HAWAII. 231 



and trees with which it had come in contact ; these remained uncon- 

 sumed, proving conclusively that the scoria had been much less 

 heated, or had cooled so rapidly as not to have injured the vegetation. 



The direction of the course of this stream was east-northeast, 

 through a dense forest. Owing to the great roughness of the field, 

 they were not able to walk upon it : its margin was equally impas- 

 sable, owing to the entangled state of the bushes and trees, which had 

 been pressed together by the lava. Taking a parallel course with 

 this eruption, they suddenly came upon a pit-crater, which is named 

 on the map "the Old Crater." This they found to be one hundred 

 and fifty feet deep, and covered with bushes : its diameter is about 

 one mile. Towards the centre, steam was issuing from some small 

 cracks. They now ascended part of Moku-opuhi, but found them- 

 selves soon on the edge of another pit-crater, the deepest they had 

 yet seen : the walls of this appeared to be of more recent date than 

 others, for the north part of the hill bounded it, and it was supposed 

 to be eighteen hundred feet deep. 



The old bank to the south was clothed with bushes : the part of 

 this which they ascended proved very treacherous to the footing, and 

 occasioned no small panic, as it gave way underneath their feet, 

 threatening them with instant destruction. 



On the 1st of January, they pursued some of the steam-vents, 

 until they reached the Pahuhali road. Here Mr. Brinsmade left 

 them, to proceed on his way to Hilo, where he shortly afterwards 

 embarked for Oahu, with his health (as he wrote me) quite re- 

 established, notwithstanding the fatigue and exposure he had under- 

 gone. To his agreeable disposition on the journey, and his kind 

 attention to us during our stay in these islands, we feel ourselves 

 greatly indebted. 



Messrs. Drayton and Brackenridge continued their route to Pa- 

 huhali, where they procured a guide to take them to the lava stream. 

 Pahuhali is a small village situated one and a half miles from it. 

 They soon reached the great flow, which had spread destruction 

 throughout its course, leaving nothing standing that came in its way. 

 It was from one to three miles wide : down its middle was seen the 

 long channel or rent from which the stream had poured forth, run- 

 ning for the most part smooth, though occasionally in wrinkled and 

 twisted forms, the scoria lying on the outer extremities of the flow, as 

 though it had been borne on the surface of the molten mass, and 

 thrown off on one side. 



