HA W All AN G UIBE B OK. 49 



which broke now and then, showing a vivid blue sea, 

 and patches of velvety green. At seven, after toiling 

 over a last steep bit, among scorise, and some very- 

 scanty and unlovely vegetation, we reached what was 

 said to be the summit, where a rugged wall of rock 

 shut out the forward view. Dismounting on some cin- 

 ders, we stepped into a gap, and from thence looked 

 down into the most gigantic crater on earth. I confess 

 that with the living fires of Kilauea in my memory, I 

 was at first disappointed with the deadness of a volcano 

 of whose activity there are no traditions extant. 

 Though during the hours which followed, its majesty 

 and wonderment grew upon me, yet a careful study of 

 the admirable map of the crater, a comparison of the 

 heights of the very considerable cones which are buried 

 within it, and the attempt to realize the figures which 

 represent its circumference, area, and depth, not only 

 give a far better idea of it than any verbal description, 

 but impress its singular sublimity and magnitude upon 

 one far more forcibly than a single visit to the actual 

 crater. * * * The great surprise of Hale- 

 akala to me was, that when according to calculation 

 there should have been a summit, an abyss of vast 

 dimensions opened below. The mountain top has been 

 in fact blown off, and one is totally powerless to im- 

 agine what the forces must have been which rent it 

 asunder. * * * I divided the time be- 

 tween glimpses into the awful desolation of the crater, 

 snatched between the icy gusts of wind, and the enjoy- 

 ment of the wonderful cloud scenery which to every- 

 body is a great charm of the view from Haleakala. 

 The day was perfect; for first we had an inimitable 

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