Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1926-05-07
HAWAII DISASTER
IS DESCRIBED
Mountain Home Girl Writes
Interestingly Of Vol
canic Disaster In
Islands

Mr.. and Mrs. John F. Gaines, of
this city, are in receipt of letter
from their daughter, Mrs. w. L. Nc
Caig, of Hilo, Hawaii, who writes in
terestingly of the disaster that re-
Gently occurred on the islands. Her
letters follows:
Dear Folks:
Thought perhaps that you would
like to know if we were still among
the living after all of the calamities
to this island We surely are saving
our share of excitement. Suppose you
have already heard about the shark
attacking the lady and almost ate
her up, nevertheless she is still alive.
Then along come the volcano, or
rather not the volcano, but the flow
of lava, half mile wide and seven
teen miles long, flowing into the
sea. We went over to see it Saturday,
left at eleven a. m. and stayed until
three that night, when they told us
that we would have TO move be-
cause it was coming our way. Hilo
is located about seventy miles from
the flow. Now one has broken out
about half way between this flow
and the volcano and it is about
mile wide and about twenty-five
miles long. 1t wiped out an entire
village. OF course the inhabitants
get out as the flow comes very slow
between five and twenty-five miles
an hour. 1t is the most wonderful |
sight to see those huge rocks as
large as a house, not tumbling over
and over, but going down like they
were on sleds, just moving down to
the sea. Now just imagine a stream
a half mile wide of this stuff, and
then a river of the molten lava,
just like water, coming down and
going about thirty miles, all of this
is red hot. The sky is so bright at
that you could read a
paper. Then imagine your daughter
on the edge of this (you
see after it forms it's course it
builds up sides and you can stand
on it. 1t is hot and you must keep
but you can stand on the
lava as it is so hardy so you can look
into the channel and see a river of
fire coming. Can you imagi any
thing worse? But instead OF every
)ne running they go to see the sights.
The lava forms itself into very
facinating forms and shapes. Accord
Ing to the Hawaiian belief Madam
Pete Gust like the pelican) and the
Goddess of Fire is very kind to people
and that is why she never kills them
)r destroys their homes, but this
year the old Hawaiians say she is !
lngry with them and we are going to
nave disaster. She has already
burned a village, some homes, COW
red graveyard and burned a Cath
'lic church, a thing she never did
before. Heretofore if there was a
louise in her path she would turn !
md go around. So many strange
hings that l cannot write about !
hem all. You know this was all
by the people. Old Hawai- .
ans talked to Madam Pete, she APP .
'eared in the form of an old woman !
md always asked for smokes and 4
arried on a conversation. Then
anne the earth quakes, plenty of :
hem and hard ones. That is the
hing that makes my heart leap =
'ou can't see it just comes and :
erson has to take 1t as it comes. 1t
ras reported last night that lava
ad returned to the pit Haleman-
ian, which means house of everlast- r
1g fire, is the home off Madam Pete. !
hey say when she returns to her !
ONE she is not angry any more, but !.
was false report When the :,
iva returns to the pit all of the n
ores and business houses close up ;,
nd the people leave. Then we had :,
huge forest fire. nearly wiped out T.
lilo, the wind was blowing a gale
ght toward the city and at two i
clock the direction of the wind !
hanged direction and blew the fire !.
yer the already destroyed section. /
Their than this there is no excite +
ent in HiIo. l.