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

Commissioner j. w. Pratt and I took
the afternoon train from Hlo and af-
ter a twilight drive from Mountain
View through the grand Olaa tree fern
and banana forest reached the Volcano
House about 1880 after a drive through
rough roads part of the way
Commissioner Pratt. Mr.. Fischel and
! started down to the crater after a
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 steaming 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 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 signalled with his
lantern for we were fascinated by the
sight down in the bottom of the hole,
say eight hundred feet below. 1t was
Diight 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 halr-light upon the
side walls OF the INDUSTRIOUS caverns
and the terrific sidewalks of this enor-
nous pit. Scarcely any steam or
smoke was visible. Pee 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 Ike a sun out of the bic ck mass
on the northeast section of the lake.
There was a 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 spOuted for a few seconds
with much noise and ceased. Imme-
diately a bright gloomy spot on the
east quarter began it's stunt" 1t
spOute1 a mass of lava as an entrance
bow. and then began to flow out from
its 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 blaCkness mark the
mass of slowly flowing rock. BY close
,,l,f- f,.,,
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 a 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 Il
| squid and two great white glowing eyes
| broke forth at it's 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 a
camera set to catch Pele in the act
when my attention was attracted by
| the guide picking up his lantern and
retreating from the precipitOus bank.
| Major Pratt noted the same. He gave
a silent order to retreat with the guide
and of course | had to follow the
Majors lead, tumbling through the
darkness from the awful rattle of rocks
falling into the pit. 1t ceased, how
lever. The guide stopped. The Major like
Sheridan came up to stop the rOut
when the guide stopped, and we wen
to the front again. The cone spouteC
gaily, the flowing cone separated into
two lights, broke out and flowed into
one, the caving rocks broke loose agar
the guide shamed by the Major STOOD
to his breastwOrks, ana We saw {
second repetition of the stunt before W.
left for the Volcano House at clever
O'Clock.
FROST to Madame Pele, may she nevel
grow old.
PHILIP l.. WEAVER.