The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1903-10-08
WHEN MAUNA LOA
BROKE OUT IN 1887
CONTEMPORARY DESCRIPTION OF
WHAT IS REGARDED AS A
TYPICAL OUTBREAK.

The lava flow of 1887, which devasted
a great deal of fine pasture land in Kau
and flowed from near the top of the
mountain, down to and into the sea,
a distance of twenty miles in two days,
is thus described in the Gazette of that
day.
G. w. C. Jones, manager of Kahuku
ranch under date of January 21, 1887
thus wrote:
The earthquake shocks began at 2:12
a. m. of the nth and up to p. m. we
had 10O,-as knew that they indicated
an eruption, 1 sat up all night taking
record of the shocks, and squints of
the mountain side. At a. m. of the
18th my count had reached 314, and
during the day and until IL midnight 81
were added. On the 10Th we had but
two and no more since. This was a
total of 1888 well defined shocks, strong
enough to make an open door tap
against a partition. There were prob
ably as many more light tremors and
jars, many of which were noticed, but
which [ did not register ,as l preferred
to hear the tapping of the door indicate
the shock as of some force. At p.
m. of the 18th, the circus began per-
Torrance. The lava burst out about
ten miles n. N. w. of my ranch build
/ ings and has been running ever since.
The point would be about twenty miles
from the sea, and the first stream
reached there about noon of the 10TH
The main flow passed about two miles
to the westward of my buildings, and
reached the sea last evening.
After publishing a large number of
letters descriptive of the outbreak writ
ten from different standpoints, the Ga
zette thus summarizes the whole mat
ter.
The district of Kau in which the flow
occurred occupies the Southern most
portion of Hawaii, the largest and
most southerly of the Hawaiian group.
The southeastern portion of the dis
trict is fine cane land, and some of the
largest and most productive of the
plantations are situated there. The
western part contains pasture land. At
a distance of a few miles from the
shore, the forest commences and rolls
up the sides of the mountain for TWEEN
ty miles or more. The constantly ac-
tive crater of Kilauea is situated just
on the boundary between Kau and
Puma on he slope of Mauna Loa, huge
dome shaped mountain which slopes
into five out of six of the districts of
Hawaii. This is the crater so fire.
quently visited. The summit crater of
Mokuaweoweo 1850 feet above the sea
! level is rerely visited, the journey be-
ing long and arduous. 1t is from this
summit crater that the flows 1851, 1855,
1859, 1865. 1881, and 1887, have originat-
ed. The lava does not boil over the
lip of the summit crater but finding
some weak spot in the mountain side
bursts through and rushes with ir-
resistable force down the mountain
side.
A bright light and a column of fire
was first observed from the summit
crater of Mauna Loa on the night of
| Sunday January 10th by observers
from Hio, Mahukona, and from Wal
ohinu, Hilea, and Pahala in Kau. The
time was about p m. Shortly after
| II p. m. the fire died down, and the
next evening no light was observed.
But that volcanic disturbances was go
| ing on on a grand scale became evident
to the inhabitants of Kau, for cath
| quakes came with most unpleasant
| frequency, Mr.. Jones, proprietor of the
Kahuku ranch registering 1888 we'll de-
fined shocks from 2:12 a. m. of the 18th
to shutdown of the 18th, when for a
| time the shocks ceased.
Meantime the lava had evidently
been working it's way down the noun
[ tain by an underground passage and
at p. m. of the 18th it burst forth
from the ground about 10 miles N. N.
w, of the Kahuku ranch. Sheriff
Smith visited the head Of the flow on
the 10th. The lava was coming forth