Morning journal and courier., 1884-07-21
The VoIcanoes of Hawaii.

TThe Rev w J. Smith in the Presbyterian Ban
 ner
 The Hawaiian Islands boast of two natural wonders, the largest extinct and the largest active volcano in the world. The former, Haleakala, is situated on the island of Maui, the summit being nearly eleven thousand feet above the level of the seq. The crater is I believe, over forty-eight miles in cir conference. You could drop New York into it and still have some desirable corner lots left for Chicago and San Francisco. As you stand on the summit you look down into the crater two thousand feet, the sides now ter raced and covered with sandalwood, giant ferns and wonderful profusion of tropical flowers and shrubs.
 The latter, the active volcano of KeleaU- weau, is situated on Hawaii, thirty miles from Hilo, which distance you make over a solid lava rock road, on a sore-backed horse. All the native horses for hire have sore backs. I believe that is the only way they can get them to go, but it makes it very interesting for the rider on that rock road with his horse on dead trot At every footfaQ he is forci- bly reminded of pile driver.
 The crater is situated on spur of Mauna Loa, the highest mountain of the islands, nearly fourteen thousand feet in altitude, but the volcano is only four thousand feet above sea level The crater is not 8 cone, but great pit on this level bench, nine miles in circumferehce. You go down, down over this almost perpendicular wall, eight hundred feet, and stand on the floor of the ! crater. This is the place of eternal burn l ings the Hale-mau-mau, the house of ever | lasting fire, of Hawaiian mythology. Al though it is two years since I stood there the | awful and sublime picture rises clear and dis l tinct before me now. The area at the bot tom of the crater is not liquid mass, but H ( 1EEs- III &6n I spreads scene Of a.aAarthly grandeur. Five ! or six lakes of fire lie to left and right; the | floor beneath is so hot you can scarcely wall ! over it; lava oozes up through the Assures | You can light match in any of the cracks 1 Huge cones, twenty or thirty feet high, mad, l by the bubbles of lava, rise through tn,
 seams and are cooled by the air. The fac
 that the points of eruption are continually 1 changing gives one very insecure feeling ai I he walks over this burning floor.
 ] At last we stood on the verge of the new
 est lake formed, about a mile and 8 half 1T circumference, and lying fifty feet below us We peered over the edge; the center lay solit | and black before us, but all round the boun l dary beautiful fountains of b1ood-red frt l were playing, sending their spray fifty fee ! into the air. We were on the windward sidt or we could not stand the heat.
 l After while we rose to go, but the guid' said, ''Not yet; you haven't seen it yet" w l waited and waited; an hour passed. At las ! the guide cried ''Look -there!" A crack ! seam of fire shot across the surface, SCOTT ! more followed in different directions in quicl ! succession, the center began to rise, the grea
 cakes of lava drifted toward the edge anC I disappeared, the center rose higher and high { CT, and in a moment more the pot was boil l ing. The whole lake was a seething, foam ing, billowy, burning sea, flashing the blacl
 shores, and sending it's fiery spray hundred I feet high, cooling the atmosphere and drop \ To aIc c ! glass We fell back to a respectful distance
 and for an hour watched in silence the mos ! awe-inspiring and terrible sight mans eyt
 can rest upon. Then the pillows began tc
 subside, the waves beat themselves to res ! against the shore, the whole center cooled 1 down as before to black, solid mass, whil the fountains took up their old vocation ! playing around the edge.
 After half day among such scenes it wa | with feelings of relief, and with blisteret ! feet, that we again climbed the rugged side | of the crater and breathed purer air from tn I heights above. The guide said: ''Last yea l I accompanied a noted Unlversallst preache of Boston here. As we reached this poin ! he took one last look at the awful scene h 1 had left and said: Well, can appreciat | the feelings of some people who believe in hell after this'" I saw at this time tha | wonderful river of fire that flowed from tn l summit of Mauna Loa for fifty miles dow ! toward Hilo, and it's proud waves were stai'
 within three-quarters of a mile of the town
 It was about three miles in width and iron
 ten to fifty feet high. It cut it's way. dow | through the forest and carried everything be l fore it; being of the consistency of th1cl
 mush, and forced by the awful pressure be
 hind, no obstruction could be placed in it
 way It looked strange to see it rolling u hill and pressing on in a straight line. Tn I whole heavens were ablaze at night, and b
 it's light, miles away, you could read tn finest print.