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of and comfort ie
lee aad snetv to an unknown
. aad so he decided to try the hard
Sear r lava In the tent, with the rest
af ike party. The storm had abated
sa6trbt daring the time 'we were
eur camp, and by 5 p. m. the
ef the great crater vras
dear, and we were able to study
the actien of the tremendous forces at
before and beneath us.
Tfce central portion of ilokuavreoweo
sapeered to the writer to be an irregu
lar fear-sided figure, with an approximate
length of about two miles from
aartheast to southwest, and a width
samewhat less than that. At the northern
gap of the main crater there are
what might popularly be called annexes,
ar small craters, connected with the
larger one. and at the southern end another
similar annex . the extent of
which could hardly be determined from
oar location. These annexes at the extreme
ends of the main crater are very
aach less in depth than the larger one, I
aa extencea in a nortneasteriy ana
soathwesterly direction, the same as
that of the longer axis of the central
partten.
W were encamped on the eastern
sWe of the main crater, directly oppo
site and facing the western wall of Mo-
keaweoweo, which Is the highest of all
the inclosing, precipices, and the top of
which is the true summit of Mauna Loa,
at. an elevation of 13.675 feet above sea
leveL
Ilelshttr and DUtances.
Heights and distances are always deceptive
to the untrained eye at such
and in extremely rarlfied air,
hat the western wall seemed to the
writer to be not more than 650 or 700
leet high, judging from Its appearance
as compared with the 500-foot pali of
Uekahuna, on the western wall of
The eastern wall upon whose
verge we stood is considerably less in
height, and is broken into two distinct
portions by an extensive plateau, or
shelf, about 400 feet below the upper
edge. This second shelf is several hundred
feet in width, and extends along
the whole southwestern side of the
sain crater, and around to the extreme
saeth end of it, to the gap which
with the southern annex. At the
sartkera end, the first or lower
is very low, perhaps not more than
farty ar fifty feet above the main floor,
aa4 afeave that is another of considerable
greater height, and then the main
'wall reaching to the summit. Along
the western, southern and southeastern
walls, there were no possible means
at reaching the floor of the crater, as
they are all perpendicular cliffs in
their upper portions, and nearly so all
the way down.
At the northwestern end it appeared
that there might be found a way of
daseeat far a good climber to get to
tie paheehee floor at the bottom, but
that wld involve a very long and
detour over a rough trail seven!
aiies in length, and ncne of our
lrty eared to make the attempt. If
the descent were possible for any one,
the view obtained from the floor of the
crater eoeki not have been as satisfactory
as that from the upper wall, as
the Tisitor would have been below the
level af the lava lake, and looking up-ward
and across a vast extent of bro-kea
area. From an elevation of five
or six hundred feet above the lake one
gets a hirdseye view of the whole scene
aae takes in the whole in one general
aMiltnr. and is also saved the extreme
iatigae necessary to reach the lower
Description of the Crater.
As we found Mokuaweoweo on the
Mth ef April, the main floor of the
crater was a vast plain of smooth pa-
ieekee, probably not very old in forma
rtae, but the result of an overflow
to the present flow. Small jets of
steea were visible at long intervals,
bat bo great evidence of much heat
ear the surface. The snow vanished
before it reached this lower floor,
which fact some of the party claimed as
twlfcuct! that the pahoehoe was of very
meat origin, but to my mind the melt-tag
was caused by the heat radiating
from the active lake and fountains.
At the southern end of the crater
zni somewhat nearer the western than
the eastern wall, was the great active
Jake of Mokuaweoweo, from which the
present eruption proceeds. Here again
one must confess to an unwillingness
to make estimates of length, breadth
and heights, under such conditions as
are found in a crater of such vast extent.
But in all my estimates of the
present eruption I have endeavored to
he on the safe side, and not to overdraw
the picture.
Taking the western wall at a height
of 700 feet as a basis for all the others,
I do not hesitate to put the length of
the lake of liquid fire at about 1400 or
1&Q0 feet in a northerly and southerly
direction, aid its width at about two-thirds
of its length, but that Is more
a subject of doubt, as we were looking
across the lake from east to west. With
the width of the main crater at one and
three-quarter miles, as given by J. M.
