The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1886-08-26

| IiOH Tie
was the sound of loud explosions as o
heavy guns, and from elevated position
in the city the flash as of artillery wa
distinctly visible. The impression oil
the minds of those who witnessed thes'
phenomena was that a vessel wa
ashore at the Manukau heads and wa
firing signals of distress, and as ther'
appeared to be more than one fired a
a time it was thought to be Il Russian
man-of-war which was known to be Oh
the cons.
News y'ds flashed from Rotoma thai
a dreadful night had been passed
Every man, woman and child thought
his end had come. The sensation
was fearful and indescribable 1t com
menced about one o'clock in the morn
ing by several severe shocks of earth.
quake. The vibrations were strong
and frequent. The windows in the
houses ratified violently. the feeling be.
ing similar to that on board of vessel
in storm. People were running about
frantically, when all at once great
roar was heard, which was accepted at
first rs that of an earthquake, and a
great glare appeared upon the horizon.
The scene was grand, but awful toward
| Rotomahana. The flames were distinct,
| with huge volumes of smoke, with
sparks of electricity Illuminating the
whole SKY, and it appeared as if hun
| dreds Of bright stars were chasing one
another. When this was at first seen
by those who were outside they rushed
about calling people up. Males and
females of all ages left their homes and
general rush was made for Ngatata
mountain for safety. Many left their
homes in their night-dresses with
shawlS around them, mOtherS car
rylng babies or young children
with but one arm, to flee from the
devouring element which was expected
at every moment to engulf the entire
community, so great was the terror of
the people. This WAS about two o clock
a. IN. On the approach of daylight the
vibrations lesSened, but they by no
means ceased. About four o clock there
was shower of ashes similar to sand,
supposed to be lava.
Mr.. McRae, the hotel keeper at
WairOa, gave your correspondent the
following account of the destruction of
his hotel: About 12:3O D. m. the place
began to shake and shook continuously
for an hour before the eruption broke
out When this was first seen, it was
just like 4 small cloud on the mountain,
with flashes Of lightning of great bril-
liancy. All were got out of bed and
went up to the old mission station to
ascertain the cause of the occurrence.
We saw sight that no man who saw
1t can ever forget. Apparently the
mountain had three craters, and the
flames were shooting up fully thou
sand feet high. There appeared to be
a continuous shower Of balls of fire for
miles around. As storm appeared TO
be coming on. we returned to the hotel,
and shortly afterward what seemed to
be heavy hailstones came pouring on
the roof, which continued about every
quarter of an hour. This was sue
ceeded by heavy fall of stones, fire
balls and mud, the lava falling after
the manner of rain. The weight of
these substances upon the roof soon
began to tell upon it. The first por-
ton that gave way was the detached
kitchen and pantry, and then we all col
lected in the smOking-room. The roof
of the hotel gave way ut about half
past four q. NJ. with a loud smash, and
the whole of the upper story collapsed,
the debris falling into the rooms below. |
We left the smoking room and went |
into the drawing-roOm, which, as it |
was the newest part of the house. we !
thought would stand the longest; but !
it was with the greatest difficulty that |
we got there, going through fallen |
stones and mud which impeded us.
The back part of the house, in which /
was the dining-rOOm, gave way next, |
and all of d sudden we heard fearful !
crash and roar Us if thousands of tons
Of stuff were falling, and we heard the /
balcony come down. At this we agreed |
that we should make an effort to save
ourselves, and with this object we de-
to leave the hotel. At ESQ [ !
went up to the residence of the Hazard !
family. The house was in ruins and in
flames. l then could see no signs of !
Mr.. and Mrs. Hazard and their chill I;
iren. As soon as glimpse of daylight !
came we commenced to dig for the
bodies of the Hazards, and to our great |
discovered Mrs Hazard
alive. Her two children were found
dead beside her. but she was not greatly
injured. We continued operations I'M
ii we were quite exhausted, but found
no more bodies"
Between one and two o'clock in the
morning the inhabitants of Tauranga
we're startled by repeated and vivid
lashes of lightning, shooting at inter-
yals of few minutes from a dense
mass of black cloud. extending along
he southern sky. The electrical dis
,lay continued through the night, and
bout four o'clock in the morning a
cries of severe earthquake shocks were
distinctly felt. The flashes of electric
tv continued to increase in brilliancy
S the morning wore on, and from the
anne direction came continued rumb-
ingS. which appeared to extend along
he line from Rotorua to White Island.
coward seven o'clock leaden-colOred
loud slowly advanced from the direc-
ion of the hill behind Mr.. Jonathan
'rown's property until reaching Mata-
ihi. 1t appeared to hang for a short
inc, after which it again advanced and :
urst upon the town and district in a
eavy shower of fine sulphuric dust,
nveloping the entire neighborhood in
Otal darkness. About $50 this partly
feared away. b.t only for a few min
ties. after which it returned with in I
reased density, and ere long had again {
trapped the town and suburbs in COM
lete darkness. The dust, which emit
ed a Sulphuric smell. soon formed a |
eating upward of half an inch in thick t
ess over the ground.
Mr.. II. r. Burt, native agent, who /