The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-04-04
MOUNT ETNA IS ERUPTIoNS.

u The fear of Etna among those VINO
dwell in the neighborhood OF the
mountain is much older than the time
of Virgil, who writes of the volcano
vomiting cinders and fire as high as
the stars, or of Ovid, who speaks OF
| Etna's effort to throw off the earth
and thrust aside cities and noun
tains. Dante first denied that the
! manifestations of activity on the part
| of the burning mountain were due TO
| the agonized efforts of an imprisoned
giant to make his escape. Between
| the eruption described by Pindar. that
| took place in 476 b. c., and the pres
ent outbreak there Is historic record
of more than eighty eruptions. and, as
1 one ascends the gradual slope that
( leads to the summit lat 1880 feet
above the seal the devastation due to
! eruptions in 140S, 1891. 1863, 1856
| and other years is evident In the
! dreary waste of stunted broombrush
| and patches of cactus against the
| tortuous masses of the lava beds.
There are more than zoe smaller
! cones upon the TANKS of Etna, some
/ of these reaching height of 700 feet.
! The principal crater at the summit Is
I upon n terrace marking the probable
/ site of a great cone destroyed in the
early eruption. The wal del Bove,' -
on the eastern slope. is an amphithe-
atre with walls some 5000 feet high.
affording n remarkable cross-section
view of the inner structure of the vol
cano.
: In winter the summit Is snow-cIad;
4 in sequestered places the snow re-
mains all the year round, but where
I It Is exposed 1t melts in the fierce heat
Of the Sicilian- -NheH-tae
| mantle of the snow Is removed the
| shoulders of the mountain present re-
pellant vistas of volcanic ashes and
lava. but the distant view is rnagni-
/ ficent Below the barren mountain
/ top there Is zone of forest with
/ l~ne. poplar, beech and OAK trees.
and at the base between the mountain
which monopoIizes the eastern end
/ of siciiy-and. the Mediterranean ts
a belt of luxuriant vegetation, made
/ all the more fertile by the volcanic
dust, and from two to eleven miles in
width, producing the cultivated crops
of grain. fruit. wine and oil.
In the eruption of A. u. 1164 the
! city of Catania, to the south. was de-
stroyed. with Its $4,000 inhabitants.
In 1927 two villages were buried,
and many lives were lost: In 1869 a
flow of lava, again in the direction of
Catanla. overwhelmed 10000 people.
dust fell in showers over the adjacent
region. and two new fiss1fes--one OF
two miles in length---were opened an
the side Of the mountain. The erup-
ton of 1S64-65 had no serious con-
sequences, but in May, 1879. the lava
destroyed an extensive area under Gull
tivation. There were other eruptions
; in 1885 and 1892. and Etna was in
malignant sympathy with the earth
quake shock that destroyed Messina
last year. though II was the earth.
quake and not the volcano that was
responsible for the catastrophe.
The town of Nicolosi. endangered
, by the present eruption, has abou,
1000 inhabitants. and lies on the
mountain side some 1890 feet above
sea level. Its houses are all of one
story. with wooden roofs. for the in
habttants have wholesome dreat
of earthquakes 1t is the usual start
ing point for the ascent of the vol
eano, and it has the misfortune q
, lie directly in the channel from which
the lava stream is likely to flow TO
! ward the city of Catania. 1t has Otter
been destroyed and partly buried b,
the molten current. The region abov,
the town Is described by a recent trav
eler as "one vast ash pit" with scarce
ly a growing plant In a radius o
half mile Gladstone in 1888 ascend
+, ed the mountain from this village
and has graphically described his ex
:. perience.
= In 1886 lava stream started 70
Catania tnow city of $50. 900 inha hi
!. tants) from point about four mile
- above Nicolosi at the rate of 60'o
60 yards an hour. The sun was dark
{ ened and all the people of Eastern
, Sicily stopped work and sought tn
churches or parade the streets bearing
religious emblems and praying aloud
| The lava moved more and more slow
ly. and at last it Travelled at the rat
I of only two yards an hour, but /
seemed as though no power on cart
could save Nicoiosi. The .archbIshol
! of Catania therefore visited the VII
lage, in his state carriage drawn b.
: two white horses. taking with hin
|. the holy white linen veil Of ST Agatha
I the most sacred relic of his cathedral
After the veil was exhibited in
| chapel on the mountain side tn
stream OF lava, 1t Is asserted, divided
i but a part of the stream continued t,
!. flow in the direction of the town, an,
the inhabitants gave up all hope
l Taking with them all their posses
I sions, even to the fioorb boards OF thei
little houses, they sought the lowe
e slopes, nearer the sea: but when
q within 1000 feet OF the town tn
lava flow was arrested. as the simpl
g villagers aver to this day. by tn
miraculous eleventh-hour interventio,
Of St Agatha. Apparently the PEG
: pie OF Nieolost will need all thei
faith to sustain them in the presen
crisis.-Philadelph Ledger.
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