‘olcanic Character of the Island of Hawaii. 3% 
iories, and reflected by the overhanging cree Seinen to 
complete the awful grandeur of the imposing scene.” 
They sat * gazing at the magnificent caeachen for seve- 
ral hours, w! laid themselves down on mats, to observe 
more leisurely its varying aspect ; for, although ing had 
travelled upwards of ara miles ‘Since the 
ives said, that neem to ig the volcano 
had been burning from chaos, or night tll iE 
fer the origin of the. worl d, and e ven of their gods, to chaos, 
er night ; and the creation. was, a view, a transition 
to light. They pace that, in earlier ages, 
the volcano “ used to boil up, to overflow its banks, and. in- 
undate the adjacent country ; but that, for many kings’ reigns 
ants it had kept below the level of the surrounding plain, 
continually extending its surfaee, and increasing its depth, 
and occasionally throwing up, with violent explosion, huge 
rocks, or red hot stones. ahaen eruptions, they said, were 
always accompanied by dreadful earthquakes, loud claps of 
thunder, and vivid and quick one setine ligh nates No 
great explosion, they added, had taken place since: days 
of Keona, but many places near theace-shors had been o 
flowed ; on which occasions, they supposed that Pele we 
by a road.under ground, from from her house in the crater 
shore. 
The mythology of Hawaii is te interwoven with the 
phenomena of their volcanoes and earthquakes, and with the 
thunder and lightning by which they are i oItis 
easy to trace in their absurd and extravagant fables respect- 
ing the contests of Pele, the goddess: of volcanoes, with op- 
posing powers, the physical conflict of fire and water, and of 
