VOYAGE FROM CAPE TOWN TO CHINA. 53 



sent to me by the admiral, with a letter of thanks for 

 the proposed aid. 



As there was nothing to detain us longer at Ba- 

 tavia we got under way on the morning of the 19th, 

 and proceeded to the Straits of Sunda to examine more 

 closely the effects of the earthquake and tidal wave. 

 From St. Nicholas Point we steamed along the shore as 

 close as was prudent, to see if the formation of the coast 

 line had been changed, but no material alteration was 

 discovered. The small island of Tempoza was stripped 

 entirely of trees and soil, and the sides of the island of 

 Merak were badly scored. We took a number of 

 soundings close to the island and found them to agree 

 with those on the chart. 



We then steamed for Anjer and anchored off the 

 ruins. As many as could be spared went on shore. 

 The desolation was truly apalling. Everything had 

 been swept into the sea or levelled to the ground. 

 Where before there was an extensive town, now not a 

 house remained, but only the foundations, which were 

 shown by rows and squares of bricks and mortar ; there 

 was scarcely one brick upon another above the level of 

 the ground. The streets, and indeed the whole place, 

 were strewn with brick and coral. Every tree within 

 the limits of the town had been twisted off near the 

 ground, or had been uprooted altogether. A more per- 

 fect scene of desolation cannot be imagined. We 

 walked from the battery, where the dismantled guns 

 were lying on the ground, to a point distant perhaps a 



