Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-07-26
TARAwRRA's HORROR.
A Vivid Pep Picture OF Convulsion
Nature IN New Zealand.

/
lately been recorded, has, according to
the latest adyices, caused terrible de.
struction OF property and loss OF life.
Mount Tarawera and the region sur.
rounding the Lake Rotorua has been the
scene OF many awful commissions, and
from It's beauty and many vicissitudes II
Is called "the Wonderland" 1t Is the
home OF the Maoris, and by them re-
garded with sort OF reverence and hor-
ror.
A tourist at Brent's hotel, Rotorua, nj
the time Of the convulsion, gives the iol-
lowing Vlvld description OF 1t; Looking
through the windows OF his room be saw
vivid light arising from the direction Of
Tarawera. Everyone dressed and went
to the front OF the house. where thev
stood watching the flashing light. lit
tie before a. M, from flickering flames
the light condensed into vast and mas
sive pillar of fire, rearing itself HIGH in
the heavens. This gradually extended
laterally along the range until It pre-.
sented an apparent diameter of about half
a mile. The pillar of fire, which was ac
companied by continued terrific roar
Ing, seemed gradually to be ecllpsed by
dense black cloud, which settled on 1t,
hanging ike pail over the flames, which
were hidden, but not extinguIshed.
IL The plack cloud pillar rose straight in
the air, and then came continuous explo.
sions and roars which seemed to give
way before the terrific thunder, accom-
panied by vivid flashes OF lightning. AZ
first, starting from the pillar, the storm
seemed to extend and settle down over
the whole face OF the heavens. The
lightning was both forked and sheet. and
flashed necessarily. The thunder roared
from every point, the whole atmosphere
being filled with air pervaded with suffo.
eating sulphur stencil. An along the
road springs had broken out In every
direction bubbllng and boiling During
the whole OF this time gale of wind was
blowing across Rotorua and toward The
seat Of the eruption, which probably
proved the means OF saving the township.
At about a. m, however, the wind sud
denly dropped,the smoke all over Rotorua
became denser and then a thick and
heavy shower of ashes began to fall con.
tinuously.
The darkness became thicker, no one
knew which way to turn, and dawn was
earnestly prayed for At about a. m. day
began slowly to break. Below the ietty
: canopy a thin blue line was seen on the
, Northern horizon, and gradually the sur.
rounding objects became dtmiy visible.
and it was seen that all the surrounding
hills were covered with white ashes,
Still the black pillar rose from Tarawera,
but the sulphur gasses We're less oppres.
. sive and people began to breathe more
: freely. When day began to break the
t thunderstorm abated, and soon the sky
4 became comparatively clear, except in The
, vicinity Of Tarawera, whence the inky
pillar still elevated itself But at
} O'Clock the pail again spread over the
J heavens and darkness began TO set in.
7 Daylight had now the popularity seen in
I total eclipse of the sun
, The scene from hill few miles south
} of Mount Tarawera and the lake, as II
t appeared two days after the eruption, is
, thus described sit looked like an
! active Arctic scene. There were appa-
! rently hummocks OF ice and mountains
= covered with snow. All these were from
} fine white deposit which had issued on
that fatal night from the new crater
There had been green hill which had
burst utinto fearful volcano. A large
|, part of the hill had fallen in, and there
was a crater much larger than Mount
J Eden. constant column of steam was
! rising from the mighty caldron, and ut
intervals there issued great showers OF
cinders and huge rocks driven far into
the air. There was a continual roar,
varied at intervals with loud boom. 1t
was magnificent sight and one never TO
be forgotten
A New Zealand book thus describes
Tarawera
There is strange fascination about
this curious truncated mountain. 1t
looks bare and SCARED, its steep walls
rising up black and terrible as IL blasted
with lightning, the very sublimity OF
desolation. No wonder that the Maori
imagination invests this spot with a
sacred horror. 1t Is to them city Of the
dead and may not lightly be approached,
aud when heavy clouds gather round Its
summit and roll In heavy masses along its
sides, driven by the fierce winds that
play about the crest, II requires no active
Imagination TO people It with weird and
spiritual terrors.
The lake lying to the north and west of
the mountain and partly encirclng its
base, is described by the same writer as
splendid sheet OF water, chaugeable In
expression as the human face. "When
all Is clear overhead the lake shimmers
and glistens in the sunlight or IT fleets
from its motionless depths the cloud feck
blue Of the skies, Every breath OF wind.
sets the surface dimpling into thousand
ripples, and the tiny wayelets break upon
the shore or on the outstanding boulders
with gentle tapping cadence very pleas
ant to the ear. II clouds float IN the sky |
they play upon the surface Of the lake, as
cloud chases cloud 1t is like the play Of |
the wind on barley field. In close and !
sultry weather, when the clouds hang low,
the water still responding to the influence
OF sky and air, takes on a leaden color
and becomes dull, placid and heavy Large
tracts, smooth and unetuous, like sur
face Of oil, are cnrlously broken by rutiled
patches, which for no perceptible reason
CULVER and shiyer as II with some agita-
ton beneath. In this smooth state the
water gives back very perfect reflections
Of objects on Its banks or floating on Its
surface. About year ago the water Of
TarawerR suddenly changed color and be-
came nauseous and unwholesome. There
were some corresponding disturbances