The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1903-12-22
KILAUEA seen
IN THE NIGHT TIME
BRILLIANT CORUsCATIONs OF
WALLS OF HALEMAUMAU.

Commissioner j. W. Pratt and I took
the afternoon train from HAo and af-
ter twilight drive from Mountain
View through the grand Olaa tree fern
and banana forest reached tine Volcano
House about 1880 after a drive through
rough roads part of the way
Commissioner Pratt, Mr.. Fischel and
l started down to the crater after
good supper. An hours ride brought
US to the corral where the guides tied
the horses. l was on foot by preference
in that cool place. A mile Of trudging
over steamiug lava, in the dark. guided
by the lanterns of the guides, brought
us to the southwest edge of the present
small crater of Halemaumau, where
the guides hau built a low stone wall on
the verge of the pit, where one could
look back over the yawning gulf be-
meath to the lights of the Volcano
House some four miles distant, up in
the dark mass of black beyond. We
had no time for this, however. notwith-
standing the guide sgnalled with his
lantern for we were fascinated by the
sight down in the bottom of the hole,
say eight hundred feet below. 1t was
ight starlight. and no moon. The
opposite wall doomed lack and forbid
ding beyond, about one thousand feet
by daylight estimate. The steep sides
shelving down into the awful pit were
undermined by the black mass of lava
at the bottom, but blow holes and
small flows, cracks and glowing spots,
broke up the floor into many lights, and
cast an awcsome half-lght upon the
side walls OF the INDUSTRIOUS caverns
and the terrific sidewalks of this enor-
nous pit. Scarcely any steam or
smoke was visible. Pele was too busy
to be smoking.
An intense white spot perhaps six or
eight feet in diameter was most in evil
dence. Even without glasses this spot
shone l Ike a sun out of the black mass
on the northeast section of the lake.
There was q rattle and re-echoed
cracking as of Chinese New Year fire.
crackers and from this hole there
spouted lava in thin scintilating stars,
much like the standard Fourth of July
volcano" for which boys save their
dimes TO lay up against that great day.
That cone spCuted for a few seconds
with much noise and ceased. Imme-
diately a bright gloomy spot on the
east quarter began it's stunt" 1t
spouted a mass of lava as an entrance
| bow, and then began to flow out from
| it's spot a fan shaped mass of white
hot rock toward the center Of the crater
! slowly and solemnly as molasses
would, flow on the marble table at a
children's "candy-pull.' The spot
where the lava oozes out is white hot
but the end of the miniature flow soon
cools to a brown fringed with white,
! in sharp contrast to the inky blackness
of the lake itself. Between these ex-
tremeties all values of light from in
tensest white to blackress mark the
mass of slowly flowing rock. BY close
I,N1,g,, > too,
see the lines of flow marked like golden
watered silk, as distinctly but solemnly
moving down the slight cone formed
by this small eruption. While we We're
noting these phenomena, there was
quite patch in the vets quadrant of
the crater more bright than the cracks
of light threading their way in all
directions throughout the lake. This
lighted from the center and broke out
in many directions like the limbs of a
squid and two great white glowing eyes
broke forth at its center and stared a
while, but closed again in slumber
while another small crater appeared
in the south, and began it's fan-like
flow. 1t was the turn of the spOuting
cone to appear again and We were
watching its symptoms of coming sea-
sickness when a rattle of rocks falling
down the preCipice drowned the rattle
of the craters in the cone. l had {
camera set to catch Pele in the act
when my attention was attracted by
the guide picking up his lantern anC
retreating from the precipitous bank
Major Pratt noted the same. He gave
silent order to retreat with the guido
and of course l had to follow tn
Majors lead, tumbing through tn
darkness from the awful rattle of rock
falling into the pit. 1t ceased, how
ever The guide stopped. The Major Xix
Sheridan came up to stop the rout
when the guide stopped, and we wen
to the front again. The cone spOute
gaily, the flowing cone separated int
two lights, broke out and flowed int
one, the caving rocks broke loose agail
the guide shamed by the Major stoo
to his breastworks, ana We saw
second repetition of the stunt before W
left for the Volcano House at eleve
O'Clock.
FROST to Madame Pele, may she neve
grow old.
PHILIP L. WEAVER.