St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1867-07-12
4 Terrible -idrentu,.e in Iceluud.

Mount llecla. on the island. is Slightly
under nile III height 1t has three
peaks a LITTLE elevated above It's bcdv.
and along lis sides are numerous craters.
the seats OF former eruplions The era
ter OF the principal peak is about one
hundred feet III depth. 1t Is composed
chiefly OF baSall and lava, but ,lu.-sand
and ashes cover 4 great part of lis sur
i,tcc. and oJ>ilian is among its most re-
markahlc products
lhcr have been tortv-thrcc eruption>
o. Mount llrcla recorded within the las,
Thousand years, five Of which have been
simultaneous with Nrsuviu~, four with
those of Etna. and one with those ofbolh.
The last eruption began September ,,
1919, and lasted until April &, 1916.
On the I'D OF November the torrent of
lava. two miles from the crater, was a
mile in width, and from 1 } to 50 feet in
depth.
Carl Ntemman visited lIccla lust pre-
vIou- 10 tins terrific rruprinn and had
one OF the narroWrst escapes from hor-
rible death that ever betcl an adventurous
man.
We give his narrative in almost his
own woIi>:
On the next morning after my arrival
at the small village at the foot Of the vol
cano | engaged a Guide, faithful, honest
fellow, and set ont for Il visit to the noted
crater
From the very first it seemed as if
had passed the confines and was entering
new world. SO entirely different wa,
the scenery.
~ you press upward toward the tocu,
OF all the horror of burning stuff. YOU find
the peril. drrarincss and de>olation in.
crca>e>. until at length. lis awtuneS> be-
comes Sublime and, at length when you
stand on the topmoSt point of this burn
in@ world OF chaos. YOU instinctivclv rais,
Your heart 10 God. with Il shud,lcr o
terror, to restore You to the great living
world that You have lett behind you.
For six mortal hours-three on horse.
back and three on foot had beer
clanbcrlng upward from the lower worl,
and now, among the clouds and mist:
that rolled around me. | stood in Il wOrll
OF lava mountains, ice and snow, the la
Va black as ink, the snow of dazzlin!
whitcncSS-and not in all the region til,
slightest brush, shrub, plant, or livin:
creature except the Guide and myself.
rs far as the eve could discern, wher
the sweeping clouds afforded a view, Wa
a succession of dark hills, gliStening ola
cicrS, snow-capped peaks, and trozel
>trcams-l world devoid OF life, the aw
tul solitude of itscli-iilled with gapin;
cavcrnS, terrific abySscs and Stygial
caves, which echoed only the suIleu re
vcrberationS OF thunder or the groanlng
OF the troubled earth beneath.
50 impressive was this scene that | teI
Il strange chill creeping through me, ant
shouted to break the horrible stillncS
which was more awe-inspiring than tn
thundcrs OF a thousand Niagaras fire
quently found myself imagining that
WAS dreaming, and | was only assured b
pinching my limbs Or conversing with m
guide.
Drawing my blanket around me t
shelter me from the chilling atmosphere
lnd carefully puncturing the ground wit
my sharp-polnted stick before me, t
make sure OF my footsteps, | began
pick my way over piles and heaps of Ia
va, and pitfalls and patches Of ice an
snow, my guide keeping near me, an
often warning me when he imagined III
footsteps were leading me into danger.
Occasionally struck the fragments {
- lava that rolled down behind me, and q
yet discovered no signs OF the crate
, which, eighty years before, had vomite
= forth lis tremendous volume of melte
black sand. At length, however,
;; reached the summit, and looked dow
d into sort OF basin, open at tue low,
a a side, and having several deep seams {
= chasms in the centre, into which IT,
: melted snow or ice on its sides We're ri,
l. ning in small streams.
Il y repulSive odor, in the shape of thj
! smoky vapor, came up, and | fancied
. heard a distant rumbling noise thi
/ sounded far down in the earth.
E | turned to my guide, and was abo
to speak, when | observed he was trem
4 ling and as pale as death.
y, Nv hats the matter 2 | asked. ''yC
> seem to be frightened"
e ''Oh, my God!'' he sasped, "thert
5 going to be another eruption.'
T. 'Eiow do you know that ! Have y
ever been here before -