Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1906-12-22

repeated five or six times during tn,
night-that is. every time sever,
shock occurs. Your terror increases
and your prayer is all the more ferv
ent when at night you hear that fright
full unearthly roar, when you feel the
earth heaving and swelling and when
you hear the crash Of the neighborinp
walls tumbling In the dead silence OF
the night During the daytime one
has always more confidence.
Botton,iess Pit
Being only short distance from
the place where, on the first day OF
this visitation, such great amount OF
steam issued forth from out Of the
earth. I resolved to investigate this
new creation. found indeed hole
about is feet in diameter and of what
appeared to me of such an immense
depth: for on dropping a good. sized
rock into II could not hear any kind
of thud. ! therefore concluded that Il
was freak Of nature At length,
came what may be called a red letter
day of 1868.
Early next morning a small vessel
from Honolulu was in sight. | hast.
ened to pen few lines to our head.
quarters at the capital city. giving
them a full detail of Madam Pele's
transactions here in Kau. In winding
up told them that | thought the Old
I uHy had dana har hap
was now over. Alas! man often pro.
poses but God disposes, and so II was
In this case. The Almighty Stage.
manager informed us shortly after.
wards that that was only intended to
have been the first act In this awful
drama. That letter of mine had hard
ly got aboard when 10 and behold,
there comes such terrific shock
which for violence and impetuosity
must be considered No. I. All other
shocks were mere trifles compared to
this one. For once [ could not stay
In my house: hurrying outside. | found
that ! could not stand: | was fast get.
ting into my second childhood, I
therefore tried my baby tricks and
tried to crawl on all fours and that
would hardly succeed.
while In this baby position and
holding on tight to old mother earth.
! saw the sad spectacle OF my dear
chapel giving way 10 the impetuous
wrenchings of the earthquake. Hap
PLY. for all concerned. this catastro-
phe was cut short. mt least for the
present, or we could not have lived.
Calm After Quake
After this there reIgned a great
calm and this seemed to add to our
terror I'm this already too sinister sit.
uation. No noise Of any kind. no wind,
no sign OF life. nor action Of any kind
was noticeable. Turning toward tho
| saw numberless columns
of smoke rushing out Of ever so many
crevices on the mountain.side. Per.
haps this was an indication OF our sal.
walton. The pressure Of the subterra
mean steam ought naturally to abate,
as soon as It finds a vent In the sur
face.
shortly after this the members of
my chapel arrived, shedding tears ov
or the ruins OF their dear chapel.
What could We do but pray and adore
Almighty God In this terrible vista.
ton? We retired into the priests
house, said our beads piously; then I
them with a few remarks In
harmony with the situation, after
which they went home.
Tidal Wave
They had hardly reached home
when the news arrived that tidal
wave had wiped Honuapo from the
ACE OF the earth, killing many people.
hastily saddled my mule and got en-
quite for Honuapo. II may be, thought
!, that somebody is In need of me. On
my way thither ! met several natives
hat had escaped from Honuapo In |
good time. They told me that Il was
Useless for me to so, for there was no
'illase there any more, and that seven.
cen natives had been carried ont TO
'ea by u tidal wave and were drowned. |
they likewise told me that the churcb |
lid not exist any longer. I neverthe
ess kept on my way, feeling rather
'ad about my beautiful chapel. which
'fter having withstood the ravages OF |
he earthquakes had finally become
he prey OF tidal wave. On all sides
saw nothing but havoc on my way
o Honuapo. oh. how sad and heavy
It heart one feels among so much des.
'lation! On the way passed Waio
linu; there ! saw the Protestant
'hurch down in ruins. passed a
nan with bundle under his arm
POSSIBLY all he possessed In this world.
70 this man | tried to speak. but for
he world could not get a syllable
'ut of him. Possibly he lost his
peech In the fright. At the next vii.
age, Naalehu, was again told the
Jews of the Honuapo disaster - that
III houses, churches and II lives were
ost. The people at this place invited
ne 10 stay over night with them, but
eeing that II was a beautiful moon.
IL