The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-09-01
THE JAVA HORROR.
Mountains and Islands Swallow
ed Up By the Sea.
Seventy-FIVe Thousand Persons Perish
All Former Disasters Sink Into
InsignIiiCanoe.

LONDON, Aug. 2O.-Particulars of the
great volcanic eruption in Java, which
| have Just reached London from Batavia
show the disaster to have been even
more widespread and more disastrous
than first reported. At noon Sunday the
| eruption and shock were supposed to
have reached their greatest hight, but
late in the afternoon and evening the
violence of the disturbance suddenly in
| creased, and the island seemed 10 be
about to be completely buried in mass
of fire and sulphur ashes. At the same
time the enormous waves began to dash
with greater force on the shores, COM
| ing in some places far up into the in
| terror, and great chasms opened in the
earth and threatened to engulf large
portion Of the islands people and build
ings. At midnight the most frightful
| scene of the whole disturbance took
place.
Suddenly an enormous luminous cloud,
| similar to that which was seen over the
Cunning Gunter, but much greater in
extent, formed over the Kadang range
of mountains which skirt the southwest
coast Of the island. This cloud gradu-
ally increased in size until it formed
canopy of lurid red and whitish grey
over wide extent of territory. During
| this time the eruption increased, and
| streams of lava poured necessarily down
| the sides of the mountains into the
| valleys, sweeping everything before
| them. Here and there a stream of lava
| would enter an arm of the sea or come
| in contact with the water of the river.
Then the nearest incandescent lava, as
it prOtruded from the great stream,
would suddenly produce boiling heat
and rapid VapOTiZatiOn, but the super
| hc1al consolidation that almost instant
| ly ensued would prevent further contact.
| The assures that opened In this thin
| crust as 1t sOlidified would emit torrents
of vapOr extending high into the air,
| and making a tremendous kissing and
| seething sound, as if a thousand loco
] motives we're simultaneously letting off
| steam. Here and there in the lava
| streams were innuperable thin plate
| like crystals of feldspar arranged In
| trains one behind the other i'll the direc-
tiOn of the flow Of the current, and
| felsphatic spheTOlites were rapidly
| formed in the vitreOus matter resembl-
| ing those which form in the Stag of a
| glass furnace.
One of the most singular freaks of the
eruption was the carrying N the ~ is-.Jt
| of the molten lava OK bed of solid ice
| of enormous size, which had been emit
| ted from one of the craters, carried along
| by the current and landed on the ex-
| tremity of Point st. Nicholas on the
northwest corner of the island. This
bed of ice was surrounded by thick en-
| velOpe Of sand and scOTiB which are
| such nOn-cOnductOT5 of heat, that red
| hot stream of lava running over 1t Will
not melt snow. 1t is supposed that this
| ice had formed the crust of some vast
| subteTranean lake.
| About o'clock Monday morning the
/ great cloud suddenly broke into small
| sections and quickly vanished. At the
same time the most frightful Tumblings
| were heard, and the columns of fire and
smoke on the southwest corner OF the is
land ceased to ascend, while the craters
in the other parts of Java seemed to open
their fiery thTOats still wider to let out
| the greatest quantities of lava, rocks,
pumice and ashes yet vOmited out. tThe
Kissing of the sea became so loud as to
be almost deafening, and the waves
| rushed up on the shore to an unprece-
dented hight.
When daylight came it was seen that
an enormous tract of land had disap-
peared, extending from Point Capucin
on the south to Negery PatOserang on
the north and west to low point cover
ing an extent of territory about fifty
miles square. In this were situated the
villages of Negery and Negery Baba-
wang. OF the people inhabiting these
places, and the natives scattered through
the forests and on the plains, none esca-
ped a terrible death. This section of
the island was not so densely populated
as the other portions, and the loss OF life
was comparatively small, although 1t
must have aggregated 1900 souls. The
entire range of KaTdang mountains, eX-
tending along the coast in semi circle
for about 60 miles, has gone out of sight.
The waters of Welcome Bay, the Sunda
Straits and Pepper Bay on the east, and
the Indian Ocean on the south, had rush
ed in and formed a great sea Of turbu-
lent waters. Here and there the peak
of high crater was exposed for mo-
ment by the Teceding of great wave,
and occasionally q puff OF brOwnish
gray smoke or a slight shower of rocks
showed that the volcanoes still cOntin-
ued in active subaqueOus eruption.
The debris of submerged and destroy
ed buildings was tossed hither and thith-
er on th6 tumultuOus wateT-the only
sign left that there had once been in
habited land where all was now waste
of water.
The town of LaneTOng, within twenty
miles of the city OF Batavia, was swept
away by lava streams. and fully half
the population, mostly Japanese, num-
bering about 1906, perished. At Speel
Wyk, near Point Salcis, the TedhOt rocks
set hre TO the houses. ana swept away
all the thickly settled portions of the
town. About ten 6azar5 belonging to
Europeans were destroyed. The loss of
property is great, but no lives are known
to have been lost.
The river Jacatra, on the banks of
which Batavia is situated, was so COM
pletely damned by lava and debris that
its course was changed, and from the
Franieu bastian it flowed down through
Tigers street and joined the waters of
the river EmeTades, swelling that stream
to such an extent as to rise high on the
Caster batteries. Fijelenking was to-
tally destroyed, ana large number Of
lives lost.
The island of Oneius, i've miles off the
mouth of the Tangerana river, and 20
miles east Of Batavia, was completely
inundated, and the floating dock there
was totally destroyed. Caatsye Claps and
the TrOnweTs island, off the portion of
Java which disappeared, are out of sight,
not a vestige of them is left. Baby and
Cheriba Islands, off the north coast, but
: small in extent, lost the few Inhabitants
upon them. In Batavia the loss has
been largely increased since the former
1 30 Of hat Gnuarnnrg,