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population disporting themselves by jumping from a rock into the 

 Wailuku River, tioating on their back down to its waterfall, going 

 over a perpendicular fall of 30 or 40 feet, feet foremost — plump into 

 a deep still pool below. The Sandwich Islanders are probably 

 the best swimmers in the world, and their feats in the surf are far 

 more wonderful than this. 



Hilo is a pretty village or small town embowered in cocoanut, 

 breadfruit, and banana trees, and straggling along the shore of 

 Byron Bay. It is, or then was, a great resort of whalers, and 

 is the i:)rincipal town of Hawaii. The ground rises gradually from 

 it to Mauna Loa, the summit of which is about 40 miles distant in 

 a straight line ; and when I arrived at Hilo the lava of the great 

 eruption was steadily flowing down towards it and threatening it 

 with speedy destruction. On our arrival we hired, a vacant hut 

 embowered in a grove of bananas from a native, and at once sat 

 down to debate " ways and means," for we had wrongly calculated 

 on being able to get money from Honchdu before this, and we 

 found ourselves with a most dilapidated wardrobe and literally 

 penniless, without introductions, and unknown to any one. I only 

 wish that I could ever hope to be able to make some return for 

 the generous confidence with Avhich Mr. Pittman, the principal 

 merchant of the place trusted us, advanced us everything we 

 wanted, and not only extended to us assistance, but the most 

 cordial hospitality. 



We now began to prepare for our journey to the volcanoes. 

 The three great mountains of Hawaii are all recent volcanoes ; 

 Mauna Kea the most northerly of the three is somewhat the 

 highest. Its summit bears evident traces of activity at no 

 distant period ; but for many years it has not been in erup- 

 tion. Mauna Hualalei, more to the southward and on the 

 Avestern coast, was in ei-uption a few years before my visit. 

 By far the most active is Mauna, Loa, Kilauea, on its south eastern 

 acclivity, and is the largest active crater in the world. It has 

 been frequently visited by travellers. Above it Mauna Loa proper, 

 presents an immense bare area, I should say 40 miles in diameter, 

 smooth and gently rounded at its distant aspect ; but one mass of 

 rough volcanic debris, scoi-ife, and lavas of dift'erent ages, cut 

 by deep lava ducts, and heaped with scorise and ashes ; and few 

 years jiass by without its bursting forth in one direction or another. 

 Often it is, as it were tapped, by an eruption of Kilauea, which as 

 I have said stands, like a great abscess in its side, some 8000 feet 

 below its summit. In 1840 a flood of molten matter burst 

 through underneath the rocky walls that form the basin of 

 Kilauea, lowering the level of its floor by (JO feet. 



For ten miles it flowed underground, occasionally lifting the earth 

 and rock above, and sending forth smoke, inflamed gases, and burn- 

 ing lava ; then tearing its way out of the hill side, it rolled 

 a flood of licpiid iire through forest and jungle, which spread 

 sometimes to a width, as Mr. Coan a resident missionary says, 

 of four miles. In three days it had traversed 30 miles, and rolled 

 itself in a cataract of fire a mile wide, over a cliff" 50ft. high into the 

 sea. For 20 miles around the sea was heated, and innumerable 

 quantity of fish were thrown upon the coast killed by the heated 



