OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 383 



a-a. The vegetation is scanty, but enough to support large flocks of wild goats. A road 

 was attempted some years ago, by government, from Kailua on the western coast to Hilo 

 across this plain, but only fifteen miles were ever built, and the natives dislike the cold of 

 the mountain region too much to travel this way often. Caves are the only sources of water 

 here, the surface being too porous to retain pools or streams ; but in the caves the water 

 drips from the roof, and is collected in calabashes. 



The only recorded eruption of Hualalai took place in 1800, and was seen by Turnbull. 



Ellis gives the following account, taken from the lips of an Englishman and of natives, of 

 this eruption ' : — 



" Stone walls, trees, and houses all gave way before it ; even large masses of rocks of 

 hard ancient lava, when surrounded by the fiery stream, soon split into small fragments, and, 

 falling into the burning mass, appeared to melt again, as borne by it down the mountain's 

 side. Offerings were presented, and many hogs thrown alive into the stream to appease the 

 anger of the gods, by whom they supposed it was directed, and to stay its devastating 

 course. All seemed unavailing, until one day the king, Kamehameha, went attended by a 

 la-rge retinue of chiefs and priests, and, as the most valuable offering he could make, cut off 

 part of his own hair, which was always considered sacred, and threw it into the torrent. A 

 day or two after, the lava ceased to flow. The gods, it was thought, were satisfied." 



To this eruption is referred the sad story, often told to travellers by the natives, of the 

 death of a mother and her infant. In 1800, as now, the base of Hualalai had many small 

 fishermen's hamlets along its shore. At night, while all were sleeping, the eruption began. 

 The stream of lava came thundering down upon the people on the shore, and while nearly 

 all succeeded in escaping, in one hut only the husband was awakened, and in his terror he 

 fled leaving his wife and child. Before she was aroused by the shrieks of her friends, the 

 lava had encircled the hut and escape was no longer possible. The lava set fire to the 

 house, and the woman sprang into a pandanus-tree near by. But her refuge was of short 

 avail, and the lava- stream, which was flowing into the sea, consumed, as it passed, the two 

 human sacrifices to Pele. 



This latest effort of Hualalai, besides destroying several small villages, and filling up fish- 

 ponds, ended by changing the coast line for twenty miles from a bay to a headland several 

 miles beyond the old coast. Nevertheless it was not an important eruption, nor equal to the 

 dying effort with which Haleakala rent its vast crater, or Mauna Kea piled up the monu- 

 ments on its craterless head. 



The remarkable rapidity with which this stream descended indicates great fluidity. It 

 appears to have flowed fifteen miles in two or three hours. Its source was a little below 

 the summit and it issued in two streams, one to the north-west and the other to the north- 

 east. Twenty-three years after this Ellis found a warm spring at Kailua where Glauber's 

 Salts were formed by the action of sulphurous vapors on sea-water, and warm springs were 

 also found at Kawaihae at tide level. These are now cooled, and there are no visible signs 

 of volcanic activity anywhere on the mountain. The streams which in former ages flowed 

 at intervals down its sides do not appear to be of so great a volume as those from Mauna 

 Loa, and this is probably owing to the great number of vents. Their physical structure, 

 however, is identical with that of those from the other craters. 



1 Ellis, loc. cit. p. 44. 



