TAAL VOLCANO AND ITS DESTRUCTIVE ERUPTION 
547 
vegetation, broken and tangled by the 
fierce blast from the volcano, still further 
impeded progress. Communication by 
water along the lake shore continued for 
some time to be hazardous in the ex- 
treme. The only launch on the lake was 
driven inland by a huge wage and badly 
injured. Many of the small native boats 
were destroyed. 
The cloud of ejecta was seen to drift 
towards Tanauan and Santo Tomas, and 
it was believed that these places would 
suffer most severely. They were imme- 
diately communicated with and reported 
a heavy fall of "ashes," which had seri- 
ously damaged crops but had caused no 
casualties among the people. Taal and 
Lemery also reported that no important 
damage had been done. 
The stranded launch was put into com- 
mission, although still in a partially dis- 
abled state, the afternoon after the erup- 
tion, and in it Mr. Martin and others 
proceeded to Volcano Island, where they 
found, as had been anticipated, that the 
devastation had been complete. 
THE HEROISM OF SCHOOLMASTER BUCK 
Meanwhile Mr. H. H. Buck, the di- 
vision superintendent of schools of Ba- 
tangas, made his way to the west shore 
of the lake, fearing for the safety of the 
people there. As promptly as possible, 
after discovering the terrible truth, he 
pushed through to a point from which 
communication could be had with Ma- 
nila and sent a laconic telegram, reading 
as follows : 
"Have visited barrios on west-side 
lake. Five totally destroyed. Loss of 
life not less than three hundred. Many 
burned. Houses destroyed. Need funds. 
Calamity." 
This telegram, received at Manila at 
7.55 p. m. on the day of the eruption, 
embodied the first intimation that there 
had been loss of life and served to set 
the wheels moving. 
Let no one think that it was a pleasure 
trip that this young man took across 
Bombon Lake. The volcano was still 
terrifyingly active and no one knew 
when there might be another death-deal- 
ing explosion. No less than 88 earth- 
quakes, having their origin in the vol- 
cano, were recorded during that day at 
Manila. Ten of them were quite severe, 
and all were, of course, far more 
strongly felt on V^olcano Island and on 
the shores of Bombon Lake than at a 
point 39 miles distant. 
The waters of the lake were con- 
stantly disturbed by the movements of 
the earth, and were liable at any mo- 
ment to rise in overwhelming waves like 
those which had swept away whole vil- 
lages in the early morning. 
But this school teacher coolly set sail 
in a frail native craft and proceeded to 
visit the area which the volcano, still in 
eruption, had just devastated, and when 
he left took away with him not only re- 
liable information as to the conditions 
there, but eleven badly wounded sur- 
vivors and the bodies of many of the 
dead. 
How often it is true that a great 
emergency calls forth from the common 
crowd a man ready and able to meet it. 
The only man who realized and met the 
emergency in this sorely stricken region 
on that dreadful day was H. H. Buck. 
The American treasurer of Batangas, 
Mr. Muni, was in Manila when Mr. 
Buck's telegram was received. He hur- 
ried back to his province overland and 
inaugurated effective relief measures 
immediately upon his arrival, working" 
unremittingly until the crisis had passed. 
As speedily as possible launches were 
dispatched from Manila with a detach- 
ment of the U. S. Army Burial Corps 
under command of Captain Metcalf. 
There were also sent a physician, a 
motor boat for use on the lake, and 
medical and commissary supplies. Col- 
onel Kingsbury, in command at Camp 
McGrath, promptly ordered Dr. Ken- 
nedy to Taal and later had many of the 
wounded cared for at the post hospital. 
Other doctors were rushed to the scene 
at once. There were immediately estab- 
lished a dressing station at San Nicolas,, 
on Bombon Lake, and a receiving station 
at Taal. From Taal the wounded were 
sent to the Army hospital at Camp Mc- 
Grath or to the Philippine general hos- 
pital at Manila. 
Captain Metcalf and his men pushed 
