Show VISIT lopa iopa TO r A VOLCANO ON THE SAND band SANDWICH ICH loh i I 1 ISLANDS extract eib acts acla s from the journal 0 elder geo Q cannon in mayy may 1854 1834 1 had occasion to visit the conferences on the island of hawaii the of captain cooka coot and while there together with several of the elders elderry both white and native went to view the far famed volcano of Kilau kilauea ea on account of our numbers we found it most convenient to go on foot toot our opportunities not being very good for obtaining animals the district of ullo through which our road principally lay lays Is very fertile and productive in consequence of the quantity of rain which falls almost daily dally we left Wa likes ory orp or as it called by the whity whites byrons bay tor for the mountain early in the morning our road wits wan was tolerably good in many places the roots of ferns which grow in great profusion all through this district were laid crosswise corduroy fashion making it pretty good walking it Is a singular looking country along here for some nes aes ues p its surface Is undulating and appears as though it thad toad been formed by the frequent deposits of lava flowing from the crater the soil Is very rich in places and covered with lip kip it fern ferns and occasional patches of timber the latter part of the road however was or lava whose scanty covering of soil was wom worn off by the constant travel of man and beast in places this lava was very smooth and slippery and cooling as it rans ran it had formed its if into fantastic shapes of every form and variety we passed through several small villages where they raise kalo kaio their principal article of food in tolerable abundance and for which they find ready sale at the bay our appearance was generally balled by the cry of the white mend men and troops of boys and girls as well as grown up native natives sj rushed to the roa road d side tide to scrutinize us and ask questions onsy which gave us uj a good opportunity to lay our principles to some small extent them which were productive of some good goods for when we returned turned from the crater a few days afterwards we had the pleasure of baptizing several and organizing a small branch we reached the halt half way house bouse at a place called olas about the middle of the afternoon and topped stopped for the night the next morning mornings after breakfast we WS resumed 66 our Jo journey the man with whom we stopped accompanying r us as guide to show us the wonders of Kilau ea tho the he country resembled in some respects respect is that through which wo we passed yesterday but uninhabited after a toilsome walk of soma some seventeen or eighteen miles we ire arrived at the crater a little before three pm wa we saw nothing to indicate our near approach to it no truncated top as we sea see in pictures of other volcanoes nor elevated summit to be distinguished in the distance but an immense chaa cha charn cham ra or pit with perpendicular sides about 12 miles in circumference and 1030 1000 feet deep we became aware of our proximity to the object of our journey journ ey by the steam which we saw issuing from the numerous fissures and pits scattered around on the surface of the ground in the i vicinity of the edge of the crater in the istance distance d manna loa loomed up with its regular and domelike dome like summit from which there was a very violent eruption in february 1852 which caused some apprehensions to be felt for the safety of the town of walan wilan keap kea 0 on byrons bay the principal place on the island As the main part of the company had not come up we deterred deferred our descent until morning and employed ourselves in visiting the pits pita and ani seams whence the steam beeam lasted in some of thess these places the heat was sufficiently great to cook potatoes and in one ravine ve we found banana trees breci and a few sweet potatoes growing crowing there Is a sulphur bank or mound a short distance from the brink of the crater called by the natives the etona where there am arc a great many out of which a strong sulphurous steam was issuing and so hot as to almont instantly scald the hand we ascended the mound and examined the df ferent merent aperture apertures apen aper turee tures aj the rides of which wera were covered with tine tins crystals tais of 0 a yellow color the vapor which la is emitted from these holes Is almost overpowering and the footing Is so very precarious that nothing but a strong curiosity corid could have induced us to approach the edges of these chimples we collected some very fine specimens of crystallized crystall zed red sulphur but owing to the tha want of facilities to carry them without spoiling we were only able to preserve a few I 1 the whole of the surrounding country bears the impress of the agency of great internal fires which are constantly consta nUy at work and which causes the whole of the ihland occasionally aio sio nally to tremble we found a spring of water near the edge of th the preci prod i plc alc pice which our gude guide informed ua was formed by the condensation conden eatton of the steam on the surrounding bushes johdos the hawaiian whortleberry grow quite fally faily but many of the natives I 1 understood are so super lous loub that they will not louch touch them as they