Jan. ic, 1884] 



NA TURE 



241 



also (there are two vessels of the same name, Marie and 

 Maria, in the list, the one, Marie, of 570, the other, 

 Maria, of 790 tons) reported : At 7.30 currents observed 

 in different directions, some small vessels lost their anchors, 

 ten persons saved from being drowned. From Telok 

 Betong is reported : By 6.30 sea quite calm, level of the 

 sea I metre lower than pier, a moment afterwards i 

 metre above it ; people who were at the end of the pier, 

 about 1000 metres distant from the shore, had to walk 

 back through the water, which was done without acci- 

 dents. Meanwhile the Charles Bal was in a fearful 

 situation since 5 o'clock. She reports : — "At 5 p.m. sky 

 darkening, detonations stronger, pumice- stones pouring 

 down, rather big pieces, had to cover skylights. At 6 

 p.m. big pieces ceased, small pieces, ashes, &c., con- 

 tinued. Terrible night. After 7 p.m., at Anjer, heavy 

 detonations were heard, the ground was groaning, thun- 

 derstorm ; by 930 calm, slight rain of ashes. After this 

 the sea was very calm. After midnight some waves were 

 obser\-ed, which were not violent. Lloyd's agent at 

 Batavia wrote under date of October 16 {Scotsman, 

 November 24) : — " But we know now that the village of 

 Sirah, six miles below Anjer, was partially submerged at 

 I o'clock on Sunday night, .'\ugust 26. This I had from 

 the head man himself, who at the time reported it at once. 

 ... At Anjer, however, nothing was felt and no alarm 

 was experienced." At Katimbang a noise was heard of a 

 far-off wave at 10 o'clock, and the Europeans and natives 

 went to a higher place. During the night the waves were 

 heard causing an awful devastation. At Telok Betong. 

 by 10 o'clock, several vessels were thrown on the beach 

 (among which the steamer Berouw, draft r75 m., 4 guns, 

 30 h.p., 4 Europeans, 24 natives), houses swept away, 

 people drowned, &c. ; towards midnight calm. 



From this it seems to me that no extraordinary detona- 

 tions were heard nor any phenomena seen which could 

 have startled the inhabitants, who, however, had been 

 accustomed for three months to the noise of Krakatoa. 



Meanwhile the outburst continued. The Berbice re- 

 ported : — .-Xt midnight ashes increased, pieces of pumice- 

 stones, thunder and lightning increased, fireballs fell on 

 deck and were scattered about, fearful roaring, copper at 

 the helm got hot ; hehnsman, captain, and several sailors 

 were struck by electric di-charges ; sad over the hatches 

 to prevent fire, helm tied, crew sent below, captain and 

 master kept guard ; 27th, at 2 a.m , all hands to shovel 

 ashes into the sea (were about 3 feet thick lying on deck). 

 In a still worse situation was the Charles Bal. Lightning 

 continued ; saw a light at 1 1 p.m., supposed it to be the light 

 of the Fourth Point (.'Vnjer lighthouse) ; layby ; Krakatoa 

 visible in west-north-wesi, 1 1 miles distant ; wind strong 

 south-west, chains of fire appearing to descend and 

 ascend between the sky and the island, while on the 

 south-west end there seemed to be a continued roll of 

 balls of white fire ; the wind, though -trong, was hot 

 and choking, sulphurou-, with a smell as of burning 

 cinders, some of the pieces falling on us being like iron 

 cinders, and the lead from a bottom of 30 fathoms came 

 up quite warm. From midnight to 4 a.m. (27th) wind 

 strong, but very unsteady between south-south-west and 

 west-south-west, impenetrab!e darkness continuing, the 

 roaring of Krakatoa less continuous, but more explosive 

 in sound, the sky one second intense blackness, and the 

 next a blaze of fire ; masthead and yardarms studded 

 with corposants, and a peculiarly pinkish tlame coming 

 from the clouds, which seemed to touch the mastheads 

 and yardarms." 



