The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1868-08-15

TIDAL PHENOMENA Or Thursday evening about
nine O'Clock. the natives living ON "Fisherman's
Point south part of Honolulu, observed the tide
rising higher than usual, and commenced shouting
50 as to ala.m the leighborhood. The sea however
did not enter any If the houses, though it washed
some Of the door ills. About twelve o'clock mid
night the natives we're awaked by O peculiar noise
resembling persons wailing, and on going out found
the sea ~receding, tn, noise being caused by the water
rushing over the ref The return Of the sea must
have been gradual, IS it excited no special attention.
From that hour til morning the sea rose and fell
several times, but We do not learn that anything spe-
cial occurred. At seven o'clock, the sea again be-
gan TO flow out raTdly, until fifteen minutes past,
when it checked ana rapidly returned. The extreme
fall from the highest point, as measured by Mr..
Emmes, was three feet and ten inches. At twenty
minutes past 5 A. ~, it again receded, and continued
falling for fifteen minutes, when it turned and rose
twenty-eight inches in eight minutes. Since that
hour it continued rising and falling rapidly every 20
minutes. until about 20 minutes before 3 p NJ, it
reached the highesi point. five feet and four inches
above the lowest mark. While the sea was receding,
il ran out the channel like a river, and over the stone
wall on the north SIDE of the harbor like q rapids.
Standing near Eumes' ship yard, the water in the
harbor was seen one foot lower on one side of the
wall than on the ,ther. The force of the submarine
shakes that can cause so rapid a motion Of the sea,
must be powerfulinded.
These tidal changes arc undoubtedly produced by
earthquake waves At Hawaii, where some unusual
eommotion Is evideItiy going on. When the great
tidal wave occurreda AT Kau, at 4 p. NJ ON the I'd of
April, it took two hours for it to reach our harbor,
but then it rose and fel only twice and about twenty
inches or two feet, bat so suddenly as to attract gen.
eral attention. Here We have a much greater dis
turbance, the ditierene in the rise and fall being
more than double what it then was. When advices
are received from Hawii, it will be found that there
has been a succession c earthquake waves, probably
along the southern sbres of the island, and in all
probability accompanied with an eruption, either on
land or in the sea. me heavy earthquakes felt on
that island and the ole also here last Friday night,
indicate an unusual disturbance of the volcano, and
it will naturally be FLOWED by an eruption.
Earthquakes haveoccurred very frequently of late
in California, and indeed along the whole Pacific
coast from Puget Sound to Chile, showing more than
usual activity in the Internal volcanic fires. 1t would
seem as if there wasin intimate connection between
the fires under Hawai- and those in other parts of the
Pacific.
1t will be intereting here to refer to the tidal
phenomena, which occurred throughout the group in
1887. 1t commence, at G 2. NJ, with the sea sud
denly receding abou eight feet below high water
mark. The reefs W. Ct bar, and many 6sies
killed. The sea 500 returned and in rs minutes
reached high water Iark. 1t again receded six feet,
and returned, and his rise and fall continued for
several hours, at inervals varying from % to 20
minutes. At kahulu the tidal wave was enormous
and caused much destruction to property. At Hilo,
the sea retired twenty fathoms and suddenly return
ed destroying houses canoes and fish ponds. The
water in the harbOr rise twenty feet above high wa
ter mark, and fell TEL feet below that mark, making
the maximum variatin thirty feet The destruction
of lives and propertyat several of the villages along
the Hilo shore was vCy great. No eruption of the
volcano occurred, thogh the crater of Rilauea was
unusually active. A tidal wave is said to have also
occurred in May, lSD.