The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-03-11
IOEBENSTEIN
SAYS KILAUEA
Is 4 STRAY
Claims Crater Has Moved From Bishop Estate
Land and Wants 1t Made a
National Park.

The Washington Post of February 6,
says:
Albert B. Loebenstein, of Hilo, Ha-
wall, who is stopping at the New Will
lard. has travelled 5000 miles with the
avowed object of inviting the United
States government to commit the lar
ceny Of a volcano. The volcano is the
property of a corporation composed of
American citizens, under the terms of
a lease duly executed and recorded,
which lease has yet six years to run.
Apparently the fiery cone is dissatis-
fled with the terms of the lease for
it has actually moved itself bag and
baggage off the leased tract, and is
now serenely doing business on gov
ernment land at a safe distance be-
yond the boundary line.
Mr. I.oebenstein wants the govern
ment to take advantage of the situa-
ton by laying claim to the volcano,
because it happens to have left the
reservation and wandered over onto
government land, and making 1t the
star feature of a national park. Yet a
Drornfnent lawyer in Washington says
the government has no more right to
the volcano than it would to steer
that had broken out of it's pasture and
Strayed upon public lands.
This singular situation has been de-
yeloped through the sole eccentricity
of what is otherwise the most lady
like and well-behaved volcano in the
world. The volcano in question Is the
far-famed Kilauea, which stands on
the southeast flank of Mauna Loa, the
worlds greatest volcanic mountain, on
\ the Island of Hawaii.
i Measured from sea level, Mauna Loa
4 is a vast. rounded come 14,eVo Iee1
high Measured from the bottom of
the ocean it has an altitude of more
than six miles, and has base log
miles in diameter.
Kilauea is separate peak. or rather
it is a mere hump or excreseence on
the side of the great mountain at an
elevation of 5000 feet In the top OF
this hump is crater nine miles IN
circumference. The floor of the crater
is lake of lava that has cooled on.
Inside this crater is still another crater
called Halemaumau. which is poll
ing, seething lake of molten lava At
the present time the molten lake is
$50 by $50 feet and its surface is lo0
crater. but both area and depth very
greatly.
Kilauea and, in fact, all of Mauna
Ioa. which has vast crater ON It's
summit called Mokuaweoweo. is a re-
fined volcano of irreproachable deport-
nent. which has never been known TO
descend to boisterous and vulgar ex-
plosives. like Vesuyius, Strampoii,
Mount PeIee, or Krakatoa.s but wnlch
bubbles and seethes in a d1gnined
manner. occasionally boiling over IKE
a pot of mush and sending a stream
of lava down the mountain side at a
deliberate gait, which does no one
any harm, Once a lava flow came With
in a mile of Hilo, the principal town
of the island; but upon deputatioii
of natives going up to the crater ana
throwing the customary offering of
Mig and bottle of gin into the lake OF
fire. the flow Immediately stopped
Such genteeI volcano as this had
great value as an attraction for tour
lists. which a company of enterprlslng
Americans were shrewd enough to see
7 So in the days of the monarchy the
Volcano House Company was orgahIZ-
ed to acquire the volcano and MAKE
it accessible for tourists. The COM
Dany leased a tract SIX HlIsS SdeReAAS
from Mrs c. r. Bishop, a woman OF
royal lineage. who married an Amer
lean. who became one of the most
prominent finapciers in the Hawaiian
Islands, built a hotel, with accommo-
dations for $50 guests, on the rim OF
the crater. constructed a railroad from
HiIo TO a point within an hours drive
Of the Volcano House. and bride
path to the summit of Mauna Loa-
The enterprise was as successful as II
was novel
The crater of Halemaumau, wheh
the base was executed, stood on the
tract OF land called Keauhou- Since
the first survey was made, in 1913
Halemaumau has moved south along
the floor of Kilauea's crater 1IS3 feet,
and has crossed the boundary line he-
auhou into Kapapala, which is not
included in the lease
Mr.. Iloebenstein is able to give ex-
act figures because he is civil en-
gineer, who was recently engaged 10
make a tooogra Dhical survey of the
region 1t should be understood that
the inner crater of HalemauHau has
not disappeared in one place ana
broken out in new spot, but that
it has worked itself along the hoor
OF the outer crater foot by foot for
ithird OF a mile.
q while I do not wish to see any
sprivate rights violated" said Mr. Loe-
benstein, Il should like to see Mauna
aJoa set aside as a national park, like
Yellowstone Park. The country around
tKilauea has much that is magnificent