The Savannah morning news., 1902-06-08
FREAKS OF VOLCANOES.
UNCERTAINTY OF LIVING NEAR AN
ACTIVE CRATER.

Fireworks of Mother Earth-HeiEht
to Which Ashes Are Thrown in the
Air-Dnnger From Water Reaching
for the Lawn to CooI-StreamS OF
Water Frequently Are ObIitcrated.
From the New York Times.
The great tragedy of St. Pierre and
St. Vincent illustrates the danger and
costliness of having a favorite noun
tain close to ones backyard which oc-
casionally vents its spite in deluging
the countryside with hot lava and
molten ashes and cinders. 1t is one of
the strange freaks of human nature
that peculiar attachment is shown to
nearly all active volcanoes by the peo-
pie who dwell at their foot. and while
at times great terror is inspired by
the internal rumblings and Overfows,
the danger is soon forgotten. Nothing
can induce the inhabitants to flee
permanently from such localities, and
even after severe and disastrous out
breaks they will return to the site of
their former homes and dwell once
more Wlllllll the SIldQON VI AlAC AeAA 81
Vesuvius and Etna, CotopaM and
Stromboli. Coseguina and Kilauea, are
all favorites with the people who live
within the shadow of their stormy
peaks Stromboli has been almost I'M
interruptedly emitting hot stones,
ashes and lava from its interior since
the memory of man, CotopaXt is near
" always active and violent in its
periodical eruptions, and Etna and We
suvius have been sources of numerous
panics as far back as history records
earthquakes and volcanic erupuons;
but at their base, or somewhere with
in the zone of danger, there dwell
people who, fully conscious to the ter
rtble danger that hangs over their
lives. look with something like pride
and affection upon the mountain which
is the source of so much destruction.
The tremendous force eXerted by a
volcano when exploding is not COM
parable to any powers yet invented
by man, and the pyrotechnical display
afforded by day or night is beyond the
description of pen. The explosions are
heard hundreds of miles away, and
tons of stones are thrown to great
nights Cotopaxi, isrone of its period
&c eruptions, Vomited forth block
of stone weighing 200 tons and hurried
IL unbroken nine miles from the mouth
of the fiery crater. Smaller stones
have been hurled a distance of thirty
five miles In 1888 a series of violent
volcanic explosions occurred in the Bay
of Naples. Within twenty-four hours
a new volcano, Monte Nuovo, was
formed BY the explosions, which threw
UP such a quantity of stones thas a
hill was formed above the water 44O
feet high and a mile and a half in cir
conference.
PyrOtehnics at Vesuvius.
Vesuvius has time and again made it.
self notorious for its fine display or
fireworks and earthquake vibrations,
but in 1872 it made a record for itself
in THROWING a shower of its hot ashes
a distance of 105 miles. In Nicaragua,
on this continent, the famous old vol
cal,o Cuscguina broke all records for
vomiting up ashes and stones in great
quantities Such enormous quantities
of ashes were hurled into the air that
for nearly twenty-five miles in every
direction they covered the earth to a
depth of eight and ten feet. Indeed,
some of the finer ashes or dust reached
Kingston. 700 miles away, where they
fell in showers four days later This
was probably due to the high currents
of wind caused by the explosion and
eruption.
The wind naturally has much to do
with this dust shower, and in the erup-
ton or explosion of Krakatoa in 1888
the windwave produced Travelled
around the earth three and a half
times before it subsidized. 1t carried
with 1t the fine dust which caused the
much-talked-o "blood-red sunsets" of
that year. The dust and ashes from
the explosion, Il has been estimated,
were carried fully ten miles into the
f~ ryba reached currents
of wind, and this started them on their
Journey around the world. The dust
clouds which frequently follow such ex-
plosions were eclipsed by the eruption
of Coseguina in 1885, when Egyptian
darkness hung like pail over circle
within a radius of thirty-five miles.
So intense was this darkness that 1t
was impossible for people to grope
their way around, and the vivid flashes
of lightning overhead and the fiery
blaze Of the crater could not penetrate
this cloud or murky blackness. 1t was
like being buried in living tomb with
eternal night around.
Steam from water percolating
through to the internal fires nearly al
ways starts the volcanic explosions and
forces its way up through the crater,
If there be one, or makes a new vent
hole, and the superheated rocks, ashes,
dust, and lava followed after. The
volumes of steam ascend to great
heights. possibly miles up in the air.
and then, condensing. produce storms
of water to follow the clouds of ashes
and lava 1t was estimated by
French scientists that in the eruption
of Etna over 100000 cubic feet of
water issued from the crater in the
form of steam, which condensed and
ran down the sides of the mountain
in streams or descended as rain. This
steam releases from the subterranean
bowels of the earth poisonous case
and vapors, which often carry instant
death wherever they go.
Died from SuffocatiOn.
1t is probable that thousands of the
people of ST. Pierre thus lost their life
through suffocation. These clouds of
poisonous gases kill instantly. Sui
phuric acid. hydrochloric acid, sulphur
retted hydrogen, and carbonic acid
gases nearly always accompany the
steam clouds of a volcanic eruption.
After the various small eruptions of We
suvius the woods and valleys of the
mountain have been found strewn with
dead hares, pheasants, and partridges
which were killed by inhaling the dead
ly gases. No marks of violence or in
dication of burning were visible on
their bodies. They had simply fallen
dead as they few or ran.
When a volcano vomits forth streams
of lava some very curious, as well as
remarkable, freaks of nature are OBJ
servable. 1t requires scientific research
of the lava beds months and even years
after an upheaval before all the relia-