Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1899-05-30

Warm steam from Questionable
depths rises Away. and fRts softly
away. cloudlike. from the grounds about
the volcano house. You know somehow
that il nature chose she cold at any
moment open the earth bereath yon
and bury all trace Of humanity upon
tina. mountain top mile drep. This
consciousness never gets away from yen
during your stay nj the volcano.
First You go TO the sulphur beds. n
few hundred yards from the house
Here eternally. through ages and gen
erations. the fumes If birthstone rise
as from the pi, Of inferno The earth
is yellow with them. From little blow
holes the sulphur steam ponrs through
the mineral hardening into tiny crys-
tails around the edge. Involuntarlly II
suggests to You the vigorous and fine
old orthodox sermons that used 10 send
You 20 bed in terror in your childhood
Sheol and sulphur. volcanoes and sui
phur. always 20 together. l wonder
WHY Some Of the sulphur steam has
been captured and piped into a build
ing. where it is forced to give ont
healing virtues in the shape of an in
MIGRATING medicated bath. Thus man s
ingenuity utilities for his own benefit
the very fumes Of inferno
To the westward from Kilauea great
Mauna Loa is visible. her head 40 miles
away in the clouds II looks about five
miles away. A road is 10 be- constructed
to the top Of Mauna Loa in year or
two, il Is hoped. Then the hurried tour
ist will be allie TO ascend that too.
When you come to Kilausa, see the
sunrise II you are not good at rising
early in tho morning. then stay mp all
night 20 greet the sun. II Is worth 1t
The dark. tremendous outline OF Mauna
Loa rising against the radiant rosy sky
In the west. in the east the sunrise
glow. and before you the black crater.
clear and sharp. with white clonds
lowering lightly over the steam holes
here and there. At your feet the grass
is heavy with glistening due. and
around yOu the divine, mysteriousstill'
ness Of the dawn-all this forms pic
ture you will carry in memory tho rest
Of your life.
Kilauea has three principal cratsrs-
the large one. the little one inside the
large one and the old crater. You &c
down into the crater and cross II Oh
horseback. OF walk it. a. You choose.
Americans. not being walking race.
mostly take it on horseback II you are
n woman Tourist. bring an old skirt OF
divided skin with You to tackle The
crater in The fact is. You see. women
ride into that crater man fashion
astride 1t is safer and easier
At first blush. literally first blush,
mind you, woman tenderfoot from
ths eastern states feels queer TO raihe
her foot and swing it across horse :
back as she has seen men do. especially
as the whole establishment is out in
force TO gaze on her and see how sh-
doss It. She hesitates. half shuts her
eyes, lifts one foot to the stirrup. hest
tates again, then summons all her nerve
aud makes the plunge It's done In 6
second more she trots off. easy and COM
Portable -feels as secure and independ-
ent as il she had been riding in this
sensible way all her life. Returning,
she comes up the steep. narrow path il
regular cowboy canter and is not
afraid.
A mile and half from the edge OF
the crater Is magnificent fern forest
When the road is finished that is now
building. the visitor will be able to
drive through an avenue of waving,
beautiful tree ferns into this wood and
hack again
The descent into the old crater Of XII
iauea and back again will stand in my
remembrance as equaled by only two
other experiences in my life. One was
when went down without guide to
the lava beds on the side of Mount We
suvius, the other when, checaco and
q Klondike tenderfoot. walked over
Bonanza trail from Dawson TO the
mines in the summer after rain.
The Kilauea trip was in some respects
more thrilling even than the redhot
ashes walk at Vesuvius- A trail, an
easy. pleasant footpath, has been put
through the fern jungle to the old XII
lauea crater. It ends at the brink.
There you look down the cliffs perhaps
1000 feet into the hole where millions
Of years ago Goddess Pele Of the vol
cano spouted forth birthstone and lava
upon the children of men It Is not inn
possible to descend into the crater itself,
though difficult. and only to be attempt
ed by the strong. healthy and active.
At first nobody cared to go down. then
two Of our party. fine, athletic young
Briton and myself. said we would try
Il. and down we plunged After we left
another one Of Queen victoris's sub
iectA . young physician from Ireland.
followed MS perhaps TO take care OF ~
In case we broke . limb or were stricken
with heart failure He did not find us.
however. and we two made the journey
alone.
We clambered. swung and aid down
the cli6. supporting ourselves BY the
stoat watkins sticlu NJ had tassa With