Ogden Daily Standard | 1914-01-19 | Page 1 | Eye Witness' Graphic Story

EYE WITNESS' GRAPHIC STORY, j Tokio, Jan. 19. A graphic narrative of the eruption and earthquakes which devastated the island of Sa kura and the town of Kagoshima, destroying de-stroying hundreds of lives on Januars 14, is given today by Theodore R I lover of Wisconsin who was an eye-w eye-w Itnese He say s The volcano at the beginning of the eruption resembled a Niagara of fire, from which masses of molten stone were hurled long distances. ' During the night of January 14. a loud explosion was heard, followed by a flash of flame and a cloud of ashes, rising many thousand feet. "The entire western coast line of Sakura seemed to be ablaze and a strong wind carried smoke, gas and hot ashes straight to the mainland. Panic Stricken Crowds, "From Kagoshima, three miles I across the bay people fled m panic stricken crowds, many of them ascending as-cending the steep sider, of Shiromo-yama Shiromo-yama mountain and looking back from there In terror on the scene. "A heavy rain fell the next night and served to settle somewhat the flying dust and ashes. Many of the people returned to their crumbling , houses ' I made a visit the following morn ' inc within a short distance of Sakura, but it was Impossible to reach the shore in the small native boat, owing to the great floating fields of pumice stone. The occupants of the boat could: I I however, obsere that the villages j j along the shore with their rice fields I , and gardens, had been levelled by the molten lava, while the surrounding j 1 forests had been destroyed. "The principal crater of Sakura- Jima, evident as a gap, a mile wide. in the side of the mountain, could be seen Below this were numerous craters emitting smoke and flames. I Beneath each opening there were great plateaus of cooling laa."