Morning journal and courier., 1886-09-21
Volcanoes and Earthquakes.

l promise to hold the schooner for him anoth- l CT year, but he did not come for her. Did md out anything more about him? Oh, yes.
 He died in an insane asylum that winter.'' Volcanoes and Earthquakes. | James Hector, in Nature for August 26, about week before the Charleston earth
 quake, published article on f'Recent Vol
 canic Eruptions in New Zealand,'' in which | he says:
 | Earthquakes are the usual results of the | violent concussions attendant upon violent outbursts, and they afford the only clue which we can possibly have to the depth below 1 the surface of the earth at which the volcanic
 energy has been exerted. Thus, if the earth | quakes are felt with only slightly decreased violence to great distances from the focus of
 the disturbance, it would indicate that the disturbance is A deep-seated one. On the other hand, if the earthquakes, although ex- tremely violent close to the focus, are only felt at moderate distance, the conclusion to be drawn is that the forces at work are only ] superficial. All reports agree that at the Wairoa, about four miles distant, which is the nearest point to the eruptions from which any personshaye survived, the shocks of earthquake during the phase were violent
 and continuous; whereas at Rotorua, twelve
 miles distant, they were comparatively slight.
 The great earthquake at the commencement of the second phase appears to have been felt
 with considerable violence at Rotorua and distinctly arrested attention for a distance of at least from sixty to seventy miles,
 but does not appear to have done any dam
 age.
 During our visit the earthquake shocks in
 the vicinity of Rotomahama were still fre-
 quent and violent, but at Rotorua they were only experienced as gentle undulations and I ascertained that they proceeded from the effects of the explosions from the Rotomaha- ma Assure, and that the eruptions from the summit of Tarawera, which were clea rly vis- lble from Rotorua, did not produce the slight est apparent tremor at that distance A few insignificant earthquake rents were seen crossing the flats south of Kaitiriria but only where there was a drop of unsupported bank.
 The sounds produced during the eruption
 must have been, from all accounts, appalling
 to those within @ moderate distance The
 cracking thunder produced by the electrical discharges, the terrific roaring of the high pressure steam escaping through the volcanic
 vents were combined with terrifying effects.
 Much has been said about noises heard at Auckland, Wanganui, and other places.
 From the times mentioned these appear to have been due to the reverberating reports accompanying the Tarawera outbreaks Some of these noises may have been propagated through the atmosphere and reflected to the earth from the under surface of the statiform cloud sheets that were widely spread in vari- ous directions over the colony on that morn ing. Others again may have been propagat- ed through the earth. But have been in- formed that at the whaling settlement of Tawaite, on the east entrance of Troy Chan nel, from six p. m. up to about eight D. nl on the evening of the 9th (the night preced- ing the eruption) loud booming reports were heard as through the earth. As these reports were previous to any symptom of the loud a %lok they may have resulted from slight move ment along the great fault-lines that tray- erse the North and South Islands in a north easterly direction. and, in this case, the in- mediate cause of the Tarawera outburst may be found in local fracture resulting from such movement.
 From the foregoing sketch of the charac- ter of the eruption 1 think there can bealittIe question that 1t IS purely hydro thermal phenomenon, but on gigantic scale; that it is quite local and not of deep-seated origin, and that ell danger is past for the present
 so far one can venture to form an opinion on such subject. The extra activity of the puias which has been observed is no doubt owing to the heavy rains that on the 9th set in after the longest period of drought which has been experienced in that district for many years, and probably the frequent earth quakes which have of late agitated the ground have contributed to this activity by stirring up the sources of the water supply, and facllatlng the access Of drainage waters to the sources of the heat. But beyond what may be accounted for in this manner I be- 1ieve there is no increased disturbance at Rot orua, Wairakei, Taupo, and other places. The quiescent condition of Tongariro and Ngaurahoe was plainly shown by the matter in which we observed it to be enyeloped in snow. As rule, on the seoria cone of Ngaurahoe, snow rarely lies, excepting in few of the gullies, but melts almost as rapid ly as it falls. On the morning of the 17th, however, the cone of Ngaurahoe was covered with great mantle of snow, while the puias on Tongariro showed less than their usual amount of steam escaping The only fresh activity which may bc reasonably expected is that which l anticipate when sufficient rain has fallen to cause the oevrfiow of Okaro Lake into the south end of the great Assure, as it's former drainage outlet to the Rotonahan Lake appears to me to be completely filed up. If this should occur and fresh explos- ion take place in consequence, it will be com paratively moderate in it's effects, as, unlike Rotomahana, the soft, incoherent pumice de- posits between the fssuro and Okaro Lake are not sealed down by an enormous weight of siliceous sinter