AMONG VOLCANOES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 163, 27 November 1912, Page 3

AMONG VOLCANOES.

MILKS OF FIRE. WEIRD. RCKXK O.V XUAFOOr. An account of the volcanic eruption at Niuafoou, oho of the outlying islands of the kingdom of Tonga, has been received in Sydney from one ,of the white residents of :.he island. There are only two , Europeans on this remote place, which has a native population of about 1200.

■ "At about half-past C o'clock on the -morning of October 7," the letter, runs, "aji ■ eruption occurred a few hundred yards out to sea, and just as the suii crept over the horizon we could sec a huge column of smoke and steam vising to a tremendous height. Then we heard shouts of 'Vela! vela!' (meaning fire). The natives had seen it, and were running about in great excitement. Within five minutes after the outbreak everyone on the island had heard the warning cries. Not ten minutes had elapsed before another volcano broke out inland, followed in quick succession by several others, and at 9 o'clock in the .evening there were at least 30 volcanoes active, some within a few yards of each other, while others were several chains apart, extending to a distance of five miles; It is a magnificent sight to spo ."11 those volcanoes throwing out molten hi,., some of which is ejected to a height of several hundred feet. The sound of it all is similar to that of quick-firing field guns. T was within a hundred yards of one j volcano when suddenly another broke out about 30 yards away, and I had to run for ray life. As it was, I received a small burn on my arm. Besides these volcanoes there are thousands of jets of various sizes, and these form a. splendid spectacle, and cover some four or five square miles.

"The last volcanic disturbance in Xiua'foou took place 26 years ago, the outbreak occurring on September 20, so to celebrate this the natives, on September 10 of each year, hold a 'kaibuiiu,' and have a feast, which everyone on the island attends. They also hold church service in the open air, and dance and sing all night. The previous outbreak to the above happened 02 years ago, and in exactly the same area as the present one. At that time there was a yillage there, and when the outbreak occurred, on a Sunday evening, several people lost their lives, and the village was buried in 1 lava." Niuafoou is an island about ten miles aerbss, famed for the enormous size of its cocoanuts, and as being the only habitat of the nialau. a bird remarkable for laying an egg out .of all proportion to its body. Tn the middle of the island is a beautiful lake, about three miles across, formed in a huge crater. ' On one side the shore slopes gradually till it becomes almost level with the surface of the lake, and palm trees grow right down to the water's edge, forming a marked contrast to the precipitous cliffs, towering almost perpendicularly to some . 500 or 000 feet, on the other side.