The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1910-03-24
(By Lawson R. Muzzy)
Volcano House, Hawaii
February 10, 1910.

February 10, 1910.
AS intimated in my last, a visit has
been made to that most awe inspiring
of all earth s marvels-Volcano of
Kilauea. First as to the size Of the
Hawaiian Islands. Your map shows
them as pin points out in the central
Pacific ocean. AS a matter Of fact
Oahu, on which is Honolulu, and
Hawaii, where are located the city of
Hilo and Kilauea, are almost con
tinents in a way Yesterday a resi-
den of Hawaii told me he lived forty
five miles from Hilo, his capitol city.
That island has 1000 square miles of
land and millions of dollars worth of
sugar plantations. We steamed two
hundred and forty miles, about, from
Honolulu to reach Hilo, most beau
tiful city of 10000 people-America-
nized, too. Then by train in a fine
coach, fitted with chairs, twenty-five
miles, and then by four-horse stages
(there were four of them) packed
with tourists for nine miles and near
ly all the way up hill to the Volcano
House. This commodious and we'll
kept hotel, considering it's isolated To-
cation, is three and half miles from
the boiling lake. So much for dis
tances and the journey over, which
was delightful in the extreme. The
steamer is new, immaculate as to clean
illness and its officers are thorough gen.
tlenien Several stops are made at
quaint little stations and for hours
we steamed close to shore and past
miles of sugar plantations and most
picturesque scenery. Yes, the getting
there is well worth while, to say moth
ing of the grandeur of the volcano.
1t is for an hour after twilight as you
approach the hotel that you can see
the whole sky alive with the gorgeous
lighting of the crater, ever changing,
more and more grand and inspiring as
you approach. There were sixty
eight in our party, larger one than is
customary, and the capacity of the
hotel was tested: What supper was
eaten that late evening! 1t was a
jolly party and there was no stint in
the supply or variety. Many of the
stronger ones mounted their horses and
visited the. crater that night, but this
letter will describe only what was seen
by the writer. The hotel is on the
brink of the extreme outside crater.
1t is six hundred feet down to the old
lava, about oval in form and over four
miles in diameter. Large figures for
the crater, you say, and tits so. The
horses walk slowly and carefully down
a steep zig-zag path, single file 1t
seems dangerous. The animals never
have fallen yet and no one been in
jured. This fact makes it safe, GER
tainly. But if one of those horses
or donkeys ever should fall. Once
down on the partially level lava sur
face the path leads across and gradual
ly upward to another, much newer and
smaller crater In the center of the
large crater, we stopped, looking back
and around. Hot steam and vapor
were issuing from the earth away back
up and around the hotel 1t also
poured out from hundred places all
over this great lake of cold lava It
told Enthusiastically that we were right
over the awful fires below, and that in
spite of laugh and jest there was a
question of what might happen! For
years l had read all there was to be
found pn Kilauea. Rest assured the
expected revelation was of an awful
sight. But never in my widest
dreams had the dread reality been ap-
preached. Imagine this much smaller,
nearly circular crater, but nearly mile
in diameter. 1t is called Halemau-
man, which means ''the house of ever
lasting fire. This crater drops pre-
cautiously about seventy-ive feet.
Here is new, hot but hard lava. This
extends all around, on level, toward
the smallest and active crater in the
center for about one hundred feet o,
less. Then about seventy-fve feet be-
low is the awful lake of liquid fire.
At first sight one stands motionless,
dumb and overcome with what is be-
fore him. Imagine large caldron
kettle filed with water in a violent
state of ebdllition. Then conceive
OF this being enlarged to the size of
a great pond or lake of liquid fire and
you have the exact idea. Thousands
of little fountains of brighter fire con-
stantly leap up from the surface and
in the connection there is constant
change in the situation. In one place,
there is what we called the cold faith
full Here every twenty seconds or
so, there was tremendous rise of the
reddest liquid, to height of twenty
feet with golden spray fifty feet high
er still. The heat is intense as you