Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-09-14

! south sea news seems to color the re
! port from the Hawaiian islands which
says that there is good ground for fear.
/ ing that the crest Of Mauna Loa has
| been blown off by volcanic forces, tina
! the sea has flooded the blazing crater
| and that the island of Hawaii has beer
shattered il the wild CONFUSION Of
nature, says the New York Sun. 1t is
probable that things are by no means
so bad as reported. Merely as matter
Of world physics, there is nothing i'm
probable in the news Of the blowing to
pieces of such an island as Hawaii
There is any quantity of evidence tC
show that such smashes were of fire.
quent occurrence in comparatively re-
cent geological periods, and that the
shattering Of an island only as large as
the state of Connecticut is trifle to
volcanic forces. But to connect the
blowing off Of the volcano. The crest
of the volcano covers an area as large
as Staten island, and even if that were
blown off the cavity would still be at
the altitude of at least 10000 feet above
above the sea.
The difficulty lies in the stock vol
cano of the picture books. Any one at
tempting to draw his idea of a volcano
would make a sharp cone with very
steep sides, too steep to exist in nature
and to be found only on a carefully
sharpened lead pencil. Top this cone
off with thin spiral of smoke and
a dense cloud hanging overhead, and
that is the stock volcano. But it is not
the Hawaiian volcano. In all the is
lands there is nothing like this. The
Hawaiian volcano is only big hole in
the ground and cannot be seen under
ordinary conditions until the traveller
is right at the brink. The smoke cloud
is seldom seen: never unless there is
some great activity in the crater. The
eruptions are never at the craters, but
for the most part miles away from the
blazing pools of lava, and the craters
have never been known to cast any
thing into the air above their rim
walls, and the fountains of lava which
thev display are of scanty height
These points are to be kept in mind
when there is activity in the Hawaiian
volcanoes, for no ideas based on We
suvius and Aetna will help to an under
standing of them.
All the islands of the group are jag
ged with extinct craters, and cinder
heaps of dead volcanoes. Hawaii is
the only one where the activity Of the
under world yet finds its frey way to
visible vent. Earthquakes are COM
mon in every island. and hot springs
may be found even in Niihau, which
seems to have been the first of the
islands to cool off, but lava lakes and
rivers and fire pits open to the sight
are to be found only on Hawaii. There
are three volcanoes on the island,
Mauna Kea at the north, Mauna Loa
at the south, and Hualalai, rising to its
minor eminence of about a mile from
the northwestern flank of Mauna Loa
Mauna Kea, "the white mountain" has
long since ceased its activity. Not
even the most dimly remembered tradi-
ton shows it other than it is today, a
gaunt peak rising from the unalterable
summer at its foot to the eternal win
ter which keeps its crest shrowded in
snow-felds and glaciers, whence the
name. Haulalai, with no more altitude
than 8,275 feet, seems like a hillock un-
der the mass of Mauna Kea, with
1896 feet, and Mauna Loa with 1855
feet; it has no crater and has been but
once in eruption. This was the Kau-
pulehu flow of 1901, which arose from
an outbreak on the lower slope of the
mountain and poured the melted lava
into the sea, six mics away. The
priests of that period worked their best
combinations and charms to stop the
flow, but all was vain until Kameha-
meha the Great cut a lock of his own
hair and threw it into the river of fire.
At once the lava cooled and the eruption
ceased, and Huala1ai has given no fur
Their trouble.
Mauna Loa has two craters in which
activity is manifested more or less con-
tinuOusly. On the lower slope is Xii
auea, at an elevation of 1871 feet
This crater is as we'll known as it is
possible to make any scenic attraction
! which may De reached by stage or even
by wheel. 1t has its years Of inactiv-
ity, when there is little to be seen but a
hot yawning pit, but in general Kill
auea keeps warm corner of its Lava
lake open for inspection. This crater
| has only recently renewed it's activity
after several years of rest. During
| that period the crater was by no mean;
| cold and silent. The lava floor was
| scorching to walk on, even though sew.
eral years had passed since it's period
| of incandescence, the pit was filled witt
! swimming fumes of metals boiling in
| the subterranean crevices, and strange
| rumblings and cracklings were heard
| But the fluid lava was withdra wn into
unseen abysses in the heart Of the rocks
A few months ago the pit filed once
more with lava, and the lakes and
mountains of fire have shown fresh &C
tivity.
The summit crater OF Mauna Loa ha!
A different habit. 1t is only at inter
I walls that its fires are manifest, AM
then only for brief and uncertin dur
alton. 1t is hard climb to the crater
There are difficulties in the way Il
overcome which restrain many wht
would like to scale the height Their
is mountain sickness, there is tn
necessity TO carry all provisions for tn
journey and to sustain the shock o
passing from tropical heat to glacia
cold. All these difficulties have com
bined to make the summit crater o
Mauna Loa spot rarely visited b.
men.
From HiIo, Muna Loa seems insig