Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-12-12
Geographic News
Bulletins BY the
National Geographic Society
Hilo. Listening Post

Hilo, second city of the Hawaiian
| Islands. into the harbor of which
! tidal waves swept OH two occasions
following the recent Chilean earth
ouakes, is the subject of the follow
ing bulletin from the Washington, ID.
| c., headquarters of the National
| Geographical Society.
Situated On land which rises to-
| ward a wonderful background form
! cd by the highest island mountain in
| the world" says the bulletin, "Hilo
is in little danger from ten or twelve
foot tidal waves such as those re-
Gently bathed its shores. But be-
| cause OF it's location Tn the south
| ernmost island Of the chain, facing
eastward, it was in a NEST favorable
! position to observe the results of this
| mighty pher omenon which raised
| the level OF the earth's greatest
ocean seemingly as easily as a care
less bather can srlash water from
Ills tub.
City I'm Beautiful Setting
"Hiloans claim that their city is
| the most beautiful. in the islands;
| and 1t would be difficult to find a
! more ideal setting. The shores of a
broad bay sweep away on both sides
| OF the town like the lines of al ny
rerbola. In tho foreground as one
approaches from the sea is an idylic
tropic islet that its d~iscoverer might
have been forgiven for naming I'm
chanted Isle but which in matter-of-
fact English Is called 'Coconut Is
! land Back Of the city and its bay
| fringes with tropical verdure rise the
| highlands of the interior to their
apex in Mauna Kea, often snow
capped, the highest of island peaks.
To the right numerous streams rush
to the sea, several of them 1eaping
down in graceful waterfalls.
zone reason why Hiloans refused
Ito become alarmed because of an I'M
usual phenomenon in the sea is that
they live next door to two of the
worlds greatest land wonders-the
active volcanoes Kilauea and Mauna
Loa-and not only have not suffer-
ed from their nearness, but have
profted greatly because their city is
the gateway through which thou
sands of visitors pass to view these
| tame volcanoes An excellent auto
mobile highway leads from Hilo
through a majestic forest of tree
ferns to a hotel on the brink of Kill
auea. about 80 miles away; and a
supplemental road actually descends
into the huge crater so that motor
cars may be driven to the very brink
of the bubbling lake of molten lava
in the smaller, interior crater.
Beneficiary of Hawaiian "Magic''
THE highway continues on to Ma
tina Loa from which have come the
great lava flows of prehistoric and
historic times that have built up
Hawaii, youngest of the islands of
the Hawaiian group, and make it
still an island in process of manu-
facture.' The latest of these ava
flows occurred in 1919 when a river
of molten stone rushed down the
mountain IN the opposite side OF the
island from Hilo and plunged kissing
into the sea. For many days the
waters dubbed, while steam clouds
rose. Fish, boiled to a turn, foated
Iearby and could be picked up and
eaten by those venturesome enough
to row into the hot waters near the
frey cataract.
"In 1880 when Hilo was still large
ly a native town, it's existence "a
threatened by one of the greatest
flows Mauna Loa has ever sent forth.
Slowly the white-hot stream adj
vanced straight for the town until it
was less than two miles away. The
people were panic-stricken and as a
| last resort appealed to the only sur
viving princess and priestess of their
greatest royal line. She took her
stand a mile from the town and de-
clared the flow would stop there. 1t
did. There are Hawaiians who main
tain still that Hilo was saved from
destruction only becalse Pele, goa
CESS of tho volcano, stopped her fires
when her daughter i~ntercedsd."