The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1858-07-08
TIE Eruption OF Mount yesuvius.


volcanic eruption, taken from the London
Times, will, no doubt, be interesting to our
readers
Wishing 70 have another and more per-
feet view OF the burning mountains, on
Saturday last, AZ about two hours of day,
started from Naples, and after escaping
. from ali the varied seeature of guides, torch
bearers, drivers, and host of other infpro-
visel artists, found myself after about three
quarters of an hours walk, in front of the
fire. Early as it Was, there were MANY there
before me gazing on the wOndrOus scene.
y vast bed of burning metallic looking coke
was sweeping down over smiling vineyards,
carrying everything before il. The mass
was, I should say, 500 feet in width-the
Journal SAYS half a mile-and how long
the eye could not calculate; for, looking up
ward, ii was lost behind the nights. AS
, 20 the rate at which il was travelling moth
ing could be more deceptive. Had it been
a narrow channel it would have ben COM
paratively easy to make some decision, but
is very grandetr hafied nIe. Rows
row OF the vines, however, fell before it
great trees shiYered and shook and tossed
about as il heavy wind were bloNirp,
though il was dead calm, end soon Yield
ed "a the destroyer-and, marching contir-
daily over the black fragments of ScOriic
on tfle surface, on il came without ceasing
Since midday il had advanced full 100
PAGES. There had been 2 house on a point
not far distant, tenanted few hours before.
! the fragments of which / saw in the fields
of the lava. The poor creatures had taken
refuge in cave formed between the upper
and lower straits of an old lava eruption.
Behind the shoulder of hillock stood
handsome villa which had been saved by its
positions the grounds belonging to it were
all, however, buried under the black mass
es, and the tenants were standing on the
terrace looking down upon the ruin and
calculating the probabilities of the stream
touching them. Though the whole of this
enormous bed was in movement, STILL run
ming over il, or sometimes under it, were
two channels of liquid red hot lava, which
hail never stopped since they issued from
their sources. The blackeuea bed had be-
come so by an interval OF suspension, and
was moved on by the immense weight be-
hind. On looking up and around me my
wonder was whence could have come this
enormous quantity of matter. Cotld it
had been turning about to and fro under the
surface Of the land for the last six months,
upheaying and running great cities, DESTROY
ing cultivated lands, and carrying death to
many thousands. The speculation was not
an idle one, for in less than an hour later,
said Prof PaImieri TO me, a. think the pc
riod Of earthquakes has now terminated for
the present. | connect this eruption with
them
Through number Of fine yong vine
yards, where the clustered fruits held ont
the promise Of an attendant vintage One
after another they were shrivcling up and
flaming like small torches, while the coun-
try people were saving what they could.
pass on TO the next point OF importance; il
is half way up the mountain. | wind and
wind up, and make series Of short CT 5,
steep enough 10 take all the breath out of
man body, and stand all at once on a crag
which commands view Of one of the most
magnificent spectacles ever Witnessed
The whole stream is visible from the source
to the place which I have Just left; it is
courSing down, or rather they are are cours-
ing down, for there is more than one stream
as rapid as cascade; in fact they are cas-
cades of as pure liquid fire as can be well
conceived sometimes they are hidden I'M
der the blackened ScoriP, and then they
emerge again, and run on as il impatient Of
destruction. 1t was one OF those speCtacles
so astounding 70 lock upon that a man seeks
in some way to relieve his feelings. He
bursts if he is silent he must shout, scream
anything TO let off his pent-up excitement
! and suppose that did so myself 1t is
now dusk; the Italian night is descending
rapidly upon us, the sun has just gone down,
! and the stars are out in a minute, and we
have yet to climb TO the top; SO one pull
more.
There is lazy blaze Frenchman with
his Csst tOlgOHrs is meme 4; And why
should we 90 further ?''-but we pull him
along morally and physically, and at last
I arrive at the Hermitage. Behind il is an
I other grand spectacle, perhaps grander even
\ than what we have Just described. There
/ is less apparent activity, but the gorge is
/ wider, and the slow hut certain manner in
which the mass moves on gives us a strik-
. ing idea of power Ii is 100 feet in width
I to calculate its bulk by millions of tuus
would be only trihing with a giaut--we
might better calculate by the million the
enormous quantities which are issuing ev-
cry minute from the many sources. In all
there are IL and upward, says Prot. Pal
mieri aud this fact constitutes one of the
striking features of this eruption, as does
also the fact that they do not run in one
line but are opened in various parts. An
other new feature is the long-continued
fluidity of the lava, all showing the over
gorged state of the mountain and the i'm
mense power at work Ii was the opinion
of the Professor, however, that the erup-
ton was on the decline, as no internal
rumblings were now heard. The lava had
found its outlets, and was now pouring
down with the rapidity and tranquility OF
an unohstructed stream. There have been
eight earthquakes since the eruption began,
local only, perhaps; and the last, as marked
in the seisnograPh of Palmer, he'd taken
place that evening, at u o'clock. Nothing
had been removed from the Observatory,
nor in fact was there any immediate danger,
as there was a vast depth behind which was
not filed up as yet. An inconvenience
might have arisen from union OF the two
: streams, which were flowing down, aud
men were always out on the watch to
report.
E On descending we met thousands of peo-
pie EN- route from Naples The path fCl