The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-02-14

the Exciting Event From the Wife of
 United States Judge Matthewman,
 Formerly of New Haven-Party
 Makes Long Journey Overland to the Scene, Which was Grand. Glorious
 Awe-JnsDirihg-Des of the
 Journey and the Country Surrounding
 the Volcano.
 The wife of United States Judge J. Albert Mathewman, located in Hawaii writes to friends in this city as fol- lows concerning the recent volcanic eruption:
 For the last few days we have talked volcanoes-dreamed volcanoes --and at last have breathed volcanoes
 LeAving Kukuiohiwai on Monday January 14th, we started out on a long journey overland to SC the lava flow.
 We packed along a great quantity of provisions for ourselves as well as food for our horses, also heavy coats, blank cts and coats
 The blankets we planned to use at the flow, as everybody would have to bivouac under the stars. The rain coats we used on our way. as a fine drizzle continued all the afternoon, and augured i'll for any dry sleeping place. We halted on the road to rest and to refresh our horses and occasionally we stretched our legs, for we knew we would not reach our destination until iafter nightfall, as we had planned to drive fifty miles, but on inquiries found it to be sixty-ipe.
 On our way we were overtaken by Mir. and Mrs. Curts and through them heard that all the white people in both Konas were bound for the flow.
 About half way there we met a par ty of sight-seers returning. Their ac- count was glorious in it's description and it seemed as though our horses covered the ground very slowly, but as they had long Journey before them we had to hold ourselves in patience Ten miles from the end of our jour ney the heavens were so beautifully H. luminated that the carriage light was unnecessary to find the road, and 1t was exaSperating when the forest, be ing thick, would close out the sky. At all times the sky was bright, but often 1t would brighten to q greater degree, showing increased activity.
 At last. away up the mountainside we caught our first glimpse of the flowing lava. Through the treeg t shone like thread of burnished silver.
 Throwing aside all precautions we hurried the animals along a narrow road with steep precipices on either side, anxious to reach our journeys end.
 We reached the long line of car riages, the man made our horses com fortable, and we hurried along to get q near view of the flow. About a quarter of mile from the flow one party had pitched a tent and passed one night there and were planning on the second; they were hospitality itself and served tea or coffee to onS and all.
 A fine macada1lizcd road encirclea the island and at an average of five miles above sea level. It was along this road we walked and approached to within six feet of the pile of forma- ton like cinders. The heat was in- tense and increased whenever a large boulder, sliding down, would disclose the ash at white heat inside. The only vegetation about was ohia trees, Ca very hard wood) and they stood, even with the lava encircllng their trunks, for a remarkably long | time; flame would creep, snakeliBe up | their trunk, one branch would Ignite, then another until they resembled a bright fantastic Christmas tree, and then would be gone in smoke. others stood, like sentinels, watching their kind offers as sacrifice to the all con- suming fire.
 From the point where we stood back to the source (the crater) there would be frequent explosions and red hot rocks would shoot up into the air often- times all noiseless but the swish of the molten lava against it's own banks, The molten lava flows like river, and by overflowing it piles up upon itself,
 cools and forms an en'bankment, this one being between twenty and twenty, five feet in height. AS best as we could judge of the width of the bank
 of lava, we thought it to be between a
 half and three-quarters of mile; in toward the center were three separate canals of molten lava.
 We climbed upon an old pile of lava, about ten feet away from the edge of | the present flow, so as to look on the l top of the flow. The best way to de-
 scribe it is to llken it to the spring freshets, after the ice has broken and is floating down stream. This being i lava at white heat and rocks Or bould- CTS floating down, so hot as to resef1- l ble the beaten whites of eggs. Part way up Mauna was knoll,
 which grew perceptibly higher during
 the time we were there, Gin all ten hours) It was livid the early part of
 the morning, and we could see it in- crease in height as the molten lava
 would flow down, cool and pile up upon itself.
 We were not able to see the first 1 flow; there was six miles between the
 two at the government road. although
 both started from the same source. as
 the second crossed the road just as we
 reached the camp. The first flow was reported as having reached the ocean,