VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES IN THE PHiLIPPINES.

Otago Witness, Volume 25, Issue 2321, 25 August 1898, Page 56

VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES IN THE PHiLIPPINES.

j The Philippine Islands lie along the great I belt of volcanic activity which'extends from I Japan to the Moluccas. The chain of living j volcanoes enters the Philippine archipelago ■ from Formosa, through the Bashees group, I and, running the entire length of the great island of Luzon, bends to the we&t and enters ' the island of Negros at its northern end, and, passing down this island, crosses to Mindanao, apparently through Siquijor or Fire ; Island. With several active volcanoes in the \ Bashees Islands and that of Cagua at the north-eastern extremity of Luzon, the volcanic force seems to be ez-A .-v^ted until the i vicinity of Manila is reached. One of the chief landmarks of the capital is the great cloud-capped cone of Mahayhay, standing off to the south-east. It appears to be now ex- j i tinct, the last eruption occurring in 1730. It ; j is over 7000 ft high, but the crater has fallen in, and the whole mountain is overgrown with luxuriant vegetation. Towards the top this consists, in great part, of tree ferns, wi'.h their trunks draped in mosses and overgrown with many species of smaller ferns. In the province of Batangas and almost due south of Manila, at a distance of some 25 miles, is the active volcano of Taal. It j stands in the middle of the lake of the same j name. It is less than 1000 ft in height, and J looks like the summit of a great volcano \ which has sunk in the lake, and there are ! native traditions to this effect. At present : its only sign of life is the column of white 1 smoke which continually rises from its sum- J mit, but it was in active eruption in 1716, j and again in 1754, when it threw out stones , anl hot ashes which destroyed the little villages on the shores of the lake. The clouds of ashes reached Manila, and the water of the lake is said to have boiled with the greot heat. At the southern end of Luzon are a number of volcanoes, but the most celebrated of these, both for its size and beauty and for the destmctiveness of its eruptions, is El Mayon. It rises from the fertile plains of Albay to a height of over 8000 ft, an almost perfect cone. The lower third of the mountain is densely covered with vegetation, whi'h dwindles to bushes and coarse grasses above. The upper half of the cone is of bare sand airl lava and other volcanic rocks. Mayon is constantly throwing out smoke and flames, and often streams of lava are seen flowing down the narrow ravines about the summit. I In 1766 there was a terrible eruption, destroying many villages upon the plains below, and in 1800 it was again in eruption, but I with l^ea destruction «J In 1814 the

