West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1877-10-06
An Eruption Of Mount Cotopaxi- -
Great Loss OF Life.
Iouito Correspondence New York Nationl

Great Loss OF Life.
Iouito Correspondence New York Natonl
The eruption took place ON the 25th
OF June, with every circumstance that
! could increase its horror-utter dark.
ness in the broad day, thunder and light.
ming, fearful explosions that made the
earth trcmble, subterranean noises and
wild gusts of wind, accompanied by n
rain of ashes. An eve witness told me
that the volcano poured out cataract
ten times the bulk of Niagara, which
carried all before il i'm its headlonp
course, and submerged the whole sur
rounding country. The torrent divided
itself in two opposite directions, as il In
| give greater scope to its devastations and
To make the confusion still more dire.
One branch took II southerly course to-
ward the city of Latacunga, situated
twelve miles from Cotopaxi.
On Its way the torrent converted the
plain of Callao into an immense lake.
There is but faint hope that the ruins of
the palace of the lncas, described bv
Humboldt and all other travellers
through the central valley of the
Equatorial Andes, have escaped the
rayagcs of the flood Near Latacunpa
the furious current tore up from It's
very foundations the cotton factory of
Don Jose Nillagomcz, whose value was
estimated at three hundred thousanc
dollars; crops, cattle and buildings werp
swept away; the massive bridges OF
Cutuche and Pansalvo were DESTROYED.
rs well rs n part of the fine carriage
road (scarcely equaled in Europe) which
connects Quito with the towns i'm the
south the republic.
The branch that headed toward the
south of CotopaXi devastated the pros
porous and enchanting valley of Chillo,
and in particular the estate of the
Senorcs Aguirrc, noted for having been
the residence of Humboldt There, too.
rs in Latacunga, arose the buildings of
thriving factory, which, only the year
before, had been destroyed by fire. and
had just been repaired at great expense.
The torrent rooted il from the ground.
and bore IL away in Il thousand frag-
mcnts. IL is asserted that mill of
Don Manuel Palacois 1oated ON the wa
ter like Il ship at sea until shattered
by the current. The loss i'm the valley
of Chillo alone is estimated ut over two
million dollars, and the loss i'm other sec
tions is equally great. 1t is otherwise
calculated that the number of the dead
exceeds one thousand.
A third cataract took an casterly 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 its fine wine,
well known as Vino dc Palate"
Although the surroundings of Quito
have been laid waste, the city itself suf-
Tered from only a rain of ashes and "a
complete darkness, which began on the
10Th OF june at three o'clock i'm the af-
tcrnOon. At Machachc and other places
the night 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 ami
mails, who, deprived of their usual food
by the shower of ashes, sought in spc-
cies of frenzy for the means of satisfy
ing their hunger. Other beasts, frantic
with terror, careered hither and thithcr
as if in despair, and the pitcOus bowling
of the dogs pierced the air with its omi-
nous sound. In Quito the darkness was
not as that of night; it was like that
described by the younger Pliny i'm let
ter TO Tacitus, in which he relates the
eruption Of Vcsuvius and the destruc-
zion of Pompeii. at was" he SAYS,
as if the lights in n room had been ex-
tinguished." At Quito the shower at
first was of coarse, heavy sand, which
subsequently turned into ashes so fine
and impalpable that they penetrated
not only into apartments, but into the
most carefully closed receptacles. In
the depth of the darkness, men and
women, Drawing the rain and ashes, sal
lied forth into the streets, screening
themselves with umbrellas and lighting
their way with lanterns, and all the
while these strange apparitions rent the
air with their cries and prayers tor
mercy. The umbrellas, as well as the
green eyeglasses used here on journeys,
were no superhuousprecaution, although
they afforded but scant protection
against the subtle powder, which, it was
remembered, had in many cases pro-
duced blindness during the eruption of
1913, and the rain Of ashes OF thirty
hours that attended it,