The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1907-02-08

The Friend: The past year has been
signalized by unusual disturbances of
the crest of our globe. vesuvius has
been in magnificent eruption. The two
chief Pacific seaports of North and
South America, San Francisco and Val.
paraiso, have been successfully de-
stroyed by earthquakes. In the Carib
bean sea, Kingston, in Jamaica, has
just experienced similar disaster. And
now, almost simultaneously with Jamai-
ca, but without any disaster, Hawaii,
its equal island in Midpacifc, has
broken out into sudden and splendid
eruption.
At midnight opening the 10th of
January, the people of the town of
Hilo, on the east side of the island,
were called out to gaze at marvellous
glow shining on the sky over Mauna
Loa, our chief volcano. That glare was
not, however, from the great crater of
Mokuaweoweo, forty miles away. 1t
| shone from a vast fre-fountain which
had suddenly gushed forth at Kahuku,
more than twenty miles beyond.
This Kahuku outbreak, unlike it's ter
rible predecessor of 1868, was attended
only by few hours of moderate earth
shakings. That former eruption was
preceded by many weeks of terrific con-
vulsions. The long-sealed vent Of the
Kahuku volcano could be opened only
by the most violent rendings. Just be-
fore the final agony, weak spot in the
side of Mauna Loa opened at Kapapala,
and flung out huge river Of mud
which destroyed scores of the native
people. At the same moment vast
tidal wave destroyed the villages of
Honuapo and Punaluu on the Kau shore.
By that and the previous earthquakes,
every stone house and wall in the dis
trict of Kau was leveled to the ground.
Finally on the western mountainside,
a vent burst open and emitted three
immense fountains of lava, in size like
cathedrals. For several days broad
stream of lava ran for six miles into
the sea.
In January, 1887, another eruption
from little higher up the mountain,
but attended by only trifling earth
quakes, poured still larger flood OF
lava into the ocean. 1t was the writer 8
privilege to visit the foot of that flow
while still glowing. 1t spread over
the country like vast black apron
nearly mile wide, twenty feet deep,
and stretching nearly eight miles up
the mountain. The previous flow of
1868 was in full view to the southeast,
near the base of the great Kahuku
precipice, which runs south several miles
to the point of the island, while facing
the west.
Now, just twenty years later, has
come this third eruption from the same
volcanic center of Kahuku. Like its
predecessor, it was ushered in by few
hours of moderate earth-tremors. The
seat of the outbreak has not at the
present writing been precisely defined,
but is evidently little higher than
the last one, and little north of it.
While the amount of lava emitted may
be even greater, it has divided into
two separate streams, neither of which
has reached the sea.
Hundreds of visitors have focked by
land to the wonderful spectacle from
the northern districts of the island,
some of them driving or riding nearly
one hundred miles. Others have come
by steamers from Hilo. On the 10th
n party of $50 excursionists left Homo
lulu on two boats. They returned in
4S hours, having experienced calm and
bright weather, and spent many hours
on shore. They visited the foot of
the slowly advancing lava mass four
miles inland. 1t seemed to be about |
onefourth mile wide, and creeping for
ward about fifty feet in an hour. Its
front presented huge mound of the
rugged clinkers. These sluggishly
moved forward, tumbling over each 9th
err, while beneath and among them
would occasionally protrude a tongue
of the flaming molten lava which was
bearing along the mass. The movement
was attended by roaring clatter, as
of rolling mass of dry bones. This
exhibition would seem to have been
dying effort of the stream, whose ac-
tivity, at least at the front, seems to
have ceased two days later, according
to last reports.
Those clinkers. or "a (ah-ah) are a
common form which the molten rock
very commonly assumes in cooling.
They are spongy, knotty, bristling
fragments of rock. OF every conceiv-
abe form of raggedness. borne along
on the heavier molten liquid. Lava is
a viscid, liquid rock. saturated with