VOLCANIC OUTBURST IN NEW HEBRIDES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIX, Issue 228, 27 September 1898, Page 3

VOLCANIC OUTBURST IN NEW HEBRIDES.

LOPEVI IN ERUPUION.

GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION BY THE

REV. T. SMAILL,

The Rev. T. Smaill, Presbyterian missionary in the New Hebrides group, writes to us as from the mission station.at Nikaura, on the island of Epi, New Hebrides: —• Rig-lit opposite our front door and separated from us by about twelve miles of sea stands an interesting object. This is no less than a volcano of nearly 5000 feet in height. The •upper part is a beautifully syinine'tri--cal cone, b,ti+ with the apex chopped off,' indicating- the crater. Vegetation extends half way xip and there is a string- of five small villages round the base, near the sea. The mountain has a history of vigorous life in the past, but it has been perfectly quiet for the last eighteen or twenty years. On the 3rd of June last, however, it suddenly cleared its throat with a great commotion. The ground shook and windows w Tere kept rattling- all afternoon, while all the adjacent islands were liberally dusted. Of course Lopevi itself got more than a dusting. Avalanches came down here and there all round the island, and there were some thrilling escapes, and the people all suffered more or less, but especially at one village —Tamatua —where every green leaf perished, and the land became a desolation. The outbreak ceased very suddenly, however, and the people were unwilling1 to leave. Since then another outbreak has occurred, perhaps more alarming than the former. It commenced on the night of Friday, the 23rd July. In the evening we saw a slight radiance at the summit, but during the night were awakened by heavy reports and the rattling of our windows. I looked out and s.-.w. that the volcano was now very active, belching out fire and smoke at a great rate. We could see, even at our twelve miles' distance, what .seemed like sparks, but were really masses of lava at. white heat thrown up from time to time. During the day that followed nothing could be seen, because of the clouds that had gathered, but the booming continued all day. As night came on the cloud's cleared away, and the peak stood out clear, and a magnificent spectacle was revealed. The whole upper part of the cone was lit up with such a display of fireworks as few mortals behold. Enormous masses of molten lava were being hurled in showers far up into the air. Many of these fell back again into the crater, but the shower of them that fell on the sides of the cone was continuous and at times as thick and fast as snow flakes. The crust of these had gradually cooled as they ascended, and were lost to sight as they fell, but falling on the steep sides they burst asunder and rolled as fiery masses down the mountain. At first these seemed somewhat small, and they did not roll far, but as night wore on the awful strife waxed hotter and hotter, - the ■ explosions grew heavier and more frequent, and the fiery, rain fell thicker and thicker; and' now we could see the fiery balls going down, down, down right to the sea. .. ASSISTANCE TO THREATENED. VILLAGES. All this would only have been a splendid spectacle but for the thought of the five village that huddled at intervals round the base of the mountain. Hpw were they ffiring-? As we saw that fiery rain descending our hea.rts were 'wae' for them. It was plain that the stern-sheets of the John •j^ nox _our whaleboat—must be my pulpit on the coming Lord's Day. Scouts were out accordingly before day mustering a crew, and we were soon"-away to render what assistance we could. On the way we met a •canoe coming over for us. From them we learned that the village to which they belonged was for the present untouched. The fire was not coming near them, so we determined to go round to a village near which we could see the bush burning,, On rounding the point we-found ourselves close to the fire, now coming closer and closer down to the sea, but we did not guess that there was A RIVER OF LIQUID FIRE making its way through the trees and burning the bush as it came. Iresently"we saw the people gathering and ashore we went. Would they flee with us and leave their island? was the questior. Strange to say, they were all of a 'swither,'- and they had all sorts of questions to ask first. It has to be said that they did not know us well. I had only once been at this village' before, and further their minds had been poisoned by the mendacities of an unscrupulous trader about a year ago; and besides this some of them had been murdered on Epi on a similar occasion about twenty years ago. There was another village a little further on, so I got two or three of them to come with us in the boat, while we went to see them. Just as we turned their point there was a splash and a roar from the fire, The lava flow had reached the sea. Silently through the early morning hours a stream, small, I think, in the first instance, had been flowing down a hollow in the mountain s side and making its way through the bush, and had now fallen into the sea. We did not pay much heed to it just then, our attention beir.er absorbed by the people on shore and a heavy sea. V\ c could not land, but we saw what sore straits the poor creatures had been put to. Their houses and all they had had been buried. deep in scoria at the first outbreak, every green leaf had been stripped or scorched of: the trees, their plantations were buried, many of their pip's were buried, and they' were now living in mere shielings of withered eocoanut leaves laid against the out-cropping rocks on the sea shore. Yet, as we had seen, their distrust of Epi and its missionary was such that they would rather dwell by their fire monster than cast in their lot with us. But that Avas before the lava stream had entered the sea. All was changed now. As we returned we could see great masses of steam rising from the little bay, and the hubbub of the conflict between the red hot lava and the sea •was awful. As we neared the bay and the steam clouds I could scarce keep cur Lopevi friends in the boat, and yet they were afraid to jump overboard Jest they should be boiled; and my crew became almost mutinous m their unwillingness to go near. I rallied them, and then one of them quietened our Lopevi men by assuring them lie savee, he savee.. There was, I could

