The Hawaiian gazette., 1897-09-21
Interesting and Beautiful
Cloud Effects.
RareTed and Dry Atmosphere Pro-
duces Curious Results Upon
the System.
Especial Correspondence

Especial Correspondence
When ar noon on August Sth l stood
alone Al the edge Of the crater of Mo-
Iuzweoweo. my feelings were of a
somewhat mixed character. I had just
sid goodbye 10 Mr.. John Gaspar who
had brought me up. and before me lay
g period Of solitude Of three weeks or
more Prom a previous ascent made
On april LIST ] gathered that it would
be very cold but beyond this l knew
nothing Of the climatic conditions to
Ehich ! would be exposed. However,
] sci 70 work ar once to arrange the in
terror Of my tent, got out my meteoro-
logicsl instruments and planned my
course Of examination of the crater.
Before many days had passed it be-
cane apparent that the conditions of
NY existence were not unlike some of
lboss 10 be found in the moon. In the
complete sterility OF the surface, in the
very existence Of the grim old crater,
a. The edge Of which I had pitched my
tent, in the rarifaction of the atmos-
phe7e. in the intense dryness of the
Air as indicated by observations on
the relative humidity; in the prevail
ing clOudless sky by day and in the
clear. star-lit calm and devices nights;
In the severe cold at night and in the
searching Of the sun in the day, there
were reproduced many of the condi-
lions We would look for in that planet.
Then. again, the air at first was highly
electrified Ny red blanket cracked
under my hands at night and l could
trace on its surface in phosphorescent
hines with my fnger-nail the letter A
zs ] lay completely enveloped in its
folds. The detached wings of dead
butterflies picked up from the ground
adhered provokingly 20 my fingers, and
I began 70 imagine myself an electric
battery The effects Of these meteoro-
logical conditions soon showed them
selves in the cessation of the action of
the skin. in severe headaches and sore
throat; in tendency to palpitation
and dyspnOea. and in sleeplessness,
general lassitude and loss of appetite.
most Of which symptoms l attributed
10 the great lack Of moisture in the
air / began seriously TO think that Mr..
GRspar would find a mummy on his
return. when q short spell of damp
weather interviewed. and most of the
unpleasant symptoms having disap-
peared, I began TO take more interest
in my surroundings. And soon 1 found
that ] had a regular visitor twice a
day in the shadow of the long noun
tain For about 20 minutes after sun
Use and before sunset the shadow of
the mountain was thrown back against
the SKY Of the opposite horizon. It
seemed as il some Titanic brush had
been al work on the sky far away, and
had worked in the profile of the noun
tain with very uncanny blue. Most
evenings used TO light my pipe and
Eztch the arrival and disappearance of
the old mountains shade. The peak
was the last 10 90, and that was the
signal for my retiring for the night. l
was in the habit OF getting up three or
four times in the night to make obser-
walton Of the wind and weather. At
g. m on August 9Th there was most
beautiful lunar halo, displaying most
OF The rainbow hues, the purple inside
and the orange outside being most
conspicuous. This was repeated in a
less marked degree in the following
night, and after that the phenomenon
disappeared.
During NY sOjOurn on the mountain
TOP there was very little rain, only
about $1,000 OF an inch. This is in
striking contrast to the rainfall above
Aapooqoo in August, where, as 1 learn
from The Rev. Mr.. Davis. more than
10 inches fell at an elevation as infer
OF some 100 feet Most Of the rain
On The summit fell during the night of
August 18th and 18th, and in that night
I had an uncomfortable time of it,
The wind was very gusty and was ap-
parently disposed to lift up my tent
and carry il bodily into the crater. II
vas bitterly cold, and lay down with
nv boots on, lit my pipe and prepared
Tor the worst The canvas was reek-
ins with The wet, and every fresh gust
q The biting northerly seemed to prom
ise 70 deprive me Of my shelter. Ma
rure. however, came 10 my aid. After
sunset il began 10 freeze hard. and be-
fore long The canvas of my tent was as
stiff as a board and no longer swayed
70 and fro with each gust of wind. l
then fell asleep for an hour or two. and
woke up 70 find the wind blowing
strong from the south. A rapid thaw
had set in. and the canvas was again
soaking with vet the water running
down on NY stores. This was repeated
during the night, and to vary the en-
serSsinnent there were two earth-tre-