Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1883-09-05
Wednesday, Sept. 5, 1888.
Jaya,s CanOpy OF Fire.

LONDON, Aug. zd-lne iaIoSI "u
vices from Batavia, the capital OF ia
va, show that the volcanic eruptions
in that island are much more serious
than at first indicated. The distur'
Dances began on the island of Kraka'
toa, in the Strait of Sunda, about fit'
teen miles off the coast of Java. The
deep rumblings were distinctly audi
BILE at Surakerta and Batavia, about
forty-five and twenty-five miles of
respectively. Little alarm was felt at
first, but within few hours showers
of stones began to fall at Jogjakertai
Sourabaya, and Samarang. All
through the night showers of red hot
rocks and ashes fell, making complete
darkness in all these towns. In Ba-
tavia there was an occasional fall, and
it was difficult to keep the street lights
burning in the European quarter. BY
the next morning all communication
with Anger was cut of, all the bridg'
es having been destroyed by the de,
scending rocks and ashes and the road
rendered impossible.
The first eruptions were OH Satur-
day night. On Sunday morning the
disturbances had extended beneath
the waters of the strait, and they were
soon beiling and Kissing violently,
while great waves dashed upon the
Javanese shores, and the temperature
of the sea went up nearly twenty de,
grees. Even as far away from the
original point of disturbance as Ma
dura, more than 500 miles, the furious
waves were dashed into mountains Of
foam as they came rolling in. The
threatening rumblings gradually be-
came more and more distinct, and 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 mountains, until
more than 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 Gun
tur, and the crater of that volcano
began to vomit up enormous streams
of white acid, sulphurous mud, and
smaller quantities of lava. There
were rapidly succeeding explosions,
followed by tremendous showers of
cinders and enormous fragments which
were hurled high into the air and scat
tered in all directions, to fall after the
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 con-
tinued at somewhat long intervals ever
since. Men, women, and children
rushed in terror from their lettering
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 few hours
before all had been peace, happiness,
and fancied security.
The Cunning Tengger has not had
an eruption before since the year 1900,
when an extent of land II miles long
and Z broad was completely covered
with the white sulphurous mud so
peculiar to the eruptions of Java.
The peak of Cunning Tengger is 5000
feet above the sea, and the monument
of flame on top of this made a scene
of wonderful grandeur. Every mo-
ment huge boulder at red or white
heat would be hurled from Tenagger's
crater with terrific force, and, after
going hundreds of feet into the air,
would fall back with a whirr, crashing
through the matched roof of some
Chinese fisherman's hut, or crushing
beneath its huge mass the body of
some native peasant. Fissure after
assure appeared in the sides of the
mountains, and here and there in the
valleys there came great yawning
chasms. On the elevated plains of
Kediri and Bandong the showers of
stones, mud, and lava were not so fire.
quent as in the lower portions of the
island, but were still destructive.
Much of the northern portion of
the island, which was covered with
tracts of forests, was soon in one great
blaze. The red-hot vomitings from
the craters had set the trees OH fire,
and the giants of the woods fell one
after another, like so many sheaves of
wheat before a gale. AS the erup-
tions increased in frequency and vio-