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tired and worn out, lagged behind, and at noon I found myself 

 alone at the lava of the present eruption, at a spot about a mile 

 and a half below the lower crater, and about three miles below 

 the upper one. 



As far as the eye could reach, down the valley between Mauna 

 Loa and Mauna Kea, I could trace the devouring flood in the 

 valley and forests below ; the stream of fresh lava at this point 

 was about two miles in breadth, of a dark greenish colour, and dull 

 metallic lustre where it had cooled or partially cooled on the sur- 

 face ; below it was liquid, and moving on under the upper crust. 

 The surface, as cooled by the air, had congealed into every possible 

 form and distortion— here wreathed about like rolls of shrivelled 

 parchment — there split into slabs and fragments, sometimes with a 

 smooth surface only broken by cracks and fissures — in other 

 places twisted like strands of coiled rope, or rolled out into 

 huge waves and serjjentine convolutions. Through large cracks 

 and openings one looked down into the fire below; and many of 

 these fissures had to be jumped across. Smoke, steam, and 

 gases, rose from many of these places, and often, when walking 

 on api^arently hard surface, an ^pper blister broke beneath the 

 tread, causing a fall amidst steam and hot lava. I was fortu- 

 nate in receiving no injury Avorse than a burn or two and the loss 

 of a finger nail. As the day advanced I was somewhat uneasy 

 at the non-appearance of my natives, for though I had no doubt 

 of being able to find my way back, it would be diflicult to find 

 them amidst such a chaos of rocky ground ; and I had neither 

 food nor water, and time under those circumstances would have been 

 a question of life or death. Mr. Coan, too, had said that it 

 would at the least take two, if not three days, to get back to 

 Kilauea ; however, I felt sure that I could see both craters that 

 day, and I had left Kilauea only the preceding morning, and 

 I felt that it was possible by aiming straight for it, to reach 

 it even without food or water by next night. Moreover, I had 

 said at Hilo that I would bring back word as to the speed with 

 •which the lava was flowing, and it was of conse(pience that I 

 should do so, for from its rate of flow might be calculated the 

 probability of the continuation of the eruption, and the likelihood 

 of its reaching the town. Now, to do that, I saw that I must 

 walk on the surface of the cooled or partially cooled lavas till I 

 reached its centre, where large open gaps in the crust showed the 

 fiery flood beneath. They were a long way ofl", but I could know 

 them by the glare that tinged the dull mantle of smoke and steam 

 that rested on the lava. Besides my nerves were strung up, and, 

 Englishman-like, I did not wish to be beaten. I resolved to go on, 

 and, after I had done what I intended to do, then to go back as 

 nearly as I could to the place where I last saw my natives, and 

 I did' not find them at once, not to delay, but to strike straight 

 back to Kilauea at daybreak. T followed up the course of the 

 eruption, keeping along its side. When I was within a mile or two 

 of the lower crater I saw by the glow a very large lake of tire in the 

 centre of the eruption, and determined there to make the attempt 

 to reach it. At that moment, the native w'ho had been on the 

 mountain before, and whom I have called the guide, appeared, 



