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APPREHENSIONS RESPECTING MR. THURSTON. 135

and thighs were considerably bruised, but providentially he escaped without any other injury. The lava, in both places, was about two inches thick, and broke short, like rotten ice, leaving the aperture regular and defined, without even cracking the adjoining parts. On looking into the holes, we could see no bottom, but on both sides, at a short space from the aperture, the lava was solid, and they appeared to have fallen into a narrow chasm covered over by a thin crust of lava.

When night came on, we kindled a good fire, and prepared our frugal supper. Mr. Thurston, however, had not yet returned, and, as the darkness of the night increased, we began to feel anxious for his safety. The wind came down from the mountains in violent gusts, dark clouds lowered over us, and a thick fog enveloped every object. Even the fires of the volcano were but indistinctly seen. The darkness of the night advanced, but no tidings reached us of Mr. Thurston. About 7 o'clock we sent out the natives, with torches and fire brands, to search for him. They went as far as they dare, hallooing along the border of the crater, till their lights were extinguished, when they returned without having seen or heard any thing of him. We now increased our fire, hoping it might serve as a beacon to direct him to our hut. Eight o'clock came, and he did not appear. We begin seriously to fear that he had fallen into the crater itself, or some of the deep and rugged chasms, by which it was surrounded. In this state of painful suspense we remained till nearly half past eight, when we were happily relieved by his sudden appearance. He had descended, and walked along the dark ledge, on the east side of the crater, till a chasm obliged him to ascend. Having with difficulty reached the top, he travelled along the south and western sides, till the light of our fire directed him to our encampment. The extent of the crater, the unevenness of the path, the numerous wide fissures in the lava, and the darkness

[graphic]

of the night had prevented his earlier arrival. We now partook with cheerfulness of our evening repast, and afterwards, amidst the whistling of the winds around, and the roaring of the furnace beneath, rendered our evening sacrifice of praise, and committed ourselves to the secure protection of our God. We then spread our mats on the ground.

Between nine and ten, the dark clouds and heavy fog, that, since the setting of the sun, had hung over the volcano, gradually cleared away, and the fires of Kirauea, darting their fierce light athwart the midnight gloom, unfolded a sight terrible and sublime beyond all we had yet seen.

The agitated mass of liquid lava, like a flood of melted metal, raged with tumultuous whirl. The lively flame, that danced over its undulating surface, tinged with sulphureous blue, or glowing with mineral red, cast a broad glare of dazzling light on the indented sides of the insulated craters, whose bellowing mouths, amidst rising flames, and eddying streams of fire, shot up, at frequent intervals, with loudest detonations, spherical masses of fusing lava, or bright ignited stones.

The dark, bold outline of the perpendicular and jutting rocks around, formed a striking contrast with the luminous lake below, whose vivid rays, thrown on the rugged promontories, and reflected by the overhanging clouds, combined to complete the awfut grandeur of the imposing scene.

We sat gazing at the magnificent phenomenon for several hours, when we laid ourselves down on our mats, in order to observe more leisurely its varying aspect; for although we had travelled upwards of twenty miles since the morning, and were both weary and cold, we felt but little inclination to sleep. This disinclination was probably increased by our proximity to the yawning gulf, and our conviction, that the detachment of one small stone from beneath the overhanging pile, on which we were reclining, or the slightest concussion of the earth, which every

[graphic]

Sketched by Mr. Ellis.

A VIEW OF THE SOUTH END OF THE CRATER OF KIRAUEA, ON THE ISLAND OF HAWAII. Boston: Published by Crocker & Brewster. New York: John P.Haven.

TRADITIONS RESPECTING THE VOLCANO. 137

thing around indicated to be no unfrequent occurrence, would perhaps precipitate us, amidst the horrid crash of falling rocks, into the burning lake immediately before us.

The natives, who probably viewed the scene with thoughts and feelings somewhat different from ours, seemed, however, equally interested. They sat most of the night talking of the achievements of Pele, and regarding with a superstitious fear, at which we were not surprised, the brilliant exhibition. They considered it the primeval abode of their volcanic deities. The conical craters, they said, were their houses, where they frequently amused themselves by playing at konane; the roaring of the furnaces, and the crackling of the flames, were the kani of their hura, (music of their dance;) and the red flaming surge was the surf wherein they played, sportively swimming on the rolling wave.

*

As eight of the natives with us, belonged to the adjoining district, we asked them to tell us what they knew of the history of this volcano, and what their opinions were respecting it. From their account, and that of others with whom we conversed, we learned that it had been burning from time immemorial, or, to use their own words, "mai ka po mai," (from chaos till now,t) and had inundated some part of the country during the reign of every king that had governed Hawaii. That, in earlier ages, it used to boil up, overflow its banks, and inundate the adjacent country; but that, for many king's reigns past, it had kept below the level of the surrounding plain, continually extending its surface, and increasing its depth, and occasionally throwing up, with violent explosion, huge rocks, or red hot

* Swimming on the sea, when there is a high surf, is a favourite amusement throughout the Sandwich, and other islands in the Pacific.

†The Hawaiian traditions refer the origin of the world, and almost all things therein, the greater part of their gods not excepted, to night, or a chaotic state. The present state they call the ao marama, (day, or state of light.). They speak of creation as a transition from darkness to light; and when they wish to express the existence of any thing from the beginning, they say it has been so, "mai ka po me," (from the night till now.)

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