88 J. S. Hmerson—Kilauea after the Eruption of 1886. 
During my stay no molten lava was anywhere visible in the 
entire crater. At certain points of easy access. a stick could 
be lighted by thrusting it down a crack so as to bring it in 
contact with the red hot rocks beneath. But in general there 
was scarcely a place from which I was prevented access on 
account of the heat. One of the hottest points visible at the 
time of my first descent into the crater, March 25th, is indi- 
eated on the map as Severin’s Furnace, Mr. Severin having taken 
an excellent photograph of it. At that time, March 25th, 
its interior was still red with intense heat, but on my last visit 
to it, eighteen days later, it had so far cooled down as to excite 
no special interest on account of its heat. Another spot of con- 
siderable heat was a cone just to the southwest of my station 
at Halema’uma’u S. Surrounding it were a number of large 
cracks in the rocky floor of the crater, from which the hot air 
arose as froma furnace. By holding my breath as I repeatedly 
passed over them, I experienced no great discomfort. 
Halema’uma’u.—On the 29th of March, in company with a 
tourist who had just happened along, and two native guides, 
from a point at the south side of Halema’uma’u, I descended 
into this pit, until then entered only by the Rev. E. P. Baker, 
of Hilo. The fragments of pahoehoe (smooth lava) over which 
I passed in my descent presented considerable uniformity as to 
size. In general they were irregular slabs, six, eight or more 
feet long, perhaps five or six feet wide and about a foot thick. 
I would remark that the greater portion of them occupied such 
a position that the slope of their surfaces nearly coincided with 
the general incline of the whole sunken floor of which they 
formed a part, though many were tilted up on one another in 
a most irregular fashion by the great fall occasioned by the re- 
moval of their liquid support on the 6th of March. I would 
also call attention to the fact that on this portion of the floor 
there: was a marked absence of small fragments or gravel, 
which is to be contrasted with the condition of the sides of the 
deep central pit, soon to be described. Though our guides 
pointed out the danger and risk we ran of breaking a limb from 
the upsetting of any of these insecure slabs, we took our 
chances, and by carefully feeling our way with our walking 
sticks, passed safely down to a point near the edge of the great 
central pit. At the mouth of this pit the rough floor of pahoe- 
hoe slabs came abruptly to an end, leaving a nearly circular 
hole some 600 feet in diameter, looking almost as if punched: 
out, from the brink of which the very regular sides sloped 
steeply down in the form of an inverted cone. The broken 
masses of pahoehoe that lay about the brink seemed to be so 
insecurely supported as to threaten suddenly to give way if dis- 
turbed, and precpitate themselves into the depths below. For 
