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the last of these destructive plienomena. Many 

 houses were levelled to the grouad, but others 

 that were built with special care suffered little in- 

 jury. Their walla are made of coral rock or bricks. 

 They are two or three feet thick and covered with 

 lay era of plaster. At short diBtances, along their 

 outer side, sloping buttresses are placed against them, 

 so that many of the Banda residences look almost as 

 much like fortifications as dwelling-houses. The 

 first waimng any one liad of the destruction that 

 was coming was a sudden streaming out of the wa- 

 ter from the enclosed bay, until the war-brig Haai, 

 which was lying at anchor in eight or nine fathoms, 

 touched the bottom. Then came in a gi-eat wave 

 fit)m the ocean which rose at least to a height of 

 twenty-five or thirty feet over the low, western part 

 of the village, whicli is only separated fi-om Gunong 

 Api by the nan'ow Sun Strait. The praus lying 

 near this shore were swept up against Fort Nassau, 

 which was then so completely engulfed, as it was 

 stated to me on the spot, that one of these native 

 boats remained inside the foii: when the w*ater 

 had receded to its usual level The pait of the cal- 

 lage over which the flood swept contained many small 

 houses, aud nearly every one in them was carried away. 

 The rapid outflowing of the water of this enclosed 

 bay (which is really only an old crater) was prob- 

 ably caused either by the elevation of the bottom at 

 that spot, or else by such a sinking of the floor of the 

 sea outside, that the water was drained off into some 

 depression which had suddenly been formed. We 

 have no reason to suppose that there was any great 



