The Portland daily press., 1884-01-02

begain to rain in all directions, with frghtful
noise, and we're projected incalculable dis
tances. 1 thought that my house was about to
be reduced to powder hearing as did above
my head invisible proiectiles exploding at
prodigious height. This singular phenomenon
seemed to me like bombardment and siege
such as that 10 which 1 took part at the age of
eighteen before Sevsstopol Tin the Crimea.)
The volcano Krakatan thus rent and divid-
ed was not long in bursting from bottom to
top and the pulverzaticn of this vanished mass
allowed the waves Of the sea already lashed
to fury to And entrance into the bottom of the
crater-that great gaping hole more than
kilometer in circumference. Then the scene,
with sudden transition, turned tragic and a
great public calamity became inevitable.
The ashes vomited forth in great quantities
rose perpendiculArls until met by wind
which spread this gloomy shroud in thick
layers over almost the entire island OF Java,
which was left in complete obscurity from 10 in
the morning till in the afternoon Of Monday
This rain Of ashes thickly covering the sun,
also produced upon me the effect OF snow
covered country and although had seen no
snow for long time, shi vered as in mid
winter.
During this profound obscurity, the waters
of the sea, continuing to work their way into
the gaping gulf of Krakatan, produced a sub
marine convulsion. This elevated the bed OF
the sea and hurled the waters up over the two
banks OF the Sunda--Java and Sumatra-and
with an elevation of more than one hundred
feet pushed on into the interior of the country,
=. -, nil
''kamponys," citadels, barracks, forts, etc.
Nothing could resist such living force.
The victims thus carried away with their
habitations could not foresee the catastrophe,
prevented as they were by ent'-tssa,.s obscurity
caused by the pail Of ashes which covered at
that moment half Java. This explains the
great number of victims OF all classes, ranks
and nationali,ies. A hundred thousand dead
were reported. The town of An ger, already
port Of some numerical importance, disap-
peared completely, with its Inhabitants aud its
garrison. Tiiringin, town situated opposite
Krakatan, met the same fate at the same mo-
ment A strange incident in this great disai-
ter was the carrying away of Chinese woman
by the waves to the summit of a cocoanut tree,
where she clung and was saved. She was the
sole survivor of the town of Tjiringin. In my
neighborhood, Lontar and Krama. no longer
existed.
By good fortune, the advance of the sea was
arrested two kilometers from my dwelling.
All my household, alarmed, and with good
reason, sought to abandon me. made them
understand that flight was impossible before
the rapidity of the common danger which
x,,a,aoad nc and +h az our an 10 40 fatu conpsta6
in taking refuge in the large trees, more Ii au
hundred years old, that surrounded the
house. Ny reasoning prevailed, and
everyone became calm and confident OF
surviving the catastrophe. The waters in re-
ceding carried great number of dead bodies
out to sea-men, women, children, horses,
buffalo, oxen, cows, pigs, goat and sheep; all
these bodies, including those of dogs, were re-
ceived by crocodiles and sharks, who SO favor
ed BY the misfortune of others, were far from
complaining Of their good luck.
In short, over an extent of about twenty
leagues, on each side of the two banks of Java
and Sumatra, everything was destroyed. The
town of Telok- -Betoug exists no more at
Sumatra. Many dead bodies cast up upon
sand banks very soon reveoled their presence
by an oder far from pleasant and the Dutch
government proceeded at once to the relief OF
the living and the intern ent Of the dead.
The island Krakatan, as soon as it disap-
peared began to riss again In the shape of six
small islands each with smoking crater.
Were we menaced anew? We did not know;
but what was lamentabe above all, was to see
Mussnlmanish fatnaicism seize upon this I'M
Al
the belief that it was God who in this way
punished them for not having taken the part
of their coreligi1nists at the time Of the begin
ming of the war of the Atchinois with the
Dutch, which had already lasted more than
ten years.
The hostility of the people demanded proper
precautions in the way of arming ones self
with reyolyers in order to penetrate into Ban
tam and I believe owe my existence to my
French nationality.
Today all danger is over-calnness and con-
fidence have been restored. but the nstiv 8,
snperstitious and ignorant as they all ars-and
halt savage, assemble at night to pray together
and chant some verses from the Koran, in Or
der that they may be preserved from a return
of such dreadful calamity. 1t is 'chari-
vsri,'' which prudence requires one shoud pot
interfere with nor critcise If he wishes his life
to be safe
forgot to tell you that whenever the natives
charged with burying the dead found bodies
with jewels upon them, they did not hesitate
to cut off fingers and ears to satisfy their
avarice. The Malays are conscious at all
times of their piratc origin; they show it often
enough when the occasion presents itself, al
though they have long known the danger OF
the gallows.
have given you, dear brother Hubert, &C.
curate intelligence of this sad catastrophe. Let
us hope we shall never see its like again.
Accept the assurance of my profound, fra
ternal affection, and believe me always your
devoted friend, RossAT.