128 MAUNA LOA. 



To the bottom of the crater, there was a descent at the northwest 

 angle of the black ledge, where a portion of it had fallen in, and 

 afforded an inclined plane to the bottom. This at first appeared 

 smooth and easy to descend, but on trial it proved somewhat difficult, 

 for there were many fissures crossing the path at right angles, which 

 it was necessary to get over, and the vitreous crust was so full of 

 sharp spiculse as to injure the hands and cut the shoes at every step. 

 Messrs. Waldron and Drayton in their descent were accompanied by 

 my dog Sydney, who had reached this distance, when his feet became 

 so much wounded that they were compelled to drive him back; he 

 was lamed for several days afterwards, in consequence of this short 

 trip into the crater. 



These gentlemen, after much toil, finally reached the floor of the 

 crater. This was afterwards found to be three hundred and eighty- 

 four feet below the black ledge, making the whole depth nine hundred 

 and eighty-seven feet below the northern rim. Like the black ledge, 

 it was not found to have the level and even surface it had appeared 

 from above to possess : hillocks and ridges, from twenty to thirty 

 feet high, ran across it, and were in some places so perpendicular as 

 to render it difficult to pass over them. The distance they traversed 

 below was deceptive, and they had no means of ascertaining it but by 

 the time it took to walk it, which was upwards of two hours, from the 

 north extreme of the bottom to the margin of the large lake. It is 

 extremely difficult to reach this lake, on account of its overflowing at 

 short intervals, which does not allow the fluid mass time to cool. The 

 nearest approach that any one of the party made to it at this time 

 was about fifteen hundred or two thousand feet ; they were then near 

 enough to burn their shoes and light their sticks in the lava which had 

 overflowed during the preceding night. 



The smaller lake was well viewed from a slight eminence : this lake 

 was slightly in action ; the globules, (if large masses of red fluid lava, 

 several tons in weight, can be so called,) were seen heaving up at 

 regular intervals, six or eight feet in height; and smaller ones were 

 thrown up to a much greater elevation. At the distance of fifty feet 

 no gases were to be seen, nor was any steam evident, yet a thin 

 smoke-like vapour arose from the whole fluid surface: no puffs of 

 smoke were perceived at any time. 



At first it seemed quite possible to pass over the congealed surface 

 of the lake, to within reach of the fluid, though the spot on which 

 they stood was so hot as to require their sticks to be laid down to stand 

 on. This idea was not long indulged in, for in a short time the fluid 

 mass began to enlarge ; presently a portion would crack and exhibit 



