Durango semi-weekly herald., 1902-04-14

UtutS-
The crater which destroyed Pompeii
and Herculaneum Is extinct. Its
work was done and was well done
and 1t has been gradually filled up
by the overflow from other craters
which have broken out since Every
few years there is break In the side
of the cone. Today you can see the
last one. which opened In 1893 and
the yellow color of surface OF the
earth around it is due not to sulphur.
as the people at first suppose but to
the heat still retained by the earth
| The manager of the railway tells me
that the rocks and the lava have not
yet cooled, although two years have
passed, and it is impossible to ap-
proach nearer than fifty or sixty yards
on account of the heat. The temper
ature of lava recorded by the OBJ
servers in 1899 was 1000 degrees
Fahrenheit. | am not able to under
stand how the record was taken, but
give the fact as stated to me.
There was another and an even
greater outbreak in 1895. from which
liowed several streams of lava with
roar resembling the detonation of ar
tillery. The roadway which had been
built at great expense up the side of
the mountain was buried under the
floods of liquid lava and several hun
dred yards had been rebuilt. So far
as can be ascertained, that crater was
only temporary, and has closed again;
but the surface of the mountain is so
hot that 1t cannot be reached
Since 1872 there has been no erup-
tion from the main crater at the top
of the mountain. although cloud of
steam or a pillar of smoke continual
ly arises. The effect of the steam
is indescribably beautiful. It's form
varies according to the direction and
the violence of the wind When the
air is still it rises from the crest of
the cone like a titanic plume. At
other times it takes the form of a
streamer, tapering off into the sky far
distant. again 1t will settle about the
summit of the mountain like pure
white cloud. Occasionally the vapor
ceases and volumes of thick. black
smoke ascend which throw "A shower
of SCOT over the surrounding country
At rare intervals flames have been
seen to shoot up, and sometimes there
is a glow at the base of the column
of smoke which is explained by differ
ent people with different theories
Notwithstanding the long list of pub
lications by eminent scientists which
have appeared since the art of print
ing was invented, the cause of these
phenomena is still a matter of CON
lecture and controversy The highest
authorities believe that the pit of fire
is intimately connected with the sea.
and that the regular column of steam
Is due to the continual flow of water
from 1t into the furnace When the
steam ceases and the black smoke
appears they assume that the current
of water has temporarily been check
ed. perhaps by dislodging some block
of earth or lava in the interior of the
crater, and the smoke continues un-
til the obstacle is removed But
all this is disputed and nobody knows
anything about 1t. There Is also a
theory based upon comparison of oh
servations that Mount Etna in Sicily
is connected with Versuyius under
ground, and that both volcanoes are
only two chimneys of the same fur
mace.
In the neighborbood of Naples sew
eral other volcanoes are quite active
and earthquakes and other terres-
trial disturbances frequently occur
4, 4 MI
are hills upon the campagna which
have arisen from level plane within
the memory of men. There are towns
and cities lying in ruins that have
been shaken to fragments since his
tory has been an exact sci
ence. The ruins of temple to
an Egyptian deity in one of
the neighboring villages on the
coast of the gulf has been submerged
in the sea several times. and then
lifted back into the air again by agen-
cies which can neither be controlled
nor understood; there are numerous
hot springs and deposits OF sulphur and
curious other freaks of nature In the
neighborhood.
which arise constantly vapors so polls
onous that birds cannot fly across it
without being overcome by the fumes
and falling senseless to the earth No
man can cross it, no animal can be
induced to venture near, and 1t is a re
Election upon the good sense Of the
human family that jackasses are more
prudent in their movements and more
keen in their perceptions concerning
these dangers than the rest of us.
Within an hours drive Of Naples
is a cave which no one can enter and
live, for the carbonlc acid gas issues
from the ground in such quantities
that he would be overcome almost in
stantly. If you win pay the price
of his cruelty the guide will throw a
dog anl let you see the effect. and
suppose there are Neapolitans who
hold life at so low an estimate that
they might be induced TO submit to the
experiment themselves. Ghastly stor-
les are told of the innocent way in
which Nero, Caligula and other of
those amiabe old emperors used to
amuse themselves by throwing slaves,
Christians and other helpless people
into these pits in order to witness
their death struggles. There Is more