One of the eruptions from Mokuaweoweo tried to take possession of a river-bed, but the waters chilled one side of the lava and built it into a wall. On one side was flowing fire and on the other the swift rapids of a river. The antagonistic elements sought the sea side by side.
A native account of Kilauea in “Ka Hae Hawaii [The Hawaiian Flag]” was published in Honolulu in March, 1859. In it is a very interesting native account of eruptions on the island Hawaii. The sketch is in the quaint Hawaiian tongue and is valuable throughout, but only a few extracts from the translation can be used at present. The story as told by the Hawaiian runs as follows:
“In the very ancient time Mauna Kea threw out vast Pele fires, but long ago these eruptions have been imprisoned. The earth has covered them in on all sides and the abundant soil, large trees, and green things of many kinds are multiplying. But not so Mauna Loa and Hualalai, other mountains of this island Hawaii. Pele fires have burst forth from them even up to recent times.
“Mauna Loa is the greatest of all the mountains, [[186]]opening doors for the Pele fires from all its sides. Kilauea and Mokuaweoweo are the very wonderful Pele pits (craters) discharging fire from the very depths of the mountains.
“In the year 1822, or 1823 perhaps, there was an eruption from Kilauea pouring down into the Kau district very close to the Puna line. From the depths of Kilauea was this bursting forth. The a-a (broken lava) of this eruption in its journey to the sea spread about eight miles. In the year 1832 the pit of Kilauea was full of burning a-a. It broke into some ancient tunnel connected with Kilauea and flowed away. The place where the a-a reached the sea is not known. It is supposed to have gone into the sea underground.
“In the year 1840, the people of Puna and Hilo districts saw a great fire inland. They thought that the forest wilderness was burning. That day was the Sabbath. The people assembled together and looked toward the place where the fire was very great and the air was heavy with smoke. Then they saw that this was not an ordinary forest fire but a Pele (an eruption). They could not see any a-a breaking out on the mountain, and therefore were greatly afraid that it was very near and would destroy their lands. Volumes of smoke rolled, curling upward, while the strong steam burst forth [[187]]with reports like the firing of cannon. On the 4th day of June that eruption poured down into the sea. Narrow was the flow in steep places and spread out widely in others. When it came to the sea mighty was the stormy rage and the boiling of the sea, the steam rising in clouds to the sky. There were built up on the beach two hills of black sand, about 400 feet in height. Only on the side from which the wind blew could any one come near. On the other side the smoke was very strong, offensive and sickening like a volcano. Then there were burning ashes destroying every green thing for many miles. The lands of the people of Nanawale were quickly made a desolate wilderness by the heat and the overflowing lava. Some animals were caught by the lava and burned to death. None of the people were destroyed. They escaped with poverty.”
A curious and interesting statement is made by the Hawaiian fishermen of Waikiki concerning a peculiar disturbance of the sea simultaneous with all seasons of volcanic agitation. One of the older and more intelligent fishermen says that from his boyhood he has known a pushing up and down, backward and forward, of the waters every time that Mauna Loa has shown activity in either of its great craters. Fishnets are so tossed about that it is almost impossible [[188]]to retain any fish in them. Hooks are so rapidly moved by the commotion in the waters that fishing with hook and line is not very successful.
The Hawaiians call the ocean at such times kai-mimiki (the rushing sea). Mimiki is defined as a meeting of a returning wave with another advancing, and is sometimes used to express the confusion of advancing and returning tidal waves. Sometimes mimiki is used to denote the choppy waters which follow a storm. The inherent idea of the word seems to be quick, independent action of waves, bringing them into conflict with each other and destroying the quiet, regular motion.
[[189]]