The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-01-24
ERUPTION OF vESUv|Us
FOR A COMPARISON

The following scientific summary Oh
the recent outburst of Vesuvius, from |
the Geographical Journal, viii AFFORD
comparison picture to study with ac-
counts of Mauna Loa's stupendous i
throes:
Among the earliest scientists to Visit
yesuvius after the late eruption was
DR.. Venturino Sabatini, from whose re-
mort the following description of the
outburst and it's results has been taken
The eruption brought TO close a phase
i'm the activity of the volcano when
had lasted thirty years, during WHICH
neriod the crater formed in 1872 became
gradually filled by the quiet yelling up
of lava in the Interior, only Few OF
the eruptions making their effects VS.
lille externally, though in course OF
time the pTling up of material changed
the profile of the summit considerably.
Between and a. m. on April
fiss,,re opened on the southeastern sue
of the cone at an altitude of $500 Ieet'
an avalanche of blocks of all dimen-
sions DESTROYING the Albergo Ffroenza,
while a narrow stream OF lava noWeu
DOWN a gully of the mountainside. Al
an M. the small lateral cone fell IN.
and a dense column of smoke rose
above the crater, black ashes falling at
Nan,es in the evening On April
second assure opened at a lower level
and a lava stream flowed two and one
half miles to within some 500 yards OF
Bosco Trecase. On April still more
eopious stream poured forth, and py
r had
a bout 500 yards from Tore Annun-
ziata. BY the evening the main crater
began to hurl out huge white not
blocks with the accompaniment Of loud
detonations and flashes of light, white
at the same time rain OF iaplAl anu
ashes began the destruction of Otta-
iano and San Giuseppe. Earthquake
shocks We're felt at Naples and else
| where. On April the ashes, whicn
continued to fall in great quantities.
| were reddish gray, instead OF oiacK' as
| at first and were sometimes SO dense
as to form a dark pail, rendering arti-
fetal light necessary in the daytime.
This cloud extended to distance or loo
miles. while a fall OF ashes took place
| at Venice, Paris, etc.
A rough calculation places the total
| amount of ashes and lapilli which fell
at S., 100000 cubic meters, the place
| most damaged being ottajano. The
| lava streams occupied sector of 80
| degrees and evidently had their source
! at various points of the crater. The
/ three principal ones reached height
| of ten to twelve feet, and in places
double this amount. This lava was
| very rapidly disintegrated, probably
| because it was formed of chaotic
mixture of irregular blocks and frag-
ments AS regards the more general
| results, DR.. Sabatini points out that
| while lesser outbreaks increase the
height of the volcano, a catastrophe
| like that of April last tends to lower
| it, Whatever may have been the case
/ in 70 A. D., we know that this was the
| result in 1881 and 1874. when the cone
| appeared after eruptions as if truncaf-
| ed Similarly, the pointed profile OF
| March last exists no longer, and the
present height seems below that OF the
| crater of 1872, though the reduction
does not probably exceed $780, feet. Besides
this. the whole form and composition of
the surface of the mountain have been
changed, the old assures having dis
appeared whole sections of the crater
! wall fallen in, and the whole surface
| having been covered with a thick layer
| of ashes These still retained a high
| temperature on April Il, and, owing to
their loose nature, were constantly slip
ping down hill or being raised into the
| air by the wind.
Except at the time of the most v1o-
lent outbursts, the smoke rose quietly
from three assures in three unbroken
columns, accompanied by puffs OF
smoke much resembling balls of cotton
| wool. Owing to their great density,
these rapidly fall to the ground and as
the density and weight increase give
rise to the avalanches of hot ashes
Il which have been frequently reported,
and of which the occurrence is now
definitely established. These are really
nothing but the so-called glowing
clouds of very restricted mobility and
the phenomenon may occur whenever
the necessary conditions are present.
and may occasionally lead to decstruc-
tive results. These emissions may &C
count in part for the high temperature
1 retained by the ashes, which seems due
also to emissions of steam at certain
spots.
The emission of nitrogen or other
: poisonous gas seems to have been quite
an exceptional occurrence. Although
the accounts of destruction were in
many cases exaggerated, DR.. Sabatinl
considers that the damage may be
reckoned at certainly more than Ell
000, 0G0