Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-09-04

Here the waves rushed with terrific force
up the steep, rocky incline, breaking upon
.Ie oterhahglng cragS and recedng rap
! ldlY, leaving a lava flow cooled lust at the
moment when it was about to fall over a
preclplce, and there remaining quickly
shapehed by contact with the waters and
/ forming distinct strata of black and
/ orlgnt red, purple and brown, Overthrown
ABOUT IN the most eccentric masses
While huge peaks Of baSalt rose at fire.
/ quent intervals.
Ihen came the waves overwhelming n
marshy plain, enguling hamlet of fish
ermen's rude houses, and, turning sud-
I denly back, swept away almost every yes
tlge OF What moment before had been a
scene of bustling activity. What a few
hours before were fertile valleys covered
with hOurishing plantations of coffee.
rice, sugar, indigo or tobacco, the staples
OF the island, were now but mud, stone
and lava covered fields of destruction and
ruin.
THE FEARFUL LOSS OF LIFE
At the entrance TO Batavia was a large
group OF houses extending along the shore
ana occupied by Cinnamon. This portion
Oh the city was entirely swept away.
ana OF the 2o,OOO Chinese who lived on the
s"ampy plains 1t is hardly probable that
more than hVe thousand managed to save
their lives. They stuck to their homes
TIL the waves came that washed them
away, tearing the torrents of the flame
and lava more than the torrents of water
OF the 5000 Europeans and Americans i'm
Batavia 800 perished.
At Anger the European and American
quarter was first overwhelmed hV rocks.
mud and lava from the crater. and then
the waters came up and swallowed the
ruins, leaving nothing to mark the site.
ana causing the loss of somewhere i'm the
nelghb0rhOOd of two hundred lives of the
lnhaDltants and those who tried to- find
refuge there. Bantam, once a prosperous
native city, but practically abandoned bv
Europeans many years ago. was en-
tlrely covered by the water. and
there must have been from twelve
hundred to fifteen hundred drowned. The
island of Serang, just off the coast, was
completely inundated, and not a soul re-
mains on 1t to tell the tale of death and
disaster. At CheribOn there was no great
Hood OF water, but the loss of life and
property by the falling of rocks and the
How OF the lava must have been consider
ablt. BlrtlnZonS suffered very seriously.
as did Samarang, JOgjakerta, SOurakerta
and Sourabaya, while the reports from
minor towns indicated that their loss was
as great in proportion.
TOWNS AND VILLAGES sWEPT-AWAY.
The Thousand Temples" at Bramba-
man, were greatly damaged, and some of
them destroyed. The dome of the noted
temple of BOrObOdO was crushed in by
falling rocks. The town of Tamerang,
within twenty-five miles of the city of
Batavia, was swept away by the lava
stream, and fully half the population.
mostly JaVanese, numbering about
eighteen hundred, perished. At Speelwvk,
near Point Salcis, the red hot rocks set
IRE to the houses and swept away all the
thlckly settled portions of the town.
About ten bazaars belonging to Europeans
were destroyed. The River Jacatra. ON
the banks of which Batavia is situated.
was so completely damned by the lava
ana debris that its course was changed,
ana 1rom kranien bastiOn it flowed down
through Iygiers street, and Joined the
waters of the river Emerades, swelling
that stream to such an extent that it rose
high on the Castor batteries. Figelenking
was almost totally DESTROYED, and a large |
number Of lives lost. The island of OniUs. |
five miles off the mouth of the Targerang /
Rand twenty miles east of Batavia. was |
completelyinundated, and the floating dock |
there totally destroyed. Baby and Cheri- !
bo islands lost the few houses and inhabi- !
tants upon them. In Batavia the roof of |
the Governors house was crushed in by a |
mass of mud and three OF his servants |
were killed. Midday Island, ten miles off |
the coast of Java, was almost wholly en- !
quilted. The towns of Anger, Tjiringine |
and TelokbelOng are reported as de-
strOyed, and all the lighthouses along the
Sunda Strait have disappeared