Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1883-09-06
The Java Calamity.

/
year that will be memorable in the
chronicles of disaster, is furnished
by the great volcanic disaster in the
Island of Java.
In the destruction of human life
it surpasses the great Lisbon earth
quake of 1855, which filled Europe
with horror, which awoke in the
mind of young Goethe, then child
Of 6, as he records in bis biography,
questions respecting the benehcence
of Providence, and prompted Vol
taire to write one of his most re-
markable pieces in verse. The Lis
bon earthquake caused the death of
between forty and fifty thousand
people; the Java catastrophe has
brought sudden death to fully sew
enty-fve thousand, if the cable re-
ports can be relied upon, while, in
the wreck and rayage and transform
alton Of the earth s surface wrought,
it far surpassess in extent and awful
ness any volcanic disturbance known
during historic times.
The first eruption began on Satur-
day night, the 25th ult, on the Is
land of Krakatoa, in the Strait Of
Sunda, about fifteen miles from the
coast of Java. The sound of the
explosions could be heard at Bata-
via twenty-five miles distant At
first, little alarm was felt, but a few
hours later showers of stones and
ashes began to fall on the Island of
Java. Sunday morning there were
disturbances under the waters of the
strait, and an eruption began from
the Cunning volcano, the crater of
which is nearly four miles in diam
eter and the largest in the world,
while many smaller craters became
active. Late in the afternoon the
disturbances became more violent
Enormous waves dashed in from the
sea carrying destruction far inland.
AS the night came on, vast rivers of
lava poured into the sea, frightful
rumblings shook the earth, showers
OF hot rocks and burning ashes fell
as from the sky, and houses and for
ests were set on fire. The entire
range of the kandang mountains, ex-
tending along the coast for sixty five
miles in the form of semi-circle,
sank into the sea. When the morn
ing dawned, where they had lifted
their SUBMITS, the waters of the sea
were rolling. Here and there, as
great wave receded, the peak of a
submerged crater was exposed. A
tract of fifty miles square of land,
in which were several villages, had
sunk beneath the waters with all its
inhabitants 1t was one of the more
sparsely populated districts of the
island, but is estimated to have con
tanned az least Is, 900 souls. Villages
were swept away by torrents of lava,
and the courses of rivers changed. /
Several small adjacent islands have |
completely disappeared and new is
lands risen elsewhere. One of the
strange phenomena witnessed was
an enormous mass of solid ice car
ried along in a stream Of lava. 1t is |
supposed TO have been formed in |
some lake upon the mountain tops,
and was envoloped in sand and |
scoriie which, being slow conductors
of heat, prevented its melting more /
rapidly.
The Island of Java is not rs large
rs the state of Wisconsin, contain
ing in round numbers 10000 square
miles, while this contains $4,000. |
Much of the surface is mountainous,
yet the population is 2o,o0O,000, or !
more than ten times greater than /
that of this state. OF these, about /
10000 only are of European origin, |
chiefly Dutch, aud 100000 Chinese. |
The natives are of the Malay race, |
and nominally Mahometans in re-
hglon, though the mass of them are
extremely lgnorantand superstitious,
and are Pagans rather than Mahom,
etans. Batavia, the capital, is city
of about 100000 iuhabitants, of
whom less than 200 are Europeans. |
The Dutch first obtained a foothold !
IN the island at the beginning of the
seventeenth century, and gradually
extending their possessions after the |
fashion of the British in India. be- /
came complete masters of itin $50. I
1t produces large quantities of rice, I
eonee, sugar, spices and other tropi.
cal commodities The disaster which |
mas Just occurred, besides the enor-
nous loss Of life, has brought wide I
spread ruin upon the industries OF I
the island, which must be long in
recovering It's recent prosperity
F.tedatse Sentinel