The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1879-06-06
ErNl IN ERUPTION AoAIM
Some Fncts About the Great Volcano that is
now Terrifying sicily Anew.

Some Fncts About the Great Volcano that IL
now Terrifying sicily Anew.
Comparing Vesuvius with Etna, Spalan.
aani called tho former volcano de Joudob.
Eina has n surface OF several thousand milcs.
and its bases support dense population. At
tho same ratio tho State OF New York would
! afford 'omforl~iSs' room to 20QI4ae 900 inhgAis-
tnnts Tho absolute height Of Etna varies
from tmo to time us its main cone is modified
by every eruption. In 1882 the English mt
uralist Smyth. by means OF trigonomctrical op-
erations. reckoned its elevation at 1929 feet;
| but a short time afterward Herschel calculated
1t at 10.222 feet by barometrcal observation.
QuatrefaRes found that 1t was only 1915 feet
in 1sl7. and lately other measurements have
given a result OF 10.s0O feet. though their cor
rectness seems very doubtful.
| II the climbing OF Yesuvius is n promenade.
that OF Etna is brief. but painful. Starting from
Catania in summer clothes. one must don the
| heaviest winter ulster before reaching tho sum
nit, on penalty OF freezing The Thermometer
which marks at the foot CO. in the sun. falls
many degrees below zero during the night that
must be passed ut tho foot Of the main cone
During the forty-eight hours that are generally
employed In ascending and descending the vol
cano, the tourist has to endure at least twice
variation Of temperature averaging on CO., and
NNNIl OF pItsSuTt VI Otolf MI
| ogrammos. This enormous mass presents all
the climates Of the globe. Tho lower zone which
nttains q height Of about 5000 feet. is bcautined
| by the most luxuriant vegetation. such as the
! tropical and the moderate zones afford 1t is.
| indeed. the richest land Of olive and aloo and
maize and vine" to be found upon tho face OF
| Europe. Laughing little towns. white. pros
porous. and gloeful. and drcary Norman
castlcs abound all over the region. mingled
with stroaks OF black lava. and interrupted by
gardens filled with orange troes ng trees. and
olcandcrs. The middle zone. or Woody
Region" belts the mountain to n height
OF nearly ssvon thousand feet. and though
not 50 richly shaded ms in former times. 1t still
deserves tho name Of svlrosd. which 1t received
from tho ancients. The eruption Of the So
called Bocchereo del Fuoco." in 1906 de-
stroyod over n million oaks Of the most bcauti-
| full growth on tho southern side OF the noun
| tain. Above this tho desert begins the four
| hundred and seventy-sevcn species Of which
| the flora Of the Etnean woods is composed thin
down to about eighty. thirty of which arc
| lichcns belonging to tho glacial zone Tho
upper portion OF the mountain Is. In fact. q vast
wilderness where the fire alone contends for
supremacy with the snow that. almost all tho
year round. clothes the summit and the sides Of
the main cone. Tho latter Is about five hundred
| feet high; were II higher tire would reach its
| summit, 80 am eult Is the ascent
He who has not seen the sun riso from tho top
| OF Etna has a great deal TO learn tbout the inn
mcnsity and beauty OF nature. just ms the sun
rises, an immense shadow of the most exquisite
purple is projected from the volcano half over
| the island, while without It's range tho light
| the mountains below Tho range of the view is
| almost houndless-Catanin, Syracuse. and even
Malta; the Tyrrenian. the Zonian. and the Afr,
can seas are visible. Castro Giovanni
in the centre Of the island while the
the entrance Of the Faro Of Messina. with tho
medieval towns Of Reggie and Piz1o. appear in
| the Tar cast seemingly hut mile distant. Tho
crater presents itselt ns real valley. profound,
| uneven. with hollOws and promontOres formed
! 10y masses OF lava That have rolled in all direc-
tons. eyer encroaching upon one another; The
walls OF the crater are Jet blnck and steel gray
IN color. interspersed with the most beautiful
blush, reddish. greenish. and golden veins. A
grave-likc silence usually preyails. Athousand
smokestacks nOiselessly emit long trails OF
white vapors that 20 slowly to break against
While the ascent Of tho conc tnkes ut least two
hours the hesccnt Is done in Ave minutes. At
the base OF the cone are the go Tower OF the
Philosopher" and. further below the English
House" The Inter was originally built 10y the
! GemcllarO family, who for three generations
have devoted their lives to the study Of Etna
THIS house is the night resting place Of the
the summit. Ii has been several times destroyed
and rebuilt; once by an Englishmnn and hence
the name by which IL H. distinguished though Il
should. in justice. be called inter It's founder The
eruption OF 1863 having again DESTROYED Il. 1t
WIS NENln REBUILT NJ kut expense OF Hum-
bert then Crown Prince. now King OF Italy,
| The Tower ~ the Philosopher IL a small ruined
ediilce 10 which, legends have attributed var-
Gus purposes. The remotcst Of them Afirms
that Il was the dwelling place OF Empedoclos.
but il is proudly tomb dating from the time
~ the Roman empire. The old story is that
Empedocles cast himself into the crater IN
order 10 acquire immortality More prob
suing his researches TOO closely. This much
we beg Matthew Arnoid's permission Co say.
though the fable has furnished him with The
! em on n "a M gl giau1
poems. Near this tower opens an elliptic val
Icy six miles long and nearly two wide. whch
volcano. This dreadful chasm, over 1000 fee,
deep. and called the Val di Boye" VALLEY OF
the OK. suggests the idea ot a terrible conyul-
sion not registered 10y tradition. during which
this side OF the mountain must have sunk into
the depths Of Its bosom.
the most OF them regular in form and all hay
ing reversed conellke funnel at their summit
are scattered over the woody, region ms high
as the - Piano del Lago." the plateau from
which the main cone arises. These minor
cones that. like huge parasites. cover tho noun.
tain sides are all OF very ancient origin with
the exception Of the Mont Rossi. which sprnna
up in 1863 and were the outlets OF the terrible
Eruption which came near 6urying Catania. il
main craiS,r Is not aided BY some q
these auXilaries in its work OF destruc
, tion-hence the fears that arc now entertained
, especially RS regards the villages on tho north,
: ern side. such us handaz2o. Castiglione. and
, ledimonte An enormous portion otthe woods
overwhelming these villages was destroyed by
singular event IN the year 100. In the erup
ton of that year. which threatened the eastern
slopes OF Etna. an immense torrent OF boiling
water issued seemingly from the great crater
and in an instant poured down to its base on Tho
I ! north, overwhelming and destroying every
thing N It's couNe. Some traces Of this iorrcn
are still visible. though the locality has recOv
, cred vegetation and yerdure. II WAS probHbl,
caused by the melting OF some glacier that III,
I ! NOT resist the intense heat emnnatlng from th'
main cone. The eruption Of 1863 covered 81,
I | square leagues with lava, ut some points on,
hundred feet thick. ana destroyed the dwellings
! Of nearly ~ 900 people. The news received II
a far by cable from the present eruption leave
| room for hope that the havoc wrought may no
a be 80 great us the islanders fear.
MAURICE MAURIs.
D Signed by the Governor.