Mauna Loa Adopts Kilaiiea's Activity. 125 



size and height, occasionally throwing up some hundred feet or more, the color of the lava appeared 

 to us very peculiar being a bright vermilion and sometimes blood-red. 



September 20, iSj^. C. E. Stackpole. — At one o'clock last night the lava broke through the 

 crust in the eastern edge of the basin, near the trail, and flowed rapidly westward. The liquid lava 

 spread over several acres of the basin in a few moments, flowing very rapidly. The outbreak was 

 accompanied bj- a dull, sullen, roaring sound, apparently far below the surface. In spite of a heavy 

 fog, the fire lighted up the crater and surroundings ; every part of this house was filled with the 

 glare, making it as light as day. By three o'clock the lava had cooled and the flow had ceased. 

 A steady rain all night, no wind, thermometer 64°. 



October 21 , iSj^. Rev. Titus Coan. — Found the crater quite active. 



Decembers, i8j4, H. M. Whitney. — Found the crater in about the same state of activity as at 

 former visits ; but the area of the lakes has increased and changed very much since my last previous 

 visit in 1864. Then there was but one lake, now there are two, both much larger than Halemaumau 



formerly was Halemaumau is located in the southern part and not easily accessible. The new 



and larger lake at the right is called Kilauea and our party stood within six feet of the edge of the 

 bank on the windward side from which position a fine view was obtained of the whole of this boiling 

 cauldron, and at a hundred feet above the liquid mass. [See Fig. 74.] 



December 2g, jSj-f- F. S. L,yman and W. H. Reed. — The two lakes, Kilauea and Hale- 

 maumau are both very active, and the large flow of lava from Halemaumau into the basin of the crater, 

 which we were told occurred on the 27th inst., is still aglow, occasionally bursting forth on the sur- 

 face and at the lower edge. The roar from the lakes was very loud at times during the night. 



While Kilauea went on in ranch her usual way during the ten years from 1864 to 

 1874, Mauna Loa seemed to be adopting the chronic state of activity long a character- 

 istic of her lower neighbor. In 1868 the activity began as we have seen, and while the 

 size of the rent (some three miles long), allowed the stirplus lava to escape rapidl}-, 

 that outflow seems to have for a time closed that escape valve, and the activities were 

 transferred to the summit crater, Mokuaweoweo. In December, 1869, visitors to the 

 sitmmit found much steam but no visible fires. During the first few weeks in 1870 

 steam and smoke arose from the crater in such quantities as to to be visible at Hilo. 

 This did not last long and later in the year Mr. Luther Severance found Mokuaweo- 

 weo quiet. On the tenth of August, 1872, Mr. Coan saw from Hilo'^ "a lofty pillar of 

 light two thousand feet high". No fire was seen from below, only its reflection on the 

 column of vapors. It should be borne in mind that when "a bright light like a star" 

 is seen from the coast level at Hilo it means, if from the summit crater, a fountain pla}^- 

 ing at least twelve hundred feet high, so flat is the stimmit plain of Loa in the midst of 

 which the crater is sittiated. All through Augttst and into September the aAivitj- of 

 Mokuaweoweo continued. On August 23d a tidal wave was observed at Hilo in 

 calm weather and without earthquakes. The first wave rose four feet, then at an 

 interval of six minutes a second three feet high, and so diminishing for a dozen waves. 

 There is no evidence of conne6lion with the island volcanoes. Certainlv the summit 



'^American Journal, 1S72, iv, 406; 1873, v, 476. 



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