292 



SCIENCE, 



[Vol. YI., No. 139. 



tiiiuing the voyage, the travellers arrived at the 

 island of Sebesie, and here the destruction was com- 

 plete, — hardly a bit of herbage, hardly a trace of life, 

 remained. A coat of gray cinders mixed with pumice, 



TELOK-BETOENG BEFORE THE ERUPTION. 



and fragments of a greenish, glass-like substance, cov- 

 ers this island to a depth of ten metres. From a dis- 

 tance, the sides of the hills are seen to be furrowed 

 by ravines; and, upon nearer approach, it is found 

 that the torrents of rain that fell during the last 

 monsoon have washed out deep furrows in the light 

 layers of cinders. At the bottom of one of these ra- 

 vines, in the midst of the remains of houses and 

 household utensils, fifty skeletons were found lying 

 about. Sebesie was inliabited by two thousand Ma- 

 lays; and the unfortunate natives, unable to escape 

 the hail of burning projectiles, resigned them- 

 selves to their fate, and gathered together 

 to invoke divine protection by means of their 

 Koran, which was found in many places 

 scorched and torn among the ruins. 



The commission soon left this island, and 

 directed their course towards Krakatoa, the 

 object of their visit. On the way, they passed 

 the place where Steers and Calmayer islands 

 had been formed in shallow water by the ac- 

 cumulation of ejected matter; but, to their 

 surprise, they found that no traces of these 

 islands remained. Their disappearance is 

 easily explained, for so light a substance 

 would be easily removed by the waves. The 

 depression between these two ephemeral 

 islands is much shallower than before. 



Passing on through patches of floating 

 pumice, the steamer neared Krakatoa, upon 

 which could be seen undulating lines similar 

 to those on Sebesie. The north side of the 

 island is split from east to west, one-half 

 having been swallowed up in the sea. The cliff 

 thus exposed to view from the sea is composed 

 of various volcanic strata, intersected by many- 

 colored veins of different sizes, which are the vents 



by which the subterranean fires have forced the mol- 

 ten rock to the surface to build the cone. A light 

 smoke hung above the cone, and from the distance 

 it looked as if volcanic activity had not yet ceased. 

 Upon nearing the shore, the cause was plainly 

 seen. Stones of all sizes were falling from 

 the cliff, sending a spray into the air, while 

 the finer dust floated upward, and gathered 

 in a cloud about the summit of the volcano. 

 This continual fall of rocks is the result of 

 the expansion caused by the rays of the sun 

 as they strike upon the black walls of the cliff. 

 This is proved by the fact, that the fall was 

 greatest when the rays shone full upon the 

 cliff, and nearly ceased in the evening. At 

 the base of this cliff the sounding-line showed 

 a depth varying from fifty to three hundred 

 metres in a square surface of thirty-three 

 kilometres, which once was elevated above 

 the sea. The only remnant of this ingulfed 

 portion of the island is a rock about a mile to 

 the north of the cliff. Before the eruption, the 

 island of Krakatoa was made up of three cones, 

 — Danan and Perboewatan, which disappeared 

 with the northern half of the island, and the 

 much higher Kakata, which still exists. 

 The exact time of the eruption is not known; but 

 Capt. Hollmann of the German ship Elizabeth, which 

 passed in front of Anjer on the morning of May 20, 

 noticed a parasol-shaped column of smoke rising to 

 a height of eleven thousand metres on the Perboewa- 

 tan, and soon afterwards a fall of light cinders last- 

 ing several days. Up to Aug. 26, the eruptions were 

 intermittent and somewhat light; but from this day 

 they increased in intensity. Yery violent noises 

 were heard at the same time that a thick cloud ob- 

 scured daylight. These lasted up to the morning of 



TELOK-BETOENG AFTER THE ERUPTION. 



the 27th, the strongest being from five to eleven 

 o'clock in the morning (Batavia time). The most 

 startling were produced at ten o'clock, probably the 

 time when the island divided. The falling in of these 



