victim is supposed to sit in this and be steamed. But on this
occasion the temperature was so high, that my hand, which I unwisely
experimented upon, was immediately peeled. In order not to wound
Mr. Gilman's feelings, which are evidently sensitive on the subject
of this irresponsible contrivance, I remained the prescribed time
within the shed, and then managed to limp a little less, and go with
him to what are called the Sulphur Banks, on which sulphurous vapour
is perpetually depositing the most exquisite acicular sulphur
crystals; these, as they aggregate, take entrancing forms, like the
featherwork produced by the "frost-fall" in Colorado, but, like it,
they perish with a touch, and can only be seen in the wonderful
laboratory where they are formed.

In addition to the natives before mentioned, there is an old man
here who has been a bullock-hunter on Hawaii for forty years, and
knows the island thoroughly. In common with all the residents I
have seen, he takes an intense interest in volcanic phenomena, and
has just been giving us a thrilling account of the great eruption in
1868, when beautiful Hilo was threatened with destruction. Three
weeks ago, he says, a profound hush fell on Kilauea, and the summit
crater of Mauna Loa became active, and amidst throbbings, rumblings,
and earthquakes, broke into such magnificence that the light was
visible 100 miles at sea, a burning mountain 13,750 feet high! The
fires after two days died out as suddenly, and from here we can see
the great dome-like top, snow-capped under the stars, serene in an
eternal winter.
I.L.B.