see, no danger to the boat, for though andl^T b°iliu^ a terrific rate tu?hft the air' and the sea was turbid and heated all about, yet there Se Sl a a vg°° d, i°° yards or so between » P pn^i he landine- Th«swither we could see was ended now. All were on the move towards the boat. The Z°oT n-Z erl Uden witll baskets Piled high With their worldly goods-mats; bush knives water bottles, and a little tood, and the men with their rifles in tJieir hands and their younger children on their backs. The chief danger now was that the boat might be rushed and swamped. 1 backed in and out, in and out, taking them in over the stern in threes and fours. First the.woman's basket would be presented and swung into the boat, and then the woman herself —they seemed wondrously light that day—then would come a man with his gun; sometimes he held out his gun in the one hand and a screaming child in the other. Thus gradually we loaded up the boat until there were 34 all told on board. We had to cry 'hold,' for we had 13 miles of sea to cross, albeit there were still three or four willing to come. All we could do was to promise to come back for them on the morrow. • f We got our precious freight safely home just before dark. But I ought not to omit here a word in praise of their docility when they were getting into the boat. Two or three times over when there was danger of swamping I had only to hold up my hand and they at once stopped, standing quietly in their water with their bairns on their backs and the steam of that awful fight in their faces, until I gave the ■word for-them to come on. As the afternoon' drew on and we were getting well away across we saw a strange and beautiful sight. There suddenly appeared emerging from under the clouds A BRIGHT RED BAND winding down the mountain's side, glowing crimson red. It was the lava track. The whole eastern lip of the crater had been shattered and had crashed down into the sea, and somewhere a little lower down jets of liquid lava had been forced through some fatilt in the rocky frame of the mountain and flowed down into the sea. What we saw so suddenly gleaming bright was evidently a new and huge jet suddenly sent down the track. I should say that all this time the strife in the bowels of the mountain raged as loud and fierce as ever; the black clouds of the pit were shot up into the air. The reports were loud and heavy, but we saw no falling stones or avalanches. This red fiery stream, so beautiful withal, continued to glitter and shine through the night, lighting up the clouds above, and was still bright red next day. We returned the day after and brought over another small party. But the violence of the outbreak was past. On the Bth of August we went over again and brought over another 20. This time I went right round the island and saw all the villages and inspected the lava flow more closely. Itwas now a black, crumpled mass thrown into heights and hollows, and bearing here and there on its bosom masses of broken and charred tree trunks. I tried to cross it, but had to turn back, it was so hot at places. The flow is about 20 feet in depth, and perhaps'4oo yards in width. The broken crumpled lava looked very like coke, but was very heavy. The natives were astonished at my going on it. They, said they were going to kill it—the fire in it—with cocoanuts! NATIVES ASCEND THE MOUNTAIN. I was astonished to meet at one of the villages a large party who had just come down from the summit. AH the males of the village had set out for the top in the earil morning. Each carried a bunch of cocoanuts tobe thrown into the crater to 'make the fire dead.' This they had done, actually reaching the top and looking down into its awful pit. I could not but admire their pluck. My head swam and I felt almost sick as I looked up at that blasted, lone, gaunt peak, the volumes of steam issuing from which told of the dreadful turmoil still going on within. There was sadness in the man's voice when he reported the state of matters up above —'Plenty fire he stop.' He recognised that they would have a stiff fight with their cocoanuts to kill that fire. It must have been a terrible climb on the loose, unbound scoria. I said to him, 'By and bye you and me we go up.' But he shook his head and said, 'No you; no go up.' That was one for me. Up to date there has been no farther sign of activity except the clouds of steam rolling from the top. We have now a large family of. interesting but indigent heathen to provide for. When I say 'we' I mean ourselves and the people of our village, and we are feeling' it a rather heavy pull, as the yam crop was largely spoiled by the rains; but I daresay we shall pull through.