Alexander from his survey of 1SS5, the
center of the lake at the fountain must
have been about one mile from the
point of view, or a little west of the
centre of the crater. This lake is at the
top of a very flat cone, formed by Its
own overflows, and Is constantly rising
in the same way as the lake of
in Kilauea, did previous to Its
breakdown in March, 1S91, and July,
li'Ji.
Overflows from all sides of the lake
extend hundreds of feet In every direction,
and at all times during our stay,
and in that way from one-third to one-
half of the old pahoehoe floor has al
ready been covered with new and fresh
deposits of lava, which from our nosi
tlon seemed to be of the aa variety. The
largest flow at the time of our visit was
In a southerly direction, and it promised
to fill a vast pit at that end of the
crater, which pit I think was left at the
time the last eruption ceased.
There was probably a liquid lake of
lava on the locatfea shown by Lydgate,
in his survey of 1S74, and the smoking
cone seen by Alexander in 1SS5, and later
visitors in 1S93.
Immense Lava Fountains..
The crowning features of the present
eruption are the two twin fire fountains
in the middle of the lake, and approximately
400 feet apart. Probably
no grander bight has ever been seen
under such favorable conditions as we
had a few nights ago, as we stood on
the edge of Mokuaweoweo. At a distance
of about one mile, and only a few
hundred feet below us, these two fountains
were in constant eruption, spouting
their thousands of tons of lava high
in air, and lighting the whole crater.
and the heavens above, with their brilliancy.
Using the same scale as before,
I would estimate the average
height of the spouting columns of lava
at about 200 feet, but at intervals of a
few minutes the upper jets of redhot
bombs would reach half the height of
the western wall, and then fall back
into the seething lake. At times during
a lull in the prevailing easterly
wind the loud roar and the boom of the
fountains could be heard distinctly by
all of our party. (Right here I must
confess to a lack of appreciation of that
acuteness of hearing of the Hilo gen
tleman who heard the sullen roar of
'-i
Mokuaweoweo from the Volcano House
at Kilauea, twenty-two miles away.)
Besides the two large fountains
which played without cessation, there
were frequent outbreaks of smaller
ones in different parts of the lake, and
these, with the overflow at the outer
edge, furnished a constantly changing
scene. Then there were occasional
whirlwinds starting in close proximity
to one of the large fountains and traveling
outwardly toward the circumfer
ence whlrlingstralghtcolumnsof smoke
hundreds of feet above the cliffs, and
often lifting great slabs of the crust of
lava high in the air and then casting
them off. Here we may find a good explanation
of the formation of Pele's
hair, one of the forms of lava found at
great distances from its source.
It would take an artist's eye and pen
to describe the coloring as we saw It
at this great exhibition, and I hope our
artist companion succeeded in his work
upon the mountain.
Unsurpassed Grandeur.
The effect at night was grand beyond
description, and but for the prevailing
mountain sickness, the storm of sleet
and snow, and other discomforts from
which most of us suffered, we should
have spent the night out of doors viewing
the ever changing, scene. As it was,
we early sought the shelter of the tent
and our heavy double blankets, and
tried in vain to be comfortable. Some
were deathly sick and cared not for the
cold, the storm nor the hardness of the
rock which answered for bed and pil
low, and longed only for the coming of
the morning when we should start for
the downward trip. We tried to sleep
through the night, eleven of us, packed
in a small tent so cloedy that we could
hardly turn over for a change; but while
some of us succeeded in getting a little
rest, the others failed in the attempt.
and were glad to welcome the first glow
of morning.
The temperature had fallen to 25 deg.
soon after dark, and during the night it
reached 22 deg., not very severe to one
used to it, but with the mist and sleet
and the driving east wind, It was an
uncomfortable night for the whole of
the party.
The natives were all sick, and our
best friend, Julian, had all the responsibility
of caring for the twenty-five
suffering animals. The mule from Puna,
more bold than the others, chewed
off his own rope and then wandered all
over the camp, eating up such morsels
as bridles, halters and saddle girths, until
securely tied up again.
