The Dickenson County herald. [volume] (Clintwood, Va.) 1927-1930, 1927-09-08

sort OF branches, OccaSiOned, I mag.
inc, either by sudden gust OF air
that impelIed 1t, the force of which de-
creased as it advanced upward, or the
cloud itself, being pressed back again
by its own weight, expanded in the
manner l have mentioned; 1t appeared
sometimes bright and sometimes dark
and spotted, according as 1t was either
more or less impregnated with earth
and cinders.
Youth Stays to Study.
"This phenomenon seemed to a man
OF such learning and research as my
uncle extraordinary and worth further
looking into. He ordered light ves-
sci to be got ready, and gave me
leave, If liked, to accompany him. !
said I had rather go On with my
work; and 1t so happened he had him
self given me something to write out.
AS he was coming out of the house,
he received a note from Rectina, the
wife of Bassus, who was in the utmost
alarm at the imminent danger which
threatened her; for, her villa lying at
the foot of Mount Vesuvius, there was
no way of escape but by sea. She
earnestly entreated him therefore to
ly changed his first intention, and
what he had begun from a philosophi-
cal he now carried out In a noble and
generous spirit.
"He ordered the galleys to put to
sea, and went himself on board with
an intention of assisting not only Rec
tina, but the several other towns
which lay thickly strewn along that
beautiful coast. fastening then to the
place from whence others fled with
the utmost calmness and presence of
mind as to be able to make and die
tate his observations upon the motion
and all the phenomena of that dread
full scene.
Burning Rocks Fall on Ships.
HE was now so close to the noun.
tain that the cinders, which grew
thicker and hotter the nearer he APP
preached, fell into the ships, together
with pumice stones and black pieces
of burning rock; they were in danger,
too, not only of being aground by the
sudden retreat of the sea, but also
from the vast fragments which rolled
down from the mountain and obstruct
ed all the shore. Here he stopped to
consider whether he should turn back
again; to which the pilot advising him,
Fortune said he favors the brave;
steer to where Pomponianus is"
The brave elder Pliny, his nephew
told Tacitus, won his way to the shore
where he greeted his friend Pomponi-
anus, maintaining cool front in the
face of nature cataclysm for the bene-
fit of the latter by ordering a bath
and lying down to sleep as night came
on and the turbulent waves prevented
them from sailing away. Pliny con.
tinues:
Nearly Hemmed In.
''The court which led to his (the
sleeping Pliny's) apartment being now
almost filed with stones and ashes. If
he had continued there any time
longer, 1t would have been impossible
for him to have made his way out
So he was awakened and got up, and
went to Pomponianus and the rest of
his company, who were feeling too
anxious to think of going to bed. They
consulted together whether it would
be most prudent to trust to the houses
which now rocked from side to side
with frequent and violent conclusions
as though shaken from their very
foundations; or to fly to the open
fields, where calcined stones and Gin
ders, though light indeed, vet fell in
large showers and threatened destruc-
ton"
The trapped Romans finally decided
for the fields and went out "having
pillows tied upon their heads" for pro-
lection, and after going to the shore
of the bay the elder pliny suddenly
fell and died. The opinion of his
nephew was that death came from suf-
location from the fumes in the air,
but 1t is probable that a sudden at
tack of illness was responsible, since
Stabiae, whittier he had gone, was
about ten miles from the volcanoes
mouth. Pl;ny's account of his uncle's
death was followed by another letter
to Tacitus in which he described his
and his mothers escape.
Earthquake Felt First.
"There had been noticed for many
days before" he wrote, "a trembling
Of the earth, which did not alarm us
much, as this Is quite an ordinary oc-
Currence in Campania; but 1t was so
particularly violent that might that 1t
not only shook but actually over
turned. as it would seem, everything
about u.s."
Pliny and his mother were both
awakened from uneasy sleep after the
elder Pliny had gone and fled the
house to sit in an open courtyard
There the youth began nonchalantly
to read "Livy." as he says, either in
courage or folly" and he continued,
although a friend of his uncle's re-
proved him. The tottering buildings
finally persuaded them to leave the
town.
Escapes With Mother.
After this black cloud Of ashes
came upon them, and Plny led his