On the morning of August 27, by 6 o'clock, as is re- 

 ported from Binuangan (Semangka Bay), the sunken 

 cliffs were visible; a little while afterwards a wave came 

 and returned, but another followed, which did much 

 damage ; soon (?) after tliis it became quite dark, mud 

 and ashes poured down ; several waves followed till late 

 in the evening ; darkness continued till next morning. 



From Anjer is reported that it was about 5 o'clock when 

 the first wave came. One of the persons who were saved 

 said : " 1 went out about 5.15. After having talked with 

 several persons, I saw the wave, still far off, rapidly 

 making way towards us. I ran away, was followed by 

 the wave, fell down quite exhausted, but happily on a 

 hill, where the water could not reach me. Before my 

 eyes all the houses along the beach were destroyed." 

 Another person reported :- " I was early at the beach 

 (early, after Indian habit, might be at 5 o'clock). When 

 I returned home 1 heard a cry, 'The flood comes.' C n 

 looking round I saw a high wave which I could not 

 escape ; I was lifted from the ground, but caught hold of 

 a tree. Then I perceived several waves, which followed 

 the first ; the place where Anjer had been before was 

 covered by a turbulent sea, from which some trees and 

 roofs of houses were still peeping out. After the wave 

 bad flowed off, I left the tree, and found myself in the 

 midst of the devastation. The Chinese camp was not yet 

 destroyed." A third person, who was still in bed at 6 

 o'clock, was lifted up by the wave and carried to a hill. 

 All agree that after g a.m. it became dark, and a pouring 

 down of mud and ashes commenced (darkness till next 

 morning), (S:c. From Merak it is reported that in the 

 morning all European officers were in their houses ; when 

 the first wave came they were not afraid, and would not 

 yet go to the hills. The Berbice reported : " Till 8 o'clock 

 it was, as before, quite dark, afterwards worse." The 

 Charles Bal : "August 27, 6 a.m , being able to make out 

 the Java shore, set sail. Passing Fourth Point Light- 

 house at 8, hoisted our signal letters, but got no answer. 

 Passed Anjer at 8.30, name still hoisted, close enough in 

 to make out the houses, but could see no movement of 

 any kind ; in fact through the whole straits we have not 

 seen a single moving thing of any kind on sea or land." 



I must confess I am here at a loss. It is possible that 

 the Charles Bal passed Anjer after the first wave had 

 annihilated most of the living beings and before the fol- 

 lowing waves had finished the destruction of buildings, 

 though it would be strange if at the lighthouse all the 

 people had been killed before the building was destroyed. 

 Moreover, it seems strange to me that the captain should 

 not have seen the devastation nor remarl. ed the tidal 

 waves When they came on, the ship was very near 

 them, and even if we suppose that the waves had been 

 shot like a projectile from Krakatoa on to Anjer, it would be 

 astonishing that such a considerable mass of water should 

 not at all have been perceived, or not described if it had 

 been. We learn from Anjer (and from Telok Betong) 

 that it was seen from the beach like a black wall, and it 

 must have had a considerable height, for it covered all 

 the houses and trees which were near the beach ; now an 

 ordinary house might at least be ten or twelve metres 

 high, and the shaft of a cocoanut tree has also a con- 

 siderable length. Loudon reports : August 27, in the 

 morning fine weather, at 7 a.m, an immense wave came 

 on ; the Loniion, under steam, turned her head to it, was 

 lifted up, but kept well ; now the wave rushed on to the 

 beach, and before the eyes of the passengers and crew of 

 the Linidou, houses disappeared ; the Beroirw (which had 

 been thrown on the beach on the evening of the 26th) 

 was lifted up and carried a few kilometres into the land. 

 The place where Telok Betong had been before was 

 changed into a violent sea (except the buildings on the 

 hills). Three other waves followed at short intervals. 

 Since it was supposed that the cable had been destroyed, 

 the steamer intended to go to Anjer to report the 

 catastrophe. Before she could get out of the Lampong 

 Bay it darkened. The mate of the Marie reports : 

 August 27, in the morning the sea was calmer, but 

 queer weather, sky threatening, prepared the third 

 anchor. At once we saw an immense wave at the 

 horizon making rapidly its way on to us ; we spiked up 

 the hatches, and after having done it the first wave struck 



