The Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1809-1841, 1833-01-22
TERRIFIC ERUPTION
Ofa Volcano on one o. the Gaii"Pago
Stands, february IA, 1875.

ssfdnds, rtorudry Ia, iS<o.
On Monday. the fourteenth. M two
o'clocx, A. NJ, while the sable mantle
of night was YET spread Wrr the mighty
PScific. sl,rouding The nricil"ri'ig island
from our view. aud while the Stiffness of
death r~ign-d every where around us,
our ears were suddenly assniIrd by n
sound tha, could he rqualIed by ten
th"msand th,indrrs bnrMIng ui,"n the air
ut once while, nt the same instant. the
Whole hr,nis.,here was lighted up with
horrid glare that might haze appalled,
the siouirsi heart ! s.,on ascer,ninrd
,ha, one al I - volcanoes If Mari, .r.m,sh
lsla a, winch had quiei,y slept for the
last ten years had suddenly br.ken fo,th
with accumulated vengeance.
The sul'lIWity, ,he majesty, the terrific
grandeur OF this scenr baffir description
aud set the powers of language al def.
anc~. Had the fires of Milton's hell
burst its vault of ndamant. and threaten
ed ,he heavens with cnnf1agra,ion, his
desert ipiion Of the in~idenl would have
Brrn appropriate to thr present subject.
M words that I ran couanand will give
the reader even faint idea of the awful
spl, ud"r of the great reality.
Had il hren .rhe crack nf doom" TINT
aroused them, my men could not have
been sooner "n deck, where they stood
gazing like "sheeied spectr~s," speech-
less aud b~w ifsi-red with astOni>hinrnt
and dIs,nny. The heavens appeared to.
he in one blaze at FIRE, im,er,ningled w,ih
miIlions "f falling stars and meteors;
while the flames shot upward fr"m the
peak of Marlborough to the h-igh, If ut
leas, two tsMnusand feet in the arr. All
hands s,n'n became SENSIBLE If the cause
/ of the startling phenomenon, and on re-
covering iioni their first panic could cun.
template it's progress with sumo degree
of c"inlOs,irc
! But the mnst splendid AMI interesting
scene of this spectacle wa" yet ." br sx-
hihitrd. A. about half-pasi Emr o'cI,'ck
A. NJ. ,he bo,Iing contents If the tre-
me,,dous caulJron had swoll-n to the
b-im, mnd poured Over the edge of the
crater in u ca,aract of liquid fire. A
river of melted lava was nuw seen r,sl,-
ing down the side of The m"uniain. pmr-
sung ~ serpeutIne course 10 tho sea, a
distance of about three miles from the
lI.x,ng orifico of the volcann. This
dazzling stream drscrndrd in % gully,
"n~-ionrti of n mile in width, presenting
the appearance of u srr,nend ,us t"rrent
Uf melted iron running from, the furnace.
Al'hough the mountain wins steep, and
the gully capac,ows, tie flaming river
| cuul,i not descend with sufficient rayidity
to prevent its Werfin~ing i.s hanks la
c-r,ain places. aud fnrni,ny new rivers.
wl,icl, brancl,-,l nut in almost every d.
rec,i"u. each rushing d'wnward as if fea-
ger t' cM'l its temperament in the DE-. y
cnverns of ihe .neishl"ring ocean. The
,i-,non of fire. seemed rushing to the -m
braces Of Neptune; and dreadful indeed
was the uproar 0ccasinn~d by their meet
ing. The mran M,iie,i, aud roarrd. and
bellowr,l, ms If ~ civil war had broken
oui in tho TarMrean guilt. /
Al three. A NJ. l ascertninrd the
Temperature "fthe water, Ivy Fahrrnhen's
Thermometer, To be 81 ds., while that of
the air was ~ ds. Al eleven, A. NJ,
the mir MAS lI3 ds.. aud the water 100
,is.. the erup,ion still continuing with
undated fury. The 'rnrtar's snchoraye
was ah"ii ten miles to the nnrtliward of
the monntmi,,. aud the hras was so great
that the melted pitch wns running trmn
the vessels seams, aud the tar dropping
from, the rigging.
Our situation was every hour heco,ning
morc critical aud alarming. Not n
breath of air ives stirring to I'LL a sail.
had we attempted to escape So that we
were compelled to refIain idle aud un.
willing specian'rs of n pyrM~chnic ex-
hibiiion which ~vincrd nO indicaiions Of
even n Temporary Suspension. All thar
day the fires continued to rage with nm
a!,asin2 activity, while the mnurtain siill
coniiu,ed =, i,e,ch for'h i,s melted en-
trails in m uuceasing caiarnrt
TIE mercury continued to rise until
fur. r. NJ, when the temperature of the
mir had Increased to l2:3 d., aid TINT of
the water to los ds. Our respirasiun
now brrnme difficult, and several of The
crew complained of extreme faintness.
II was evident that sumesI,ing must bs,
done, aud. .sisns pron,ily. o fnr cap
full uf.w,nsi T. was the prayer of each.
The breath of n light zephyr from the
continent, srarcrly Iercsp'itIe to the
cheek, was mt length announced ns the
welcome signal fur the word, IAN hands,
un'nour I" This was u little lief rr eight,
p. NJ. The anchor WAS s""n apeak. and
cverv inch of canvass cxtendrd aI.'ng the
sp rs. where il hung il. useless drrprry.
All again was suspense M anxid"s
expecin'i"o. Agni" the zephyr bresih-
ed, aud hnpe revived. At length il was
announced from aIoft that the hight can