The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-09-08 00:00:00

THE TEILM:BLE VOLCANIC ERUPTION

AT JAVA.

A Reuter's tit legram, dated Batavia, August 31,
says:--

The destruction of Telott-Betong was reported by
the captain of the steamship Govenuer-General Loudon,
belonging to Batavia, who was at sea at the height of
the eruption, and 'steamed to Anjer to give the alarm,
but found that place destroyed. His ship had a
layer of ashes eighteen inches thick on her deck. In
some places masses of floating pumice-stone 7ft. in
depth were passed.
In the district of Tjiringen the loss of life is Asti-
mated at 10,000. Some estimates place the total
loss of life in the Straits through the eruption at over
30,000.

The New York Correspondent of the Daily News
gives the following description of the terrible scenes
The disturbances began on the island of Krakatoa
on Saturday, August 25th, when deep rumblings were
distinctly audible at Suraperta and Batavia. Little
alarm was felt at first, but within a few hours showers
of stones began to fall, and all through the night
showers of red hot stones and ashes fell. By morn-
ing all communications with Anjer on the Straits
of Sunda were destroyed, bridges being wrecked
and roads rendered impassable. The disturbances
had extended beneath the waters of the Strait, and
they were boiling and hissing violently, while great
waves dashed on Java's shores. The temperature
of the sea rose nearly twenty degree.. Far away at
Madura, more than five hundred miles distant, furious
waves were lashed into mountains of foam as they came
rolling in, The rumblings gradually became more
and more distinct, and by noon of the same day Maha
Meru, the largest of the volcanoes, was belching forth
flames at an alarming rate. This eruption soon spread
to Gunung Gunter, and many other minor mountains,
until more than a third of the forty•five craters of Java
were either in active eruption or seriously threatening
it. Just before dusk a great luminous cloud formed
over Gunung Gunter, and the crater of that
volcano began to emit enormous streams of white
and sulphurous mud and lava, which were rapidly
succeeded by explosions, followed by tremendous
showers of cinders and enormous fragments of rock,
which were hurled high into the air and scattered in
all directions, carrying death and destruction with
them. With these terrible eruptions came sympathetic
demonstrations Lanz, thp see,. Overhanging clouds
were so surcharged with electricity that at one time
more thaL fifteen huge waterspouts were seen. Men,
women, and children rushed in terror from their tot-
tering dwelling-places, filling the air with shrieks of
horror. Hundreds were unable to get out before the
houses fell, and were buried beneath great masses of
rooks and mud.

On Sunday evening the shocks and cruptions in-
creased in violence' and the island seemed threatened
with submersion, At the same time enormous waves '
began to dash with greater force upon the shores,
coming in some places far up into the interior, and 1
great chasms opened in the earth, threatening to
engulf the people and buildings. About midnight
the most frightful scene of ll took placo. Suddenly
an enormous luminous cloud, similar to that over
Gunting Gunter, but much greater in extent,
formed over the Sandang range of mountains which
skirt the south-east coast of the island. This '
cloud gradually increased in size until it formed a
canopy lurid red and whitish gray over a wide extent
of territory. During this time the eruptions increasFd,
and streams of lava poured incessantly down the sides
.of the mountains into the valleys, sweeping everything
before them. About two o'clock on Monday morning
this great cloud suddenly broke into small sections
and vanished, and when daylight came it was seen
that an enormous tract of land had disappeared,
extending from Point Capucin, on the south, to
Negery Passoerang, on the north and west, to the
lowest point, covering about fifty square miles. Here
were situated the villages of Negery and Negery
Babawang. None of the inhabitants of these places
escaped death. This section of the island was less
densely populated than the other portions and the
loss of life was comparatively small, although it must
have aggregated 15,000, The entire Eandang range
of mountains, extending along the coast in a semicircle
for about sixty-five miles, had gone out of sight. The
waters of Welcome Bay in the Sunda Straits, and
Pepper Bay on the esot, and the Indian Ocean on the
south, had rushed in and formed a sea of turbulent
waters.

On Monday night the volcano of Papandayang was
in an active state of paroxysmal eruption, which was
accompanied by detonations which are said to have
been heard for many miles away. In Sumatra three
distinct columrs of flames were seen to rise from a
mountain to a vast height, and its whole surface was
soon covered with fiery lava streams which spread
to great distances on all sides. Stones fell for
miles around, and black fragmentary matter
carried into the air caused total darkness. A whirl-
wind accompanied this eruption, by which house-
roofs, trees, sun, and horses were carried into
the air. The quantity of ashes ejected was such as
to cover the ground and the roofs of the houses at
Denamo to the depth of several inches. Suddenly the
scene changed. The mountain was split into seven
parts without a moment's warning, and where Papan-
dayang had stood alone were now seven distinct peaks,
in the open seams of which could be seen great balls
of molten matter. From the fissures poured forth
clouds of steam and black ejected lava, which, flow-
ing in stapdy streams, ran slowly down the moun-
tain sides, forming beds two hundred or three hundred
feet in extent. One of the most singular incidents
was the sudden rising on the forenoon of 'Ft:m.4day
of fourteen new volcanic mountains in the Straits
of Sunda, forming a complete chain in almost
a raight line between Point St. Nicholas on the
Java coast, and Hogs Point on the coast of Sumatra,
almost or the tops of what had been Merak and
Middle Islands, which sank into the sea on the pre-
vious day. At the entrance to Batavia was a large
group of houses extending along the shore, and occu-
pied by Chinamen. This portion of the city was
entirely destroyed, and of 25,000 Chinese who lived on
the swampy plains, it is hardly probable that more
than 5,000 managed to save their lives. They stuck to
their homes till the waves came and washed them
away, fearing torrents of flame and lava more than
torrents of water.

