The Colorado statesman., 1920-11-27
A VOLCANIC BARNUM AND
BAILEY

Young America will drop anything
to run to a fire. In some parts of the
world-Hawail, for example-one also
drops everything to run to volcano
eruption, unless he already is too close
for comfort Then he runs from 1t.
Have you ever wondered what vol
cano, in action, looks like? Here is
description, not by scientist, but by
a young Washington woman who went
to Hawaii to live just before Mauna
Loa's terrific eruption last year:
at seems as if Hawaii, though small,
must have just so much attention, and
so ever so often she eXplosively projects
herself into the arena of the worlds
happenings" wrote Mrs. Shirley Fos-
ter Allen. Not content with her share
In the Big Show in Europe, she de-
cided to stage a first-class side show
all her own-and the two volcanoes,
Mauna Loa and Kilauea, have certain
" done their best to make it the big
gest show ON earth
"Just a word about the geography
of the place. In the first place so
many people seem to think the word
Honolulu embraces all there Is to the
islands: and in the second place, the
general conception seems to be that
the volcano is located in Honolulu's
back yard, as it were, and that
we Honolulans take our daily
exercise by running up to the
crater every morning before break
fast. Honolulu is located on the
Island of Oahu, third island in size
in the group. while the volcano, or
rather volcanoes, are located on Ha-
wall, the largest and youngest island,
with an area of more than 1000 square
miles, which lies nearly 200 miles
southeast of Oahu.
1.-THE first Indication of volcanic &C
tivity was the presence of peculiar
caulifiower-s shaped cloud hanging over
the mountain. Three days later, on
September %, the whole heavens were
lit up with an apricot glow when from
a huge vent in the mountains side,
flood of molten lava was belched forth.
Spreading out into a great shallow
stream, 1t came roaring down the
mountain slope, burning forests, car
rying huge trees and immense bould-
ers on its surface-sweeping every
thing before It. With a speed varying
from one to twenty miles an hour, ac-
cording to the country 1t was passing
over, it broadened out until 1t was
nearly mile in width. After wiping
out the government belt road, razing
telephone poles and destroying vast
amount of property, the red-hot lava
tumbled over a high precipice and
plunged kissing into the sea.
"a number of excursions were made
in October from Honolulu, and, In APP
proaching the flow from the sea in the
early evening, the glow from the lava
was visible for many miles before
Alika was reached.
Drifting within 200 yards of the
point where the liquid rock was rush
ing into the sea, the scene stretching be-
fore one was awe-inspiring. Slowly
the smoky haze, from the burning for
ests, which hung over the source 20
miles away, lifted and the river of
fire stood out in its full glory, holding
one speeches. and spellbound. Leap
ing from pail to valley, rushing up
hill and roaring down, the fiery flood
Numbered down the mountain slope,
carrying on its bosom rocks as big as
houses that were tossed about as II
they were mere pebbles. As the
stream of blazing lava neared the
coastline, 1t appeared to gather more
speed, taking final plunge over a 100
foot cliff at a terrific rate, and look
ing for all the world like fiery Nj
,para. AS the red-hot lava came in
contact with the water, great columns
of steam and gas, like huge water
spouts, were forced hundreds Of feet
into the air. Huge boulders, hurled
into space, exploded with thunderous
reports into auras Of red and green
lights, while flashes OF what looked
like lightning added to the chaoa"