The New York herald., 1875-08-27
SKAPTAR JOKULL.
Letter from DR.. |. |. Hayes, Explaining the Con-
sequences Of the Recent ErnptiOnS
One-Third Of Iceland Rem
dered Uninhabitable.
AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CHARITABLE.

To THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD
In your editorial Iceland yesterday, observe that
you call public attention 10 the necessity for some
ssance being given to the sufferers by the late volcanic
eruptions in that country If the perls OF starvation
would be avoided during the coming winter. The sug
| gestion TO most timely and, your infor
nation be in advance of other journals take
1t for granted that you have gone pains the
matter and therefore conclude that you might not
gard something additional not being without in
terest.
The London papers have for time had items OF
information concerning the volcanic eruptons in leo
land during the present year. but until your publica
ton Of yesterday nothing TO have been definitely
known here with respect to this remarkable occur
The region covered has not been greatly dis
turbed since l7S3 II embraces almost the whole
OF the eastern and southern parts OF tho
island beginning in this latter direction IN the neigh
borhood Of Hecla, and extending nearly to the point
where Iceland touches the Arctic circle This includes
the great Of the vatna Jokun which has a true
glacier system, terminating the north in the famous
odaharhann. lava desert that utterly barren and
wateress. Jokul, In the Icelandic, simply means q
mountain covered perpeualy with ice and snow, while
fall is one from which the ice and snow mostly dis
appear in skaptar Jokul is the southwestern
portion OF the Vana Joku and 1t the eruption OF
this which caused so much mischief In the last century
though scarcely equaing the damage done during this
summer. Tho first symptoms were manifested in 1888
according 10 the Danish authorities, by trembling
and shaking of the EARTH This SO great that the
inhabitants quit their houses. Then from tho noun
tans three great fire spouts broke out These could
be distinctly thirty miles, and united at the
top by great cloud. Great quantities of brimstone
pumice stones and ashes thrown up with great
and noico nd tha vrind hahn iob
driven the country, overwhelming everything
and destroying both life and property. substance
| like pitch also fell in immense showers. Then there
| was great fall Of rain then of hail and snow The
ground, already covered by the hot ashes which had
destroyed the farms and pasture grounds melted the
snow at once and produced great floods and than
all filed the air with steam One OF the results was to
swell the Skaptar River from this melted snow But
very quickly this whole changed Lava broke
out from the mountain in prodgious streams and in
few hours the river dried up and in its place there
was flood OF fire, which spread in every direction
overwhelming the country through vast area This
fiery stream continued to flow from June II to August
ID Twenty villages overwhelmed, thiry-four
others partially destroyed and thousands people
lost their lives. Eleven rivers dried up and the
filling up of lakes caused an overflow which almost
as destructive the lava flood ITSELF
This eruption OF Skaptar, which did much damage
local compared TO the present one, which embraces
more than third of the whole island and has been
raging with greater less violence since last Christmas
Day when the first shocks felt AT Reykjavik the
capital there is published paper called the Tj6dof
which gives minutes descriptions OF several of the erup
tons for they indeed numerous extending through
probably at least 200 miles. From an account therein
published that extensive pasture lands are over
flowed still greater tracts covered with ashes three
large necessarily roaring and laundering
To quote from the exceedingly graphic account
And sight inspiring beyond expression II was to
behold them not only were the rumbings terrific and
the reports OF the frequent explosions tremendous
the quaking OF the earth frightfu IT, any
| moment every thing must crumble down. The larger
craers shot bouders of various Sizes greatest
of which were forty in falling down to the
earth from the highest point they reached in the
while the lesser stones lost sight of in the clouds
whence, after a while, they came falling down like a
| shower of hail far away from the crater.
This Is in the northern and eastern part OF tho
island the neghborhood of Myvatn but further to
the south among the mountain groups of Dyngjunol
other eruptons, and in chronclng them from time
time Information could be obtained through the
slow method Of pony travel which is the only
of communication between one place and another, the
picture Of suffering and destruction is perfectly appa
ling Speaking of lava stream, tho paper says:-.Tt
was grand as horrible to behold the rush and to
listen the roaring of 1t as 1t raversed the spot where
once there fair and friendly landscape"
| The greatest suffering to have been from
the fall of ashes which driven by the wind even as
as Norway and while the destruction of human life
does not seem to have been great might have
been expected tho complete obteraton OF the pasture
lands many places appears to have been productive
the greatest misery and want owing the starvation
of the cows sheep and ponies Professor Eirikr Mag
n1sson who accompanied to Iceland last year. and
who of the most learned Of Icelandc scholars in
/ nj
ferers have prevailed upon cleanse the manured
homeneds from the ashes, even where the reward of
the toll would be only the saving Of alive for
the winter rather than to bodily away and fall
helpless wandering prey the already heavily taxed
neighbors But westerly storms have, In
often three times, rendered the toll fruitless by
covering with pumice and ashes what clearings had al
ready been made. in the fields And altogether this
labor is much too far in Of the extent Of the
fields and the advance Of the TO be Of much avail
for the ensuing winter. The unmanured 6t-en1i
bog lands which ordinarily yield the hay harvest
for dry CATTLE horses and sheep quito useless this
year. During May and June namely, these lands
are generally flooded by the rivers which fed
by the waters from the thawing SHOWS the noun
tains The fall OF the ashes having covered the
just before 1t began TO thaw, the waters pouring down
from the melting SHOWS carried with them into
these very grasslands Of the pumice
and the ashes and deposited them the lands in
thick layer that all hope any hay harvest from them
this year quite out Of the question: and Is feared
that for years the result will be similar. But
more than this The excellent pastures In these parts
are principally supplied by the many mountain hollows,
small valleys denes and des and other sheltered spots
which abound in these mountainous districts, and these
the very spots into which the winds have blown the
ashes in deep heaps, where they must remain no one
can tell how long, choking the verdure consequently
destroying the pasture for years"
This is, perhaps, saddest misfortune" writes
sufferer in F6todul 'because for years our pas
lures will only present deep ash heaps, without
blade OF grass for sheep nibbe at But what we
fear the terrible scorbutic diseases which, as
experience has formerly shown, invariably tho re-
suit of deficient supply Of fresh cows milk during the
winter when the susenance Of human iifo as is tho