Krakatoa

“ They have emerged from their quiet recesses with one accord to bear testimony to the truth of a scarcely credible tale. From forty-seven stations, fairly representing the whole civilized world, we learn that the wave spread out from Krakatoa as a centre, expanding in a circular form till half round the globe, concentrated again towards the Antipodes, whence it started afresh and travelled back to Krakatoa, occupying in the double journey thirty-six hours, rebounded, and set off again on the same revolution, and repeated the movement at least three times sufficiently strongly to be recorded. ”

“ The great eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 entered the violent stage on August 26, producing effects in the neighborhood which must have been quite appalling. The sky presented the most terrible appearance, fierce flashes of lightning penetrating the dense masses of cloud over the island, clouds of black matter were rushing across the sky, rapidly recurring detonations like discharges of artillery, with a crackling noise in the atmosphere, were heard continuously, and large pieces of pumice, quite warm, rained down at a distance of ten miles. ”

“ Every shock, every disaster or superfluity, is now felt even to the antipodes, and may indeed return from the antipodes, as the air waves from the eruption of the volcano Krakatoa in the year 1883 were propelled in rings over the Globe until they converged to a point in the opposite hemisphere, and thence diverged again to meet once more over Krakatoa, the seat of their origin. Every deed of humanity will henceforth be echoed and re-echoed in like manner round the world. ”

“ This explosion is easily to be ranked among the first dozen known within historic times. Previously Krakatoa has held first place in the minds of most, but the quantity of material thrown out by Katmai was so much greater as to put it into an altogether different class. Indeed, the whole island of Krakatoa could be dropped into the crater of Katmai.
We so inevitably estimate the magnitude of natural phenomena by their effect on human affairs that an eruption like this in an uninhabited district seems unimportant in comparison, for example, with that of Pelee, with its great loss of life. ”

“ Men do indeed call me the Hermit of Rakata, because I dwell alone here under the shadow of this particular cone of Krakatoa, but I do not ape the austere life of the conventional hermit, as you see, either in my domestic arrangements or food. ”

“ Besides Batavia, which is situated about one hundred English miles east of Krakatoa, there are many smaller towns or villages, the most important of which is Anjer, a thriving seaport town, where sailing vessels obtain their supplies of food and fresh water. Before the eruption of Krakatoa, Anjer was provided with a strong, stone lighthouse. ”

“ Lying as it did so close to the sea-level, the Krakatoa volcano, having blown away all its cones, and vents, and safety-valves—from Perboewatan southward, except the peak of Rakata—let the sea rush in upon its infernal fires. This result, ordinary people think, produced a gush of steam which caused the grand terminal explosions. Vulcanologists think otherwise, and with reason—which is more than can be said of ordinary people, who little know the power of the forces at work below the crust of our earth! ”

“ The Island of Krakatau (such, and not Krakatoa, is the native name) is situated in latitude 6° 7' south, longitude 105° 26' east, in the fairway of the Sunda Straits, about equally distant from Java and Sumatra, close on twenty-six miles west-southwest from the village and lighthouse of Anjer, the call-port or signal-station, prior to the present eruption, for all vessels passing through that frequented channel. ”

“ Of these the most important rose to a height of 2623 ft. above the sea and formed the peak of the volcanic island of Krakatoa. But compared with the great neighbouring volcanoes of Java and Sumatra, the islets of the Sunda Strait were comparatively unknown. Krakatoa was uninhabited, and no satisfactory map or chart of it had been made. In 1680 it appears to have been in eruption, when great earthquakes took place and large quantities of pumice were ejected. ”

“ At the opposite end of Java, on the western shore, in the busy Strait of Soenda, is another island somewhat similar to Bali, called Krakatoa, famous now for the great eruption which took place there in 1883. A volcano at rest is one thing, but a volcano at work is a very different sight, as the following description will soon show. The Krakatoa eruption was by no means an ordinary occurrence, even in Java, where such outbursts are so frequent ”

