Hills appeared
where there had been level land before, and the rivers changed their
courses, drowning in one night 2,000 people. At some distance from the
mountain a river runs through a large town, and the first intimation the
inhabitants had of all this horrible destruction was the news that the
bodies of men and the carcases of stags, rhinoceroses, tigers, and other
animals, were rushing along to the sea. No less than 114 villages
were destroyed, and above 4,000 persons were killed by this terrible
catastrophe.
Fifty years before this eruption, Mount Papandayang, one of the highest
burning mountains of Java, was constantly throwing out steam and smoke,
but as no harm was done, the natives continued to live on its sides.
Suddenly this enormous mountain fell in, and left a gap fifteen miles
long and six broad. Forty villages were destroyed, some being carried
down and others overwhelmed by mud and burning lava. No less than 2,957
people perished, with vast numbers of cattle; moreover, most of the
coffee plantations in the neighboring districts were destroyed.
Even more terrible was the eruption of Mount Salek, another of the
volcanoes of Java. The burning of the mountain was seen 100 miles away,
while the thunders of its convulsions and the tremblings of the
earth reached the same distance. Seven hills, at whose base ran
a river--crowded with dead buffaloes, deer, apes, tigers, and
crocodiles--slipped down and became a level plain. River-courses were
changed, forests were burnt up, and the whole face of the country was
completely altered.
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