GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF HAWAII. 169 



<iii(l I'cjoiciiiii' ill imitiuil coii^ralulatiuu tliat tlu'V had \nx'i\ j)rc'si'rv('(_l in tlitj 

 midst of such imminent peril. But what was their surprise and consternation, 

 when eominu' np with their comrades of the center parly, they discovered them 

 all to have become corpses. Some were lying down, and others sitting upright, 

 clasping with dying grasp their wives and children and joining noses'' as in 

 the act of taking final leave. So nnieh like life they lookcil that they at first 

 supposed them merely at rest, and it was not until they had conic up to them 

 and handled them that they could detect their mistake. Of the whole party, 

 including the women and children, not one of them sni-vived to relate the 

 catastrophe that had befallen their comrades." 



This eruption, which occurred more than one hundred and twenty-five years 

 ago, far surpassed any subsequent one, and being explosive in character was of 

 a totally different nature from any that has since occurred. It does not SL'eni 

 too much to conclude, therefore, that it was possibly at that time that the final 

 breaking down and shattering of the mountain occurred, though explosive eruj)- 

 tions that preceded it in the more remote past must have been much more 

 severe. 



At any rate, during the fifteen or more times that Kilauea has welled up 

 since 1789, there has been nothing even remotely suggestive of an explosive erup- 

 tion, and it is the general belief that so long as the crater remains open as it 

 now is there is little or no danger to be expected from it. 



Space will only admit detailed reference being made to three of the manv 

 stages through which this crater passes in completing an eruptive cycle. The 

 material here presented is selected from the wealth of descriptive matter now- 

 available from the records of its varying moods left covering almost one hundred 

 years, and from which I have condensed a brief history which is appended in the 

 folloAving chapter for convenient reference. 



Conditions at the Crater in 1823. 



In 1823 the crater was visited and described for the fir.st time by a wliite 

 man. The distinguished missionary, the Rev. William Ellis, witnessed at that 

 time a wonderful display. From his description we conclude that the crater ap- 

 peared far different from what it does now. It was evidently venting itself at 

 the time of his visit and the lava was flowing out from deep down under the 

 lake of fire. The drawing off of the lake of lava left a conii>ai-atively nari-ow 

 black ledge al)out the inner wall of the crater on all sides as the la\a sanl': lower 

 and loA\'er. This oliserver found a place at the north end of the crater down 

 which he descended to the black ledge. His first impressions of the crater, 

 however, were those gained from the highest point'*' on the west side of the 

 crater, eight or nine hundred feet above the lava lake, and were as follows: 



"Immediately before us yawned an immense gulf, in the form of a crescent, 

 upward of two miles in length, about a mile across, and ai»pareiitl\- ei<|-ht liuii- 



* Their form of expressing affection. ^° Uwekaluni;i 



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