The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1871-10-13
An Island on Fire.

| All ISidlu Oil Z ITts
The sources of volcanic cruptiOns in
Hawaii are two. First, the crater of
kl-lau-e-a, situated upon the eastern
slope OF this mountain, and about
MI iway between its summit and the
sea. 1t Is vast pit, nine miles in
circumference, sunk in the flank of
the mountain, and varying in depth,
in different years, from u thousand to
fifteen hundred feet, according as the
sea of molten lava beneath its floor II
high tide or ut ebb. For years this
floor viii be slowly raised by the ac-
cumulating iavas below; and when
their lateral pressure becomes at last
| too great to be resisted, the molten
torrent, rending its way with irresi5-
tible force through rock and earth, and
shaking the whole island with the
throes, of its progress, finally breaks
to the surface, five, ten, or twenty
miles from the crater. The river Of
fire learS from the ground, a mighty
fountain that sometimes plays thou.
sand feet high, with a jet that Is several
hundred feet III diameter, and pOurs
down the flank of the mountSin to-
ward the sea. This it often reaches,
enlarging the area of the island fy
pushing out new cape5 and prOmon-
tories of lava into :he wafer. The
lava thus elected may remain, in many
places, warm and smoking for months
( after the eruption has ceased vet [
| have seen spots where the natives,
! pulveTizing The cooled lava, and mix
ing, with it q few dead leaves before
planting in il, had obtained good crops
of sweet potatoes, from what wear
before was torrent of liquid fire. Ma
ture thus renews the sOii,-furuishing
q bran-new article at each eruption,
white-hot from her chemical labora-
tories in the center of the earth.
With each eruption "the bottom il
Knocked out" SO to speak, of the
great crater of Ki-lGu-e-a. The flood
d molten lava upon which il rests is
rapidly drained away, and the vast
floor of iudurated lavas, an area of
six square milcs at the blttom of the
pit, goes crashing still farther down
ward, three, four, five hundred feet
toward the central fires rs when the
water,-to compare great things with
small, is let oil from frozen mill
pond, and the ice settles down upon
the bottom. The lnOuntain-wall is
probably net entirely solid and COM
pact, as the lavaS are extremely fluid,
aud in running ott hOneycomb its
structure, leaving numerous cayerns
behind them, through which SUISSE
quent eruptiOns force their way. Yet
the pressure required for the lava to
rend the mCuntain-wail IS estimated
at not less than five hundred pounds
to the square iuch, or a million pounds
for stream two feet deep and seven
feet broad. When the breadth of the
lava stream is measured by miles i'll
stead of feet, force enough is eXeriei
to shake the island to It's veIy f0un-
dation.
The grand eruptioEs of ki-lau-e-a
occur, with some approach tO regu-
larity, at intervals Of about eight
years. Bat the volcano does not, Ike
Etna, or StrombOli, cnnilns
its activity TO special occasions. The
fire RACES continually in the southern
end of the great crater, where lake
Of melted lava tcsses its red suTGeS
and poII'o fourth its sulphUrOus vapOrS
without ceasiDg. This lake, the "liale
or 'HOuse of Ever;ast-
ing Fire" of the old heathen mythOl-
ogy, may be safely approache by tie
traveller at almost any time. IL is rep
resented i'll the first engraving, Us It
appears when very active.
The appearance of this lake v4TIcs
greatly, however, at different times.
the lava is So fss sunker
below its banks that the traveller can
not reach it, and comes away quite
with what he has seen.
Again, in times of great activity, tho
fiery sea may overflow Upon tin. bot
tom of the crster, or force Itself up
numerous cracks and ChasmS
in the floor of iH,luraled lava. | WAS
once il the bottom of Ki-lau-e-a when
The lava, boiling up from below, over
flowed its banks in n manupr SO uni
form end measured as TO cong,al
around the edges 0fthe great lake, and
build for itself a barrier around the
fearful cauldron of fire. The lava, Thus
walled in, gradually rose many feet
above the level where / with others
stood, at first quite uncoI scicus of the
terrific process that was going on SO
near Us. The fiery waves, lapping
over the margin, cOngealed where
hey fell, and thus bui,ded up, little
BY little, their inclosing wall. Ire
surface of this sea of fire was eleva.;d
about thirty feet above the level uf
he bottom of the crater; e was "A
boiling mass of fluii lavas, Ealf a mile
in diameter, that surged aud thunder
ed and sent down threatening roar.
5plashes of liquid fire, hurried over the
margin of its combining barrier, fell
among our company. Warned by this
LANCER, we withdrew to q shoit dis
lance, and awaited the breaking forth
Df the imprisoned fiIC. We had hard-
Iy gained our new point of observaii IN
before the lava wall gave away in t,,,,
places with laundering cr:.sh and
roar, and from each Of tire REM, lhus
made torrent of .iqu.d fire pours,i
oyer cliff fifty feet bish. il,fo the
rough channel Of = frmer flow. Roar
ing, glowing, smoking, and Wrrathsd
in Aiaish Iiames, it ground aIony the,
lava channel VITA pecuiiaE dull
thunder, that was caused BIZ the DON
darOus weight of the molten mass. IL
Tapped up huge rocks and bore them
away upon its surface. / could see
them CsoiJGte sluggishly upon ihe E,d
river, and finally melt ana sink into
it like so much wax. The power aud
spleudor of this sudden die,,ay, the
fierce sweep of the mighty torrent, the
strange process that had heap ssi W,
the flood Of lava 10, disg0Tge II Win
such resi3;iess power, all made = spee-
tael9 never to be forgotten by amy ~
the party who witnessed it-Br. Z.
iL EOnIl. ill ,S1-l..LuD..,. I'm. lAt.-L.-.