Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-09-07

lultso luC lSpOito MN "'
exaggerated, the series IF earthquakes
that island form the most serious disturoanc
of the surface OF the earth that has beei
known IN modern times, perhaps the mos
serious within historic imts The earth
quaLes amount, in fact, to u lerrenc ida
wave of unprecedented extent.
LONDON, Aug. 80. II Despatch iron
Batavia says the condition of he strait
of Suuda is dangerous to navigation. New
Islands have arisen therein and the coast lin
is altered. The government is preparing Il
obtain new soundiugs Of the strait. Sixleel
volcanoes have appeared between the silt
where the island of krakltoa formerly stool
and Siaisie island. ~ portion of Bantam il
an ashy desert. Cattle are starving and lh'
population are in despair. Socngepar vol
cino has split in five portions Sven hun
bred and four bodies of victims Of the dis
uster have been buried in the district Of
Tanara and 800 bodies in the coast village o.
kramlt.
The disturbances began on the island oil
krakatoa, in the Strait of Sundl, about nj
teen miles off The coast. Thc deep rumb
ings were distinctly audible at Surakerta
and Batavia, about i5 and % miles oil, re-
spectively.
The first cruptions were on Saturday
night. On Sunday morning the disturb
aucts had extended beneath the waters OF
the strait, and they were soon boiling aud
Kissing violently, while great waves dashed
upon the JavaucsC shores, and the temper
azure o the sea went up ncaily2 90 degrees.
The threatening rumDiugs gradually be-
came mpic and more distinct, and by noon
the Mihu-Mpru, the largest of the volcanoes
of Java, was bclcbiug forth flames at Il very
alarming rae. This eruption soon spread to
the Gnuung- fcpg. tr, the crater of which is
the largest in the world being nearly four
miles in diameter, and many minur noun
taius. With these terrible cruptions came
sympathetic demonstration from the sea
The uvcrhAuging clouds were so surcharItd
with clrclrlcty that at one time over 10 huge
wutrispouts were seen. Hundreds of people
were unable to get out before the houses fell,
were aud buried beneath the great masses of
rocks and mud. Fissurc after tissure ap
peured III the sides If The mountains, and
here and there in the valleys there came n
great yawnng chasm. Much Of the north
ern portion of the slnnd, which was covered
with tracts OF forests, was soon in one great
blaze OF flame. The reu-hot vomiting from
the orators had set the trees on fire
Al noon Sunday the eruptlonS and shocks
were supposed to have reached their greatest
height, but late in the afternoon and evening
the violence OF the disturbances suddenly in
creased aud the island Of Java seemed to be
about completely buried in a mass of fire and
suphurous ashes. AT the same time the
enormous waves began to dash with greater
fnrpp upnn tho shores coming n some plappa
far up into the interior and great chasms
opened in the earth and threatened to engulf
large proportion of the islands people and
buildings. About midnight the most fright
full scene of the whole disturbance took place.
Suddenly an enormous luminous cloud form
ed over the kandang range of Mountains,
which skirt the southeast coast of the island.
This cllu gradually increased in size udtil it
formed II canopy of lurid red and whitish
gray over wide extent of territory. During
this time The erupliOus increase d, and streams
of lava poured necessarily down the sides of
the mountains into the valleys, sweeping every
toiug before them. Here and there stream
of lava would enter an arm Of the sea or
come in contact with the waters of river.
Then the nearest incandescent lava, as it
protrudcd from the great stream, would sud-
denly produce boiling heat aud rapid vapar-
ization, but the superficial consolidation that
almost instantly cusued would prevent any
further contact. The assures that opened
in this thin crust, as it solidihcd, would emit
torrents CT vapor extending high into the air,
and making tremendous Kissing aud seeth-
ing sound, AS if thousand locomotives were
simultaneously letting off steam, Here and
there in the lava streams were inuunerable
thin plue-likc crystals of icld>par, arranged
in trains, one hehind the other, in the direc-
ton Of the How of the current, and telsphat-
ic sphcro,les were rapidly formed in the
vitreOus matter, resembling those which
form in the Stag of "A glass furnace. One of
the most singular freaks of the eruption was
the carrying in the midst of the molten lava
of a bed OF solid ice of enormous SIZE which
had been emitted from one OF the craters,
borne along by the current and landed on the
extremity of Point St Nicholas, on the
northeast corner of the island. This bed
Of ice was surrounded by thick envel-
ope Of sind and scori9, which are such
non-conductors of heat that a red-hot
stream OF lava running over it will not melt
snow. Its supposed this ice had formed
the crust OF some vast subt,rranoan lake.
About o'clock Monday morning the
great cloud suddenly broke into small Sec
tions and quickly vanished. At the same
time the most irlgnlfu rumbIingS were
heard, and the columns Of fire and smoke or
the southeast corner OF the island ceased tc
ascend, while the cratcrs in The other part:
of Java seemed to open their fiery throa,s
still wider to let out the greatest quantities o.
lava, rocks, pumice and ashes yet vomtet
out, The Missing of the sea became SO louC
as to be almost deatenng, and the waves
rushed up on The shores to an unprecedented
height. When daylight came it was seer
that an enormous tract of land had disap-
peared, cxler ding from Point Capucin on thu
south TO n, tr:y' Paisotraug on the north ant
west to ~ Point, covering an extent OF
territory about so miles square. In th
were situated the villages of Negery
and Negery Babawang. OF the peop
inhabting these places and the native
scattered sparsely through the forest
and on the plains none escaped
frightful death. This section of the islant
was not 50 densely populated as the othe
portions, and the loss OF life was compare
lively small, although it must have aggre
gated fully $4,000 souls. The entire Kan
dang range of mountains extending alon
the coast in Il srmi-circc for about sixty
five miles had gone out of sight. The water
of Welcome bay, the Sunda straits aud Pei
per bay on the east, and of the Indian coca
on the south, had rushed in and formed
great sea of turbulent waters. Here and theI
the peak OF high crater was exposed for
moment by the receding of great wave ian
occasionally puff Of brownish gray smok
or slight shower Of rocks showed that tn
volcanoes still continued in active subaqueol
eruption. The debris of the submerged an
destroyed buildings was tossed hither al
thither over the tumultuous waters, the on
sign left that there had once been inhabit'
land where all was now waste of waite
Tho town Of Tnuprnnp. within ob miles
the city of Batavia, was swept away by Il
lava streams, and fully half the populatio
mostly Javauese, numbering about 1900, pc
ished.
AT Speelwyk, near Point Sa'cls, the re
hot rocks set fire to the houses and swe
all the lhickly settled portion of the tow
About ten bazlars belonging TO Europeo
were destroyed. The loss OF properly isvc
large, but no lives are known to have be