The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1876-01-22
The Volcano Of Kilauca.

One days ride inland from llilo in the
Hawaiian Islands, Is the great volcano Of Kill
auea The ascent to It is almost imperccp,i.
bic being about 40 0 feet in thirty miles. 1t
is sufficient, however to furnish fine out
look over vast stretch of uncuIiVated coun.
try, which may, in the ages TO come, under
the influence OF the atmospheric action, dis
solving the lazy 10 earth, become one of the
garden.Spots of the globe. The volcano it..
self, when in eruption nj night, furnishes n
magnificent pyrotcchnic display. wide
surface of the heavens is lighted up as /! hy
the fires of the Judgment day, while from the
crater there is II constant spou'ing up Of
streams of fire and huge masses OF red, burn
ing lava. Amid the darkness the scene is
both majestic and sublime and cannot fail to
inspire one with awe al the wonderful works
of nature.
The crater is three miles in diameter, and
surrounded by deep wall OF lava aud earth
about 1000 feet in height. \ walk Of half a
mile leads on to Il recent overflow OF lava,
over which one plodS for a couple OF miles.
The entire bed OF lava is almost as black AS
charcoal. 1t is broken up into every imag-
Unable form, and IS as brittle as glass, SO that
it is constantly breaking beneath one feet,
and often cracks like ice on lake when one
is walking over it, In some places the lava
is formed into coils like tarred rope; III 9th
ers it looks like sticks of molasses candy
sandwiched into every conceivable figure;
elsewhere it appears like long cables drawn
out TIL they snapped into 10000 pieces and
often it is as smooth and glossy as seals
back One walks over it with constant
Uemor, as well he may for often as the foot
was raised the piece of lazy stepped on
would fall and leave deep hole, showing.
into some awful cave or suberranean cavern.
- fln-, 4, mi "a
Ualemommon, within a space OF half "a mile
long and half that width aud sunk from so
to 800 feet below the general surface OF the
cooled lava. Kllaueanui is l,20O feet long
and 500 feet wide and is one molten mass OF
melted lava constantly burning at white heat.
All around its edges are jets OF boiling red
lava, constantly spouting up from nifty To,
sixty feet Sometimes they form INTO ioun-I
tains Of fire, and six OF them at time have
been known 10 form Il perfect arch OF fire
unbroken for forty minutes. Sitting on the
border of this awful and natural hell on earth
one can see huge masses of lava beneath, un-
dermined by the fire, bre lling OFT and falling
with splash into the burning caldrOD,
which soon transform it into liquid heat.
The streams OF lava are constantly spouting
into the air, and thus this mighty molten
mass has been scething and boiling for un-
tor unknown ages yet to come.
The edges OF these lakes are tringed with
what appear to be natural furnaces or ovens,
with small speratures on the surface and
cavcrns OF boiling lava beneath. In some
places there are large cakes OF Law. glowing
with fire between, and in other places the
lava is so hot as to destroy the soles on peo-
pies shoes and scorch their feet. Near this
IS bank of sulphur covering couple OF
acres, and full of seams whence issue steam,
making the fumes not only almost sutfocat-
ing, but SO binding that one has TO close
his eyes ana hasten across as rapidly as pos
slble. Probably no one would ever care TO
enter this literal he'll more than once.
A correspondent of the St Louis Globe
Democrat, who recently visited Kilauea, gives
some advice 10 those who may 60 there ID
future. He says: After passing another
night at the Volcano House we paid our bill
five dollars per day each (anolher grateful
proof Of Hawaiian civillzation)-and took
our departure tor Waiohlnn, forty miles dis
tant. Our trail led around the edge of the
crater and three miles from the house we
found ourselves near the burning lakes,
where we had a fire, full view of them in all
their activity and would advise all visitors,
instead Of making the perilous descent into
the crater at the ris,. of their lives, to take
ride or walk out TO this point any night,
where they can see much more than below
and see 1t much better, being Coz feet above
the dangerous lakes. Turning away from
the crater we soon found ourselves crossing a
volcanic country and in some places vast
tracts Of sand, just like a desert, beneath
bleaching tropical sun. In one place we
followed a bank of lava ten miles. 1t was
from ten to thirty feet deep and about quar-.
ter Of a m lie IN wild th-the overflow of some
distant period. The country was marked
everywhere with the streams of lava, some of
which were recent and remote oyerflows, but
all of them showing that Hawaii, the largest
of the islands-4O00 square mlles-is also
the most recent and only in a formative con-
dition still."-N. \. Commercial AdrertisCr.
The Weddas of Ceylon.
A. the nneninr meeting of the 4 nth rnnnl.L