“ With so enormous an upheaval it would not be unnatural to expect the surrounding floor to be depressed; but when it is learned that the whole island of Krakatoa, containing about 8000 million cubic yards of material, has fallen in, and the greater part of it disappeared below the sea, the magnitude of the convulsion becomes more apparent, and it is the easier to realise the formation of the destructive volcanic wave that was thrown on the neighbouring shores. ”

“ Other volcanoes, it is said by those who have a right to speak in regard to such matters, have ejected more “stuff,” but not one has equalled Krakatoa in the intensity of its explosions, the appalling results of the sea-waves, the wonderful effects in the sky, and the almost miraculous nature of the sounds.
Seated on a log under a palm-tree in Batavia, on that momentous morning of the 27th, was a sailor who had been left behind sick by Captain Roy when he went on his rather Quixotic trip to the Keeling Islands. He was a somewhat delicate son of the sea. ”

“ Frequent as earthquakes and eruptions are in Java, it is seldom that so much damage and loss of life occur as on the present occasion, and although the island, from its peculiar formation, can never be quite free from such startling visitations, it is fervently to be hoped that no such terrible consequences will ever again have to be chronicled as those connected with the Krakatoa eruption. ”

“ The constant roaring and explosions that filled their ears and the rain of fine ashes bore testimony to the truth of this, though the solid and towering mass of Rakata rose between them and the part of Krakatoa which was in eruption, preventing their seeing anything that was passing except the dense masses of smoke, steam, and dust which rose many miles into the heavens, obstructing the light of day, but forming cloud-masses from which the lurid flames of the volcano were reflected downward. ”

“ People in the neighbourhood of the straits and passing ships are so accustomed to volcanic explosions on a more or less grand scale that they will never notice this little cloud hanging over Krakatoa. Those who, like myself, know the ancient history of the island, regard it in a more serious light, but we may be wrong. Come, now, we will descend again and have a ramble over part of the island. It will interest you. Not many men have penetrated its luxuriant forests or know their secrets. ”

“ People here, who don't study the nature of volcanoes much, though surrounded by them, will expect things ere long to resume their normal condition. I can never forget the fact that the greater part of Krakatoa stands, as you know, exactly above the spot where the two great lines of volcanic action cross, and right over the mouth of the immense crater to which Perboewatan and all the other craters serve as mere chimneys or safety-valves. We cannot tell whether a great eruption similar to that of 1680 may not be in store for us. ”

“ On no other occasion have sound-waves ever been perceived at anything like the extreme distances to which the detonations of Krakatoa reached.
Not less manifest and far more serious were the effects of the successive explosions of the volcano upon the waters of the ocean. A succession of waves was generated which appear to have been of two kinds, long waves with periods of more than an hour, and shorter but higher waves, with irregular and much briefer intervals. The greatest disturbance, probably resulting from a combination of both kinds of waves, reached a height of about 50 ft. ”

“ This island of Krakatoa is itself the fragment of an extinct volcano; but the term ‘extinct’ is scarcely applicable to volcanoes, for it is well-known that many which were for centuries supposed to be extinct have awakened to sudden and violent activity—‘quiescent’ might be a more appropriate term.”
“Yes,” said Moses, ceasing to masticate for purposes of speech; “dem ’stinkt volcanoes hab got an okard habit ob unstinkin’ dereselves hereabouts when you don’ ’spect it of ’em. Go on, massa. ”

“ Observing his look of surprise, Moses remarked, with a benignant though capacious smile, "Mountain's got de mulligrumps pritty bad jist now."
"We are pretty well accustomed to that," said the host, observing that Nigel turned to him for an explanation. "No doubt you are aware that this region is celebrated for earthquakes and volcanoes, so much so that the inhabitants pay little attention to them unless they become unusually violent. This island of Krakatoa is itself the fragment of an extinct volcano ”

