The Northern Pacific farmer., 1883-09-06
FonTY THoUsANn DEAD.

Eruption and Tidal Waves of the
Island OF Java. - -.
The latest advices fro m Batavia, the cap
ital Of Java, show that the volcanic erup
tions in that island are much more serioua
than at first indicated. q, The disturbances
began on the Island of Krskatoa. in the
strait Of Sunda, about fifteen miles of the
coast of Java. - ."-.
The first eruptions were on Saturday
night On Sunday morning the disturb
ances had extended beneath the waters ot
the strait, and these were soon boiling and
Kissing violently, while great waves dashed
upon the Javanese shores, and the temper
ature of the sea went up nearly 20 deg,
even as far away from the original point Of
disturbance as Madura. The furious waves
were lashed into mountains OF foam as they
came rolling in. The threatening rumb-
lings gradually became more and more dis
tinct, and soon the Malta Meru, the
largest of the volcanoes of Java, was
belch Ing forth flames at a very alarming
| rate. Men, women and children rushed in
| terror from their tottering dwelling places
| filling the air with their shrieks Of orror.
Hundreds were unable to get ont before the
houses fell and we're buried beneath great
mass IS ofrocks and mud which were piled
| up where few hours before all had been
peace, happiness and fancied security.
With these terrible eruptions came SYM
pathetic demonstrations from the sea. The
charged with electricity that at one time
over fifteen huge waterspouts were seen. As
the eruptions increased in frequency and
violence, the disturbance of the waters sur.
rounding the barren coast beca re more and
more violent. Here the waves rushed in
with terrific force up the steep, rocky in
cline, breaking upon the overhanging crags,
and receding Rapidly, leaving a lava low
cooled just at the moment when it was about
to tall over the precipice, and there remain
ing quickly hardened by contact with the
waters. The European and American
quartz" was first overwhelmed by rocks,
mud and lava fro the, craters, and then
the waters came up and swallowed the
ruins, leaving nothing to mark the site, and
causing the loss of somewhere in the neigh
borhood of 10000 inhabitants and those
who had tried to find refuge there. Ban
tam, once prosperous and dourishing ma
tive city, but practically abandoned many
years ago, was entirely covered several
times by the waters, and there must have
been from 1,200 to !, 500 people drowned.
At the last advices the eruptions were still
continuing, although their violence had
aoated somewhat, and it is feared that the
end of the disaster will show it to have
been one of the most frightful ever known
in the history of volcanic eruptions.
Java is an island in the Malayan archi-
Peiago, the principal seat ofDutch power in
the East, and after Sumatra and Borneo, the
largest in the Sunda group. 1t is between
the Java sea and the Indian ocean. The
island is $50 miles long by 80 to 35 miles
broad, and has an area of 49, 73O sutare
miles. The island is traversed throughout it's
whole length by two chains of mountains,
thickly set with volcanoes, active and ex-
tinct, varying from 5000 to 1900 feet in
height.
MORE DISASTROUS THAN At FIRST REPORTED.
LONDON, Special Cablsgram, Aug. 29.-Fur
in Java, which have just reached London from
Batavia show the disaster to have been even
moro widespread and more disastrous than re-
ported in yesterdays advices. At noon Sunday
the eruptions and shocks were supposed to
have reached their greatest height Bnt late
in the afternoon and evening the violence
of the disturbances suddenly increased, and
the island seemed to be about to be completely
buried in mass Of fire and sulphurous ashes.
At the same time enormous waves began to
dash with great force upon the shores, COM
ing in some places far up into the interior, and
ened to engulf large portion of the islands,
people and buildings About midnight the
most frghtful scene of the whole disturbance
took place. Suddenly an enormous luminous
cloud, similar to that which was seen on the
Cunning Guntur, but much greater in extent,
formed over the Kandang range of mountains,
which skirt the southeast coast of the island.
The cloud gradually increased in size
until it formed canopy of lurid red and
whitish gray over wide extent Of territory:
During this time the eruplons increased and
streams of lava poured incessantly down the
sides of the mountains into the valleys, sweep
ing everything before them Here aud there
astream 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
protruded from the great stream would sud
denly produce
BOILING HEAT AND sICKEN1NG vAPoRs,
but the superficial consolidation that almost in
stantly ensued would prevent any further con-
tact- The assures mat opened in this thin
crust as it solidined would emit torrents of
vapor, extending high into the air and making
tremendous hlssiug and seething sound as il
thousand locomotives were simultane-
ously letting off steam. Here and
there in the lava streams we're
innumerable thin plate-like crystals of
fe dspar, arranged. in trains one behind the
other in the direction of the flow of the cur
rert and feldspathic sphericles were rapidly
formed in the vitreous matter, resembling
those which form in the Stag of glass
furnace. One Of the most singular freaks
of the eruption was the carrying in the
midst of the molten lava Of q bed
of solid ice of enormous size, which
had been emitted from one of the craters, car
ried along by the current, and landed on the
extremity on Point st. Nicholas on the north
east corner of the island. This bed Of ice was
surrounded by thick envelope Of sand and
scoria, which are such -nonconductors Of heat
that a red hot stream of lava running over it
will not melt snow. 1t is supposed this ice
had formed the crust of some vast subter-
ranean lake. About 2 o'clock Monday morn-
ing the great cloud suddenly broke into small
sections and quickly vanished. At the same
time the most frightful rumblings were heard,
and the columns of fire and smoke On the
to ascend, while the craters in the
other parts of Java seemed to open their fiery
throsts still wider to let out the greatest guam
titles Of lava, rocks, pumice and ashes yet
vomited out The kissing Of these became so
loud as to be almost desfening, and the waves
washed up on the shores to an unprecedented
height When daylight came it was seen
ENORMOUS TRACT OF LAND HAD DISAPPEARED
extending from Point Capreccin, on the south,
to Negery Pafsoreang, on the north, and west
to Q low point covering an extent of territory
about fifty miles square. In this we're situated
the villages Of Negery and Negery Babawang.
Of the people inhabiting these places and the
natives scattered sparsely through the forests
and on the plains uone escaped frightfu]
death. This section of the island was not go
densely populated as the other portions, and
the loss of life wac comparatively small, al
though it must have aggregated fully $4,000
souls. The entire Candang range of mount
ho at