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Show VOLCANO SILENT FOR MORE THAN CENTURY TOICIO. Jan. 13. Sakura-.llma. which In vlolom eruption Is deslroyln' life anO devastating property over extended areas In Kiushiu. youtlicrnmoBl Island of the main Japanese group; has bcun quiescent for more than" a century, olthoiisht it rears Its cratcrcd-peak In a yerltahlo land of volcanoes. Dlrcctlv to the Hoiilh of It. on one of the three lower tips of .Japan, stands rCalmon-Lake. which is constantly active, whilo directly north of it arc Klrlchlnm-Yanm Klrlchlnm-Yanm and Sldrutorlsan. Both nro active, and from the former In lSITi came a tremendous tre-mendous and destructive outburst. 1 no contour of hill and valley throughout the region all tc-ll.s of volcanic origin and activity ac-tivity and tho higher ridges arc scanod and "serried with runs or lava, marked hy precipitations or ash and and cut and torn bv the convulsive shocks, which have attended at-tended the more serious disturbances. In Center of Island. Sakura-JInia occupies almost the exact center of a .stnnll. round Island In tho Gulf of Kagoshima and directly in front of tho city of Kagoshima. capital of the province of SatHiima. It Is 400(1 feet high and, beforo tho present eruption, had two craters. Ono of these had beon cloyed and silent for many years: the other, a huge, nigged Opening In tho mountain crest, has for centuries given oft small quantities quanti-ties of steam. Around Its base aro several hot springs, evidence of subterranean conditions, and .several draws in the rugged sides show runs of lava which extend to the noa. Tho island and Its volcano arc acen-Icallv acen-Icallv beautiful, and both Japanese and foreigners In large numbers constantly visited them. The permanent population was considerable, running probably to 1T..000. Much of the soil of the Island was rich, and sugar-cane, fruits and vegetables veg-etables were extensively cultivated. Last Eruption in 1779. Sakura -.11 ma had Its last general eruption erup-tion In 1779, and whilo accurate Information Informa-tion as to the suffering and damage which It inflicted Is not available, tho occasion so Impressed Itself on the peoplo that th eruption was commemorated by a monthly festival. This day Is still ob- ; served by many of the peoplo and for docadeK no boats were allowed to leave the Island during tho celebration, a rulo which Is said to havo had Its origin In superstition. The surrounding coasts and the coun try in several directions arc heavily popu- la led and the number in the danger zone Is hundreds of thousands. Tho chief city In danger Is Kagoshima, which lies almost al-most In the shadow of the volcano and Is separated from it by a narrow strait. Fragmentary dispatches that come in over a. telegraph nnd telephone service that has been destroyed at several points Indicate that there has been heavy loss of life In Kagoshima and Us vlclnlly, and It la feared that this deadly work continues and will take larger range when advices aro complete. The city is tho center of a large pottery and porcelain porce-lain Industry which employees thousands thou-sands of artisans and laborers of both sexes. Historic City of Japan. Kagoshima is one of the historic cities of Japan. It Is the old capital of the famous Satsuma clan, so conspicuous n both tho old and the now Japan, and the sceno of the last battle of tho yatsuma rebellion. The great Salgo, who led tho revolution, committed harl-karl when he saw his last line waver and fall, and the graves where he and hundreds of his warriors lie constitute ono of the great national shrines When Japanese refused to give, satisfaction satis-faction for the murder of the .Englishman. .English-man. Richardson. In ISO", Great Britain dispatched a squadron of seven ships, under un-der Admiral Kupcr, who bombarded and burned Kagoshima. The later fame of the eltv rests on tho manufacture of the well-known Satsuma cracklcwarc. Five Hundred Killed. VICTORIA. B. C, Jan. i:i. Kurthcr details de-tails of tho devastation and loss of life caused ou the Island of Abrym. In the New Hebrides, bv volcanic upheavals on De- cember 1 and tho fallowings days, when cable reports told of the death of i00 people and the transformation of the coast and the throwing up of a now Island from the neighboring sea, were brought lion: yesterday by the Canadian Australian liner Makura. |