Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1892-08-10
Ten Thousand Dead.

dSIIOu5 NoiCduic ciuPOioii vi oicno
Sangir Island. Without any warn
ing signal, without sign of I'M
pending disturbance the Gunong
Aroo volcano blazed forth Oh June
7, and within "a hours the whole
of the prosperous surrounding
county was devastated. The loss
of life is something frightful, but
no accurate estimate of it can be
made. Some place it as high as
10000. The captain of ship
which took assistance to the suffer-
ers says that 10000 is not too high
a figure. A thousand bodies have
been picked up on the shore and
many were found floating in the
sea. The whole island is complete
ly devastated, and although the
violent eruption has ceased volumes
of smoke are rising, accompanied
by steam and ashes, inhabitants of
Sangir Island, living within the
shadows Of the dormant crater, had
titled the soil and prospered, their
chief industry being the growing of
nutmegs, cocoanuts and grapes, the
product being regularly shipped
abroad The villages and towns
were well built and had schools and
churches.
The awful devastation began at
s o'clock Oh the morning of June 7.
There was terrible rumble, a
column of ruddy flame shot up
from the crater as high in the
heavens as the eye could reach, and
Immediately afterwards hot ashes
were falling like snowflakes over
the whole country. Dust is flying
in all directions and from the first
explosion until 8 o'clock that even
ing fierce volumes of flame and
smoke and showers of large stones
were belched forth, followed by
rain in torrents, bringing down
with it the clouds of ashes flying
through the air. Earthquakes be-
gan June 8. Village after village
was engulfed, hundreds of people
dropping into the great cracks in
the earth.
The whole country is under a
layer of mud, ashes and stones. All
vegetation is either burned up by
the awful heat of the volcanic
fires or has been destroyed by dense
. showers of ashes and dust. The
country around Gunong Aroo and
the sides of the volcano were still
: steaming and smoking on June %
numerous volcanic jets throwing
/ up columns of mud and stones
: which fell in showers over the dis
trict, forming into hot streams
, which in their downward course
: carried everything before them
: The district on the north side of
: the island is utterly destroyed, nut
, meg and cocoa plantations being
I laid IN ruins, and in many cases
completely buried under the ashes,
I mud and lava.
s Among others who saw the islanc
s after the outbreak was Captain j
Gray of the steamer Norway, which
E had been sent with cargo Of rice
e to relieve the sufferers. He say
the whole island, viewed from tn,
r westward, presented most forlorr
appearance.
: There was no sign of life any
4 where. Volumes of smoke wer,
: issuing from the volcano, accom-
s panied by fine ashes, which spread
8 like cloud over the island, ant
{ fell thickly everywhere. Small
jets of steam, smoke and stone
were pouring out from the noun
Q tain sides, completely covering tn,
: lower valleys and lands. The to
5 Biography of the island was changed
e On the night of the outbreak two
l Norwegian barks, the Primera ant
4 the Fashion, were in Toroana Bay
e but got to sea without damage. In
r a pretty harbor OH the northeas,
t side of the island the Dutch ships
: Gripla and Terbecalal were laying.
8 They too sustained little injury
I fortunately because there was nc
! tidal wave.
The report of the first explosion
: was heard at Ternate, Gorontalt
: and Mandanao, respectively go
: 2iO and 218 miles distant. Tn,
b lava streams were confined to the
northern slopes Of the mountain
: In the Toboekan district not sin.
: gle village remains, while thousands
r of the inhabitants were killed III
S the overflow.
: The village Of Lorena, on the
3 south side of the mountain, pro-