Vol. XXIII, No. 4 
WASHINGTON 
April, 1912 
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MATIIOHAIL 
©CSHAIPIBI]!' 
MBAZl 
Jl. 
TAAL VOLCANO AND ITS RECENT 
DESTRUCTIVE ERUPTION 
By Dean C. Worcester 
Secretary oe the Interior of the Phieippine Islands 
DISTAXCE detracts "amazingly 
from public appreciation of the 
magnitude of great calamities, 
and as the people of the United States 
have thus far gained their information 
relative to the recent great eruption of 
Taal Volcano chiefly, if not entirely, 
from meager newspaper reports, it is not 
strange that few of them even now real- 
ize that in the early morning of January 
30, 191 1, there occurred in the Philip- 
pine Islands an appalling disaster. 
The destructive eruption of Taal Vol- 
cano which then took place is by no 
means its first outbreak within historic 
times. Taal is an old offender in this 
regard and we know that it was making 
trouble soon after the discovery of the 
Philippine Islands. 
The town of Taal was founded by 
Augustinian friars in 1572, and in his 
description of this event Father Caspar 
de San Agustin says that in Lake Boni- 
bon, on the south shore of which the 
town was located, "there is a volcano of 
fire, which is wont to spit forth many 
and very large rocks, which are glowing 
and destroy the crops of the natives." 
The volcano was unquestionably very 
active at this time. In fact, Father Nada 
has stated that Taal was actually in erup- 
tion in 1572. No details of this eruption 
were recorded, so far as is now known, 
but it is certain that Father Albuquerque 
celebrated mass on Volcano Island with 
a view to tranquil the spirits of the 
panic-stricken natives. 
In 1 591 Father Alcantara performed 
a similar ceremony, because the volcano 
had begun to belch forth extraordinary 
masses of smoke. 
Between 1605 and 161 1 Father Tomas 
de Abreu not only said mass on the vol- 
cano, but had an immense cross of hard 
wood erected at the brink of the princi- 
pal crater, for the reason that from this 
crater there had come frequent subter- 
ranean rumblings which had greatly 
terrified the inhabitants of neighboring 
villages. 
In several chronicles there exist vague 
statements concerning eruptions in 1^134 
and in 1635. 
In 1707 there occurred the first well- 
established and authentically recorded 
eruption. At this time a cone, which 
still exists and is called Binintiang Mala- 
qui (see page 318), "burst forth with a 
tremendous display of thunder and light- 
ning ; but aside from fear and tremblings 
no damage was done in the towns situ- 
ated on the shores of Lake Bombon." * 
*The translations of the accounts of early 
eruptions are taken from the Rev. Miguel Sa- 
derra Maso's paper on "The Eruption of Taal 
Volcano on January 30, 191 1." 
