The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1883-10-04
JAyA'S CANOPY OF FIRE.
A Deadly Rain from TwO-Thirds of
Her FOrty-Five Volcanoes.

eruptlOnS IN Jnat Island are much
more serious than at first indicated.
The disturbances began on the Island
of Krakatoa, in the Strait of Sunda,
about fifteen miles off the coast of
Java. The deep rumblings were dis
tinctly heard at Sarakerta and Batavia,
about forty-five and twenty-five miles
off respectively. Little alarm was
felt at first but within few hours
showers of stones began to fall at jog
jakerta, Sourabaya, and Samarang.
All through the night showers of red
hot rocks and ashes fell, making COM
plete darkness in all these towns. In
Batavia there was an occasional fall,
and it was difficult to keep the street
lights burning in the European quar-
ter. By the next morning all COM
munication with AMER was cut off,
all the bridges having been destroyed
by the descending rocks and ashes,
and the road rendered impossible.
The first eruptions were on Satur-
day night. On Sunday morning the
disturbances had extended beneath
the waters of the strait, and they were
soon boiling and Kissing violently,
while great waves washed upon the
Javanese shores, and the temperature
of the sea went up nearly twenty de-
grees. Even 40 far away from the or
iginal point of disturbance as Madura,
more than 500 miles, the furious waves
were lashed into mountains of foam
as they came in. The threatened
rumblings gradually became more
distinct, and by noon the Maha Moru,
the largest of the volcanoes of Java,
was belching forth flames at an
alarming rate. This eruption soon
spread to the Cunning, the crater of
which is the largest in the world, be-
ing nearly four miles in diameter, the
Cunning Guntur, and many other
minor mountains, until more than q
| third of the forty-five craters OF Java
We're either in active eruption or Sc
riously threatCsf.S q it.
| Just before dusk n great luminous
cloud formed over the Cunning Gun
tur, and the crater of that volcano be-
gan to vomit up enormous streams OF
acid, sulphurous mud, and smaller
quantities ,of lava. There were rap
idly succeeding explosions, followed
| by tremendous showers of cinders and
enormous fragments of which were
hurled high into the air and scattered
| in all directions to fall after their
force was spent upon the valleys be-
| low, carrying death and destruction.
With these terrible eruptions came
sympathetic demonstrations from the
sea. The overhanging clouds were so
surcharged with electricity that at
one time more than fifteen huge water
spouts were seen. These have contin-
ued at somewhat long intervals ever
since. Men, women and children
rushed in terror from their tottering
dwelling places, filling the air with
their shrieks Of horror Hundreds
were unable to get out before the
houses fell, and were buried beneath
the great masses of rocks and mud,
which were piled up where a few
hours before all had been peace, hap
piness and fancied security.
The Cunning Tengger has not had
an eruption before since the year 1900,
when an extent of land seventeen
miles long and seven broad was COM
plctely covered with the white sui
| phureus mud SO peculiar To the erup-
tions of Java. The peak of Cunning
Tengger is 5000 feet above the sea, and
the monument of flame on top of this
made scene Of wonderful grandeur.
Every moment huge bowlder Mt "A
red or white heat lwould be hurled
from Tengger's crater with terrific
force, and, after going hundreds of feet
into the air, would fall back with a
whirr, crashing the matched roof OF
some Chinese tisherman's hut, or
crushing beneath its huge mass the
body of some native peasant. Fissure
after tissure appeared in the sides of
the mountains, and here and there in
the valleys there came great yawnipg
chasms. On the elevated plains OF
Kediri and Bangdong the showers OF
stones, mud and lava were not so FREE
quent as in the lower portions Of the
island, but were more destructive.
Much of the northern portion Of the
island, which was covered with tracts
of forests, was soon in one great blaze.
The rcd-hot vomitings from the cra-
ters had set the trees on fire, and the
giants Of the woods fell one after an
other, like so many sheaves of wheat
before gale. As the eruptions in
creased in frequency and violence the
disturbance OF the waters surrounding
the barren coast became more aud
more violent. Here the waves rushed
in terrific force up the steep, rocky in
cline, breaking up on the overhang-
ing crags and receding rapidly, leav-
ing lava flow cooled just at the mo-
ment when IL WAS about to fall over
precipice, and there remaining, quick
ly hardened by contact with the
waters, and forming distinct strata of
black and bright red, purple and