, 1879-06-05
VOLCANIC PHENOMENA.
Inr,,tlo o - vchnvins - sJet1n.- Tho Sknptn ID
kill f:tnn.

IMrli1lo - -FchhvtHH 50 s1et1h-Th0 SNnrth DO
knl--ftnn. |
.sF.r Tort Erfnthg Tnt.
Many fresh tissllres hnsa apicarcd on Mt.
Finn, and tile wllolc adjacent rcginn Is III stata
Ut ,1lhn,ny. Tit latcst rcnorts fronl Entnnn arc
to the nlTcct that the loo1 Ut tnyn In very extcn
slyc IL Is an1l 10 fe Streaming toward tic 1ttycr
Aieantara, aid tn hare devastated Tic Vlngc 0f
Milo. Tint tic general apprehension Is we'll |
founded, IL only too trac. II is possible tl.at TIM
eruption muy ceHsu ut nhy moment; hut nh tho
olrr hand tt nlny Inst fr months even ycars.
rtc duration nud nxtcnt Of yolrun'c phenomena
nre absolutely inca1cilabie. All tint cxpcrlcuco
teuclscs Is that weu volcano l,aa been dur.nant
for 1png ting It's eruption, when II coincs Mt
last, II llke!r to be lerrU nc. But 1t 1nny bG
short ~ wl ns 1crce, lite tho memorable out
hrcak nf frsuyIls lint changed t1u face of tho
Cam,mgna, n',t swallowed up Stnbtr. llcreula..
neun, and ponncli: Or l. Tay By pr9traste!l
rrnylnce of fallalnlil or Atechunran, lint
!aatefl from June. lin. until Fctr.mry. Ito.
humboldt Describes this falnols eruption of
'urnllo ns iuYing hcen continuous bctween tln
dates VIC hnru t,anpJ. But its progress wns Mt
tended hy some rlulf;.oNs or extraordinary
fury. On the uI1ht Of lie 25th-29tt of scttcm-
her. l1h4, Il sccnu was presented br tlsc volcan0
INT been stlrpa$ac1 III inc history of sle rorta.
It vas witnessed from tIie ncghhHriIg
Mos1uin'ns ot AR1taza'co,, nnul llnn'bn'slt
s"' H., s tn nssount from thse isf ~, T0 ,"rs wsrs
sp"1te III, nrer MI area ilnnrly lcnEtlc sqttarc.
Thu wnters .: two rives, thu San ieiro al1 tic
Cull,t.,1a, plunged Into Enpi1a. rcEts that were
r,t. Thousands Of small yoca.,ocs burst furtf,
over wide tract Of ct'tiniry aata voaitcd snls,ke
aud aulphlivous ilah,cs. Six iargu cones nso
alrang III, riyatng the orIgi,!ni eratcr, anu
winds pnckei with colurcd ashes flew nyer lltl-
1rcda of squire miles. Tin uartI rocxc,l, and
,!!e mir wn4 lllie with overwhelming tls.tnslers.
The simple Indians; who, mt nnnaturallyt
thought tic tnd 0f The world WAS NJ hahl, He'd
| in MAD terrnr nnd confusion. 1t wns long
heforo tho survivors yebtnrc.1 back into thu
| rcginll ONO filled with s,HslnE asnl prolific
"hacien.!as," bit nt's n black md ,ticsoln'ul
WASTE. Those wio rcturt,el lacked for tbs
Di1ce familiar rfyrrs that 1la,l uateyct! md ell
rri,eA the surrounding plain; thnv hat1 yantall-
| c1, and wcsc seen to nioru. But w.'t1erh::
natives prufuss to this .lay tn hcar thu rlyIsirl
Etrra,ns cr.cpI!ty, lIko ilyssus III s'lngernE
labyrluths.n far below the susfacc OF tho cn~
Enltfne Garth.
Tho cratcrs ol Vcsuylns Mt B. c. 70 Ind slept
for tilnc in,nlcmortal. The gltldtntors who ncl
frnm the ltot1la!' pr;etor ntd hl In tho tssures
of tn. volcano hid ~ lear ot Naturr, whatever
tlcy might have Of man.. When they burst
from their latr To refeass tl'elr leader, sparta;
! Roman power. tlu outbnrst VI tho law,
| w!,ose track they followed had becomu
u llcro tradition. Even On that. mem.
tenper, wien t6s @ two Tlanys, ilss oldsr Vic
persisted ntnl The younger who recorded, frst
saw the cloud oyrr Fcsnyus, they dceincd
u curiosity, onlr:, Probably. when the
the stay, praY!ng for help, from Rcctlne, tho
wlfc Of Gn,sfus I}assIus, whose llouau WIS ut tho
font Of Vcs,lyiua, ln thnnght her wo1nantsh
iears lttralled Tor. How were peaplc to oollcyo
III catnstr0pllo Ut nnture ttint Ind scarcely
eycn been heard ot But tho Bal tragedy Ut
Stablae followed, when rllny, III nobly striving
tolsave etllcrs, last ll!nscl{.
ss"e tssas as ' a e gss Ssoas" essS ssa e 3
scarcely brjdgcd by authentic history, arc nat
urally tic most nppallli,e. X volrann 1lko
llcsla, on tl.o ofter lMlnl, which, be.
rate taiio tho world by surprise. The
tcrrors ot ftecla. indeed. sln: into tpsignlflcauco
whcn compared with tlosc Of It's awfut ncjgh-
bpr ths skapta doknl. Iceland i'as been very
minntcly md accurately surveyed asnl ,unpred
by thc Danish Government, but the rcgtun
ahout the Skapta Ja!t'lt constitutes MI cxcep-
tlon. 'ihers Y tract Of 400 square miles not
lnl ~ tl'is terrific region Il Is gaia D foot of
man las EVER lntrutIral. Lord Dulrerln went
very ncar thy forbidden tcrrtory, rs LIS Lct-
ters Ftlm High 1.ntltuslcan 81 graphically show.
