Crater of the Great Volcano of Kiiauea. 51 



of lava, in some places many rods, and in others only a few 

 feet wide, extends entirely round, (at least so far as an examina- 

 tion has been made) forming a kind of gallery, to which you 

 can descend in two or three places, and walk as far as the 

 smoke, settling at the south end, will permit. This offset leaves 

 incontestible marks of having once been the level of the fiery 

 flood, boiling in the bottom of the crater ; a subduction of lava, 

 by some subterranean channel, has since taken place, and sunk 

 the abyss many hundred feet, to its present depth. 



The gulf below contains between fifty and sixty smaller coni- 

 cal craters, many of which are in constant action. The tops 

 and sides of two or three of these are covered with sulphur of 

 mingled shades of green and yellow ; with the exception of these 

 the ledge, and every thing below it, is of a dismal black. The 

 cliffs above the ledge, forming the outer edge of the crater, are 

 on the northern and western sides perfectly perpendicular, and 

 of a red colour, every where exhibiting the marks of former 

 powerful ignition. Those on the eastern side are less precipi- 

 tous, and consist of entire banks of sulphur, of a delicate and 

 beautiful yellow. The south end is wholly obscured by the 

 smoke, which fills that part of the crater, and spreads widely 

 over the surrounding horizon. 



As the darkness of the night gathered round us, new and pow- 

 erful effect was given to the scene. Fire after fire, which the 

 glare of mid-day had entirely concealed, began to glimmer on 

 the eye, with the first shades of the evening ; and, as the dark- 

 ness increased, appeared in such rapid succession, as forcibly to 

 remind me of the hasty lighting of the lamps of a city on the 

 sudden approach of a gloomy night. Two or three of the small 

 craters, nearest to the north side, where we lodged, were in full 

 action, every moment casting out stones, ashes and lava, with 

 heavy detonations, while the irritated flames accompanying them 

 glared widely over the surrounding obscurity, against the sides 

 of the ledge and upper cliffs, richly illuminating the volumes of 

 smoke at the south end, and occasionally casting a bright reflec- 

 tion on the bosom of a passing cloud. The great seat of action, 

 however, seemed to be at the southern and western end, where 

 an exhibition of ever-varying fire-works was presented, surpas- 

 sing in beauty and sublimity, all that the ingenuity of art ever 



D 2 



