KILAUEA. 197 



stretched itself out on either side, gathering strength as it went, until, 

 after proceeding about two miles, it became a torrent of fluid rock, 

 from ten to fifteen feet in thickness, which swept every thing before 

 it, overlaying the soil, and destroying all the vegetation that came in 

 its way. 



After a northeast course of three miles, we entered upon the lava 

 stream, where it was about a mile wide, resembling a river congealed 

 at once into stone, leaving all its flowings and eddies distinctly 

 marked and perpetuated. It was covered here and there with the 

 fallen timber, appearing in some instances as if it had been bleached. 

 Only a hole was left to mark where each tree had stood, the stump 

 having been entirely consumed. These holes were frequently found 

 as much as twelve or fifteen feet in depth. Of their origin there 

 can be no doubt, and my supposition is, that by the time the tree 

 had been burnt off, the rocky stream became fixed, which would 

 account for the tree being still so near the place where it had formerly 

 stood. Some of the trunks were partly burnt, and others again had 

 epiphytic plants still adhering to them. 



In some places lava was found adhering to the leaves and branches 

 of trees, appearing as if it had been spattered upon them. In some 

 instances the lava thus adhering might have been taken for birds' 

 nests, yet the wood exhibited no signs of fire. The circumstance 

 which astonished me most, was the state of a copse of bamboos 

 (Bambusa arundinacea), which the lava had not only divided, but 

 passed on each side of: many of them were still living, and a part of 

 the foliage remained uninjured. Some of the large trees, not more 

 than twenty feet from the stream, seemed scarcely affected, and yet 

 not thirty yards from them we lighted our sticks by putting them 

 down no farther than two feet below the surface, although eight 

 months had elapsed since the eruption happened. Nearer to the sea, 

 all the foliage to the distance of three hundred and fifty yards from the 

 lava stream was killed. To account for these circumstances, we must 

 suppose either that the lava flows more rapidly, or that its power of 

 radiating heat is much less than is generally believed. 



The fixed stream has so much the appearance of a fluid mass that 

 it is deceptive, and the whole seemed yet in motion. Fire and smoke 

 were to be seen in many places. Its line of descent to the sea was on 

 a declivity of one hundred feet to the mile, and according to the 

 native account it reached the sea in two nights and a day — thirty-six 



VOL. IV. 50 



