CHAPTER XIII.
THE VOLCANO.
We must have been still fifty miles from our destination, when thebright and continued light to the northward made it evident that thevolcanic mountain of the Sandwich Islands was in active operation.
No one was especially apprehensive of this, for chances to witnessvolcanoes are not to be met with every day in the year.
As night came on, the light to the northward became more and more vivid,and as we neared the islands, we could hear the roar of the volcano,resembling the rumble of distant thunder.
We drew within ten knots of the scene, and then came to anchor on acoral foundation--in water about twelve fathoms deep.
The scene of a great volcano, in process of eruption, is an event to beremembered throughout one's immortality. Words can but faintly expressits grandeur, its terrible splendor. The painter's brush is powerlesshere, even if wielded by the hand of genius.
The noise of the eruption was terrible as we cast anchor, and the waveswere running high, although there was but little wind. From thiscircumstance we judged that the eruption was accompanied by anearthquake of no ordinary character.
Imagine to yourselves a lofty mountain-peak, surrounded by many othersof lesser hight and magnitude, piled around, with their clothing of darkand somber trees. Then fancy this central peak to become an instrumentfor flooding the world with the original fire, and you may have somefaint conception of the grandeur of the scene we witnessed.
The stars, except at the horizon's edge, were completely dimmed by themighty effulgence of the blazing peak, or blotted out by the densevolumes of smoke which drifted in the light breeze between the sea andthe heavens like a pall for the world.
The whole of that side of the peak presented to our view was a liquidmass of red-hot lava. It rolled down the smooth slopes, or plunged fromthe cliffs in cataracts of living flame. We could see the ocean boilingalong the horses as the hot rivers found their way to the water; andmillions of dead fishes floated by the ship on the surface of the sea.
The sides and rigging of the Queer Fish were thronged with the crew, whogazed long upon the terrible but fascinating scene.
The smoke which poured in black volumes from the crater of the mountainwas usually intermingled with sheets of flame in about equal quantity;but sometimes the smoke would preponderate so much as almost to shut outthe fire, while at others the crater would vomit flame alone, when theglare would be so distressingly vivid that we were compelled to shieldour eyes with our hands.
The gray ashes emitted by the eruption must also have been very great,for the deck of the ship was covered with a thin coating of it as itdrifted aboard like snow, being so fine and dense as to render the airdifficult to breathe.
The eruption continued all night, and as there appeared no evidence thatit would be likely soon to abate we hoisted anchor and sailed forCalifornia on the following morning.