The Hawaiian gazette., 1911-11-28
PROGRESS MADE
FOR OBSERVATORY
Professor laguar win Be Here
Next Month When Details
win Be Decided Upon.

huuil Allut tNO Anl hun RNfIoaN VA III
fociing a permanent local organization
to maintain volcano observatory, IL
gong forward In excellent shape AID
those behind feel very strong hope
that they viii meet with every measure
Of success. The committee which was
appointed some six weeks ago to take
up the matter Of permanent organic
alton, consisting of Lorrin A. Thurston,
ehairmanj Clarence Cooke, J. A. Ken
needy, A. f. Judd, who is at the head of
the Bishop Museum; and Professor
Gilmore, of the College Of Hawaii, has
been proceeding and has already Sc
cured number of substantial pledges,
the subscribers pledging themselves to
subscribe certain amount each year
for five years. Out of these funds n
part of the expense of the Doctor Per-
ret expedition has been borne.
Jaggar Next Month,
The committee has also been in cor
respondenee with Professor Jaggar of
the Boston Institute of Technonogy. He
will leave Boston some time during
December and is expected TO be at the
Volcano on or about January is. He
will remain there about three or four
months at any rate, and may possibly
extend his stay even beyond that per-
iod. The exact form of the method of
procedure for the forming of the per-
manent organization is being held in
allegiance awaiting the arrival of Pro-
fessor Jaggar in order that the COM
mittee may be able to confer with him
in person about the matter.
observatortes and Trial.
In the meantime the committee is 90
ing ahead and is doing all that it is
possible for it TO do at preeent It
has in view a number of recommends
tions which it win make TO the per-
manent organization when this has
been perfected. These include the To-
cation of an observatory at the Vol
cano, and the establishing of smaller
observatory on the top Of Mauna Loa,
as well as the construction of horse.
back trail to the top of the mountain,
and the maintenance of a permanent
observer, who win have his headquar-
tiers at Kilauea, but who win make fire.
quent trips to Mauna Loa to make OBJ
servations there.
The Massachusetts Institute of Tech.
nology, which has borne the main ex.
pense of the DIR. Perret expedition, has
in Honolulu already several thousand
dollars worth of instruments, which will
be used for the equipment of the OBJ
| servatory. The committee has also Sc
cured from DR. Perret all the slides
which he made at the Volcano and his
own photographs. ali hand-coiored by
himself, and exquisitely done. They al
so got from DR.. Perret over a hundred
slides which he had taken of eruptions
of Vesuvius, Aetna and Stromboli.
Observations Going On.
Until the permanent observatory at
Kilauea can be build and scientist
put in charge, l.. A. Thurston has vol
unteered to make such observations at
the Volcano as he is able in order that
the break in the records begun by Mr..
Perret may be as little as possible.
Mr.. Thurston Is first report was reeeiv-
ed from Hilo on Saturday.
Thurston's Crater Report.
Mr.. Thurston states in his report
that he visited the Volcano ON Novem-
Der Is and 10. Professor Perret had
previously reported that on October Is
the level of the lava lake in the pit
had reached approximately 450 feet be-
low the rim of the pit. On that day
I it began TO rise and continued to do
so steadily until October 26, at which
! time he left the Volcano. Demosthenes
Lycurgus, manager of the Volcano
4 House, has visited the crater every day
since October 26 and reports that the
lake continued to rise and overflow the
black ledge until November 8. On No.
vember the surface of the lake began
to sing slowly and continued to do SO
until the 18th at which time it had
sunk about twenty feet. 1t then began
to rise again filling to the point where
/ 1T had begun to subside and on the
/ 10th it was OVERLOOKING.
/ On Mr.. Thurston' arrival on the
18th the lake was, he judged, about
400 feet long and $50 to 200 feet wide,
and WAS intensely active at the point
known as ''Old Faithful" The ex.
plosions at this point were timed on
several occasions, being from four see
onds to a minute apart, the average
time between explosions was, approx
mately, thirty seconds. At each ex.
plosion the lava was thrown to height
of thirty'fiVe 10 fifty feet, covering an
area Of about fifty feet in diameter.
l"Old Faithful" Was operating OF the
extreme north edge Of the lake, having
formed for itself cone grotto on the
bank some thirty feet IN height with
jagged peaks typical of Tavernier'a
volcano picture. On the 10Th the roof
Of this gFOtt0 had fallen ia. There
were also nnmber OF other points Of
activity with smaller fountains at both
ends OF tho lake.
/ Tho steadily rising column of lava,
without explosions, which radiates long,
/ squidliko arms Of hTe, has been per.
sistent feature for The last year on two,
+ was bui lightly h evidence, the rising
/ point being about the middle W che
lake There was . ei ledge around
ihp lake nppfnkimlfaH about fOur
times The area " tho lahe lself The
, ,. Wa gplfeslmalsly age q ia