CONDITIONS IN 1902 AND LATER.
After a long season of quiet slight activity is resumed. Hon. L. A. Thurston writes in the Record Book of the Volcano House, February i4th, as follows: The outlines of the pit of Halemaumau are essentially the same as when last reported (19oo). Very little sulphur vapor arises from two or three spots on the north and east sides. There is a clearly defined recent flow of black lava at the extreme bottom of the pit, the first in several years. The heat crack on the north side is hotter than ever before.
The same writes June 12: The debris on the north side of the pit has dropped down. Dense sulphur vapor rises from the extreme bottom of the pit and fills it so completely that nothing can be seen for much of the time. Two hundred feet from the bottom of the east side there is a bright light, seemingly emanating from fresh lava in a cave. The lava seen February 14th has been covered by debris. Ap parently the action in the pit is the beginning of its filling up. Steam still rises from the big cracks running from Keanakakoi towards Kau, although they are nearly filled with drift sand and pumice stone.
August 25, To P. M., Mr. Waldron says a lake four hundred feet in diameter has just formed in the bottom of Halemaumau on the Kau side. It has the shape of an irregular quadrilateral. There was no earthquake here, but there were shocks at Hilo at 11 :45 P. M., August 24th ; at 3 P. M. the 25th and 3:15 A. M. the 26th.
September 12, Hon. L. A. Thurston says: The new lake has subsided leaving a black ledge one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet above the present bottom. From this ledge down to the bottom it is black with new lava. There is a sulphur steam jet on the west side. No fire is visible in the daytime, but it can be seen at night. Later in the day there was a heavy breakdown of the western wall, causing the rise of a great cloud of reddish vapor.
Sept. 17, T. M. Chatard says that on the night of the 15th instant there were a number of fire fountains ; the hardened crust broke and dissolved, while the lava flows were large enough to show the manner of action.
Whitman Cross, of the United States Geological Survey, has put on record at the Volcano House the behavior of Halemaumau between October loth and 27th. "On Monday, the loth instant, there were almost no signs of activity. The lava flow produced by earlier action was recognizable. With a tape line parallel tangents to the circular outline of the crater were drawn, which were 1,5oo feet apart, representing the diameter. The depth to the consolidated lava was estimated to be eight hundred and twenty-five feet ; and the north-south diameter of the same was five hundred and seventy-five feet. The vertical wall on the south was deeper than upon the opposite side, while in the first case there was a gradual slope to the lava floor, on the other side the slope was higher up and connected two walls. On the north edge of the lake there was a blow hole or spatter cone about twelve feet high exhibiting two small glowing spots, and sulphurous fumes arose from the cone without noise. October 23d there was a sound of escaping gas from the blow hole, like the sharp puffs of a locomotive getting under headway ; they were irregular though often strenuous. At 3 P. M. a part of the top of the cone was blown off, followed by the sound of thrashing and surging lava. At every throb splashes of lava were thrown out of the orifice and the cone grew rapidly. At 3 :35 P. M. the whole northwest side of the mound was broken down and a torrent of lava burst out like water from a pipe. The flow was steady with occasional spurts throwing small masses a few feet into the air.
"The lava was liquid, red-hot changing to dull red and black as the crust formed, and as it spread out the domes and ropy lines so characteristic of the general floor of Kilauea made their ap pearance. By 5 P. M. the flow had covered half of the floor. At 7 P. M. the whole floor was covered and the liquid still continued to gush out ; then it decreased and new spatter cones were built up, with orifices by 9 P. M., from which jets of lava were occa sionally thrown out.