The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1881-09-17
The Crater of kilauea,

The following pen.pcture OF the fearful era
ter of Kilcuea is from the Honolulu Adpertiser
of July 26: Tourists TO the volcano for many
years past all remember certain active pools
Of lava the North and South lakes, which or.
dinarily dubbed and tossed II fiery flood at a
depth of about 1870 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
the south bank OF the great crater, which Is
about 1000 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 found in form, about GOO feet
across and some 70 feet IN depth, in ordinary
stages, below the surrounding BRINK. Here
the great Hawaiian volcano presents the most
varied fantastic play oihquid lava. Here are
come OF the phases of the play Of fire lake, as
recently observed IN the great crater of kiluuea
Sometimes IT almost seems to Sleep and the
disappointed visitor looks down into a black
valley and observes smoking PIT giving no
more evidence of combustion than tar kiln
But the observer stands on the brink of the
PIT, or great pool or lake, IA now appears.
about 900 feet across, and whose surface Is
about 20 feet below him. Aud what il this
surfacey 1t presents dark sivcry gray hue,
with satiny shine, This is n crust Of Quies-
to have his sense OF wonder strained to speech
lessness, says: as this all :" mo! look the
frozen, CLASSY lake is alive. What heave in
the cenre-sonie mighty beast hftin. up that
floor! Now wave of undustion runs round
the incrused marge And there IS nm out.
burst, blood red fount, gushing and bubblng
from one Of earth's arteries. The broad disk
of the lake heaves and trembesi Filful gas.
eous flashes fit across, and now the moving
floor cracks and "A serraied fissure like the su
ture Of u skull runs from maIge To marge, ard
quick, darling strcaks, sudden cracks of the
crust, shoot across in all directions These
scrraied sireaks are al first rosy lines on the
gray surface, then they widen like crimson
ribbons, broadening To The view. They undu
late with the billoay motion OF the whole up
heaving surface. Another crimson tount|
springs mp along the now frellng and roaring
RIM oi tue lake: and another and another oi
now widely upeapng fountains of fire toss
high Their CORY crrs's, even casting gouts and
clots Of the rcd spray that fall and harden near
the observers feet. BY this time the spirit at
our inferno is aroused. The whole fierce red
bake is all uoil and leap and roar Ii Is more
than the roar of load sea surls heating bold
huff. The surging tide Of The molten earth
sounds deerer, believing bass than any note
of the sounding sea. And now the hea, ed-up
crust broken into fragments is churned up
and dissolved In the boiling food The roar.
ing gulf 10 now, indeed, "A vortex of indescrb-
able glories and ierrois. Caves open on The
sides of the surrounding wall. and a man sees
more Of a hell than he ever imagined. A
thousand demons now hold high carnival in
,his i,ott unless pIt-snd The leap and play of
10 fiery food-tbe dance and swell Of red