Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1883-05-23
ETNa In ERUPTION.
Fiery n untain Which Has Exc;ted
Wonder and Awe in All Recorded
Tina

r. The cable news has it that the great
vSS:ano Of Sicily. Mi. lEtna, has again
JpeSs.d its throat and belched forth de-
vOurlTs-- fame, the eruption being ac-
companr 4 by an earthquake which has
destroyed ..everal houses. The fiery
mountain any its geographical belong
ings occupy IN immense territory,
eighty-seven miiss in circumference. =
But villages lying >~eyond these limits
have not been far ensS,gh away to es-
cape visit from the butaing lava. All
around the lower belt of .Ie mountain
group, of which Etna is t6. chief. are
Clustered towns and villages. orchards,
vineyards, and olive groves. Ace de-
composed lava furnishes q rich sSS in
which all forms of vegetable life foass.
ish with the minimum OF attention FROM
the farmer. 1t is for this reason that
the Sicilian farmers, undismayed by the
possible danger which may come upon
them at any moment without warning,
pursue their calling here. further in
ducement being the delicious climate.
Higher up on the mountain is belt six
or seven miles wide of forest, in which
are found cork trees. with chestnut,
pine, oak, and other varieties, all of
great size. Here, too. is fine pastur-
age. Still higher up is the region Of
eternal ice and snow, where no vegeta-
ton is found, but which supplies the re-
gions below with the needed moisture,
use of the people in the villages. FROM
the mouth on the summit of the noun
tain--it is in fact a series of volcanoes,
some of which have from time to time
added their flames to those of theii
chief--there rise continually clouds OF
sulphurous smoke, while deep grumb-
ling suggest the seething oommotion
going ON in its depths.
The record Of the eruptions from this
deyil's furnace is long. The first entry
is dated 700 years or so b. C.. The
succeeding items note occurrences of
this purgative effort Of nature at vary
ing intervals, sometimes of two hundred
years. 1t was in the year 43 b. c.. tf,at
there occurred an eruption and earth
quake, which was believed to portend
the death of Caesar, who, indeed, WAS
soon after slain in the capitol. In 1869
A. d. the city of. Catania was destroy
ed, with Is, 600 persons, in the space Of
few minutes, by one of the most dis
astrous eruptions, with an accompany.
inc earthquake, yet recorded. Occs-
siunaily it has happened that the mount
ain itself has suffered from its own
doings. the flaming mouth of the crater
having swallowed huge portions of the
cone. thus reducing the height of the
apex. In 1869 there was an eruption,
in which Catania was again overwhelm.
ed by the frye cascade. The stream
was estimated to be fifteen miles long
and two or three miles wide. and its
fow continued for eight weeks. Again,
in 1893, Catania was shaken to the
ground, and l8, 600 people were destroy
ed by an eruption and earthquake,
which did not cease until fifty cities and
t2Mns il sslly %aly end so Q8 e ls zoe in
The record shows an increase in the
frequency of the cruptions within tn.
last three )r four centuries, probably
because there has been greater care
taken in noting the events and preserv.
ing whatever registry was made, rather
than because of an actual increase in
the number. Altogether seventy-nine
eruptions have been duly noted, the
latest in the list being dated in 1868.
The volcano, whether quiescent or in
action. has been justly called famous, v
'lmmense, "terrible," and has excited
wonder and awe in all recorded time.