NIGHT ON NGAURUHOE.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 November 1917, Page 6

NIGHT ON NGAURUHOE.

VOLCANO CONTINUES ACTIVE. 7 DESCRIPTION OF THE ERUPTION. The weather conditions, which for thepast few days had been unfavorable for observing the intermittent eruptions of Kgauruhoe, changed on Thursday evening of last week and enabled a clearer view to be obtained of the mountain and of the lava that has been ejected from the crater. On Friday a party, consisting of the president and vice-pre-sident of the Ruapehu Ski-ing Club, who are selecting new sites for winter quarters, and an Auckland pressman, set out for Ngauruhoe with the intention of climbing the mountain, if it was reasonably safe, to obtain a glimpse into the abnormally active crater.

The cone of Ngauruboe, symmetrically beautiful when seen from a distance, changes as one appproaehes to an impressive ugliness. Passing up a rising sandy valley, the starting point of several snow-born streams, a narrow gorge, wild beyond description in its great accumulation of old solidified lava deposits, is entered and the ascent begins in earnest, from this the going becomes particularly laborious, the way being intersected with innumerable deep ravines, which, starting in insignificant ruts ; in the .precipitous upper regions of the volcano, widen and deepen rapidly as they drop abruptly into the desolate valley below. Unfortunately the earlier promise of a fine day was not fulfilled, and the summit remained hidden by clouds, but frequent hollow booming* and muffled Subterranean explosions told of the mountain's state of unrest. ''• SCORIA STILL HOT. ' • : 1 ' The climb up the steep walls of the volcano was commenced along a tortuous spur that led towards partly concealed old frozen snow deposits, upon which ejected matter from the crater had fallen or rolled down the mountain's side. Just before the plant life limit was reached, varying areas of burnt tussock were met with. Next recentlycooled pieces of scoria, in coral and pponge-like formation were discovered, and the arduous part of the climb was forgotten in the eager scramble for mementoes. A loud exclamation from a member of the party coming up from a near declivity brought the others apprehensive towards him, to find an excited individual pointing to his latest find— a heat radiating boulder. The explorers utlised its warmth to restore the circulation to their almost perished feet. While the party were thus warming themselves, a sharp earth tremor shook the mountain, and a deep detonation came from the clouds, followed immediately by the rattle of a shower of stones" striking soft earth in the vicinity. The members of the .party, TMilis'ing that liiey had wandered into a danger zone,- started for the valley, each carrying a piece of half-cooled lava, as a means of maintaining bodily warmth. As the cloud belts still remained, two members of the party decided to make an immediate start for Waimarino, but £he pressman, being equipped with a sleeping outfit, decided to pass the night upon the nearest ridge adjacent to the I now, apparently, slowly expiring eruption.

Toward' sunset a terrifying report, like the sound of artillery, seemed to shake the whole mountain range to its very foundations, and offered little encouragement towards a prolonged sojourn in the forbidding locality, but it was to late to alter the plans. EXCITING NIGHT'S EXPERIENCE. The next outburst came shortly before 10 o'clock, creating an awe-inspiring spectacle. With a lurid glow a great mass of molten matter shot up vertically into the now clear atmosphere, and, spreading, dropped its white-heated mass uuon the country below. Boulder after bounder bounced and raced down the steep 'slope- From the crater dense an'T'y n'wes of steam issued, and from under this streams of molten lava belched forth. „ ~ , . The slow mo v e«V nt of the g lowln g streams of lava, cv:°n »P° n t, ne ™°f P rc " cipitous slopes, was '«.»« 9ed P ar , t,v , "<> doubt, by the rapid coo I **,? of t] ] a lava and the adhesive nature of '.% soft sand deposits peculiar to the upper >«j£ nts of the mountain. Every now and tn ° heavier 'blub-like head would of its weight detach itself from the parens stream, and roll quickly out of sight, wbile the new-formed head would a second later do likewise, 'until in plaees there was the appearance of a string of glowing beads, evenly spaced, moving with slow deliberation down the hillside. A DOUBLE ERUPTION.

With an abruptness equalling its commencement all activity seemingly ceased, and a darkness doubly intense settled upon the now quiescent valley. An hour later repeated cannonading echoing and reverberating like the prolonged roll of heavy thunder again disturbed the silence. No words can adequately describe the grandeur of the molten mass, as it rose many hundreds of feet into the darkness - o'f the night. The crater seemed to have instantly filled with another wave of molten matter, even before the ejected mass had readied the apex of its flight, and when the rapidly cooling mass fell hack into this sea of fire another stupendous explosion took place. Immediately the whole sky was again aflame with broken masses of red-hot lava, and a cascade of whitehot boulders darted down the serrated sides, giving the cone a remarkably brilliant rfan-shaped appearance. As the rivulets of lava cooled, the white gloving boulders that studded the hillside resembled the street-lamps of a hilly city. The glow usually lasted about twenty minutes, but boulder left upon the fringe of the crater-lip glowed like a lighthouse beacon for nearly two hours.

At daylight the mountain side, previously particularly -clean on account of the rain of the past week, was mantled in a greenish-grey coating.