The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-08-20
THE CORONET PARTY
WAITING THE ECLIPSE
Courtesies Shown by Imperial
Japanese Government.
MABEL LOOMS FOODS LETTER.
Changes in the Country-More En-
gIish Spoken in Yokohama Than
Formerly Point Selected for OH
serving the Eclipse, Etc, Etc.
Yacht Coronet,

| I1OhOudIIld july IO1O.
Remarkable disturbances of nature
seem to accompany the Amherst
Eclipse Expedition upon it's travels
Tales of the mighty eruption of Mauna
Loa, just ending, greeted us at the
Hawaiian Islands. Upon the arrival
of the Coronet in Japan on June %,
it was learned that an enormous tidal
wave had recently devasted more than
thirty towns and villages in the north,
washing away over five thousand
houses and destroying nearly thirty
thousand persons. Detailed accounts
of this appalling disaster are still
hard to obtain, for the few survivors
in the devasted districts are even now
too dazed to give clear description of
is known that seimic wave, rising to
a height of almost sixty feet, swept
across the land, earring everything in
it's course with irresistible force.
province alone the wave overwhelmed
the seaboard of three districts-Miva-
gi, Iwate, and Aomori, extending from
Hachinoye on the north to Kinkasan,
an island at the mouth of the bay of
Sendai, on the south. Several shocks
of earthquake were felt during the
few hours preceding, and shortly be-
fore eight o'clock in the evening of
June Is, terrifying noise was heard,
like the boom of gigantic artillery, a
black wall of water was seen advancing
from the ocean with fearful speed, and
in less than two minutes whole towns
were swept away and thousands of
human beings perished. Their Majes-
ties the Emperor and Empress have
come nobly to the rescue with gifts of
Is, 900 yen, and the Tokyo journals at
once opened subscriptions for the re-
lief of the starving survivors, the Jill
collecting in a few days over 10000
yen, and the Nichi-Nichi more than
5000. while the Iwate branch of the
Red Cross Society has established
temporary hospital among the suffer-
ing people.
And still the pleasant life Of the for
eign residents in Yokohama goes on
much as it did nine years ago; men-of-
war of many nations lie at ease in the
beautiful harbor, now smooth and Un-
ruffied behind it's superb new break
water, and astronomers of several ma
tiOns are on their way to lie in wait
for the shadow of the moon when it
rushes across the Hokkaido on the
9th of August. Once more will our
satellite circle around us in her celes-
tiaI pathway before she slips quietly
his light in Yezo for two precious min
utes and half.
A new system of meteorological OBJ
servations made before an eclipse and
with special reference to it was inau-
gurated for that of 1898. Taking the
exact track as soon as published in the
Nautical Almanac, and having careful
observations made at the best and
most accessible points, gave excellent
results on that occasion. AS the Ep-
hemeris is issued about four years in
advance. this insures three complete
series before an eclipse. Noting the
general meteorological conditions of
the heavens is not sufficient, for the
sun is in a particular part of the sky
at a given hour, so the observations
must be of a special character. and
with distinct reference to the position
of the sun, season of the year, and
hour of the day when the eclipse takes
place. The tabulation of this informa-
ton assists greatly in selecting best sta
tiOn for eclipse observation. Those who
followed the indication" as to clear