The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-06-02
A STORY OF PLUCK.
Da"ey's Trip to Mauna Loa Volcano.
Told BY PHOTOGRAPHER.

~ AAo una AO8 vOlCanO.
Told BY Photographer.
Inc Following from the Wide World for
"U"e Is brief description of the terrible
Nperiehce OF Frank Davey and party
ling a trip up Mauna Loa to photo
siaph the great eruption of 1899. The
piocNy author-photographer made his ex-
pooues under perfectly appalling condi-
.iohs-indeed, at one time il seemed as
."oush the entire expedition must perish
IN the choking sulphur clouds that blew
across their path.
oh tuesday, July 18th, of last wear T
ieIt honolulu with the intention of reach
ing the scene of action from the Kan sida
u me island of Hawaii. Upon arriving at
ma ahua' kona, 1 telephoned Mr. Monsar-
house full of guests on The same iomrI
ney Dent, and that all his horses had been
shsaBeu. Rather than lose time there
djf,,c,,i, d. once decided to take the most
uncuiI route of albright over the great
mountain from the Kona side. The oh
sedcies 10 be overcome may perhans no
imagined when l state that Mauna I.oa
ingiv ssfsea, Jagged. pit-set and depress-
sS gloomy volcanic mountain 3615
Ieet hlsh, and that we had to make orr
way over lava the whole distance
here l hunted about for horses. and
round, too, some gentlemen who wanted
20 JON our expedition from KaiIua eipht
IN al, including Professor ingalls,. Colo
nei McCarthy, Stearns Buck. j. Bollard
80, a. hrduegel, and three guides We set
I1Ilh' Ihe hrst night we campeu on the
edge OF the forest in a drenching rain
a i resumed our journey at daybreak. ar
rf ing a. the summit about dusk.
adge q, we slept, or tried to sleep. on the
euge OF the crater Mokuaweoweo, the sec
ono largest in the world. We turned into
oiow mole In the lava, little thinking
, ,bao rhe wind swept through it as
a L..I
mere, for' though 1T was freezing cold
anu the hail was falling it was dangerous
10 wander about over the riffs and
SnaSrns OF the Jagged lava. So we shiv-
s sIeu ana shuddeTed through the awful
association of our second night aloft.
Inc next morning we left one of our
GUIDES with the horses, as it was practi-
Sally impossible to take them farther
Here we found a little water in the
cracks OF the lava, and, filling our can
Teens, we started down the mount ain. By
.I time we were all suffering from
mountain sickness-our heads bursting
ana stomachs upside down" After we
had gone about two miles two of orr
party turned back, leaving but four of
, rne oris f, number and two guides. We
passed hve dead cones that had been in
actlon a short time before The fiery
nood mad burst through the side of the
mountain, run short distance, and then
ABOUT mile farther down.
Cone NO. was still smoking but nearly
OUT, so we pushed on to cone No. Z, which
was belching huge volumes of steam and
sulphur, which, fortunately, was beng
blown away from us; but still we could
not get very near it,
Here one of the guides returned. We
are now approaching cone No. g.
This Is the last and largest, being about
200 feet high and 800 feet in diameter.
ms, In fact, was "A verItable volcano
spc uting red-hot lava 100 feet into the air
with roar and boom that might have
been heard for miles. Bouiders that
must have weighed more than ton shot
nigh above the glare of the lava hum
dreds or feet into the air, or nearly twice
as high above the cone as it's own height
above the base.
Some of these elected masses were as
large as horse. When they appeared
they were at a white heat, but went so
high that they cooled and became quite
black before reaching the rim of the yor-
tex again. The wilma blew immense
masses Of lava over the edge of the cone.
of gold. 1t was p. m. when we reached
the most wonderful display of natures
most gigantic forces. 1t had taken us
nine hours &c get there. and we were foot
sore, thirsty, and nearly exhausted.
After taking two views and resting
about an hour we started back, for we
could not possibly get water until we
reached the top of Mauna Loa AS the
sun went down the magnificence of the
scene Increased, but the danger also be-
came much greater. AS we approached
cone No. Z, the wind changed.
the cloud of sulphur blowing right
across our path. We tried to go around
the other side of the cone, but the lava
was so hot that We were forced to come
back. After making three attempts to
go through the barrier of sitting fumes
we gave II up, for we were nearly suffo-
Gated. 1t was n bad fix. We seemed
about TO be choked, like rats in a cage.
Professor Ingalls, said, Gentlemen, we
cannot live much longer, so prepare for
the worst" We made notes in our books
of the time. the conditions, and pros
poets. Just then / happened to turn and
saw an arch, as it were, in the thickest
part OF the sulphur-cloud, the wind blow
ing IL above the ground. Look" / said.
Run for it, and run We did, for dear
life, barely getting through. The guide
fell in a faint. ana we had to carry him
alcng. In a few minutes the cloud set
lied TO earth again, but we were safe for
the time being.
About "A mile farther up we saw the
other guide standing on mound of lava
and looking very anxious. He told us
that when he saw the cloud of sulphur
sweep across the mountain he did not
think he should ever find us alive again.
After a short rest we moved on again.
II was now getting dark, but the awful,
lurid glare from the colossal volcano
helped us along. We dared not stop. If
we had we should have got so cold that
We should not have been able to keep on
oui way to reach water. All that night
we craWled over the horrible lava.
We fell down about every twenty
feet. often breaking through the
black crust, sinking to our waists
and cutting ourselves on the sharp edges
of the lava. Even though my hands
were covered with two pairs of woollen
socks. they were wofully iacerated. AL
most as soon as we touched the ground
we would fall asleep. But ii was very
cold, and when we began to chill we
would awake, to struggle on another rod
or so, only to fall, sleep, wake, and strug-
gle on again. At last came the morning,
and we began to look for water in the
clefts and crevices of the lava, sometimes
going down ten or fifteen feet, only to
be disappointed. We could hardly speak,
our mouths were so parched and swollen.
Mr. Buck and 1 took turns in carrying my
camera, and 1 also had the canteen.
Finally we came across a break in the
lava bed, about eight feet wide, which
looked nearly full of water-so clear, l
thought, that could see in ii a reflection
OF the rocks. Calling to Mr.. Buck to go
down, he took off his coat and started. l
was lying upon the edge of the crevasse,
holding the bottle for him to fill. After
getting down about five feet he stood
looking as IL he saw ghost. l shouted,
''yyhy don't you fill the bottle?" His an
swer was, II cannot see any water and
then he turned very pale. Throwing
down a piece of lava, / exclaimed:
ss'There's the waterp' But, to my aston
ishment, down, down, down, out of sight