Tho sparc ohout the great yolrnno ia fur the
most TART, hpwuyrr, ns void OF man nshi hIs
Works rs ihu Poles themselves u IL ali urea
lrapcd to thu clouds With mnsfrs of tce aud ever
|
Of which there is trustworthy r,:curll tpcurrctl
IN 11s'. III A1aT OF TIM; wear there Nus seea
throughout TINT part OF lctlHnli 4 MYSTERIOUS
light, bluelsh fox. Early. In Juuc thcre wcru
slight, aIl.t, US It sccincd, apprelcnsiyu trrsI,-
bllnys Of the carth. On the Sth IT JCno Int
1netsc pillars OF sabtc sH,oisr gathered over thu
lofty country Of tic north. n,n!, bcafng on.i-
nollsly down against the wind, wranEeG the
wlule district Of sl,ln IL pItrhy darkness. On
t!e l0th of Iuno whrlwltni Ut aslIrs swrrt
OYER the entire country, 1nnuntGsan'u lire
npoHts, Ike 80 ,uunr dclhun htAc0iis. now
ot thu mutintains. The lssyer Sknpta, ono af
the largest In jcala,l, having first ponrcd down
TO sf'v pla'1, ~, So!ilne q lrt!tl waters mxeu t,
VIZ, l, a3'd, like the MoSlSaa ,.strs' sld-
ward, a prndtpiol'a 'nsSsa lnva, iss,s!ug, front
sourcns to which no one ln1s ever bcrn ah!o 10
penetrate, catle sliding down thu bed OF tho
drud-lp river. Thu c!Ianlrl, according tu Lord
Du1rcrn,--to whotn W. asc n1citcd fur most oI
tesc deta!lf,-was Of srr:,t dcnth nltl breadth
but t!lc fearful uolH.c briunned Ut to IT'S ba<s,
ovcr'loweli He'll, md drove III nloltolt nnssca
oyer the farc Of the Wiluln country Two Uceana
Of aaya werr 'hc protlNtts vi ths eruption. 'lEc
one that ilnwcd dowu thu skaptn was 10 1ullrs
lung by Is witlu. Tile ottrr, which rnllrtl tlowu
sc vs'ig nS ls ~ si Ss oss Wsfs sf I Il;
Skaptka The lava Is 5la ar GEO frts thick; but ol
the palI, alter It tlncrcea, thu thickness Of tht
rnuss never exceeds 1WI feut. lhu, eruption tou.
tihllrtl until August. "wf.rn the Plutuntcurd'na
concluded with M cnrthql,aEu.h
IIr eSpct8 Df this a1t'azulg phenomenon cx.
tended oyrr wholp yrur aiN! nvtr III tiuile,lse
listafiee. j]brn:, I'LL this tine clulids sur
| rtIarvea with einlels hung uver Iccllntl. TlieY
nvurwt.olsllul 10 great epth tens of tHuus.n.l.
II acres u fert!Ic lls. Ir fhroe I5ta.lt!s, the
: Orhneys, mud the SletlnNtiH wpro covered with
volcanic dust. This substance cyril extended
il, 10 the atmosphere Ut t:Itsl ind and Of Holland
= Il nutntur yario,st, estimated. but doubtless
inc,niln. many Thousands Ut ,,uuAl, hclSs Aslt
0 l5D.OO1tnstls, purlshrd III IcelIl,t Apart fro,I
sctl caatnltus. this eruption must lIayc clrtrt
!. esi SUMS gigantic physical claugcs, enslcesninl
which WI llarc sccn nu sIterlIlallo'ls. " wuud
apprar, lIrst, That ti!u prurclIlng fotcs
y within thu cratur Of tho sknptA Juks
T must AaY1 hcc,l cxcrtcl ut vast tlcptt
below thu external potnt ut egnss
= next, tint eaycrns Of enormous extcnt mlls
!, have been lett by tho inasses which were ex
ualiett; and, finally, ttlut, ~ Tho hulk Of fnya
bnultlurs mid oller eirctAtluw lung tlIsta,r'
i tusu1sl the south, and represented lnHny rubl
i miles 0f solid ntaster whoa ctu ciianEo Mils
l}ayn been wrauEht tn the pusitinn towllstl Ii.
{. previous eu,tro Ut sraYty of considerable t'or
= tim Ut the mass Of The earth. Whutstr TIL
i uyclnunt was vi sufficient rclative Importance
II Ia produces anything more tllan local nll,eure
d nc In1ast leAye 10 scientists to lletcrm[uu. II
f,t..u f,I