53 ART. 3. — B. KOTO: 



region of Iziû-in, 15ä;;?z. west from the city, where clocks stopped 

 and a few houses were badly damaged. 



On November 8th and December 9th, 1913, and on the 



1914 8th of January, 1914, Kirishima, lying 6o km. to the 



north from Sakura-jima, made successive explosions, ejecting ash 

 over the surrounding districts. A week before the great catastrophe 

 of the 12th, a pond 3.6 ??2. square, just above Ari-mm^a in Sakura- 

 jima suddenly became dry, and the fishes in it all died, and 

 some wells in the island dried up, or the water-table became con- 

 siderably lower. These unusual phenomena were reported and the 

 authorities replied that these were mere effects of the activity of 

 Kirishima already referred to. These movements embracing the 

 region within the radius of (31 km.^^ from Sakura-jima already 

 pointed out the local origin of a subterranean disturbance of 

 great volcanic energy. On January 8, thick snow fell in Kago- 

 shima Bay, which has been rarely experienced in warm southern 

 Kyiishii. 

 ^^^ jQ^^ We were now approaching the dreadful crisis, the 



■^^^* energy concentrating in Sakura-jima in its upward ex- 



ertion for the egress of lava. From the morning of January 10th, 

 precursory shocks were experienced in Kagoshima, throwing water 

 out of basins every (?) 10 minutes. From 7 p.m. rapid tremors 

 shook the island, accompanied with subterranean groaning. The 

 magma was then apparently ascending. Some people observed 

 already during this day shaken rocks falling from the western slope 

 of the north cone of Sakura-jima. The night was stormy with 

 flashes of lightning followed by rain, then the weather became 

 clear and warm. 



1) CI. K. Gilbert, ' Interpretation of Anomalies of Gravity.' Prof. Paper 85 C, U. S. Geol. 

 Sm-r., 1913. 



