The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1902-09-12


In advance any unusual disturbance.
But the cats, dogs and horses which
live on the sides Of the volcano are
quite as sensitive and never fail to
perceive the approach of danger as
soon as the automatic instruments.
The crater which destroyed Pompeil
and Herculaneum is extinct It's work
was done and was well done. and Il
has been gradually filled up by the
overflow from other craters which
have broken out since. Every few
years there is a break in the side Of
the cone Today you can sec the last
one. which opened in 1899. and the
yellow color OF the surface Of the earth
around Il is due not 10 sulphur. as
people as first suppose, but to the heat
still retained by the earth. The man
ager 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 approach nearer
than so or go yards on account of the
heat. The temperature of the lava
recorded by the observers in 1899 was
1000 degrees Fahrenheit. I am not
able to understand 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
flowed several streams of lava with a
roar resembling the defamation 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 to be 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 it cannot be reached.
Since 1872 there has been no erup-
tion from the main crater at the top
of the mountain, although a cloud Of
steam or pillar of smoke continually
arises. The effect of the steam is in
describably beautiful. It's form va
ries 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,
and again it will settle about the sum-
NIT Of the mountain like a pure white
cloud. Occasionally the vapor ceases
and volumes of thick, black smoke as
cend, 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 different
! people with different theories.
Notwithstanding the long list of pub
locations by eminent scientists which
have appeared since the art of printing
was invented, the cause of these phe-
nOmena is still a matter of conjecture
and controversy. The highest authori-
ties believe that the pit of fire is init
mately connected with the sea, and
that the regular column of stream is
due to the continual flow of water
from it into the furnace. When the
steam ceases and the black smoke ap-
pears they assume that the current of
water has temporarily been checked,
perhaps by dislodging some block OF
earth or lava in the interior of the
crater, and the smoke continues until
the obstacle is removed. But all this
is disputed and nobody knows any
thing about it. There is also a theory
based upon a comparison of Observa
tions, that Mount Etna in Sicily is
connected with Vesuyius underground
and that both volcanoes are only two
chimneys of the same furnace.