Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-07-15
PHILIPPINE VOLCANOES.

buses. l.. H. MOORE.
PHILIPPINE VOLCANOES.
There Are Now Fifteen Active Craters
in the Archipelago.
From the New York Evening Post
While the innumerabe extinct volcanic
cones which are profusely scattered
through the Philippines point to the fact
that the islands were in great part formed
by their agency, yet about fifteen known
active volcanoes, and several others which
display evidence that their inertia is not to
be relied upon as permanent, makes the
archipelago still one Of the great centers of
seismatic disturbance on the surface of the
earth.
From the year 1916 when the first erup-
ton known to history occurred, down to
that of Mount Taal in 1880, which was pre-
ceded by terrible earthquake, the islands
seem to have been subjected to one vol
canic calamity after another, that of the
same mountain in 1854 being the most dis
astrous recorded, when for eight days the
crater threw out ashes and lava, the sky
took on a hue Of inky blackness, and the
shocks of explosions were felt hundreds Of
miles away.
In many respects this Mount Taal is one
of the most remarkable volcanoes in exist
ence, and as a familiar wonder of the world
now promises to rival that other unique
volcano upon American soil-Mauna Loa
of Hawaii.
Situated a little over fifty miles south of
Manila in the Island of Luzon, Mount Taal
consists of a cone rising from the center
of a lake called also Lake Taal which in
turn appears to occupy the enormous crater
of another extinct volcano at one time 5000
feet high, and undermined by a stupen-
dous subterranean disturbance in the year
100. AS Mount Taal is only 1877 feet in
height, it bears the distinction of being, in
all probability, the lowest active volcano in
the world. The crater Is irregular oval
about three miles across at its greatest
width, at the bottom Of which are three
small lakes, the water Of one being of
apple green color, while that Of another is
of bright yellow and boils over continu-
ally.
Owing to its precipitous sides, Lake Taal
has somewhat the appearance Of a caldron.
1t covers q surface of 100 square miles, and
in the southeastern part reaches depth
of 654 feet. On it's opposite side the lake is
bounded by narrow isthmus separating 1t
from the sea, and formed entirely of vol
cantc aches. Owing to the fact that the
water is partially salt and inhabited by va
rious marine fishes, 1T is supposed that this
ithmus was at one time broken through by
| the sea, and at later date again closed
by an eruption. In the great eruption Of
| 1854 it asserted that the red hot lava
! falling into the lake raised even the tenn
boiling point, so that in the destruction of
countless numbers of fishes an epidemic
arose from their decaying bodies, by which
| 10000 natives are supposed to have lost
their lives.
In the same Island of Luzon, about 200
| miles south of Taal, rises the great cone
of Mount Mayou, 5000 feet high and fifty
miles in circumference at it's base, which
| in the year 1914 suddenly burst forth bury
| ing the surrounding villages and cocoanut
| groves beneath rain of ashes to depth
| of 100 feet and causing the deaths of 1900
people. In Manila on that occasion the
ashes lay two feet deep in the Streets and
| artificial light had to be used at midday.
Again, on the 31st of October, 1876 of
those terrible storms for which the islands
| are notorious swept down the sides Of the
| mountain, carrying with a cataclysm of
water such quantities of loose volcanic de-
| bris that for miles the roads were filled up
bridges destroyed and over 5000 houses
| ruined.
| At Tibi on Laganay bay, little to the
| northeast of Mayou. are several fuma roles
| and hot springs, remarkable for deposits OF
| silica shaped into the most beautiful cones,
| and pink terraces not unlike those for
| which New Zealand at time ia
nous. The waters of these hot springs, to-
| gether with those at Buguias, San Luis,
| Pagsanghan and Los Banos, are reputed to
| possess valuable medicinal properties. At
| the latter place baths were erected by the
| FranciScanS for the purpose of cures"
| but they have now fallen into disuse. From
| the fact that the other islands of the archi-
| pelago are but little explored, their vol
| canoes not well known, though it
has been ascertained that a semi-active one,
| Mount Apo, in Mindanao, rises to a height
of 102S0 feet, bearing in it's sides huge
| creVasse from which dense sulphurous
| fumes are constantly emitted. Cottabato,
| or Macatur in the same island, burst
| forth in 1871, partly destroying the town of
that name near by while it persistently
| displays energy through the solfataras and
| hot springs at Its base.
| AS 1t is known that q double crater vol
cano similar to Vesuvius exists on the
| Island of Dumaran, off the northern ex-
tremity of Palawan. it is conjectured that
the latter UNEMPLOYED island may also con-
tain active cones, while there are enormous
sulphur deposits on the Island of Leyte, and
on the Island Negros Mount Malaspina
attains height of $500 feet, and it's erup.
ton of 1880 covered the sea for many miles
in it's neighborhood with coating of fine
| ashes foot in depth, that ships passing
cut through clear paths.
| The apparent uncertainty OF what fOun.
dation you may build your house upon ir
the Philippines is forcibly illustrated iT
| two comparatively recent instances wher
| in the years 1856 and 1876, respectively, two
| volcanoes suddenly arose from the earth
| one, Didlca, on an island off the extreme
| northern point of Luzon, and the other
Camiguin, near the village of the same
| name, on an island off the coast of Min
| danao. In both cases no loss of human life
occurred, but the two volcanoes have since
grown in stature and in their explosive
| powers.
While the greatest volcano of the Eas
| Indies. and probably of the whole earth
| Kratatoa-a name suggestive of something
highly explosive-does not lie within tn,
| Philippines, yet on the occasion of its erup
ton in 1888, felt all over the world. a sin
| gular phenomena was witnessed in Manila
! when through a light dry mist the SUI
appeared green, and diffused over every
: thing it illuminated a strange and greenisl
| hue
Undoubtedly with such interesting nat
, ural and human objects volcanoes, pir
ates, earthquakes, cannibals, typhoons ant
so forth in the path of the pioneer Ameri
l can settler in the Philippines, his life a
first will surely not be devoid of eXcitin,
q incidents.
Will Marry Only FunstOn's Men.
From the Cincinnati Enquirer.