Evening star., 1929-06-05
THREATENING LAVA
FLOW D|M|N|SHES.
NeapoIitans Continue Mad
Flight to Escape Fury
of VesuVius.
~ the Associated Press.

Rv the Associated Press.
NAPLES, Italy, June 5.-Lava waves
which have been threatening to engulf
villages around Mount Vesuvius were
stated by the Vesuvian observatory late
today to have begun diminishing.
Huge clouds of smoke, laden with
ashes from the belching throat of Mount
Vesuvius hung over Naples today and
turned the brightness of noon into a
sort of twilight.
Neopolitans were unable to see their
familiar landmark which was clouded
by smoke issuing from its crater,
The Associated Press correspondent
visited Terzigno this morning and
found conditions desperate.
Train Service Is Stopped.
Families we're Withdrawing with all
their belongings and cattle. They
f1ocked into the churches on the line OF
retreat, invoking Saint Gennaro ana
praying before shrines.
Troops took possession of villages TO
prevent marauding after the inhabitants
had departed.
Train service to Terzigno has been
The trains run only as
far as Boscotrecase.
The inhabitants believe that the
has reached the Importance OF
that of 1906.
Belching forth with renewed violence
after a brief period of quietude, the
volcano poured forth thousands OF tons
of the white-hot liquid mass into "the
Valley of He'll this morning.
The villages Of Barre and Terzlgno.
saved hours before when the first lava
er,lpted cooled before reaching them.
were in the path of the new eruption
which was coming from crater on the
southeast side of the mountain.
Stones Shot Into Air.
Barre already had been evacuated as
had also part of Terzigno. Evacuation
of various other villages IN the area
ves contemplated as the threat was
renewed in more violent form.
Accompanying the lava were masses
of stone weighing more than $50
pounds, projected high into the air
from the volcanoes cone. Columns Of
smoke three miles high assembled from
the crater. The grand crater was t1lled
with lava.
A number of tourists who ventured
dangerously close were sent scurrylns
for safety with the renewal Of the
eruption. Neither among them nor at
Barre and Terzigno were casualties
reported. Thousands. even those bereft
of their homes. watched with awe the
magnificent natural pyrotechnic spec,
tacle.
The eruption began Monday. Experts
predicted il would wear itself out grad
ually without causing serious damage.
Yesterday morning the eruption began
again, a smoking stream pouring
through The Valley of He'll at the
rate of 10 feet second.
Divides Into Two Branches.
It then divided into two branches,
one making directly for the gulf in the
direction of Boscotrecase and ancient
Pompeii and the other bearing down on
the town along the railroad skirting the
eastern base of the volcano. A number
of special trains were kept IN readiness
there for possible emergencies.
The Vesuvian Conservatory calculated
that during the past two days more
than 5000 900 cubic meters Of lava had
poured forth from the crater. an
amount about half that emitted dur
ing the destructive eruption Of 1906.
The offcial observatory cormunique
described the activity Of the volcano
during the night.
"Ali night" the communique said,
there were marked very, strong expio-
sions with emission OF lava from tne
mouth of the small cone.
Activity was augmented from mid
night until / am, from 3:45 am, 10
43o am. imposing columns OF smoke
rose to over ! 500 feet in height.
Due to inundation by lava OF the
whole plateau of the greater crater.
has been transformed into sea OF nre'
It is dangerous to approach the crater
edges"
Inhabitants Of Terzigno. trudging be-
hind their two-wheeled carts. containing
all their worldly belongings, were in
tears as they evacuated their homes.
Many did not leave until the lava had
reached the towns reservoir at I'M,
and until after 1t had poured into
Campitelli nearby.
Send Message to Pope.
The townspeople sent a message to
the Pope imploring his benediction and
his prayers Yesterday afternoon, headed
by the venerable parish priest Father
Francesca Capapano, they organized q
propitiary procession. with a portrait OF
Mary Immaculate at their head and
a banner borne aloft depicting the
sacred heart of Jesus.
The marchers traversed the winding
lanes of the countryside singing sacred
chants, among them the centuries old
Latin prayer: From the wrath Of We
suvius oh, Lord. deliver us"
A similar scene WIS enacted at
Pagano where the crowd massed behind
a statue of St. Anthony and gradually
retreated before the lava flow. finally
going to Poegio Marino and Tore An
nunziata, where makeshift shelters had
been provided.
LAVA SWEEPS PAGANI.