CAYSASAY CHURCH, IN THE TOWN OF TAAL, SHOWING DAMAGE CAUSED BY EARTH- 
QUAKES DURING THE RECENT ERUPTION 
(See page 320 for the story of this church in the eruptions of 1754) 
hungry, thirsty, and worn out by our 
experience. One of the party was 
sHghtly burned about the arms with hot 
ashes, but otherwise we did not suffer 
any bodily injuries." 
The fact that the zone of greatest de- 
struction was to the west may be partly 
due to the lowness of the crater wall on 
this side. 
It has been claimed that the gentle 
wind which was blowing at the time 
greatly influenced the direction taken by 
the devastating blast, but in view of the 
fierceness of the blast I confess myself 
unable to accept the theory that its di- 
rection was greatly influenced by a mere 
breeze. 
Father Algue has suggested that the 
air above the crater was heavily charged 
with the matter thrown upward by the 
very severe explosion which had oc- 
curred a short time before, and that the 
inertia of this mass was sufficient to 
turn outward and downward the up- 
rushing column of ejecta. Whatever 
may be the physical explanation, there is 
no doubt as to the fact. 
The eruption spread mucl and volcanic 
ash in readily perceptible quantity over 
an area some 1,200 square miles in ex- 
tent. Dust fell over a very much more 
extensive area, especially to the north- 
ward. Much of the ejected mud was 
quite fluid and ran into ravines and 
other low places, thus creating misap- 
prehension in the minds of careless ob- 
servers as to the depth of the deposit. 
On the western slopes of the volcano, 
where the fall was heaviest, it reached a 
depth of 6 feet or more in ravines, while 
ridges were often left nearly bare. Mr. 
Pratt considers the average depth here 
359 
