Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-04-15

into pieces"
The professor sounded a long rssping
r. like succession Of quick taps on a
drum, Which, he said resembled the noise
made by the seismograph when affected by
a violent explosion
Compared with other great eruptions,'
continued the observer. this IL one OF the
most important IN the history Of vesuvius.
It's effects were less terrible than those
OF the eruption Of the year ~ when Pom
peii was buried. but II equals In intensity
the great eruptions Of 1881 and 1872 What
results this eruption will yield to science
is not yet certain. Eruptions are not exact
in science. You cannot count on Vesuvius;
each OF it's eruptons has its characteristics.
This one was marked by an abundance Of
electrical phenomena. ] have already col
lected quantities of cinders and scoria for
comparison with similar matter from other
eruptions and later l will collect large
stones"
The professor pointed to the shelves in
his laboratory where were plates contain
ing cinders varying in size and bottles
filled with ashes and also in the room were
enormous stones each labelled with the
date Of its election from the volcano.
Future IL Uncertain.
Asked concerning Mount Vesuvius in the
future. Prof. Matteucci replied:
Il am unable to tell with any degree Of
certainty. / sincerely hope this eruption
is over, but who can tell whether another
terrible convulsion may not come during
the next minute However. all my pre-
| dictions point to a period of calm for the
next few days and therefore, 1 am hopeful.
But was hopeful last night, although a
| serious explosion occurred at 10 o'clock in
the evening without any warning"
Prof. Matteucci handed the correspond
ent a stone the size of a three-inch shell
as souvenir of his visit, saying; These
are very precious stones. Some OF them
! have hit me at one time or another. They
l represent my wounds
lie then led the way to his sleeping
quarters. which showed the confusion that
existed throughout the domestic branch of
/ the observatory during the eruption. AS
! he turned to the portico Vesuvus gave
another deep groan, ending with a fearful
| explosion which blew Off a portion of its
| new conc.
! See" exclaimed the professor, "the
I eruption may be resumed at any moment
| That explosion rent the westerly cone"
Mount Nosuvius presented a majestic
| spectacle from this point of vantage at the
| observatory. This was far inside the outer
| circle Of smoke which hides the volcano
! from Naples The great monster stood out
clearly under the bright sunlight. 1t was
! entirely white, like a snow-covered noun
| tain. ashes having turned its former deep
green color It's contour also had changed
! The gigantic. jagged cone no longer rose
like the setting of an enormous jeweled
| ring. Instead the top now forms a grace
full curve, harmonizing the gradual slope
I OF the foothills. The white surface of the
mountain is slit here and there as with
a giant sabre stroke. leaving gulches
through which lava courses. The wrecked
remnant of the funicular railway lay at the
bottom Of one of these gulches, some of the
twisted cable protruding from the ashes.
Prof. Perrets Observations.
Singularly, an American scientist is the
only one sharing Prof. Matteuccrs oppor-
tunities of observation. This is Prof. Frank
A. Perret of New York.
Il have been here only three months, &"
says Prof. Perret. Il came to Italy orig
inally for my health. l had studied volcano
disturbances and met Prof. Matteucci. We
became mutually interested and he honored
me by inviting me to share his observations
as an honorary assistant. The post of
assistant TO which was recently appointed
by the University of Naples came al a
most fortunate moment as IL permitted my
observation of this tremendous disturbance,
which is beyond the faintest conception
Of those outside the immediate terrors of
Nesuvius. The most terrible moment came
Saturday night. l had gone to Bosco Ire
case for the purpose of photographing the
lava stream that was then deluging that
town. | returned to the observatory about
midnight. The dynamic force Of the main
crater increased enormously and new crater
= 10
ten minutes of each other. This caused
immense havoc. From Naples crowds
iocked TO Bosco Trecase to witness the
sight which was grander there than al
any other point.
AT midnight the situation in the observ.
atory was terrible. The ground rocked un.
der II and it was impossible to stand firmly
on ones feet The roaring of the mair
crater was deafening the volcano operated
like a fountain, its discharge rising and
spreading and then falling over a greai
area. The electric phenomena was terri
flying. The claps of thunder were incessant
with lurid play of lightning The caus,
OF the phenomena was friction from the as
cending particles generating electricity
which displayed itself in incessant lightning
and thunder claps.
scene of Awful Grandeur.
mo one thought of sleep, but all stool
gazing at the awful scene. At O'Clock II
: the morning the lowest station seemed 4
be burning and at $3.50 o'clock the Who'll
cone broke open with tremendous earth
quake shock. Red-hot projectiles were pre-
ciptated toward Mount somma and tn
observatory. That seemed TO be the crit
: zeal moment and the bTigadier Of the car
bineers ordered a retreat We made on
way to a small house down the mountain
side, but even there the rain Of stone
continued. one of the caTblneers was struC
on the head and badly cut. After this I'll
intensity of the eruption steadily de
, creased
In the stricken Districts.
The mountain climb gave the correspond
ent an opportunity 10 see the desolation 4
the stricken districts The route wa
through Portici and Resina passing owe
Herculaneum to Pompeii. Here the ashe
had fallen TO the depth OF three feet an
hundreds OF military wagons and a squa
of soldiers were piling them In four para
lei drifts ten feet high, through which file
a motley throng Of fugitives and lines G
military wagons. The fugitives were a mis-
cradle lot, covered with rags. Many q
them were young children, who carried ba
bies i'm their arms some OF the latter hay
ing bright new toys, the result Of the mis-