Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-12-27
Part FIRST.
CbgDter 1.-The Hurricane.

Napier Line hurricane.
An evening of November, I649. One
Of those terrible hurricanes which are
peculiar to the Indian seas, and which
annually devastate the island of Java
on the return of the monsoon, swept
over the town of Batavia. The wind,
which, during the day, had not been
very high, about six in the evening
became terrific. The sea rose sudden
iy, dashing itself with fearful violence
against the jetty which formed the
port. The elements seemed to have
united all their forces for the destruc-
ton of man and the works of his
hands. The sea seemed striving with
the aid of the wind to annihilate the
island. The spectacle presented by
the rOadstead was Trighttul beyond de-
scriptiOn; for in all such commissions
OfnatuTe the palm must ever be given
10 the sea-.
laundering waves, rearing their
crestsaS high as the house tops, dashed
roaring against the quaking shore.
The sheet of water which swept over
the jetty as over a shelf of reefs. lifted
the vessels on its breast and raised
them to the level of the roofs OF the
houses. Against these they crashed
with fright1ul noise. Meanwhile the
rain fell in torrents.
1t was now 9 O'Clock in the evening;
the hour at which the population OF
Batavia abandoned the lower and re-
paired to the upper town. For the
city Is composed of two towns, an up
per and a lower; one where the res
Idents transact their business, the
other where they have their houses.
There is besides these a third town Of
which we shall speak through this
narrative, commonly called the Cam
pong deS CHiHOiS.
The lower town, lying near the
port, in the midst Of a marsh, is sur
rounded by a copse of willows, the
roots Of which are bathed in the sea;
a narrow strip of land, not wider than
d tow-path, intervening between them
and the rugged violence of the ocean. |
This lower town becomes unhealthy
when the poisonous VaDOrs and putrid
miasmata from decaying animal and
vegetable matter ascend. Then no
n car sleep there without danger.
SO, during six or seven hours, from
the moment when Night descends
from Heaven, with that rapidity pc
culiar TO tropical climates, all inhabi-
tants escape from their counters, fac
tories and shops, where, during the
day, they come to transact business.
theaterS, the government house,
the public establishments, the Euro
pean houses, are built upon the noun
tain, which commands the road and
the harbOr; and, by the hight which
they are placed, are above the pesti-
eXhalatiOns which rise over
the lower town.
The Chinese and Malay town is
built on the other side Of this noun
The storm was so terrific that spite
Of the dang T the stores were in; that
though every one expected to find
them completely destroyed on the
morrow las had already happened in
loO6), no one dared to risk the danger
Of leaving his dwelling.
Alone, despite the wind, despite the
rain, despite the peals of thunder, a
man rapidly descended the s.ope
which led from the upper to the lower
And this man seemed perfectly
Indifferent to the ~desolation and peril ,
lrOund him.
The rain poured from his clothing
branches OF trees cut his face-frag- :
nents Of roofs hurtled around him. ,
threatening to crush him in their fall ,
appearing to notice any of !
lis surroundings, save the road he was !
reversing; guided by the lurid light '
which the sky shed upon the earth
Y the gigantic serpents Of fire-and '
the graphing iron, which aided his (
lsecure fOOting-and which alone, at l
ach step he made, prevented his be- 1
* OverbOrne and carried Off by the q
urricane-On tOiled the man. De- y
'ending thus, he reached the road, I
II the Jetty on his left, and turning d
the right, followed the quay to its
irmlnatlOn. Each moment hedrench- q
e waves Of the sea covered him with a
)ray. Reaching the end Ofthe QUAY.
halted a moment. He waited for
ght. The heavens opened, and shed ts
trough their opening a cascade of fl
that permitted him to discern a b
arrow passage, submerged beneath
e briny, surly waves. He entered hi
BON this path, pursued it five min di
es longer, then stopped befOrea bam- hi
o cottage higher than the shops oftbe bC
over Town, the front of which was do
numbered by bales of rope of an l
icknesses, and was sheltered bv pl
tarred-clOthes, thatthev cali I'll
lis. They man knocked at the door. CO
ere was no answer. He tried To at
'ce the door; it resisted his efforts. be
us opposition seemed to surprise
N, for in the towns Of the Indian
'chipeligO they have doors only for Oh
cearance sake.
Sleklng up a piece Of wood that the TIL
had cast near him-6e6ris of :
Ie roof torn from its fasteDings-
using it as a knOcker, he struck str
the door blows so hard, so re- fasl
IndIng, that they could but be heard 8
II the din Of the tempest, A faint dea