Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1879-06-06
1he Daily 2ress asA 9atstaia,
vANkToN DAKOTA
Friday Evening, June 6, 1879.
THE ERUPTION OF MOUNT e1sA

Inter ocean.
There have besn seventy. eight eruptions
Of the volcano Etna since the days Of
P~ythagoras. The first recorded eruption
occurred Ia the seventh century b. c., and
eleven notable eruptions occurred between
that date and the beginning Of the Chris.
tian era. The most DISASTROUS of the later
eruptions were those Of 1850, 1869, 1893,
and 1882. In 1850 the city Of Catania was
destroyed by al earthquake incident
TO the eruption, and $4,000 lives were lost.
In 1869 the lava destroyed twenty towns
and villages, and flowed in a stream from
two to three miles wide, until It poured into
the sea. Reaching the wallis of Catania,
one stream Of lava poured over the wall,
sixty feet high, into the city a fiery cascade
Of destruction. When the main current
reached the sea the stream of lava was 600
yards broad and forty feet deep. The
country for sixty miles around Was cover.
ed with sand and ashes thrown from the
craters.
In 1923 fifty cities and towns were de.
stroyed. and nearly 100000 people lost their
lives. The last eruption occurred in 1855,
when seven new craters were formed on
the northeast side Of the mountain. The
present eruption has been signalized by the
opening of three new craters on the north
esnf alope, and streams of lava are flowing
devn the western alope.
The Volcano, situated on the eastern sea-
board Of Sicily, hasa circumference Of 81
miles at theb ase, and covers an area. of 4SO
square miles. There are on the mountain
two cities and sixty;three towns and villa.
ges, and the population of the fertile dis
tricts is about 100000. The cultivated re-
gion is about two miles wide on the north,
east, and west, and nine or ten miles wide
on the south. The main or great crater in
the center is 10,867 feet above the Level
of the sea, but there have been hundreds
Of other openings within a radius Of ter
miles.
In 1869 the lava flowed down the south
ern slope, or through the most populoul
valleys. The movement was rapid At first
but As the lava gradually cooled the pro
gress vas very. slew. In twenty days tn,
current moved thirteen miles. During tn
last twenty.three days Of It's course it movet
only two miles. Many Of the lava current
cool without doing any damage, or befor
they reach the cultivated districts. In tn,
eruption now in progress, the new crater
are near Randazzo, or near the foot Of tn
mountain on the northern slope. The Law,
current is reported at less Than 100 yard
wide, and has moved a distance of abou
four miles. Meesina, which, it is statec
has suffered from showere of cinders, is 4
miles northeast of Mount Etna. AS man
of the eruptions have extended over
period of several months, the outburI
mentioned in the dispatches may be tn
beginning of a disastrous period, or, lik
the eruption Of 1865, it may result in com
Parativeiy little damage. Later dispatche
will probably indicate more satisfactorily
the course of the lava stream. The princi
pal towns of the northwestern slope ar
Bronte, Maletto and Randazzo.
The eruption of Mount E,na bids fair I
become one of the most notable of the Ger
tury. Piedmont, at the foot of the north
eastern slope of the mountain, is reportc
TO be almost total darkness from the clou
OF ashes. Blancavilla, directly opposite, o
on the southwestern slope, is threatened b
the lava currents, as is Randazzo, on tn
northwestern slope. The road from AZ
Reale, on the southeast 10 Cantania on III
south is reported blocked, and the fssnre
or new craters have increased rapidly il
number. There is some confusion in til
dispatches, but the whole Astna district i
evidently in a state of excitement an,
alarm. The points mentioned indicate tina
the eruption is not confined to the north
western slope, but has extended 10 others
endangering towns and districts north a
we'll as south. Aci Reale, mentioned in tn,
dispatches, is a city of about 10000 inhabi
tants, located on the coast, fifteen mile
from the great crater of 1itna. Blancavill
is about twelve miles from the centra
crater, Randazzo about ten, and Piedmon
about eleven.