Year: 1876

in Appletons' Journal.


The Volcano OF Kilauea.


ONE days ride inland from Hilo, in the
Hawaiian Islands, is the great volcano of
kilauea. The ascent to it is almost I'M
perceptible, being about 1000 feet in
thirty miles. 1t is sufficient, however,
to furnish fine outlook over a vast
stretch of uncultivated country, which
may, in the ages to come, under the in
t1uence of the atmospheric action, dis
solving the lava to earth, become one of
the garden-spots of the globe. The vol
cano itself, when in eruption at night,
furnishes magnificent pyrotechnic dis
play. A wide surface of the heavens is
lighted up as if by the fires of the judg-
ment day, while from the crater there is
constant spouting up Of streams of fire
and huge masses of red, burning lava.
Amid the darkness the scene is both ma
jestic and sublime, and cannot fail to in
spire one with awe at the wonderful works
of nature.


The crater Is three miles IN diameter,
and surrounded by deep wall of lava
and earth about 1000 feet in height. A
walk of half mile leads on to recent
overflow Of lava, over which one plods
for couple of miles. The entire bed of
lava is almost as black as charcoal 1t is
broken up into every imaginable form,
and is as brittle as glass, so that it is con-
stantly breaking beneath ones feet, and
often cracks like ice on lake when one
is walking over it. In some places the
lava is formed into coils like tarred rope;
in others it looks like sticks of molasses
candy sandwiched into every conceivable
figure; elsewhere it appears like long
cables drawn out till they snapped into
10000 pieces; and often il is as smooth
and glossy as a seals back. One walks
over it with constant tremor, as well he
may, for often as the loot was raised the
piece of lava stepped on would fall and
leave deep hole, showing into some
awful cave or subterranean cavern.


There are two of these, Kilauea- -nui
and Halemommon, within space of half
a mile long and half that width, and
sunk from fifty TO 800 feet below the gen
eral surface of the cooled lava. Kilauea
nui is 800 feet long and 800 feet wide
and is one molten mass of melted lava
constantly burning at white heat. All
around its edges are jets of boiling red
lava, constantly spouting up from fifty to
sixty feet. Sometimes they form into
fountains of fire, and six of them at a time
have been known to form perfect arch
of fire unbroken for forty minutes. Sit
ting on the border of this awful and natu-
raj hell on earth one can see huge masses
of the lava beneath, undermined by the
fire, breaking off and falling with a splash
into the burning caldron, which soon
transforms it into liquid heat. The
streams of lava are constantly spouting
into the air, and thus this mighty molten
mass has been seething and boiling for un-
known ages, and may continue its fiery
work for unknown ages yet to come.


The edges of these lakes are fringed
with what appear to be natural furnaces
or ovens, with small apertures on the sur
face and caverns of boiling lava beneath.
In some places there are large cakes of
lava glowing with fire between, sud in
other places the lava is so hot as to destroy
the soles on peoples shoes and scorch
their feet. Near this is also bank of
sulphur covering couple of acres, and
full of seams whence issue steam, making
the fumes not only almost sutfocating, but
so binding that one has to close his eyes
and hasten across as rapidly as possible.
Probably no one would ever care to enter
this literal hell more than once.


A correspondent of the St. Louis Globe
Democrat, who recently visited Kilauea,
gives some advice to those who may
go there in future. He says: AFTER
passing another night at the Volcano
House we paid our bill-five dollars per
day each (another grateful proof of Hawa-
ian civilization)- took our departure
for Waiohinn, forty miles distant. Our
trail led around the edge of the crater,
and three miles from the house we found
ourselves near the burning lakes, where
We had fine, full view of them in all
their activity; and 1 would advise all
visitors, instead Of making the perilous
descent into the crater at the risk of their
lives, to take ride or walk out to this
point any night, where they can see much
more than below and see it much better,
being 1000 feet above the dangerous
lakes. Turning away from the crater we
soon found ourselves crossing a volcanic
country and in some places vast tracts
of sand, just like desert, beneath
bleaching tropical sun. In one place was
followed bank of lava ten miles. Itwas
from ten to thirty feet deep and about a
quarter of mile in width-the outflow of
some distant period. The country was
marked everywhere with the streams of
lava, some of which were recent and some
remote outf1ows, but all of them showing
that Hawaii, the largest of the islands
1000 square miles-is also the most recent
and only in a formative condition still"
N. Y, Commercial AdyerttSer.