St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1883-09-08
YESUYIUS, RIVAL.

--SeVefal Large Towns and Seventy-f;ye
Thousand Lives Destroyed-Graphic De-.
scription of the Awful Calamity.
NEW YORK, Aug. %.
special cablegram from London gives
the details of the volcanic eruptions in
Java. The first eruptions were on Satur-
day night on the island of Kraokateo AT
noon on Sunday the Maha Meru Mountain
began to belch forth fire and lava and the
eruption soon spread to- the Cunning Teng--
ger, the crater of which is the largest in
the world, being nearly four miles in diam
eter, the Cunning Guntun and other minor
mountains, until by Monday morning near
ly a third of the forty-five craters of Java,
were in a state of activity.
While these terrible elementary forces
were at work on the land the sea became
sympathetically boisterous. The air was.
so surcharged with electricity that at one
time fifteen water-spouts were seen. Hun
dretis of the unfortunate people, unable to
escape from their dwellings before they
| were crushed beneath the mass of falling
stones and lava persisted. On the top of
the Cunning Tengger, mountain Of fame
made scene of terrific grandeur. Fiss.s"e~
after fssure appeared on the mountains,
| side, and here and there in the valley
y
ests in the northern portion OF Kraokateo@
| were soon in blaze of flame, and immense
trees, some of them centuries old, toppled
over before the advancing sea of fire like
wheat before gale. AS the eruption in
creased in violence and frequency the dis
turbance of the waters surrounding the
coast became more and more violent. The
waves rushed with terrific force up the
steep, rocky incline, and meeting the burn
Ing lava cooled and fashioned it into the.
most eccentric shapes. The receding wa
tiers carried away many fisherman's hut
Along the shore are mostly plains which
the sea overwhelmed, running growing crops.
of coffee, rice, sugar, indigo or tobacco, and
it is probable that not single crop will be-
saved.
Late Sunday afternoon and in the evening
the volume of the disturbances suddenly
increased and the island seemed to be about
to be completely buried in q mass of fire
and sulphurous ashes. At the same time
the enormous waves began to burst with
greater force upon the shores, coming in
some places far up into the interior Great.
chasms opened in the earth and threatened
to engulf large proportion of the islands
people and buildings. About midnight the
most fr1.htful scene IF the whole distur-
Dances took place. Suddenly an enormous
luminous cloud. similar to that which was
seen over the Cunning Guntur, but much
greater III extent, formed over the kanda-
ga range OF mountains, which skirt the
south coast of the island. This cloud grad
ually increased in size until it formed a
canopy of lurid red and whitish gray over
wide extent of territory. During this;
time the eruptions increased, and streams,
OF lava poured necessarily down the sides.
of the mountain into the valleys, sweep
ing everything before them. Here and
there stream of lava would enter an arm
OF the sea or come in contact with the waters,
o5-,-s,- AZ
descent lava as it protruded from the great,
stream would suddenly produce boiling
heat and rapid yaporization. But the SUI
perfine consolidation that almost instantly
ensued would prevent any further contact.
Lie assures that opened in this thin crust,
as it solicited would emit torrents of vapor
extending high into the air and making a
tremendous kissing and seeth;ng sound.
rs II thousand locomotives We're simulta-.
neously letting off steam Here and there.
IN the lava streams We're innumerable thin.
plate-like crystals OF feldspar, arranged in
rains, one behind the other, in the direc--
ion of the flow of the current, and field
'parlc spherelites We're rapidly formed in
he vitreous matter, resembling those which
orm in the Stag of glass furnace. One Of
he most singular freaks of the eruption
vas the carrying in the midst of molten lava
# bed of solid ice of enormous size, which
lad been emitted from one of the craters,
,arrled along by the current and landed on
he extremity of Point st. Nicholas on the,
northeast corner of the island This bed of
&c was surrounded by a thick envelope of
and and scoriR, which are such non-con-
luctors of heat that a red-hot stream of
ava running over it will not melt the snow.
t IS supposed this ice had formed the crust
t some vast subterranean lake.
About two O'Clock Monday morning the,
reat cloud suddenly broke into small sec
ions and quickly vanished. At the same
ime the most fFightful rumblings were
card and the columns of fire and smoke.
n the southeast corner of the island ceased
ascend, while the craters in the other.
arts OF Java seemed to open their fiery
aroats still wider to let out the greatest.
uantity of rocks, lava, pumice and ashes
ct vom1ted out.
Tie kissing of the sea became so loud as.
be almost deafening, and the waves
ushed upon the shores to an unprecedent-
height. When daylight came it was.
cen that an enormous tract of land had
lsappeared, extending from Point Capucin
the south, to kegery Pafsoerrang on the
oIth; ana west to low point, covering an
xtent OF territory fifty miles square. In:
us We're situated the villages of Negery
nd Negery Rabawang. OF the people in
ahlting these places and the natives scat
'red sparsely through the forests and on
le plains, none escaped a frightful death.
MS section of the island was not so dense
populated as the other portions, and the
ss OF life was comparatively small,
1ganaougn 1t must have aggregated fully
ooO souls. The entire Kandang range Of
ountains, extending along the coast in a.
for about sixty five miles, had
one out OF sight. The waters of Welcome
aY, the sunda Straits and Pepper Bay on
e east and of the Indian Ocean on the
uth had rushed in and formed great
a OF turbulent waters Here and there
g peak of a high crater was exposed for
by the receding CT a great wave,
Ia occasionally puff of brownish gray
coke or slight shower of rocks
owed that the volcanoes still CON