Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1894-09-21

Those who lived near the base Of the
hills did not survive to tell the tale Of
the catastrophe. The detonations were
heard 25O miles away. That was a can
nonading in which the batteries were
touched of by hidden dynamics. Such
a combination Of wrath and splendor
was never before seen in New Zealand.
1t seemed as il all the hyenas Of rage
were snarllng at all the namingoes Of
beauty. The lake hissed as with ten
thousand serpents when the hot bombs
Of the mountain dropped into IT.
The malodors Of burning iron oxides
and magnesia and chlorine and alumina
and sulphur filed all the regions ap-
proximate with sufrocation, strangula-
tion and asphyxia. Sixty miles felt the
upheaval, and from Auckland, more
than 1870 miles away, a ship put out for
the rescue Of a vessel supposed to be
burning at sea, the mistaken fire being
that of this burning mountain In the
house Of Mr.. Hazard, a devOut Chris
tian man, as the ashes and trees and
stone began to drop heavily on the roof
q Christian daughter, believing that
they must die, sat down at a cabinet or
gan to play a piece Of sacred music, and
the whole Of the family Joined in the
hymn. And all save one Of the family
perished.
At the hotel Mr.. Cambridge, who
was on q journey round the world, call
ed the inmates Of the hotel together for
prayer, and he told them they had only
a few more minutes to live, and as he
was passing out from tho hotel the ve-
randa fell upon him and crushed him
to death.
We talk about the dumb elements,
but 1t is hard for me to believe that they
are dumb, and that the IRE does not feel
the warmth flowing In its own veins,
and that the signing winds have no
sorrow, and that playing fountains
experience no exhilaration, and that the
light does not enjoy illumining the
world, and that the sensitive plant does
not feel your touch, and that the rose,
with all its incense, does not worship.
1t seems that in thesc paroxysms OF the
mountains nature must suffer
That night nine miles Of the noun
tain changed. "The terraces" which
had been the pride Of the colonies sank
out Of existence. No one but the Infinite
and the almighty could afford the OBJ
liberation Of such resources Of beauty
and glory. The casting down OF such
altsEsoaRd tir5 g. ts.o- OF such tenn
ples would have been an iconoclasm
that would have nffronted the universe
but for the fact that the Lord who made
Tarawera and Rotomahana has night
70 do what he will with his own, and
the terraces, already beginning to re-
form. may be richer colored and loft1el
and more resplendent than their prede
cessors.
The loss to New Zealand Of these
white and pink terraces is what woulC
be the loss Of the Giants causeUay tc
Ireland. or the loss Of the pyramids t
Egvpt, or the loss Of Niagara falls t
America. The exact physical causes o
this upsetting and down tearing an(
mountain splitting l leave 10 geolog1st'
TO guess about Translating their sc1en
tific accounts tEto easier language, /
seems that the mountains were stiff II
their Joints from long standing anC
went into play. For great while the.
had enjoyed no fireworks, and cha
night they illumined New zealan'
with rockets and wheels Of fire. Tn
hills went into games Of leaptres ant
ball playing and flying kites and BOXING
and general romp. They we're exhila
rated with mixfnre Of gases-sulphur
ic. phosphoric and carbonic-and forgo
all the proprieties that mountains usual
" observe. But 1t was not comedy
1t was a tragedy Of the mountains, ant
all the King Lears, and the Macbeths
and the Hamiets, and the Meg Mer
rifles Of arrangement and horror wer
that night on the stage. Of which tn
belching fires were the footlights ant
flames hundreds Of feet high were tn
gorgeous upholstery. Tornadoes o
ashes. Furnaces seven times heated, Il
which walked the Deity. Grand marcl
Of God sounded by the avalanches. III
earth bombarding the heavens. Dante.
"Inferno" lifted into the terrestrial
Maniac elements tearing the clouds int
tatters and grinding rocks under tha
heels. That night Of June 0, that awfu
night in New Zealand, when the natly
settlements went down under the ashe
Of bursting Tarawera as completely a
Pompeii and Herculaneum under tn
burial Of Vesuvius, seemed 10 play ae
compartment to the words OF the oil
book. as much revered In New zealan
as in America an accompaniment i
full diapason, an earthquake with 1t
foot on the pedal. 1.-THE perpetual hill
did bow" ''Tbe mountains shppe
like rans." ''The hills melted lik
wax" "The foundations Of the cart
were shaken" "He looketh on tn
earth. and it trembleth.
That downfall Of the New Zealan
terraces was only conspicuous chi
cumstance in the history Of the world
Mountains are mortal, and they writ
their autobiographies or leaves OF stone
All the mountains Of New Zealand wer
nursed in cradle Of earthquake by
parentage of rock and glacier, and the
will have their descendants. You car
not bury mountains unobserved- Ther
must be black pail Of smoke and dea
march sounded by orchestra OF elements
and thunders tolling st ths passing n
neral OF hills, and spade OF Are 70 al
their grave, and the discharge OF 8
heavens artillery at their burial, and II
solemn aud overwhelming litany SOUND
ed. Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, du
to dust"
You see il will be we'll for geolosisi
TO come to New Zealand. Ornithologis'
ought also to come. Last evening, a
though it is here midwinter-New Le'
lands July corresponding with Amer
cas- January, although far from hein
as cold-I was standing near a elun
of trees which still kept all their foliag
and there were bird voices ahsolute
bewildering for numbers and sweetnes
10 tho notes ~ tho musio there rendert