The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-11-11
FIRE LAKES
AB0UND|NG
Lively Last Week
Was Mokua-
WeOWeO.
Mr.. Thielen Describes a
Night View of the
Eruption.
Molten Lava Springs Like Water
From an Arsesian
Well.

NC. P. Thielen, land court stenogra-
pher, and H. A. Baldwin, manager of
Haiku plantation, Maui, last week as
cended to the crater of Mokuaweoweo.
the expedition having been arranged
by Alfred W. Carter. They landed
at Kailua on Wednesday morning and
began the main ascent from T. C.
Whites Kainaliu, at 1:3O .. m. the
same day.
Their camping and their experience
of cold that night were like unto the
experiences of others who had done
the toilsome journey. Yet they were
blessed with delightfully."- clear moon
light and immunity from snow, rain or
hail. The summit was reached at / 80
p. m. on Thursday, after actual trav-
cling time of twelve hours from Kali
niliu. Mr.. Thielen described the erup-
tive conditions to an Advertiser re-
porter yesterday as follows:
CRATER IN DAYLIGHT.
"On arriving at the crater we found
that the central cone was very active,
ejecting lava every few seconds with
an explosion very much like the blow
ing off of steam by a locomotive. The
jets rose to height of about 200 feet.
There were other signs of fire in the
immediate neighborhood of the cone.
1.-THE cone stood on the rim of a cir
cular space in which activity was
shown all over, fire being also visible
in the daytime Eruptions were in
termittent, occurring every few sec
onds. and throwing up ejecta to a
height of from few feet to possibly
hundred feet.
"Other evidences of fire appeared all
over the floor of the crater, steam from
apertures and fire occasionally visible
during the day. Over in the corner.
on the Kau side, there were also evil
dences of considerable activity. Great
quantities of steam were being emit
ted.
MAGNIFICENT NIGHT SCENE.
'At night the whole scene was mate
rally changed. 1t then beggared de-
scription.
"a circle oH activity in proximity to
the cone resolved itself into a lake of
pure fire, acting in some manner like
storm-tossed sea. Waves of molten
lava dashed against the rocky margin.
During the night eruptions were
more frequent and more violent, while
the volume of matter elected was con-
siderabiy greater, than in the daytime.
There was a row of small cones run
ming across the lake from the Kona to
the Hilo side. Between twelve and one
o'clock these vents suddenly became
very active, ejecting a large stream of
lava which continued for several min
utes.
cat the same time the mass of lava
in the larger cone rose to the surface
and stopped over in a lake on the Kau
side. About one o'clock~the lake ap-
parently got fuller than it could hold,
for the lava ran out in three small
streams on the Kona side, uniting in
one stream some distance from the rim.
These Streams broke over afresh sew
eral times, with occasionally tremen-
dous eruption. The explosions sent
matter high in air, which came down
like showers of stars.
AUXILIARY LAKES.
ITO the left of the main lake, during
the night, there were two small lakes
almost in straight line about midway
between the wall of the crater and the
main lake. A third lake was situated
at the foot of the cliff on which we
were standing. Neither of these small
er lakes seemed to have any walls.
The one at the foot of the cliff. be-
meath our feet, had a little cone which
broke out and boiled over like water
from an artesian well.
Almost the entire floor of the crater
is gridironed with orifices through which
fire CLEANS at night. The entire lower
plateau, as it is called, has been filed
up by the present eruption SO as to be
flush with the formerly higher level.
UNFOUNDED REPORT.
81 can state definitely that there has
been no flow out of the main crater.
DR.. Douglas. who accompanied Mr..
Fleming on the trip from which it was
reported there had been a flow on Kau
side, states that the story was un-
founded and that Mr.. Fleming must
have been misQuoted.
Il secured fifteen photographs, seven
of which were taken at night. We
found it intensely cold at the summit
with crust of ice half an inch thick.
crevices on the summit
RECOMMENDS THE ROUTE.
Mr.. Thielen and party-whose guides
were Charlie Carr and David Nahale-T
left the summit at $50 FRIDAY morn
ing. The crater then showed about the
same degree of activity as at their ar
rival. They reached Kainaliu in ten
hours, having made the round trip in
twenty-five travelling hours. Mr.. Thiel-
IN strongly recommends the route they
took by way of Whites.
THE spectacle to be seen at its best"
he said in conclusion, must be viewed
at night when it is more like a grand
pyrotechnical display than anything |
else can liken it to-. The sunset which |
we witnessed on Thursday evening was
j close rival to any volcano on earth.