Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1862-02-07
THE ERUPTION OF VEsUVIUs.
DESTRUCTION OF roRRE DEL GRECO.

ed with snoT vomiting sshes still like tee
horse power factory chimney, witt runc'
city lying at its feet, such is the spectacle whc
Vcsuvius at this Inoment presents. Unable t,
restrain my curiosity to know what was passiu,
behind the clouds of ashes which interveueC
between US and the mountain, | went down
again on Tuesday last, aud directed myself Il
the committee who bad been sittIug 10 pcrfor
nance since the Sth inst. The municipal bull
ding, fine old historical edifce OF toe time O.
the Arragons, had been destroyed, so that the
committee was sitting in suppressed monas
try on the outskirts of the town, and not on
the bed of old lava. The cIoisteTs aud the
stairs we're filled With squalid misery which
bad come there for relief, aud the Syndic and
bis coadjutors, to whose courtesy am much
indebted, gave NE the following information:
out of population of $4,000, $4,000 are fu-
gitiVes. Between so and 60 houses have al
ready fallen, 800 are falling, tie rest are more
or loss injured Out of IL churches, fou. on
ly are uniDjured; but there is another fearful
source Of danger the sulphureous exbalatious
which are emitted 10 every direction, aud which
render houses in other respects comparatively
safe5 are unhabitable. BY these exhalations,
five or six persons, and all the animals, such
as cats, dogs, mice aud birds, and the fishes
IL the sea, have already been killed. Ia fact,
two-thirds of tho city have been destroyed. -
Tie committee begged me TO appeal to the
British public 10 their behalf at least to Ital-
ians resident in England, and then sent two of
their members to accompany me again over the
city. / must conine myself to such new fear
lures as j have not yet described, and thev are
of great interest. Ny companions took me
through long lane, on either SIDE of which
the houses were Oh the eve of falling, down to
az orange garden belonging to one of them,
at the furthest extremity of which gaped a
crater 20 feet vide and as many deep Plauks
were thrown across; and getting upon them
looked in and saw the walls of q church which
had been destroyed in 1898, graves which had
gwen up their dead--for the skeletons had heep
removed as soon as diseovered-aud the fres-
coed walls of the inner chamber of some house.
The smell Of sulphur was here strong, and vet
stronger, almost insuferable, in the streets
through which [ afterwards passed Dead ami
mAs lay hcri and there, and amidst these signs Of
mortality and sign-posts Of danger, which me
the eye at every turn, while the soil was still
heaViug beneath our feet, while Vesuvius was
throwing out more violently than ever, and
at midnight, only the poor who had returned
had fed from their houses, alarmed BY another
shock, met some persons coming in With their
household goods on their back. A few sters
brought me to the sea, which was boiling furi-
ously for some distance like caaldrop. not
the effect, as thought at first, Of springs Of
fresh water gushing up, hut of volcanic action,
and the smell Of the gases escaping was so in
tonea hat fonp1 II oao.,ss.~,
cover my face with a handkerchief. Here /
met my friends Capoci, Guisoardi, and PAIu.i-.
eri, who had come over as a scientific commaF-
sion TO make Investigations. They bottled up
the gases on the spot, which they reported TO
be carbonic acid aud carburTetted hydrogen
How long the eruption might continue Palmi.
eTi had no means of calculating; 1t was going
on rs violently as ever, and his sismograph was
always registering. From Sunday until Mon
day morning at A. NJ, there had been eight
shocks, and from that time to when ho spoke
to mo they had been continual. The soil had
risen FIVE palms, and the subsideDco might be
attended with great danger. Until this has
taken place, be said to my muolcipal conduct
ors, 'you must not think of rebuilding, aDd
you must carefully note the fssures iu the
houses and the streets, to observe whether they
| have said that the number Of
fugitiyes was $1,000 only, several thousand
having returned to their houses on the confines
of the bed of lava on which the greater part
of Tore is built. Oae old woman saw who
had taken up Der dwelling IN house which
was rent from top to bottom, and almost lean
ing against the poles which were put as props
to the arches on which il rested | stopped
and spoke to thriving shopkeeper, who was
looking out eagerly for customers. "What
can [ doz" he said. &c have 10000 ducats
invested here, aud must look after them."-
OF the baroineers | heard only golden opin-
praise was in every mans mouth;
and ! must express my opinion thot even in
England greater order could rot have been
preserved, fewer acts of violence committed,
or that the Government and local authorities
could have avshed more care and attention
than have been displayed in Tore del Greco
en- this sad occasion. General La Marmora
has been down several times to inspect, and the
National Bank, according to last nights Ga
eette, has contributed 5 900 lire aud opened a
subscription for the relief of tho poor.