OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 



419 



uncommon on the islands, were not noticed particularly for two or three years on Hawaii, 

 while on Oahu several were perceived. An eruption was almost desired, as those from 

 Kilaue*a usually reach the sea through an uninhabited part of the island. It almost seemed 

 as if the crater was at last strong enough to hold its weighty contents, and would once 

 more empty itself over its rim, and even raise its outer walls. 



Fig. 37. The Crater of Kilauea from the northern bank. 



In visiting Kilaue'a in 1864, with Mr. Horace Mann, we approached it from the south- ^^ 

 west on the Ka-u path. For ten miles we had seen the cloud of smoke over the cra- 

 ter, and for more than half that distance we had traversed beds of pahoehoe, and large tracts 

 of sand, deep and difficult for our horses. No a-a was visible from the path, and but little 

 scorise. ' The eruption of 1789, is said to have thrown out most of the sand, but the winds 

 have entirely changed its original location. It is dark, fine, and uniform, and it now lies 

 covering the solid pahoehoe in places to the depth of several yards. Soon after one o'clock 

 we came upon the brink of the crater. From below us steam and sulphurous vapors rose m 

 a sluggish column, but we saw no fire and heard no noises. The great sunken plain before 

 us cohering six or eight square miles, looked bright in the clear sunlight, and even the walls 

 on which we stood were of a light gray color. The whole circuit of the walls on the northern 

 and western sides is much cracked and interrupted. We rode along over several cracks, one 

 of which, a little more than a yard wide, had opened about a year since, accompanied by an 

 explosion heard distinctly at a distance of twenty miles. Some of the cracks were parallel 

 with the edge of the abyss, others were at right angles to these, and in one place the small 

 cracks were so numerous as to resemble a geometric spider's web. 



