The herald., 1895-04-21

| being, UO,a servant we Will say, W COHiO
and see it. Then in moment, while my
eyes were turned came an immense
deafening explosion, which was greater
than we had heard as yet proceeding IRON
Krackatoa. 1t stunned me-. and it was
minute or two before | realized that when
once more turned my eyes toward the
bay, | could see nothing. Darkness had
instantly shrouded the world. Through
this darkness. which was punctuated by
distinct cries and groans the falling OF
heavy bodies. and the creaking disruption
of masses of brick and timber. most of all
the roaring and crashing of breakers ON
the ocean were audible.
The city of Anjler, with all its 10000
people in and aboutit had been blotted
out and if any living being save myself
remained, did not find it out then. One
OF those deafening explosions followed
another, as some new submerged area
was suddenly heaved up by the volcanic
fire below and the sea admitted to the
hollow depths where that fire had ragged
for centuries.
The awful surge of the maddened ocean
as it rushed landward terrified me. |
feared l would be engulfed. Mechanically
| ran back up the mountain side. My
subsequent observations convinced me
that at the first explosion the ocean had
burst new crater under krakatOa. At
the second explosion the big island
Dwers-in-de-Weg, had been split in two,
so that a great strait separated what were
The two halves. The island of Legundi
northwest of Krakatoa, disappeared at the
same time, and all the west coast CT Java.
for fifteen or twenty miles, was wrenched
loose. Many new islands were formed in
that throe. which afterward disappeared.
A map which made not long atterward
shows the change of the cOnhguration of
that part of the world.
| walked on inland in dazed condition
which seemed to last for hours. The
high road from AMER to the city OF Sc
rang was white and smooth and easy to
follow, and felt my way along it in the
darkness. Soon after | began this singu-
lar Journey | met the native postman
coming down the mountain toward AMER
with his wheeled mail cart This
carriers vehicle was an iron box on an
axle, running on two wheels, pulled by
four ponies. I told the man what had
happened, and tried to get him to turn
back. but he would not. | reached the
city of Serang about four or five o'clock
that afternoon, after having made one
stop. at a house on the way.
Ihs residence doomed up on the side of
the road, Offering me, apparently, well
come refuge. | rushed IN, thinking to
find relief from the intense neat under
the shelter of it's roof, but through the
tiles OF the flooring. little blue flames
were tickeringscaS | entered, and the
house itself seemed Ikea furnace. The
subterranean fires were at work even
|, there. on the side OF the mountain.
Under the mass vi flooring OF masonry,
| could not distinguish which, ] saw the
body OF II woman i'll native garments.
rushed out Mortified from this burn
ing tomb. IL was the residence, [
learned afterward of Controller Frankel,
an officer OF the government ranking i'm
mediateiy after the Governor himself.
staggered blindly on my way. When
T reuphel Serany. | was ,akeu into the
garrison and nursed for two days. | was
supposed to be a lunatic. | started up i'll
my sleep half-dozen times in the first
night, utterlng cries of terror. was
soothed by drugs. and enabled on the
third day to 90 to Batavia. Even then
the extent of the calamity was not
known in Serang. At Batavia took the
steamer for Singapore.
On my return, some time afterward, to
the scene of this frightful experiences,
learned further particulars Of the force
OF the explosion. On Merak Point.
where the government had been blasting
rock were an engine and several boilers
used for compressed air. All of these.
containing compressed air. had been
hurled against the walls OF the quarry.
and absolutely hattened out like sheets of
paper. In Lombok, on the southeast
coast of Sumatr,t, "a wooden man-of-war
belonging to the Dutch government and
two barks of 200 to 800 tons each, one of
them loaded with salt, had been thrown
$50 feet up the mountain side into the
trees by the tidal wave which immedi
ately followed the explosion. For days
thereafter there was thick coat of white
ashes all over the island of Java. The
ground was hot and crumbled to the
touch. Every leaf and bit of vegetation
had been consumed, and every creeping
thing and living creature blasted and
burned up. Six hundred miles away it
was necessary to burn lamps all day, and
IN the cities OF Batavia. Samarang and
Soerabaya the carnage lamps were needed
out Of doors and gas indoors for some
time.
My investigations showed that there
was one hundred feet OF water where the
city of AMER had been. 81 short distance
from my vi la, and that the coastline was
Just one and one-half miles further inland.
1T is there that the city Of New AMER has
been built, and where all vessels for China,
Japan and Australia report to the regular
telegraph station. Part of Prince Island,