Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-09-01
A LAKE OF LIVING LAVA.
Situated on Mount Kilauea. in Hawaii, I'm
the Sandwich Islands.


the Sandwich Islands.
There is on the island of Hawaii a
lake of living lava, says "Our Earth
and Its Wonders" 1t is on Mount Kill
auea 1t is a pit about three and a half
miles wide, nearly elliptical in form,
and surrounded with cliffs almost mac
cessible to human foot. Capt. Dutton
thus describes it. The object upon
which the attention is instantly fixed is
large chaotic pile of rocks situated in
the center of the amphitheater, rising
to height which, by an eye estimate,
appears to be about three hundred and
fifty to four hundred feet. From in
Vulnerable places in its mass volumes of
steam are poured forth and borne away
to leeward by the trade wind.
The color of the pile is intensely black,
spotted and streaked here and there
with red. 1t is so shattered and broken
that 1T has craggy, ominous aspect,
which may be called hideous
Around it spreads out the slightly I'M
dulating floor of the amphitheatcr, as
black as night. To the left of the
steaming pile is an opening In the floor
of the crater, within which we behold
the ruddy streams of boiling lava. From
numerous points in the surrounding
floor clouds of steam issue forth and
melt away In the steady flow of the
wind. Desolation and horror reign SUI
preme. The engirdling walls every
where hedge 1t in. But upon their sum-
mits and upon the receding platform
beyond are all the wealth and luxuri-
ance of tropical vegetation, heighten-
ing the contrast with the desOlation be-
low.
70 Of &c
four hundred and eighty feet long and
little over three hundred feet in
width, surrounded by vertical walls
fifteen to twenty feet in height, When
we first reach it the proba bilities are
that the surface Of the lake is coated
over with black, solidifed crust,
showing a rim of fire all around its
edge. At numerous points at the edge
of the crust jets of fire are seen spout
ing upward, throwing up a spray of
glowing lava drops and emitting a dull,
simmering sound The heat, for the
time being, is not intense. Now and
then a fountain breaks out in the mid
die of the lake and boils feebly for a
| few minutes. 1t then becomes quiet
but only to renew the operation at
some other point.
Gradually the squirting and fretting
at the edges augment. A belch of lava
is thrown up here and there to the
height of five or six feet and falls back
upon the crust. Presently, and near
| the edge, cake of the crust cracks off,
and one edge of it sliding downward
descends beneath the lava, and the
whole cake disappears, disclosing a
naked surface of liquid FIRE Again it,
coats over and turns black. This opera
ton is repeated edgewise at some other
part of the slake. Suddenly network
of cracks shoots through the entire
crust Piece after piece of it turns it's
edge downward and sinks with grand
commotion, leaving the whole pool a
single expanse of liquid lava, The lake
surges feebly for awhile, but soon
comes to rest.
The heat is now insupportable, and
for a time it is necessary to withdraw
from the immediate brink. Gradually
the surface darkens with the formation
of a new crust, which grows thicker and
blacker until the last ray of mean
'escence disappears. This alteration
Of the freezing of the surface of the lake
and the breakup and sinking of the
crust goes on in a continuous round, at
a regular period of about two hours
Chicago Times.