Miscellaneous Intelligence. 139 
IV. Miscettaneous INTELLIGENCE. 
= 1. Eruption of Mauna a (from a letter addressed to J. D. Dawa, 
K dated Hilo, Hawaii, Oct. 15, 1855.*)—In a few days we may be called 
to announce the painful fact, that our beautiful Hilo is no more—that 
our lovely, and inimitable landscape, and crescent-bay are blotied out. 
fiery sword han ngs over us. With sure and solemn progress the 
glowing lavas advance through the dark forest and dense jungle in 
Our rear, cutting down ancient trees of enormous growth and sweep. 
ing away all vegetable life. 
For sixty-five days the great summit furnace on Mauna Loa has been 
in awful blast. Floods of burning desolation have swept wildly and 
widely over the top and down the sides of the mountain. The threat- 
ening stream has overcome every obstacle, winding its fiery way from 
its high source to the bases of “the everlasting hills,” spreading ina 
pa over the plains—penetrating ancient foresis—driving ihe 
z herds, the wild goats and the affrighted bird before iis lurid 
suming all ve etable life with its sulphureous breath, and 
thing but blackness and ruin in its trac 
32th “ July, I wrote you on the state of old Kilauea,t and on 
he 27th of Sept., | announced to-our mutual friend, Mr. Lyman, the fact 
and the slate Ay our present eruption. Having made my oe pabto- 
ral tour I started on the second instant for the scene and the s 
eruption which is the theme of this letter. Our party noodeed 
wrence M’Cully, Esq.—a graduate of Yale and our present act- 
agistrate, four natives and myself. Taking the channel of the 
uku (the stream which enters Hilo bay) as our track, we advanced 
uch toil, through the thicket along its banks, about twelve miles, 
ok Resa we rested at the roots of a large tree during the 
xt day we proceeded about twelve miles ee for the | 
atioty the bed of the nro = water ven ng low During 
= » of the rill and the wild roar of the cataract, we n 
bed of ferns under the trunk of a prostrate ste and ne 
> We found that the molten stream ha 
1 mi 
etrable, we proceeded 
-p. M., found ourselves 
tite than two and a half 
ful ee romantic scenery a 
ades. ins, caves and natural 
stream. Nor can I speak of the bees a 
1B, ju align 
‘our winding valley gorge, 
bridges of this wild and 
