The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1907-12-13
AS Others See Us
Letters of a. Lowrey correspondents Of the New
Evening Post who accompanied Congressional Party.


score Of eruptions upon Mauna
in the nineteenth century. Tha -
flows came from various points -
the summit, and some Of them ias,s-,
many months. One In 1887 and ano,ss-
in 1899 made magnificent disn,s~-
which were easily and safely accs-s
sible to view at short range. ana 49,.
large numbers Of spectators from, an
over the islands. On such occasio-,.
steamboat excursions to the nearese
landing are always hastily orxsnizsa
so that the scene may be witnessed ns'
fore it becomes played out.
NOTEWORTHY FLOWS OF Law.
The flow Of 1887 continued for mo-a
than fortnight, down the slopes. ths--
ty miles, to the sea. In places fhs
fiery stream spread out to a mSls,s
width, and. passing over abrup, 5s~
clivities, formed cascades OF fiarir-
debris. Fire fountains played all alons-
the moving mass. This eruption. WITH
in the seventeen days that the sow
lasted, was signalized by nearly son
earthquake shocks. none OF which Ala
heavy damage.
The flow of 1899 started, by a pAcp,,,-
coincidence. on the second Fourth of
July after the annexation OF Hawaii
and continued for three weeks. Those
fortunate enough to get within near
view of the diversified Manifestations
which involved some arduous mountain
climbing, were fully rewarded. The
eruption. according to guesses made bv
observers, appears to have started
within 5000 feet from the summit. hut
eruptive cones of great size developed
at various distances farther down for
two or three miles. Some OF these we're
mighty fountains, throwing not only
fused material, but huge boulders. to
height of fifty feet. At the highest
vent the eruption formed a crater.
which assumed the form Of a mound
$50 feet high. over the rim OF which
four streams of lava poured to merge
at the base. A curious development
in lava flow is that as IL takes It's
way 1t forms a tunnel OF congeallne
crust through which the purely fluid
matter runs for a long distance con-
ceaied. Here and there along the route
the accumulated gases produce minor
eruptions. causing fire fountains. In
the aforementioned flow there would be
visible at once from a single point OF
view several of these eruption cones.
ranging from 100 to 800 feet in height.
THE HOUSE OF FIRE"
Kilauea forms cavity in the noun
tainside with walls on three sides from
300 to 400 feet high. Its area is about
four square miles; circumference, Il, 500
feet, or 7.S5 miles; extreme length,
$500 feet. or 2.s3 miles; extreme width,
10000 feet, or 1.95 miles. The prlcipai
focus of activity is near the middle
of the main crater-or what Capt Dut-
ton, who wrote a scientific report on
Hawaiian volcanoes for the United
States Government in 1884, convenient
ly called the "caldera" to distinguish
1t from the eruptive vents within its
cOn1iDes. ''Halemaumau," meaning the
house of fire, is the name given to the
principal cone, whose interior In periods
OF high activity constitutes a lake Of
molten lava. Smaller lakes that were
created bv eruptions many years ago
ultimately became merged into this
one- Halenaumau is irregular Of out
line ard roughly estimated as being
150x200 yards in mouth dimensions and
tapers down to a depth of 400 or 500
feet. Just outside of it spouting cones
have APPEARED. These are of fantastic
share
In the irter1 ais between the more
violent periods of Kilauea, lasting
sometimes for years, intense heat is
retained in all of the lava vents as
well as throughout miles of assures.
extending in various directions upon
the floor of the caldera. Any infiam-
mable material exposed to these OPEN
ings takes only few moments to be-
come scorched or ignited. Odd forma-
tions of lava are found all over the
floor, including the caves and bridges.
within or under which the spaces are
large enough TO shelter a crowd. One
particular cavern is a vault-shaped
place entered through a hole broken
in its roof. 1t is ten feet deep and
about fifteen feet each way lateralIy,
and its temperature is usually so high
that few can remain inside ii more than
4 few minutes.
III its most quiescent periods Kilauea
never ceases to emit vapors, some
times dense and smoky, again thin and
white. When. therefore, It is said TO
be inactive. it is so only in a compara-
tive degree. Nearly always great
clouds OF steam are emitted from the
snvironing cliffs as well as from appar-
entity bottomless pits and gullies in the
grounds adjacent to the hotel. Near
The public road and a few yards from
me Volcano House, there are extensive
sulphur and red ochre beds, always
lot and smoking. constantly receiving
accretons from subterranean fires.
Mokuaweoweo, the crater on the very
summit OF Mauna Loa, is less freouent-
y active than Kilauea. Its periods Of
activity are also shorter. In fact. they
are usually 50 brief that few persons
nave ever been able to make the as
cent in time to see the eruption. There
was some slight activity reported In
at the time Of the 1889
ava flow. The last previous eruption
was in 1896, when the spectacle was
enjoyed by two expeditions. One Of
'hese was composed Of Professor
r,riedlander Of Germany and his guides
md attendants The other was Iar1a
party of tourists, who spent a day and
night in the ascent and camped upou
me margin OF the crater the following
lignt. The journey is a hard one,
for fha .,,ur1-1 -.