28 J. D. Dana — History of the Mt. Loa Summit Crater. 



most of Miss Bird's pictures ; then, " with a roar like the sound 

 of gathering waters, nearly the whole surface of the lake was 

 lifted up by the action of some powerful internal force, and its 

 whole radiant mass rose three times in one glorious upward 

 burst, to a height, as estimated by the surrounding cliffs, of 600 

 feet." "After this the fountain played as before." (p. 272). 

 " In one place heavy white vapor blew off powerful jets from 

 the edge of the lake and elsewhere, and there were frequent 

 jets and ebullitions ; but there was not a trace of vapor over 

 the burning lake itself." 



In "The Yestiges of the Molten Globe," (p. 166) Mr. W. L. 

 Green, with whom Miss Bird made her ascent, gives confirm- 

 atory facts. He makes the height of the fountain generally 

 300 to 400 feet, as estimated from the known depth of the 

 crater ; and occasionally some spires shot up, he observes, to a 

 greater altitude. He adds : "Among the varied forms of 

 the fountain there were the low rounded dome, a spire at 

 center, with a fountain either side in the form of a wheat 

 sheaf, and one great wheat-sheaf." Besides a dull roar, there 

 was " the metallic clink " from the fall of masses of lava of 

 the fountain which were cooled in the air ; these cooled frag- 

 ments formed a light falling veil over the dazzling fountain, 

 and descending into the lake outside of the jets, making a scum 

 over its surface Only a light vapor was seen over the playing 

 fountain. 



Early in August, 1873, Dr. G. B. Adams ascended Mt. Loa, 

 at a time when the light at the summit was unusually brilliant. 

 He found the fountain playing, he says, to a height of. 200 to 

 500 feet, and " assuming all the forms of a grand fountain of 

 water."* 



1875, January.— -Mr. W. L Green mentions the occurrence 

 -of summit action at this time for a month, in his tabular state- 

 ment of eruptions, and says nothing of one in August of this 

 year, to which date Mr. Coan refers the 1875 eruption. The 

 report of the Challenger sustains Mr. Coan's statement, but 

 does not positively set aside that of Mr. Green. 



1875, August. — Mr. Coan says :f I think it was on the 11th 

 of August that the summit crater was again in brilliant action. 

 The action continued, as appeared in the view from Hilo, for 

 one week, and without any observed evidence of an outflow. 



In the first half of August, the day not stated, a party from 

 the Challenger Expedition visited Kilauea. As reported in vol- 

 ume I of the Scientific Results of the Expedition, p. 766, " a 

 globular cloud " was seen over the summit of Mt. Loa, which 



* Hawaiian Gazette, Sept. 3, 1873. 



f Coan. this Journ. xiv, 68, 1877, letter of March 17, 1877. 



