The New York herald., 1877-03-18
ERUPTION OF MAUNA LOA.

MAGNIFICENT SCENE IN THE SANDWICH ISL
ANDs-A COLUMN OF FLAME THREE MILES
HIGH-THE SEA FULL OF BOILED FIsH-A
SUBMARINE VOLCANO.
From the San Francisco Chronicle, March lol
HoxoLULu. March /, 1871
The prime news o! the hour. and as well the
freshest. is the intelligence o. the grand eruption
Mauna Loa and a submarine outbreak In Kealakeakua
Bay AS yet the details received hero meagre the
general accounts agree pronouncing the out
break OF the old safety yvalve Of this hemisphere the
grandest on record. The eruption commenced be-
tween nine and O'Clock the evening o. Wedncs-
day, the l4rh OF February with great violence and
without moments warning.
POINT or ACTIVITY
was tho OLD crater the top o. the mountain when
tho eruption commenced the danes suddenly burst
from the mountain and formed magnificent column
OF re 20 the height Of 10 900 feet above the summit
From the deck Of the steamer kilauca lying nj an
chor Al Kawahae. nve distinct columns irc could
be seen beching forth from the mountain. apparently
not from the great summit crater OF Mokuawcowco,
but from smaller situated miles distant
from IT, called pohakuhanalel The sight a grand
one, as the columns Of illuminated smoke shot up al
mos, inssansaneously to immense height in ,be
The velocity with which they asceuded such that
the first 5000 feet passed inside OF minute.
few days alter Intelligence reached here that The Are
had disappeared The great disappointment OF thou
sands who were preparing TO start or the sccnc But
soon after news came that the
ryRorEcnNIc ExuiBIrios
OF nature WAS still on the boards or otherwise the
water. aud that the animation oi the spectacle was
enhanced oy frequent earthquake shocks It's the
general opinion that the stream OF lava Is lowing
rapidly down The mountain side toward Kahuku IN
kau. When last seen II had progressed q number OF
miles from the place ot It's hrst outbreak, but did not
seem TO have reached the woods The ILLUMINATION
was SO brllian, that all parts OF the Island
lighted up, aud even on Maui the reflected glare
great that walkapu II was supposed that the cane
hclds and mill buildings OF Makees plantation were ON
eruptions, states that he never saw more magnih
Gently iliumncd smoke cloud from any previous one
BY some ardent American patriots the theory was
started that Nine Pee had instituted TINS festival In
honor OF the newly elected President but the Kama
kas entertain quite a different, view On the Gath tue
steamer kilaucau arrived with party OF EXCURSION
lists at keaaSeakua Bay, the place where Captain
Cook met his death There they found that
SUBMARINE VOLCANO
had broken the entrance To The harbor tho
preceding nighL About mile from shore Jets red
green yellow lire leaped from the waters inter-
with nnumcrablc rainbows, the spectacle being OF
tho grandcst sights conccivabie In this locality tho
water IS boiling and whiring like immense caul.
dron-or one might better say, kettle OF ish Thou.
sands floating tho surface, ready cooked
the repast OF swarms OF kanakas engaged gathering
the dainty abundance in their canoes. Large guam.
titles Of lava are also thrown up and aoat TOR sons
the intensely boiling water sustained by gases that
gradually ooze from its pores.
/
One OF the specimens is a light, porous substance,
resembling chxrrcd sugar The Other Is much similar
with the exception that sparkies with sivery decks
| The submarine eruption Is apparently from seam In
the bottom OF the sea, about mile In length. II
reaches the shore, and s traced inland between
and three miles. The flames on the water were first
noticed by the natives at three O'Clock tho morning
| OF the cath, and created much CONSERVATION. Tho
depth OF the water here formerly from thirty 10
sixty athoms; but II tho eruption continues very
likely rect wiil be formed, whch would render this
bay one OF the incst harbos on the Pacnc As lar as
| la
Kapakas, as previously intinaed do not favor tho
suggestion OF their old goddess, Pec getting up dem
| onstration honor OF foreign people or re.
mote event. One venerable native seer regards the
eruptoa as an omen OF the near return oil their god
Lono, ana this idea generally spreading. When Cap
Cook came here, nearly 100 years ago, natives
called HIM Lono. But wncn the great navigator was
wounded by one Of their number all cried that he
was no god-only u man-whercupon they slew MIN.
| Now that This singular eruption happens u hundred
where his ships lay at anchor the kanaka says
his gaping hearers, 'ln truth, Captain Cook Lono
ana he Is coming back" The intelligent natives nod
their heads In reply. and With one accord exclam,
| ''Pelahpa."
FORMER xRuPrIoxs on HAWAII
! Tho first eruption on Hawai- OF which there is any
definite TRADITION occurred l7S9 from Kilauea
crater. al which time company OF Warriors passing
through Puma, their way 10 fight kame ha me ha
we're smothcred by the hot poisonous vapors and
clouds OF falling sand. There have been, during this
period Of eghty-elgh years ten great erupons, not
one every ninc years. The second one was from the
volcano Of Hualaai, at the beginning Of
4
OF which there record tradition. II
was OF extreme violence, and produced a marked
cbange i The coast limo by the imncnse volume Of
| lava which II poured into the The third took
| place 10 1923 from ktlauea,
| FLOODING LARGE TRACT LAND
In Kau, the lava stream being five miles width
where IL entered the sea near Kaparaa The fourth
broke out almost simultaneously Ia tho crater OF
Kilauca and the summit OF Mauna Loa. In the lat
ter locality the lava discharged from numerous
vents on every side OF the mountain dome, and
flowing Tor two three weeks The NTH orup-
| tion from kauea IN 1910, az which time a river
OF lava flowed into the sea a short distance south
OF the village OF Hilo IL lasted Tor two weeks In
1S43, The sixth IN the series TOOK place from
tho summit Of Mauna Loa, and continued for
four weeks two streams OF lava flowing from lateral
crater tho north side OF the mountain toward
Kona and Mauna Kea. The next eruption occurred in
the year 1852. the lava breaking out OF the side
Mauna Loa, and flowing directly toward Hilo. The
eruption OF 1900 was remarkable commencing In tho
summit crater OF Mauna Lon, and sending forth thir
teen a OF lava, which ilowct to
within six miles OF Hio. The eruption Of 1859
probably the
MOST EXTENSIVE RECORD.
II commenced IRON new crater on the northern slopo
OF Mauna oa and flowed for distance Of forty miles,
entering the kawahae Bay II lasted about
nine years ago. and was remarkable Tor the number
and extreme violence OF the earthquake shocks which
accompanied II. Tho first symptoms OF disturbance
we're the morning OF March ~, when dense vol
umc OF arose from Mauna Loa the height Of
several miles At ton A. NJ the following day series
OF earthquakes began and continued with varying
verify for over month. The elimination the
night Of April 3. when nearly every stone wall and
house kau shaken down. Immediately fol.
loving this disturbance earthquake occurred
that caused great destruction Of lie and property
the southeast coast OF Hawaii On the day also
occurred the great mud eruption at kapapala in Kau.
AS already intimated the present remarkable eruptlons
the eleventh recorded disturbances The islands,