Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1899-09-14

In the ascent of Mauna Loa II is 10
sible TO keep TO the more lraverssbI.
lava almost 10 the summit At inter
yals the stream is Interrupted nv ~,
difficult blocks, but these difficult in-s-
walls are fortunately rare. The la.
thousand feet OF altitude lie entira,y 4,
block lava and are very dificulr =
pass. IL is bitter cold; each block -
lava is as cold as block of iron wonld
be under the same exposure and tba
hands are numbed by touching the in
hospitable surroundings in the hone .;
finding some assistance for the painf,r
climb. The air at 5000 feet is so -bi,
that it hardly supports life Here ~
mountain sickness comes to weak
the frame just at the time when all i.s
forces are needed. There is no apna~-
ent incentive to put forth the last 70
serve of strength. there is no goal in
sight, nothing but a jagged wilderness
OF great blocks in disorder. The fain,
slope of the mountain continues as If
has been from the ver-' sea, no mnr.
than any easy grade. 1t is in vain
that the eye fixes a limit beyond which
the crater must lie. When that limi,
has been reached the same scene lias
still ahead and the thin coil Of smoke
pleas SILL iust~.-9g. tif--.g2lck, i..,r-
preached from whatever side ii NAV he
the actual crater comes as a surprise
One draws back as though lust cauyb.
in time from topping over a precipics
1t is altogether negative. In the heart
of the summit waste of gigantic blocks
the bottom has dropped out. The
mountaineer discovers it by coming
around the corner of a lava block and
finding himself on the edge of sheer
descent of 500 feet. Standing in a
snow bank he looks down on a lake
just below him in which rocks are
melted and flow like water.
This the crater of Mokuaweoweo. II
is hole in the ground nearly ten
miles around. not quite two miles in
breadth and a little less than four
miles in length. When the crater Is
active the crust of the lava floor melts
and lakes of fire appear.
from which cracks radiate in every d.
rection. In the fire lakes fire foun-
tains are internationally at play. Some
have been measured by the officers of
the Hawaiian survey and have been
found to SPOUT 200 feet into the air.
Even when the crater is active it Is
feasible TO descend to the lava .evel
and to advance some distance in the
direction Of the spouting lets. This
is not so dangerous a feat as it NAV
seem, for the heat Of the surface is
such that the soles OF ones boots
would be burned off long before there
was any risk OF dropping through the
crust. Yet there Is nothing to be
gained by such foolhardy exploration.
since the better view Of the fountains
is had from the solid margin Mokla-
weoweo much resembles KiIauea. They
are of approximately the same
the lower crater being
about 200 acres the larger. Neither
has ever filled with lava and overfiowed
the rim Long before such n thing has
happened the mountain has given way
at a lower level, and by the discharge
of the lava the pressure at the crater
itself has been reduced. This is shown
very clearly in the flow of 1910. which
broke out on the flank of the mountain
below Kilauea and flowed into the sea
for three weeks.
The great Mauna Loa flows are easily
to be traced along the bare mountain
side from any place which will afford
an extended view, The flow Of 1859 il
one Of the very few which have been
emitted from the western side of the
1t is about sixty miles long
and took eight years to reach the sea.
II flowed for seven months The two
flows Of 1868 and 1887 are close to-
gether at the southerr point OF the
island, one coming from a vent ten
miles inland, the other from one
twenty miles inland The former had
a speed of ten miles in two hours
which seems 10 be the record The
largest and most menacing flows have
broken out very close together and
have followed almost the same course.
The flow OF 1852 was the first Of tls
group. II was headed in the direction
of Hilo. The second city in the islands
)rt cooled off and stopped few miles
outside Of the town. Three years later
another flow broke out on the same
sank Of the mountain, followed the
same course. threatened Hilo once
more and stopped after flowing uuin
erTuptedlv for fifteen months its edge
was only eight miles from Hilo when
L consealed Again in 1880 HiO was
attacked. For nine months this
stream rolled along. Every day It
made some advance, every week it was
a mile or so nearer anditnever sweryed
In its direction. II was aimed d.
rectIy at Hilo and there seemed no
hope for the city from which the peo-
pie began 70 move in terror. When
that flow stopped it was only three
quarters Of mile from the populous
part Of the town Il is not unusual TO
hear people say In Hilo tina. the vol
1ano has just been trying TO get ne
range and that the next time the lava
Will n0ur1F the city The nreSput Ol--