Glad to Break Camp.
Soon after daybreak the camp was
astir and preparations were made for
an early breakfast, as we had a forty-mile
ride to Ainapo and the Volcano
House, which we were to make before
sundown. The air was much clearer
than on the previous evening, and we
had a fine view of Mauna Kea, with Its
summit and upper slopes well covered
with snow, and all around and below us
were dense banks of clouds which hung
on the lower flanks of Mauna Loa.
Aa we afterwards learned, the storm
had been the moet severe one of the
HAWAIIAN GAZETTE: FRIDAY. MAY 'S, 1S9C SEMI-WEEKLY.
season, and our friends in Hilo and
Kau had had their misgivings about
the success of our undertaking.
The return was mad much more rapidly
than the ascent, as the animals
needed no urging, and thox trail was
much easier going down. A heavy rain
began soon after leaving the summit,
and for three or four hours we rode
through it, reaching our first night's
camp about noontime, Ainapo at 2:30,
where we lunched and changed our
tired and hungry horses for the fresh
ones to take us over the last stage of
fourteen miles to the hotel.
At 6 p. m. of the third day we were
all comfortably settled at the Volcano
House and congratulating ourselves on
our safe return. Here we learned for
the first time that Dr. Friedlander had
made the ascent a few days before
from the Kona side, and returned on
the morning we started.
The members of the party have noth
ing but words of praise for the way the
expedition was conducted by Julian
Monsarrat, and for the faithful service
rendered by all the men under him".
We left the Volcano House the next
morning for Hilo, leaving Mr. Logan of
the Bulletin there, suffering from a
"local condition only to be cured by
time." The member from Buffalo has
EL-W
t
S
suggested pneumatic saddles for future
mountaineers.
The last night we saw the reflection
from the crater it was more extensive
than before, and the lake had evidently
enlarged Its area and was in a state of
great activity.
Reports from the Volcano House, dated
Sunday evening, May 3d, say that
the reflection from the fire fountains
of Mokuaweoweo are "brighter than
ever, and that there is every prospect
of the eruption continuing for some
time longer.
Monday noon four of the mountain
party left Hilo on the chartered Hawaii
to connect at Paauhau with the Like-like,
bound for Honolulu direct. At
we picked up two more passengers
bound for the capital, and off the
Hamakua coast we were transferred to
the Llkelike and started at once, spent
the night at Mahukona, loaded cattle at
Kawalhai in the early morning, and
then sailed for home.
Our last view of the eruption was obtained
from Kawaihae just before sunrise,
when there was a faint glow over
the summit and a thin column of smoke
rising straight in the air. Soon after
sunrise all signs of activity had disappeared
in the haze which hung over
the whole"of Hawaii, and as we sailed
toward Maul the Island was lost to
view.
Predictions as to what will happen
on Mauna Loa, either in Mokuaweoweo
or in Kilauea, are not to be safely Indulged
in, for the reason that no one
knows enough of volcanic action to
give him the necessary data. i
For two full weeks the great crater
has been more active than for many
years past, and from the record of past
eruptions we may perhaps expect an
outbreak on the sides of Mauna Loa
within a few weeks, or the fires may
disappear altogether from the summit
crater. Most of the great eruptions of
the present century from the flanks of
Manua Loa have been preceded by act-Ion
in Mokuaweoweo, and from this
fact I should not be greatly surprised at
news of an outbreak along the great
line of fissure on the northeastern side
of the mountain, or at the opposite ex
tremity, from which the 1S87 flow pro
ceeded towards Kau.
In Kilauea there has been no visible
fire for several months, but a vast volume
of smoke and gas is continually
escaping, and there is considerable heat
just below the surface all about
The Emoke and steam In the
great pit, the rumbling noises heard In
the neighborhood, and the many evidences
of great heat, all point to the
probability of an early return to a state
of great activity In Kilauea.
The year 1836 promises to be an important
one in the annals of Hawaii
as a great center of volcanic action.
FRANK S. DODGE.
May 5th, 1896.
Central Union Hymn Books.
