The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1885-12-09

of 1855 would nearly have built
Vesuvius, and those of 1859 and
1881 arc not greatly inferior"
i" Nlauna Loa and Kilauca are in
many important respects abnormal
volcanoes The quiet character
of then cruptions, unaccompanicd
as they have mostly been with
earthquakes or subterranean rumb-
lings, is notable in this respect.
1.-The lava wells forth like water
from hot, bubbling spring, and
the observer may stand so near the
source that the heat will make the
face tingle, yet without DANGER
while the inhabitants, apprsed Of
the event first by the glow of the
sky from the playing of the fire foun-
tains, display almost as much
cagerness to approach the scene of
an eruption as the people of other
countries show to get away from
one In consequence of this mild
behavior, there is an absence of
those fragmental products that con-
stitute so large n portion of the out
put of other volcanoes. The ejecta
are almost nothing else but massive
lavas, which accounts for the flat
| profles of these volcanoes. Earth
quakes, though common in the is
lands, with their centers of dis
turbance around Mauna Loa and
kilauea, only occur on a startling
and destructive scale at intervals
of many years.
The author makes reference to
the sculpture of nature in these is
lands expressive of his great delight
therein. He makes favorable COM
parison of the grand carving of the
| elements on the cliffs of Oahu and
Molokai, with the most magnificent
| features of the Colorado Valley.
''On the weather sides of Hawaii
and Maui the gentle slopes of the
mountains terminate upon the ocean
in walls few hundred feet high.
while the platforms are gashed with
canon valleys which are marvels of
beauty. Over all is spread the
mantle of n tropical vegetation so
rich and splendid that it makes the
pomp of emperors ridiculous. p"
Remark is made of the strange fact
that such sharp outlines produced
by erosion are found in this humid
climate as pronounced as in the arid
regions of Utah and Arizona, when
the theory has been widely accepted
that these physical peculiarities
were due in those countries to the
dryness of the atmosphere, and in
succeeding chapters the author re-
verts to this subject. He is enthu-
siastic in praising Hawaiian meteo-
rological conditions: Relatively
to human comfort the climate is
Perfection and, 1.-The air is
health itself"
; Reference is made to the small
. proportion of cultivable land, along
with the great productiveness of the
, soil in places. Speaking of wha
| grows here, Capt. Dutton says
| 1.-The Kona coffee is superior to th'
, Mocha and equal to the best Libe
r rian.' The first chapter conclude
5 with statement of the advanced
2 social organization the Hawaiian
| possessed when Capt. Cook visitet
4 them, of their feudal land tenur
e then, and the change made to fe
5 simple, with record title, as
e consequence of the social revolution
Y effected by the American mission
i, aries. High praise is given to Pro
e fessor Alexander, for his admins
t tration of the survey of the Island
f necessary under the new order t
Y establish metes and bounds.
l Succeeding chapters of the wor
e recount Capt. Dutton's exploration
S of volcanic phenomena on Hawaii
I, Maui and Oahu, particularly of tn
t active volcanoes on the trst-name
s island. He gives many side glimpse
n of Hawaiian customs, with other in
e formation calculated to delight a
a well as instruct, so that, althoug
is his treatise may be shelved anon
y the proverbially dry pub. docs.
II continually issuing from the Govern