Arizona republican., 1911-06-17
CAUGHT IN LAVA STREAM.

Al least one man has been caught in a lava stream and lived to re count his experience A R Watson, an English mountain climber, with a party of five. with guides. pack mule train and a weeks provisions ascended the great Hawaiian volcano, Mauna Loa. Watson had spent night with his party on the mountain and at noon on the following day Was engaged in exploring the south ern lava stream that finds its way down thes idle of the volcano. With no thought of danger he wandered entirely away from his friends and the guides.
 Coming to the broad lava stream he sat down under the shelter of promontory of rocks and gaZed upon the great slow river of fire flowing before him. It followed a straight course down the mountain while at some distance below it entered thicket of trees. which seemed. as ne watched it through his glass, to have remarkable power of resisting combustion from the lava.
 NIT Watson fingered to watch this sight until almost nightfall. when he started to return tO camp. As he turned. leaving the lava stream at hIs back. he saw another stream be- fore him. At first he thought he had been gazing SD long at the molten river that it had caused him to see lava in whatever direction he looked. so he alked on. expecting to lind hard ground still beneath his feet. Soon. however. he perceived that he was in reality caught between two lava streams. one of which cut him from the camp. While Watson had been sitting beneath the rock the stream of lava had widened. and the rock that sheltered him had divided it. so that il was now floating down to his left as well as to his right
 IT occurred to MT Watson that he could go down stream and doubtless get around the head of the new one and so escape. But before he had gone far he discovered that the new stream united with the old one short distance farther down the noun tain. The Englisman was now on an island of solid ground with river of fire all around him. He LDDhtG abfll iiilll AAl NA'--l l'''A-s ''--'-' he did SD. his eyes fell on the patch of woods below. which he had already noticed as evidently possessing the property of resisting the fire in some way He ran to this and saw that some of the trees were small.
 Then. drawing a small knife from his pocket. he heWed with it at the base Of one of the smaller trees, in tending to make a stilt on which to walk through the lava It was iron wood. so-caned. and resisted his small knife blade almost like iron.
 He hacked on Luckily. the lava stream did not approach any more closely at this point. Night had now fallen. and as the glare of-the flow ing lava shut out distant objects on the mountain. he resolved to spend the night in making a pair of stilts and in the morning 70 attempt an escape.
 At daybreak his stilts. heavy and green. but with good fire resisting qualities. We're ready. He mounted them and started straight through the lava stream. The stiits smoked and sizzled. but did not burn. The heat was frightful. blistering his face and hands. SummOning up his en- durance he walked deliberately on for to hasten might mean a mis- step and a misstep would mean a fall. and fall instant death.
 He did not fall, and at last he came near the farther edge Of the stream. There. to his great joy. he saw peo- ple awaiting him. His friends had come in search of him. and, encoun- tering the lava stream, had con- jectured that he was beyond it.
 Seeing him approaching they met him at its edge As he reached out to them. one of his stilts burned en- tirely off. but as he fell he was caught and pulled to the solid ground. He was severely but not fatally burned, and in Q ranchers house received care and surgical attention.
 "Mortgaged your house and lot have you? AutomObile?"
 No; coronation.'- Chicago Tribune