176 HAWATIAN ISLANDS. 
falling walls twice broke the deep silence of the pit, while I was upon 
the verge of the precipice. Large portions of the ledge thus at times 
subside, or become engulphed in the abyss of fires below. There had 
been a most remarkable subsidence of this kind, not long previous, on 
the northwest side of the crater, (figure on page 173.) For about 500 
yards, the inner edge of the ledge had sunk down, so that there 
was a sloping plain from the top of the ledge to the bottom of the pit, 
instead of the usual precipice of 340 feet. The area of this sloping 
plain was not less than 200,000 square yards. It is an example of 
the changes which are constantly in progress in these regions. A 
broad fissure separates the plain from the ledge from which it was 
broken off, and other deep rents intersect the sloping surface, proving 
a serious obstacle in the way to the bottom. The descent is, however, 
possible; and by winding among its deep fissures, exposed to frequent 
blasts of hot air and sulphur gases, the region of the boiling cauldrons 
is at last reached. 
Though all is quiet in these lower depths, there is something fearful 
in treading over the streams of lava, hardened yet still hot, and hear- 
ing under foot the reverberating sounds of the hollow caverns. The 
very stillness of the scene impresses the mind with a sense of 
mighty powers only temporarily at rest. No “subterranean thunder” 
rolled through the depths of Pele; no “raging sea tossed its billows 
into fiery spray ;” nor deep gulf threw up showers of stones and cin- 
ders. ‘The dense white vapours rose gracefully from many parts of 
the black lava plain, and the pools boiled and boiled on without any 
unnecessary agitation. ‘The jets playing over the boiling surface, 
darted to a height of ten or a dozen yards, and fell again into the pool, 
or upon its sides. At times the ebullition was more active, the caul- 
drons boiled over, and glowing streams flowed away to distant parts of 
the crater; and then they settled down again, and boiled as before, 
with the usual grum murmur. ‘Thus simple and quiet was the action 
of Lua Pele. And this repose is, perhaps, more fearfully sublime 
than the fitful heavings of a Vesuvius. 
The lavas of the bottom plain resemble those of the black ledge. 
They have the same glassy, scoriaceous crust, covering the more com- 
pact rock beneath, though it was of more brilliant lustre, as it had not 
been tarnished by exposure. It had sometimes a slightly leaden hue. 
The hardened streams are generally cavernous, and many of them 
break through in walking over them. Yet there is no occasion for 
apprehension. ‘The caverns are often large, and their roofs are at 
