182 
THE RECENT REMARKABLE SUNSETS. 
vessel off the western coast of Australia. There is fortu¬ 
nately also the record of another vessel which was within 
only 40 miles distance of the volcano at the time of the 
eruption, and this vessel, the “ Berbice,” received a con¬ 
tinuous fall of mud and ashes for two days, causing total 
darkness for thirty-six hours, during which an accumulation 
of three feet depth was formed upon the deck, and the masts 
and rigging were so encrusted that upon the return of light 
the ship looked as if it had been dug out of the mud. The 
captain of the “Berbice” has now, through his friend Mr. 
Boss, the captain of the Society’s dredging steamer at Oban, 
sent the Society a large specimen of the floating pumice stone 
which covered the sea for many miles in the neighbourhood 
of the eruption, and a quantity of the deposit that fell upon 
the deck of the ship. 
The following is an extract from the log of the 
“ Berbice — 
“ Sunday, August 27th, 1883. 
“At 4 p.m., having a very threatening appearance in the south-east, 
deemed it prudent to make fast all small sails, and stand the ship off 
to seaward, it becoming unusually dark for that hour of the day. 
5 p.m., a light fall of fine ashes, accompanied with lightning and 
thunder; made fast all canvas. 6 p.m., total darkness, with an in¬ 
creasing fall of ashes, accompanied with heavy lightning and thunder; 
balls of electricity bursting on all sides of the ship. Midnight, a 
terrific gale, accompanied with a blinding and cutting fall of ashes, 
with most fearful lightning and terrific peals of thunder, shaking the 
ship from stem to stern; balls of electricity bursting above us and 
striking different parts of the ship and masts. 4 a.m., storm some¬ 
what abated, but ashes still falling in torrents. 8 a.m., gale increasing; 
ashes falling faster and heavier; lightning and thunder getting worse. 
11 a.m., still total darkness; blowing a fearful hurricane; lightning 
and thunder most terrific, appearing like as if the heavens had opened 
upon us, thinking that the next moment would be our last. 4 p.m., 
still total darkness; lightning and thunder fast abating, but ashes still 
falling heavily. 5 p.m., ashes being about three feet deep on the 
ship’s deck, deemed it prudent for the safety of our lives and ship to 
light lamps and try and shovel some of it overboard. 8 p.m., light¬ 
ning and thunder still abating ; ashes not falling so heavily. Mid sky 
breaking, but still a light fall of very fine ashes, but having every 
appearance of finer weather. 4 a.m., daylight received with a glad 
welcome, after a most fearful and total darkness for thirty-six hours— 
a grand but not a pleasant sight, ship appearing to have been dug 
out of the mud; masts and ropes coated with ashes four times their 
original size.” 
Tlie strongest evidence, however, of the exceptionally great 
extent of the eruptive force in this volcanic outburst is afforded 
by the change effected in the surface of the earth by this ex¬ 
plosion. The island was previously five miles long and three 
miles wide, having the volcanic cone of Krakatoa rising from 
