The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1899-10-14
The Earth's Worst Spasm.
From the Pal Mall Magazine


in the Straits of Sunda, was destroyed,
while two new islands were created by vol
canic action. We, in England, remember
the fact mainly ON account af the magnif-
cent sunsets which followed the event and
were witnessed all over the world. These
sunsets, it is now hardly necessary to state,
were caused by the impalpable dust and
vapor particles which had been elected
from Krakatoa to height of twenty miles
or more from the surface of the earth, and
were still floating in the upper air
The eruption caused great seismic
wave of the sea, which overwhelmed the
villages on the neighboring shores and
drowned upward of thirty thousand per-
sons. The height of the crest of this
wave has been variously estimated, but at
Telok Betong, in Sumatra, the water
reached within 6 feet of the Residency,
which stands on hill IS feet above the
sea, and the Dutch man-of-war Berouw,
anchored off the coast, was carried by the
wave up the valley nearly two miles in
land, and was left, high and dry, more
than 80 feet above the sea level.
If man were to tell US that while
walking down PiecadiIly he had heard an
explosion which had taken place at Guild
ford, or any town situated some thirty
miles away, we should probably think that
he was under misapprehension. But if
he told us that he had heard one that oc-
CURED at Newcastle n-Tyne, at distance
of three hundred miles, we should have no
doubt as to the condition Of his mind 1t
is, nevertheless, fact that the explosion
of Krakatoa was heard not only thirty
three hundred miles away, but also at
distance Of three thousand miles 1t was
heard in India, and it was heard in Aus
tralia, and also in the island of Rodriguez,
which is about =, 96S miles from Kraka-
toa in a direct line Moreover, the seis-
mic wave of the sea referred to was no
ticed not only in South Africa, but also at
Cape Horn, which is ! 500 miles distant
from the Straits of Sunda But perhaps
the most extraordinary of all the phenom-
ena connected with this cataclysm of ma
ture was the atmospheric disturbance, or
air wave, produced by the explosion.
This air wave, it is stated, went three
times around the earth, aud it has been
remarked that ''the character of this dis
turbance would seem almost incredible,
were it not for the fact that it is attested
by the barograms of every great meteorol-
ogical station on the world surface. " x
= From this the time of its genesis
could easily be calculated with tolerable
exactitude 1t is given BY Lieutenant
General Strachey as two hours and nifty
six minutes Greenwich mean time, which
in local time would correspond with 9.59
o clock ON the morning of August 27.
II may be mentioned that, although the
great explosion did not take place until
g. 5S a. m, during the whole of the pre-
ceding night continuous roar, like the
discharge Of heavy cannon or thunder, had
been heard, so that the people in the towns
and villages of Java and Sumatra were
terrified, and did not dare to 90 to bed.
Even on the previous days, the Goth, the
sky, We are told, presented the most ter
rible appearance, fierce flashes of lightning
penetrating the dense masses of cloud over
the island, clouds of hlack matter were
rushing across the sky, rapidly recurring
| detonations were heard continuously, and
large pieces of pumiee, quite warm, rained
down at distance of ten miles -
1t is hardly matter TO be wondered at,
when We are told that at Carimon, Java,
355 miles distant, native boats were dis
patched 10 assist an imaginary vessel in
distress, and at Achern, l ,073 miles dis
tant, it was supposed that fort was being
attacked, and the troops were put under
arms, The result of the eruption was that
whole of the northern part of the island,
seven square miles In extent, was COM
pletely blown away, and where there was
formerly dry land there are now soundings
of ninety fathoms, and in some parts 100
fathoms or more. Moreover, the bed of
the sea some five or six miles to the north
appears to have been raised many faith
oms. 1t is unnecessary to point out how
stupendous must have been the force gen.
Grated under Krakatoa at the time of this
eruption, seeing that it was able to lift
millions of tons, and sent up stream of
pnmice and vapory particles TO height of
twenty miles above the surface of the
earth. We are naturally led to inquire
what was this force, and how was it gen
Grated.
The primary source from which proceeds
the energy which produces volcanic action
is unquestionably the internal heat of the
earth At the base of the crater of a
volcano is the top or commencement of the
channel or passage whereby commupica-
tion is maintained with the heated interior,
and when water from the sea, or from the
underground springs, pereolates through the
ground and finds its way down to this
channel and to the hot molten rocks below,
it at once generates steam, and those of us
who have been unfortunate enoug gh to have
had a kitchen boiler bust know something
of the explosive power of steam, even in
small quantities, But the following OBJ
servations with reference to this subject
will give our readers a clear perception Of
the subsequent stages of an eruption when
sea or other water reaches the heated
rocks belown volcano.
The water combines with the material
of the rock, and by this combination the
melting point of the rock is reduced; it
only requires the subsection of the hydrated
compound to such heat as would be sup
piled by the anhydrous lavas in fluid
condition to disengage steam and other
gases in enormous quantities, and to pro-
duce outbursts proportionate to the pres
sure and the strength of the inclosing
walls If, while this process is going on,
water in large quantities gains access to
the surface of the heated mass, solidifca-
ton might take place, and the escape of
gases through the crater would be tempor-
arily checked. When at last the accu-
mulated force bursts the newly formed
crust, this and other obstacles would be
speedily removed by the tremendous VIC
lence of the blast, and the sides of the
crater might either be blown away or fall
into the seething lava. Such appears to
have been the working of the final and
self-destruetive eruption of Krakotoa. y
After two months of idleness, the Americas
Stra yhoard Company of TJfiin Ohio has ra