The Bossier banner., 1877-10-11
CotOpaxi's Latest Eruptiou-..Qne Thou
81 sand Lives lost

Sahu AAVOc A<y9SA
d The eruption took place on Che goth
of June, 4sEegy circumstance that
could increase its horror-rftter dark-A
ness, in the broad day, thunder and I
Lightning q fearful xplosi0ns that made
the earth tremble, slbtefr noises
and wild dsgusts of,wind, accof panied by
a rain of ashes An eyewitness told me-
that the svoacano poured out 4 cataract
ten times the bulk d' Niagara, which
carried all before it in it's headlong
course, d>-submsfged the Who'll sur c
rounding country. The torrent divided 5
itself in two opposite directions, as if to
give greater scope to its devastations
and to make the confusion still more =
dire One bfanehs took q southerly v
course toward the City Of Latacunga,
situated twelve mnes from CotopaxL 4 |
On its way the torrentTeenyerted the
plain of Callao into an immense lake.
There is but faint hope that the ruins OF
the palace Jof the Incas, described by
Humboldt anIiallot othertra yele through
the central valley of the Equatorial An
des, have escaped. the ravages of the Z
flood. Near Latacunga the furious,cur-
rent tore up from its very foundations
the cotton factouy'of Don Jose Villago-
mez, whose value. was estimated at,
$500, ,000;' crops, cattle, buildings were
swept away; the massive bridges of Gu ?
tuche and Pansalyo were destroyed, as.
well as part of the fine carriage-road
Scarcely equaled in Europe) which con- ,
meets Quito; with the towns in the, south.
of the Republic.
The branch that headed toward the
south of Cotopaxi depassated-the pros
perousgapa enchanting valley Of Chllier
and in paHicukT the, estates OF the
Senores Aguirfe, noted for having BEEN
the residence of Humboldt.y There, too,
as in L$tacunga, arose the buildings of
a thriving factory, which only the year
before had been destroyed by fires, and
| had just been repaired at great expense.
The torTentir rooted It from the ground,
and bore it, away, in "a thousand frag-
ments. It is asserted that mill of Don
Manuel Palacofs fioated OH the water
ikea ship at sea until shattered by the,
current, The loss in the valley Of Chilio
alone is estimated at over two millions
Of dollars, and the loss in other sections
is equally great. 1t is likewise calcu-,
lated that the number of the dead ex!
/ ceeds one thousand.Gr9dilab aLt Il 4
/ "A third cataract took an easterly di-
rection, destroying the bridge of Palate,
! and doing grievous injury to the estates
| in that neighborhood, of which. the
most important Is celebrated for it's fine
wine, well known.a :. Vino de Ratatea' Il
/ Although the surroundings T y .9f Quito
have been laid waste, the city itself suf
fered from only al,raina of ashes and a
complete DARKNESS. which began on the
Goth of June, at 3 in the afternoon AT
Machache, and aother places the night
4 lasted for thirty consecutive hours. In
the midst of this opaque gloom one
| could hear the believing of the cattle
and the cries of other animals,
who, deprived of their usual food by
the shower of ashes, sisought in
4 species of frenzy, forlthe, means of sat
isfying their hunger Other beasts,
frantic with terror, careeaed ihdther and
!! thither as if in despair, and the niteoulY
I howling of the dogs pierced the air with
its ominous sound In Quito the dark
ness was not. as that .of night it was
/ like that described BY the younger. Pliny
in a letter to Tacitus. In which here
lates the, eruption of Vesuyius. and the
destruction Of Pompeii. ",It was,n' he
, says, sas if the lights in aroom had
? Fbeah extinguished. At Quito the shower
, tat first was of coarse, heavy sand, which
: subsequently turned into ashes so fine
and impalpablegthat they penetrated not
only into apartments, but into the most
,, carefully closed receptacles,. In the
! depth of the darkness, men and women,
!, braying the rain and ashes, sailed forth
: into the streets, screening themselves
With umbrellas and lighting their way
with lanterns, and all the while these
e strange apparitions rent the, air with
S their cries and prayers fol, mercy. The
4 umbrellas, as well as the green eye
: glasses used here on journeys, were nc
!: shperhuousl precaution, although they
/ afforded but scant protection againsi
J: the subtle powder, which it was remem
/. bered in many cases produced blindness
i during the eruption Of 1S43, and the
rain of ashes of thirty hours that. at
) tended it.-Quito Letter, TO Ne0 Yorl
III Mutton. .,.d.szr So,