New Britain herald., 1918-04-05
HAWAIIAN VOLCANO
BECOMES RESTLESS
Tourists Unable to Approach Pit
Of HaIemauInau

Honolulu, T. H. February IS, (Cor-
respondence of the Associated Press)
The fiery pit of Halemaumau in
which. up to Sunday night, February
"a, swirled and groaned the eternal
volcanic fires of Kilauoa, has become
formidable. literally lifting the mott
en- lava and emptying it In all direc-
tons over the immense crater.
The autom obile road, by which Wis
itors were able to drive their ma
chimes to within a very short distance
of the pit, has been absolutely de-
stroyed as far back as where it en-
tiers the main crater. The parking
station where automobiles used to be
left while their occupants went the
rest of the way on foot, is today
more than ten feet under black lava.
Not for generations has Kilauea
presented so spectacular a sight as
today, for, in accordance with the
predictions of Professor T. A. Jaggar,
vo1canologist in charge of the Kilauea
| Observatory, the lava in the pit rose
rapidly--22 feet In "a hours, and is
pouring out in every direction upon
the main floor of the crater.
The crater is more than three miles
across, but for many years, the fiery
flood has been contained in the pit of
Halemaumau. At times it has sunk
/ many hundreds of feet down and out
of sight. For several months, how
ever, it has been gradually rising.
A wireless message received today
from Hila says that another flow
started this morning and there are in
Of 81 n
eruption of Mauna Loa is considered
probable.
Describes Overflow of Pit.
A vivid story of the overlooking of
the pit was received from the Vol
cano House today. 1t was written by
L. De Wis Norton of Honolulu, who
went to the volcano to see the sight
when it seemed probable the pit
would overflow. He writes:
The crater is q marvellous sight
and the fire pit-weI, there isn't any
fire pit left at all. Where it used to
be there is simply q mass of tu1n-
bled lava, very hot under foot and
glowing ominously through it's multi
tudinous cracks and creVaSses. One
may walk upon it, but it is practical
~ impossible to say where the orig
inal rim of the pit is situated, for it
has entirely vanished.
Beyond the shining black lava
there is a narrow channel of molten
lava, not more than q few yards
across, with line Of white-hot cav
erns at the base of a towering cliff
on the farther side. This cliff scars
up to a row of Jagged plnnacles fully
eighty feet above the lake, and Is
pierced here and there with glowing
cayerns from which jets and spurts Of
lava are gushing at intervals.
1.-THE narrow streaming channel
lcading to a small bay at the head
Of which stands great cone
emitting splendid banners of vivid
bile fame, represents the lava
lake of Nilauea today. There may be
other sections of lake, but all are
masked by the towering cliffs which
have arisen the whole way around
the Halemaumau pit.
"Whether or not there will be a
great lava flow from the flank Of the
mountain only time can show, but |
Pele seems to be gathering her
strength and marshalling her forces |
in q manner she has never before ex- |
hibited The changes of the past two
weeks are amazing, and when one
looks at them, one cannot help spec |
ulating on what may be the outcome. |
AS a spectacle it is APPALLING in it's |
grandeur; it makes one realize ones |
own littleness as nothing else in all |
the world could do, for the forces dis |
played are beyond all human under |
standing"