The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1910-10-09

The eruptions from kiiauea and Ma
Ioa in 1865 were very remarkable.
The prevalent view FIR several years
that the lava came from kilauea,
.s;ro over to Kahuku beneath the
s,rface from near the Old halfway
sa,so in Kau. The lava certainly left
KiIanea: but because none Of 1t APP
n.ared near Kapapala it was assumed
.ho+ +be exit Of the flow was at Ka-
~, DIR. Titus Coan explored Kau
g.. months after the breakdown IN
.oorob of the lava that must have IS
.nod forth. He took the road from
puma TO Kau which passes the Kama
.aia hills about eleven miles southwest
from Kilauea. but neither saw nor
hoard ANYTHING of the great discharge
which actually issued from rents some
tb-ae or four miles nearer the sea. Had
hs taken the road skirting the shore
from Keauhou 90 Punaluu he would
have passed over the new lava, and
bv its description have saved months
~ fruitless discussion and years of
Misunderstanding. Strangely enough,
nearly forty years elapsed before this
Aow was discovered by Z. d. Baldwin
in his surveys of the Kapapala district
made under the direction of Walter E.
Wall, territorial surveyor, and publish,
cd in 1907 No one of the scientific
arnlorers who had visited Kau during
This interim traversed this trail near
the sea shore; the better road through
Kapapala was always preferred.
The early visitors to this field of Kau,
from whose observations reliable in,
formation is obtained were Judge T. 5.
LYMAN of Hilo, II. NJ. Whitney, DR.. w.
Hillebrand, DR.. t. NJ. Coan, the his
torian Abraham Fernandez, and others.
Doctor Brigham in commenting upon
these statements could not agree with
Doctor Coan that the lavas from XII
lauea and Mauna Loa effected a june
ton before reaching the surface at ka-
huku. He conjectured that the flow
from Kilauea passed into the sea near
Punaluu like the 1923 stream as de-
seribed bv Ellis. Professor Dana said
that the "curving of the Kilauea ifs
sures from Kapapala toward the coast
seems to point to a submarine dis
charge off that part of the island. -
W. L. Green maintained that whether
part of the Kilauea lava escaped on
the Mauna Loa assure may well remain
an open question.
It will now be proper to present the
history of these volcanic displays in the
light of present knowledge, the chief
events in the order of occurrence being
IN the illumination over Mokuaweo-
wee; (2) the earthquakes; 60 the dis
charge from Kilauea; "a the landslide;
(5) the sea waves; (6) the eruption at
Kahuku.
{l On March 81 whaleships at Ka-
waihae observed early in the morning
dense column of smoke rising to the
height Of several miles with a bright
reflection cast by the lavas in the pit
Of Mokuaweoweo. The same were seen
by T. D Paris at Kealakekua. March
q, slight earthquakes Were felt in Kau
and Kona, becoming more energetic on
the following day, extending northerly
in Kona and easterly to Hilo. On the
28th the light on the summit was seen
in Hilo by Doctor Coan. E. S. Lyman
reports, as seen from his home at Kea-
iva in Kau, an outbreak of lava on the
southwest side of the summit at this
time, and line of smoke fifteen miles
towards Kahuku on the Both. These
various facts prove the presence of lava
in the summit caldera as the first stage
in the history Of the eruptions. Thus
far the manifestations were compare
lively quiet
o. The earthquakes became more
pronounced. There were 50 to go dis
tlnct shocks in Kona in one day. At
kau over 300 during the same period.
At Kllauea the surface was aquiver for
days together with frequent vigorous
Shocks that would cause, lamps, crock
cry and chairs to spin around as If
animated. At one time IT seemed as
II a proiectile from cannon struck
the ground directly under the bed of
the proprietor, causing him to flee from
tne house without ceremony. Between
March q and April il there were said
70 have been 1000 distinct shocks in
hau. The nervous strain caused bv
these disturbances must have been well