Here’s What Happened In Kodiak When
Katmai Erupted Fifty Years Ago
(Eld. note: Fifty years ago this
month (June 6, 1912) Mt. Katmai
on the Alaska Peninsula across
Shelikoff Straits from Kodiak Is
land erupted violently — almost
completely pulverizing its cone—
and deposited ash and pumice in
huge quantity on a frightened vil
lage of Kodiak.
During the past week Katmai
erupted again ... “a spectacular
sight but a mere burp compared
to the gigantic eruption of 1912,”
as Postmaster Bill Lamme put it,
aptly adding, “who could expect
it to be better—fifty years later!”
The Katmai eruption was a great
natural event noted throughout
the world and it is our privilege to
present to you the following eye
witness account of what happened
here in Kodiak on that occasion:)
The Waterway
Saunderstown, R.I.
June 6, 1962
50th anniversary of
the Katmai eruption.
The Honorable
The Mayor and Council
Kodiak, Alaska.
Gentlemen—
A surge of memories moves me
to write to you on this 50th anni
versary of the beginning of the
eruption of Katmai Volcano. For
anyone on Kodiak Island on June
6, 1912, that day and the days and
weeks following will remain unfor
gettable.
At the time I was the junior of
ficer on the Coast Guard Cutter
MANNING, Captain Kirtland W.
Perry, commanding. This day fifty
years ago began with the ship
alongside the wharf at Kodiak tak
ing on coal preparatory to resum
ing the Seal Patrol to the west
ward and into Bering Sea. It was
my turn as officer-of-the-deck and
towards noon I noticed unnaturally
high clouds overhead. Then there
were occasional booms wmcn
seemed to come from the west and
soon volcanic ash began to fall, like
a very gentle snowfall. Thinking
to get a sample for possible scien
tific use before the phenomenon
would be over, I hurriedly got a
bottle and wanting, of course, vol
canic dust without coal dust, I
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cleaned off a few square feet of
the wardroom skylight. This rush
to preserve a samle was presently
ludicrous. The fall of ash notice
ably increased to bring on an un
natural darkness and rising un
easiness in the minds of all.
It will be remembered by old
timers that Erskine & Fletcher
were the general mercantile firm
at Kodiak. Those two families and
probably others came on board
the MANNING the evening of the
6th. By the next day most of the
town came to the ship, although
quite a number of men if I remem
ber rightly, made out on the barge
which, most fortunately, was also
alongside the wharf. In all there
were about 400 people on a vessel
which had a normal complement
of about 70 including both officers
and enlisted men. This retreat to
our ship took place under the most
eerie conditions, the darkness, the
steady fab of ash, the lightning so
unprecedented in Alaska.
In the midst of a great deal to
do there of course was most seri
ous concern as to the location of
the erupting volcano. But it was
all guessing—no one had a real
clue to offer. Some though it was
Pavlov, others one of the peaks up
Cook Inlet. One man if I remember
correctly guessed it was Katmai,
but we did not know for some days
that he was right.
Many feared that a new volcano
had burst forth on Kodiak Island
itself, to which surmise I was in
clined to join. There was a general
expectation that more than ashes
might soon be upon us. My having
seen Vesuvius in 1909 and read
Bulwer-Lytton’s “The Last Days of
Pompeii,” that possibility to me
was vivid. The conspicious sul
phury atmosphere on the 8th was
an augury.
Most of the time on the 7th and
8th it helped some to wear gauze
over the nose. The fine ashes per
meated everything and every
where, was most annoying to the
very young and the very old. Be
sides the quantities on deck which
the crew unsuccessfully tried to
keep clear, every nook and crack
got filled. Months later by which
time the MANNING was doing
duty in California, we ran across
volcanic dust way down in the
holds.
It was on the evening of the 8th,
I think, that Captain Perry held a
“council,” unique in my 39 years’
active duty, reminding one of a
“council of war.” The question he
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put to the officers was: “Should
we make an attempt to get out of
the harbor and make a run for it,
probably for Sitka?’’ As I was the
junior officer the Captain asked
me first. It turned out that all were
against the idea, the main reasons
influencing us were the confined
and tricky channel entrance then
existing requiring careful piloting
even in good daylight, and the cir
cumstance that the fall of ashes
while still bad, had gotton no
worse. While it, of course, was
Captain Perry’s responsibility
whether we would go or stay, he
had the same view as his officers.
One of the lighter memories, of
the Katmai eruption and the refu
gees we had on board, was to see
the orphans from the Woody Is
land Baptist Orphanage lie down to
sleep in rows on the linoleum deck
of the officers’ quarters. Not a
whimper or a bit of fuss, and they
(Continued On Page 10)
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