REDHOT LAVA.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1974, 3 February 1914, Page 8

REDHOT LAVA.

VOLCANIC FIREWORKS/* THE AMBBYM OUIBURSt PR; BOWIE'S VIVID STORY. Oitc of the west prominent won in the I'nciiic Islands is l)r. Bowie, whose hospital on Anftrym Island was a feature of tJio Now Hebrides until a few weeks ago, when it was swallowed up by live all-devouring ea-rthqualke-. Dr, Bowie, who is associated with the, l;rcsbytertaii mission in the. New Hebrides, was a passenger by the steamer Maftambp, which reached Sydney last wt«k.

Hβ had an. interesting and fearful story to tell of tlio effects of the volcame outburst on the island of Ambrym last December. His narrative of events »s even more- weird than that supplied by the captain of the steamer Puciflquo. But let Dr. Bowie tell the story in his own words.

"Th© .first indication,", ho said, "thai there was a fresh outbreak was shortly after 5 o'clock on Saturday afternoon ot December 6. Th.e sun was still high., but we saw a cloud of steam rising for many thousands of feet. Of course, wo knew that it was probable that nt night wo would have a-fine view of what was going ©n.

Gigantic! Fireworks. "Immediately aftcF dark we eould -sos the hills lit up a stliough great forest fires were burning, so we climbed the' hill at the back of the hospital. Wo could then see a stream of lava travelling from the oentre of the island ttt wards the south-west. That lava stream was probably go-ing at tho rate of six to seven roiies aiL'hour towards the sea, aiid running along a gully. We Wero able to mate out, by the. direction it was flawing and tho position wo were in, that no ■ villages were being overtaken;' so wo returned without any but on.' reashing the hospital a crowd of natives met us. They had just arrived from.the interior of tho island, and reported that the whole middle portion had burst out into a volcano, and that they had to run for their lives. Therp wero several hundred natives, and 1 almost all of the adults wero carrying children.' They told us, however,'' , said tho doctor, shaking his head, "that they had to leave some of the alder people behind them. ■ They were , cut off by the lava streams before they could be rescued. Poor wretches I About, midnight," Dr. Dowie proceeded, "we could seo that tho midtllo of t:lio island was , breaking o-irt, and lava streams, were coming towards the narth, north-west, and frost. There were four, streams, spreading over a width of ?4 miles. It burnt up everything. Talk about- fireworks I ]t was one of the most appallJjig sights htiman beings could look at. Tho display Was wonderful; all the fireworks l'ever saw wero incani.para.ble to the $eoue> • Fancy great streams of red-hot kya running along its course; and shooting huge trees into the air ,libo immense rockets, which fell in a shower of fife! ' Narrow Escapes. "Thy first- stream of lava reached tho north at ihidniglit, the second at' 2 .o'clock on Sunday morning, tho iiexfc at 2.30 a.m., and one a little over half A mile from the hospital at 3 o'clock in the morning. By tills time hundreds of natives- frpm the hills had arrived at the hospital, and they kept following me about. I woirt. They .seemed. , to- lon.g.ji-s' I was there, •H I sat -down they sat down; if I walked about they did the S-amo. Even at this time wo had .no. 'Misgivings; -wo had ceon lava -flowing before. . ' : , . •■ "About 5.30 mi Sunday Morning i ] trader—Mr, 0. Stephens*—who was coming from Craig's Cove in his,.boati :put. in "at the hospital anchorage, and -as-fed : if we knew that we were surrounded by firo. Efe told ..iis that while ho was coming into tho hospital anchorage h<s cbiiM see » new volcano had brpkehBUt immediately behind the''hospital. , we understood that, wo thplight it time to go. Soon daylight .appeared, wheii wo Gould SCO the da-jiger for oUr- ■ selves, and we liiado preparations' at . one 6 to get the patients—there were 48 —out of the hospital. Wo started doing this abeut 6.30/ and it wii,s nearly 10 o'clock before everyone was away. By that time tho fire was within 400 ,vatfd-s of the hos-pjtal, so we" seiit a number of the natives along the coast to a position of safety^ "After I saw -everyone had loft the station I got out. W# saved nothing. There was flo time for that, and by, the tjmo I got to the boat .the' Water w,as too hot to get i-ntOi 'You couM'not stand in it to pull the boat alongside. Fiitding an empty teSi I threw- thfs between the landing and the hoat,.junitied on to the box, aftd so got- oil boaM I The fieo for at least four miles along the coast was a boiling ciuildr.<>n..Fish? Thero we-ro tens of tlioußatlds of all soroe «f thera being ftlost bc.aMtifully coloured, and there sharks and 1 turtles galore. As we were. outside tho reef wo saw the hospital blown up. Then wey went romjd' tho coast for two miles, where we loft tho natives and began to rescue them. Previous to this, however, we had taken a lot of tho natives off, and had se'iit to tho island of'Maleku-la.ld mites away, for help, which soon arrived, "The number of natives -killed , I beieve to. be about ;110. I know one or ;w6 of them wero boiled in the sea ■ rhen esqapi-ng from 'the islatiilj -and ithers wer-e α-rowued through canoes. leing overturned by the tough Water. :

Attibrym Transformed. ■ "Since then," weftt on - Dr. - fiowie, "s new volcano burst-out ift the sea about a inile from the shore* It gradually e-stended, and in two. days a new peninsular was created. There -is. now about ono mile and a half of now-laud rising to about 300 feet. .Agiuiv on Now Year's Day another outburst ■occurred at Southeast Ambtyra.-'- No' fatalities flecurred-, but- 70G native refugees wots rescued and taken &t" the island of Paaina_, There wore ten active voleanoes when we left, -covering fl.n extent of about 20 miles, Tho west and north end of the- island is now un* inhabitable, and it has been -<jJova : ststed for ten miles; The south-cast end will become habitable;, and the- Batives are returning to this portion, of the island. Tiro western portion is out of the qiiegtion. •■■■..- "TlVo loss of the hospital ntuountcd io £10,000, and it Will cast Mty that to build a now oisc, which Wo hope to do. All tho material will have to come from. Sydney. Wo had a neighbour—Mr." Oarmiehaol, a. trader —who lost abottt £4(300 in property, wMks Mr, Stephens tost liis home, but was aWβ to recover his gooda. Now the place is covered with volcanic ash." ,