Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1872-06-27

THE ERUPTION OF vESUv1US.
Was it q Public l3lessinR1

THE ERUPTION OF vESUvlUS.
Was it Public I3lessing9
A correspondent of the London
Times makes out q strong claim IN sup
port of the theory that the eruption of
Mount Vcsuvius saved the peninsula Of
Italy from a still greater calamity.
Writing from Naples, under date of
May Is, he says:
During the last month the whole of
Italy seems to have been in state of
violent volcanic agitation, and the cleo
trio phenomena gathered and reported
by Professor Densa as having been Oh
served in various parts OF Italy sre
worth nothing. He says: >"On the
Goth of April, when Vesuvius displayed
the greatest activity, q considerably
strong shock of earthquake was felt at
Mondovi. The movement, which first
appeared to be perpendicular, then be-
came undulatory from southwest to
northeast, the whole lasting from four
to six minutes. At the same hour an
earthquake was felt at Pinefo1o, Cuneo
and Barge" .:.. sri. T.. :; -
Professor Domcnico Cont, director
OF the new meteorological station now
being organized in CosenN,, writes, on
the 9th Of April, that the shocks of
earthquake recommenced there with
greater vigor, and became again fire.
quent and perceptible. Moreover; Sig
nor Scotto, Lachianca,. Professor Of
Astronomy in the Royal Technic and
Marine Institute of Messina, announces
that at IL o'clock in the morning of the
oath OF April the Inhabitants Of Can
tanla were surprised by hollow sub
terranean rumbling, which, being re-
peated at frequent intervals towards
Etna,, termined at one, o'clock p.
NJ. At three O'Clock a larger quan:
tity of smoke began to rise from the
mouth of that crater, which, in the
evening, was illuminated from the very
bottom. Dense and black columns Of
smoke continued to rise on the follow
ing day, and through all the night of
the 26th of April, when the dreadful
catastrophe of Vesuvius happened.
For several evenings later, new phen-
omena of auroral lights were observed
in Genoa, Volpeglino and Messins. On
the Goth of April another shower OF
very light sand, but of little conse-
quence, fell at Messina and Syracuse,
as we have learned from Signor Lachi.
anca, and from the director of the OBJ
servatory ut Syracuse.
Lastly, many very splendid luminous
meteors have been observed of late in
Piedmont, among which were two very
brilliant " bolidi, /" on the evening Of
the Oath of April; the first having been
seen at quarter before at Montalieri
and Mondovi; the second at 20 min
utes past 10 at Volpeglino, near Tor
tona. Prof. Serpieri, too, telegraphed
from Urbino on the 5th Of May:
''Great invasion of dry mist: color
slightly blue; Apennines covered"
In addition to this we hear from all
quarters that there have been grave
meteorological oscillations throughout
Italy. At Rome and in the north and
south of Italy the temperature fell
considerably. while in Naples the cold
for, some hours, was as intense as at
any time in the winter. From Bologna
we hear that snow has fallen on the
mountains in abundance, as also at
Bisbino, near Come, and on some of
the mountains around Lecco, while
Monte Generroro was covered with
snow.
At Gattinari and other places in
Piedmont there has been a heavy and
continuous fall of snow. 1t is added
that in Rome, about the 18th and 18th
inst, it was as cold as in the depth of
winter, but it soon yielded to the bril-
liant sun of Italy. Many scientific
men are of opinion that this great in
constancy in the weather may be at
tributed, among other causes, to the
electro magnetic phenomena of the re-
cent eruption of Vesuvius.
As regards Naples, I may observe
that the eruption was followed, as is
usual, by q week of continuous stormy
weather. Thunder and lightning were
frequent and violent, and rain fell in
great abundance, bringing down large
quantities of ashes deposited on the
mountain, thus extending the damage
already done. In the plains, however,
somewhat removed from the mountain.
the RAIN did good by washing off the
dust which had fallen on the young
vegetation.
AS 0-cssSoAoSA0 OA VIC OAupUAOu u&sSa
indeed, been terrible; but every pic
ture has two sides, and we have reason
to be grateful, perhaps, that we have
been saved from E most destructive
earthquake. The reports which I have
given you above show that the whole of
Italy was one vast volcano in labor,
and had it not been for the relief it
found through the crater of Vesuvius,
God only knows how much more tre-
mendous the evil might have been.
on % former occasions, when Naples
has been waving from side to side like
a pendulum, people have thronged anx-
iously to get view of Vesuvins, and
among the number. The first Jet OF
smoke was, as it were, the signal of sal
vation; for though the eruption might
cost some lives, it preserved hundreds,
perhaps thousands, of others.