TAAL VOLCANO AND ITS DESTRUCTIVE ERUPTION 
343 
When it is remembered that these 
flashes were taken at a distance of some 
five miles through a lens with a focal 
length of 300 millimeters, and that the 
photograph is here reproduced exactly as 
far as regards size, some idea will be 
gained of the breadth of the discharges 
(see picture on page 335). 
Father Jose Algue, director of the 
observatory at Manila, also attempted to 
photograph the flashes with some suc- 
cess, but only those who witnessed the 
imposing phenomenon will ever have any 
adequate idea of its magnitude. Some 
idea of the height of the column of ejecta 
may be gained from the fact that the 
electrical display about it was plainly 
visible 250 miles away. 
Apart from the flashes, there were 
"globes of fire," which rose and fell in 
graceful curves. 
Father Algue, who is a close scientific 
observer, has sent to the Royal Meteoro- 
logical Society an account of the erup- 
tion, from which I quote the following: 
"The electrical display which accom- 
panied the eruption added greatly to the 
terrors of the phenomenon. As seen 
from Manila, at a distance of 63 kilo- 
meters from the volcano, it had the ap- 
pearance of an unusually violent thun- 
der-storm, except that there were no 
clouds, the brightest stars being visible 
through rifts in the huge black masses of 
smoke, ashes, and mud. During the 
period of greatest electric activity, which 
was from 2^ 30™ to 2'^ 50™ a. m., I tried 
to secure some photographs of the phe- 
nomenon, but during a five minutes' 
exposure, at 2^ 40™ 45^, only the flashes 
of lightning made any impression on the 
plate, which seems to show that the light 
emitted by the globes of fire was of low 
actinity. Some of the flashes recorded 
appear at an angular distance of about 
13° above the horizon and 17° from the 
crater (toward west), which would seem 
to indicate that electric discharges took 
place up to a height of nearly 15 kilo- 
meters above the earth and at least 19 
kilometers in a slanting direction (to- 
ward west) of the crater." 
THE EXPERIENCES OE MR. MUNI 
Mr. George J. Muni, the provincial 
treasurer of Batangfas, who was at the 
provincial capital during the eruption, 
has given an interesting account of his 
observations at that place, which is dis- 
tant some 14 miles from the crater. He 
says that the first earthquakes were felt 
shortly after 9 p. m. on January 27, be- 
coming much more severe at 11 p. m., 
and that by midnight sleep was impossi- 
ble. By 3 a. m. many of the residents 
had deemed it advisable to leave their 
houses and camp in open places. During 
the 28th the earthquakes were so fre- 
quent and severe that all government 
buildings and large houses of heavy ma- 
terials were vacated. The ground trem- 
bled constantly and steam rose from the 
volcano in a steady cloud. He continues : 
"On Sunday morning, January 29, we 
were beginning to feel the effects of this 
trying and unusual experience and the 
loss of sleep ; so, to divert our minds and 
to obtain a good view of the volcano, a 
number of us went by carromata to the 
town of Cuenca and climbed the west 
shoulder of Mount Macolod. From this 
elevation, which was considerably above 
the volcano, we could see into the crater, 
as it is located at the end of the island 
m Lake Taal, nearest Mount Macolod. 
"We spent about three hours on the 
mountain observing the volcano, and no- 
ticed that after each earthquake a volume 
of steam would belch forth from the 
crater. During severe shocks we could 
see the mountain on which we were move 
and rock. The volcano on the whole 
seemed to be much quieter than the pre- 
vious day, and upon our return to Batan- 
gas in the late afternoon we decided to 
try sleeping indoors again. 
"We retired early, worn out from the 
two previous nights' loss of sleep and 
our trip, and slept soundly for an hour 
or two. We were then awakened, how- 
ever, by a severe shock and could not 
again sleep, as the quakes became more 
frequent and heavy, so that shortly after 
midnight my wife and I decided to again 
vacate the house, and had cots taken out 
to the grounds of the government build- 
ing. We did not sleep, but lay with our 
faces towards the volcano. 
"Suddenly, shortly after i :oo a. m., 
we saw flashes of light, felt a severe 
shock, and heard a loud rumble. Then a 
thick, black, balloon-shaped cloud arose 
