Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-08-25

SACiihS Hoor SLOWLY rdlSeJ tneir leVel, pre-
serving faithfully the slightly lenticular
form of the lake. A high rim had grown
around the edges of the lake, with a slope
to the walls Of the pit, that 1t resem-
bled the surface of an inverted saucer. The
lake itself was perfectly level. A thin red
hot crust covered the greater part of the
surface. broken by long, zigzag cracks of
white fire. in COZ tinual motion across the
lake, and here and there areas tossing fu-
rfouSly many yards aloft in fiery spray.
At the end of 1893 the level of the lake
had reached the summit of the encirclng
walls OF Halemaumau, and began to over
flow them Every few days coplous streams
woul1 break through the lake rim and
flood sometimes many acres. Soon all the
old walls were covered and obliterated
Still the lake kept rising, growing higher
weekly. Where had been the Dit was i'm
March n broad low mount. On its sum-
NIT lay the lake. now enlarged to twelve
acres. 1t was orly 20 feet below the level
OF the hotel. and it's whole surface splel-
didly in view from it, when not ebbing, as
Ii often did
About that time, three or four months
since, besides its copious overfiows, the lake
began burrowing underground to the north
ward. A great body of lava worked under
that part of the low, broad cone and made
an outlet three or four hundred feet out
slde, noodins large tract. You know
these floods cool at once. and in two or
three days can be safely walked over Now,
this underground lava was much heavier
than the part of the hill above it. which
was composed of very spongy rock. So II
Just lifted II up, several acres of it. some
eighty feet high. forming a cliff overhang-
ing the lake. This subsidized somewhat after
bed of fluid beneath.
This was about the condition of things
when the Thurston party arrived and took
II IN, descending and ascending to the lake,
and witnessing its frequent outpourings of
fiery fluid. All this was sufficiently i'm
posing and terrific. This was July s. On
the morning of the 18th began the great
display. The lake began subsiding. 1t
went down steadily all day at the rate of
about twenty feet in an hour The support
of the heavy fluid being withdrawn, the
sides of it's walls began to fall IN with ter
rifc crashes and great columns of red dust
borne aloft by the heat. The masses of
debris crashed into the heavy fluid with
nightly uproar, as the spray flew high
aloft. and vast surges of fire rolled mas
sively against the opposite banks.
But the Srandest action was where the
lava had burrowed under the cliff. There
the entire Side of the lake fell in by sue
cessive crumblings, until an area of eight
acres had disappeared into the depths, be-
ing the whole of the ground previously I'M
dermined and resting upon the supporting
fluid. First. the whole cliff subsidized to it's
original level tfen bent downward, large
masses breaking of from its overhang.
From noon until well into the night there
was scarcely a moment when the crash of
the falling banks was not going on. AS the
level OF the lake sank the increasin height
of the unsupported banks caused a con-
tinually increasing downfall. Often Sec
tions of the bank from two to five hundred
feet long and hundreds of feet high would
plunge downward, dashing giant breakers
of fire aloft, all with deafening roar and
earth shaking.
Most of the falling rock would disappear
at once under the boiling flood. Some of
the larger masses, however, would float for
a while upon the surface, forming islands
of considerable size. like houses which
hoated around for hours. The sight was
when such an island would.
after Its plunge. emerge from the depth,
the clearage of the fallen bank had taken
place the surface exposed was left glowing
with red heat, showing how the tempera-
ture of the molten lake extended far into
the sides which it had built up.
The Scene Described.
AS the lake subsidized. and the falling in of
the undermined area at the north con-
tinued. working far back into the hill. 1t ex-
posed an interior which, fstv feet below the
surface. was in a semi-mclten condition.
From to O'Clock. the entire face of the
length. and over 200 feet in height, was
shifting mass of color. varying from the
intense light of molten lava to all the vary
ing shades of rose and red to black AS
night came on, and yet hotter recessss were
uncovered. the molten lava which remained
in the manv caverns leading off through the
banks to other portions of the crater be-
gan to run back and fall down into the
lake beneath, making fiery cascades down
the sides of the bluff. There We're five such
lava streams at one time"
This night view, which is thus recorded,
was undoubtedly the finest spectacle ever
witnessed at Kilauea. 1t was viewed with
perfect safety. Although large sections of
the bank were splitting off and falling
in. the deep chGsms. red-hot below. opened
slowly. and one could stand securely for a
long time upon the gradually yielding
masses. There were no sulphur fumes or
smoke to annoy or endanger. One could
stand almost anywhere and gaze at the daz-
zling display which burned itself into heart
and brain.
After falling 27O feet, the subsistence Of
the lava ceased. 1t had exposed q cavern
running under the southern floor, which
was probably the opening through which
the molten fluid had drained on We shall
probably hear that 1t has commenced to
rise again. A steady stream Of visitors Is
going up to the Volcano House, mostly by
stage on the splendid new road from IIilo
A young friend writes me from the hotel
how deliciously bracing Is the climate. The
nights are chill all summer, 1900 feet above
the sea, with the perpetual snow caps of
Mauna kea and Mauna Loa in sight in the
near distances. The new road above men
toned traverses twelve miles of splendid
virgin forest. never before accessible to
man. The government has surveyed and is
selling some thirty thousand acres of coffee
lands in this forest, lying on both sides Of
this macadam road These lands are from
200 to 5000 feet altitude The soil is rocky
but deep and of immense fertility. About
$50 inches or rain fall annually. Owing
to the porosity of the lava, the. water all
disappears at once, leaving no ponds
streams or springs, and causing no malaria
not trace of 1t in the region. There are
more than 100000 acres of similar lands in
that part of Hawaii The labor of building
roads through them will be costly and slow
The beautiful town and harbor of Hilo Is
their natural seaport. It has an excellent
American community, and Is destined to a
very prosperous future, rs is splendid back
country is gradually opened up by roads.
Upon the Island of Hawaii, which is
larger than all the rest of the group to-
gether. 1t is the fact that not more than
ore-half of the fertile lands have yet be-
come accessible for settlement. Portions of
the fertile surfaces are cut by deep ravines,
crossed only by horse trails. Still larger
portions, like the coffee tracts mentioned,
are covered with tangled forest. and by the
chevaux de frise Of IA or clinker rock be-
low. Road making in such tracts Is costly,
and development of the country will be
gradual. Upon the other islands the diff
cultteS of access are less, but the soils are
scarcely as fertile.
That clinker lava Is q singular formation
Very commonly the molten streams cool in
smooth rounded knobs covering no conn