Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1890-03-06
A JAPANESE EARTHQUAKE.
Terrific Bursting Of Natures Gigantic 81
noIN.-

Columns Of white steam hoated dream
lily in the cool mountain air, as the in
valids repaired to their early bath, and
all around was beautiful on that bright
summer morning when, at 7:30, there oc-
CURED an earthquake shock 80 violent as
toleave no room for doubt that some mis-
chief was brewing. Fifteen minutes later
this was followed by second and yet
more severe shock. Another brief inter-
val Of about ten minutes and the earth
began to heave like tossing sea, rising
and sinking 80 that houses collapsed, to-
tally wrecked, and people were violently
thrown down and became actually sick,
as IL at sea. As standing was impossi-
Bile, they tried to crawl on all-fours to
whatever suggested shelter, but they
soon realized that all places were alike
unsafe.
The earthquake was Immediately fol-
lowed by an appalling and unearthly
sound as of the roar of thousand thun-
der claps, blending with the shrek Of
all the steam whistles and roaring steam
boilers Of earth, and ere the terrified and
deafened human beings could recall their
bewildered senses they beheld the whole
mighty cone of Sho- -Bandaisan blown
bodily into the air, where it overspread
the whole heavens with a vast, dense
pail of ashes and mud spray, blotting
out the light of day and turning all to
thick darkness. Ere these had time TO
fall back to the earth there poured forth
dark clouds of vapor and such sitting
gases as well nigh choked all living crea-
tures Then leaping tongues of internal
fame, crimson and purple, seemed to
fash right up to the heavens, and after
appalling earth throes were succeeded
by showers of red hot ashes, sulphur and
boiling water, accompanied by fearful
subterranean roaring and rumbling, and
by rushing whirlwind of hurricane
force, uprooting great trees and hurting
them afar.
Another moment and there poured
forth floods of boiling liquid mud, which
swept down the mountain side with such
velocity that within period variously
estimated at from ten to fifteen minutes
the scalding torrent was rushing past
the village Of Nagasake, on the brink of
the Nagase river, having travelled ten
miles from the crater more rapidly than
any express train. Probably much Of
this fluid mud was hurled direct through
the air, as was certainly the case with the
many hundreds of millions of tons which
were blown up at the first explosion.
Evidently the earthquake must have rent
somesubterranean fissure, through which
Q great volume of waters suddenly poured
into the internal fires, generating stu
pendous volume of steam, which must
have continued to increase and so become
more and more compressed as volcanic
fires and subterranean waters continued
their awful struggle, converting the
foundations of the mountain into CYCLIC
pean boiler, which finally exploded, with
the result, million times magnified, OF
the most awful boiler explosion ever
known above ground.
The convulsions of the mountain rent
great chasms from which uprose jets Of
fame, ashes and boiling water, and many
of the wretched fugitives were caught UP
by these awful fountains and buried on
high with terrific force, to fall back to
earth all blackened and boiled. Some oi
these poor corpses were found caught on
the boughs of trees, scalded and mangled
beyond recognition. Others were bat.
tered and crushed by the red hot stones
and rocks which had been hurled from
the crater to the clouds, and fell back Il
earth with awful violence.
The eruption continued for about two
hours. By 10 a. m. its violence wa!
spent, though for hours afterwards the
ground trembled and quivered, as wei
it might after so appalling a fit of pas
, sion. But in those two hours the who'll
, face of thirty square miles of country lii
the form of a vast fan extending to ,
radius five miles from the central crater
was totally changed. OF the mountain
,, cone thus suddenly transformed into ,
steam boiler, there remains now only tn
! back; ragged, overhanging precipice
rising to a sheer height, variously esti
9 mated at 600 or 1000 feet above bot
8 tomless crater of about mile in diane
0 ter. Thence, with ceaseless roar, ris
dense clouds of suffocating, sulphurou
steam, which sometimes clear off sufi
|, ciently to allow adventurous climbers
! momentary glimpse of the seething mu'
!. below. Those who have ascended tina
= remnant of the mountain from the slop
r behind it, and so have reached the brinl
= Of that precipice, have beheld such pic
ture Of desolation as seems scarcely t
; : belong to this earth.
: . ALI that was Little Bandai now Lie
. outspread in thick layer of horrid mud
) varying in depth from 10 to 100 feet
deep enough to efface every accustome
d feature in the whole area -and itself pal
J, TALLY coated with layers Of pale gra
n ashes and black stones and rocks, whic
9 seem to have been elected to such
y height as not TO have fallen to earth ur
!. til the awful mud wave had poured Il
\ self out. 1t is now described as viii
Q chaos of earth, rock and mud, in som
place resembling the concrete blocks Q
% some cyclopean breakwater, in other
g rather suggesting raging sea whose g
gantic waves have suddenly been cor
I gealed. OF all that made the scene 9
= beautiful and pleasant not vestige n
= mains-not blade Of grass where latel
! the mountain was clothed with spring
u turf, not green leaf, not sign Of Lii