Lava & 'City of Brussels'
The Great Lava Flow of 1881
"I
am within 9 miles of the
great lava flow of 1881. I intend in a few days to go over it. I find
that a good many of my friends got terribly scared and would have sold
their property at
almost any price but when the fire was within 1/2 mile of the town the
source from whence it came became exhausted, and their property was
saved. Mr Goard's fervent and earnest praying this time was of no avail
although he says that he succeeded in stopping the flow the last time
that Hilo was threatened, so an old native lady, sister to two of our
former kings took it in hand and was more successful. She left Honolulu
with all her retainers and came to Hilo and commenced her incantations
and after throwing several ... bottles of brandy and wine into the lava
as it flowed past. The goddess " Pele" became propiciated (sic) and
stopped the work of destruction. The natives now boast of the superior
knowledge and influence they possess over the supernatural, and well
they may." (Image from 1984 flows at Mauna Loa by R.W.Decker)
The Lava Flow came from 'Mauna Loa' - the largest volcano on Earth in terms of volume and area covered, and one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii. The Hawaiian name "Mauna Loa" means "Long Mountain".
You can even visit a Lava tube left by the 1881 flow:-
"Kaumana Cave is actually a skylight in a 25-mile long Lava Tube that was created by the 1881 flow from Mauna Loa. Located near Hilo, the opening to the tube is overgrown with plants due to the abundant rain on this side of the island. Long, thin roots from trees above reach down through the soil above all the way down inside to the floor of the lava tube. Kaumana caves are actually a large lava tube about 16 feet in diameter, that was formed in 1881 when the lava flow advanced to within a few miles of Hilo.
An interesting story about this particular flow is that Hilo residents were terrified the town was to be destroyed by the advancing lava. Princess Ruth, the Hawaiian princess living in Kona was compassionate enough to travel over the island and pray to the Hawaiian Goddess of fire: Pele. When she did this - the lava stopped, and the town was spared."
(Note: this is the same story mentioned in Simon's own letter).
Source: Dept of Land & Natural Resources, Hawaii.
See footage from 1930's eruption at Mauna Loa:-
'City of Brussels' - Atlantic record breaker
"When I was in Liverpool and for about 2 weeks before I left home I was taken with violent coughing as soon as I went out into the cold air in the mornings. The landlady of the hotel told me that it was bronchitis and made me take 3 parts of a tumbler of hot milk with a tablespoonful of glycerine. I found it to relieve me a little but the complaint did not leave me until I had been on the Islands about 2 weeks. We had a few passengers on the City of Brussels who were very badly afflicted with bronchitis they had been to every health resort in Europe, without benefit and were going to try to find some place in America that would agree with them."
'The City of Brussels' (Wikipedia)
City of Brussels was a British passenger liner that set the record for the fastest Atlantic eastbound voyage in 1869, becoming the first record breaker driven by a screw. Built by Tod and Macgregor, she served the Inman Line until 1883 when she sank with the loss of ten people after a collision while entering the Mersey.
The 1882 sailing schedules of 'City of Brussels' show typical crossing times from Liverpool to New York of c. 10 days. Note that Simon sailed on her less than 1 year before she sank!
Image & schedules from Norway Heritage.com
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