say it will be bei sure to rain and they will be apt to perish with wd ro wards four or five the natives had bad all arrived they brought up a large calabash of poi yoi a paste made by pounding pound ln the kilo root on a pole pale between two of them also a hog bog that had been killed and cooked in the ground by the orders of bro napela who was caterer for f or the party every one onset of the tha natives had bad also brought along a email small bundle of fai pal at lais laia hals late pounded and wrapped la ki leaves we stopped for tor the night in a grass gram house which had been built on the tha brink of the tha precipice for the accommodation of visitors and in the tie evening we had bad a splendid the proc ai of cooking in the tha ground so common commo n among tha the islanders Is as follows they make a round hole in the grounds ground varying in size biza according to the quantity of ot food to be cooked and then build a fare fire in it they then pile a larise larie quantity of stona stones on the fire when they are ara thoroughly heated they are spread m evenly enly eniy on the bottom and lail sides of the hole bole it kalo a root which they cultivate and use as their common staff of lif ilfe life e Is to be cooked it 1 piled on these there in a conical heap and then c covered V ered thickly with leaves on the leaves leavea ther therb Is a coat of dirt art thrown up of suM bum clent cleat thickness to prevent the escape or ot heat beat or steam and just before closing it up entirely with dirt thera there la Is a bucket or two of water poured la in at the top to be converted into stearn strain by the heat of the slona E and this cooks the food la ra this manner meat Is aa also cooked alth the tha exception of not pouring pouting water in aa with the kalo halo ft it a hoc hog it Is filled with heated stones Vc vereta reta being betas node nude in the tha shoulders for tor the insertion of bot hot stone water Is then poured into it to create steamy steams steam and aid it t it ts laid on an the heated hated stone sione tn in the hole bole rea lea leavea be J JK ITC K first luid to k keep it frent front ai ax t th stona eton a r ba ber her burning bernius nias and und nd it Is 13 thea heu hen as s th tiow view low lew of the Jurld lurid firis fires of the volcano their reflection on the moving cloud clouds of smoke required but little stretch of the imagination to people the bottom of the crater with living beings it was easy to account for an imaginative and superstitious people as the hawaiians Hawaii na ans arey are believing that these fantastic forma forms of clouds were the spirits of the departed they were BO to truly lifelike life hie like ilke in consequence of the altitude altitudes we found it quite cold in the night and had bad to keep a good fire ore in n the house there being no chimney chimneys the smoke annoyed us considerably in the morning we were up and stirring betimes and without stopping to eat breakfast commenced to descend accompanied by our guide by the aid of a good stout stagg staff which we found of great benefit we accomplished the descent la in safety and soon found ourselves at the edge of what has been appropriately called the black ledge I 1 f this was an immense field of lava which ran all round the pity pit and was the effect of some former eruption the he appearance of this iava lara was singular indeed resembling I 1 in many respects the tea bea in its lt wavelike wave like appear appearance ange anSe or a field of shore iee ice from which the water had bad receded leaving it shattered and cracked in fact I 1 cannot compare it to anything better than a frozen sea blaik black black as coal some portions of it resembling the lea tea in a state of res rest tj other portions as it would appear in a violent storm in some places the tha waves had combed one over another as in the th ocean oceans and in this position the they had cooled great care had bad to be observed in crossing yer these combing waves as the crust was thin pd and there thene was wa danger of breaking through how awfully grand must the sight hare have been when this whole mass of laa lava was in motion a sea of liquid are aane and how bow insufficient ent language langua gl is to 1 convey to the mind mandol of man anything like the effect the sight of it would have produced I 1 in cool ng it had crackel cracked leaving large seams seamy from which steam and heat issued and in many places we had bad to use caution in crossing them on account of the intensity of heat beat these fissures varied from two to six biz teet feet in width the upper upp r crust of the lava Is cellular something like e honeycomb and very light and porous and p cjack tackled led under the feet like coal cinders we relt felt tour our oun way carefully with our poles like men passing over a frozen ake there were several ridges of toc roc rock thrown up and anil as we approached the vicinity of the fore fire rj we came caine to a bill hill resembling 1 sem bling a limekiln which emitted a rt large body of 0 smoke and steam it was composed of a variety ot of earths earth and rock and seemed to be the chian chimney ey stack of the crater I 1 climbed up and looked down abole a hole from which a sulphurous smoke and vapor arose the inhalation of 0 which involved