Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1857-01-23
A Submarine Volcano.

There were FIVE or six vessels in compa-
nv at the time when the volcano burst
and threw an immense body of water to
a tremendous hight; after which 1t
emitted lava and pumice stone on to the
decks of the vessels. This singular
oceanic phenomenon is corroborated by
the masters of the whaling ships William
Thompson, Scotland and Enterprise.
BARK ALICE FRASER, at Sea,
October 80, 1856.
EDITOR OF THE SAN FRANCISCO
HERALD: About the 25th of July,
while passing in company with some
others through the Straits Of Onnimah l
observed many of the mountain peaks
upon the adjacent islands undergoing
strong volcanic action ejecting vast clouds
of dense black smoke, reminding me of
so many mammoth coalpits undergoing
thrust of the poker from Vulcan, or
some other combustible gentleman, in
stigated no doubt by Neptune who was
contriving to have a little after-dinner
fun with small feet of US poor spouters.
To enter upon the very climax of the
thing at once,-A few other whalers, in
company with myself, had just rounded
the west point Of the island close to the
base of the volcano upon the end of it,
/, having been enjoying the close view of
its tremendous eruption, and listening to
the long rumbling roar as we underwent
several successive shocks of partial
earthquake, when the wind suddenly
died away from strong breeze to a
calm, and left US entirely at the mercy
of the eruptions close in with the land
After several hours of various grades OF
action everything seemed to grow for
the worst. The throes of the elements
and groans of the sphere became rapidly
more and more ominous. 1t became per-
fectly calm; so calm that the dense,
black, unearthly smoke from the crater
rushed headlong into the heavens, with
out deviating to any point, an indication
from there was faint hope of coming
breeze for us; then gradually dissipated
into cold gray clouds from which fell
showers of ashes, looking in the distance
: like rain, though falling rather like snow
d fakes. At this stages of things, after
about twelve hours calm, there sprung
up light breeze from the south, seem
ingly about TO rid US of our dangerous
{ companion, and you may make no doub
L but we endeavOred to profit by it-ever
. TO the smallest sail we could set.
e But then came the worst of all. The
. winds, acting upon so dense a body o
" smoke, blew it fiat down upon the surface
of the water, making it for more than
hundred miles, as I ascertained from
others, an almost total eclipse-shuttin,
the land under it entirely from sight. :
The ashes rained down upon us like
snow storm, covering everything from
v deck to truck under one gray mantle Q
Is cinders, almost binding the people mos
a exposed, and growing dense and NOR
a dense, nearly to sufocation, until W
y began to conjure up another scene c
W Pompeii and Herculaneum, and thin
N we should come off rather worse tha
:" Pliny's little feet in the Bay of Maple:
N As the breeze increased we worked GU
" way to the westward leaving the scath
lie ing, sufocating mist rolling away to tn
it north upon the eastern board. One
10 clear we had a long job to clear of til
" ashes-washing and scrubbing in abun
D. dance. have visited several volcanoe
re in their active stages, but that was under
De going little more Of the coalpit bushes
E. than agreed with the nicely of my fast
If in these matters as Gin confidence b.
OF tween you and me,) 1 should certainl
of decline passing that way again unde
K like circumstances.
se But the grand sublimity of the thin
tn was all to come. As the breeze built u
I'd into dashing wind along came fou
b. other ships. When, just as they got fail
to ly in with the north base Of this mour
It. tain, gazing upon the grand ebullitio
a above them there followed a long To-
er rumbling directly beneath them, an
I there sprang into existence simultaneor
b. with the sound, vast, terrific volcan
1t, among the very feet. First, the water
e. boiled and rose unanimously into chaot
y waves then sprang, as by an effort
re some vast fountain into splendid colum
d. of rolling waters to great height. TIL
O. gradually dissipated. Then from cart
at to heaven, with laundering sour
o. which rocked the very weIkin, thel
ly sprang burst of smoke and fame as
es earth's whole eternal fires were seekin