Year: 1877

iorgeL ~


We had come on foot, from our homes
on the seashore, six miles distant. to
watch the most magnificent fire that ever
burned. 1t burst out suddenly, in the
dead of night. frem a mountain fourteen
thousand feet high and thirty miles away
so suddenly that the glare woke us in
stantly. From our windows we watched
the great torrent of lava creep down the
side OF the mountain like a fiery snake
At the base of the mountain it plunged
into tropical jungle, at which it knawed
for thirteen months Had it eaten its
way through this belt of timber it would
have flowed to the sea and destroyed
HilO, the largest and most beautiful viii
Iage on the island of Hawaii.


Msune Loa, or Long mountain, Is in
the Hawaiian islands, and about once in
every eight years it treats the inhabi-
tants to grand eruption.


Now, there's a great deal Of fun to be
gotten out of a volcano that is kind
enough to come within reach and allow
itself to be played with. If the lava
spouts from q crater you can't poke it
with long sticks, and the heat makes YOU
stand at very respectful distance but
if it flows ON 70 a plain and spreads itself
out, then there's fun for you; at least
so we children thought in 1856


The night of which I write was q
beautiful one. Millions of stars were
shining over our heads, and as many
millions, il seemed to Us, on the earth
beneath. At our feet, and stretching
away for miles and miles, was the vast,
black lava flow, dotted all over with
light that had not yet gone out.


The stream where he found il in the
woods, was about - mile wide in some
places 1t was miles wide. Lava, on
plain, moves very slowly and peculiarly
not at all as a great mass of molasses
would, for instauce-it cools too quickly
for that And so there wa- no danger in
going directly up to the flow and camp
INC, i,fits ,,afh


supply ofiron spoons, copper and silver
coins, cut long poles from the forest trees,
tied pocket handkerchiefs with eye-holes
in them over our faces. and sat down
close to the great black stream that
looked so dead. 1t had piled itself up,
all along the line of advance, making
sort of wall from o8e to several feet high.


By-and-by, spot on this cooled surface
began to move and throb and lift itself
as though there was a living thing under
meath, struggling to get out. suddenly
a crack opened and a gallon or more of
red-hot lava gushed out, turning red
almost instantly, it cooled 80 quick. The
moment the crack opened we plunged in
our sticks and spoons and dipped the
lava out. 1t cooled 50 rapidly that we
had hardly time 10 mold our speci-
mens.' We rolled the lava on the ends
of our burning sticks, over and over on
the rocks, forming it into cylinders. The
spoonfuls we let cool il the spoons to
show that it was dipped up while liquid.
We jammed coins into red-hot Jumps
of lava, where they became firmly i'm
bedded


Sometimes we all poked away at one
opening in the flow, and then, of course,
the boys GOT the best of it; and some
times we were lucky enough 10 have an
opening apiece, where we could work
without interference. We ran our sticks
full length into these cracks and drew
them out flaming from end 10 end, show
Ing. that beneath the surface the stream
Of lava was molten 1t was only q thin
crust that covered the fire, as ice covers
deep water, and though this bore our
weights it was too hot to walk upon; it
scOrched our shoes.


Che of the boys took Il running step
or tFo on the red hot lava, and even that
was thick enough TO bear him up.


Aittle lava only flowed from a crack
andcooled; this, in its turn, burst open
andsent out q little more, and in this
SLOW way the stream pushed itself along.
Sometimes it would not advance haif
mile in weeks.


once, while we were watching its
carious behavior at some distance, it
cent quietly around the rock on which
We stood, and almost made Us prisoners.
A few nimble steps, for it was hot, and
We were safe on the rocks beyond


Bv-and-by the cry was raised that the
lava had COTTON into the bed Of a river
near by, and was flowing along in solid
mass like thick molasses; that it would
soon reach precipice about thirty feet
bipb and pour over it into a deep basin
Of water. Of we ran, dropping every
hing, TO the spot.


Sure enough soon, on the top of the
precipice, a great mass of fiery-red lava
lifted itself, hung a minute and then
plnnged over into the water. There was
a great cloud OF steam and a roar and
hiss as though wild animals were attack
inc each other. The water fought
brsyeIy, but it was of no Hse---it could
not put the fire out. The lava poured
into it until not drop was left and the
basin was filled with solid rock.


The night air was filed with the sound
Of alling trees. The lava surrounded
them, cut them off like an axe, and they
went crashing down. Sometimes they
Law unsinged upon the cooled lava
sometimes they were burned as they fell,
and sometimes they went down on fire
frop top TO bottom.


We walked four or FIVE miles on the
aog. picking our way between the dan
garsus hot places. 1t was the most
d;acult kind of walking. Cooled lava il
ootsnlooth liIss ice, but is piled up in
all .o4ts of ways. You go up hill and