386 W. T. BRIGHAM ON THE VOLCANIC PHENOMENA 



crevices were filled with the limn or Hawaiian pumice, which is green and very light, and 

 with Pele's hair. This fine volcanic glass was blown more than sixty miles during this 

 eruption. At three o'clock two of our Kanakas gave out, and we were obliged to leave 

 them, assuming their burdens ourselves. The others were sick, and bound their heads up 

 with leaves, complaining that their heads and stomachs were affected, imputing it all to the 

 wind, which, however, was very light. Mr. Mann and myself felt no inconvenience from 

 the altitude during the journey. 



At night we were about half a mile from the terminal crater, and we found a long narrow 

 cave, once the bed of a small lava-stream, and still horrid with projecting points. It was 

 five feet wide, two feet high, and of considerable length. We slept in Indian file, or rather 

 tried to sleep ; our bed was a magnified rasp, and although we broke off as many of the 

 teeth as we could, more than enough remained. We needed all our blankets to protect us 

 from the severe cold which froze water solid in the cave at our feet, but we had to push a 

 fold beneath every time we turned. I got up before sunrise, and the air seemed intensely 

 cold ; I ran to a little hill and saw the sun come up through the clouds, and then crawled 

 into the cave again and breakfasted. We then covered ourselves well with blankets, and 

 walked up to the crater. Mokuaweoweo is the most perfectly formed crater on the Islands, 

 although not the largest. The walls almost a thousand feet high, are nearly perpendicular 

 and unbroken. When the United States Exploring Expedition ascended Mauna Loa in 1841, 

 the bottom was rough, and contained eight or ten cones, some of considerable height ; now 

 there were only two cones, about two hundred feet high each, near the eastern wall ; the 

 whole bottom had been overflowed with fresh black lava, and as examined with a powerful 

 glass was no rougher than an ordinary lava-stream. We were on the highest wall, 13,790 

 feet above the sea, as determined by the Exploring Expedition, and on the opposite side 

 from the Wilkes Encampment. On a small pile of stones was a sandal with the names of 

 Paris, Alexander, Haskell, 1859. The sandal looked new and fresh as if just cut from the 

 hide. I was told that a cow once strayed up here in search of water, and died, and her body 

 was found dried and retaining its shape completely. 



The hard compact gray stone of the summit and walls is much cracked, and exhibits deep 

 strata as elsewhere. Scattered along the edges, and in various places over the great summit 

 plain were large irregular masses of a solid reddish clink stone much used for stone axes, 

 etc. Several immense cracks parallel with the crater walls extended some distance. These 

 sometimes contained ice; and on breaking the surface, which was some two inches thick, we 

 found a large supply of fine water in the ice, with which we replenished our water-bottles. 

 No snow was visible, and it is a mistake to suppose these summits within the limits of per- 

 petual snow, as is sometimes stated. Seldom in the summer is any snow found here except 

 in the caves where it is preserved as in ice-houses. Snow frequently falls on both Mauna 

 Loa and Mauna Kea, but, except in winter, it disappears as soon as the sun rises. 



At first we did not see any signs of volcanic activity, but at last discovered steam issuing 

 from the northern bank. Mr. Mann advised a descent into the crater, and we attempted 

 it, but after climbing down more than half way gave it up. Mokuaweoweo was partly 

 surveyed by the Exploring Expedition, and the plan given represents its present condition 

 correctly. It is circular, 8000 feet in diameter, and on the northern and south-eastern ends 

 are two semicircular depressions which increase its diameter to 13,000 feet in a north-by- 

 west and south-by-east direction. On the west side the walls were, in 1841, seven hundred 



