The Delaware farmer., 1883-09-21
A JAVA EARTHQUAKE.
A STORY OF TERRIBLE DEVASTATION.
An Authentic Account OF an Eruption which
Occurred in 1915.

S6tt6 gives tlS 4O4l1M4uS dCCOunt VI q
similar disaster which occurred in 1915:
Sir Stamford Raffles, who was then
Governor of Java, reported that ''no
one remembers, nor does tradition re-
cord, so tremendous an eruption" The
first announcement resembled a pro-
longed cannonade, loud or subdued, ac-
cording to distance or wind, and the re-
sponsible authorities in Java instantly
prepared to resist an attack. The people
at some of the hill stations hurried down
in arms preparedto defend the head fac
tories; in some cases troops were
marched to posts supposed to be in
danger and the East India Company's
cruiser Benares was sent from Macassar,
with detachment of soldiers on board,
in search Of the enemy. The sound of
the explosions was heard as far off as
Sumatra, a distance of go geographical
miles; and utter darkness was caused by
the tall of ashes even in the Glesia dis
trict, more than 300 miles. away. Ex-
plosions, had been noted as early as the
9TH of..Al5ril; but it was not till five days
later that the eruption developed in the
alarming manner which has given it a
prominent place on the records of Java.
The Rajah Of Sangar, who witnessed it
as a close spectator, gave this descriP- !
ton of the outbreak: "About seven
o'clock on the night of the 10th of April |
three distinct columns of flame burst
forth near the top of the mountain, all |
of them apparently within the verge of
the crater; and, after ascending sepa-
rately to a very great height, their tops
united in the air in a troubled, confused |
manner. In a short time the whole
mountain next Sangar appeared like a
body of liquid fire extending itself in
every direction. The fire and columns
of flame continued to rage with unabat-
ed fury, until the darkness caused by
the quantity Of falling matter obscured
it at about eight o'clock.
The captain of a Malay PROV from
Timor reported that on the following
day Cthe 11th), while at sea, far distant
from Sambawa, he was in utter darkness;
and that on his passing the Tomboro
Mountain at a distance of five miles he
observed the lower part of it in flames,
and the upper part covered with clouds.
just as the spectacle of the mountain in
flames was being rendered imperceptible
by the heavy clouds which emanated
from the crater, about eight o'clock in
the morning of the first great day of
the eruption (the 1Oth), stones, generally
about the size of walnuts, but in some
cases as large as two fists, came down
thickly at Sangar; and between nine and
ten o'clock ashes began to fall. Soon
after there was experienced a violent
whirlwind, which blew down every house
in the village of Sangar, and in the dis
trict nearer the agitated volcano tore up
by the roots the largest trees and carried
them along in the air, together with
men, houses, cattle, and whatever else
had come within its influence. The sea
rose nearly twelve feet higher than it
had ever been known to be before, and
swept away houses and everything with
in its reach. The whirlwind lasted
about an hour. No explosions were
heard till it had ceased, at about eleven
o'clock. From midnight till the evening
of the next day (the 11th) they con-
tinued without intermission. Afterward
their violence moderated, and they were
only heard at intervals; but the explo-
sions did not cease entirely until the
18th of July, and toward the close of 6
September the mountain was still throw !
ing out immense volumes Of smoke.
The greatest devastation conceivable 8
appears to have been wrought by the '
showers of ashes. At Bima, forty miles !
from Tomboro, the explosions were
smost terrific" The anchorage of Bima
was also altered considerably. The
commander OF the Benares, sailing from S
NIacassar southwark at dawn of the 18th v
to ascertain the cause of the heavy can S
nonade, reports that at eight o'clock the /
face of the heavens to the southwark G
and westward had assumed a dark as a
pect; by eleven the whole of the heavens d
were obscured, except small space near a
to the horizon to the eastward, the quar- f
ter from which the wind came. The C
ashes then began to fall in showers, and i
the appearance was altogether truly aw- S
full and alarming. By noon the light +
that had remained in the eastern part of Il
the horizon had disappeared, and COM j
plete darkness covered the face of day. a
This continued so profound during the S
-. .f A., L., +I,ot tl,a command n