Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-08-14
CALAMITY IN JAPAN.
FURTHER PARTICULARS OF THE
GREAT UPHEAVAL.
The Estimated Loss of Life-Terri-
bic Scenes and Suffering
The Latest Reports.

S0alna Prefecture Japan, Rnen me noun
tain, known as Bandaizan, burst forth into
fame. This was followed by a long
series of earthquake shocks and fierce
showers of debris that continued for sew
erai hours.
The following account Of the terrible
calamity WIS furnished the Mainichi Shin
bun by an occasional correspondent, on
July 18th:
On the 18th inst, at 7;25 in the morning,
the moment the shock of earthquake &C.
CURED, heard loud sound like thunder,
and running cut of my house saw ter
rible scene | soon determined it must be
an eruption OF BandaiZan, and Immediately
started for that place, accompanied BY q
friend and two servants. Proceeding about
six English miles we arrived at village for
merly called Oteramure, and as il was near
noon we rested at 8 tea house in that vii
lage, where we met four wounded persons.
One of these persons had been hit on his
head by stone elected from Bandaizan,
and it was impossible TO stop the
blood that was streaming from this wound:
another had his right hand broken and
two others were wounded in several
places. Besides, the backs of all these
four were burned and biackened by the
sulphur and pieces of stone still remained
in the wounds. From these wounded per-
sons we learned the number of the visitors
to the hot spring resort on Bandaizan TO
have been $50, of whom they said only
four escaped death. Leaving The tea
house. when we had assembled the noun
tain Sbout two miles we found the ashes
were still pouring forth. The color OF the
ashes was dark green and when lighted
they burned. The higher we assembled the
mountain the deeper the ashes became,
and as We further assembled, two miles
above, we met some police and inhabi-
tants Of the neighborhood carrying down
two corpses. They stopped Us on the
ground that it would be dangerous to as
cend any further, but despite their advice
we forced our way and at last reached near
the top of the mountain, where the hot
spring resorts were situated. To our
surprise, however, hot spring house
and hut in damaged condition were the
only objects to be seen there, while the hot
spring resorts formerly situated half way up
the mountain are now at the top, and all
the places above the hot spring resorts had
been utterly demolished. When we looked
around from this place we saw numerous
npheavals of sand and ashes, and of rocks,
like houses, in field called Akimotohars,
where the numbers ofthe dead were, among
other places, numerous. Ofthose who per-
ished some had both their hands and feet
cut off, while others were lying under the
huts, or were buried by the sand and ashes
till the corpses presented dark color as if
they had been scorched by gunpowder. We
also saw there, on the top of the noun
tain, numerous corpses of young men, but
did not see any of old men and women.
Perhaps when the eruption occurred the
former escaped as far as they could, but the
latter, having naturally been unable to es-
cane fast would have been literally cut to
pieces to such an extent that their corpses
became invisible, or had been buried deep
under the ashes and rocks. The place
to which we at last assembled seems
not to have been visited by the in
habitants we met while ascending the
mountain. There were no footprints,
and the ashes being heaped up, from one to
two or three feet in height, it was with
great difficulty that we walked on. While
thus proceeding, we suddenly came upon a
crevice some four or five feet wide which
escaped our notice, and l consequently fell
into the same to a depth of some twelve
feet, but fortunately escaped without injury.
We tried to approach the crater from which
the eruptions emanated, but the earth all
around was 50 burned and the sulphur
smell so strong and obnoxious that we
could not get near the place.
The number OF persons woundt /, who
are now under medical attendance, is Is,
of whom are seriously and u slightly
wounded the total number of the popula-
ton damaged by the late catastrophe. either
directly or indirectly, is 2,447, of whom 763
are direct sufferers and over /, $50 are indi-
rectly injured and are unable to provide for
themselves; of 760 direct sufferers, II are
now supported by the Kencho and ever 700
are soon to be provided fer. The larger
portion of land damaged was in tho Vncul-
tivated region, and the land VIII > The
population is most numerous and which
was well cultivated received only slight
damage.
The volcano which has thus broken into
fatal activity is situated about four and
half miles (Englishl from the celebrated
lake of Inawashiro, and its elevation is
about 5000 feet above the sea. 1t had been
quiescent, so far as is known, for about a
thousand years, and as the old crater must
have been effectually blocked up, its re-
opening ought to have been attended by
greater disturbances than the accounts thus
far received indicate. Moreover, the erup-
ton appears to have taken place from the
smaller of the two Bandai peaks (Sho-
Bandaizan.) 1t is therefore sconjectured
that the outburst found vent through one
of the hot springs. The Wakamatsu dis
trict which lies only three ri (seveu and a
half miles, to the southwest of the volcano
is said 10 be comparatively free from dam
age. The diameter of the crater now
formed IS said to be about five miles Eng
lish), but this is evidently mere conjecture.
In addition TO the direct effects of the
| eruption, disaster was caused by the dam
| ming Of the Ottawa river and the couse-
| quent inundation of a village called Hibara,
situated on its bank. We read further
| that at 80 o clock on the same day-that
is to say. about an hour and a half after
the eruption at Bandaizan-a severe shock
of earthquake WIS felt st Assma-yama,
| distant over hundred miles from Bandai-
zan, accompanied by an appalling noise.
| The earth trembled violently within cir
Gle of fifteen miles radius from the noun
| tain-to WarratoZe on the south. Usui-
toge on the north and Mikuni-toge on the
west-and the inhabitants believed their
last day had come. Until 4:5O o'clock in
| the afternoon OF the same day roaring and
shocks were repeated, but on q constantly
decreasing scale. a subscription has al
ready been started in Toxic for the relief
of the sufferers. His Majesty, the EN-
peror, has contributed 5000 yen, and sent
Viscount Higashizono to report upon the
condition of the people
Msjor General Palmer left for Bandaizan
on Saturday last TO make an inspection of
the recent eruption. The following account
is given by visitor, who had been for
some days staying at the Hot Springs re-
sort, near the foot of Bsndaizln, but who
escaped the catastrophe by having left a
! day OF two before the eruption took place.
His account, as published in the Fuku-
shima Siimbta, is as follows Some four
or five days prior to the recent eruption
loud cries and grievous clamors of apes and
monkeys were necessarily heard, which
caused various rumors to arise among Wis
tiers in the Hot Springs resorts. He be-
came alarmed at the rRmors, and immedi.
aiely LETT the place, and few days later
| tue eruption took place.
e=.-a..s