MAUNA LOA. 161 



before dark, for otherwise we should be forced to pass the night among 

 the blocks of lava. Our sandals of hide were worn through, and our 

 shoes somewhat injured, so that it became a source of anxiety to us 

 whether they would last long enough for us to reach our destination. 



With rapid steps we passed along the north bank of the crater, 

 descending on our hands and knees over some large blocks, where the 

 wall had been thrown down as it were by earthquakes, filling chasms 

 near it several hundred feet in depth. The way was difficult and dan- 

 gerous, requiring the utmost caution in proceeding along the narrow 

 edge that separated the north from the central crater ; a false step, or 

 the detaching of a small rock or stone, would have sent hundreds of 

 the huge blocks headlong below. We passed over without accident ; 

 and blocks of stone that before I had conceived to be large, dimi- 

 nished to small stones, in comparison with those we were passing over 

 by jumping from one to the other. Many of us sank down from 

 exhaustion when we reached the opposite bank. How I accomplished 

 the remaining two miles I am unable to say, unless it were by virtue 

 of the stimulant that the prospect of being benighted gave me. When 

 we arrived, the sun had set, and we were all completely exhausted. 



On our return we found the village filled with half-naked natives, 

 who had come up, lured by the fine weather, and in hopes of getting 

 their loads to return immediately, for the following day had been 

 originally fixed upon for breaking up our camp. It was impossible 

 to allow them to return : the night had closed in, and it became neces- 

 sary to accommodate some forty natives with lodging and comforts. 

 Although I was worn down, this was too strong a case to go unat- 

 tended to ; and the only place where I could stow them was the pen- 

 dulum-house. I therefore took down and packed away the clock and 

 apparatus, and gave them the house to lodge in. With the dry grass 

 on its floor and roof, and plenty to eat, they made themselves quite 

 comfortable. 



During the time I was thus engaged, I began to feel as if cobwebs 

 had passed over my face and eyes, and found the same feeling pre- 

 vailed with two or three of the men who had accompanied me during 

 the day. To this feeling succeeded excessive irritation and inflamma- 

 tion of the eyes and eyelids, brought on by exposure to the strong 

 glare from the snow. Dr. Judd was kind enough to make various 

 applications, but none of these produced any effect, and I felt forcibly 

 the horror of probable blindness ; indeed I was so for the time, and 

 notwithstanding all my fatigues, I passed a sleepless night in great 

 pain. The night was stormy : the thermometer fell to 17°. I, how- 



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