Ternate - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

TERNATE 249
APPENDICES
standing for almost two centuries, was not able to withstand this severe earthquake. It is
irreparably damaged and the brick barracks are uninhabitable. In ten hours Ternate has
been changed into a heap of ruins and the inhabitants who lived in about five hundred
brick houses have all, without exception, become homeless. They have had to move into the
few sheds which are standing on the beach. The disaster which has hit the inhabitants of
Ternate is irremediable, since all their properties have been destroyed; other goods,
salvaged after the earthquake, are, for the most part, unusable or damaged. The little
wealth that the inhabitants had usually consisted of one or two houses [p. 341] and now
they have nothing, and most of them have also become debtors because of loans. The retail
dealers, who will have no income, will now force losses upon the wholesale dealers or
creditors, so that the damage to the private sector is estimated at f 900,000. Moreover, due
to the general disaster, it will be difficult for the inhabitants to find a roof to put over their
heads, there being a complete shortage of the building materials necessary for gabah-gabah
houses. Everything will have to be supplied from the mainland with the cooperation of the
Sultan. The result is that four or more families will have to manage together in sheds
which otherwise are used for storing vessels; while most of the salvaged goods, due to the
lack of storage space, will remain lying in the open. Fortunately, it has not rained, and the
absence of rain has prevented the total destruction of these goods.
Just before the severe jolt occurred at ten o’clock, many women and their children,
not knowing what might happen, got into proas which had been tied in the roadsteads, to
await the further destiny of Ternate. Meanwhile the shocks became less severe and the
constant movement of the ground also decreased. The next night there were four somewhat
severe shocks, besides the incessant small tremors.
Saturday, February 15. There have been occasional shocks through the whole day
and into the night, and the ground has continued to tremble. It was noticed that the water
level in the wells is much higher than before.
Sunday, February 16. The situation remains the same, with a rather severe jolt just
before eight o’clock in the morning, followed by several less severe jolts. In the morning,
the Sultan of Ternate came to express his condolences about the disaster, and the Sultan of
Tidore came for the same purpose in the afternoon. They also offered their assistance, with
everything they had at their disposal. The Sultan of Tidore had already brought, along
with atap and bamboo to make sheds, a considerable number of Tidorese to clear the rubble
of collapsed houses and to salvage such materials as were still usable. [p. 342]
Monday, February 17. During the night several shocks were again felt.
Tuesday, February 18. In the morning at nine o’clock, H.M. corvette Nihalenia, with
Lt. Cdr. G.J. van der Plaat serving as (naval) captain, arrived in the roadsteads. In the
afternoon a rorehe-proa was sent to the Governor of Ambon with news of the disaster that
had occurred on Ternate. Shocks were felt at intervals the whole day and night.
Wednesday, February 19. Intermittent shocks were felt during the day, and a lot of
smoke came out of the mountain. At four o’clock in the afternon a huge column of smoke
rose with much force. Between half past six and seven o’clock, a strong blaze came from the
crater and continued for almost half an hour. The next night three shocks were felt, but
they were not very severe.
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