, ' moss memorable of its eruptions occurred, t perhaps appearing more destructive than the 3 others because there were eye-witnesses tc 1 write its history. It Avas preceded and an- - nounced the night before by frequent earthb quakes, concluding the next morning Avith a j most terrible shock. After this the volcano 1 avuS seen to immediately tlrroAV out an imI mense pyramidal cloud of smoke, black at its ■ \ base, but of many colours in the middle, i j Arhere the rays of the morning sun fell upon E j it, and achy grey in its upper part. After i , another terrible earthquake shock and loud 1 thunderings, the volcano began throwing out ■ immense streams of lava. The atmosphere : became suddenly dark, and the flashes of j lightning were incessant. Then, in the : • darkness, great red hot stones and hot ashes ! began falling. These reached for many miles • ' about the base of the mountain, and horses t ; and cattle Avere killed in the fields. The villages Avere fired by the red - hot stones falling, and the people Avere crushed or suffocated as they attempted to escape. The rain of hot &tones and ashes lasted for three hours, and the darkness for fn-e hours. Twelve thousand people Avere killed, and many flourishing villages destroyed, and their sites buried and lost beneath the ashes. This was so deep in some places at the base of the mountain that trees were buried out of sight. The Spanish curate of one of the villages, Fr Juan de la Torre, survived as if by a miracle, and Avrote the following account : — "I was able to save my life by crawling under the trunk of a cocoanut tree, Avhich Avas bent over, forming a little shelter. There I lay, without my hat, and passing through a thousand dangers. I avus accompanied under the tree by two Avild boars, Avln«^ had fled from the lorest, lavo swine from the village, a croAV Avith its wings stretched out, and a poor rat trying" to protect its young ones." The eruptions of Mayon are said by the natives to be jDreceded by underground noises and mutterings like distant thunder. These are accompanied by trembling of the earth, Avhile the birds and other animals flee from the mounj tain. One of fclie landmarks of the central Philippines is the great volcano of 3isalaspina, or Kanloon, in the northern part of Negros. The level and fertile pkins of Western Negros, containing the most valuable sugar estates of the Philippines, are probably the product of former eruptions of this great mountain. Its base is surrounded by dense forests, and but little is known of any recent eruption?!. A native avlio had recently established an estate upon the east side of Malaspina, on the .strait (separating Negros from Zebu, told me that the mountain Avas continually shaking and groaning. Near the southern point of Negros is the ancient vol- , CcVio of Dumyqueie. There appear to be no accounts of its eruptions, but as Aye steamed along the coar-t avc Avcre struck Avith the appearance of immense ancient lava streams reaching from tlio summit of the mountain to the sea. Soroo of them looked like gigantic raihvay embankments, so even avrs their grade ard so leA r el their surface. They Avere too re:ent to have weathered into good soils, and Avcre coA r ersd for the most part Av-ith loav trees and coarse grass. While stopping at the toAvn of Dumoquete Aye heard of ' the existe7ico of a Lk^ called Danao, in the mountains, and Aye determined to visit it. ; We fivsi followed one of the old lava streams ' up to the village of Santa Rosa, made up of ' a feAv families of Indians who Avcre engaged in cultiA'atrug abaca, ar Manila hemp. After ! leaving the A'illo-ge and climbing for six ' lunvrs up the steep mountain's and along knife-like ridges we reached the lakes. There Avere two of these, each, perhaps, a quarter of a mile in diameter and lying in a valley surrounded by mountains so steep that Aye were in continual danger of dipping doAvn ; into the Avater, which was over our heads a - step from the shore. The lakes seemed to ] occupy an cincient crater, but the.Avhole country was so thickly coA-ered Avith timber that Aye could get but little idea of its configuration. The barometer shoAved a height of 3500 ft. The volcanoes of Mindanao are outside the territory occupied by the Spanish i and Christion Indians, and have been seldom | visited. Mount Apo is said to reach a ' : height of OA'er 10,000 ft. j Earthquakes, the usual accompaniment of ; | volcanic activity, are too common in the ' Philippines to be remarkable, unless they ' tumble one's house about his ears. The light, i basket-like dwellings of the natives, perched : upon j)f>sts, sway about like cradles during these strange movements of the earth, and are often thrown out of perpendicular, but are rarely destroyed. The stone buildings of the Spanish — though usually built of light volcanic rock or of coral, and with thick Avails and low storeys and projecting buttresses, to protect them from earthquakes — are frequently tliroAvn doAvn. Spanish Manila, the old Availed toAvn. the only city in the archipelago built of stone, has suffered most, and some of the streets are still blocked by the ruins of the great earthquake of 1880. In 1863 the city Avas nearly destroyed; and at frequent intervals since its foundation it has suffered loss of life and property. In the j provinces buildings of stone are rarely found, J those existing being generally the churches and conventos, or priests' houses. These have j beon built by the untrained natives, and Avith i no other architects than the jffiests them- >, selves, but are strongly built, and rarely fall. ' Several times, when being entertained by ■ these hospitable priests, Aye have been startled by the cry of " Tremblor ! " Avhen all Avould rush out of doors to be out of the Avay of falling walls, and after a feAv minutes' waiting Avould return to take up our dinner or com'ersation Avhere Aye had left it. — Professor J. B. Steere, in the Scientific Ameri-