Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-04-06

burst after a long period Of calm was al
ways mighty one.
The ascent was very firing. the cone
| being built up entirely of loose sand in
which we often slipped back. II ended
with a most precipitous sheet OF sand
| hardened into tufa of q deep ochre color.
The old path which wound up the cone
had been effaced and the obsidian lava
which covered part OF the north-north-
west side was entirely buried beneath the
sand OF the present eruption.
The crater now active of Vulcano-the
"FOssa" as it is called-is a basin 500
feet across, which opens within two older
and larger concentric craters. broken
down on the north side. The lip of the
outer wider. and more ancient crater is
only $50 feet high on the north side. but
on the south side it is overlapped by the
southern segments OF the other two era
ters. and rises 10 1,25O feet
The "Fossa," before a former eruption,
was over 400 feet deep Its preclpitous
sides looked as If they had been ploughed
by the rain torrents, and were sprinkled
with gorgeous sublimatiOns and festoon-
ed with wreaths of white steam, which
issued from numerous assures. on the
fiat floor at the bottom of the "Fossa'
were bridge, over deep rent. two old
cOndpnsers, and several work -sheds with
tiled roofs. All these things were blasted
out of the crater during a previous orup-
ton.
We found the 'Fossa" almost filed up.
1t was an oblong basin $50 feet long at its
broadcast part. and only 80 feet deep. The
bottom Of it was a mass of lapilli and
sand. with n few depressions here and
there. just like the sand-hOuses that chill
dren build on the seashore. We were
disappointed We had expected TO find a
deep caldrOn full Of boiling lava. rising
and falling. flashing and darkening, hiss
ing and roaring. but that crater only
looked like the pit of n gigantic ant-lion.
Yet il was the "FOssa," and we knew
full well that It might pop up at any
time, like a Jack-in-the-box, and show 4
very ugly face. | must confess. and my
companions will surely admit it to them
selves, that we were very uneasy; but
when one Of the party poured wine at
the edge OF the crater and said Here is
to the grim old Smith," and another add
ed, "And here is to his light-hearted con-
sort" we picked up courage, and we sat
down and stamped our feet and yelled
and howled for the show to begin.
The crater was full Of sunshine, and
mutitudinous facets sparkled I'm its sides.
It looked the very picture OF calm. but
the air danced reels over It. as il does
over lime-kiln, and that showed treach-
cry While we were looking a great yell
low butterfly went fiuttering gently to-
wards the middle Of the crater.
Suddenly, at 112 p. NJ, from the bot
tom Of the crater all that heap Of sand
was thrown up in .slanting black jets
which. rising TO a height OF three or four
hundred feet, opened into clouds of thick
black smoke and formed one great column
looking like huge black caulinower. At
first the clouds rose up so dense that they
seemed masses of gray caledonia, but in
the twinkling Of an eye they expanded
into large bales of cotton, then into
smoke, then they broke and drfted and
vanished. The/clouds followed in quick
succession from below. and the huge coli
umn widened more and more, rising to
an enormous height. Large fragments OF
lava fell back into the crater. rafting
amongst each other, and the sand poured |
down from above like wide gauze curtains
I'm a transformation scene. The clouds |
shot up out Of the crater, took fantastic |
shapes OF animals, and men, and de- !
mons. and the procession of ghostly cum |
uli streamed up into the sky with deaf |
ening, laundering roar.
We took Photograph after photograph, !
held spellbound by the magnIlicence Of the |
spectacle and utterly obivious to the |
danger of our position. 1t was the chance |
Of a lifetime, and we made the best use |
OF our time. Only when we had secured \
pictures Of every phase OF the eruption
aid We reluctantly pack our apparatus ana
begin the descent.