New-York tribune., 1842-03-22
Rafnrc i % tnr,ner. ..re ]. a..e point o: grea.


Before % tar;ler mere i os.s poia;. OF gr2a.
interest which vii aotlc- :srtna L OF al 'o!e5t-
noes that OF which We haze the no-t nlcIeot rec,
ccr1Is.alsl 10 knowledge OF which history aId
:rlsIior carr u the fartlsst back nor, "a
tradition mentioned bv DIeDoarS SEcrLrS. stat
an eruption happened before the Trojan war
winch compelled tn. Si:a.l; 10 desert taelr dis
-rr1ct THucTDIDgs tells u tina: n the sINt;i ye'r
bsor. The Peloponnes;aa war. or Il 132=b.C.. IN
eruption occurred which was the third taat sii!t
.a.au place there since the colonization ofz>!city
bv III. GreekS.(a) The second oil these three eT'-
tons was the one nl-ntoned II tha; osautlt1! ode
o: PIyoAR which Is worth referring 20 because
lis inc description o. poet hich corresponds
precisely with the appearance Of the Volcano
;.y,rt,; centuries aiterward when Carania was de-
srro.e5; IN 1863 Part OF The city had been over
:iowed during the eruption, alluded 70 by PlSDAR
a having occurred il. the year t15 3. c. In that
passage PIsDAR=s peaks OF ;.ttt snory -tta0. ths
lillar Of Hearer-tfe 1.urse u srerlastiss frost
il, ssoss deep corsras lie concealed the fountains
al taaa9ro1cAajls tire-a strenut Of s99yias
s1a0ke BY day. 5risA; and r,addy fanc 6y
~, ybt: and turning ROCKS rolled dorR 'rtth lord
a5roarinto The ssa."(6)
We haze still the stream OF eddying smoke By
tlav produced by eruption. II had the same
appearance when .aw ii in 1928, and also when
Mr.. Scrope saw the stream nine months after II
began TO flow in 1919. He says that il then
movinC on al the rae oil one "ard in an hour:
during the day ii constantly emitted dense Va
por: for aqueous vapor enters infinitely in-o this
lava though no chemist has yet fully explained il.
~ often a. the stream cracks. it cnits several
gas.S, buc chiefly steam which boiling up brings
nc law. 10 the surface. and causes it 10 overflow
the crater lust steam! ina kettle carries UP the
water and causes - spill oyay. So this steam
and all the gases become entansled viii! the red
hot lava. cal-iag il to di,charge large quantities
Of aqueog. vapor during the whole process otcon-
g!omeration BIZ night we SIX the same cracks
emitting a glowing heat. and IN. whole stream
makes out the bright and rUddv flame.
It's = singular circumstances IN regard 70 the
taory flowing lava. that instead OF being level,
a you would naturally expect OF 4 liquid. there
arc Hill. cIs Of considerable hight along tS sur
iace.=in consequence of the uneven ground over
which It flows. Another popularity OF these
streams i the fact o: their becoming hard and
sold while in motion. Instead Of thinning out,
ls would be Natural. at the edges. the upper sur
face becomes cool and tho sides likewise and
both grow hard 50 that the edges are often
rocky walls. inclined angles at from 30 TO 10
degrees Is t.l!sl flood of red hot lava flowing
along a solid ti5c. Thus, when they come to a
rise OF ground. the streams rise as waterloo in a
/ pipe-as ha, been the in the Val de! Bove
When the stream comes hill. it goes up the
slant in tube oil It's making, and thus too it
goes no the sides OF solid walls In 1863, when
Catania was threatened with destruction bv the
approaching stream a respectable citizen OF the
town, desiring to secure the city, took troop Of
some fifty men, who, clothed with skins 10 protect
-.