The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1883-09-08
Fearful Earthquake.

Batavia. OF the whole district il
is said that nothing was left-not
even the land. When the original |
outbursts in Bantam subided, tem-
porary relief was felt, but at 10
o'clock on Monday night there |
was a new and most disastrous |
outburst.
By IL o'clock the Papandayang,
which is 1884 feet high, was in a
very active state of paroxysmal
eruption. 1t was accompanied by |
detonations said to have been
heard many miles away in Suma.
ira. Three distinct columns of
flames were seen to rise from the
mountain to vast height and its
whole surface soon appeared as if
covered with fiery lava, streams
of when spread to great distances
on all sides, and stones fell for
miles around, and the black frag-
mentary matter carried into the
air caused total darkness. A whirl-
wind accompanied this eruption,
by which house roofs, trees and
men and horses were carried into
the air. The quantity of ashes
elected. was such as to cover the
ground and roofs of houses at
Denamo to the depth of several
inches.
Of Point Coay the floating POM
ice OH the sea formed a layer two
feet thick, through which vessels
forced their way with great diff
Guilty. The rise of yapor produ-
ced the appearance of column
several thousand feet high, based
OH the edge of the crater. 1t ap-
peared from a distance to consist
of u mass of innumerable globu-
lar clouds of extreme yividness
resembling vast balls of cotton
rolling one over the other as they
ascendcd lmpelled by the pressure
of fresh supplies necessarily urg-
ed upward by the continued cx-
plosions.
At u great height tho column
dilated horizontally and spread in-
to a dark and turbid circular
cloud, shaped like an immense um'
brella. Forked lightning of great
viyidness aud beauty continually
darted from different parts OF the
clouds. Suddenly the scene was
changed. The mountain was split
into even parts without a mo-
ment's warning, and where Papan-
dayang had stood alone there were
now seven distinct peaks looming
up to a great height.
In the seams opened could be
seen great balls of molten matter
From the iissurcs poured clouds
of steam, and the black elected
lapillo flowed in steady streams
and ran slowly down the mountain
side, forming beds 200 or 800 feet
in extent. Exhalations of cabonit
acid gas were SO abundant that
birds and animals in large mum
bers were killed by it and a few
human beings lost their lives IL
the same way.
This proved to be the turning
| point in the eruption, for thu
great assures opened seemed t.
, , act as safety valves through whlcI
, the streams of lava gently ilowe'
down into the valleys. The vol
canic fires, though still burning a
last advices, had lost most of thei
fierceness, and the steam genera
ted found vent without being fore
; ed through the comparatively nal
row mouths of the old craters.
One of the queer incidents wa
/, the sudden rising during Tnesda.
+, forenoon of fourteen new volcal
. ic mountains in the Straits of SUI
da, forming q complete chain /
almost a straight line betwce
point st. Nicholas, OH the Javal
9 ese coast. and Hogs Point, on tn
coast of Sumatra, almost Oh th
tons of what had been the Mera
n and Middle Islands, which san
into the sea on Monday.
In the city of Bantam, wheI
y 1900 people were at first suppose
to have perished, the bodies I
'' $500 have already been recovere'
1 and some 900 inhabitants of tf
I town of Waronge are known
have been killed, and at Tolatr
: Oh the coast, 3100 bodies ha,
been found
From all over the island colI
reports of loss of life aud prope
ty, and it is thought at Batav