Dll. TEMPEST ANDERSON ON THE 
624 
[Nov. 191 
o 
Saturday September 2nd to September 4th molten lava was poured 
out, which advanced 2 miles. 
On October 28th the lava was at Saleaula, and on November 3rd 
the lava-stream at Saleaula was a quarter of a mile across, the side 
of the crater fell out, and a flood of lava issued therefrom. 
On December 7th the lava reached the sea at Toapaipai. It 
filled up the lagoon between the shore and the reef, a space perhaps 
a quarter of a mile wide and of depth varying from 20 to 30 feet. 
It then took a turn westwards along the reef, leaving untouched a 
part of the lagoon which was not filled up until later. 
.From Sunday, January 28th, 1906, to the middle of February 
there was great increase of activity ; the lava extended along the 
coast from Salago to Saleaula, a distance of 1130 yards, burnt 
Mr. Bartley’s house, and filled the space between the shore and the 
reef. On the ironbound coast to the east of this, the lava-flow 
was about three-quarters of a mile broad, and still farther east 
half the town of Malaeola was destroyed. 
On March 6th, 1906, the lava extended along the coast eastwards 
to within 200 yards of Sataputu, which village was destroyed 
somewhat later. 
On March 3rd, 1906, the lava ceased running in the swamp 
behind Saleaula, this being the furthest extension of the lava to 
the west. Near the coast about half the town of Saleaula had 
been destroyed, the devastation reaching to about a mile and a half 
from the Government Offices at Fagamalo in the town of Matautu. 
Besides filling up the space between the shore and the reef at 
Saleaula, the lava has extended westwards along the summit of the 
reef for a considerable distance, and blocks up one of the entrances 
to the lagoon. The lagoon between the shore and the reef was not 
filled up until later. 
The formation of the coast is little altered where it was previously 
‘ ironbound,’ as the lava there flows directly into deep wafer. 
Where, however, there was formerly a reef with a lagoon between 
it and the coast, the lagoon is generally filled up, and the coast-line 
correspondingly extended as far as the line of the old reef. 
In the early part of the eruption the lava did not extend far 
from the crater, the longest streams not exceeding 2 or 3 miles, 
and these did not present the same heated appearance as sub¬ 
sequently, but were covered with moving scoriae and stones, so that 
the whole mountain appeared to be in motion. Later on the lava 
was often very abundant and liquid : at times it flowed like a 
river of water 200 yards wide ; at others as numerous small streams 
not above 10 feet wide, and in these cases was often so fluid that 
it nearly all ran away and only left a fresh crust less than 2 inches 
thick, over which it was safe to walk next day. 
The large fresh lava-streams soon got crusted over on the surface 
with solidified lava, and the liquid lava continued to flow underneath. 
Even at the crater it seldom flowed over the lip, but generally 
entered holes and tunnels in the sides and flowed underground. 
The lava-field thus became honeycombed with channels of liquid 
cr pasty lava, which occasionally came to the surface, and flooded 
