Natural History of Volcanos and Earthquakes. 269 



attempted to rise in its vicinity, and which made its appearance 

 on the 13th or 15th June, 1811 ; it began to disappear in Octo- 

 ber, and towards the end of February, 1812, steam was only oc- 

 casionally seen to rise out of the sea at the spot where the island 

 was formerly seen.* Secondly, The rising of a new island near 

 Unalaschka, in May, 1796, which not only remained, but, up to 

 1806, had increased in circumference, as well as the peak in 

 height. It required six hours to row round it, and rather more 

 than five hours to ascend in a direct line from the shore to the 

 summit of the peak.f The creation of both these islands was 

 preceded by violent earthquakes, and columns of smoke, which 

 ascended from the sea, whilst stones were thrown to a great dis- 

 tance. Of Sabrina this surprising circumstance is related — that 

 the stones, on leaving the sea, were black, but suddenly became 

 red hot when they emerged from the columns of smoke. Tillard 

 found on this island the skeleton of a shark so calcined, that the 

 bones fell to powder on lifting it up. Of the other island it is 

 only said, that during the night fire rose, which was sometimes 

 so bright, that all objects were distinctly visible in Unalaschka, 

 at a distance of twenty leagues. Smoke continued to rise for four 

 years. 



Phenomena of this kind have taken place still more recently 

 among the Molucca Isles, as we are informed by Prof. Rein- 

 wardt. J Near the active volcano of Gonung Api, in the group 

 of the Banda Islands, a considerable mass of black rock rose up 

 in a bay, out of the sea, without any noise. When Reinwardt 

 visited this extraordinary spot in 1821, he found it still very hot, 

 and the newly raised mass sent forth boiling hot vapors. A pre- 

 cisely similar occurrence took place on the coast of Ternate. On 

 Lancerote also, on the 31st August, 1824, after several days of 

 violent earthquakes, accompanied with a subterranean thunder 

 like noise, a new volcano burst forth with a terrific crash, emit- 

 ting streams of fire, so that the whole island was illuminated, and 



* See also V. Humboldt's Reise, t. i, p. 254, and t. iii, p. 6. It is worthy of re- 

 mark, that the small island of 1720 has reached exactly the same height as Sabrina 

 attained in 1811. 



t It was, consequently, more than 1000 feet high. Unfortunately, the depth of 

 the sea at that place is not given. But it certainly offers an example of one of the 

 greatest elevations of the present day. 



X De incendiis montium igni ardentium insulse Javse, &c. disputatio geologica. 

 Auctore van der Boon Mesch. Lugduni Batav. 1826. 



