The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-01-02

Dispatches from Naples, dated December ~,
mention that the eruption Of Mount vesuvius
is continually increasing in rower and splendor.
Immense sheets Of viii 9, yellow and crimson
Asmc rise hundreds Of feet above the crater,
: and ut night the Bay Of Naples Is lighted up
for miles. Lava is pouring down the noun
tain side in immense quantities, and large
stones are occasionally thrown out from the
mouth Of the volcano. A deep rumble, like
reverberating thunder, Is heard from time to
time, as In the bowels Of the earth. and many
Of the people in the vicinity have left their
homes, fearing an earthquake or other calami-
ty. No such eruption has probably occurred
In Vesuvius for centuries; and the spectacle is
regarded as one Of the most magnificent and
sublime ever witnessed in nature. The Lon
don Times correspondent says:
q Symptoms Of the present eruption becs me
evident as early as the 14th Of November, the
night OF the meteoric display. ami prognosti-
cations even some time prior to this date OF an
eruption were mads by several scientific men
accustomed tostudy volcanic phenomena. It
In rather o curious coincidence that tue nrs6
distinct evidences OF volcanic &c ION we're per-
tceutlble oa the night OF the meteorio display;
which fact might lead to the euppositon that
between that celestial and this terrestrial phe-
-.uouoenon there was some subtle lncomprehen-
:. ptble affinity. Whetaer this hypothesis IL cor.
rect or not, is q matter for abstruse specula-
hon; tie faot remains thai the present erup-
ton has been . crescendo movement which
commenosd With q low. indistInct rumblng
about the middle Of November, and gradually
the subterranean thunders increased IN sono.
iSous volume to its present pitch Of power,
and now the grain valleys OF Atrio dol Cavallo
GLOW with q rce subterraneln tres. and
the cone Of the. mountains bears its
Bparkling heaps Of red-hot shingle and lumin-
Gus shseta OF sulphurous fres. The fire is
: high IN air, glowing red,y against the sky,
with very little light reflected back from above,
but with q cloud OF smoke that tire r ales with
antsnse heat hanging over the crater. There
Sre showers Of stones which have more resem-
-blanee to what was hurled forth IN the earlier
sxuptions than to the phenomenon OF lew
years ago. Such showers MI it dangerous
% approach the edge of the crater, even on the
eouIn side towards Pom ell, wh.re no lava Is
descepdipg, but they add to the grandeur OF
The scene. and. after oil, q reasonable visitor
del Oavello,- or to scramble g short stance
only upon the hot and shifting scori@ OF the
In past eruptians, the earthquakes have
come before the stones and lava were dis
Gharged-whilst Vesuvius was struggling With
represaed voiumes Of gas; and now that out.
ward action has begun, tho greste6t DANCER OF
volcanic regions is temporarily over; yet, not
: 9Withstanding, the present eruption may DO one
: Of t.yr.fic power and appalling splendor. This
mountain Is often spoken OF by ancient Roman
Writer'S without allusion to its volcanic charac-
ter; and that such had always been its nature
Hsa only inferred from the igneous character
!. .ot its rocks, as observed BY Strabho. Its first
recorded eruption occurred IN the month OF
August, A. D. rs, and it was during this time
that the sitiee OF Pompeii and Rerculaneum
were buried beneath the scori4 and ashes, the
auantitiea OF which elected far exceeded the
buk Of the mountain. In the eruption OF lu66
the 6rst flow Of lava occurred. The total NUM-
bsr Of its great eruptions down to the present
tins has been about sixty. some Of which
have been chiefly remarkable for the vast
movement taking place in short time. Be-
tween 1905 and 1881, no erupti.n occurred ex-
cept slight one in 1500. -,
The eruption Of 1851 was accompanied with
great currents Of lava, which flowed over most
oEthe villages at its base, and at the same time
torrents Of boiling water were sent forth That
. OF l779 was grand and terrible; white sulphu-
rous smoke, like heaps OF cotton, rose up IN
piles four times as high as the mountain, and
spread about it to proportional extent, and
m1sses Of rock we're projected to height OF at
liant 1000 feet. In the terrible eruption OF
June, 1854, in which the town Of Tarre del
Greco was destroyed, single stream OF lava
Has estimated as containing more than 46 OO0,-
600 square feet. In 1922 the whole top Of the
mountain was broken ~, forming an efiptical
chssrn three miles in circumference and 1000
fest deep. In May, 1856, the flood of lava de-
:stroyed the village OF Cercolo. An eruption
occurred in june, 1858, another in august, 1858.
and one OF great violence in December, 1861.
The convulsion in the last continued for seve-
ral days, and even up to January /, 1862, the
trembling OF the earth had not ceased, and ex-
hal&tions Of gas in the streets Of Tore del
Greco, which hal been rendered inhabitable,
were 80 strong as co be aim ost insuferable.
The effect OF tuls eruption has been to materi-
ally alter the shape Of Vesuvius, and before the
daananed and tai new CONES nroduced