THE 



AMERICANJOURNALOFSCIENCE 



[FOURTH SERIES.] 



Art. XII. — Explosive Ejectamenta of Kilauea / by Sidney 



Powers. 



Kilauea has not always been a quiet volcano, as it is today, 

 with a lava-lake slowly rising or falling, and only occasionally 

 spilling over the brim. Two catastrophes are recorded in its 

 history — in 1789 or 1790, when violent explosions took place, 

 burying part of an army ; and in 1868, when violent earth- 

 quakes were accompanied and followed by a sudden draining 

 of the lava-lake, a lava flow to the sea, and a subsidence of 

 the south coast of the island, with the loss of many lives. An 

 examination of the vicinity of the crater shows that these are 

 but the latest of a long series of catastrophic periods. It is 

 the material ejected in 1789 and in the pre-historic explosions 

 that this paper proposes to describe, together with a brief 

 comparison with similar features of the other volcanoes on 

 Hawaii. 



The first account of the southern end of the island of Hawaii 

 is from the narrative of Captain Cook's expedition in 1778-9. 

 The region was recognized as being of volcanic origin, but no 

 activity of either Kilauea or Maun a Loa was observed, nor 

 were any traditions of the natives concerning activity reported. 



The next visit to the region was by Vancouver in 1794. 

 Columns of smoke were observed rising from Kilauea, and 

 smoke and ashes were so thick at Kapapala that they proved 

 troublesome to Menzies in his expedition up Mauna Loa. 

 Menzies did not report the eruption of 1789. 



The eruption of 1789 is described by Rev. Sheldon Dibble. 

 An army under the leadership of Keoua was on its way from 

 Puna to Kau : 



Am. Jour. Sci.— Fourth Series, Vol. XLI, No. 243.— March. 1916. 

 17 



