THE MOLUCCAS 
335 
From its now submarine floor the present active peak of 
Gunong Api has risen as a secondary crater, which, 
though of small size, has been terribly destructive. It 
rises straight from the sea as a steep and almost perfect 
cone, 1858 feet in height and two miles in diameter at 
its base. Excepting close to the sea, where there is a 
little bush and some coco-nut palms, it is almost entirely 
bare of vegetation, and its dark gray mass of scoriae and 
ashes is only marked by the furrows of water-courses, 
and, on its summit, by large deposits of sulphur. It is 
perpetually smoking, and its periods of activity have not 
only been numerous but prolonged. During the last 
three centuries eruptions are recorded at fifteen distinct 
periods, some of them lasting several months, and being 
generally accompanied by destructive earthquakes. On 
six occasions earthquakes have occurred unaccompanied 
by eruptions, the last great one being in 1852, when a 
wave swept over the islands and destroyed many acres of 
the nutmeg plantations. In 1690 and 1691 there was 
a succession of eruptions and earthquakes, which so 
devastated the place that many of the inhabitants emi¬ 
grated to Amboina and Celebes to escape destruction, and 
it was said that but for the firmness of the Resident the 
islands would have been utterly abandoned. These 
eruptions have been frequently followed by severe 
epidemics, which have been even more fatal. Although 
the islands are over 1700 miles distant from Krakatau, 
the appalling eruption of that volcano made itself felt 
even here as a small seismic wave which rushed through 
the harbour from the westward, but did no damage. 
A narrow creek—-the Zonnegat—only navigable by 
small craft, separates Gunong Api from Banda Nera. 
It is on this island that the town is placed, the cool¬ 
looking white houses covering the whole length of its 
