KILAUEA, HAWATI. 179 
surface of a stream of melted lava, so that it may be walked upon. 
Portions traversed while the writer was in the pit had been in fusion 
the night before. 
At one of the pools, the formation of Pele’s hair, or capillary volcanic 
glass, was in progress. It covered thickly the surface to leeward, and 
lay like mown grass, its threads being parallel, and pointing away 
from the pool. On watching the operation a moment it was apparent 
that it proceeded from the jets of liquid lava thrown up by the process 
of boiling. The currents of air, blowing across these jets, bore off 
small points, and drew out a glassy fibre, such as is produced in the 
common mode of working glass. ‘The delicate fibre floated on till the 
heavier end brought it down, and then the wind carried over the lighter 
capillary extremity. Hach fibre was usually ballasted with the small 
knob which was borne off from the lava-jet by the winds. 
The large lake of lava, at the time of the descent into the crater, 
was boiling throughout, except on the southern side, which at this 
time was covered with a black crust. ‘The banks around were fifteen 
or twenty feet high, and the jets appeared to rise to nearly as many 
yards. These jets have a constant movement to the southwest, as if 
the lavas were part of a stream running in that direction; but this effect 
is merely a result of the ebullition, the lavas thrown up by the hotter 
portions flowing off to the cooler side. ‘The vapours rising from the 
surface are quite invisible until they have attained a certain elevation, 
where part become condensed from the loss of heat. 
One of the most singular facts observed in the crater was met with 
near the place of descent, where we first reached the black ledge. 
High up on the walls, which were here inclined at an angle of about 
sixty degrees, there had been several outbreaks of lava; and now 
mud-black streams of hardened lava extended unbroken down the 
steep slope, and spread for a short distance over the ledge. They 
were hollow within, the fluid interior having flowed on after the 
crust had hardened. ‘The vents varied in height from thirty to three 
or four hundred. feet above the black ledge, or from four to eight 
hundred feet above the boiling pools of the bottom. Eruptions from 
points eight hundred feet above those large open vents, in the walls 
of the crater itself, show a singular isolation of the lines of forces in 
these regions. ‘This point will come up for farther consideration. 
The common lava of the crater is a heavy fine-grained rock, of a 
dark grayish black colour, containing usually minute particles of chry- 
