Page:Twenty years before the mast - Charles Erskine, 1896.djvu/244

 One of our shipmates, William Longley, was missing for several days. When last seen he complained of being sick. Many of us had the mountain fever, — that is, a shortness of breath, sore eyes, with much headache,  and a dryness of the skin.

The next morning after we had got fairly under way, we were overtaken and enveloped in a snow-cloud. The natives became much frightened, and shouted out, "Oury miti," "No good," and nearly all of them left and  ran down the mountain. They had nothing on but a narrow strip of tapa tied around the loins, and a scanty  blanket over the shoulders, leaving the body, arms, and  legs exposed to the weather. The thermometer was at thirty degrees, and they had been accustomed from  childhood to a temperature of seventy to eighty degrees. Fortunately the commodore had previously sent down to the ship for a hundred or more men.

It cleared away in the afternoon, leaving the snow a foot deep. We could not make much progress through the snow, with our heavy loads, so we sought shelter in  one of the caves, where we passed rather an uncomfortable night. In this cave we found a small pond of water frozen over. The ice was about eight inches thick. At sunrise we came forth from the lava cave to behold a sublime scene. The lofty dome of Mauna Loa was covered with a mantle of snow. The effect of the rising sun upon it gave it the appearance of a  fairy dome. It would quickly change from a blush- rose color to a bright scarlet, then light purple. Finally, it assumed its pure white mantle.

Looking down on the valleys and the plains below us