Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1902-02-06

by noise as Of artillery firirS but
was not really disturbed unfsI four
old natives informed him tfzax the
island had burst, and hersse the
noise. Daylight came and exposed
10 view an immense volume a smoke
rising from the crater Of the valcano.
And here and there from its sides
arose smaller plume like conmns.
Ii was magnificent sight 10 watch
mountains OF sand hurled frtsn the
lake into the air in the form q erect
pyramids aud then falling aes Iike
the stream from q fountai* IL.
Whilst contemplating this messing
phenomenon with tranquil delight, o
strong earthquake came and upset
everything in the convent. Pillars
Of sand ascended out OF thek water
near the shore of the town and re-
manned erect until. by a second
earthquake. they. with the trees on
the islet. were violently thrown
down and submerged in the lake.
The earth opened here and there as
far as the shores of the Laguna de
Bay, the lands OF Sala and Tanauan
shifted. streams found new beds and
in many places trees were engulfed
in the assures.
''On the 18th Of May, 1884 con-
tinues the same writer, "between 3
and 10 o'clock, the volcano elected
boiling lava that ran down is sides
in such quantities that only the wa
ters Of the lake saved the people on
the shores from being burned Fire
and stones came continuously from
the crater until the I'd OF June, when
a volume OF smoke arose that seem
ed to reach the skies. Matters con-
tinued so until the 10th Of July,
when there fell shower ofmud as
black as ink. The wind changed
its direction, and a suburb Of Sala.
called Balili, was swamped with
mud Stones and cinders fell inces-
sanity, and about the 18th of Sep
;ember the people of Taal had to
abandon their homes because the
roofs were falling in because of the
weight upon them. On the night OF
November the fall of stones i'm
creased, but diminished t5ssArd che
18th of November, when great noises
we're heard A long melancholy
sound dinned in one S ears; volumes
Of black smoke arose, and great
waves proceeded from th lake, beating
the shores with appalling fury. For
while the devastation was sus-
pended prior TO the last supreme
effort. All looked half dead after
seven months of suffering in the
way described.
ION the 25th of November, after
I o'clock, the volcano threw up more
FIRE than all put togather in the pre-
ceding seven months of incessant
eruption. The burning column seem
ed to mingle with the clouds; the
whole island was one ignited mass.
A great mass of stones was thrown
up and the water commenced to en-
crouch upon the houses, and the in
habitants took TO flight. The panic
was intense. On the 10Th and Both
of November there was complete
darkness around the lake vicinity and
when light reappeared layer of
cin6ers five inches thick was seen
to cover the houses and lands, and
it was constantly increasing. Total
darkness returned, SD that one
could not distinguishanother's face,
and all were more horror stricken
than before. On the Both of Octo-
Der, smoke and strangesounds came
with greater fury than before, while
lighting flashedin the dense obscur-
ity. 1t seemed as though the end of
the world was at hand. When light
returned, the destruction was hor-
ribly visible. Then there was
day OF comparative quietude. All
were in state ofmelancholy, " hich
was increased when they heard that
tbs whole of Taal had collapsed;
among the ruins were the Govern
ment House and stores, the prison,
State warehouses, and the royal
rope walk, besides the church and
convent
Through all this catastrophe q
number Of natives remained at Taal
to the end. Two men were buried
in the Government House ruins.
One woman escaped from her house
before it fell, was carried away by
the food. from which she escaped
only to be killed by fash of light
ming.
The actual duration of the erup-
ton was six months and seventeen
days. and while there is no record
of the number killed, it was very
great, as also was the loss Of prop
erty.
Taal, once so important, was no
more, and Batangas, on the coast,