River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1881-09-22
THE CRATER OF KILAUEA.
PeIeis Palace of death-Crimson seas
and Fiery Fountains.

The following pen picture OF the fear
full crater of kilauea is from the Homo
lulu Aduertiser OF July 26: Tourists to
the volcano for many years past all re-
member certain active pools of lava,
the North and South Lakes, which or
dinarily bubbled and tossed fiery flood
at a depth of about 40 feet below the
floor of the great crater. Now these
lakes have all been filled up, and there
have arisen peaks and cones of hard
lava that rise over 100 feet above tn
south bank Of the great crater, which
is about 900 feet high But there has
burst forth new opening in the great
crater floor not far distant from the old
lakes, and new lake. almost round in
form, abont 600 feet across and some 20
feet in depth, in ordinary stages, below
the surrounding brink. Here the great
Hawaiian volcano presents the most
varied fantastic play of liquid lava
Here are some of the phases of the play
OF fire lake. as recently observed in
the crater of Kilauea. Sometimes it
seems almost to sleep, and the disap-
pointed visitor looks down into black
valley and observes a smoking pit Civ
ing no more evidence of combustion
than tar kiln. But the observer
stands on the brink of the pit, or great
pool or lake, as now appears, about 600
feet across, and whose surface is about
20 feet below him. And what is this
surface? 1t presents dark silver-gray
hue, with satiny shine This is a
crust of quiescent lava, and the obser-
Yer who has expected to have his sense
of wonder strained to speechlessness,
says: rs this all?" No! lookl the
frozen, CLASSY lake is alive. What
heave in the center-some mighty
beast hitting up that hoor Now wave
of undulatlon runs round the inerusted
marge. And there is an outburst. a
blood-red fount, gushing and bubbling
from one of earth's arteries. The broad
disk of the lake heaves and trembles!
Fitful gaseous flashes fit acr IS, and
now the moving floor cracks and a SER
rated assure like the suture of skull
runs from marge to marge, and quick,
darling streaks, sudden cracks of the
crust, shoot across in all directions.
These serrated streaks are at first rosy
lines on the gray surface, then they
widen like crimson ribbons, broadening
to the view. They undulate with the
billowy motion of the whole upheaving
surface. Another crimson fount springs
up along the now fretting and roaring
rim of the lake; and another and an
another of now wildly upleaping foun-
tains of fire toss their CORY crests, even
casting gouts and clots of the red spray
that fall and harden near the observers
feet. By this time the spirit of our in
ferno is aroused. The whole fierce red
lake is all boil, and leap, and roar. 1t
is more than the roar of loud sea surfs
beating bold bluffs. The surging tide
of the molten earth sounds deeper
believing bass than any note of the
sounding sea. And now the heaved-up
crust broken into fragments is churned
up and dissolved in the boiling food.
The roaring gulf is ROW, indeed, vor-
tex of indescribable glories and terrors.
Caves open on the sides of the sur
rounding wall. and man secs more of
a hell than he ever imagined. A tn u
sand demons are now holding high car
nival in this bottomless pit-and leap
and play of the fiery flood, the dance
and swell of red surging tide, and the
roar and shrek of the dread forces is
suing from the red-hot pulsating heart
of the planet, make a thoughtful OBJ
server hold his hand to his own heart
and say, ''This is enough; the Almigh-
ty is here"