FLAMING NGAURUHOE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 490, 24 April 1909, Page 15

FLAMING NGAURUHOE.

9 .. GREAT OUTBREAK GRAPHICALLY DESCRIBED. . tin TKnaiupn.—srxcut. cowiriroNDSKt) 'A apfcial wpresontatiYO d tho Auckland " Herald" sends a grapbio description of Nganruhoo iu eruption. Hβ says that tho phase " One of the wondors of Now Zealand", doe 9 not doecribe Ngauruhoo at present, and declares it to be a sight the like of which tho Dominion has never had to show, wfth fho exeoption of tho Tarawera eruption over 20 jears ego. I Describing what took place last Monday, tho writer says: "In the afternoon there was a big outburst, accompanio'l by a thundorous rumbling, as of the discharge of scveraj heavy guns, tho concussion being so severe that buildings at Man.jamato were shaken. The steam clouds from tho crater had,drifted behind tho mounkin, spreading away lii a fan shapo, and aga nst the whito background thero suddenly arc>so a sliaft of inky blackness. It nent up uith a speed and directness as if shot out from some monster gun, to a height ttat made tho groat cono of tho volcano look no lughor than Mount Eden in comparison with tho t bulk of the big black cloud. As it spread out'it dwarfed the entire vokano, and the height of the oloud abovo tho crater was greater than thrco times tho height of Rangitoto.

"Black Rain Through Whits Cloud." ."Just as the outburst occurred a big fleecy cloud, looking anow-white m comparison with the black smoko of the volcano, drifted up against tho top of the .cone, and tho epec- ' tacular effeob was subline. the black cloud fell ovor, and rained volconic dust down on Tonganro. STnis created tho extraordinary sight of black rain coming donn through white clouds. By this time it was nearly sundown, and theedges of the 'smoke clouds began to take on a red and brown glow. _ A. long light bank of white clouds was drifting around Ruapehu, and the tail end of this wreathed around Ngauruhoo, and orept in over the crater, but tho blanket did not affect tho volcano, for i/hot after shot went up. As the sun set behind the Tonganro Range, the volcano koKod weird and sinister. It assumed a threatening appearance of ever-present foreo so tornble that, should it exert, itself, it might stagger tho ftholo Dominion.

< ~ Blood Red by Night. . "The rod of tho sansofc seemed tiko the glow from a lako of molten lava, and the light bocame stronger, and tho-whole 1 of tho black mosses rising from the orator woro tinted blood rod. "It was with a sense of, relief that ono turned ,to contemplate tho tranquil beauty of Lake Taupo, lyine; in tho indigo 'shadow of the Kaimanawa., Thoro has been a heavy fall of„ ash and dust all ovor -this part of the"country. Tho deposits show blue black in all the cuttings, and the vegetation has i had a good coating. Tongariro Rango is one uniform dark grey, and there has evidently been a very-heavy, deposit thorn. Iteporta to hand are to tho effect that the fall on Ngauruhoo itself has covered ono slope kneedeep. ,' * Thunder .of Volcanlo Artillery. ,"As night sob in tho .activity / decreased somewhat, and j tho mottn- . tain , was fairly-quiet "imtil ' about - eight o'clock, when the crator'again broke out in violent eruption, sending up a tremendous banner of black against the starry sky. All, night Jong thoro, was a black column going up soYon or eight hundred fcet ;; and then trailing off in"a long, dark cloud, 'while,, at irequcnt. intervals, heavy,,, outbursts. About 10 o'clock 'everyone" in tho vicinity was aroused to attention by a deep, hollow nimble, followed by a succession of heavy roports from the-cono. Big, balloonBbaped clouds of inky black wero rising, when there camo a prolonged Toar from tho mountain, and further great explosions of steam, the sound gradually dying sway ■in a reverberating echo from tho Kairaanawa Kango. An .hour later there was another terrifying rumble, lasting for ever 10 minand for several hours—m fact, almost volcano shook" buildings with its concussion, and one loud, hurst was followed by a most pronounced earth-tremor. Spectators Uneasy.

"Tho sight of the whirling inky pillar about tho cono added to tho terror of tho night's experience. It seemed as if the whole great burning mountain was about to blow off into spaco, and to devastate tho country. The rod crater?on Tongariro had been very active earlyin tho evening, and tho forces at work in that old, sleeping monster scorned to bo acting in concert with tho internal firos of JNgauruhoe. * Visitors mentally speculated on tho most likely spots of safety, and tho extent of tho zone of danger, biit, fortunately, 'the bark of the volcano was irorse/thnn its bite, and it socmed content with muttered threatening. All night there were long rumbles of thnndpr, and loud explosions of steam, but tho mornihg broko clear and fine, with the now customary denso columns of steam ascending from tho crater tinted with gold and in the sumiso lights." ' Lake Taiipo Affected. A message from Taupo statee that, an , alarming occur'-cnco happened in Waibora Hay,'on the western sluues of Lako Taupo, during Sunday night, when Ngauruhoo was in violent eruption. A fishing party vere aroused rrom their slunibeis by two heavy explosions, which seemed quite 'close, and, m tho morning, it , was found that tho waters ot tho bay were warm, and dozens of splendid trout—a few weighing up to 181b.—were ilontmg on 'tho surface, whilo some had already boen Tashed ashore. This leads one to suppose that some 'suhmarino disturbance took placo ,in the lak'o, and killed the fish, which wero quite fresh. Probably somo old geyser in the lake had been stirred •up t through Volcanic agency, and sent its boiling water all over tho hay. A Blight oarth-tremor was felt at Rotorua on Sunday night.