The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-10-28
VESUVIUS Is THREATENING.
OBSERVERS SAY TINE VOLCANO WILL
soon NE ~ ERUPTION AGAIN.
They 10 Not Predict a. 90 the violence of tho
Coming Outbreak, but There Are signs
That 10 May lie Srvcre-Previous ENplo-
alma Of the Mnat Nnied Of All NOIcanocs.

The committee Of scientific men appointed 10
Investigate the matter has announced That an
ERUPTION Of Mount Ncsuvils 10 to be expected
soon. II has lecn some time since there has
been n dangerous outbreak Of the volcano and
no prophecies arc made a. 10 the probable
force Of the one that IL now predicted. The
observatory at the base OF the mountain
enables the scientific experts to tell what tho
condition Of the interior Of the crater may be
and the prcmonitory signs OF an explosion are
unfaIlingly Indicated by means Of the delicate
instruments invented to mark the phases 81
the volcano. Tho observatory has now
existed for sixty-one years and tho
predictions Of past explosions have always
been verified. Now adays tho explosions
Of Mount vcsuvius are not accomI lnied with
the disastrous consequences they were usually
supposed 10 bring, ard this is In a largo meas
ure The result OF tho preliminary knoSledge
that the volcano iSabout % burst forth. There
have been losses Of life In the later explosions.
but they were generally due % sudden acci-
dents, such as the Cow Of lava, which killed ten
persons at the outbreak in the sarly seventies.
At that time, from the report or the professors
IN the observatory, the inhabitants OF Naples
and other nearby cities knew that the erup-
ton was coming, and that It would be possible
for them 10 60 NJ TO the top Of the mountain
and view the outbreak Ten persons who had
taken advantage Of this opportunity wore on
gulfed in an unexpected outpour Of lava and
died a horrible death.
Mount YesIvluS is the eastern extremity OF n
chain Of volcanoes that reaches b the island Of
Ischia. II IL eight miles from Naples. on the
eastern shore Of IN" bay. which IL thought TO
have been at ore time the great crater of q
volcano, and before the Christian err Its
volcanic activities we're confined chiefly TO the
island of Ischia. The base Of Mount Nesuvius
IL mora than thirty miles in circumference ana
10 the base Of the cone the ascent Is about
1900 feet. The height NJ tho summit varies In
accordance with the coudi lion of the volcano.
Its maximum, taken after an eruption, was
l,253 feet The valley. AtTio del Cavallo, sepa-
rates the two cones ~ a distance OF 700 feet.
The mountain has two peaks called Somma
and veslvius AZ the present time. although
there Ia ground for the belief that in ancient
times II had but one. This took the form Ola
truncated cone with an uninterruNted outline.
The present cone is thought to have been formed
by the c~rurtjon ~ 70 A. D.. Although eruptons
took place in 2a3. az. SIS. es5 and aaS, II was not
until 1898 that n fow ~ lava Is reported. Then
II flowed down to tho sea. Formerly only ashes
and soorip had been elected and In tie erup-
ton Of 472, thu ashes were carried as far as
oUStdtl'lnOIle anu W llll'Nt /" "''
tain has Significantly increased in size during
the past century and a half, chiefly by means
Of the lava which Is so frequently elected
Some of these lavas are 40 liquid In character
that they flow readily down the sides Of the
mountain into the sea, Will, others only move
an inch or two forward during several years,
When the lava flows slowly down, as II did In
1883. II becomes wrinkled and folded or twisted
ike Tones on the chilled surface from the effects
OF the warm lava underneath. When II rolls
Town quickly. IA In 1872. after that noted eI-
plosion. II is broken into great edges Of the APP
pearance and character Of cinders. The great
est now of lava ever noticed in any Of the erup-
lions came in l704. when the stream that flowed
down the mountain was estimate to contain
more than $4,000, 900 cubic feet Of lava and
reached TO the sea in a mass fifteen feet high
and i,2Ol feet wide. 1t can readily he seen how
destructive such n phenomenon would be.
Eruptions In tho present century have been
those Of 1904. 1905, 1900. 1912. 1913, 1917. 1920. 1922.
1928. 1891. 1894, 1888. lsil. iA5. is47. is49, 1850,
1855. 1883, 1851. 1885, 1898 nd 1872. The explo-
sion In 1922 broke Up tho top Of the mountain.
For nearly i.5OO years after the historic
eruption Of 70 which destroyed Herculan-
eum, Pompeii. and stabiae, Mount vesuvius
was comparatively inactive. The historians
| occasionally mentioned explosions. but few
particulars are given, and by the end of
the seventeenth century the mountain had
come to look as II was In the times
Of Pllny before the eruption Of 70 The
walls Of the crater, five niles in circumference
we're overgrown with trees and vines. and at
the base were broad plains on which cattle
era zad. The central tract was a lower plain
covered with loose ashes and dotted with pools
Of hot, salty water, The eruption oflo3i was
the more unexpected as IL was thought that no
danger was to be- anticipated from n noun
toin thus covered with foliage and afIordinE
pnsturare 10 the nocks OF tho shepherds who
lived on it's slopes, II began on Dec 10, andhad
been preceded BY earthquakes recurring in
terniittently during the preceding six months.
The violent volcanic outburst came on uneX-
pec,edlv, ne the instruments now kept in the
observatory TO tell the condition Of the volcano
were, q course, not at that time in existence,
The eruption continued until February. 1882.
During this violent and continued outburst the
cone lost so much OF lis height that it was 800
feet lower than Somma. Great clouds OF dust
and stone were belchcd from the crater and
some Of these were carried. 80 strong was the
force Of the eruption. as far "a Constantinople
and fell into the Adriatic. The clouds Of steam
that constantly flowed up from the crater con-
densed aud formed. with the dust, hot and
muddy streams that flowed down the sides Of
the mountain. The flow Of lava that came
from the open assures in the mountain ran into
the sea al thirteen different points, This erup-
ton nearly destroyed the towns Of Tore del
Aununzia'a. Tore del Greco. Resina and Por-
tlcl. and in spite Of the warnings Of the earth
quakes 1900 persons lost their lives throughit.
The mountain has never been entirely quiet
since that outbreak. II has from time 10 time
broken into eruptions. emitting steam. dust
and scoriR. and less frequently lava The
eruption Of 1879 was one OF the grandest in the
history of the mountain. Great clouds OF
white vapor foated above the crater, and into
this were thrown pieces Of stone. fiery matter
and masses OF molten rock. Tore del Greco,
at the foot Of the volcano. which had been re-
built after the eruption az I63i. was again de-
stroyed In 1894 by the fow OF lava from the
| mountain NJ that time. The new crater formed
by the explosion OF 1922. which continued
throughout almost the whole month Of October.
10 three miles In circumference and about 1000
feet deep. In 1855 there WAS an eruption that
uenrly surrounded with lava some OF the dwell
ings near the base Of the mountain. The eX-
plosion In 1881 was very violent. but continued for
only seven hours. 1t again overwhelmed Tore
del Greco. but as the weather was extremely
~ - LA aoo- o,olal ,,I Iaae Jap,ara ma