sight Of appalling majesty and
rzBde1r. II the view towards the east had
or been intercepted By rising Of the
round, tEO more running flows Of lava
light have been seen, one Of whieb-ibe
ain streams reported to have destroyed,
nOngst others, Captain Browns ranch near
TaiOhiua
Besides the four principal active cones
1oye MENTIONED many more smaller ones