“ Krakatit!”
“Silence!” shouted Daimon. “And his words,” he continued, “have all the more weight because they are supported by the actual power of bringing about this explosion. Comrade Krakatit is not a man of words, but of deeds. He has come here to convert us to direct action. And I tell you that it will be more terrible than anyone has dared to dream. And the explosion will take place to-day, tomorrow, within a week: His words were drowned in an indescribable confusion. A wave of people poured from the seats and surrounded Prokop. They embraced him, seized his hands and cried: “Krakatit! ”

“ As in the sea, so in the air, two waves, one to the east and one to the west, started from Krakatau, whose rate of progress has been found to be that of sound. One surprising circumstance, of which we have as yet observed no explanation, is how those ships which were near the volcano at the moment of the supreme explosions, of the enormity of which they seem not to have been cognizant, notwithstanding that they were heard at such immense distances, did not only not suffer from the concussion, but were not blown off the face of the water altogether. ”

“ Holz was removed to a distance of fifteen paces, and Prokop was allowed, accompanied by him, to move freely in a circle of three miles from seven in the morning to seven in the evening, to sleep in the laboratory, and to dine where he wished. On the other hand, Mr. Carson quartered a woman and two children in the laboratory (as it happened, she was the wife of a workman who had been killed by an explosion of Krakatit) , as a sort of moral guarantee against any “carelessness.” ”

“ It is enough for me that at present you are the sole owner of Krakatit. Our people have fourteen and a half ounces in their possession, brought by a Saxon comrade from Balttin, but these fools haven’t the slightest understanding of what your chemistry means. They keep it like a sacred relic in a porcelain box and three times a week nearly come to blows over the question of what government building they are going to blow up into the air. ”

“ Prokop, the plebeian hero, a scientist concentrated on his astonishing discoveries about the disintegration of matter, is the first man to “overcome the coefficient of compressibility.” He has learned how to “accelerate the speed of detonation,” which, after a certain speed, increases the power of explosion terrifically. He has invented Krakatit, a few ounces of which, sprinkled about, can blow up whole towns or whole armies. As Daimon the Anarchist puts it, “with Krakatit and the wireless station you can checkmate the world. ”

“ The Princess recoiled and became even more pale. “Go, Marie,” she breathed and drew the peignoir over her thin chest. “Why . . . have you come?”
Prokop leaned against a cupboard, his face pale and his eyes bloodshot. “So,” he said through his teeth, “that was your plan, eh? You arrange things for me nicely!”
She stood up as if she had been given a blow: “What—what are you saying?” Prokop ground his teeth. “I know what I’m saying. The idea was that . . . that I should give you Krakatit, eh? They’re getting ready for a war, and you, you,” he cried, “you are their tool! You and your love! ”

“ He would sink through the earth for shame. He drew her to him and buried his lips in her tangled hair; he encountered a burning forehead. She turned away her head with revulsion and tried still more desperately to free herself of the iron grip of his arms.
“I’ll give up Krakatit,” he heard his own voice say, to his horror. “I’ll give it up, you hear? I’ll give up everything! A war, a new war, millions of dead. It’s all the same to me. Do you want me to? Say one word—I’m telling you, that I’ll give up Krakatit! I swear that I’ll . . . I love you, do you hear? ”

“ According to some old writers the kraken, when floating on the surface of the sea, stretched to a length of about a mile and a half, and appeared like an island. It is a difficult problem to say which would be the most embarrassing position—for a seaman to find himself stranded on the creature’s back on its sudden arrival at the surface, or to be engulfed in the whirlpool that would arise from its sinking again into the depths of ocean. ”

“ Daimon on his Magnetic Hill was precisely and silently bombarding the whole world. In all directions waves were being sent out which would ignite the first grain of Krakatit which they encountered anywhere in the world. And there, in the dead of night, bathed in this pale light, an obdurate, wrongheaded man was working, bending over a secret process of transformation. “Thomas, look out!” cried Prokop, but his voice was lost in the darkness like a stone thrown into a pond by some childish hand.
He sprang up, trembling with fear and cold, and dashed on further, as far as he could from Grottup. ”