St. Landry democrat., 1883-09-08
THE JAvANEsE ERUPTIONs.
PieaNllne.

Picayune.
The details of the recent calnmitous
volcanic eruptiOns at and off the west
end of the Island of Java are very won.
tle1ful They rival any happenings OF
that description since tho sudden up
hrrling of the Mountain Jorulla III
Mexico, outef the midst OF the plain OF
Malpais, which was Watered by TWO
streams and under cultivation. Earth
auakes began, then flames burst from
the plain, then rocks We're hurled up
ward, then Jorrulla rose out OF the
earth and tewered upward till he yom-
ited his fire from a cone 100 feet above
the level Of the pl ain. But Jorulla IS
silent, while Java is massive center
at burning. whose great mountains
leave, fortunately, but few arabic inter
spaces in the western part OF the fertile
island. There are upward OF 400 vol
canoes in the earth crust, OF which Java
contains446 and Sumatra dying next
northwest 10. The lurid peaks of the
.Javanese ridge blaze tiercely enough
sometimes, but they scarcely equal IN
persistency Mount Sangay, in Ecuador,
4 which has been vomiting since 1928, and
whose explosions sometimes melt
1 and mingle into a continuous
roar, heard distance of 34S
geographical miles. But con-
| tinuous eruption is little dangerous.
The, Javanese incident involves per-
haps, 100000 lives, and has carried
down cities. Papandayang, more than
| seven thousand feet high was riven in
!. to seven parts. Volumes of carbonic
, acid gas rolled forth, killing birds,
1 beasts and men. Fourteen new volca-
noes rose out OF the sea between Java
! and Sumatra last Tuesday morning.
| The.Soengapan volcano split into i've
I parts. Another report says that sixteen
volcanoes appeared between krakatoa
and Sibisie Island. Krakatoa was an
4 island midway between Java and Su-
matra, in the Strait OF Sunda which is
/ sixty,miles wide.
krakatoa has gone down. The sea
] flows over the spot where the mountain
4 OF Kramatan sank into the neither fires.
This.monntain stood upon the Island OF
Sumatra at its extreme southeastern
A point, 1Se miles from Batavia and 100
miles north of krakatoa. The Merak
4 auaIries went down, carrying with
them every soul, Pelog Belongtown
was "a hundred miles northwest OF
krakatoa; it is gone. The towns of
Tjirigin aud AMER were on the west
coast OF Java, 40 miles apart: both are
gone.
/ The quantity of matter vomited is
| enormous. Floating on the sea is a
mass two feet thick, through which n
vessel can hardly force its way. In 1913
Mount ,GHntur flung out 100000 tons
of ashes and sand. In 1922 more than
a hundred villages were wasted by the
eruption of Mount Galunggung.
Yet this astonishingly ernptiye island
is marveioasly fertile. Falling ashes
interfere with coffee planting, but cof-
fee planting perseveres. The area OF
Java is only,49,176 square miles, but a
trifle ,mose than that of Louisiana yet
its population is 1906, 1929, of which
only about 100000 are foreigners OF
Oriental or European nations. This is
the most valuable dependency of the
Netherlands. whose entire colonial po-
sessions cover 766, 700 square miles, but
only have 100000 or 100000 people
besides the inhabitants of Java-say
some 3o,0OO,000 altogether.
How many Europeans does it require
/ to dominate an Asiatic race The
Netherlands.have 4,114,077 people, and
| seven times as many Asiatic subjects.
The United .Kingdom has 35,246,56s
and Asiatic subjects numbering 255,962-
541-again seven times,