EARTHQUAKES. 



225 



But it was on the east and northeast wall par- 

 ticularly that the character of the crater had 

 undergone a change. Along the descent on 

 the second ledge masses of rock, many of more 

 than 100 tons in weight, obstructed the path 

 and formed abutments to the stone pillars 

 small buttress hills similar to those observed 

 in front of the high basaltic wall in Koolau, 

 Oahu. So, also, in the deep crater itself, the 

 eastern wall had lost most of its perpendicular 

 dip, and become shelving, in part. The crater 

 itself was entirely devoid of liquid lava ; no in- 

 candescence anywhere; pitchy darkness hov- 

 ered over the abyss; white vapors of steam 

 issued from the floor in a hundred places, but 

 of those stifling, sulphurous, and acid gases, 

 formerly so overpowering in the neighborhood 

 of the lakes and ovens, only the faintest trace 

 was perceived here and there. The heat was 

 nowhere so great that the visitor could not 

 keep his footing for a minute or more, although 

 in many places it would forbid the touch of 

 the bare hand. The great South Lake was 

 transformed into a vast pit, more than five 

 hundred feet deep, the solid eastern wall pro- 

 jecting far over the hollow below, while the 

 remaining sides fell off with a sharp inclina- 

 tion. More than two-thirds of the old floor 

 of Kilauea had caved in and sunk from one 

 hundred to three hundred feet below the level 

 of the remaining floor.' The depression em- 

 braced the whole western half, and infringed 

 in a semicircular line on a considerable por- 

 tion of the other half. It was greatest in the 

 northern, and rather gradual and gentle in the 

 southern portion. 



Kegarding the tidal wave, another writer 

 states that at Punalua, at the moment of the 

 shock of April 2d, it seemed as if an immense 

 quantity of lava had been discharged into the 

 sea some 'distance from the shore, for almost 

 instantly a terrible commotion arose, the water 

 boiling and tossing furiously. Shortly after- 

 ward a tremendous wave was sweeping up on 

 the shore, and when it receded there was noth- 

 ing left of Punalua. Every house, the big 

 stone church, even the cocoanut-trees all but 

 two were washed away. All persons who 

 were out fishing at the time perished, and 

 many of those ashore. A huge chasm opened, 

 rnnning from the sea up into the mountain, 

 down which, it is said, lava, mud, trees, ferns, 

 and rocks were rushing out into the sea. At 

 the time of the shock a man named Holoua 

 and his wife, living at Ninole, ran out of the 

 house and started for the hills above, but, re- 

 membering the money he had in the house, the 

 man left his wife and returned to bring it 

 away. Just as he had entered the house the 

 sea broke on the shore, and enveloped the 

 building, first washed it several yards inland, 

 and then, as the wave receded, swept it off to 

 sea with him in it. Being a powerful man, 

 and one of the most expert swimmers in that 

 region, he succeeded in wrenching off a board 

 or rafter, and with this as a papa heenulu 

 VOL. vni. 15 A 



(surf-board) he boldly struck out for the shore, 

 and landed safely with the return-wave, which 

 was from fifty to sixty feet high. 



The last great eruption of Mauna Loa, pre- 

 vious to that of 1868, occurred in 1859, when 

 the volcano opened on its northern flank, and 

 the lava flowed sixty miles through a desolate 

 region before reaching the sea. 



In South America. The earthquakes in the 

 Sandwich Islands, terrible as they were, were 

 but trifling compared with those which visited 

 portions of South America, commencing on 

 the 13th of August. The statements which 

 follow are prepared from various narratives 

 of persons who were on the spot at the time 

 of the calamity : 



The first shock (in Peru) was felt at 5-J- p. M. 

 It was preceded by a rumbling sound. An eye- 

 witness at Arica says that the hour was that 

 when by custom most of the inhabitants had 

 just closed their daily labors and were at their 

 homes. The instant the startling indications 

 of an earthquake were felt there was a general 

 rush for uncovered spaces, which were reached 

 by many uninjured, but not by all. The streets 

 became a scene of terror. All the houses in 

 the city trembled like a person affected with 

 the ague. Then they surged, and some of 

 them fell to pieces with crash after crash. At 

 this juncture, when the undulations were ac- 

 tive, the earth opened in several places in long 

 and almost regular lines. The fissures were 

 from one to three inches in width. The sensa- 

 tion was distinct, as though something were 

 rolling underneath. From every fissure there 

 belched forth dry earth like dust, which was 

 followed by a stifling gas. Owing to the dem- 

 olition of buildings and the general destruc- 

 tion of all kinds of property, and the dust 

 thrown out, as well as that set in motion by 

 the general tumult, a dense cloud was formed 

 over the city and obscured the light. Beneath 

 the cloud was the gas, which severely op- 

 pressed every living creature, and would have 

 suffocated all if it had lingered longer station- 

 ary than it did, which was only about ninety 

 seconds. The undulations were three in num- 

 ber. Each succeeding one was of greater 

 magnitude than the former. When the undu- 

 lations ceased, the cloud of dust ascended and 

 dispersed, and light was restored. Then quakes 

 at short intervals succeeded, as though subter- 

 ranean explosions were taking place. At this 

 time people from all parts of the city fled to the 

 hills, amid falling stones and timbers, which 

 descended from swaying walls and broadly- 

 rent buildings, just on the eve of crumbling 

 into perfect ruin. Some were struck down dead 

 by the falling materials, and others were 

 maimed, while all were made to stagger from 

 side to side like people in a state of intoxica- 

 tion. Many persons carried children in their 

 arms, and those who had not these carried 

 articles of value. The avarice of some was 

 stronger than fear, even amid this terrible con- 

 fiision, and hence there were those who de- 



