The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1855-06-28


with the blaze of hundreds of torches
, and with the more resplendent fame Of
the rapidly-descending lava Since the
morning it had moved mile. 1t was like
a vast river of glowing coke.
As it moved on the tens of thousands
of Jumps rolled and tumbled one over the
other, cracking, and gri nding, and graf
ing; and when, from the very face of it,
large lump fell of, the appearance was
that of an iron furnace when the iron is
being drawn. To make the resemblance
more complete, at such times men darted
forwards with long poles, taken from the
neighboriDg vineyards, and pulled out
great masses of lava, in which they en-
bedded money for sale. What struck me
at first, and still! strikes me as the most
majestic feature in the whole scene, is the
slow, silent, irresistible motion of that
fiery flood. Active almighty power with
out an effort! Sweeping every thing be-
fore it, overcoming every obstacle, grow
ing up against intervening walls or houses,
and devouring them bodily, and then
marching on in the same silent, unrelent-
ing, irresistible manner as before.
/ There was a spot beneath my feet where
a fall Of mason work had been built to
break the violence of the winter foods
To this spot all eyes were directed. The
fiery river would fall over it in u hour;
as yet it was distant from it seventy yards
perhaps. Gradually it rose in height and
swelled out its vast proportions, and then
vast masses fell off and rolled forward;
then it swelled again as fresh matter came
pressing down behind, and so it broke,
and on it rolled again and again till it
had arrived at the very edge There was
a general buzz and murmur of yoices--
The royal family stood opposite to me,
intermingled with the crowd, looking on
with intense anxiety.
At last it broke, not hurriedly, still
with certain show of majesty. At first
a few small Jumps fell down; then poured
over as the liquid of metal, like thick
treaclc, clinging sometimes mass to mass,
from It's glutinols character, and last of
all tumblcd over gigantic Jumps of scoria
Then on it moved once more in its silent,
regular course, swelling up and spreading
over the vineyards on either side; and
now there was a rush for the road which
traverses this lava-bed Houses and the
bridge bordered the road the carriages
had all been ordered off and the bridge
was being broken down; we were cut off
completely. The sentinels woald not let
US pass, and struck US and drove US back;
but we forced our way, and then found
too surely that it was impossible to get
on.
The bridge was half demolished, and
by the light of the torches we could see
the soldiers above working away with the
pick and the axe We had therefore to
retrace our steps, and, making a long cir
cult through the open country and over
the walls, came round to the top of the
bridge. Run" said the sentinels, cor
you will be too late" We crossed the
narrow parapet which was still remaining,
aud soon afterwards down went the whole
fabric In this way it is hoped that the
lava will be diverted from the townships
of St. Sebastiano, Massi di Somme, and
Pollcna, which stand on either side, and
have as yet only suffered partially. Ger
colo, through which, however, the stream
is rolling, will be sacrificed.
The expectation is that the lava, should
the eruption continue, will flow down to
the Ponte Maddalo1i and into the sea-
So grand and so destructive an eruption
has not been known for many years, and
even now we cannot tell how or when it
will terminate. The mountain is literal
ly scanned with lava, and many fear a
violent explosion as the final scene Of the
tragedy.