The Washington times., 1924-06-30
ERUPTNDNsTEAR
VOLCANO To
PIECES
KiIauea's Greater Widened to
Gigantic Proportions; All
Of islands Suffer.
BY JOHN r. STONE,
international News Service.

HONOLULU June 30.-F1alemau-
mau. the firepit Of Kilauea Vol
cano and the seat, Of the disturb
ances which wrecked the Island Of
Hawaii. 200 miles from this city,
for three weeks recently has been
changed by the forces Of nature
into Q scene almost unacceptable
even to those who were most IA
miliar with the locality.
Prior to the eruption Of May IL.
the 4lrGt Of many which hurled
dust, sand. small stones and smOk-
ing boulders over q terrain q mile
in circumference, the crater proper
was q gulf approximately fifty acres
In AREA.
It's sides dropped straight to the
boiling lava lake $50 feet below.
Sulphur fumes arose from crannies
in the walls, causing the tourist,
poised on the brink, to cough when
the wind swept them into his nos
trils.
Earthquake cracks around the
rim were q minus quantity, al
though q few were to be found at
intervals back from the caldera,
souvenirs Of the violence Of 1890
and 1865.
Torn Wide Open.
Today the rocky cavern stretches
three-Quarters Of q mile across on
it's north-south axis and perhaps
5000 feet wide from east TO west.
An area estimated to be $50 acres
In extent meets the eye Of the In
dividual who II bold enough to
make his way across the lombard
ed floor Of Kilauea proper to the
lips Of the void.
The walls drop sheer for 1000
feet to meet the long, gentle slopes
OF the Talus, which lies at an angle
OF Yepose, deposited by the hand
Of the tembIor.
The bottom Of the pit might wen
represent the original of chaos-a
tangled mass Of debris heaped high
in one spot, scooped out In an
other, and from 1t all q leisurely
cloud of steam arising. Fumes Of
hydrogen sulphide meet the spec.
tator, and, according to Roy H.
Finch, seismologist at the volcano
observatory, this gas may be re-
| Sponsible for the tremendous ex-
plosionS which marked the greater
portion Of the eruptive period.
Cracked By Earthquakes.
The entire arc of the pit IA
SCARED with earthquake cracks
some as much as three feet wide
and extending downward out of
sight. Further tremors will send
these rock masses crashing into the
gulf.
Almost every eruption during the
three weeks Of greatest activity
was preceded by a spasm of earth
movements which registered on the
| Seigmograph at the observator,
from three to twenty minutes be.
fore the outburst itself took place
The common form Of violence wal
the sudden appearance Of ewelline
cloud Of dust, agitated from within
into a whirling, mounting motion
which filled the entire gap Of tbs
| pit and which mounted on thu
wings Of the accompanying expIo
sion at tremendous velocity. This
dust column often rose to q height
Of two miles, where, fast In the
grip Of the trade winds, Il woult
lean off over the countryside scat
tering the matter held within itt
folds like rain.
Plantations as much as THIRTY
miles away from the firepit suffered
from this hail Of ash, the accumula
ton amounting to almost an inch al
Pahala.
with the dusly banner vel
above the lip Of the crater, light
ming would begin to flash, followed
almost instantly by the sharp bark
Of thunder.
VOmlts Huge BOuIders.
At this stage Of the eruption thu
vomit Of boulders would appear, thu
stones Of q peculiar whitish hue
sailing out Of the murk which en-
veloped them, with tails Of smoke
streaming behind. AS they landed
on the plain outside the pit the
roar of their descent came to the
ears of the watcher like surf on Z
distant reef. In the one-night erup
ton Of magnitude 1t was seen thai
the rocks were red hot and thai
Q coating Of flaming ash was lait
down like a barrage all around the
edge Of the caldera.
There is no certainty that the ex
| plosive eruptive stage has come Il
q close, although the volcano hal
remained silent for some time. DIR
Thomas A. Jaggar, jr.. volcanolo
gist. in charge at the observatory
IL cautious. He arrived at Kilauea
May 30, after q hurried Journey
from New York by train. steamer
and geaplane.
From what I know Of explosive
eruptions," he says, 1T would b.
well to be careful until we are alb
solutely certain Of our ground. Kra
katoa and Pelee began their tire
mendous eruptions in May just al
Halemaumau has done. Their VIC
| lence was not spent until August
Perhaps our own volcano win follow
a similar cycle"