Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-01-17
ATLANTANS FACE
VOLCANO PERIL
IN JAPAN
Three Active Craters Near Home
of W, H, Clarke and Family,
Relatives Here Worried,


Baptist missionaries, stationed at
! only so miles from the volcano aud
| the city Of kagoshima, which has
| been destroyed by streams of molten
lava and fire that poured from the
soothing craters.
Since the first of the volcano erup-
tons and its resultant reign OF ter
| ror and death, Mrs. Daniel has re-
ceived no word from her daughter
and her family, although she hourly
! expects a cahlegram telling of their
| escape from the devastated district
| or their death.
Could Not Send Cable,
| The last letter she received from
| them was mailed in Japan on Deem
| Der IS, a miSsiVe signed by her
| grandchildren, Harvey and Josephine
! Clarke, in which no mention was
made of any signs of activity by the
| volcano
She tried to get cablegrsm
| through to her daughter without sue
cess, and is now endeaYorins to get
| into communication with the Baptist
| Board of Foreign Missions, in the
| hope that that organization, which is
| III CIcSt ltuti Will an
| in Japan, may have learned the fate
| of her daughter and grandchildren.
| Mrs. Daniels anxiety over the safe
i ty of Mrs. Clarke was increased Sat
] urday morning by statements Of
! scientists that further disturbances,
Of even greater destructive force than
| the first eruptions that buried the
! city of kagoshima. with toll of
! $4,000 human lives, are to be expected
| from the volcano of Sakura- Jima and
other VOLCANOES in southern Japan.
| Other Volcanoes Active,
| Just 80 miles south of Kumamota,
| and visible from the home Of Mrs.
| Clarke, are the mountains of Asosan,
| crowned with three active volcanoes,
| two of which have made their ap-
| pearance within the past Two or three
years.
If the city Of kumamota, which
| mas a population of almost 100000,
| is menaced only by earthquakes and
| fires as result of the eruptionS on
! the island of Sakura,' said Mrs. Dan
| iel Saturday morning, my daughter
| and her family may have had time
! to escape; but if there have been
| eruptions from Asosan, within 30
miles of the city, there is little hope
that they or anyone else in the city
are alive.
"kumamota nesties in the valley at
the foot of the Asosan Mountains,
| and the volcanoes are distinctly Wis
! ible from almost any part of the city.
| On clear days the smoke from the
| craters can be seen from almost any
part of the city"
The home of the Rev. and Mrs,
| Clarke is located with those of other
! missionaries on the hills outside OF
| tie city proper, nearer the noun
! tains and the volcanoes than are the
| dwellings of the native japanese. Six
| years ago Mrs. Daniel visited her
daughter in Japan, and spent a year
/ in the shadow of the volcano.
Felt Small Earthquake.
Every morning when | woke" she
SAND, Il could look from the window
| of my room and see the smoke rising
! in clouds from the crater of ASosan,
80 miles away. At times We could
/ hear rumblings as the interior of the
| volcano was shaken by an explosion,
and at times there would be small
earthquakes that would shake the
! city, though there had never been a
| serious eruption from the volcano.
Il have made sight seeing trips to
| the mountains of Asosan. though we
never went closer to the volcano than
a few miles, as the lava that pours
| constantly down its sides and the
| poisonous gases and smoke That arise
| from it's crater made il dangerous to
venture close TO il,
! "Asosan is regarded as one of the
most dangerous VOLCANOES in Japan,
and men familiar with such things
have long anticipated an eruption. In
| the last few years il has showed re-
newed signs Of activity, and two
other VOLCANOES have appeared along
| side the old one.
Activity Increasing.
"One of these, my daughter writes,
is now as large and active as the orig
| inal volcano and the smaller one APP
pears to be growing in size and actiV-
| ity every day.
IF the scientists are right and Aso-
| san shows signs of becoming active,
even greater than that caused by the
| bursting of Sakura lima, for Kuma-
mota, a city of more than 100000 peo-
pie, is at the mercy of the volcano.
"There would hardly be any chance
| of escape for anyone in the city
should an eruption take place unless
| they have been warned by the devas-
! tation of the island of Sakura and
have fled to the interior and points
remote from the volcanoes,
Mr.. and Mrs. Clarke have been in
| Japan fourteen years, and II they
have escaped safely from the region
devastated by the volcanoes, are en-
pected home on a visit sometime dur
ing the summer.
They were sent to the Eastern En-
pire by the West End Baptist Church
and hte First Baptist Church of At
lsnta Their five children are Har-
vey, Jr.. 13; Josephine, II; jeremiah,
5; Coleman, 8, and a baby only few