Mark Twain and Tropicbirds

Sulphur doesn't bother this old bird!

When Mark Twain visited Hawaii in 1866, he was able to inspect a live volcano, Halema’uma’u, which he described as “a crimson cauldron.” Twain concluded his impressions of the hellish scene by writing, “The smell of sulfur is strong, but not unpleasant to a sinner.” That eruption came to an end in 1924, and life awakened in the crater in a different form. White-tailed Tropicbirds began to nest there, on ledges along the crater’s 300-foot cliffs. Then in March 2008, the crater’s volcanic spark rekindled. Vast clouds of gas belched forth, as they do today. But the tropicbirds seem undaunted by the smell of sulfur, and continue to fly across the crater, their shimmering white forms appearing and disappearing through the crater’s ghostly cloud.
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BirdNote^®

Mark Twain and Tropicbirds

Written by Bob Sundstrom

This is BirdNote.
[Rumbling volcano]
When Mark Twain visited Hawaii in 1866, his timing was perfect to inspect a live volcano. He ventured out at night, on horseback, to watch molten lava vividly red against the dark sky. [Rumbling volcano]
From an overlook above the half-mile-wide crater named Halema’uma’u, Twain described the eruption as “a crimson cauldron,” with “streams of liquid and gorgeously brilliant fire,” and “circles and serpents and streaks of lightning all twined and wreathed and tied together.” “The place below looked like the infernal regions.”
Never at a loss for an ironic twist, Twain concluded his impressions of the hellish scene by writing, “The smell of sulfur is strong, but not unpleasant to a sinner.”
The eruption Twain witnessed came to an end in 1924. Life awakened in the crater in a different form. White-tailed Tropicbirds began to nest there, laying eggs on ledges along the crater’s 300-foot cliffs.
[Calls of White-tailed Tropicbirds]
Then in March 2008, the crater’s volcanic spark rekindled. Vast clouds of gas belched forth, as they do today. But, perhaps echoing the spirit of Mark Twain, the tropicbirds seem undaunted by the smell of sulfur. They continue to fly across the crater, their shimmering white forms appearing and disappearing through the crater’s ghostly cloud.
[Rumbling volcano]
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Sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Rumbling volcano, audio recordist not known, and White-tailed Tropicbirds [167442] by Jon Erickson.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© 2012 Tune In to Nature.org          May 2012     Narrator: Michael Stein

ID# twainm-WTTR-01-2012-05-23

http://www.twainquotes.com/18661116u.html - text of Mark Twain’s article on the volcano in The Sacramento Daily Union, November 16, 1866
http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/birds/rlp-monograph/pdfs/03-PHAE-GRUI/WTTR.pdf about tropicbirds nesting in Halema’uma’u Crater