The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1892-09-02

days in the spring of 1886 furrowed and
desolated thousand acres of tho
country above Nicolosi
The ascent Of Mount Etnn, though
one of the most tedious and arduous, is
one of the most remunerative, for the
view from its summit is one Of unpar-
relleled beauty, A recent writer says
of the sunrise as seen from the noun
tain; II keep my eyes dIiEiously strained
on the most luminous spot, whence of
a sudden dart of~light crosses space,
flceting over the sea, That dart in
creases into golden streak, clearly
cut, for perccptible moment, on the
purplish water, 1t changes to flood
of light while the disk OF the sun
energies slowly from under the horizon.
The shadows palpitate, dissolve about
the crestS of Etna, TRANSPORTING her
into an island of gold ard rose. Pas
sionately now the day advances, fling
ing wide her magic skirts The lower
valleys awake, the colorS Of their vege-
tation glow and dance. The trees lift
up their heads; it seems us If in that
profound stiffness one could hear the
murmur of the termination of things,
The sun touches every corner of his
vast kingdom; duy-full day is with
MS.
Beautiful with the beauty of
dreams is the spectacle.
10 the north the archipelago of the
Lipnri islands, with their smoky light
house of Stromboli, floats on the irid-
escent sea TO the south, on the bor-
der of the vast horizon, hover two
ghosts, Malta and Pantelleria, while
the purple shadows of the Callabrian
mountains ON the mainland bridge the
Straits of Mcssina, hiding Charybdis
and Scylla. Cumco-cut against the sea
Sicily lies ut our feet, displaying her
fifty towns, her countless villages, the
silver ribbons of her rivers the thous'
and varied details of her uneven soil
and across her whole length, las a tangl
BILE sign Of his dominion, Lord Ktna
stretches his enormous triangular
shadow"
The catastrophe at st, Gervais-los
Bains was of II far more unusual char
acter; indeed it is doubtful whether
there is another instance on record IN
which glacier has been the cause o
such a disaster Conflicting theories
have prevailed ms to its origin. TIL,
first was that the glacier had, so t,
speak, slipped its moorings and CRASHED
down the mountain side Again itwa
reported that n landslip had occurred II
connection with the shifting of the gla
cier, and had buried the villages an
hamlets in its path. Later theories wcr
that owing to the warm weather
lake of melted ice had formed in tn
interior OF the glacier and that this hn
burst, throwing large quantities of ic
and rock into mountain torrent c
Bon Nant, which flows through the vi
lngc of st. Gervais. A dam was thu
formed, behind which the stream RAJ
idly rose, and finally carried the ba
rier away from the mountain sid
This torrent, rolling huge masses {
rock and ice, destroyed the hamlcts {
Bionnassay and La Fayet, the villaf
of ~. Gcrvais and the hotel and BAT
houses which lay about six hundrC
; feet further down the mountain.
st. Gervais is watering place wit
sulphurous springs and is u favorit
summer resort. 1t lies in the wood,
ravine Of Montjoic, half mile fro
the ChamoniX road ON the Bon Nan
| The baths of ST. Gervais were in fl
separate buildings, joined by stor
: wall, erected in narrow gorge. The
| were situated about 2 ,06G feet above II
sea, on the road from Geneva TO Oh
MONK Nearly one hundred dealt
must have resulted from the disaster.