Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-11-02
FIERY OLD VESUVIUS
HIS PAST PERFORMANCES ARE
CALLED TO MIND AGAIN.
Sixty Tremendous Commissions Since
Computation on Horsepower.
From the New York Tribune.

From the New York Tribune.
Last weeks eruption of Mount Vesuvius
is in line with the past history of the vol
cano, which, ever since Pompeii was OVER
thrown. in A. ID TO- has been averaging
only thirty years between violent eruptions.
There have been sixty tremendous convui-
sions in this volcano since the year 20.
Although the likelihood that Vesuvius may
at any time treat the surrounding country
as it did Pompeii has been perfectly well
known for centuries, the fascination of the
great volcano has lulled tens of thousands
of Italian country people into living along
the base and up the sides of the mountain,
and has tempted as many thousands more
of tourists to make the ascent to the sum-
NIT. Until a few years ago this perilous
climb had to be accomplished on muleback
and with experienced local guides. Today
a railway runs nearly up to the top, and
pedestrians can walk from the last station
out on the great lava field, and get close
enough to the seat of operations to suit all
but the most hardy of them.
Vesuvius, dominating the whole of the
famous landscape of the Bay of Naples,
stands to the southwark, about ten miles
from the outskirts of Naples. Looking at
the famous view from one of the heights
in the city of Naples is an experience that
all European travellers come to again and
again.
All day steam and smoky vapor ascend
into umbrella-shaped cloud over the
volcanoes head. At night sparks rise. and
alternately the clouds are lighted up by
the fire in the depths of the crater or
flames shoot into the air. Neapolitans have
become so accustomed to the sight and to
the occasional rumbles from the bowels OF
the great mountain that they pay no at
tention to them. When the volcano is
grumbling, or after there has been one OF
the periodic outbursts of dust and cinderS,
persons are not allowed to go up the noun
tain. A long railway journey takes the
climber out from Naples through an endless
series of ancient villas and vegetable farm
Ing towns, teening with vegetation, with
palms, expresses, rose gardens, olive groves
and vineyards. The Pompeii station reach
ed, the tourist has to make a choice from
a hundred yelling guides and cabmen and
Is carried through the lively village of mod
ern Pompeii, made up of hotels and wine
shops principally, and under avenue of
plane trees to the entrance to the ruins of
ancient Pompeii
The Foot Ascent
At the end of the railroad begins the foot
ascent of the volcano. Fields of crumbling
black lava stretch far up to the top, twisted
and furrowed as it cooled after pouring out
from the assures above. If the walking is
hard, the air is worse. A wind may any
time bring down the volcanoes side blast
of nauseous vapor. Toiling to the top, the
climber finally gets where he can gaze into
the crater Often this is quiet, and nothing
but yawning hole. AS often it is a seeth-
ing caldron of fire and boiling masses of
rock. Flames shoot up from the edges,
immense columns of steam rise with hiss
the ground below trembles, reels and seems
about to totter into the abyss, the roaring
from the interior of the mountain deafens,
sulphurous smoke blinds and stiles. AT
night the experience is more awful than in
the day. One cannot see his neighbor on
\ 81 ~r.A L.
rible belching and roaring from the bowels
of the earth. A msstep or momentary
loss of the guide, and it is an easy thing to
roll into the fiery pit. Most people take
the longest glimpse their breath will allow
them and then hurry back down the lava
slope to purer air again. The record of
deaths by suffocation and accident on We
suvius Is large one.
When the first writer's began to mention
Vesuvius they spoke of the lava character
of the soil around the volcano and of the
many signs that 1t had been burned in
ancient times" But there is no recorded
disturbance of the crater earlier than Chris
tan times In A. D. 70 came the historic
bursting of the mountain and the over
whelming of Herculaneum and Pompeii. At
that time 1t was not suspected that We
suvius would do such an unheard-of thing.
Gardens and vineyards ran up to the very
top of the volcano, and villages and private
villas were scattered about the slopes and
base.
twenty-four years, until in the year 203 oc-
CURED the second recorded eruption An
other came in the year 472, and was so ire
mendous that ashes were carried over the
whole of Europe and even to Asia and
Africa. The fourth eruption came in 1896
In 1851 an eruption was accompanied by
tremendous streams of lava and torrents
of boiling water. In 1779 modern scientific
men for the first time studied the phenom-
enon. In the CONFUSION of 1874 the town
or Tore del Greco was destroyed. In this
eruption great hole opened in the side
of the volcano near the base which filled
lava from this explosion was estimated as
containing more than 100000 cubic feet.
Blew the Top Off.
In 1922 the whole top of vesuvius was
blown off and a chasxn about three miles
in circumference and probably more than
two thousand feet deep was formed.
In 1885, 1855 and 1858 streams of lava
poured out Of the volcano, and in April,
1872. came another impressive CONFUSION,
In 1882, in 1886 and in 1891 came more erup-
tions. In 1897 came the eruption a photo
graph of which was taken by Brogi of
Florence. Huge stones were thrown up to
tremendous heights at that time, and clouds
of steam, smoke and ashes escaped from
the crater for days.
An interesting feature about these erup-
lions is the heat of the elected lava One
stream being tested gave a reading Of 1,22S
degrees Fahrenheit Another stream fused
silver, the melting point of which Is 1,S7O
degrees. On a third test the lava melted
copper, thus showing a heat of not less than
2,204 degrees.
The power behind the explosions is also
wonderful. Professor Matteucci of the UNI
versity of Naples was peering over the edge
of the crater one day when he saw a block
of rock OF unusual size thrown into the air,
His watch was in his hand at the time, and
he timed the flight of the rock above the
volcano The rock took seventeen seconds
to complete its flight. Being measured
where 1t fell. 1t was computed to weigh
about thirty tons. and the professor esti-