The following details of the dreadful eruption of the volcano of Albay,
in the island of Luconia, one of the Philippines, on the first of
February, 1814, are from an eye-witness of the dreadful scenes it
presented.
“During thirteen years the volcano of Albay had preserved a profound
silence. It was no longer viewed with that distrust and horror with
which volcanoes usually inspire those who inhabit the vicinity. Its
extensive and spacious brow had been converted into highly cultivated
and beautiful gardens. On the first day of January last, no person
reflected, in the slightest degree, upon the damages and losses which so
bad a neighbor had once occasioned. Previously to the former eruptions
there had been heard certain subterraneous sounds, which were presages
of them. But upon the present occasion we remarked nothing, except that
on the last day of January we perceived some slight shocks. In the night
the shocks increased. At two in the morning one was felt more violent
than those hitherto experienced. It was repeated at four, and from that
time they were almost continual until the eruption commenced.
“The day broke, and I scarcely ever remarked in Camarines a more serene
and pleasant morning. I observed, however, that the ridges nearest to
the volcano were covered with mist, which I supposed to be the smoke of
some house that might have been on fire in the night. But at eight
o’clock the volcano began suddenly to emit a thick column of stones,
sand, and ashes, which with the greatest velocity, was elevated into the
highest regions of the atmosphere. At this sight we were filled with the
utmost dread, especially when we observed that in an instant the brow of
the volcano was quite covered. We had never seen a similar eruption, but
were convinced that a river of fire was flowing toward us, and was about
to consume us. The first thing which was done in my village was to
secure some things esteemed sacred, and then we betook ourselves to
flight. The swiftness with which the dreadful tide rolled toward us, did
not give us time either for reflection or consultation. The frightful
noise of the volcano caused great terror even in the stoutest hearts. We
all ran, filled with dismay and consternation, endeavoring to reach the
highest and most distant places, to preserve ourselves from so imminent
a danger. The horizon began to darken, and our anxieties redoubled. The
noise of the volcano continually increased, the darkness augmented, and
we continued our flight. But, notwithstanding our swiftness, we were
overtaken by a heavy shower of huge stones, by the violence of which
many unfortunate persons were in a moment killed. This cruel
circumstance obliged us to make a pause in our career, and to shelter
ourselves under the houses; but the flames and burnt stones which fell
from above, in a short time reduced them to ashes.
“The sky was now completely overcast, and we remained enveloped and
immersed in a thick and palpable darkness. From that moment reflection
was at an end. The mother abandoned her children, the husband his wife,
and the children forgot their parents.
“In the houses we had no longer any shelter. It was necessary to
abandon, or perish with them; yet, to go out uncovered, was to expose
one’s self to a danger not less imminent, because many of the stones
were of an enormous size; and they fell as thick as drops of rain. It
was necessary to defend ourselves as well as we could. Some covered
themselves with hides, others with tables and chairs, and others with
boards and tea-trays. Many took refuge in the trunks of trees, others
among the canes and hedges, and some hid themselves in a cave, where the
brow of a mountain protected them.
“About ten o’clock the heavy stones ceased to fall, and a rain of thick
sand succeeded. At half past one the noise of the volcano began to
diminish, and the horizon to clear a little; and at two it became quite
tranquil; and we now began to perceive the dreadful ravages which the
darkness had hitherto concealed from us. The ground was covered with
dead bodies, part of whom had been killed by the stones, and the others
consumed by the fire. Two hundred perished in the church of Budiao, and
thirty-five in a single house in that village. The joy the living felt
at having preserved themselves, was in many converted into the extremity
of sorrow at finding themselves deprived of their relations and friends.
Fathers found their children dead, husbands their wives, and wives their
husbands, in the village of Budiao, where there were very few who had
not lost some of their nearest connections. In other places we found
many persons extended upon the ground, wounded or bruised in a thousand
ways. Some with their legs broken, some without arms, some with their
skulls fractured, and others covered with wounds. Many died immediately,
others on the following days, and the rest were abandoned to the most
melancholy fate, without physicians, without medicines, and in want even
of necessary food.
“Five populous towns were entirely destroyed by the eruption; more than
twelve hundred of the inhabitants perished amidst the ruins; and twenty
thousand who survived the awful catastrophe, were stripped of their
possessions and reduced to beggary.
“The subsequent appearance of the volcanic mountain was most melancholy
and terrific. Its side, formerly so well cultivated, and which afforded
a prospect the most picturesque, is now become a barren sand. The
stones, sand and ashes, which cover it, in some places exceed the depth
of ten and twelve yards; and on the ground where lately stood the
village of Budiao, there are spots in which the cocoa-trees are almost
covered. In the ruined villages, and through the whole extent of the
eruption, the ground remains buried in the sand to the depth of half a
yard, and scarcely a single tree is left alive. The crater of the
volcano has lowered more than one hundred and twenty feet; and the south
side discovers a spacious and horrid mouth, which is frightful to the
view. Three new ones have opened at a considerable distance from the
principal crater, through which also smoke and ashes are incessantly
emitted. In short, the most beautiful villages of Camarines, and the
principal part of that fine province, are deeply covered with barren
sand.”