The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1883-09-07
FORTY THOUSAND DEAD,
Victims of TIE Terrible Volcanic
Eruption and Tidal Waves of the


The latest advlces fro M Batavia, the cap
ital of Java, show that the volcanic erup-
tons in that island are much more serious
than at FIRST indicated. The disturbances
began on the Island of Krakatoa, in the
strait of Sunda, about fifteen miles off the
coast of Java.
The first aruptions were on Saturday
night. On Sunday morning the disturb
ances had extended beneath the waters Of
the strait, and these were soon boiling and
kissing violently, while great waves dashed
upon the Jayanese shores, and the temper
ature of the sea went up nearly 20 deg,
even as far away from the original point OF
disturbance as Madura. The furious waves
were dashed into mountains o! fam as they
came rolling in. The threatening rnmb-
lings gradually became more and more dis
tinct, and soon the Malta Meru, the
largest OF the volcanoes of Java, was
belcb ng forth flames at a very alarming
rate. Men, women and children rushed in
terror ironither iotteriDg dwelling places,
filling the air with their shrieks OF orrnr.
Hundreds we're unable 10 get ont before the
houses fell and we're buried beneath great
mass IS ofrocks and mud which were piled
up where a few hours before all had been
peace, happiness and fancied security.
With these terrible eruptions came sym
overhanging clouds we're so sur
charged with electricity that at one tune
over fifteen huge waterspouts were seen. As
the eruptions increased in frequency and
violence, the disturbance of the waters sur
rounding the barren coast beca : 9 more and
more violent. Here the waves rushed in
with terrific force up the steep, rocky in
| cline. breaking upon tho oyorhap,3pr o.or.
and receding rapidly, leaving a lava fow
cooled just ut the moment when it was about
to fall over the precipice, and there remain
ing quickly hardened by contact with the
waters. The European and American
quarter was first overwhelmed by rocks,
mud and lava fro n the c%raters, and then
the waters came up and swallowed the
ruins, leaving nothing to mark the site, and
causing the loss Of somewhere in the neigh
borhood of 10000 inhabitants and those
who had tried to find q refuge there. Ban
tam, once a prosperous ard dourishing ma
tive city, but practically abandoned many
years ago, was entirely covered several
times by the waters, and there must have
been from 1870 to l,S0o people drowned.
At the last advices the eruptions were still
continuing, although their violence had
abated somewhat, aud it is feared that the
end of the disaster viii show tito have
been one OF the most frightiul ever known
in the history OF yolcshic %eruptions.
Java is an islaad in the Malayan archi-
pelago, the principal seat oiDutch pc wer in
the East, aud after Su,natra and Borneo, the
largest ia The Sunda group. 1t is between
the Java sea and the Indian ocean. The
island is $50 miles long by 80 to IS miles
broad, and has an area of 40, 100 square
miles. The island is traversed throughout its
whole length by " chains of mountains,
thlckly set with volcanoes, active and ex-
tinct, varying from 5000 to IL, 600 feet in
height.
MORE DISASTROUS THAN AT FIRST REPORTED.
LONDON, Special Cablegram. Aug. 29.-Fur
Their particulars of the great volcanic eruption
in Java, which have just reached London from
Batavia show the disaster TO have been even
more widespread and more disastrous than re-
ported in yesterdays adyices. AT noon Sunday
the eruptions AID shocks we're supposed to
have reached their greatest height. Bnt late
IN the afternoon and evening the violence
of the disturbances suddenly increased, and
the island seemed to be about 10 be completely
our!ed IN a mass of tire and sulphurous aches.
At the same time enormous waves began TO
dash with great force upon the shores, CON-
ing III some places far up into the interior, and
great clasms opened into the earth and threat
ened to eneulf a large portion of the islands,
people and buildings. About midnight the
most friShtfnl scene of the whole disturbance
took place. Suddenly an normous luminous
cloud, similar to that which was seen on the
Cunning Guntur, but much greater in extent,
formed over The Kanlang range of mountains,
which skirt the southeast coast of the Island.
The cloud gradually increased III size
until 1t formed a canopy of lurid red and
whitish gray over a wide extent of territory.
During this time the eruptlons increased and
streams of lava poured necessarily down the
sides of the mountains into the valleys, sweep.
ing everything before them. Here and there
a stream of lava would enter an arm of the
sea or come in contact with the waters Of s
river, then the nearest incandescent ava as i
protruded from the great stream would sud.
denly produce
BOILING HEAT AMI sIcKESING yAPoRs,
but the superficial consolidation tina, alr"ost in,
stantly ensued would prevent any further con-
tact The assures that opened in this thin
crust as it solidiiied would emit torrents O
vapor, extending high into the air and making
a tremendous kissing and seething sound as II
a Thousand locomotives We're simultane.
9 onsly letting OF steam. Here ant
: there in the lava streams wer.
f innnmerable thin plate-like crystals o
t fe!dspar, arranged in trains one behind the
other in the direction of the flow of the cur
rent, and feldspathic sphoricles were rapidly
formed in the vitreous matter, ~resembiip,
those which form in the Stag of a glass
!. furnace. One of the most singular freak
I OF the eruption was the carrying in tn,
midst of tho molten lava of a bee
of solid ice Of enormous size, whicl
had been emitted from one Of the craters, car
rlec along by the current, and landed on thu
extremity on Point st. Nicholas on the north
east corner OF the island This bed of ice wa
: surrounded by o thick envelope of sand an,
4 scoria, which are such -noncunductors OF hea
that q red-hot stream of lava running over i
will not melt snow. 1t is supposed this ic
had formed the crust Of some vast subter
! ranean lake. AbCdt 2 o'clock Monday morn
ing the great cloud suddenly broke into SINAI
sections and quickly vanished. At the sam,
time the most frightful rumblings were heard
and the columns Of fire and smoke on th
southeast corner of the island cease,
: to ascend, while the craters in Il;
{ other parts of Java seemed to open their fer
o threats still wider to let out the greatest qaan
] titles OF lava, rocks, pumice and ashea We
vomited out The kissing of these became e
loud as to be almost deafening, and the wave
washed up on the shores to an unprecedented
height When daylight came it was seel
!. that an
: ENORMOUS TRACT OF LAND HAD DISAPPEARED
u extending from Point Capreccin, on tho south
. to Neeery Pafsoreang, on the north, aud Yves
to a low point covering an extent Of territor
about fifty miles square. In this were situate
, the villages of Negery and Negery Babawang
u Of the people inhabiting these places and til
!. natives scattered ~sparsely through the forest
= and on the plains none escaped a frighttu
death. This section Of the island was not e
: densely populated as the other portions, an
= the loss OF life wac comparatively small, al
I though II must have aggregated fully 1900
! souls. The entire Candang range of mount
ollie, SA'eAdihE alouS tne coast III d seml-clrcl
!, for absut six'y-tive miles, had gone out O
. sight. The waters Of Welcome bay, the Sund
! ! straits and Pepper bay on the cas-
\ and of the Indian ocean on the eout
4 had rushed IN and formed a great sea Of tur
u bulent waters. Here and there the peak of
high crater was exposed for a moment by tn
receding of a great wave, and OCCASIONAL
q puff of brownish-gray smoke or a sigh
shower of rocks showed that the volcanoes still
continued III active sub-aqueous eruption. Tn
; | debris of the anbnnrva1 mud IaatrAs-a1 huiIl
;, ings was tossed hitler and thisher over the tn
:, multuous waters-the only sign left that Their
had once been inhabited land whore all wa
u now q waste of water.