The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1918-03-05

BY L. w. De NIS-NOHTON
Halemaumau, the famous fire pit of
the Volcano of Kilrura has. to all in
pnts end purposes. ceased to exist.
It is. AS though some titanic hand bad
reached down to its lowest depths IN
the bowels of the earth, and deliberate
ly pulled It inside out like a glove.
In the place of the former pit--upon
whose rim people were wont to congre
gate to wonder at the fiery splendors
beneath, there is now n confused mass
IF jumb!ed crags and saw toothea
Heights, illuminated at night by thF
'avage, unearthly glare cast upwards
from isolated pools and sinnous chan
nels of fountaining lava.
Accessible But Hot 10
One may now male an almost com
1ete circuit on the line of the original
rim Of the pit-and vet see nothing
nut tremendously uptlted benches be
vond whose frowning and rapidly dis
;ntegratirr precipices all that is left
VI the lake presumably may be found
The famous wall valleys have vanished
for they have been filed by torrent
lpon torrent of lava until they are
VOW level with. or higher than the
i'm. and the lava which has filed
hcsc valleys is smooth and trPncberous
n the extreme-fOr IT is cracking and
'OundPring. and ever and anon sudden
streams Of lava swell ont from under it's
| surface and run swiftly. adding a new
aver of insecure skin.
Trying To See
Only on the southeast side are the
| great crags absent, and it was here
that. yesterday. l made MANY attempts
% reach a point from which the laNe
! might perchancc be visible. I won my
way foot by foot, oyer new and glisten
! ing black flows whose innumerable
racks aud rrrviccs glowed viciDuslv
under hv feet, and sent up blasts of
| whitening heat. Many times | told nv
self that success lay just ahead. au,'
| then. slowly, rCd-hot lava "tOes'
| would commence to oOIe from the bank
| u front. and OminOus crnrkinE sounds
~ Of linen sheets being ripped MP the
middle. would sound the signal for n
| hurried retreat.
After an hour or 80 of this, ! 81"
'ccdPd--iN bernmin" CnnN'Hi rd 'h'
| he thinr was impossible. ALSO gnin
ed the interesting knowledge that hot
lava. in conjunction with hob nailrT
boots, il the finest blister producer on
'arth. But today. | crossed the new "
hIIeu norm Na"eN' WYNN Gamer" VI
my mana. ana my h"art IN my m"nI
ana 'hn'h'" IN" ShPPery rae" "l =
great craS' expecting 10 se" IN" uS,la
| nall, = l, - ,nrr l,,., lab
sP"rt"ri' "t 'h" streaming mhn lax"
Al my Ire' appeared sHlah ro"h"
pohH- prophnIN twenty i'r' across
WIN small t"""'a'h spinning i'''
mar III us CENTER
That Was All
And thnt va. all for the laLr hM
vanished aud in its ulacc aupcareL \,
irrr,,ular plateau with crowded dome,
and spattrr cones whose sides hra, rI
md rrlscd n> thourh with fine hrp,,
hrrothiuu If some unclcan brnst AN,
I returned disnppointed and plentiful,
,dnrrrd with spikcs of snIintrry Lawn
Further nInrr the trail under the
vest wall of the pit. or rather. updc,
| ,hot is left # it. n low cone with al
men mouth hrn,rd and Kissed, cough
no IN ,lots and gouts of glowing melt
md here also the whole floor wa,
.ul.irr AVID rurs of blue gas sho,
laminr from r,r,y crcyice The fump.
/ rom This point round to the soutE
eve th;rk AVID ~uTocatinr-but it wa,
here that ore wished to linper-for {
ni,htv chance indeed is in progress
rhe whole of the southwest wall of Tn,
,it is rising bodily. in fact. the Nno,
| f the main crater for 100 wards bacl
rom the rim of Halemaumnu is hccom
no shrr,lv elevated. and it is obvious
hat the lava column extends heyonc
he arru of the nit itself. The ole
.outhwret triangulatiOn station np
,cars to he nj the apex of this move
mcnt- for it i, fully twenty feet abov,
= Lowell Of y week ago while the rim
n other side Of it is rising I'm irregu