Year: 1859

person who visited the sc9ne of the erup.
tiOn communicates to the Commercial Adver-
tiser a long account of the state of the eoun-
try and appearance of the crater. He says


On the afternoon of our arrival at the camp
ing ground, a new stream started some few
miles below the crater which had evidently
been damned up by some obstruction, and
came rushing down with tremendous noise
and fury through the thick Jungle which lay
in its track burning the cracking trees, and
sending up for a time thick smoke almost as
dense as that from the crater. This stream,
from the time it broke 0way from its embanz-
ment, moved along two miles an hour till it
reached the vicinity of our camp, when its
progress was checked, and it moved not more
than a quarter of a mile an hour. But it
formed grand sight. Here was stream of
lava running over the plain, 20 to 25 feet in
height, and an eighth Of a mile in width, tho
its width varied a great deal 1t was mass
or pile Of red hot stones, resembling pile of
Goals on fire, borne along by the liquid lava
stream underneath As it moved slowly
along, large red boulders would roll down
the sides, breaking into a thousand small
stones, crushing and burning the trees which
lay in the track. 1t is impossible to give
true conception ofthe immense force and
power of this lava stream, bearing along as
it does an almost inconceivable mass. 1t re-
minds us most vividly of the breaking up OF
the ice in a large river, only the Imagination
must stretch the comparison and suppose the
ice piled up 25 feet, and thus borne along by
the current beneath, the whole width of the
river moving at the same time, crashing and
breaking and piling up cones and irregular
masses on top But even this comparison is
far below the reality-to be conceived it
must be SEEN


A correspondent writing from Waimea
Hawii, February 4th, says the burning crater
seems to be constantly charging, and throw
ing up its volumes of liquid fire above the
mouth Of the crater-I viii not venture to
say how Highland the fiery stream rolled
onward and onward still adding grandeur
and terror as it proceeded, till, on the morn
ing Of the 3lst about sunrise, the stream was
compelled, though reluctantly, to stop, by
meeting the waters ofthe ocean. Even then
its resistless aud opposing energy carried it
some distance into the sea. The poor inhab-
itants of Wainanalii, the name of the village
where the fire reached the ocean, were arous-
ed at the midnight hour by the Kissing and
roaring Of the approaching fire, and had but
Just time to save themselves. Some OF the
houses of the inland portion of the villages
were partly surrounded before the inmates
were aware of their danger. Wainanlii is
near the northern boundary of North Koua,
and about 70 or IA miles from Kawaihae. 1t
is, of course all destroyed, and its pleasant
| little harbor all filled up with lava. The
whole distance of the flow from the crater to
the sea is some forty miles.


Last night (Feb. 3,) the volcano was in full
blast, and the burning stream seems to have
| taken another direction. Parties have gone
out to-day TO see and explore. Perhaps, on
their return, shall have something addition
al to communicate