230 THE ERUPTION OF KRAKATOA IN 1883 



world to give this little island the attention for which it had waited so 

 long. 



Shortly after the eruption the Dutch government caused a careful 

 survey of the vicinity to be made, and commissioned Mr. R. D. M. 

 Verbeek, a mining engineer of Batavia, to investigate the cause and 

 effects of the outbreak. 



Later, the Royal Society of London took the matter in hand, and 

 on January 17, 1884, the council passed the following resolution: 

 " That a committee, to consist of Sir F. Evans, Professor Judd, Mr. 

 Norman Lockyer, Mr. R. H. Scott, General Strachey, and Mr. G. J. 

 Symons, with power to add to their number, be appointed to collect 

 the various accounts of the volcanic eruption at Krakatoa, and atten- 

 dant phenomena, in such form as shall best provide for their preserva- 

 tion and promote their usefulness." The committee inserted a letter 

 in the Times and other periodicals, inviting communications relating 

 to the eruption. Later, Dr. Geikie and Professor Bonney were added 

 to the committee. The work of discussing the mass of data collected 

 was commenced about the end of November, 1884. In the spring of 

 1887 the manuscript was completed, and has since been printed in a 

 quarto volume of four hundred and ninety-four pages. The results 

 of Mr. Verbeek's investigations were published in Dutch in 1885-1886, 

 and afterward translated into French. 



It was suggested to me that a description of the eruption might be 

 of interest to the readers of the Quarterly. Most of this article is 

 .based on the English work, as I have been unable to obtain the first 

 volume of Mr. Verbeek's account. 



During the night of August 27, 1883, the British ship, Charles 

 Bal, being prevented by the intense darkness from continuing her 

 voyage, beat about within a dozen miles of the east coast of Krakatoa. 

 This vessel and two others in the vicinity escaped destruction. About 

 40 miles from the scene of the eruption were four other vessels, three 

 being at the eastern and one at the western entrance of the strait; 

 while many were at distances varying from 75 to 1000 miles from the 

 volcano. The account of what happened during that eventful night 

 has been compiled from the data furnished by the officers and passen- 

 gers of these vessels, and the reports collected with so much care by 

 Mr. Verbeek. 



The northern portion of the island of Krakatoa was almost entirely 



