The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-09-06
TERROR IN lava.
Cities Overwhelmed with Showers NJ
Rcd.IIot Lava Dclchcd Forth from
Adjacent Volcanic Isles.
riishtful Destruction OF Human life
and Property.
In Some Islands Not q Living Thing
Escaped tho Awful Calamity.
The Havoc in Observation-Disclosures and
Europeans Alike Sufferers.

cable Dispatch from LOndOn.1
The latest adyices from Batavia tho cnp-
ital Of Java, show that tho volcanic crup-
lions In that island are much moro serious
than at first Indicated. Tho disturbances
began on tho island Of Krakntoa, In tho
strut OF Sunda, about fifteen miles of tho
coast OF Java The deep rnmblings wero
distinctly audible ut Snrakcrta and Batavia,
about forty-iyo and Twenty-Five miles of,
respectively Little alarm was felt ut first,
but within n few hours showers Of stones
began to fall a. Jokjokcrta. Rurabaya and
Ierant All through tho night showers Of
red hot rocks nnd ashes foil, making COM
plctc darkness IN all these towns In Bata-
via there was IN occasional fnll, and IL was
difficult 10 keep the street lights burning in
all communication with AMER wax cut of,
all the bridges having been destroyed by the
descending rocks and ashes, and the road
rendered impossible.
The first eruptions were on Saturday
night On sunday morning tho disturb.
the strait, and they were room boiling and
Kissing violently, while great waves dashed
upon the Java near shores, anil the tcm-
perature OF the sea went up nearly ~ Ito.
ereeR Even AZ far away from tho original
point OF disturbances ~ Mndura the furious
"
as they came rolling In. The threatening
rnmblings gradually become more and
more distinct and BY and by the Malta
Meru, the largcas Of the volcanoes Of Java,
was bclching forth flames at a very alarm
Ing rate. This eruption soon spread to tho
Cunning Guntur. the crater OF which Is tho
largest in the world, being nearly four
miles In diameter tho Cunning Guntur and
many other minor mountains, until more
than III I'd Of the forty-iivc craters Of
Java Were either In active operation or
seriously threatening IL
just before dark u great luminous cloud
formed over the Cunning Guntur, and the
crater of that volcano begun to vomit up
enormous streams Of white, acid, sulphur
GUS mud, beside small quantities OF lava
there we're rapid successive explosions. fol-
lowed by tremendous showers of cinders
and enormous fragments. which were
hurled high into the mir and scattered In oil
directions TO fall after the force was spent
upon the valleys below, carrying death and
destruction. With these terrible eruptions
came sympathetic demonstrations from the
sea The ovcrhanging clouds were 10 sur
charged with electricity that ut ono time
over fifteen huge waterspouts were seen
Men, women, and children rushed in terror
from their tot,cring dwelling places filling
the air with their shreks of horror. Hun
dreds were unable to ret out before tho
houses fell. and were buried beneath tho
great maSses of huge rocks and mud, which
were piled up where few hours before all
had been peace, happiness and faneied ee-
curtty The Cunning Tengger has not had
an eruption before since tho year ISM, when
an extent Of land seventeen miles long and
seven broad was completely covered with
the white sulrhurous mud 30 peculiar to tho
eruptions Of Java
The peak OF Cunning Tcngger IL q, 200 feet
high, and the monument OF flame on top Of
this made = scence Of very impressive
grandeur Every moment huge howlder,
Mt red or white heat, would be hurled
from Tenggcrs crater with terrific force,
end after going hundreds OF feet into the
air would fall back with whiir, perhaps
crashing through the matched root If some
Chinese tsherman's hut, or crush beneath
Its huge mass the form of some native
peasant Flssurc after tissue appeared In
the sides Of the mountains aud here and
there In the valleys there came great
yawning chasm on the elevated lains II
kediri and Eanaong, lheshowcrs Of s:ones,
mud and lava We're not 40 frequent ~ In tho
lowest portions OF tho island, but were still
quite destructive.
Much IL the northern portion Of the island,
which was covered with traces OF forest, was
soon III one great blaze OF flame The red
hot vomiting from The craters had set the
trees on hire, and az the giants OF the woods
fell one after another like no many eheavcs
OF wheat before gale, the scene was one OF
awful grandeur. A the eruptions increased
In frequency and violence tho disturbance
Of the water surrounding tho barren coast
became more and more violent Hero tho
waves rushed with terrific force up the
steep rocky incline, breaking upon the
ovcrhanging crags and r.cedlng rapidly
leaving lava How cooled lust ut the
moment when II was about to fall over q
prcc pice and there remaining, quickly
hardened by contact with the waters and
forming q distinct strata OF black and bright,
trsaln aud IN
about In the most eccentric manner, while
huge peaks OF hasalt rose At frequent in
tervals Then the waves came whelm-
ing over marshy plain along tho
shore, suddenly cngulhng a hamlet of
fishermen's rude houses, and. turning
vestige OF what had moment before been
. scene Of bastling activity, where family
after family had been rushing around in
the vain cndcaSor TO save their effects and
get away with their lives from the awful
combination Of elements threatening them.
What few hours before were fertile valleys,
covered with fionrishing plantations Of
coffee, rice, sugar, indigo, or tobacco, tho
staples Of the island were soon hut mud
stone and lava-covered fields OF destruction
and ruin Probably not \ single crop OF
Java will be saved. At the entrance to
tending along the shore and occupied BY
Cinnamon This portion OF the CITY was
entirely swept away, and Of the sa,ua
Chinese who lived on the swampv plain ii
Is hardly probable that more than sun
managed to save their lives They stuck
70 their homes till tho waves that washed
them away csme, fearing the torrents OF
the flame and lava Of the interior mere than
the torrent OF water from the exterior.
The population Of Europeans and Amerf.
cans In Batavia suffered = loss OF perhaps
s,O souls out Of the 4 500 whites living
there. Many Ut the haxaars In the higher
portions Of the city were demolished, and
II is impossible TO make amy estimate OF the
great pccnniaTy 10 4 The Exchange and
age At AMER The European and American
quarter WAS first overwhelmed by rocks
mud, and lava from the craters and then
the waters came mn and swallowed the
ruins, leaving nothing to mark the site, and
causing the loss Of somewhere in the neigh
borhood Of 400 lives OF the inhAhit ants,
and those who had tried 70 find . refuge
there Bantam, once prosperous and
abandoned many years ago, was entirely
covered several times by the waters, and
there must have been from l.sW
TO 500 people drowned Tho island
OF Serang, Just off the coast was
completely inundated, and not 4 soul re-
mains TO tell the tale Ut disaster and death
Al Cheribon there Was no great Hood OF
waters. but the loss Of life aud property hy
must have been very considerable. Rur;en-
xorg suffered very seriously, a. did samar-
ang. Johlokurta, SnrakertA and SurAhusa,
while the meager reports from the lesser
towns indicate that their loss was great in
| proportion The Thousand Temples, at
Brambaran, were very much damaged, and
some Of them totally DESTROYED Some oil
,f thxa~& m