Volcanic Eruptions of Hawaii. 241 
regions where the face of the country declines rapidly towards me 
sea, the descent will then be quick and easy to the coast, both o 
the eastern and western shores. This may take faa though 1 
am rather of the i age that the fires will have spent their force 
before they reach the s 
Besides the three ane branches described, there are numerous 
smaller ones, shooting out laterally and irregularly from the main 
streams, both on the side and at the base of the mountain. These 
form together an indescribable labyrint 
‘After travelling hard all day, withows being able to reach tha’ ; 
extreme ends of the two great western branches of the eruption, 
we returned at evening to our tent, weary, but gratified nearly to 
oppression by the vastness and the terribleness of the scenes we 
had witnessed. 
{During the night, a dense, dark cloud invested the eviine nence 
on which the travellers had encamped ; this was doa 
terrific 
thun felt that they were “in a.sea ‘at. electricity,” : 
pd. ee: the sublimity of the expression; . “The God o * 
Glory thundereth.” At length the storm passed awa , and the ’ 
volcanic fires which had been concealed by the tem 
their merry dance, spouting forth their gory masses in “fantastic 
and ever varying forms, at different points, from motintaitt to 
mountain, along the whole line of eruption.” Se Tria 
Ascent to the Crater.—The next morning we rose. ay don 
made our preparations for visiting the summit of the mountain, , 
distant about twenty miles. As we did not suppose it possible to... -4o¥, 
reach the summit and return to our camp the same day, We ‘pro- a 
vided ourselves with caps, flannels, mittens, cloaks, comfortables, 
etc., for sleeping upon the lava on ‘the side of the mountain; and. 
taking alittle food and a ealabash of water, we comm reo our 
luggage to two: strong natives, leaving the rest of be company, | 
where we had encamped during the night. Thus "prepa red’ w 
set off, expecting to ‘Spend two days upon the mountail 
war at fest lay over a field. of scoria of an indescribably 
and jagged characte 
