The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-01-13
NRW ZEALAND vRsuvIUs

Transformed a Beautiful
asrrsa waste.
fbeouea New Zealand never thought
.5s laaflag that country without first
mako pilgrimage to the terraces
.7E the Lake distriet, abont 1901
miles distant from Auckland This
wild and curious territory IS described
IY Mr. g. e Falconer IL tile Windsor
Magazine.
The white terraces Of Rotomahana
rose up 81 a series Of 20 platforms IN
the form Of gigantic stairway. Each
terrace was perfectly horizontal and
Of dazzling Whiteness. The top step
was vertically so feet above the base
and sat 800 feet back From every
platform bubbles copious clouds Of
steam al steram Of boiling water con-
tinually flowed from the geysers, and
as it fell slowly from tier to tier the
s~ilicates with which the water was
heavily charged became deposited, on
its exposure to the air, in wonderful
lace-work designs Of infinite variety
and Of dazzling Whiteness and purity
we're formed Not far from the white
terrace was another termed the "Pink
Terrace, where, owing to some COLI
oring substance in the silicious wa
tors falling from the geysers, the de-
posits were Of a delicate pink hue,
from which was derived the name
'Pink Terrace.
Unfortunately New Zealand no
longer possesses this unique spectacle,
for the terraces are no more. The va
rious agencies of nature which orig
inally built up such curious forms
served in turn to destroy them. Mr..
Falconer gives a graphic description
Of the event. He was residing at that
time about 40 miles distant from Tar
awera. In 1886, on June 10, the night
was clear and calm. Heavy rumbling
sounds like rolls Of distant thunder
filed the air, but there was no very
great alarm. The next day daWned
dun and gloomy. About half-past
seven o'clock the morning grew dark
er and Light gray ash, very fine, began
10 fall. He says that although they
surmised an eruption was taking place
in the Hot Lake district, there were
no definite tidings to that effect, 50
that he could only wait to see what
would happen. BY the aid Of a Ian
tern he succeeded in cropping his way
to the telegraph office, and there he
learned that d serious disturbance was
taking place at Tarawera and Roto-
mohana. About il o'clock the dark
ness Lifted. Allroundthe groundwal
covered with a thin, flmy pail Of fins
ash to the depth Of haf an inch, and i
was afterWard found that the intense
darkness was caused by a thick cloud
of dust blown out by the volcano to {
height SO tremendous that it passet
above Tauranga and dispersed ovel
the country some miles away.
The manifestation was accom-,
panied BY intense cold, the thermom.
Bter registering five degrees Of frost
This is explained by the fact that the
columns Of steam as they came kissing
out Of the craters expanded as they as
cended and absorbed their own hea.
which became latent so that the hea.
was distracted from everything near
"a day or two later the government.
geologist arrived at Tauranga AM
preparations to inspect the seat fthr
disaster were pushed rapidly forward
On the fourth day after the eruption
the party arrived at Wairoa, the Maor
village. There was scarcely a yestig
of the settlement to be seen, the Who'll
village had been crushed beneath tn
volcanic lava and the charreda and bat
tered remains of the little yillag
church and other buildings protrude,
above the surface of the deposit
which al first measured four feet i
thickness, but afterward settled dow.
TO half that depth. One young Eng
lishman was killed as well as the Ma
oris who lived in the distriC
and exacted tolls from visitors to tn
hot lakes. The scene was the wiIC
est imaginable. The air rushed owe
the land with oyelonic fury, uproo-
ing, tearing and breaking trees tia
had survived the hail ofrocks, leayin
here and there a gnarled and jagge
trunk denuded of branches an
stripped Of its bark.
The next dav the Marty set off FL