considerable danger the sida sides of this chimney like those those we visited at the S artona agona doss dors close to the brink ot of the precipice the previous evening w were ware ere covered with crystals of a yellow color colors we lve tried to asee asep ascertain tain its depth by throwing stones down downs but we could biot t h hear eq them strike the bottwin bott bottom oin oln within I 1 a few fe tos tog p was another very large chimney out of which a dense smoke issued so dense as to preclude a view of the interior it 11 was a dangerous expert expect experiment ment peeping into thit this chimney amney owing to the precarious tta tia nature c of i the tooting footing one ong false step would have proved fatal to the explorer this we were told by the guide gulle was all Include included dp a few years ago in the pit or crater that was congi consi constantly antly ac active tive of late years it has decreased to its present sties bile bike and only occasionally caslo casio nally breaks forth in any other place L leavin this the g gulde guide id e led ns over places that looked dangerous and veip veny very risky and I 1 felt that we w wye windred indeed treading oa on a volcano and we had to be careful where we stepped A feeling of awe very naturally crept over me and I 1 felt how very insignificant man Is and how ow 11 little ittle he knows of the works works and operations of hi his maker maken wine while going goin franj from what whak I 1 calls call cail the chimney stack stack of the crater towards the pit or caldron we had bad great difficulty in breathing oa on account of the strong sulphurous smoke which the former emitted and which the wind carried in the direction we were going when we came to the edge of the pit a sight met mit my eyes which I 1 think I 1 shall never forget and which surp surpassed ased abed in sublimity and grandeur 3 anything any I 1 had ever witnessed or imagined language Is too faint ti ta convey any ot of my feelings I 1 could dotre notre dot repress press presa my of delight and aud admiration it solar so jar e ex x aeed d what I 1 had read in written descriptions or 0 what I 1 expected to eee see I 1 felt amply repaid for all my moll toil inbe in beholding this awfully grand and adoUS work work of the creaton creator Cr pator the pit we judged to be about fifty or sixty feel teel feet teet deep with perpendicular sides nearly round and about as ks near as s we could judge one hundred yards across the strongest beat seemed to be round the th edges edge and in one side there were two large holes verr very close clows together which looked more like the mouths months of iwo very large than anything else I 1 ever saw here the melted lav lay lava or matter was in constant coustant motion a perfect mars mara of liquid are surging and heaving hearing like the waves of the seas sea with a nolee noise which the paddles paddies pad lies iles of a steam vessel sailing tailing in the ocean oman slightly resembled at it wab waa truly a magnificent sight right az butare we reached tb the caldron the sound of the pouting spouting and surging I 1 matter resembled reM bled bied the booming of heavy artillery leayat at a distance the tha surface of the matter while quiescent was black with beau beav beautiful red veins here and there through it it had bad a movement sometimes flowing quickly other times slowly from the north east cast to bouth booth avesato west to the places where it was raging so violently it was surprising to we see with what ease it would melt this stony mars mass mais mats and convert it again into a nuil null fluid throwing it out sometimes with great force occasionally it would roll up in other parta parts ot of this vast caldron 3 rod and foery fiery biti with a slow blow hea bea heavy vy movement twisting and curling curitti in all manner of and again relapsing eing Fing into ita its fonner position where it was black a a tone tona would indent it but not eink sink out of sight we found great quantities of capillary glass or an a the natives call it poles roles hair kair believing it to be th the e I 1 hair bair but owing to the tae want of facilities for preserving it we brought but little awit awat away A party of natives bad been here go so we were told a few days before throwing the bones bonea of a relative into the volcano with hogs fowls ac sacrifices to propitiate madam rele pele the pit Is called by the natives ka iua iva 0 pel the pilot pele pele was formerly 3 and isnow Is now by many believed to be a goddess younger sister bister of papa the woman that brought forth the islands lands In ac according cording to the old legend the tho farst first bora burn being hawaii cawall and the last kaua kauai and anil I 1 chaa rele pele it la 13 eem came from t foreign lands with hur bur dro bro brottsos brotts rs and aad sisters asters and lived list first at haual from thence to oahn thence to molokai Molo Mol okal kaly kals thence to blaul and fitial lj took up her resi resl residence denoe on this island hawaii vi where here she rhe be still continues to maintain it the quiescent craters on all these islands give evidence ot of the existence of active volcanoes vol TOl canoes on them in ages past the hawaiians hawa nawa lians ans formerly believed in a plurality of gods godsy and |