Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1909-12-02

Of fresh, cool air.
A railroad goes to within nine miles
Of the crater. From there our party
was conveyed in stage coaches to the
Volcano House, a hotel built right on
the brink OF the large or outer crater.
After refreshments there, we found
that there were only horses enough
for the ladies'. SO the men Of the party
walked.
Just in front Of the hotel we de-
seconded into the great crater by
means OF a steep zig-zag bride path.
Tho floor Of this vast pit is covered
with black lava hills in gigantic con-
volutions, fantastic forms and irregu-
lar shapes, piled up in endless confu-
sion. The level portion is a desolate
perspective Of lava broken only by oc-
casional volcanic cones that were nee
but fiery bubbles, while here and there
are great cracks and assures from
which jets Of hot steam and sulphuric
vapors are constantly rising. Across
this great waste lay our path to the
surging fire pit, and over that trail
we trudged in single file, the glisten-
ing, black surface cracking under our
feet like a thin ice crust on snow.
One of the young ladies of the party
who had a host of admiring CORE
s%pondents back home, stopped now
and then to scorch in a crack In the
lava a post card which she placed
in the split end Of a long stick. An
other diversion was furnished by two
native urchins who accompanied us,
and gathered for us as souvenirs,
along the way, punches of yellow,
~thread-like ilaments Of lava which
they called "Pele's hair" A little
while before sunset, after a journey of
three and a half miles, we reached the
final or inner pit, and l shall never
forget the first impression made on
my mind by the first sight of that bed
of livid, liquid fire, for when l looked
into it and heard the peculiar sullen or
angry roar of, the fiery surf, there
came to me the same terrible feeling
l used when a child to experience,
when my elders talked to me of hell.
And from the expression I heard on
every hand, / am sure that every n
in the party instinctively thought of
hell.
Entranced and fascinated, we stayed
there several hours watching that boil
ing mass, and as the darkness deep
ened, the lake grew brighter and its
fountains Of liquid fire seemed to
shoot higher and play livelier for our
ediication.
At length, after we had been served
with some much relished sandwiches
and some coffee that had been cooked
over a crack in the lava, we started
to retrace our steps. At that moment
l would have given two kingdoms for
a horse. / had ley quite a%ppreciat-
ed the full meaning of the slang ex-
preston "All in" until we arrived at
the hotel, footsore and weary, about
eleven o'clock at night. But I wouldn't
have missed that %stupendous spectacle
for anything, and before retiring l took
one last look across that bleak, bar
rem waste toward the a~we-inspiring
abyss, and away in the distance I
could see, and in my minds eye I still
can see, like a reflector in the star-lit
sky, the red, red glow from that awful
hole.
Honolulu.
The City of Honolulu (Which means
safe harbor'), with its heterogeneous
population Of 10000 souls, showing the
Orient touching elbows with the Occi-
dent, with here and there thrown in
glimpses of the savage life that was,
is the capital of the Islands. 1t is
likewise the capital of Fairyland, for
nothing can be conceived more ex-
quisitely charming than its long ave-
nue. Of royal palms; its fringes Of
~cocoanut trees; its sweet aromas
of luxurious flower banks and -four
fishing vegetation; its pillows of
ferns and endless varieties of way
ing palms; it's beautiful b~oulevards
and parks; it's unsurpassed setting
between mountain scenery at its back
and the unbounded sea at its front;
its Intermittent showers and the fra
GRANGE that follows them; it's narrow,
winding streets that go aimlessly
through the town; and its delightful
homes and country villas, surrounded
by large yards, botanical gardens and
tropical trees.
1t was indeed a sad party that left
this Eden of the Mid-Paciflc, while it's
beautiful maidens on shore sung their
last aloha oe" Farewell to thee),
and even yet, as | write, ] fall into a
clearer appreciation Of the sentiment
SO dreamily expressed by Mark Twain
many years ago in these beautiful
lines:
mo alien land in all the world has
any deep, strong charm for me but
that one; no other land could so
longingly and beseechingly haunt me
sleeping and waking, through more
than half a lifetime, as that one has
done. Other things leave me, but it
abides; other things change, but 1t
remains the same. For me its balmy
airs are always blowing, its summer
seas flashing in the sun; the pulsing
Of its surf beat is in my ear; | can
see Its garlanded craigs, It's leaping
M 4 MNU .AL - NMa EM = LAa 49, EA I