THROUGH HAWAII. 
245 
our left, and the appalling flood of lava rolled almost 
immediately beneath ns on our right. On this side 
we descended to some small craters on the declivity, 
and also to the black ledge; where we collected a 
number of beautiful specimens of highly scoriacious 
lava, the base approaching to volcanic glass. It was 
generally of a black or red colour, light, cellular, brit¬ 
tle, and shining. We also found a quantity of vol¬ 
canic glass drawn out into filaments as fine as human 
hair, and called by the natives rauoho o Pele, (hair of 
P616.) It was of a dark olive colour, semi-transpa¬ 
rent, and brittle, though some of the filaments were 
several inches long. Probably it had been produced 
by the bursting of igneous masses of lava, thrown out 
from the craters, or separated in fine-spun threads from 
the boiling fluid, when in a state of perfect fusion, and, 
borne by the smoke or vapour above the edges of the 
crater, had been wafted by the winds over the adja¬ 
cent plain ; for we also found quantities of it at least 
seven miles distant from the large crater. We entered 
several small craters, that had been in vigorous action 
but a very short period before, marks of most recent 
fusion presenting themselves on every side. Their size 
and height were various, and many, which from the 
top had appeared insignificant as mole-hills, we now 
found twelve or twenty feet high. The outside was 
composed of bright shining scoriacious lava, heaped up 
in piles of most singular form. The lava on the inside 
was of a light or dark red colour, with a glazed surface, 
and in several places, where the heat had evidently 
been intense, we saw a deposit of small and beautifully 
white crystals. We also entered several covered chan¬ 
nels, or tunnels, down which the lava had flowed into 
