128 Kilauea and Mauna Loa. 



ejected to a height of not less than sixteen thousand feet above the top of the moun- 

 tain, where the}' hung forming a dense stratum of smoke. The velocity with which 

 they ascended was such that the first five thousand feet were passed inside of a 

 minute.'"" From the deck of the "Kilauea" at anchor off Kawaihae, "five distinct 

 columns of fire could be seen belching forth from the mountain." This lasted but six 

 hours, and on Thursday night no light was seen, although the summit was covered 

 with smoke. Four slight earthquake shocks were felt at Waimea and one at Kohala. 

 Those who hastened to Hawaii to see this outbreak were disappointed, but in Keala- 

 keakua Ba^' they found the runaway eruption. As the steamer approached the baj' 

 columns of steam or smoke were seen rising from the sea, much like the spouting of a 

 school of whales, and numerous pieces of lava were floating about. 



According to the natives, the eruption was first seen at three o'clock on the 

 morning of the 24th about a mile from shore, and it appeared like innumerable red, 

 blue and green lights. Some thought these were the steamer's lights, only they were 

 so numerous as to excite consternation. Keei Point forms the southern boundary of 

 Kealakeakua Bay, and the steam and lava rose as far as a mile beyond the point 

 apparently from a submarine fissure running about N.N.W. by B.S.E., and where the 

 water has been from twenty to sixt}^ fathoms deep. 



Boats from the steamer put off to the scene of the greatest commotion, rowing 



directly over the most disturbed part where the boat was repeatedly hit b}^ the rising 



masses of lava, nearly all of which on reaching the surface were red-hot, emitting gases 



strongly sulphurous. lu cooling the lava cakes sank as rapidly as they rose to the 



surface. Specimens were obtained"" which are very porous, and from the accounts 



much of it was the froth called limn. A severe earthquake shock was felt on the 



western side of the baj' during the night of the eruption. Eleven 3'ears after this, while 



camping on the shore of this beautiful bay, near the site of Cook's and Vancouver's 



observatories, I paddled my canoe over the region where this "submarine volcano" 



broke out and found that it had left no sign. The newspaper accounts were illustrated 



by most grotesque and impossible pictures of four black columns like trunks of trees 



and five pillars of fire, — papers of respectability in the United States and Europe. 



We must now return to Kilauea. 



February 2, 1875. Frank J. .Scott. — Visited the crater with Mr. J. W. Moore and George P. 

 Castle. Got to southwest side of Halemaumau and stood over the brink of the crater in which the 

 lava stood about forty feet below, and was boiling violently on the edges only. The smoke was 

 towards Kilauea and we could not get to see it, but craters marked C and D were not in action. 

 February 4th, went to the craters again via little sulphur crater marked E, looking down which we 



1 



I 



100 1 



'Hawaiian Gazette, February 21, 1877. Further account of this eruption is from the same source published 

 by Mr. H. M. Whitney who went to Hawaii. 



""A specimen is in the Bishop Museum. It is very cellular lava ; not at all Hutu. 



[506] 



