The upheaval caused a tidal wave one hundred and twenty feet high which, with the lava clots and ash ejected, destroyed all of the towns and plantations bordering on both sides of the straits. In this disaster more than forty thousand persons perished and every vestige of animal and vegetable life in the surrounding region disappeared. The only person left to look out upon the scene of destruction was the keeper of the light-house, a structure one hundred and thirty feet high, whose light the gigantic waves merely succeeded in extinguishing. A cubic mile of material is said to have been thrown out in the form of lapilli and dust by the successive explosions. The dust, estimated to have reached the height of several miles, was disseminated by the upper currents of air and caused the brilliant sunsets seen for months in nearly every part of the civilized world. Celebes is the most curiously shaped island in the world. It has a central body from which project four large arms, making it look like a huge starfish. These radiating peninsulas are mountain ranges, here and there peaked with volcano cinder cones. There are no low-lying marshes; the position and high surface render this one of the healthiest islands in the Malay Archipelago. The Dutch have had settlements here for more than two centuries; and their wise and just treatment of the natives has made the island famous for peace and prosperity. Except a few tribes of the interior, all the islanders are at least partly civilized. The natives who live in the coast regions are intelligent and industrious. Paganism and corrupted Muhammadanism are the prevailing religions, but Christianity has secured a firm hold in a few places. A written language and literature have prevailed for centuries. All able-bodied men are compelled to work and each year to give a few days' labor to keep the excellent roads in good repair; but they reap the reward of their industry and are happy and contented. The best coffee land in the East Indies is to be found on this island. The most favorable soil for coffee is the rich, black volcanic ash that covers the mountain slopes in many parts of north Celebes. The Menado coffee is said to be the finest the world produces. The coffee-trees are allowed to grow to the height of six feet, when the tops are cut off, so as to strengthen the growth of the lateral branches which bear the fruit.