Of the 3,500 Europeans and Americans in Batavia,
800 perished at Anjer. The European and American
Quarter was first overwhelmed by rocks, mud, and
lava from the crater, and then the waters came up
and swallowed the ruins, leaving nothing to mark
the site, and causing the loss of about 200 lives of the
inhabitants and those who sought refuge there.
Bantam was entirely covered by water, and 1,200
to 1,500 are believed to have been drowned. The
island of Serang was completely inundated, and not a
soul survived. At Cheribon there was no great flood
of water, but the loss of life and property by falling rocks
and lava must have been considerable. Birtinzong suf.
fered seriously, as did Samarang, Jogjakerta, Sours-
kotta, and Sourabaya. The thousand temples at Bram-
baman were greatly damaged, and some of them de-
stroyed. The dome of the noted Temple of Borobodo
was crushed in by falling rocks. The town of Tamerang
was swept away by lava, and fully half the popula-
tion, mostly Javanese, numbering aboutl,Boo perished.
At Speezwyk red•hot rocks set fire to the houses and
swept away all the thickly-settled portions of the
town. About ten bazaars belonging to Europeans
were destroyed. Figelenking was almost totally de-
stroyed, and a large number of lives lost. The island
of Onius, five miles off the mouth of the Targerang
River, and twenty miles east of Batavia was com-
pletely inundated and the floating dock totally de-
stroyed. Baby and Cheriboo islands lost a few houses
and inhabitants upon them.
In Batavia the roof of the Governor's -house was
crushed in by a mass of mud, and three servants were
killed. Midah Island, ten miles off on the coast
of Java, was almost wholly engulfed. The towns
of Anjer, Tjiringins, and Telokbelong are reported
as destroyed, and all lighthouses along the Sunda
Strait have disappeared. The aspect of the Strait
is much changed, and the navigation is dan-
gerous. Some 900 irlhabitants of the town of Waronge
are known to have been killed, and at Talatoa, on the
coast, 300 bodies have been found. From over all
the island come reports of loss of life and property,
and it is thought that the estimate of 75,000 will not
prove excessive. On the lowlands of Batavia, where
the waters have receded, hundreds of bruised and
mangled bodies are lying exposed.
Noticing the above intelligence in a leader, the
Daily Telcgraph says :
As, in tragic fragments, the scanty news concerning
the terrible volcanic eruption and tipheavai of the sea
in and upon the coast of Java reaebes us, it becomes
possible to form a distinct idea of events which in the
course of a few hours have changed tha, face of nature
in one of the most fertile and thickly-populated
districts of the globe. Two natural disturbances, the
one apparently complementary of the other, contri-
buted to a dreadful and shocking disaster\,. the full
' effect of which cannot be realised until `we are
more exactly informed as to the extent of the area
destroyed and the number of human beings wile
have fallen a sacrifice. The island of Java is alto-
gether about one-third larger than Ireland, and
densely peopled with a docile and industrious Malay
race, devoted to agriculture and the cultivation
of rice, coffee, sugar, indigo, cinnamon, maiza,
cotton, tobacco, teak, quinine, and vegetables. Anjer
Point, on the north-west coast, about eighty miles
from Batavia, has hitherto done a thriving trade in
" green stuffs " and fresh fruit with ships passing
through the straits to and from China, Singapore, and
other places; Krakatoa, the volcanic island and centre
of the initial catastrophe, being situated opposite to
Anjer Point, the strait flowing between. Krakatoa
has now entirely disappeared, and in place of that
volcanic island there are sixteen new Mete, each with
its separate crater extending as far as the island of
Sibisie. The coast line also has undergone a remark-
able transformation ; and it has been found neces-
sary to irferm the local officials at Ceylon, the
Cape of Good Hope, Suez, Port Said, St. Vin-
cent, the Brazils, and Aden, in order that they
may warn vessels approach;ng the Straits to beware
how they rely on the guidance of charts rendered
utterly useless. Anjer has ceased to exist, as have
likewise the Mevale quarries and the contiguous
o..inese camp. North Bantam appears to have suf-
fered severely, and the floating dock at Onrust is said
to be adrift and much damaged. Another floating
dock, the Amsterdam, is reported to have been driven
ashore at Purmerand ; and a similar fate has befallen
several ships, including the war-steamer Sick. A great
number of people are believed to be dead; as many, it
is even stated, as thirty thousand. More than a thou-