Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1891-03-20

whose shining shield was landmark
Tor the syracusan sailor many miles out
at sea. Thirty-six thousand temples and
affairs were In the five cities of Syracuse,
besides theaters and amphitheaters for
land and naval combats. and Of all this
immensely of buildings few remain. even
in state of advanced dilapidation.
Not many ancient cities, however. are
better known to us than Syracuse, for so
close and accurate were the descriptions
given that 1t is quite possible by their
aid to trace the lines drawn by the
Athenians, and the position of the Athe-
Man camp established in the year b. C.
AIS. The downfall of Athens dates from
and Syracuse herself has shared the fate
of the Attic capital.
But transccndlng oil other objects of
| interest is the great volcano, which from
before the dawn of history has made
Sicily known as the region of mystery.
Etna is in every respect the largest
! European volcano: the circuit of the
mountain base exceeds l2O miles. and
its heights, while varible from the fire..
quent eruptions, is on the average about
| ll,OOO 1eet Its summit is literally in
the clouds, for the time has never been
known when the great crater has not
been sending forth its fiery smoke In
Sicily the name Etna is unknown: the
mountain is there called Mongibello. the
Mountain of Mountains, and every zone
is represented in its slopes Along the
| ta'e Is cultivated district of rich vol
canic soil, which is fertile beyond be-
lief. The finest wines of Sicily are from
grapes grown on the slope of Etna; the
best oil comes from the same quarter;
but even in this fertile district may be
seen evidences of volcanic action,
for here and there the black
walls Of lava streams are found
in the midst Of fertility. Above
this is the wooded region, belt
around the mountain from six to eight
miles wide, covered with dense growth
of pines oaks, chestnuts and cork trees.
In and above this wooded country are
found the cones of extinct volcanoes, side
issues of the great crater. More than
100 OF these cones are known, and else
. where they would be mountains of re-
, spectacle size, some of them exceeding
1,500 feet in height Large as they are
, in reality, they are SO trifiing in COM
! parison with the great mass of mountain
above them, that, when seen from the
seashore, Etna seems to be perfectly conf
: cal. Above the vineyards, above the
: groves of cork trees, the climber enters
upon q region of desert, where not ever
the hardest moss can find sustenance
In summer time. underneath the foot are
lava, hot scoria and ashes, thrown gu,
at the last eruption. In winter the scene
Is varied by mantle of snow which
from October til April, covers the uppe
portions of the mountain. Eruptions O
Etna extend back into antiquity, 80 IA
| Ionf f1onS r,N<W {1on 0Soc
The tilst on record is that in the time o
Pythagoras, six centuries before Christ
and from then till the present, although
al the time smoke, ashes and lava ar
coming forth in greater or less quaint
ties, seventy-siX great eruptions, notabl
for their destructiveness, have bee
noted. 1t is q curious fact, and one nc
commonly known, that the eruptiv
periods alternate. In 1s43, for instanc,
there was terrible eruption of Eth,
Fifteen new craters were opened in tt
sides Of the mountains; lava flowed fort
to an almost unprecedented exten
After few months the internal fir
Quoted down, and in 1s45 a great cru
in ton of Vesuvius occurred. followed by
lie quiescence in that volcano and an cru
u ton of Etna in 1852. The greatest c
of record was the outbreak of 1893, whe
ne over H1Gy CLUES anu tOWnS were u
a. stroyed, and upward of 100000 liv.
g, were lost. Terrible earthquakes accon
ID panied the volcanic outbreak; tid
of waves rose on the coast Of Sicily,
q, Italy, Greece, and even of far ava
Ia Syria and Egypt. Great assures in tt
IS earth opened, from which gases issue
RS so poisonous as to destroy vegetation an
: prove fatal to animal life. Streams {
lava flowed from the mountain to di
lance of twenty-five miles The islam
was almost ruined, and a generatio
passed before complete recovery fro
the terrible effects. But the eruption
of Etna, although frequent, excite lit
attention outside of the districts imm
diately surrounding the volcano. Th
people have grown accustomed to tn
fires, the earthquakes, the nocturn;
flames, and the lava streams.