Graham guardian., 1908-09-04
EXTRACTS FROM A LETTER
FROM w. A. MOODY

Soiomon sNu. uoou uo"o NV"
a far country is like cold water tf
n thirsty soul" can now appre
ciate that saying more t''" ''
before.
| have now visited the o'0,
main islands of the group, AL
looked into the affairs of the whole
mission, apd l find much to do.
l am full of the spirit and entbus-
iasm for the work here, Not at
what we have done, but in what
VIC must do.
/ have just returned from a trip
to Savaii, the largest island of the
group, where joined party in
making an inspection of the vol
cano whose crater is situated near
the top of the mountain, and ranks
among the large volcanoes of the
world. II first made its appear
ancc August 4, 1905, at first by
umbling sounds and a succession
of earthquakes, then by deafening
explosions like the thunder of a
thousand artillery in quick sue
cessiop, lava. highly liquified;
flames of fire and issues of smoke
heavily laden with birthstone, were
shot hundreds Of feet into the air,
the volcanic ashes and small frag-
ments falling several miles to the
windward destroying all vegeta-
tion, and at present. where a
mighty forest dense with under
growth and tangle of vines once
stood, there is naugbt but the
trunks of huge trees towering up
ward of two hundred feet, denuded
of leaf and bark, and whitened by
the ravages of the weather, stand.
ing like giant ghosts, keeping vigil
over the ls;se of fire and birthstone
of the internal region, on the one
side, while on the other SIDE,
molten stream of lava, worm-like,
slowly burnt wide swath down
the mountain side, through the
tangled forest, until it reached the
villages that skirt the shore, and
buryipg them beneath the burning
mass, passed on into the ocean.
The contact of great quantities OF
fire and water is better imagined
than described. The boiling of
the water, the explosions, and
great body of steam that rises, a
vertible cloud factory, combine to
make a sight well worth ones
time while visiting it. The lava
bed is about twelve miles long, by
an average of tour miles wide, and
varies in depth from ten to one
hundred feet deep.
We spent one whole day walk
ing over the cooling lava, frequent
ly passing over places where the
heat was so intense as TO scorch
our hands and faces. Indeed, we
passed over the main stream which
is crusted over, and at present
finds its way through three chan
nels into the ocean. The surface
of the lava is very uneven, a chain
of contortions, lying in every con-
ceivable shape, huge cracks, a
cavernous mass, with here and
there hole, several hundred feet
in length, fifty or sixty feet deep,
where an explosion had taken
place in the bed of the lava. Oc-
casioDly we saw the concrete
gable of house or church spire
protruding through the lava, tell.
ing Us where the natives once met
for worship; but where are they
now2 Driven from their homes
and their lands. once teeming with
life and hope, and covered with
cocoaput plantations, and patches
of bananas, yam and taro, lie
buried beneath millions of tons of
rock.
Our next visit was to the crater,
where the, lava has formed cone
shaped mountain. We, full fmis'
g,vings and intense anxiety, ven
tured up the \slope on the wind
ward side, and ere we reached it's
summit, we could hear the roar OF
the fire within, and standing on the
BRINK of the guilt, andmaking sure
of our footing lest at an ili.fated
moment cave.off should precip',
tate us headlong into its feariu'
grasp, we ventured to peer over
its unstable ed ge, and with yawn'
ing gaze we saw u lake of fire is'
suing fumes of smoke and brim'
stone, highly liquified lava boiling
up like water, and clashing like The
contact Of opposing armies, vio'
lently beating against its walls
like the ocean against a rock
bound coast. As we gazed, ready
to flee at the least intlmation OF
danger, one could but think OF the
tabled Lake of Fire and Brim
stone" of the "Infernal Region,
or, "Pluto's Realm of the Dead
The gulf containing the lake o.