Year: 1865




just witnessed but the best account can


possibly give viii convey but faint idea OF


the most sublime spectacle ever beheld by


mortal eyes, and which Ihad never even dar-


ed to hope thot should be so fortunate as to
see. 1 arrived at Messina on the morning Of


Wednesday, February 1st, and there learned
that the volcano had burst out with tremen-
dous violence the evening before, Jan. 3lst.
I Immediately Joined party for q visit to
the mountain, and the next morning started
for TIE scene in one Of the most violent thun-
der and rain storms I ever witnessed.


We arrived in the evening at "Pauromona,"
the ancient Tauromineum of the Greeks, now
a small city of four or FIVE thousand inhabi-
tants. situated on a rock some eight hundred
feet above, and almost over the sea. Here
we came directly in view ofthe crater, which
is on the east side of the mountain, and about
four thousand feet from the top, Immediately
in front of US, and in an air line about twelve
miles distant, with nothing to obstruct the
view. The spectacle was grand beyond de-
scription. The immense crater, which is all
Of half mile in diameter and very likely
a full mile, was belching up vast columns Of
fire to the height of at least fifteen hundred
feet; some estimate its hight at two thous-
and. There were four distinct places where
these volumes Of fire were being thrown up
continually, and there always were two or
three of them in the air at the same time,
and the volume was so immense that the
sides of the columns mingled with each 9TH
er. The smoke, which was not very great,
considering the amount Of fire, was blown
away by the wind nearly on level with the
crater, and formed q vast cloud, extending
far out over the sea. There was no flame
visible at all, but these tremendous columns
were one close mass of red hot stones, which
appeared to be of all sizes, and were perfect
ly distinct to the naked eye.


In the centre ofthe jets, which were in the
form of a cone, the red stones ofsevrie, could
be seen ascending to an immense hight. the
large ones outstripped the smaller, and seem
ed to waver or stand still in mid-air an in
slant, when they had reached their limit, and
then tell back into the seething vortex, be-
meath which, at the sides of the columns they
were thrown out in all directions, some ap-
pearing to be landed outside the crater. All
this time the mountain gave out one eontin-
uous and incessant believing, exactly ike
distant thunder, which never ceased. one
peal following another, instantly causing one
incessant and never ending roar.


The glass, of course, brought the scene
much nearer and more vivid to our eyes,
and we all stood mute with wonder and as
toDishment The burning streams of lava
could be seen on all sides vending their fiery
way down the mountains in all directions,
and one stream was entirely unobsuucted for
a distance of eight miles, They looked pre-
cisely like powerful stream of motion iron,
now and then breaking out with white
heat in spots where the melted lava burst the
outer crust which had partially cooled,


The crater being situated so low, the noun
tain towering far and high beyond, made a
most splendid background for the eruption,
enabling US to judge much more accurately
of its height and magnitude. The very top
of the mountain was sending out volume Of
smoke and vapor, and it had the appearance
of being chimney to the crater.


The next day we started to see the large
steam oflava mentioned above. After a ride
of three hours we arrived at the village Of
Mascala, directly at the foot of the mountain,
and then proceeded on foot up the base
After a walk of four hours we came to the
lava. I expected to find it liquid torrent,
and undoubtedly it is when it leaves the era
ter, but it cools in coming down the noun
tain, and at the END of the stream where we
saw it, 1t was a dense mass Of red-hOt stone
of all sizes, from dust to rock of ton or
more in weight.


The physical condition of torrent of lava
is precisely ike that of glacier, the forward
movement being caused by forces behind and
higher up.


The stream comes down a deep ravine,
some two or three hundred or more feet
wide at the top, and filled it two-thirds full,
so it must have been in the centre a hundred
or more feet deep, and was moving forward
at the rate of about three feet q minute. just
as steady, and almost as silent as a river, all
one Hvid mass ofred hot Goals. By daylight,
most of the mass looked dark except in plac-
es where the hot rocks were tumbling down
the sides, and the top where the descent was
steep; but n night it was all fiery red, lit
orally a river Of fire. At the 'front.' where
we reached the stream, it had arrived at the
termination of the ravine, and as there was
nothing to confne it, it had spread out latter
Iy over q snace mile in width. Theground
here offered no obstruction to the lava, and
it was piled up on all sides precisely like a
railroad embankment, from twenty to fifty
feet high, as steep as rough matter would
be.


There being so much room here for the
lava to spread about no forward motion
could be discerned, except that all along this
front the hot stones were continually tumb-
ling down from the top to the bottom. So
that in an hours time we could distinctly
perceive that the embarkment had advanced
considerably. At the sides Of the embark