The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1877-12-06

lava was spouting furiously. Now and
then the center of the lake cooled over,
forming thin crust of black lava, which,
suddenly cracking in a hundred direc-
tions, let the blood-red fluid ooze up
through the seams, looking like fiery
snakes.
Imagine these enormous slabs of
cooled lava slowly raising themselves on
end as if alive, and, with stately motion,
plunging beneath the sea of fire, with an
indescribable roar.
For three hours we gazed spell
bound, though it seemed but few mo-
ments; we were chained to the spot, as
is every one else who visits Kilauea.
"The wind, as the jets rose in air,
spun the molten drops of lava into fine
threads, which the natives call Pele's
hair, and very like hair it Is.
''An this time unoer our feet were
rumbhngs and explosions that made us
run now and then, for fear of being
blown up; coming back again after each
fright, unwilling to leave the spot
occasionally, the embankment of the
lake cracked off and fell in, being i'm
mediately devoured by the hungry flood.
These lodges around Hale-mau-Mau are
very dangerous to stand upon. A whole
family came near losing their lives On
one. A loud port beneath their feet
and a sudden trembling of the crust
made them run for life; and hardly had
they jumped the fissure that separated
the ledge on which they were standing
from more solid ooting- separated life
from death-than crash went the ledge
into the boiling lake
Sometimes the lake boils over, like
pot of molasses, and then you can dip
up the liquid lava with long pole. You
get quite lump Of 1t, and by quickly
rolling it on the ground mold cylinder
the size of the end of the pole, and
about six inches long. Or you can drop
a coin into the lava to be imprisoned as
it cools.
ga foreigner once imbedded silver
dollar in the hot lava, ard gave the
specimen to native, but he immediate
ly threw it on the ground, breaking the
lava, of course, and iberating the dol
lar, which he pocketed, exclaiming:
Volcano plenty enough, but me not get
dollar every day.
"One of our party collected lava
specimens from around Hale-mau-mau,
and tied them up in her pocket-hand-
kerchief. Imagine her establishment on
finding, later, they had burned through
the linen, and one by one dropped out.
"Terrible as old Pele is, she makes
herself useful, and is an excellent cook.
She keeps great many ovens heated for
the use of her guests, and no two at the
same temperature. SO that you may
select one Of any heat you wish. In
these ovens (steam cracks) she boils tea,
coffee and eggs; or cooks omelets and
meats. You wrap the beef or chick
en-, CT whatever meat you may wish to
cook, in leaves, and lay it il the steam
crack. Soon it is thoroughly cooked,
and deliciously, too
She also keeps tub of warm water
always ready for bathers.
"She doesn't mean to be laughed at
though, for doing this kind of work. and
doing it in an original kind of way. After
she has given you one or two sound
shakipgs, which she generally does,
you'll have great respect for the old lady
and feel quite like taking off your hat to
her. With the shakings and the thun-
behring's under foot, and now and then
the opening of long steam-crack, she
keeps her visitors quite in awe of her
powers, though she is probably several
hundred years old.
"Not far from the little hut where we
sleep, close to the precipice, is Pele's
great laboratory, where she makes sui
phur. We wear our straw hats to the
sulphur banks, and she bleaches them
for us.
Well, this is a strange, strange land,
old Pele being only one of it's many Gu
riosities
& only hope you may all see the &C
tive old goddess before she dies. She
hasn't finished her work vet. Once in a
while she runs down to the shore, to
battle and look at the Pacific ocean, and
wnen there she generally gives a new
cape to Hawaii by running out into the
sea-"
Majestic old Pele Long may she
live !-Sarah Coa,a, in st. Nicholas.