The daily gazette., 1883-08-30
THE FEAST OF DEATH.
OF PEOPLE LOST
IN JAPAN.
DESTROYED BY FIRE AND FLOOD.
Towns and Villages Covered by Molten
Lava or Swept Away by Immense Waves
Terrible Loss of Life and Property.

1 ONEAnAO A<Ose VI Lllo ana Property.
LONDON, August 29. 9.-Further particulars
of the great volcanic eruption in Java,
which have Just reached London from Ba-
| tavia, show the disaster to have been even
more widespread than reported in yester-
days advices. At noon on Sunday the
eruptions and shocks were supposed to have
reached their greatest height, but late In the
afternoon and evening the violence of the
disturbances suddenly increased and the Is
land OF Java seemed about to be COM
| pletely buried In mass of 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 a large proportion of
the islands people and buildings. About
midnight the most frightful scene of the
whole disturbance took place. Suddenly an
enormous luminous club, similar u that
which was seen over the Cunning Gunter,
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 1t formed a
| 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 everything b. fore them.
One OF the most singular freaks of the
| eruption was the carrying in the midst of
the molten lava of bed of solid ice of enor-
| nous size, which had been emitted from one
| OF the craters, carried along by the current
| and landed on the extremity of Point st.
Nicholas, on the northeast orner of the
| island. This bed of ice was surrounded bv
| thick envelope af sand and scoriae, which
| are such non-conductors of heat that red
/ hot stream of lava running over them will
not melt snow. 1t is supposed that this ice
had formed the crust of some vast subter-
| ranean lake.
GREAT TRACK OF LAND SWALLOWED UP.
| About O'Clock Oh Monday morning the
| q eat cloud suddenly broke into small sec
tions and quickly vanished. AT the same
| time the most irigntful rumblings were
heard and the columns of fire and smoke
on the southeast corner oi the Island ceased
| TO ascend, Whilt fig ":atcrs in Ehr ~ ner
parts OF Java sCcm-d to open their II nv
Uhroats still wider 10 let cut the gi,.arest
quantities oi lava, rocks, punIieo and ashes
yet vomited out Tur hiss,ng Of tjesta ne
csme so loud rs ." be ,l'nnsl dcuirHiua. nd
| the waves rushed up oii the shores u au ln-
| precedented b-izht. When aagius.iL ". ne
II was seen that AN enormous rack uI and
had disappeared, r&irud'a,A frunl ? ia Ia
| pucln appeared tbe SOUTH to
Ncgery PafscGring o. the north. aud est
TO Low Point, covering an rXtcnso. terri ury
about 80 milas squure. Ia tns we're
situated the villages ot Ntgery aud Ncgery
Babawang. OF the puop!c innAbitinr these
places and the natives scattered sparsely
through the forests and OH the piaius none
escaped trightiul death. This section OF
the island was not so densely populated IS
the other portions aud the loss OF life was
comparatively small, althou. 1t must have
aggregated fully $1,000 souls. The entire
Kandang range of mountains, extending
along the coast in a semi-circle for about IS
miles, had gone out of sight. The waters
| of Welcome Bay, the Sunda Straits and
| Pepper Bay on the east and of the Indian
Ocean on the south had rushed in and
| formed great sea OF turbulent waters.
SWEPT AWAY BY LAVA STREAMS.
Tho town of Tanerang, within 80 miles of
/ the city of Batavia, was swept away by the
| lava streams and ully half the population,
mostly Javanese, numbering about 1900,
perished.
At Speelwyk, near Point Salcis, the red
hot rocks set fire to the houses and swept
| away all the thickly settled portion OF the
town. About ten baZaars belonging to Eu-
| ropeans were destroyed. The loss OF prop
erty is very large, but no lives are known to
| have been lost. The river Jacatra, on the
banks of which Batavia is situated, was SO
completely damned by the lava and debris
that its course was changed and from
Franiero Bastion it flowed down to and
through Tigers street and Joined the waters
of the river Emerades, swelling that stream
to such an extent as to rise high on the Cas-
tor batteries. Fijelenking was almost
totally destroyed and large number of
lives were lost. The Island of Onius, five
miles off the mouth of the Tangerang river
and 20 miles east of Batavia. was completely
inundated and the floating dock there was
totally destroyed. Caataye, Clags and
Tronwers Islands, off the portion Of Java
which disappeared, are out of sight and not
| vestige of them is left. Baby and Cheryby
Islands, off the north coast, but small in ex-
tent, lost the few houses and inhabitants
upon them.
THE LOSS IN BATAVIA.
In Batavia the loss has been largely in
creased since the former reports. The roof
OF the Governors house WAS crushed in by a
mass of heavy mud, and three of the re-
tainers were killed. The town bridge was
destroyed, the Diamond and Pearl Bastions
were badly damaged and the Burran re-
doubt was destroyed. On Caymans, Mala-
bar and Lyons streets, the principal avenues
of the city, the damage is very great. Fort
Aatyoi is entirely destroyed. The town of
Faggal was severely shaken and few build
ings were left standing,
The aggregate loss OF life from the various
elements of the terrible disturbances must
be fully 10000, but the number of those who
perished can never, of course, be accurately
approximated.
LONDON, August ga dispatch from
Batavia, Java, to the Lloyds, says that the
towns of Anjier, Tjiringine and Telokbelong
have been destroyed by the volcanic erup-
tions. 1t also says that all the light houses
In the Sunda Straits have disappeared, and
that where the Mountain of Kramatan form
erly stood the sea now flows. The aspect of
the Sunda Straits is mnch changed and navi-
cation is dangerous.
BATAVIA, August 80 - The tidal
wave completely destroyed Anjier. The
loss of life among both Europeans
and natives at North Bantam was
enormous Since noon yesterday every
thing has been quiet. The sky is clear and
communication with Serang has been re-
stored. The temperature fell 10 degrees on
Monday, but 1t is now at its normal height.
The town is covered with thin layer of
ashes, which was so hot when falling that IL
killed birds. Telegraph linemen report that
while they were at work repairiug line, near
Anfr all,