THE MOLUCCAS 335 



From its now submarine floor the present active peak of 

 Gunoug Api has risen as a secondary crater, whicli, 

 though of small size, has been terribly destructive. It 

 rises straight from the sea as a steep and almost perfect 

 cone, 1858 feet in height and two miles in diameter at 

 its base. Excepting close to the sea, where there is a 

 little bush and some coco-imt palms, it is almost entirely 

 bare of vegetation, and its dark gray mass of scoriie and 

 ashes is only marked by the furrows of water-courses, 

 and, on its summit, by large deposits of sulphur. It is 

 perpetually smoking, and its periods of activity have not 

 only been numerous but prolonged. During tlie last 

 three centuries eruptions are recorded at fifteen distinct 

 periods, some of them lasting several months, and l)eing 

 generally accompanied by destructive eartlujuakes. On 

 six occasions earthquakes have occurred unacconijiaiiicd 

 by eruptions, the last great one being in 1852, when a 

 wave swept over the islands and destroyed many acres of 

 the nutmeg plantations. In 1690 and 1691 there was 

 a succession of eruptions and earthquakes, which so 

 devastated the place that many of the inhabitants emi- 

 grated to Andioina and Celebes to escape destruction, and 

 it was said that but for the firmness of the Eesident the 

 islands would have been utterly aliandoned. These 

 eruptions have been frequently followed Ijy severe 

 epidemics, which have been even more fatal. Although 

 the islands are over 17 00 miles distant from Krakatau, 

 the appalling eruption of that volcano made itself felt 

 even here as a small seismic wave which rushed through 

 the harl30ur from the westward, but did no damage. 



A narrow creek — the Zonnegat — only navigable by 

 small craft, separates Gunong Api from Banda Nera. 

 It is on this island that the town is placed, the cool- 

 looking white houses covering the whole length of its 