At a special business meeting of the
Central Union Church, held at the close
of the regular devotional meeting last
evenlngj the subject of a new hymn
boom: for the use of the church was in
troduced and discussed, at considerable
length, after which the Article matter,
including various motions and suggestions
that had been made, was referred
to a special committee to report In
two weeks.
PLAGUE IX HONGKONG.
Action of the Board of Health
.McctiiiK Wednesday.
The Board met at 3 p. m. aiid
when the minutes were being read
President Smith called attention
to some correspondence received
from Dr. Akana. in relation to a
charge of malpractice. The doctor
asked that he be allowed to
produce evidence to rebut that
introduced, and on vote his petition
was granted and he will be
heard at the next meeting.
A report from Dr. Stuart El-dredge,
medical inspector at Yo
kohama, was read and favorably
commented upon for its completeness
of detail. It contained the
announcement of the appoint
ment by him of deputies at other
yW kj '
:: vt' TT&i1
.
iU
'.
T4
s. WiUs
M
The above sketch map is from a survey made by Rev. J. M.Alexander, October, 1S95, with additions in April, 1S0G, by FrankJS.
Dodge, Irom personal observation.
The inner figure L reprf senls the present active lake in Mokuaweoweo. which is approximately 1000 x 1600 feet in area. It contains
the two great lava fountains, m constant action, throwing up lava in a steady column at least two hundred and fifty feet
in height. Surrounding this is the last great flow from the lake itself, now covering nearly a square mile of the old floor of
the crater.
C is what remains of an old cone of the eastern part having been swallowed up in the sinking of the deep pit F (date
unknown).
X shows the loca'ion of the exploring party three-quarter mile from the eastern summit, and right on the edge of the crater.
Directly opposite the camp, and above'the lake, is the true summit of Mauna Loa 13,675 feet above the sea level, and about
750 feet higher than the lahe.
At eithtr end of the main crater are the two elevated plateaus, connecting with the north and south annexes, each of which contains
pit craters of unknown depth.
The old floor of the main cruter is of smooth pahoehoe, nearly level over the greater part of its area, but now being rapidly coveted
by the present overflow of ua and pahoehoe from the new lake.
The walls of Mokuaweoweo are very precipitous on all bides, being highest on the west and east of the main crater, and lowest at
the northern end, where a trail can be made over the two terraces or plateaus to the lower floar.
points, as well as a detailed statement
of tie case of plague found
in a passenger on the Belgic whp
left the steamer at Yokohama and
died there. In view of the fact
that the plague was epidemic in
Hong Kong when the S. S. China
left there, and that contagious
diseases are epidemic in Asiatic
ports during seasons of the year,
he recommended that no steerage
passengers be allowed to leave
such ports for Hawaii between
July 1st and September 30th. He
reported, also, the arrival of the
S. S. Chittigong from Hong Kong
at Yokohama with twelve Chinese
steerage passengers for Honolulu.
Twenty-five Japaue&e
were added at Yokohama. On
the vessel Dr. Eldredge
found one of the crew suffering
from symptoms of the plague and
ordered the vessel fumigated and
the sick man removed to the hospital.
Before the steamer was allowed
to leave port he called in a
celebrated Japanese specialist to
consult with him regarding the
sick man, who seemed to be improving.
The decision arrived at
was- thai while the disease might
not be the plague it closely resembled
it, and as a precautionary
measure he notified the captain
that steerage pessengers would
not be allowed to land at Honolulu
on the direct voyage and that
he would have to take them on to
Portland and land them on the return
voyage.
In connection with the communication
from Dr.e Eldredge, Dr.
Day exhibited the bill of health
of the China signed by the Hawaiian
Consul at Hong Kong, in
which no mention was made of
existence of the plague, while the
one signed by the United States
Consul stated that sixty-one
deaths had occurred the week
prior to the departure of the China.
It was evident the Hawaiian
Consul vfas neglecting his business.
Minister Smith said notification
of his removal from the office
had been forwarded by last
steamer.
On motion of Dr. Wood it was
resolved to notify steamship
agents at infected Asiatic ports
that steerage passengers will not
be allawed to land at Honolulu
until further orders from this
Government
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