The Hawaiian gazette., 1886-03-30
KILAUEA.
A visit to the Slumbering PeIe.
vololso Housr, H4wAu, March is, 1sse.

/
| EDTcE GAEETTE:-Au outlook, obtained March
18th from the top of Puukoai 1.-THE upper red hill,
which is deserted the left, by travellers passing
Il .n kilauea 20 Kapapala revealed the whole sur
| rounding legion from hllauea to Pahala and from
! the Puna-pali TO the TANKS of Mauna Doa, as
utterly inert and quiescent, Mechanically; save
only that the 1865 steam cracks not far of, were
gently smoking, Just as they had been doing for
| years. So that pending some future possible re-
! port of volcanic outbreak on the Puma coast at
sea, or elsewhere, we can meanwhile think of the
departed molten matter of Kilauea, as invisibly
and. inaudibly cooling itself in subterraneau
caverns and vladucts.
And with the much larger quantity of molten
material which in 1865 took its departure from the
same source, covering area on the surface of
the earth OF less than onefourth of square mile,
the much smaller amount that has Just now left
its reservoirs might clearly find room for itself
in underground cavities.
An aneroid taken this morning March 1S) to
within fifty feet of the bottom of Halemaumau,
| affirmed t6o depth reached. to be 200 feet below
the volcano lavas shy 800 feet below the line of
wall above and around. This utmost bottom is
nov small dow only POSSIBLY 100 feet squase)
composed OF the cooled lava which was over the
surface Of the halemaumau lake and which settled
10 the bottom At the cleaning off of the fiery
hqHt below; Just as the cleaning of of quantity
OF milk thropgh asmdll hole in the lower part of
tie pan combining it, would leave the coating Of
cream floating On the surface settled down on
the bottom, while dpwnwards towards this same
limited area, the surrounding sides of the pit
made up Of payments of basalt and pahoehoe, like
the sides of tunnel towards its oriice were steep
ly inclIning from all points of the compass.
These terrible avalanches of rock-masses which
on the the night of March 9Th, came crashing down
the Halemaumau chasm-suggest as quite probable,
the opinion Of Maby, the Volcano House Manager,
that many of the forty-three earthquakes of that
memorable twelve. hours, were produced by this
Titanic bumbardmeut
The bottom Of the New Lake is now seen to be
at q much higher level than the bottom of Hale
~. 81,
faces of the reservoirs, when they were reservoirs,
were on % level their depths were not the same,
the New Lake having been shallow basin of mol
ten lava and halemaumau deep reservoir, through
which the New Lake was evidently drained.
1t gives me a feeling OF awe TO go into these
degg chasms 50 lately filled with indescribable ac-
tivity, brightness and power, and the question,
what next!" seems TO utter itself over and over,
and we listen for an answer and half expect some
revelation Of the mysteries below, but no voice
breaks the silence-no sign comes to US and we can
only predict the future by the past. Reliable rec
ords tell Us that the fires of kiauea have disap-
peared again and agaln, and come back, as hot
and fierce as ever, why not again. Certainly the
unusual activity of the past months, would not
seem TO indicate less volcanic vigor, and who
knows but that old Maunaloa, now apparently
slumbering, Is quietly marshaling its forces for
another grand oUtburst Obi how little we do
really know. . ..H.I L. 2. BAKER.
he following account written by Mr. Thomas
q. Ihrun,, a well known resident who visited the
Volcano, appeared III the columns of the DAILY
Press On the 9th inst. The correspondence bears
date of "Crater of kilauea, March 23rd" and is
tli5 latest authentic news obtainable. The writer
saNE: >" ..r.-
" There has been no material change in the sun
ken portion OF The crater, except a continual
falling III of rocks and debris from its banks
as the contraction fro its former intense
heat lOCsened their cOmplctness and sent
them hurting some GOO or 200 feet below,
giving forth at times boom as of distant thunder,
followed by clouds of cinders and ashes shooting
up into the air 100 to 800 feet, proportionate
doubtless, to the size of the newly fallen mass
Yet notwithstanding this condition of the huge
pit or yaYnIng chasm, Rev. E.P. Baker descend
ed into 1t the 18th inst to within what he Judged
to be fifty feet of the bottom. His recorded e1-
perience in the Volcano House records does not
recommend the feat to others at present, nor did
its appearance to the art and historic party yester
day Impress Us with feelings of assured security.
Intense heat-wayes were found issuing from two
partly broken cones near the brink to the west of
Halemaumau's ruins, also from two broken domes
IN front or north OF the middle break, while
close TO the edge of the northeast portion of
where New. Lake stood are two breaks where
the beat IS most intense, and living fire
cannot be far from the surface. On the
south rim Of the cavity, from which point we OBJ
tanned our first close view of the immense pit, and
where Mr.. i. SEVERN took his first in-the-crater
view Of it (he had obtained two views from a
shelterlng ledge on the west bank,l the guide set
fire to his stick by inserting it in n crevice not
more than fifty feet from where We were standing;
50 that we had evidences of fire on all sides. The
source Of the greatest activity being at the New
Lake side Of the crater, and evidently increasing,
impresscs me with ths idea that when the clogged
channels of this subterranean fire becomes suici-
emily cleared the new outbreak will occur in that
vicinity The bottom and sides of Halemaumau
are burned to lifeless mass there seems to be no
section of fusable rock and if so, the chances for
viewing this interesting phenomenon will be pro-
badly short lived for the first molten lava in its
vicinity will hasten TO fill it again to the brim.
Interesting as kilauea naturally is in state of
activity this periodic change will give it zest to
tourists, and should enhance considerably its in
teTest to scientists and students of nature"