Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1853-01-20
Iropnt Etna.

'uWSun C0'i s1td, Ice. <f, Io0Z.
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Mount Etna.
Bayard Taylor appears to have been exceed
lngy fortunate 10 happening to be near Mount
Elna, to witness the eruption, which he so beau
ufuly describes in the following letter to the N
Y. Tribune:
"When we stopped to change horses at the
town of Aei Reale, first felt the violence Of
the lremor and awful sternness of the sound.
The smoke by this time seemed to be gathering
on the side towards Catania, and hung in a dark
mass about halfway down the side of the noun
tain. Groups of the villagers we're gathered in
the streets which looked upward to Etna, and
discussing the chances Of an eruption. Ah,"
said an old peasant, "the mountain knows how
10 make himself respected. When he talks
everybody listens" The sound is the most aw.
iul that ever met my ears. 1t was hard, pam
fu moan, now and then huttering like suppress
sed sob, and had at the same time an expression
of threatening and of agony. II did not come
from Etna alone. 1t had no fixed location /; it
pervaded all space 1t was in the air. in the
depths Of the sea, in the earth under my feet,
every where, in fact; and as it continued to in
crease in violence, | experienced sensation of
positive distress. The people looked anxious
and alarmed, although they said it was good
thing for all Sicily; that last year they had been
in constant fear from earthquakes and that an
eruption usually left the island quiet for several
years. 1t is true that during the past year, parts
of Sicily and Calabria have been visited by Sc
we're shocks, occasioning much dauage to prop.
erty. A merchant of this city informed me
yesterday that his whole family had slept for two
months in the vaults Of his warehouse, fearing
that their residence might be shaken down iu
the night.
AS we rode along from the Aei Reale to Ia
ormina, all the rafting of the diligence over the
rough road could not drown the awful noise.@-
There was strong smell Of sulphur in the AIR,
and the thick pants of smoke from The low era
ter, continued to increase in vigor. The sun
was fierce and hot, and the edges OF sulphurous
clouds shone with dazzling wheness. A
mounted soldier overlook US, and rode beside the
diligence, talking with the postllion. He had
been up to the mountain, and was taking his
report to the Governor of the district. The heat
of the day and the continued tremor of the air
lnlIed me into sort of doze, awhen was sud-
denly aroused byi.a crv from the soldier, and the
stopping of the diligence. AT the same time
there was q terrific peal of sound, followed by a
jar which must have shaken the whole island.
We looked up to Etna, which was fortunately
in full view before u.s. An immense mass o.
snow.white smoke had burst from the cruter, anC
was rising perpendicularly into the air, its round
ed volumes rapidly whlrling, one over the other
yet urged with such impetus that they only rolled
outward after they had ascended to an immense
height 1t might have been one minute or five
for was 80 entranced with this wonderful
spectacle that lost tie sense of time-but i
seemed instantaneous, so rapid and violent wer'
the effects of the explosion, when there stood il
the air, based on the summit of the mountain,
mass Of smoke, four or five miles high, shapet
precisely like an Italian pine tree.
Words cannot paint the grandeur of thi
mighty tree. Its trunk of coiumned smoke, on
side Of which was svered by the sun, whil
the other in shadow was urid with the fame
rose for more than mile before il sent out it
cloudy boughs. Then parting into Thousand
streams, each of which again threw out it
branching tufts of smoke, rolling and waving il
the air, it stood in intense relief against tn,
dark blue of the sky. Its rounded masses q
faliago were dazzling white on one side, Will
in the shadowy depths of the branches, ther
was constant play of brown, yellow and Grim
son tints, revealing tho central shaft OF fire.
was like that tree, celebrated in the Seandna
Wan ages, as seen by the mother Of Harold Ha
drac that tree whose roots pierced through tn
earth, whose trunk was of the color OF boOt
and whose branches filled the utmost corners {
the heavens,
This oulbulst seemed to have relieved tn
mountain, for the tremors were now less violen
though the terrible noise still droned in The al
and earth, and sea. And now, from the base {
the tree three white streams slowly crep, int
as many chasms, against the walls of wh'c
played the hckerlng glow OF burning lava. Tll
column of smoke md fame was still hurled u[
ward, and the tree, after standing about ten mir
utes, a new and beautiful revelation Of the actly
farces of Nature. gradually rose and spread, lo
its FORM aud slowly moved by light wind, (tf
first that disturbed The dead calm OF the day
bent over TO the eastward. We resumed OF
course. The vast bet of smoke at last archie
over tie Strait here about twontys miles wild
and sunk towards the distant Calabran shor
AS we drove under il, for some miles OF our WI
the sun was totally obscured and the sky pr
scented tue singular spectacle of two hemisphere
OF clear blue, with broad belt of darkne
stretching between them. There was hot su
phurous vapor in the air, and showers of viii
9 ashes Tell from time to time. We were dista
, aoou' h'ieen miles ina straight line, from Il
0'a'er' ou' the air was SO clear, even under Il
- '"aoow OF the smoke, that could distinctly tra
J. lava" '"'o' 'ae f"erso' ourhii