OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 431 



Review of the Hawaiian Eruptions. 



The eruptions that have been recorded on the Hawaiian Islands are then as follows : — 



I. In 1789 an eruption from Kilauea, not seen by any foreigner. It was accompanied 

 by ejections of black sand and great volumes of hot sulphureous gases, both from the crater 

 itself, and from fissures on a south-east line between Kilauea and the sea. The earthquakes 

 were violent in the neighborhood, and nearly a hundred men lost their lives by the hot and 

 poisonous gases. 



II. In 1801 Mauna Hualalai poured forth from near the summit a torrent of lava which 

 filled up a deep bay, and changed the whole aspect of the coast. 



III. In 1823 Kilauea emptied itself by a subterranean outlet which reached the surface 

 some miles south of the crater, and poured a torrent of lava through the district of Ka-u. 

 The stream is nearly five miles wide where it entered the sea near K^papala. 



IV. In 1832 both Kilauea and Mokuaweoweo were active. In Kilauea the lava broke 

 out on the narrow neck of rock between the main crater and Poli-o-Keawe, in the spot where 

 Lord Byron had encamped some years before, and flowed down into both craters. The 

 amount of lava ejected here was small. The lavas were previously fifty feet above the 

 Black Ledge of Ellis, and between June and September had fallen some hundred feet. It 

 is not known where the lava reached the sea. June 20th, Mauna Loa was pouring forth 

 lava from the summit in every direction, and continued in action for two or three weeks. 

 The light was visible at Lahama. 



V. In 1840 Kilauea emptied itself in a south-east direction through the district of Puna. 

 The stream of lava reached the sea at Nanawalie, a distance of forty miles, in four days. 

 Owing to the exceeding roughness of the country the depth varied from twelve to two 

 hundred feet, and the width from five hundred feet to three miles. For two weeks the light 

 was so brilliant, that at Hilo and places forty miles distant, the finest print could be easily 

 read at midnight. 



VI. In 1843 Mauna Loa broke out near the summit. Two large craters were formed, 

 and two streams of lava poured out from fissures, one flowing westward, towards Kona, and 

 the other and larger one towards Mauna Kea on the north a distance of nearly thirty miles, 

 when it divided, one branch turning towards Waimea, and the other towards Hilo. This 

 eruption continued nearly four weeks. 



VII. In 1852 an eruption broke forth on the north side of Mauna Loa, shooting up great 

 jets from two to five hundred feet high. 



VIII. In 1855 an eruption took place from the same vicinity. It continued for about 

 thirteen months, pouring a stream of lava down the mountain slopes for sixty miles and 

 covering nearly three hundred square miles. 



IX. In 1859 another eruption took place from Mauna Loa, throwing up fountains of lava 

 as in 1852, and, after flowing some forty miles, poured into the sea at Wainanalii. 



X. In 1866 both Kilauea and Mauna Loa were active, the latter pouring out several small 

 streams of lava. 



