Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1856-11-14
A'sScene of Horror i----N early Three
tts Thousand Lives Lostt

A scene of Horror i-s--N Nearly Three
Thousand Lives Losti
One of the itens Of news by, the CanaS
da. is an awful earthq quake ia the II Molue-
cas-, Involving a loss OF nearly three thou-
sand lives. a spectator writes 70 an
English Journal
The glowing lava STRAINED down
wards with irresistible. force in different
directions. bearing with it " Whatever il ens
countered on its destructive course and
causing the sea to boil wherever they
came ia contact. The hot springs open,
ed up and cast out flood of boiling wa-
ter. which destroyed and carried away
what the FIRE had spared. The sea. obe.
dient to an unusual impulse, dashed the
rocks with frightful violence, dashed ups
on the shore and heaved itself with wild
haste the land as if it sLroVe 10 oyermas.
ter the fire stream.
'' This frightful picture Of destruction
the horror of which was increased by the
shrieks Of men and beasts. the wild roar
ing of the tempest, and the crashing Of
thousands of trees torn up and carried
away, was followed, about an hour later,
Wy HehIS VI tuuuueE WHICH huuoh kuS
ground and deafened the ears. A black
column of stone and ashes shot up from
the mountain TO an immense height and
fell Illuminated by the glare OF the lava.
like shower upon the surrounding coun.
try below, producing darkness that, oni
ly now and then momentarily broken by
the flashes of lightning, was so intense
that people could not discern close at
hand, and which completed their confu-.
sion and despair. Large stones were
hurled through the air, crushing whatev-
er they fell upon. House and crops,
which had not been destroyed by FIRE,
sunk and disappeared beneath the ashes
and stones and the hill streams, stopped
by these barriers, formed lakes, which.
breaking over their banks, soon proved a
new source Of destruction.
This lasted some hours. About mid
night the raging elements sank to rest /;
but on the following day. about noon,
they resumed their work OF destruction,
with renewed violence. In the meantime
the fall Of ashes continued with inter.
mission, and was 80 thick on this day that
the rays Of the sun could not penetrate
through it. and an appalling darkness
prevailed. Scarcely recovered in some
degree from their fright. the inhabitants
Of this desolated part Of Sangir were again
disturbed by an eruption on the 18th Of
March, which destroyed many fields and
a great number of trees on the Tabukan
side. Since then the volcano has re-.
mained quiet, the only symptom Of its
working has been the smoke rising
up in all directions from cracks and fs-,
sures in the ground.
"On the other side Of Kandhar, on the
extreme north point Of the Island, the ap.
pearance Of the devastation which has
been caused. is. if possible. even more
fright(ul than what has taken place at
Taruna. For here, where formerly there.
were seen extensive fields bearing all
kinds of crops, and thickly planted and
endless groves ofcocoa nuts, we now find
nothing but lava, stones aud ashes. The
liquid fire seems at this point TO have
flowed from the mountain with irresisti-
BILE force and in pfodigious quantity. =
Not only has this fearful food, as it were,
buried the whole district, and all that was
upon it, but after having caused this de-
struction over ain extent Of several miles,
it was still powerful enough, on reaching
the shore, to form two long Ianiongs
(capes) at places where the depth Of wa.
ter formerly consisted Of ma6y fathoms.
The loss OF life has been great. 1t iSes.
timated as follows in Che undermentioned
districts Taruna, men, women aud
children. 722; Kandbar, men, women
and children. 45; Tabukan. men. women
and children. 2.O39 total 2.so6.
1.-The greater number met their death
in the gardens.
They fed in all directions. but were
overtaken and swallowed up.by the fatal
IRE stream. Some tried to save them
selves in the trees, but were either carried
with them or killed by the seorching
heat. AT Kalangan aud Tariapg the
houses were filed with people who were
stopped in their flight by the lava strea-
ming down on all sides and the streams
of boiling wafer, and who met their death
under their burning ashes and the tumb
ling houses. Many who had reached tbs
shore. and thought themselves safe, be
came a prey TO the furious waves. and
many died through sheer despair and
agony"
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