Show T W N i X 1 4 va J 6 aw M t V zw N 0 3 4 tl cauliflower cloud during eruption of ajima japan Prepa reit by the th national society washington D CI eruptions and earthquakes V VOLCANIC which for ages man 1 believed to be the work of ma ina lignana demons or wrathful sods gods are gradually yielding the secrets of their causes and processes to scientific investigators it Is in an effort to extend still further sciences ability to understand these forces of nature and even to forecast their appearances pe arances that the national geographic society Is sending bending an expedition this spring and summerton sum merto study intensively the conditions in ona one of bf the worlds greatest volcanic regions the smoking vents of the alaskan peninsula and the aleutian islands the studies will be conducted by dr thomas A jaggar who has lived for many years in an observatory on the brink of the crater oi of studying that mighty moods as shown in the waxing and wan waning ing of its pits of molten lava how it has already been possible with present knowledge to prophesy prop liesy a volcanic eruption and so to save thousands of lives Is seen in the circumstances surrounding rou nang the eruption of ajima japan in 1014 THIS greatest eruption in annals of the island empire resulted in the loss of only 35 lives ond and some millions of dollars in pr property scientific investigation Is in largo measure to be credited with the relatively few casualties for it was through the prediction of the imminence of the ajIma outbreak that the inhabitants of a populous dist district brict were enabled to flee from the wrath about lo 10 to I 1 come it was through a study of premont tory earthquakes in their rotation relation to volcanic volcan lb outbreaks that the sakura jima eruption was definitely predicted conversely it la Is hoped that in time through exhaustive study of volcanic activities earthquakes may be predicted aith ith accuracy the phenomena of the ajIma eruption therefore are proving of transcendent importance to the scientific world and the measures which were taken to safeguard life at that time are being eagerly studied anew the volcano of shaped much like vesuvius rises to a height of feet directly opposite the city of in d bay a tongue of water extending some fio 50 miles into the southern end of kyu shu the most southerly of the four main islands of the japanese ach lyela go growths of young pine trees mark the course of old lava hows flows from the two main craters of the summit warning of ajima outbreak prior to the eruption of 1914 IS 18 villages with an aggregate population of industrious banners anil fol k nestled on the beores ot of this small volcanic island which nearly filled the bay between kagoshima and the osumi promontory the channel between the volcano and the city was barely two and one half miles wide with a depth of from rom nineteen to seventy fathoms while that on the osumi side was only one third of a mile wide with an average depth of mom moi p than fifty fathoms kagoshima the thriving capital city of the province with a population of 70 JOO Is the center of satsuma pottery manufacture and of a fertile farming farm inn region producing tobacco citrus fruit and sugar cane men of science had bad long known what that lay in store for kagoshima experience per peri lence ence had taught observers that when swarms of earthquakes begin in the tha vicinity of an active volca volcano no the th underground dragon Is writhing and preparing to make trouble in 1009 and 1010 1910 two writers published warnings that was likely to erupt explosively after violent premonitory earthquakes rainfall during 1013 at kagoshima Kogos had been unusually unusual ly light as had bad been the case teu ten 3 yea cars rs and twenty years previously each of those dry years having been followed by some activity in one or more of the volcanoes on the island of kyushu violent viole rit eruptions began in 1013 not at ma ina but on en kirl shima where there ere three outbursts ont bursts tile the last two being ehg on november band 8 and december 0 9 on ajima however ic earthquakes began tp occur in swarms and people began to jump three strong ft were ere felt on the afternoon of january 10 followed in the everil evening ng by two more the next morning there were three strong stocks et accompanied ly by rumblings gs wore before sun son rise tho the earthquakes now became increasingly crea singly higly alarming growling noises preceded some and a roaring as aa of 0 escaping gas under pressure followed others people flee flea from eruption erupts on four hundred seventeen earthquakes were recorded at kagoshima between 4 a in january 11 and 10 1 0 a 6 m january 12 after which the malu main eruption of ajima began counting the shocks of the which had begun about I 1 p m there was immediate forewarning in noises and shakes for 45 hours prior to the explosion pl oslon these warnings were heeded every available sampan sc with frantic speed back and forth across the channel all day sunday january 11 cov ing the natives of the island islan d their bedding mats mas rice bays and canary birds to the mainland by monday the army navy lind and other government departments railways and steamship lines were wera all helping sunday afternoon about two during a period of violent quaking a report came from tarumi southeast of that white smoke was seen rising from the middle of the volcano the she monday period of seismic activity was strikingly terminated and relieved by the volcanic outbreak of ten ajima to in the early morning had been veiled by a cloud but the incessant on din of rumbling diminished d mini shea after 5 a m there may have ben been a summit landslip continual quick explosions were heard from nine on and a small puff of white vapor was reported at that time but it was not fiot until ten when all the fog clouds were dissipated that the great volcanic drama unfolded under splendid photographic illumination the climax came at 1005 when in the thel middle of the side of the mountain toward kagoshima the awe stricken people saw the hard profits of a swelling balloon of black s smoke rise majestically from the ground where an hour before were orange orchards fer terraced raced fields of sugar cane and gardens of radishes ter ten minutes after the first outbreak a s similar mi cauliflower column rose from the east flank of the volcano but this wis was dwarfed by the towering western shaft with which it eventually merged with occasional lulls but ut with ever increasing I 1 violence the booming concussions cus cuss lons of the eruption grew more and more terrible flashes of lightning danced through th the e great billows of smoke and dusts dust and in the lower portion oi of the great black column vertical lines of upward streaming rocks bombs sand band ant ani smoke e cur curling 1 as high as the mountain itself could be seen from ume time to time tile fall of ash over the city of kagoshima began an hour and ten minutes i after the eruption started sta arted and continued intermittently until the following evening at live in elie afternoon the eruption waxed in fury furj extra heavy earthquakes in tile the vicinity of arimura Arl mura on the southeast coast of aJIma island were felt and ships in the bay reported that the maximum heights of ejection of material was reached an lio hour air later i in kagoshima the crisis which resulted in the only loss of life during the lie disaster occurred at when a terrific earthquake threw down walls and buildings at kagoshima dislodged bo boulders bowl ders from dins cliffs and interrupted railway and telegraph services fugitives were trapped in landslides and a tidal wave with a ten foot swing caused serious damage to small boats in the harbor thirty five persons were crushed to death and were injured this quake Is to be classed as a world stinker shaker for it was recorded on seismographs in europe the lava flotys bows from the volcano had begun and the gas bad 1 11 d relieved the under earth of millions of tons of matter so that this quake was probably the evidence f e a deep movement or settling that had bad begun along the great chain of itra byn kyu kyll volcanoes extends extending ng from kyushiro to taiwan formosa in a string of islets OW miles to the southwest simultaneously with the occurrence of tho the big quake a sudden inra glow was observed on the smoke coming f from om the 04 volcano tills this continued for some time the outbreak of january 1 12 0 was followed by months of intense activity the lava overflowed new W cratem cra tera poured lato the sea and create wr new elands I 1 |