The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-08-31
SAN FRANcIsco, Aug. 29, 18S3.
JAVA VOLCANOES.
The Island the Center of Burning Mount
ains-Their Deadly Nature.

ains-Their Deadly Nature.
The volcanoes of Java present very ma
iestic appearance on account of their iso-
lation. This is especially the case with
those on the eastern side. The volcanoes
on the western side being located upon
an undulating plateau, lose in their APP
pearance of height; but on the east all the
volcanic mountains rise from the plains like
islands above the waves of the sea, and COM
mand the horizon far and wide with their
enormous cones. Many of the volcanoes, in
the external details of their conformation,
present regularity of outline which is due
in great part to the monsoon rains the most
destructive agents of the tropical regions.
The violent torrents which periodically pour
down the mountain slopes carry along the
unresisting accumulations of ashes and loose
scori@ and deposit them in long slopes
around the base of the mountains By
the passage of all this debris the
sides of the mountain are cut out
at intervals by ravines or furrows, which
gradually widen from the summit to the
base, and obtain depth of from 200 to 660
feet. There are some volcanoes, such as the
Soombing, in which these ravines assume so
perfect regularity that the whole mountain,
with its equidistant burrows and intermedi.
ate walls, resembles a gigantic edifce based
upon enormous butresSes, like the nave of
gothic cathedral.
Formerly the beauty of the island and the
fury of its volcanoes were the cause of its
being altogether dedicated to silva, the god
of destruction; and in the very craters of the
burning mountains the worspippers OF Ter
ror and Death were in the habit Of building
their temples. In many spots the ruins of
these sanctuaries are discovered in the midst
of trees and thckets, which the Arab con-
querers have left to grow in the formidable
cavities of the volcanoes. Semiroo, the
loftest peak in the island, was the sacred
mountain par excellence; the Soombing,
which rises in the center of the island was
'the nail which fastens Java to the EARTH"
Some faithful followers of silva, who inhabit
sandy plain, over four miles wide which
was once the crater of the Teugger volcano,
still proceed every year to solemnly pour
rice on the summit of an eruptive cone into
the roaring mouth of the monster.
Enormous eruDtions of sulphurous mud
and water are characteristic of the volcanoes
of the island, chiefly of the western side.
These are supposed to be the waters of the
sea or of lakes, which, having become buried
in the earth, are afterwards elected to the
surface, mingled with rocks which they have
dissolved or reduced to a pasty state. The
most remarkable instance of these liquid
eruptions is Papandayang, one of the most
active volcanoes in Java. In 1892 this mount
ain burst, the summit was converted into
dust and disappeared, and the debris, spread
ing far and wide, buried forty villages. Since
this epoch copious rivulet gushes out in
the very mouth of the crater at a hight of
7,710 feet and pours into the plain. Black
and muddy water constantly ascends from
many funnel-shaped cavities on the volcano;
thick, muddy masses issue slowly from
small craters and spread in circular slopes
over the little mound surrounding each;
while Jets of steam dart out of innumerable
assures with a shrill noise making the
ground t4'emble with the shock. The uproar
caused by these various noises is heard far