, 1873-01-05
taln tau ones strength, and prepare him
!nt renewal Of the JOURNEY
htough chicken, and some

aaRF 70 paut, q eort OF medium, il1 taete be.
s ."eeu oread and potato. 1t is rich and uourish.
da"auana. It in 4 root, something like q tu.,,ir
OF fusa-bhga, ...the plant having broad and long
leaves, resembling the ears Of IN elephant
1neEe ~ eSe fields Of it to be Seen hero and there
OF which is grown In wet 1and, and tie orhe1
on tho mountain aidos. It is universally
pronounced taro, that pronunciation having
neen eaycn to it b, foreigne1a and adopted bJ
tho natiSes. In their language it WAS spelled
ana pronounced kdlo, there being no or r sound
in tho native Hawaiian tongue. They had our
vowel soundB, and seven consonant bounds,
corresponding with those Of our letters h, l., |,
NJ, n, p, and 10 or T. But to 30 back to The
ofeas1ast+ It was seasoned with little fish,
! eyer tasted So, you will say, it was not 30
bad after ALL
On the morning OF the 2sth Of November, re-
treshed and renewed, We pursued our Way again,
over
THE PLAINS OF LAVA,
Which we're noN 80 irregular and broken that tho
country would have bcon outrely iupsssable
Lad not much labor bcen expended in former
years in making road over it.
OUR COURSE
lny in q southwesterly direction. Wo were, rs
much the largest OF the twelve composing
tho group. The islands arc il d
continuous group, extending from northwest to
southeast, Hawaii being tho most southeastern
II. From Honolulu, on the Island OF Oahu,
side Of Molokai Islands; thon in tho came
direction between Maui on the left, and Sanai
aud kaloolawe on the right, to tho port OF
hawaihae On the west side OF tha Island Of
the north end Of tho Island, to
the east sde Of Hawaii Thence Te ess
nov, proceeding. to 9Iauna L oa Mountain
which Is situated in about the centre Of the
south half Of the island.
THE WEATHER
Was tine, and, as we gradually gained higher ele-
vations, the temperature Of the atmosphere was
cool aud delicious. we we're fortunate enough
to escape the rains 30 often, and indeed go gen-
Though the road lay, much Of the way, over
barren >. rocks, tho. country on eth
er hand showed a good deal
Of vegetable Ifo. 4 thin soil supported quite
slonafiy considerable forests Of trees. Hugo
masses OF lava 10y al around. moulded. twisted,
and piled in every possible form and direction.
Az We proceeded,
TIE VEGETATION,
instead OF diminishing. as had expected, seemed
trees, which continued even to within short
distance Of the volcano. This at least demon
strnted the fact that all the recent extensive
flows Of lava had been upon the other side OF
LIS QouuLAlQs Ell a1teIWAIU leA1QHQ uAQ
been the case with some OF them, had found
lodgmeut in an immense crater formed by great
earthquake, apparently for the purpose.
Animated BY the novelty Of the situation, and
strong feeling OF curiosity, and having now
a good road for the first time since leaving Hilo,
VIC urged our horses into gallop, and, after
proceeding few miles, still in the midst Of q
forest Of small treas, re commenced descending
into
a VAST AMPHITHEATRE,
which has every appearance Of having been,
many years ago. IN Immense crater, many miles
in circumference Within this wese succes-
sive crateAg, one within another, with
distinct wall boundaries, sometimes ria-
Mg ing sbrnpt1y many hundred feet.
covered th h Vegetation aud S IN anV es psces ~es
With trees.
Another mile or 60, and ne saw crossing our
road, a little in advance, = email, but distinct,
column of smoke. and soon perceived that it
OF US, but few rods distant. Then another to
tho right, then one to the left. There they
we're,
ALL AROUND us
Then no realized that We woro at
the volcano indeed, even on the top Of it. No
caused by chemical affinity and what not, but
real amoke, coming from huge fires beneath,
burning, boiling, and struggling, only saved
from bursting forth where re we're by finding
vent elsewhere near BY
Checking our animals, and walking slowly q
short distance, not without an underlined feeling
Of awe mingled with curiosity, We approached
the "Volcano House" g pleasant retreat estab-
lshed here tor travellers, and, before aiighting,
otepped to gaze upon the wonderful scene; for
here wo stood, and here Was the Volcano House
built upon the very verge Of tho
CRATER OF KMAUEA.
Ih1s is one OF the principal craters OF Mama
Loa which have been in active operation for the
last hundred. and probably for many hundred,
years. It varies almost constantly, certainly
every few months, in size, appearance, and
degree Of activity. At the time OF our
visit, it Was from three to four miles ]
in diameter, being the longest from northeast |
to southwest, about ten miles in circumfe1- ]
ence, and varying in depth from 500 to 1000 !
feet, according to the formation OF the country t
around it. It is surrounded On every side by |
perpendicular walls, and the bottom, which is |
very irregular in its surface, is, whom not in |
sometimes black color. Some Of it is Of very |
recent forn1stion, and ali is entirely destitute |
At the Volcano House we found good accom-
modntions, and in the morning, with an addi-
donal guide, i
DESCENDED INTO THE GREAT CRATER
By stairway which had been constructed at a |
place where the walls were something less than |
Our course noW lay over new /
ava for some two or three miles. The first two
-1ltue u I1e way, tne 10ol1uE seemed 10 De
'afe enough. Then it mas sounded With sticks
:arried for the purpose, to test its strength, as
'e proceeded. The appearance of the surface
IT this crater, for the whole distance, Was irreg-
1lar and wild beyond description. Now there
would be, for number Of rods, a smooth sur
ace, resembling ico; then huge cakes and boul-
lcrs, piled together in every conceivablo man
continuous chain more than half mile; then
luge chasm would yawn before us, scross which
way had been temporarily bridged>
rith rocks. To the southward arose
n immense hill Of lava, down which it has re-
emily been flowing, and which exhibited large
akca or layers just as it had cooled and stopped
ning.-resembling molasses.cand when first
AIKEN from the fire and poured into plattor
Having crossed large depression, or basin,
aasing few smoking vents on the way,
re cauao to the foot Of the hill or
mountain OF lava aboye referred to. Here the
ow WAS moro recent, md the way moro danger-
ua. In many places the lower crest
WAS hot AND saIoK1Na.
heae had to be avoided, nnd the way carefully
licked out between them. Still We toiled onward
nd upward, anxious, it possible to get a near
lew Of the crater. and thinking it now possible