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Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VIII, Issue 2318, 11 June 1886, Page 2

An idea of the stupendous forces o' nature has boon brought home to fosi" .dents, in Mastertonby the fact that'they were woke up from their slumbers during the flight before last by a 'volcanic .disturbance Bomo two hundred and fifty miles away. Tfc was all but incredible that tho sound of nature's artillery at so remote a distance should have reached our ears so distinctly. The bpoius that so repeatedly alarmed us, had we known at the tiiiiio how to interpret them, told the talo of disaster more speedily and eloqUorttly than even tho electric, telegraph. By ordinary channels of communication the full extent of the calamity will gradually becomeknown to lis, but we have the guage of it in the dread thunder which came to us direct from the distant scene, The. event. recalls many siinilaVcata'strpphies-whichhayo occurred at occasional intervals from time immemorial. In the history of the the sudden death of millions of people is accredited to volcanic phenomena suchasthe onewhichhas justoccurred andit isfortunate that in this instance there was no populous centres in the dangerous, area. The loss of life which has occurred has apparently boen mainly confinod to the native inhabitants of the district, but it is difficult to over estimate tho terror and suffering which must have been endured by those, whether Europeans or Maoris, who wore living in that terrible region which is known as the "wonderland" of Now Zealand, but which henceforth must bo regarded as our'' danger land." By tho accounts to hand by telegraph it is evident that the eruption and its effects extends over a wide area of country, Accounts so fat give the Wairoa, which is n small stream running into the Tarawera lake, as the southern limit of the actual eruption and loss of life, but the Tarawera Lake is fully seven mile* long, and the mountains where the seat of the eruption is said to be, is at least ten miles from Wairoa, thence to Rotorua is ten miles as the crow flies, The whole of the area is ocoupied by a number of small native villagers, whose inhabitants take advantage of the warm groundto erect their hnts, andof the warm springs to bathe in, indeed half their time is spent in these hot springs. It will, therefore, bo seen how great is tho dangor to which these people are subject at the present timo and the loss of life is probably very groat, The darkness caused by the immense shower of ashes would prevent their moving, as to run ,vould be only exposing themselves to greater danger, as old and new bailing mud holes would spring up in every direction around them, even in their paths, and escape would be almost impossible. Indeed, their only chance ot safety would be to remain quiet and take their chance of being engulphed on the spot, and from their nature, these very spots are the most dangerous. Never since 184(1, when Te HeuHeu was engulphed with his live wives and 4(i followers on the shores of Lake Taupoby a maBB of boiling mud being detached from tho mountain side, has anything like the present oraption taken place, although periodical activity has been noticed on the volcanic line at different points between Tongariro and the island of Whakaari.