The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1902-06-11
THE PHILIPPINE VOLCANOES
HOW THEY COMPARE WITH THOSE OF
THE WEST INDIES.
Volcano of AIbay Said to Be the Most
Symmetrical Cone ia World. litter
esting Account of an Eruption.


Of interest in connection with the re-
cent volcanic eruptions in the west
Indies is the report of George F.
Becker on the geology of the Philip
pine Islands, which has just appeared
in Part III. of the Twenty-first Annual
Report of the United States Geological
Survey, and which contains review
of everything bearing upon the geology
of these islands.
The report deals in general with the
geologic and economic features or the
islands, from extant reports on the sub
ject, and from studies in the field, so
far as they could be carried on during
the disturbed period of 1S9S-99, though
geologizing under arms and with mil
itaHy escort was found to be more ex-
citing than profitable.
In many respects the Philippine Is
lands so closely resemble the West In
dies, especially in being the scene of
violent past and present volcanic en-
ergy, that the chapter of the report on
the active and extinct volcanoes of the
archipelago is at this time particularly
interesting While it is possible to
visit but few of these mountains owing
to the hostility of the natives, much
valuable information from local and
other sources was collected. Forty
nine of the eruptive mountains were To-
Gated among the islands, and their al
titudes and the dates of their eruptions
obtained. Conspicuous among them is
Mount Apo, the highest mountain in
the Philippines, which rises 10, 761 feet
above the level Of the sea. At CANT
gum de Mindanao, one Of the most in
teresting volcanoes of the group, cone
nearly 1000 feet in height has risen
since 1871 over what was formerly
lake, the basin Of which was, presuma
bly,, an ancient crater. Mayor, or the
volcano of Albay, is said to be the
most symmetrically beautiful cone in
the world; and the famous Taal vol
cano, situated ON a small volcanic is
land in the lake of BonbOn, is readily
accessible from Manila.
The accounts Of the eruptions of
bear a striking resemblance to those
of the recent outburst of Mont Pelee
in Martinique. OF an eruption which
occurred in the year 1641 near Jolo
the report quotes, "The darkness and
atmospheric disturbance were so great
that the people of Jolo could not per-
ceive whence came the stuff which fell
from heaven upon them" And in one
of the numerous eruptions at Taal loud
detonations like discharges of artillery
were heard, incandescent stones were
thrown out, and a great fire ran like
river across the island. The fire then
shifted into Lake Bonbon, throwing
up water and ashes in immense mass
es. 1.-The water grew hot and black.
fish were strewn on the beaches as If
they had been cooked, and the air was
so full of sulphurous smells and the
odor Of dead fishes that the inhabit-
ants sickened" At one of the erup-
tons of Albay, that in 1914, 1000 lives
are said to have been lost.
In drawing comparisons between the
volcanoes of the Philippines and those
of the Dutch East Indies Mr.. Becker
notes that "Papandayang, in west
Java, had great eruption in 1872. de-
stroying forty villages. Galung Gung
in 1922 destroyed ia villages, and it
is some measure Of the violence of the
Krakatoa explosion of 1888 that over
$4,000 people persisted"
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