The herald., 1895-04-21

his island, winch Will live in history
with associations as lasting as those of
miles long and four miles wide. A few
fishermen lived on it, and on its noun
tain slopes remarkably fine rosewood and
mahogany trees were found in abundance.
Some OF them were eight or ten feet in
diameter. too big to cut. When we
landed on the coast opposite to that along
which the river of sulphur was dlscharg-
ing. we saw no signs of those inhabitants.
The waves were washing the sandy
shores. -Four or five feet from the water
line rose a straight bank of powdered
pumice-stone, which was rained down
constantly from the clouds that
surrounded the column of fire.
uraI everything suggestive OF life or
growth had been annlhilated from what
had been beautiful landscape. A hid
den mass of burning stone and steaming
ashes had been deposited over all. Trees
three feet thick and which must have
buried, their branches twelve inches
thick sticking out here and there. Sew
eral OF us landed, and l began walking
inland. We sunk knee deep in the loose
pumice; it was of the consistency of snow,
and hot. Our feet began to blister.
l climbed painfully up, walking inland
in the direction of the crater, winch | de-
the third observation made, saw
something trucking across the mirror of
the sextant and discovered that the
quicksilver had melted and run away.
| was more than half mile now
from the edge of the crater. My skin
was roasting and cracking. The roar of
the flames was so loud as to drown any
other Imaginable noise, save the detona
tions, now and then. Of the bursting
stones, which would fly into fragments
far up over our heads, it seemed, and sift
their burning dust upon us. From the
first 300 feet from the edge of. the crater
the ascending column was one uniform
white-hot mass of clear fame of dazzling
brightness, of such scorching energy as
to blast lis into Cinder. did we dare
nearer approach. This column of fame
was. as | have said. about one and half
miles in diameter.
l turned to retrace my footsteps and
seek safety on the wat +. AS started to
put my feet mechanically back into the
prints they had made going up. | shud-
dered. The bottom of each footprint was
red, aglow with fire from beneath. Here
and there on the surface saw the tracks
of pigs feet, the creature evidently
panic stricken in its race for life. Every
human being, every animal. every bird
on the island OF krakatoa must have
persisted by that time, and If we had not
increased our speed the same fate might
nave been ours At last we got aboard
again, and from, the steamers deck pho
tographed that awful scene, the fire pump
playing all around me the while, wetting
down the rigging, keeping. the double
awnings moist and saturating the side
of the ship; it was the My way to keep
her from taking fire. That had been nee
essary since daylight.
The steamer; returned to Batavia. the
roar from the great flame sounding con
tlnually i'll our ears, the glare from its
fires gradually dimming IN the distance.
That roar and that glare lasted steadily
da and night until the 18th day OF Au-
gust. By that time everybody had gotten
used to it, and nobody spoke OF it any
m re. We supposed krakatoa would burn
itself out after a while and rest again,
perhaps for anothershundred years.
In Jhe meantime had taken up my
residence in the city OF AMER, on the
stsHit sof lSneda. west OF Batavia. y had
with it's surroundings, from Mefak. Point
to odjinegOre, about $4,000 inhabitants.
l lived in villa, a mile back OF the city,
up The mountain slope. The city lay
along the margin of the sea, the houses.
of brick and BAN boo. being nearly all one
story high. Along the coast at each side
of the city clustered groups Of fishermen $
huts and their fishing boatss.hy the score
lay at anchor9a short distance from shore.
Over the low roofs of the city | could see
TAR out over the strait to where the kraka-
toa monster, thirty miles away, was belch-
ing out his awful-and never-ending erup-
ton.
1t was Sunday morning. | was sitting
on the veranda of my house smoking IL
cigar and taking my morning cup OF tea.
The scene was perfect one. Across the
roofs of the native houses | could see the
fishing s.nacks lying in the bay at an hor,
the fishermen themselves being on shore
at rest. as they did not work that day.
The birds were singing in the grove at
my back and a moment before l had
heard one of the servants moving around
in the colt ge. AS my gaze rested on
the masts of the little boats, of which
there were several score in sight. be-
came suddenly aware OF the fact that
they were all moving in one direction. In
an instant, to my intense surprise, they
all disappeared.
| ran out of the honse back up higher
to where L could command a better view
and looked far out into sea. Instantly