HOUSES OF ENTERTAINMENT FOR VISITORS.
The first one mentioned was situated upon the Malden plateau in 1824, for the accommodation of the Princess Kapiolani and her retinue. It was a simple native hut, and was found to be very convenient for the use of Lord Byron's party in 1825.
In 1840 Captain Wilkes' party encamped upon the low ground between the sulphur banks and the volcano. Mr. Goodale says that in 1847 he slept in an old shed ; in 1856 he found a house but no host. Other early visitors represent this place of accommoda tion as a grass house consisting of one room with a coarse hala mat upon the earth floor. Travelers brought their provisions and used for drink the water that was condensed from steam. In Plate 47AB may be seen two of the early houses, perhaps in 1868 and 1872, supposed to be situated upon the site of the present Vol cano House. In 1865 this house had become sufficiently durable to allow the keeping of a record book. About this time the in dustry of gathering the pulu from the tree ferns to be used as the filling of mattresses was quite flourishing, and the house accom modated both the visitors and the pulu gatherers. Judge L. Kaina and G. W. C. Jones were associated together in this busi ness in the sixties and seventies, and the house seems to have been of this primitive character.
Upon June 6, 1877, W. H. Lentz was employed to assist in building a better house, using boards and timbers. He succeeded to the position of landlord and remained in charge till April, 1883. Messrs. Jordan and Shipman were in charge for the next two years. June 20, 1885, the property passed into the hands of the Wilder Steamship Company, with J. H. Maby for manager.
There was a new organization April I, 1891, called the Volcano House Company : W. R. Castle, president ; Peter Lee, manager. Extensive additions were made to the house.
In 19o1 there were further additions to the buildings. Fred Waldron succeeded Mr. Lee as manager.
St. Clair Bidgood was the manager in 1903.
George Lycurgus was next elected manager, succeeded at the end of 1904 by Demosthenes Lycurgus, the present head, who is also the chief owner of the stock of the company.
Plate 15 represents the Volcano House as it appears today.
The Hawaiian Type of Volcanic Action.
If one should attempt to classify volcanoes he must take into account their history, geographical position, petrographical character of the lavas emitted and other products, the variable fusibility of the flows, their styles of eruption, shapes of the moun tain built up, descriptions of the several sorts of craters, and other matters. It will not be convenient for us to consider any general classification, but we will simply state what features of form, history and style of eruption are characteristic of the Hawaiian volcanoes, with occasional allusions to what may he seen else where, by way of contrast. The details presented in Parts II and III will furnish illustrations of the several phases of action.
At the outset it will be proper to state that upon the Island of Hawaii there are five great volcanoes ; the Kohala region and Mauna Kea, both now extinct ; Hualalai, Mauna Loa and Kilauea. Our studies have been confined chiefly to the last two, because their activities appeal to us. The investigations into the histories of the others would suggest what might he termed post mortem examinations. Each of these volcanoes may be said to have its
own sphere of activity. Some authors regard Kilauea as an appendage of Mauna Loa. It seems best to us to regard them as thoroughly distinct above the sea level, though we expect to show that they may be one deep down. Mauna Loa extends to the bases of Hualalai and Mauna Kea upon the northeast and north west. Upon the south it probably includes the south point of the island as far east as Punaluu ; thence the southern edge may be traced nearly along the road through Pahala and the Halfway House to the lowest depression between Uwekahuna and the slope of the greater mountain. From thence we conceive it to continue along the same general direction to the bottom of the slope near the saw mill erected to cut the koa lumber, two miles northeast from the Volcano House. The impression prevails that there is a considerable elevation to the north of the sulphur banks which has been called Mount Kilauea. To my eve there is a plateau scarcely exceeding the height of the carriage road from the Vol cano House towards Glenwood for two or three miles, consisting of the flat basalts of Kilauea, covered by the dark ashes thrown out by explosive eruptions. There seems to have been a flow of lava from some two or three miles east of Kilauea east and north east, marked by the absence of trees, and therefore corresponding to the line of the trail from Olaa to the volcano in use before the construction of the carriage road. This may be followed to Pa hoa, sixteen miles from Hilo. Whatever lies north of this flow seems to belong to Mauna Loa, and everything to the south to he embraced within the sphere of influence of Kilauea. The pro jection of land at Leleiwi, southeast of Hilo, nearly ten miles wide, would seem to belong to some ancient flow from Mauna Loa. The Kilauea area would commence at a point at Punaluu, expand to thirteen miles width between the koa mill and Keau hou, and to retain about this same width to Cape Kumukahi.
There is a bend of the line of activity from Keanakakoi south east on the road to Puna, and thence northeasterly near the line of the flow of 1840: and it is possible that the area designated above as belonging to Kilauea may lose a portion of itself when the country has been better explored. That there is a line of heat as far as to the Eel's Eye and beyond is very evident. To the south from near Kalapana to the end of the flow of 1823, two or three miles mauka from the coast is a pali more than twenty miles long and often several hundred feet high, on the makai side of which the land has been depressed by faulting. There is a con stant tendency to submergence along this coast, as shown at Kala pana in 1868, and it is claimed that there was a slight depression near Pohoiki manifested at the earthquake of September, 19o3.
A further indication of the distinctions between the Mauna Loa and Kilauea spheres of activity is suggested by the differ ences in the temperatures of the spring waters between Punaluu and Puna as stated by Mr. Guppy. See page 132. The warmer waters suggest the influence of Kilauea, while the colder tem peratures are in the area of Mauna Loa.