The Republican journal., 1883-09-06
Volcanic Eruptlons, Tidal Waves and
Cyclones.
TIE JAVA CALAMITY.

TIE JAVA CALAMITY.
Dispatches from Batavia. on the island Of
Java. say several towns on the island have been
destroyed by volcanic cruptons. The noun
tain OF kramatan has disappeared in the sea,
and all the lights on Sunda Straits are gone.
making navigation very dangerous The dis
turbanceS began SATURDAY. night. Aug 25th in
the crater Of the Cunning Guntur volcano. and
| terrific scenes were enacted on land and sea- bv
the elements. Terrible showers of rocks and
lava fell. At one time. fifteen large water
SpOuta were seen. As the earth yawncd. men.
women and children rushed in terror from their
lettering dWelling-paceS. filling the air with
| their shrieks of horror. Many were unable 10
get out before the houses fell, and Were buried
between the great masses of rocks and mud
Forests were i9nited by the red-hOt Nomitings
Of the cralcr>. and much of the northern part
Of the island was one great blaze of fame on
Sunday 26th ut The loss of life is estimated
at - .000.
The whole region in which this catastrophe
took place is volcanic There are about 40 vol
canoes in the vicinity. some of them always
active. II is surmised that there is some con
nection between this disturbance and the re-
cent one al I>chia, as in similar cases before it
has been found that points widely separated
have been subjected to influences traceablc to
one and the same cause Farther particulars
may reveal other effects of the eruptiOnS vet
more surprising and wonderful. though we
hope not more horrible, than what is Yet known.
Batavia state that in the city of Bantam where
1900 persons were at first supposed to have per-
ished. the bodies of $500 have already been re-
covered. Some 800 inhabitants of the interior
town Of Warongc are now known to have been
killed. and at Talatra. on the coast 800 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 -. 600
killed will not prove excessive. On the low
lands of Batavia. where the waters have reced-
ed and quoted down. hundreds of bruised and
mangled bodies are lying exposed.
BATAVIA. Aug. 81. The captain Of a steam
erwhich was in the Straits of Sunda during the
recent volcanic eruptions reports that ashes fell
on the deck of his vessel TO the depth of eighteen
inches, and that he passed masses of pumice
stone seven feet in depth. 1t is estimated that
10000 persons lost their lives at Ijiringin and
that the total number of persons killed by the
eruption and tidal waves was 10000.
OUR WAX VESSELS TO EXAMINE THE STRAITS
OF SUNDA.
Commodore English, Acting Secretary of the
Navy. to-day cabled instructions to the COM
handing officers of the Juniata and Enterprise.
now at Singapore, to proceed with these vessels
TO the Straits OF Sunda to examine into the con-
ditiOn of affairs there, particularly to the eff
feet Of the recent earthquakes upon the islands
in that vicinity. They are ordered to warn all
merchant vessels of any and all dangers to nav-
CATION which may have been caused by the con
WILSON'S.
SEVERE GALE ON THE GRAND BANKS.
ST. JOHN. n. f.. Aug. 81. From several ar
rivals within the past twenty four hours from
the Grand Banks intelligence of alarming dis
asters to the fishing fleet have been received.
The most reliable and definite comes from the
Gloucester schooner Wachussett. She was
| anchored about twenty mile southwest of Nir-
gins and just escaped the fury of the storm, and
ran for the land. Whilst coming in she passed
through vast amount of wreckage. everything
indicating the work of obstruction. The gale
arose from the eastward shortly after sunrise
| on sunday last. \ heavy sea rapidly piled up
and became confused and chopping by the wind
veerlng to the north-northeast. For thirty miles
| i'll the Schooner> course wreckage was en-
countered on every side. DOries in tens were
| seen bottom up, oars, fishboards and other
wrecked material were passed from time to
time. one French fishing brig alone lost four
dories with all hands. The vessels decks were
| swept, cables parted and anchors lost. The
general estimate at present puts the loss of life
from 60 to so souls, while the material dam
age to the fleet is incalculable AT the time the
gale sprung up there were assumedlv 20OO dories
away at their travis. 1t will be fortunate if
| the disaster TO the Great Bank fleet is circum-
| scribed within this report.
THE STORM ELSEWHERE.
| The gale was very heavy at Halifax and
| along The Nova Scotia coast the night of Aug.
| Goth. 1t was the severest August storm expo
| rienced since 1870, the wind blowing with We
| ocity of fifty miles an hour. The results were
not serious in and about Halifax, but many YES
sells are reported ashore along the coast east
| ward and i'll Cape Breton ports, and some will
prove total loss A tidal wave was felt on
the Atlantic coast from Cape May to Nova SEQ
tia. On the New Jersey coast the violence of
the ocean swept into driftwood whole settle
ments of the slight cottages that have sprung up
| there within the past fifteen years. washed away
| railroad entertainments and bridges, and caused
| other damage. Sandy Hook suffered serious in
| jury from the heavy swell. The point of the
| Hook just northward of the big steam fOghorn
| was washed away, leaving the building on the
very edge of the water. 1t will probably be
| necessary to move it farther inland, as was
| done last year with the observatory of the Ord
ance Department. At Squirrel Island, Me-,
| several boats hauled on the beach beyond the
| reach OF usual tides were carried off and smash
| ed. Such high tides have not been observed for
| years The tide at Old Orchard was the high
est that it has been this season. 1t dashed fu-
rously against the bulkhead inclosng the Sea-
| shore lawn, which is well back from high tide
line, and beat against the doorsteps of the Mon
| treal and several other houses. Plank walks
were uprooted and tloated around on the beach.
| Earthquake waves were reported on the
| California coast August 3Oth. 1t is supposed
| that these waves were caused by the earth
| quake that destroyed AMER and other town in
| Java on August y. There was Il similar occur
renee on December %, 1854, when the town of
| Simoda, in Japan, was destroyed and Russian
| frigate in the harbor overwhelmed. The waves
| were recorded on the three coast survey tide
gauges then used on the Pacific coast. Distur-
| Dances of like character were also recorded on
these gauges in August, 1868, when succession
of terrible earthquake waves broke upon the
| coast Of Peru, destroying towns and landing Il
United States war vessel high and dry. The
| rate at which such waves move across the ocean
and also the average depth of the ocean may be
| computed from such tide gauge records.