The record-union., 1893-02-27


Some Day They'll Disappear as
Quickly as They Came-The Awful
Eruption of Krallatau, in the Straits
of Sunda-Its Waves Rolled Around
the Globe Four Times
Does bond already exist between the
Hawaiian Islands and the United States
1t has been asserted, without disproof,
that the two are linked together by chain
OF fre, the earthquakes OF California hav-
ing relation to the volcanic outbursts
from the craters of Kilauea. The Sand
wich group, OF course, is nothing more
than an assemblage of gigantic volcanoes,
which rise precipitously from the depths
of the sea, above the surface OF which
their verdure-clad tops appear. There is
no certainty that the archipelago may not
disappear beneath the ocean some day,
perhaps robbing Uncle Sam of a valuable
political and commercial possession. Vol
canic islands all over the world, especi-
ally in the Pacific, have way Of doing
just that sort of thing.
Islands which pop up and down give a
great deal of anxiety to navigators-
Whereas water is necessarily unstable
and unreliable, mariners ought to have
right to expect dry land to stay in place.
But in many regions bits of terra firma
nave way OF appearing and disappear
ing without giving any warning what
ever. Thus skipper may be puzzled at
falling to discover ong-familiar land
mark to help out his reck oning, or. worse
yet, he may run upon brand new piece
OF territory that has sprung up out of the
waves since he last came that way. Such
upllttS make much trouble for the II ydrO-
graphic Office at Washington, which is
kept busy plating them on its charts for
seamen'S use as fast as they are reported.
AS rule, ships keep carefully away from
parts of the ocean where changes OF the
sort are most apt to take place, as in the
neighborhood of the Farallone Islands,
south OF Japan. Unfortunately, such re-
ports by sailors are not always reliable,
lnasmuch as they frequently mistake the
backs OF sleeping whales, or schools of
flSh running along near the surface, tor
Islands and shoals.
Even in the ancient and respectable
Mediterranean events of the sort de-
scrlbed have repeatedly occurred. SO re-
Gently as the year 1881 an island rose
from depth OF 700 feet at point thirty
miles southwest Of Sicily. On July 10th
John Carrao, Sicilian skipper, saw a
column of water sixty feet high and 800
ieet IN diameter spouting up from the
sea. Soon atterward a dense cloud of
steam assembled to hight of 800 feet.
ON his return voyage, July 18th. this sea-
faring person found on the same spot a
small island twelve feet high, eectinr
volcanic matter and immense clouds OF
Vapor. The waters in the ghborhood
were covered with floating cinders and
dead fishes. Two weeks later the island
had attained hight of 30 feet and a
circumference of three miles. Several
names were given to it by mariners who
cruised around it, ready to land upon it
as soon as 1t was sufficiently cooled
Three nations claimed it, and it was
feared that gunpowder would be burned
in the controversy; but, before Europe
had time to become embroiled in war
over the matter, the island vanished and
so settled the dispute. By October 3lst it
was nearly level with the ocean, the era
ter having disappeared. At present the
place 1t occupied is marked only by a
shoal covered with many fathoms of
water.
In the year ISL Captain Tillard of H.
NJ. 5. Sabrina saw an island rise out OF
the waves during volcanic outburst in
the Azores, near st. Michae's. When he
AOSol dCL IL low NOGhS ldLGT lO1 Ju6 Dur-
pose of surveying and annexing this bit
OF territory, not trace of it could be
found. The sea had reclaimed il. AS
first observed, it was 300 feet high, with a
crater in the center. Its disappearance
recalled that mysterious country men,
toned in the ARABIAN Nights" which
plunged down into the ocean at the mo-
ment when the voyagers were going TO
land upon it. This island, however, was
nothing more than huge ash heap.
which the waves quickly washed away.
On the spot which it occupied there still
remains submarine lava cone, the TOP of
which is ninety feet below the surface.
Islands frequently pop up and down in
this fashion in the Azores. The convul-
sion is usually announced by violent
earthquakes. Fire breaks out from Lhe
sea and rises in cloud of steam, smok q
and ashes, while vast quantities of lava
and other volcanic stuff are vomited up.
AT length a group of rocks is uplifted,
which grows until perhaps it covers a
space several miles in circumference.
such phenomenon occurred early in
June, forming near Terceira, an island
which on June 18th vanished, the lead i'll
the place where it had been giving no
bottom at 900 feet.
ltnln comparatively recent period
an island has been added by volcanic
agency to what are now Uncle Sans
possessions. On May l, 1885, a strange
darkness fell upon the Aleutian chain.
which marks the southern boundary of
Behring Sea. On the third day flames
were seen rising from the ocean between
Unalaska and Umnak. The fire at night
illuminated the waters brightly for many
miles around. Finally black rock grew
up amid steam and smoke. In 1904 this
rock had cooled sufficient to be visited by
hunters, though it was still too hot to
IL l. g..
was $50 feet high and nearly three miles
in circumference. Continuing eruptive,
1t went on growing, presenting the aspect
in 1873 of a pyramid 800 feet high.
Lately, after long period of quiescence.
1t has again broken out, and at last ac-
counls 1t was smoking so as to be rend-
cred invisible. Meanwhile it has been
diminishing in size, and very possibly it
will vanish altogether, sooner or later,
The whole history of this island of Bog
islov has been watched from beginning
to end. In l779 Captain Cook, the famous
navigator, sailed right over the locality.
but found no island there.
The most remarkable event of the sort
described, observed within historic times.
was the eruption of krakatau. The
island of that name was situated in the
Straits of Sunda, between Java and Su-
matra. Is was uninhabited its area he
ing fifteen square miles, and it had two
lofty mountains, the taller one attaining
an altitude of :, 100 feet above the sea. 1t
was wholly volcanic, the mountains ris-
ing from the floor Of a Sunken crater. ON
May 26, 1883, at P. NJ, violent explosions
were heard in Sumatra and Java. and
early next morning there was a much
greater explosion, followed by a tidal
wave, which swept away many villages
along both shores of the straits. causing
great loss of life. The material thrown ont
in the shape of ashes and cinders spread
over all of Northern Java and South
ern Sumatra, covering that region with a
pail of impenetrable darkness. Shortly
hefore noon Oh the same dav hv one 81