West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1892-08-11
THE END OF KRAKATAU.
Swopt from tho Earth In tho Space
of a Momont-
An Island on the sumatra Coast Dcpopu.
lated by the Great Tidal Wave OF
i3S3-only One survivor out OF
Forty Thousand pcopie

iSSS-oniy One survivor Out OF
Forty Thousand People.
Tourists who visit batavia NOWADAYS
arc quite out Of the fashion IL they fail
70 make the passage through Sunda
strait ana sec all that is left uf Kraka-
tau and the vcstigcs of the ruin wrought
by the terrible eruption of 1888. II they
push Up the bay of Lampong. on the
Sumotra side of the channel, they are
likely to land on the low shores occu-
pied 10y the village OF Tclol;h-Bc
and hire carts for short jaunt into the
interior, and when they have gone
about two miles they win pause 10 tal.o
in the curious scene presented in this
picture, for here Is seen one OF the most
interesting results still visible of the
great wave Of Krakatau.
There was just one man, says the
Chicago Herald, amid al that wild
scene OF death and devastation who was
not overwhelmed in the common ruin
lie escaped, while forty thousand per.
ished. lie was the lighthouse keeper.
who lived alone ON an isolated rock i'm
the strait. II was broad daylight when
krallatau burst asundcr but I'm a few
moments the heavens were so dcnscly
shroudcd by dust, mud and smoke that
tho darkness of midnight covered all
the channel Tho guardian of the lirht-
house was I'm the lantern ono hundred
and thirty feet above the sea level.
Here he remained safe and sound in the
midst of the terrible commotion.
He felt the trembling of his lipht-
house, but IL was SO dark that he could
not sec the threatened danger. lie did
not know that tremendous wave had
almost overwhelmed the lighthouse and
that its crest had nearly touched the
base OF the lantern. lie had not heard
II because he was dcafcncd by the awful
dctonation Of Kraliatau.
In few moments, however the
wave, over hundred feet i'm height, had
swept along n total coast line of nearly
hundred miles on both sides OF the
chssuel
Scores of populous villages were
buried deep beneath the avalanche OF
water Great groves OF cocoanut palms
were levclcd 10 the ground. Tromon-
tories were carried away. Now BAYS
were ding ont OF the Yielding littoral.
Every work Of human hands, except
that lighthouse, was DESTROYED and
forty thousand perHous perishcd in the
delEge that mounted from the sea or
beneath the mud that hllcd the heavens.
little sidewhccl steamboat was borne
on the top OF that wave through forests
and Jungle over two miles into the coun-
try, and was left there as the wave re-
coded. IL win be remembered that for
weeks before the final catacylsm AT Kra-
lIaiIu the volcano was in "a state Of
eruption. Pleasure parties were made
L? ct na.@vi1 to visit the volcano. Not
n fcw people landed on the island, li:tle
dreaming that ia the twinl.ling Of an
eye two-thir,ls of IL was 70 he blown
into the air as though shot from a gun.
They wished II yet as ncnr as they
thought they might safely venture
To the growing, stcaming crater
This little steamboat, on the
day before the explosion, car
ried one Of these parties ~ the
Island. There were only twenty on
board besides the crew Thcy spent n
couple Of hours around the island. and
then steamed up the deep and narrow
bay Of Lampong, and IT is supposed
ohcy anchored for the night in front of
the big town OF Tclol1h- BctonV, which
was ono Of the largest settlements on
the south coast OF Sumaira.
The Inflated pleasure party was never
heard of again. 1t is supposed that the
boat was turned over and over like an
egg shell in the surf. IL had every np-
pcarance Of such rough usage when It
was found some months later. The ma
chincry and furniture wore badly
broken and were strcwn about I'm the
greatest confusion. But the vessel held
together, and was finally set down In
good shape, erect on her keel
Only two bodies were found In the
vessel They were, Of course, below
deck. AS IL was morning when she was
picked up by the wave, IL is supposed
that nearly everybody was on shore
Not vestigc remains Of the villages
that lined the water edge. But the
hulk of this little boat still stands. bat
tered and broken. though as erect ns
when she plOwcd the channel. and she
Is the most curious and interesting relic
Of the greatest volcanic eruption Of
modern times