The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1883-09-08
JAvA,s FIERY MOUNTAINS.
The Number of Lives Lost Estimated at
Not Less than $4,000.

All the Lighthouses in the Strait of Sunda De-
stroyed and Mountain Swallowed Up-Nlllages
Swept Away by Lava and Water-The Disappear
ance of Islands
Last week we gave very short account of
the great loss of life and destruction of prop
erty by the volcanic eruption on the island of
Krakatoa, in the Strait of Sunda, which began
on Friday, August "a, 1885, The following
description and details are taken from the
cable letters to the New York San and Herald:
The island of Krakatoa is one of the Dutch
dependencies in the Strait of Sunda, lying
midway between the extreme westerly point
of the island of Java and the southeasterly
part of the island of Sumatra. 1t is about
forty miles from the garrison of Anjier, fort
on the Strait of Sunda, on the west coast OF
Java; sixty miles from Serang, the principal
town of the Bantam (Java) Residency, and
12O miles from the capital city and seat OF the
Dutch government in the East Indian Archl-
pelago, Batavia. 1t is about six or seven
miles in length and four or FIVE miles in width.
Like the surrounding islands of the East In
dian group, it is very mountainous and volca-
mic. Upon it the Dutch government have es-
tabGshed fort with small garrison, which
is in almost a straight line with Anjier, Java.
Aside from the soldiers in the garrison, there
are but few residents, and these are entirely
native. The island is not cultivated, and is
devoted entirely to the occupancy of the SOL
diers at the fort 1t is under the rule of the
resident Dutch governor at Batavia.
The Strait of Sunda is about sixty miles in
width and serves to connect the Indian Ocean
with the Java Sea, which is connected with
the Chinese Sea by means of numerous pas
sages or straits between the numberless is
lands Immediately to the north of Java and
Sumatra. The Island of Krakatoa is sur
rounded by groups of little islands, many of
which are nameless. The principal one is
known as "Dwars der Veg; or, 'Thwart the
Way" 1t is so called because as the straits
narrow between the southeasterly portion of
Sumatra and the westerly coast of Java they
are divided almost in the centre by this is
land, which, from its location, seriously inter-
feres with navigation. 1t is uninhabited, save
by a very few natives, and uncultivated.
Ships do not visit Krakatoa or any of the
smaller islands by which it is surrounded, but
make their first stop at Anjier, where water
and provisions are usually obtained.
The mountain of Kramatan, which has sunk
into the sea, was a very high peak, one of a
range of mountains running through the
southeasterly part of the Island of Sumatra,
and was situated at its extreme southeasterly
point. about thirty miles from "Thwart-the-
way'' Island, and about one hundred miles
directly north of the Island of Krakatoa. AS
the bird flies, this mountain would be about
one hundred and eighty miles from Batavia.
Where it is situated there are no seaports,
and vessels make no stoppages. Its lmme-
date neighborhood was uninhabited, and its
sinking cuts off the extreme point at the
southeast of Sumatra.
The town of Telok Belong is a small port
on the southerly side of Sumatra, and about
100 miles to the northwest of Krakatoa.
Tiiringin, another of the destroyed towns,
is on the west coast of Java, thirty miles
southwest of Bantam, forty miles south OF
Aniier, on the coast, and about the same dis
tance from Krakatoa. 1t is an important
seaport, and is the residence of many de-
scendants of the former rulers. The princi
pal building in the town is the Regents resi-
dence Comparatively few Europeans reside
there, and the population all told will not ex-
ceed one thousand. Between Krakatoa and
the city of Batavia, on the northerly coast OF
the Island of Java, there are numerous little
islands and many little villages, the principal
of which is Bantam.
Batavia, the seat of the Dutch government
in its Eastern dependencies, and the residence
of the Governor, is situated on the north coast
on a strip of low ground. Behind it and all
through the island run enormous ranges OF
mountains, all of volcanic origin. 1t is situa-
ted at the mouth of the Jakatra river, and is
a free port. Some of the streets have horse
railway lines, and others have canals, after
the Dutch STYLE 1t has exchanges, churches,
HOSPITALS, mosques, gymnasums, Chinese
temples, and botanical gardens. Its harbOr
is of great beauty, and may be safely entered
by the largest vessels. 1t is the great centre
of commerce in the Indian Archipelago, and
absorbs the greatest portion of the trade of
the entire island.
It's chief exports are coffee, sugar, pepper,
indigo, hides, cloves, nutmegs, spices, tin,
rattans and arrack. 1t has a population of
about 100, 1000, who engage in cultlvatlng the
products of the soil and exchanging them for
the imports of Europe and America. Of the
population about 3, 800 are white, 30, 600 Chi
nese, and the balance natives. It's connect
ed by rail with the town of Buitenzorg, thlr-
ty-six miles south of Batavia, where is situat-
ed the palace of the Governor General, a
prison, and one of the finest botanical gardens
in the world. The only other railroad in the
island is in the easterly part, and runs from
Sourabaya, on the coast, to Malang, in the
heart of the mountains, about 60 miles distant
The principal cities of the island are Cheri-
bon, Tagal, Samarang and Sourabaya.
LONDON, ENGLAND, August 29.-At noon
Sunday the eruptions and shocks were
supposed to have reached their height,
but late in the afternoon and evening the vio-
lence of the disturbances suddenly increased,
and the island seemed to be about to be COM
pletely buried in fire and sulphurous ashes.
At the same time the enormous waves began
to dash with greater force upon the shores,
coming in some places far up into the interior,
and great chasms opened in the earth and
threatened to engulf large proportion of
the people and buildings. About midnight
the most frightful scene of all took place.
Suddenly an enormous luminous cloud, SIM
liar to that which was seen over the Cunning
Guntur, but much greater in extent, formed
over the Kandang range of mountains which
skirt the south-ea coast of the island. This
cloud gradually increased in size, until it
formed canopy of lurid red and whitish gray
over wide extent of territory. During this
time the eruptions increased and streams of
lava poured necessarily down the sides of the
mountains into the valleys, sweeping every
thing before them. Here and there stream
of lava would enter an arm of the sea or come
in contact with the water OF river. Then
the incandescent lava would suddenly pro-
duce boiling heat and rapid vaporiZation, but
the superficial consolidation that almost in
stantly ensued would prevent any further
contact with the water. The fissures that
opened in this thin crust as it solidifed on the
stream of lava emitted torrents of vapor, ex-
tending high into the air, and making tre-
mendous seething sound, as if a thousand
locomotives were simultaneously letting off
steam. Here and there in the lava streams
were innumerable thin plate like crystals of
feldspar arranged in trains, one behind the
other, in the direction of the flow of the cur
rent, and felsphatic spherolites were rapidly
formed in the vitreous matter resembling
those which form in the Stag of glass furnaces.
One of the most singular freaks of the erup-
ton was the carrying in the midst of the mol
ten lava of bed of solid ice of enormous size,
which had been emitted from one of the era
tiers. 1t was carried along by the current and
landed on the extremity of Point st. Nicho-
las, at the northeast corner of the island.
This bed of ice was surrounded by thick en-
velope of sand and scorie, which are non-
conductors of heat. 1t is supposed this ice
had formed the crust of some subterranean
lake. About o'clock on Monday morning
the great cloud suddenly broke into small
sections and quickly vanished. At the same