Los Angeles herald., 1906-04-14
VOLCANO RELAPSES INTO ITS
FORMER INACTIVITY
Smoke obscures Mountain-Work of
Exhumlng Corpses at Boscotrecas
Continues-Many Bodies Are
UnrecognizabIe
BY Associated Press.


sign of life. The volcano seems to
have spent itself in one enormous con-
vulsion. Director Matteucci, who
heroically holds his post in the OBJ
servatory, believes that the eruption
has ended, and every outward indica-
tion confirms this view. No more rum
blings come from the bowels of the
earth, giving terrifying warning to the
inn lbtants. The. volcano is hidden be-
hind a thick curtain of smoke, which
arises from the crater and then spreads
and falls. enveloping a vast circle in
semi-darkness. Naples is just beyond
this circle, and today the city was
bathed in sunshine, while the ugly,
black pail hung to the westward over
a belt midway between Rome and
Naples.
Vesuvius today bellies all popular
pictures, which represent the mountain
clearly outlined against the sky, vom-
iting smoke and ashes and fire by
night. Today not the slightest outline
is visible of the crater, crest or foot
hills, all being swallowed UP in a dense
mass of smoke. There is the same
obscurity tonight. unrelieved by flashes
or reflected light such as are seen dur
is picturesquely grand but active or
smoldering it is terrible only in its
blackness and obscurty.
Uncanny Phenomenon
The Associated Press correspondent
travelled today in the, belt over which
ashes continue to fall. This lies to the
north of Naples, as the wind now car
ries the discharge away from the city.
At Rome there was sunshine, but
twenty miles south a thin veil of smoke
made nearby mountains dimly visible,
their snow peaks soiled and sooty The
zone of semi-obscurity began twenty
five miles above Naples. Here and
there was an uncanny phenomenon.
The sun, though shining, was invisible.
It's light seemed to come through
smoked glass, shedding sickly glare
upon whitened vegetation Everything
was covered with powder. The locomo-
tives were coated as though they had
ploughed through tar. Pretty white
villas were daubed and dripping with
mud, and people were busy on the
roofs shoveling off the ashes.
The crowds at the stations resembled
mjllers, their clothing covered with
graphite powder. The Campania pre-
sents the appearance of Dakota
prairie after a blizzard, except that
The ashes lie in drifts knee deep. Viii
las, trees and churches have been beat
en- with gray mud on the sides eX-
posed to the volcanic storm.
Ten miles north of Naples the train
enters an area of semi-night. Billows
of thick smoke roll from the dim noun
tain. Railway telegraph poles become
invisible twenty feet away. The train
moves with extreme precaution to
avoid collisions. Breathing is difficult
and the smoke makes the eyes water.
This obscurity lasts until a short dis
tance north of Naples, where the sky
clears and normal conditions are re-
sumed.
Queen Buys Linen
Queen Helena, before leaving for
Rome today, revisited the quarters oc-
cupied by the refugees and made large
donations to the sufferers. Among her
gifts was a quantity of linen of all
sorts for which she paid $4,000.
No better evidence of the improved
condition of affairs in the section af-
fected by the eruption of Mount
Vesuvius can be presented than the
following telegram from Director Mat
teucci, sent this evening from the OBJ
servatory on the side of the volcano:
Last night and today the activity of
Vesuvius, and the agitationi al the sur
face of the volcano sensibly diminished.
Electric charges ceased today and the
discharge was less abundant. From
the presumed formation of the crater
and other indications, and if the news
coming to me is through of the cessa-
ton of lave al Boscotrecas, / pre-
dict without reserve that in two or
three days volcanic calm will reign"
The publication of this assuring dis
patch has brought joy to the people
and tonight's Good Friday services at
the churches, which were attended by
large congrega tions took the form of
fervent thanksgiving for dangers past
Conditions at Naples were so much
better today that the people were al
most incredulous of the tales of terror
told by those who had escaped from the
towns, villages and the country farther
within the zone of devastation.
The weather was fine and the wind
had shifted so that the clouds of ashes
from the volcano instead of envelop-
ing Naples were carried in the direc-
ton of Caserta. The apprehensions of
the populace gave place to a smiling
confidence, in which there was no re-
Election of the terror which had pre-
vailed for the past week.
Exhuming Bodies
But in other quarters there is no
the volcanoes fury. At Boscotrecas the
exhumation of the dead is being car
ried or by soldiers, who, owing to the
advanced stage of decomposition of the
corpses, are unable to work more than
an hour at a time. The work is one
of great financial cost as well as of
danger and arduousness to those en-
gagged in it.
Many of the bodies are merely
shameless, unrecognizable masses of
flesh and bones, while others are but
little disfigured. AS quickly as pos
sible they are buried in quick lime, to
lessen as far as may be the danger of
epidemic.
After the last great eruption, which
occurred in 1872, the land covered by
cinders did not produce crops for seven
years, and the losses in this respect
alone averaged $2OOO0OOO yearly. 1t is
believed that it will take ten years to
bring the land under cultivation again.
The people as demonstration of
their gratitude for the sympathy
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