Evening star., 1896-07-02
A RIVER OF FIRE.

Graphic Description of Mauna LOn's
Eruption in 1880.
From the Honolulu Gazette.
Early Friday night, November 6, 1880, q
bright light was reflected from the clouds
above Mauna Loa that increased in bril-
liancy until morning. All day Saturday
great clouds of smoke could be seen at
Hilo. fifty miles away, rising from the
mountain as from a city that had been
swept by a great confiagration. Saturday
evening the mountain was wrapped in
clouds, but toward midnight they scattered.
revealing a spectacle that was magnificent
beyond all description. The summit crater
was emitting dense smoke, lighted up by
the molten lake Of lava. Below, on the
mountain side, was an embrasure from
which the lava was running down like a
river. Not break could be seen from the
outlet to the very head of the fiery mass.
1t was n continuous stream of glowing
lava, heated to incandescence, moving
steadily down the mountain side. 1t was
like living creature gliding out of its fiery
prison house all aglow,
"SQuirming and gliding in the mountains
Like great serpent with skin of gold"
Its progress was rapid, considering the
distance of the point of view, and subse-
quent observation along the line of the
flow proved that the velocity must have
been tremendous.
Mr.. David Hitchcock, who was camping
on Mauna Kea at the time of this outbreak,
saw spectacle that few human eyes have
ever beheld I'VE Stood" writes he ION
the very edge Of that flowing river of rock.
Oh. wnat sight it was! Not twenty feet
from us was this immense bed of rock
slowly moving forward with irresistible
force, bearing on its surface huge rock and
immense powders of tons weight as wa
ter would carry toy boat. The whole
frnn nl torb< ra1 80
rock necessarily breaking Off from the
towering mass and rolling down to the foot
OF IT, to be again covered by another ava
lanche of white-hot rocks and sand. The
whole mass at its front edge was from
twelve to thirty feet in height. Along the
entire line Of its advance 1t was one crash
of rolling, sliding, tumbling red-hot rock.
We could hear no explosions while we were
like ten thousand blast furnaces all at work
at once This was the most extensive
fow OF recent years, and its progress from
the interior plain through the dense forests
close to the town was startling and men,
acinS enough. Through the woods espe-
c1ally 1t was a turbulent, seething mass
that toppled over mammoth trees. and
licked up streams of water, and day and
night kept up an unintermittng cannonade
of explosions. The steam and imprisoned
gases would burst the congealing surface
with loud detonations that could be heard
Tor many miles. 1t was not an infrequent
thing for parties to camp out close to the
flow over night. Ordinarily a lava flow
moves sluggishly and congeals so rapidly
that what seems like hardihood in the mar
rating is in reality calm Judgment. for it is
perfectly safe to be in the close vicinity of
lava stream. and even to walk on its sur
1ace as soon as one would be inclined to
walk on cooling iron in foundry. This
notable flow finally ceased within half a
mile of Hilo. where its black form is a
perpetual reminder of marvellous deliver
ance from destruction