The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1883-09-07
A DELUGE OF DEATH.
Whole Cities and Islands Swept
Out Of Existence.
FrightfI Result of Volcanic ErUp
lions on the Island of Java,

From the island of lava come particulars
of volcanic eruptions and tidal waves which
have caused the most terrible calamity of
modern times whole cities and islands being
swept away in a twinkling, and the inhabi-
tants to a man disappearing from the face of
the earth. The volcanic disturbances in the
neighborhood of Java began on the island of
Krakatoa, in the Strait of Sunda, about ff-
teen miles off the coast of Java. The deep
rumblings were distinctly audible at Sura-
kerta and Batavia, Java's chief city, about
forty-ive and twenty-five miles off respective
ly. Little alarm was felt at first, but within
a few hours showers of stones began to
fall at Jogjakerta, Sourabaya and
Samarang. In Batavia there was an
occasional fall, and it was difficult
to keep the street lights burning in the Euro
pean quarter. The first eruptions were on
Saturday night. On Sunday morning the
disturbances had extended beneath the waters
of the Strait, and they were soon boiling and
kissing violently. By noon the Maha Meru,
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,
being nearly four miles in diameter, the
Cunning Guntur and many other minor noun
tains, until more than a third of the forty-five
craters of Java were either in active eruption
or seriously threatening it. Just before dusk
a great luminous cloud formed over the
Cunning Guntur, and the crater of that vol
cano began to vomit up enormous streams of
white acid, sulphurous mud and small quaint
ties of lava. Hundreds were unable to get
out before the houses fell, and were buried
beneath the great masses of rocks and mud.
What a few hours before were fertile valleys,
covered with hOurishing plantations of cOf-
fee, rice, sugar, indigo, or tobacco, the staples
of the island, were now but mud, stone and
lava-covered fields of destruction and ruin.
Probably not a single crop in Java will be
saved.
At the entrance to Batavia was a large
group of houses extending along the shore
and occupied by Cinnamon. This portion of
the city was entirely swept away, and of the
5000 Chinese who lived in this swampy
plain it is hardly probable that more than
5000 managed to save their lives. They stuck
to their homes till the waves came that
washed them away, fearing the torrents of
the flame and lava of the interior more than
the torrents of water. OF the $500 Euro
peans and Americans in Batavia perhaps 800
persisted. 1t is impossible to make any esti-
mate of the great pecuniary loss. Many of
the baZaars in the higher parts of the city
were demolished. The exchange and the mill
tary hospitals suffered great damage.
AT AMER the European and American quar-
ter was first overwhelmed by rocks, mud, and
lava from the crater, and then the waters
came up and swallowed the ruins, leaving
nothing to mark the site, and causing the loss
of somewhere in the neighborhoOd of POO lives
of the inhabitants.
Bantam, once a prosperous native city, but
practically abandoned by Europeans many
years ago, was entirely covered by the water,
and there must have been from 200 to 1,50O
people drowned there. The island of Serang.
Just off the coast, was completely inundated,
and not a soul remains on it to tell the tale of
disaster and death.
At Cheribon there was no great flood of
water, but the loss of life and property by the
falling of rocks and the flow of lava must
have been considerable.
Buitenyorg suffered very seriously, as did
Samarang, Jogjakerta, Sourakerta and
Sourabaya, while the meager reports from
the lesser towns indicate that their loss was
as great in proportion.
Further particulars of the great volcanic
eruption in Java, which reached London from
Batavia, show that the disaster was even more
widespread and more disastrous than was
reported in first advices. At noon Sunday
the eruptions and shocks were supposed to
have reached their height, but late in the af-
ternoon and evening the violence of the dis
turbances suddenly increased, and the island
seemed to be about to be completely
buried in fire and sulphurous ashes.
At the same time the enormous
waves began to dash with greater force
upoIr 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 people and buildings. About
midnight the most frightful scene of all took
place. Suddenly an enormous uminou cloud,
similar to that which was seen over the
Cunning Guntur, but much greater in extent,
formed over the Kandang range of mountains
which skirt the southeast coast of the island.
This cloud gradually increased in size, until
it formed a canopy of lurid red and
whitish gray over a 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, sweep
Ing everything before them. Here and there
n stream of lava would enter an arm of the
sea OF come in contact with the water of a
river. Then the incandescent lava would sud
denly produce boiling heat and rapid vapor-
~ization, but the superficial consolidation that
almost instantly ensued would prevent any
further contact with the water. The assures
that opened in this thin crust as it solidi-
fled on the stream of lava emitted tor
rents of vapor extending high into the air,
and making n tremendous seething sound,
as if a thousand locomotives were simulta-
neously letting off steam.
One of the most singular freaks of the erup-
ton was the carrying i'll the midst of the
molten lava of a bed of solid ice of enormous
size, which had been emitted from one of the
craters. 1t was carried along by the current
and landed on the extremity of Point st. Mich
olas, at the northeast corner of the island.
This bed of ice was surrounded by a thick en-
NelOp1 Oh Slnu anu ScOIlt, WHICH III MN
conductors of heat. 1t is supposed this ice
had formed the crust of some subterIanear
lake. About > O'clock on Monday morning
the great cloud suddenly broke into small
sections and quickly vanished. AT the same
time frightful rumblings were heard, and
the columns of fire and smoke over the south
east corner of the island ceased to ascend,
while the craters in the other parts of Java
seemed to open their fiery Threats still
wider, to let out the greatest quantity of lava,
rocks, pumice, and ashes yet vomited forth,
The kissing of the sea became so loud as to be
almost deafening. The waves rushed up on
the shore to an unprecedented, height. When
daylight came it was seen that an enormous
tract of land had disappeared, extending from
Point Capucin ON the south to Negery PAT
sOerang on the north, and west to Low
Point, covering an extent of territory
about fifty miles square. In this wer,
situated the villages of Negery and Negery
Babawang. None of the people inhabitine
these places, or of the natives s~cattereo
sparsely through the forests and ON the plains
escaped death. This section of the island wa
.t -. l,,.nlxr ,N,,,,lafnl - fha other nor.