34 Expedition of 1906 



flora the reproduction of one of the two views which the exception- 

 ally favourable light and the stillness of the ship enabled me to obtain 

 (PI. III., fig. 2) 1 . 



The face of the rock, like all the other parts of the island which are 

 not covered with a thick carpet of vegetation, is continually under- 

 going change of form. 



As we were on deck, taking our simple midday meal during the 

 attractive voyage along the wild north coast, we suddenly became 

 aware of an extraordinary phenomenon. Several small columns of 

 smoke or steam appeared over a crater-like depression somewhat to 

 the left of the highest peak, a spot rendered conspicuous by the 

 absence of all trace of vegetation, and gathered into a light cloud 

 over the mountain. Similar clouds rose above other points on the 

 upper slopes. We asked ourselves : Is the volcanic activity of the 

 island breaking out afresh ? During the last few months and weeks 

 news had reached us of volcanic outbursts (Vesuvius, Hawaii), of 

 terrible earthquakes (San Francisco), and in Java itself the crater of 

 Merapi had become active ; in the highlands of Padang (Sumatra) 

 the cone of Tandihat had broken out again after a long period of 

 quiescence. Should we now have to take back to Batavia news of 

 the reawakening of Krakatau ? Fortunately our anxiety proved to 

 be groundless. With the help of our field-glasses and the captain's 

 telescope we Avere able to discover the cause of this disturbing 

 phenomenon : stones of all sizes and masses of sand were continually 

 being dislodged and the air-currents which they produced in their 

 headlong descent raised clouds of dust which hung over the peak 

 like masses of smoke. As we came nearer we could see some large 

 stones bounding in gigantic leaps over the rocks and forming screes of 

 detritus at the foot of the rock precipice. Some of these screes are 

 shown in the photograph (PI. III., fig. 2). 



We landed in a broad bay, which is enclosed by the western part 

 of the precipice and a steep promontory, "Zwarte Hoek," which 

 was formerly the most westerly point of the old island. At this point 

 the waves have washed up on to the shore a considerable quantity of 

 pumice and ash, forming a small beach, the colonisation of which by 

 plants has not yet proceeded so far as on the east and south-east 

 shores of the island. The surface of sand sprinkled over with blocks 

 of pumice and large masses of black lava is partially covered with a 

 network of Ipomaea, Canavalia and Vigna, the shoots of which in the 

 absence of competing rivals reach a length of 20 metres [65 ft.] (PI. IV., 

 fig. 4). Young coconut palms occur here and there with seedlings of 

 Barringtonia spwiosa anchored in the sand by roots of 3 to 5 decimetres 



1 See Addendum II., p. 72. 



