The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1872-05-18
NUMBER II.
TsgE STORY or vEsgvIUs:
Past Er sutiOnS of the burning Noun
tain OF NsttBleS.

tain OF naples.
After silence of ( even years, Yesuvius is
again ir eruption. ana. according to the tel
egraphc dispatches. with vehemence aud
fury such as the Neopolitans have not witt
messed since the great eruption Of 1894. 10
that terrible cataclysm described by the AUS
trian writer, Preisack. the town of Tore
del Greco W hich is now mentioned threat1
eued, was utterly overwhelmed by stream
of lava which contained upward of $4,000
cubic feet. Thick su phurous smoke, white
as snow. and resembling closely that of dis2
charged Sunpowder, at that time enveloped
the side of the burning mountain. and some7
times rose up In solid rnasses TO altitude
OF IA GOO feet, presenting at night time,
when Lighted up by the lu:id columns Of Ere
from the crater, spectacle of overpoweTiug
magu.ticeuce Sir William Hamilton. who
was the English Ambassador at the Necpoli>
tan Curt, described the scene in private let
ters as one of uucarthly splendor, creating
such an eff ct upon the minds of the ignorant
peasautry as to render them utterly incapable
I OF any effirts to save their property from
the villages along the sides If Nesuvuis.
Some men were seizsd with epileptic fits at
spectacle, and rolled on the ground foamiug
at the mouth, aud cal ing the Madonna
aud tie holy angels to save them. The
beautiful Bay Of Naples was the great rem
dczvSus for visitors, and the effects Of color
upon th4 water were described as being sim
gu!arly fantastic
The teleg ph:c dispatches state that hugs
masses Of rock are elected from the crater.
with earthquake shocks which are Gistinct~
" felt within the city OF Naples. Such was
the case in the eruption OF 1873, when a rock
vas pr iscted from the Putna del Palo which
measured II feet 10 height and los leet in
l.. har
January. 1862, these tremolEgs were very
strongly felt both at Tore del Greco, which
had been rebuilt over its former site, and at
Resiua and they were accom- panied with eX-
halations of ali insufferable gas In the streets
Of the former, which drove the people from
theif houses. Some hours afterwaTd the earth
opened very nearly at the base of the mouu-
tain and directly above Torre del Greco
From these openings came first Jets of fierce
Il ,me, accompanied by terrible explosions
that sounded like the discharge OF number
less pieces Of heavy artillery. Then came
streams Of lava, which united and poured
down on Turre del Greco with breadth of
of half mile. The town, which then cons
tanned at the least 20 900 inhabitants, had
been abandoned in Consequence of the hOrri-
ble gas, but the houses were filled with walls
liable property. which the terror stricken ln-
Labtants did not dare to attempt to rescue.
for the lava was coming on with slow, even
pace, but with height of twenty-siX feet,
" hich engufcd in its raging depths every~
thing that il met just outside of the town
was the convent of Nuestra Sonora del Car
men, which the monks refused to leave, de-
claring their faith ia The protecting provi~
dence Of tneII patruuess. Within hundred
feet If the convent walls the horrible river
actually dlverged and broke into two streams.
! la & Z ant B1nf
t left untouched. Each stream diYerged
more and more Is it werJ downward, SO as
to render the safety of Tore Del Greco a
/ certainty, and the inhabitants returned to
| their homes. ascribng their salvation 10 the
I prayers of the stout hearted monks OF tue
/ convent. 4 fiue, black dust was continual
! ~ falling. which accumulated on the root~
] tops and IN the streets to the depth Of foot,
resembling. in a small way, the fatal show-
| ers which overwhelmed Pompeii. The city.
/ it viii be remembered, was destroyed in the
year 79 by these ashes, and Herculaneum
was buried in the lava, as Tore del Greco
was in II84 The ashes that fell then far
! exceeded the bulk Of Nesuvlus Itself, TO say
nothing OF the enormous foods OF lava that
| desolated the western side Of the mountain.
The tremendous throes Of that occasion
seem to have Quilted it for a long time, for
there was 10 eruption subsequently for
period Of nearly thousand years. Columns
of flame, indeed, were visible, and qnanti~
ties of smoke. but there were no scoi Sc. nor
ashes, nor lava until 1865. the year when
! Harold the DauntieSs was slain at Hastings
| and William. Duke Of Normandy, became
| king Of merrie England. OF that eruption
! little is known, nor Of those which occurred
iu 1896 and 1900 In 1851 great fl )odS of
/ lava bust from the crater. overilowiug the
! villages at the base. At the same time tor
rents Of boiling water were sent to an im-
nense height. and then fell down as scalding
! rain. l. is a singular fact that great quan-
titles of FISH were discharged with the water
Of kinds similar 10 those in the Bay Of
| Naples Observers then noticed for the
first time the electric character Of the lights
! displayed at night time around the cone of
the crater. and the foFked lightning that
/ darted from the clouds Of smoke. There is
10 record among Roman writer's Of any
eruption prior to that which destroyed Pom
| pei and Hercuaneum. but it is probable
that such terrible cataclysm as that which
occurred in 10 will never happen again.