H. M. Whitney'' s Account of the Lava Floiv. 105 



At Kapapala, on the 7th, the ground was still in violent agitation, with a long 

 undulatory motion. At night a very large flow of lava was seen running down the 

 mountain to the sea. The next day smoke was seen issuing from cracks in this 

 neighborhood. Mr. H. M. Whitney visited the scene of the eruption on the loth, and 

 from him we learn the following particulars : 



As we approached the flow the rumbling uoise became more and more distinct. The ground 

 was covered with what appeared to be cinders, but on examining them we found they were fragments 

 of [basahic] pumice-stone which had been carried by the wind a distance of over ten miles. Mixed 

 with these cinders was Pete's liair, which we found floating in the air, and when it was thick we had 

 to hold our handkerchiefs to our nostrils to prevent inhaling it ; our clothes were frequently covered 

 with it. We hurried on and reached the flow shortly after noon, when from a ridge to the west of it 

 the whole scene opened before us. Between us and the crater was a valley five hundred yards wide 

 and ten miles long, which had recently been overflowed throughout its entire breadth and length 

 from' the mountain to the sea where it widened to two or three miles. The lava was of the smooth 

 or pahoehoe variety, from ten to twenty feet deep, and partially cooled over, though flames, smoke 

 and gas escaped from numerous crevices. On Tuesday afternoon, April 7th, at five o'clock, a 

 new crater, several miles lower down than that referred to, and about two miles back of Captain 

 Brown's residence, burst out. The lava stream commenced flowing down the beautiful grass- 

 covered plateau, towards and around the farm-house, and the inmates had barely time to escape 

 with the clothes they had on ; the path by which they escaped was covered with lava ten minutes 

 after they passed over it. 



On ascending the ridge we found the eruption in full blast. Four enormous fountains, on a 

 line a mile long, north and south, were continually spotiting up from the opening. These jets were 

 blood-red, and yet as fluid as water, ever varying in size, bulk and height. Sometimes two would 

 join together, and again the whole four would be united, making one continuous fountain a mile in 

 length. From the lower end of the crater, a stream of very liquid, boiling lava flowed out and down 

 the' plateau, a distance of two or three miles, then following the road ran down the precipice at an 

 angle of about 30°, then along the foot of the pali or precipice, five miles to the sea, the stream being 

 about eight or ten miles in length, and in some places half a mile wide. One peculiarity of the spout- 

 ing was that the lava was ejected with a rotary viotion, and as it ascended both lava and stones rotated 

 always in one direction towards the south. This was the only stream which reached the sea, and 

 flowed into it at Kailikii. It lasted only five days, the eruption ceasing entirely on the night of the 

 nth, or morning of the 12th. During its continuance, the atmosphere was filled with smoke so dense 

 that the sun appeared like a ball of fire, and the whole island was shrouded in darkness. The smoke 

 came from the rent or crater, and was highly charged with sulphur. 



As the lava entered the sea, clouds of steam and smoke rose up, and flames of bluish fire were 

 emitted, rising from the water to a height of from ten to twenty feet. During the night we were at 

 the volcano, the air was highly charged with sulphurous gas and electricity, and frequent fla.slies of 

 lightning were seen directly over the lava stream, accompanied with short claps of thunder. These 

 flashes were also observed less frequently further up the mountain. About four thousand acres of good' 

 pasture land were destroyed, besides which the lava ran over an immense district of worthless land. 

 On the night of the 6th of April, prior to the eruption, there was a shower of ashes and pumice-stone, 

 which came from this crater, and covered the country to a distance of ten or fifteen miles each way. 

 Generally the a.shes were not more than one or two inches in depth, but in some places were found to be 

 fifteen. The pumice-stone was very light, and appears to have been carried by the wind a great distance. 

 Pieces two and three inches in diameter floated ashore at Kealakeakua, forty-five miles distant. 



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