ES 
T. Coan on Kilauea and Mauna Loa. 455 
a firmament in conflagration, and reminding one of the 
figures of Peter in speaking of “the heavens being on fire... an 
g my absence, 
Square miles to a depth of fifty to three hundred feet—the deepest 
and extending east, south, and west, to the outer walls of Kilauea, 
and flowing down a steep slope to the north, and sweeping over 
the great central concave. 
was in the crater on the 22d instant, and was at once surprised 
with the great changes manifest. I had no sooner descended from 
the northern terrace, or black rim, than I found myself on new 
ground. All old tracks and landmarks were obliterated. All was 
recast. About half a mile ‘from the south lake I began to rise on 
an angle of some 25° until I was ona level with the rim of the 
cauldron. About three hundred yards from the pit the heat was 
so great, and the gases so pungent, that I could not proceed in a 
direct line to the margin. Being driven back I made a detour, 
and again attempted a direct approach. Failing in this, I retreated 
to a safer atmosphere, and then flanked the fiery pit at some dis- 
tance, traveling southwestward for half a mile. Here I found the 
in I advanced on the crater at 
Am. Jour. Scr.—Turep Series, Vou. II, No. 12.—Dzc., 1871. 
