The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1877-06-07
THAT TIDAL WAVE.
The Sandwich Islands Under Water.
Great Destruction of HiIO, Waia-
kea, and Other POints-SeV-
eral Lives Lost.
Unusual Activity Among the Volcanoes
Jets of Lava Spurted One Hun
dred Feet High.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 3I.-By the ar
rival of the City Of Sidney we have an
account from the Honolulu Advertiser of
the great tidal wave of May 10th. 1t
appears to have occurred simultaneously
all over the group. AT Kahaulion Island,
Moni, the first unusual subsidence of the
sea was noticed about quarter before
five o'clock in the morning. An OBJ
server in the town who was near the
harbor and saw the exposed reefs, places
the occurrence at exactly the same time,
J. J. Porter, Of Hilo, Hawaii, fixes the
moment Of the wave, which overwhelmed
the village of Walker, at precisely the
same time; and the statement Of Captain
Smithers, of the whaling bark Pacific,
which was lying at this time in Hilo Bay,
coroborates this
The difference between the highest
and lowest water mark at various local.,
ties we ascertain to be as follows. Hilo,
on the east side of Hawaii, 36 feet :,
Kealakekua Bay, west side of Hawaii, {
feet; Kahulal, north side of Moni, 22
feet Lahaa, south side of Moni, II feet:
Honolulu, south side Of Oahu, a feet 10
inches, Nawiliwili southeast side of
Kanah, feet. In some case the differ
ence in the height of the wave may be
accounted for by the con6gurstion of the
coast and outlying reefs.
The following is an account of the dis
aster at Hilo from an eye witness:
"HILo, May II, I877.-To w. o.
PARKES, ESQ, Dear Sir: We have had
agreat disaster at Hilo, Thursday morn
ing, the 10th inst. about a a. M, the sea
in the bay was seen to rise and fall in an
unequal manner, and at five o'clock it
swept in in mighty wave, washing up
and into all the stores in front of the
town, carrying off great deal of lumber
and all the stone wall of the Makai
wharf. The perpendicular height of the
wave, since ascertained by leveling, was
twelve feet three inches adove ordinary
low water mark.
AT Waikea the damage was frightful.
Every house within hundred yards of
the water was swept away. The steam~
boat wharf and store house, Spencer's
store house, the bridge across the stream,
and all the dwelling houses were swept
away in an instant, and now lie a mass
OF ruins far inland. Five lives were lost,
and numbers were bruised and had
limbs broken. The body of a woman
was found by the boats off Hooli. The
boats OF the American whaleship Pacific,
Captain Smithers, lying in the harbor,
picked up six people who were swim
ming for their lives in the bay, The
Pacific was lying in four fathoms of
water, but she grounded when the sea
receded, and then would be whirled
round and round as the sea came in
again. All expected to see her drag
ashore. The sea continued to rise and
fall all day.
timed one of tides in the morning
about seven o'clock, and from its lowest
ebb to its flood was only about four min
utes. 1t rose about fourteen feet perpen-
dicular height in that time. In the alter
noon, in the space of one hour, the sea
rose and fell three times with a height
above half tide OF the level of ten and a
half and three feet each time. The wave
at Waiakea must have had perpendic-
ular height Of sixteen feet to have taken
the bridge and wharf where they now
lie. The water swept completely over
Cocoanut Island, and the hospital there
has disappeared. Yours in haste,
s.'' L. SEVERANCE"
The volcano of Relaneabon has been
unusually active of late. The steamer
arriving at Hilo on Wednesday, the ed
inst, as she passed down the coast ON
the following night, the. light of the cra>
ter was unusually brilliant, Friday, at
2;45 in the afternoon, several pretty
severe earthquake shocks were felt, fol-
lowed a few minutes latter by let of
lava thrown up from the floor Of the era
ter near the east bank, through crack
which had evidently been made by the
earthquake. The lava continued to
spout at this place, gradually ascending
the steep bluff to its summit, then moyo
ing along the isthmus connecting the
large crater with the smaller one of
Kalaueaki, down into the pit of which
the lava ran. This continued for six
hours, the lava being thrown up in nu-
merous jets along the line at different
heights, at times reaching one hundred
feet. Frequently there would be at least
fifty of these jets at once, making mag
nifcent display. Locating this eruption,
and it is general characteristic, they
appear to be identically the same as those
of 1887, 184o and 1868. Simultaneously
with this the fires of the old South lake
were suddenly extinguished, and for two
days following no fires were seen in
Kilauea. ".a '...'