The Indianapolis journal., 1883-09-01
Severe Measures Against AntiJewish
Rioters in Croatia.
The Orleans Princes Don't Want To Be Re-
minded that Their Mother Was a German
Arctic Explorers Rescued.
THE JAVA CATASTROPHE.
Later Reports Increasing the Loss of Life
Review of the Devastation.


LONDON, Aug. 31-Reports from Batavia
received last night are of a more encourag-
ing nature, although details OF the horrors
of the eruption continue to come After
the sudden subsistence of the disturbances in
the kingdom of Bantam, on Monday the
eruptions seemed to lose their force for a
time, and the people of Batavia experienced
a feeling of relief in the hope that the worst
had been passed. The quieter condition con-
tinued until about 10 O'Clock, when the
craters once more began to send up great
masses of destructive matter although with
out the force of the former actions. The
eruptions seem to be more violent at night
than during the day. By II o'clock the
Papandayang, which is 1904 feet high, was
in very active state of paroxysmal erup-
tiop. 1t was accompanied by detonations
said to have been heard many miles away in
Sumatra. Three distinct columns OF flame
were seen to rise from the mountain to a
vast height, and its whole surface
soon appeared as if covered with fiery
lava streams, which spread to great
distances on all sides. Stones fell for miles
arou nd, and the black fragmentary matter
carried into the air caused total darkness. A
whirlwind accompanied this eruption, by
which roofs, trees, men and horses were car
ried into the air. The quantity of ashes
elected was such as to cover the ground and
roofs of houses at Denamo to the depth of
several inches. Off Point Cady the floating
pumice on the sea formed layer two feet
thick, through which vessels forced their
way with great difficulty. The rise of vapor
produced the appearance of column sew
eral thousand feet high, based on the edge of
the crater. 1t appeared from distance to
consist of a mass of innumerable globular
clouds of extreme whiteness, resembling vast
balls of cotton, rolling over the other as
they assembled, impelled by the pressure of
fresh supplies incessantly urged upward by
the continued explosions. At great height
the column dilated horizontally, and spread
into dark and turbid circular cloud,
shaped like an immense umbrella. Forked
lightning of great vividness and beauty
continually darted from different parts of
the cloud.
Suddenly the scene was changed The
mountain was split into seven parts, without
a moments warning, and where Papan-
dayang had stood alone there were now
seven distinct peaks looming up to a great
height. In the seams opened could be seen
great balls of molten matter. From the fis-
sures poured clouds of steam, and the black
elected lapillo poured in steady streams and
ran slowly down the mountain sides, form
ing beds 200 or 300 feet in extent, Exhala-
tions of carbonic acid gas were so abundant
that birds and animals in large numbers
were killed by it, and few human beings
lost their lives in the same way. This proved
to be the turning point in the eruption, for
the great assures opened seemed to act as
safety-valves through which the streams Of
lava gently flowed down the valleys. The
volcanic fires though still burning at last
advices had lost most of their fierceness. and
the steam generated found vent without be-
ing forced through the comparatively mar
row mouths of the old craters.
One of the queer incidents was the sudden
rising, during Tuesday afternoon, of four teen
new volcanic mountains in the straits of
Sunda, forming complete chain in almost
a straight line between Point ST. Nicholas on
coast of Sumatra, almost on the tops of
what had been the Morak and Middle islands,
which sank into the sea on Monday. So
serious are the changes in the coast and the
entire formation of the straits of Sunda that
the British government and the Lloyds this
evening telegraphed from London to all for
eign points warning vessels that navigation
of these waters had become exceedingly dam
gerous.
In the city of Bantam, where 500 persons
were at first supposed to have pershed, the
bodies of $500 have already been recovered.
Some nine hundred inhabitants of the in
terror town of Waronge are now known to
have been killed, and at Talatra on the coast,
300 bodies have been found. From all over
the island come reports of loss of life and
property, and it is thought at Batavia that
the estimate of $4,000 killed will not prove
excessive. On the low lands OF Batavia,
where the waters have receded and uuieted
down, hundreds of buried and mangled
bodies are lying exposed. A sanitary corps
has been formed, and the corpses are being
removed and buried as fast as possible, in
order to prevent the breeding and spread of
contagion. While there is some cause for
anxiety on this score, 1T is thought the
greater number of bodies in the interior
were so dried and scorched by the hot lava
and stones hat they will not putrefv, and
the bodies of those drowned by the tidal
Wave caii De taken care of with reasonable
facility by the coast sanitary corps, now get
ting ready to work.
A Captains Estimate of the Loss of Life.
BATAVIA, Aug. 31.-The captain of the AS
tra which was in the Strait of Sunda during
the recent volcanic eruptions, reports that
ashes fell on the deck of his vessel to the
depth of eighteen inches. He passed masses
of floating nnmice stone seven feet in denth