A VILLAGE SUBMERGED. 239 



the last of tliese destructive 23]ieiiomena. Many 

 houses were levelled to tlie ground, but others 

 that were built with special care suffered little in- 

 juiy. Their walls are made of coral rock or bricks. 

 They are two or three feet thick and covered with 

 layers of plaster. At short distances, along their 

 outer side, sloping buttresses are placed against them, 

 so that many of the Banda residences look almost as 

 much like fortifications as dwellin2:-houses. The 

 first warning any one had of the destruction that 

 was coming was a sudden streaming out of the wa- 

 ter from the enclosed bay, until the war-brig Haai, 

 which was lying at anchor in eight or nine fathoms, 

 touched the bottom. Then came in a great "s^ave 

 from the ocean which rose at least to a hei2:ht of 

 twenty-five or thirty feet over the low, western part 

 of the village, which is only separated from Gunong 

 Api by the narrow Sun Strait. The ]3raus lying 

 near this shore were swept up against Fort Nassau, 

 which was then so completely engulfed, as it was 

 stated to me on the spot, that one of these native 

 boats remained inside the fort when the water 

 had receded to its usual level. The part of the vil- 

 lage over which the flood swept contained many small 

 houses, and nearly every one in them was carried away. 

 The rapid outflowing of the water of this enclosed 

 bay (which is really only an old crater) was prob- 

 a})ly caused either by the elevation of the bottom at 

 that spot, or else by such a sinking of the floor of the 

 sea outside, that the water was drained off into some 

 depression which had suddenly been formed. We 

 liave no reason to suppose that there was any great 



