West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1878-08-10
kiluaea-Dcscription of the Famou,
Crater.

NNAoi"uo' now teSlulnR IN Honolulu,
has recently written 10 Hon. Alfred
Sayra, of Denver, an account of re-
cent visit To the volcano Kiluaea, and
the letter is printed in the Denver Nc,cs.
The visit was made in May last, and
after describing the journey thither MIR.
Davidson says:
10 different is the scene presented
from what the visitor expects that il is
difficult TO describe it intellgibly or in
such manner as To give the reader any
distinct idea of its appearance. The
crater kiluaea is nine miles in circum-
| ference, mean width three miles, sur
/ rounded by n well-defned rim. The
active burning lake is i'm the south end
/ of this crater, and at distance can be
seen as indicated by vast volumes of
smoke and vapor arising around and
above the same rocky projections ada
| cent.
To this point the sightseer is con
Quoted by guide, and there, standing
on the brink of projecting scoria, he
looks down on the strangest and widest
element surging and throwing its fiery
/ spray as II madly beats against the sur
rounding walls, from which il seems to
be repelled by some unseen power, only
| To level down and become of somber
/ hue and drift back to be overturned and
lashed into waves and crimson shrods
that fall back into the massive cauldron.
| The heat IL very great and burns the
face, and the brightness of the broken
elements is painfully dazzling to the
/ eye.
There Is no samencss or monotony,
and from the smooth, dark surface of a
minutes duration fringcd by crimson
! lines, fiery flames issue with kissing
| sound, each furtive glance giving a diff
fcrcnt view, and then deep rumbling as
of troubled sea is followed by the
widest and most violent agitation.
Hours might be spent gazing at the
changing, infuriate element. Over much
of the road, from Hilo to the volcano.
thirty miles, there is scarcely any earth,
showing a new volcanic formation.
Varied vegetation has commenced
! growing vigorously from the scarcely
distinguishable soil of decomposed lava,
and, indeed, the scoria now produced
and thrown out by volcanic force is
very friable, and its formation is unu-
sually in thin layers, easily crushed
under the foot of the pedestrian. The
| bottom OF the main crater and exterior
OF The burning lake is composed of lay
ers of lava of different colors and differ
ent comparative structure, interlapped
and intertwincd as il Oozes along, and
at short intervals, the slowly-movinp
masses pressing their heavy, burning
fronts, still liquid, though far off from
| the burning cauldron. You can thrust
a walking-stick into it and easily detach
! quantities of the consistency of sugar
/ II h.,
thin mush.
The bed of the main crater WAS some
few years ago several hundred feet
deeper below the unchanging surround
ing rim. II rises and falls without any
fixed or regular periodicity. The active
lake OF fire is at present six hundred
feet below the rim or surrounding coun-
| try, and the dimensions Of the burning
lake three hundred yards long by one
! hundred yards wide This lake or caul-
dron is constantly changing its size,
form and location from cycle to cycle,
slowly waltzing around the vast area of
the great crater.
The lava is at present thrown out of
the burning lake by a subterranean pas
sage on the west side. in river, and
| presses its way, dividing into many
slowly-moving streams. throughout the
western half of the inclosed plain, each
stream at night showing its size and en-
croaching course, and to the visitor,
standing on the rim Immediately above.
| gazing down, it looks like vast citv at
his feet, irregularly illuminated by
! the sport of TeveleTs. As the lava is
cooled, it is riven into all manner of
shapes, breaking like ice under the in
| fuence of changing tides and ~ one
walks over the newer formations, look
| ing down between the broken fragments
can be seen, a few inches beneath the
cooled surface, bright, shiny, living fire
in massive quantities.
! The heat radiated from the surface is
| very great, but the north wind usually
! blowing over an elevation Of about four
] thousand feet, cOOls the atmosphere
| generally, 80 the visitor suffers no incon-
! yenience. ] believe no one has lost life
as yet accidentally in the crater, but !
! do not think any one feels naturally safe
until he has ascended 20 the outside
country, and even then the stream issu-
ing from many assures, bringing up sui
! phurous Odors, makes one who Is sinful
/ and believes in eternity Of torment
/ think that he is not far from his future
| home.
In ascending to the upper regions you
| are. conducted 10 p small house within a
stones cast of the hotel Here you dis
robe and indulge in a sulphur bath. A
/ pipe conducts vapOr from q fssure in a
rock 70 the room in which you sit i'm
/ piiris 0DtUrdiibUs II h0 R,lss, and when you
say Ready" a valve is opened, admit
ting the vapOr in any volume and Of
any temperature you desire. When you
feel as If you we're in Tartarus, and
about To give up the ghost, shout ALA p'
10 the native superintendent, and the
valve is closed and the vapOr shut of.
You are then dOuced with warm, and
then cold water, rubbed dry with
towels, submitting to the Lomitoni- a
native remedy for all human ills. which
consists in working and kneading your
body with their hands as If il were
dough. You then don fresh linen. and
being very clean and oriental. but smell
ing like Matchbox, you feel. IL ever
in your life you did feel-and it's funny
when you feel that way-iike taking
drink, but, by your lady you must carry
your own ammunition, for str0ng drink,
arc rare in that volcanic dale. This de
sire being gratihcd, a ravcnOus appetite
RACES, which is dissipated by an hour.
recreation at the bOuntifully supplied
table of the Volcano House