24 



not only with fine materials but also with a very thick layer of 

 coarse pumice, which preserved its warmth during a long time- Both 

 zones are clearly marked on the map added to the Transactions of 

 the Congress at Weltevreden (1919), of which plate III is a reduced 

 copy. 



The superterranean vegetation was probably almost or entirely 

 destroyed over the whole surface of the island, except in very well 

 sheltered localities. Verbeek, who two months after the eruption 

 ascended the mountain on its western side, close to the brink of the 

 rupture 1 ), did not see a single erect tree, not even a dead one, but 

 only fallen and carbonized trunks '-). But it is proven that not everywhere 

 the wood was burned. From 1915 till 1917 (Cf. Chapter X) Krakatao 

 was inhabited by Mr. Hand I who had obtained a concession for win- 

 ning volcanic products on the island. Mr. Ha'ndl sank many shafts 

 in order to measure the thickness of the layer of pumice, beneath 

 which he found in many places unburnt treetrunks and other parts of 

 plants. Undoubtedly great devastations were brought about by the 

 big, hot blocks of pumice, which fell everywhere at enormous speed 

 in great numbers, rolled and leapt down the sides of the cone and 

 must have smashed everything in their way. The forest may locally 

 have taken fire. Leaves and thin twigs may have been broken off 

 by the weight of the ashes and the grit. Violent squalls, such as 

 repeatedly occur during eruptions and which during the catastrophe 

 were observed in the Sunda-straits :! ) and South-Sumatra *) may, as 

 Treub ;) ) already observed, have hurled trees against the ground. 

 During the eruption of Mount Oede in November and December 1840 

 large parts of the forest were destroyed in this manner (i ). The same 

 happened in 1846 on Mount Tangkuban Prahu "), in 1901 and 1919 on 

 Mount Kelut x ). The pumice-rain may have caused scorching vapor- 

 blasts such as are mentioned for Mount Kelut by Junghuhn 9 ) and 

 are said to have come forth from that mountain in 1919 also 10 ). Prob- 



l ) Verbeek, Kort Verslag, 13. KraUatau, Dutch Edition (1888) p . 475. 



-) [his observation proves that, locally, the covering layer had not been very thick- 

 VerbeeU apparently did not examine to which depth the trunks had been carbonized. 



;) ) Verbeek, Krakatau, Dutch Edition (1888), 68, 408, 4(39; French Edition 

 (1885) 71. 



'') Verbeek, Krakatau, Dutch Edition (1888), 55; French Edition (1885), 57. 



5) Ann. ]ard. Bot. Buitenzorg, line Serie VII, '214, 



*) lunghuhn, |ava, 2nd Dutch Edition II, 40, German Edition II, 31. 



") lunghuhn, Java, 2nd Dutch Edition II, 60. _ German Edition II, 46. 



*) Vorderman in Teysmannia XII (1903), p. 276. Kemmerling, Vulkanolo- 

 gische Mededeelingen No. 2 (1921). p. 41. 



9 ) | u n g h u h n, |ava, 2nd Dutch Edition III, 708, 709. _ German Edition II, 492. 



1) Kemmerling, Vulkanologische Mededeelingen No. II, (1921), 42. 



