The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1877-09-16
IFrom the Nation.

From the Nation.
QUTTo, July 4.-The eruption took place on
the 26th of June, with every circumstance
that could increase it's horror-utter darkness
in the broad day, thunder and lightning. fear
full explosions that made the earth tremble
subterranean noises and wild gusts OF wind,
accompanied by rain of ashes. An eye-wit
ness told me that the volcano oured ont q cat
aract ten times the bulk of Niagara which
carried all before it in its headlong course, and
submerged the whole surrounding country.
The torrent divided itself in two opposite di.
rections if to give greater scope to its devas.
tation and to make the confusion still more
dire. One branch took q southerly course to-.
ward the city of Latscunga, situated twelve
miles from Cotopaxi.
On it's way the torrent converted the plain
of Csllao into an immense lake. There is but
faint hope that the ruins of the palace of the
Incas, described by Humboldt and all other
travellers through the central valley of the
equatorial Andes, have escaped the ravages of
the food. Near Lstacunga the furious torrent
tore up from its very foundations the cotton
factory of Don Jose Vallagomez, whose value
was estimated at $500 Geo; crops, cattle, bald
ings were swept away; the massive bridges of
Cutuche and Pansalvo were destroyed, as we'll
part of the iue carriage road (scarce
equalled even in Europe) which connects
Quito with the towns in the south of the re-
public.
The branch that headed toward the south of
Cotopsxi devastated the prosperous and en-
chanting valley of Chillo, and in particular
the estate of the Senores Aguirre, noted for
having been the residence of Humboldt.
There, too, as in Latacunga, arose the build
ings of q thriving factory, which, only the
year before, had been destroyed by fire, and
just been repaired at great expense. The tor
rent rooted it from the ground, and bore it
away in a thousand fragments. 1t is asserted
that q mill of Don Manuel Palaoos fosted on
the water like q ship at sea until shattered by
the current. The loss in the valley Of Chillo
alone is estimated at two millions of
dollars, and the loss in other seetous is equally
great. 1t is likewise calculated that the
number of the dead exceeds one thousand.
third cataract took an easterly direction
destroying the bridge of Palate, and doing
Rrievous IDjury to the estates in that neigh
borhood, of which the most important is csle-
brated for it's fine wine, we'll known as Vino
de Palate" "
Although the surroundings of Qlto have
been laid waste, the city itself suffered fror1
only rain of ashes and complete dark nees
which began on the 26th of June, ct three in
the night lasted for thirty consecutive hours.
In the midst of this Opaque gloom ope could
hear the believing of the cattle and the cries
of other animals, who, deprived of their usual
food by the shower of ashes sought in a spe-
cies of frenzy ftr the means of satisfying their
hunger. Ocher beasts, frantic with terror,
careered hither and thither as if in despair.
and the Piteous bowling of the dogs pieroed |
the air with its ominous sound. In Qotto the |
darkness was not as that of night it was like |
that described by the younger Pliny in q letter |
TO Tacitue, in which he relates the eruption of |
Vesuvi1s and the destruction of Pompeii. "It |
was" he says, 'as if the lights in room had
been extinguished." At Quito the shower at
first was of coarse, heavy sand, which subse
quently turned into ashes SO fine and impal-
gable that they penetrated not only into
apartments, bat toto the most carefully closed
receptacies. In the depth of the darkness,
men and women, Drawing the rain of ashes |
aallied forth into the streets, screening them
seives with umbrellas and lighting their way
with lanterns, and all the while these strange
apparitions rent tho air with their cries and
prayers for mercy. Tne umbrellas, as well as
the green eyeglasses used here on journeys,
ssere no supeThu"us precaution, although they
Horded but soanV projection against the Sub
tle powder, which it vas remembered had iu
many Cases produced blindness during the
eruptions of 1s43, and the rain of ashes of
thirty houIs that attended it.