ERUPTION OF. MOUNT VESUVIUS.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1231, 9 July 1872, Page 2

ERUPTION OF. MOUNT VESUVIUS.

.'; . [home News.] The following vivid descriptions of the recent eruptions are compiled from the letters of correspondents who have been eye-witnesses of the terrible scenes here spoken of. -■■' ';' ■. The first is written from Naples, oh April 27, and is as follows :-—" So awfully .- sublime a spectacle as Vesuvius presented, it is impossible for the mind to conceive, and I am almost tempted to lay down raw, pen. in despair and confine myself to a report of the dreadful calamities to which both eye and ear can testify. Yet, before I do so, let me say a few words more about the ■ marvellous grandeur, of the spectacle. On the nights of April 25 and 26 some friends who were in the Atrio del Cavallo, and gazing on the stream of lava which was gushing out towards ..the north, were appalled by a heavy, rumbling sound, which sent them flying* and soon afterwards there was the noise as of many waters rushing down with impetuous violence. Another mouth had opened and the lava tumbling headlong over the most precipitous part, of the mountain threatened to sweep everything and everyone . before .it. There are vague reports of many persons having been swallowed up, but I give them with reserve, as panic has magnified,; if it be possible to do so, the : dreadful consequences of the eruption. Like a moving wall of living fire came^ down this new stream, scorching those even at a considerable distance, and lighting up the aky with its lurid glow; In a short time after the whole of the mountain. seemed to be on fire ; those black spots which marked the division between the principal mouths were no longer visible, the partitions had given way, and one huge mass of flame rose up to the heavens, casting its light on the straight or tortuous streams of liquid fire which were rushing downwards. Not one bright flame was it which fascinated the sight, but rather a continued series of flakes of fire, distinctly visible, with which were intermingled stones that rose to a great height and fell* all round with a crushing weight. ' There was a general cry of .'.' Fly, fly !" on the mountain, and all who could escape did so ; but, alas ! there were many victims. During the whole bl'this terrible night the mountain shook violently, and s the thunder rolled incessantly, giving fresh impetus to the fiery deluge. At moire than twenty mile 3 distance that savage and ceaseless roar shook the windows, while in Naples the ground trembled beneath the feet ; water in large vessels was marked by undulations on the surface, and many houses which have suffered from the continual shocks have, had to be strengthened and propped 'tip by poles. It seems almost as if I were touching a discordant note when dwelling on the grand leanty of the scene ; and yet, were I not to do so, this letter would be incomplete. To compare great things with small, the smoke and mist formed a cloud like a gigantic cauliflower ; it? was marked by a thousand involutions, whi<sh were broken at times towards the easMby a north-west or westerly wind, which swept masses of dust and vapor now far down the coast, and now inland. April 28.— Happily the action of the volcano is in decrescenza ;• still the mountain presents an awful spectacle. Here, in Naples, we are walking on dust, we. are eating dust, and, are breathing it too, far more than is agreeable. Clouds of fine ashes have succeeded to those of fire, land the mountain and every object for- miles towards the north are obscured by a dense cloud. Emerging from it — for I havebeen half round Vesuvius to-day— respiration became clearer as one got to Torre del Grecco, but even now what a grand sight* is presented to us from that place !, -The : heavy breathing of the volcano was distinctly audible as it sent up continually masses of smoke, which mounted high into the air, until the highest fell over by . its own weight, and was scattered over the soil for many miles. For ever gushing out and swelling in proportion, they rise one over the other and fill the air, so that the sun this morning looked like the moon in a mist. Breathing was laborious close under Vesuvius, and my eyes are smarting ■ even now. On proceeding further 1 learnt from the authorities -at -the -Perfecture that the country on the east side of the mountain, including Ottagano, Pompeii, Scafati, and ; Bosco Reale, was safe, although at one time a stream of f|rei was rapidly running down in that direction. Heavy showers of pumice stone and fine ashes, however, .fell on Stafati and Cava, which might have produced a disaster at the former place, where there is a powder magazine, but water was thrown over the - powder ; and from Pompeii, as also /.from Resina, a)l the Government employees were removed. There were still, .as I looked up, jets of smoke or vanor bursting forth from a dozen places, indicating great activity, and one shot out horizontally for a considerable distance above Torre dell'Annuneiata; but what are these compared with those rivers, those oceans of flame and fire, which blazed all-April 26, and brought ruin on some thousands ! I almost fear to enter on the subject, lest I may unconsciously exaggerate the disaster, and must beg you not to attach unlimited confidence to my statements at present. Official reports give the number of the victims at 200. It is, I hope, something less, and I believe it to be ao,

for even men in office with whom I have conversed are of that opinion. A considerable number of persons no doubt fell sacrifices to their curiosity when the burning fountains of the deep were opened, and the living fire burst forth impetuously and pursued and overtook many a poor wretch. They were brought into the hospitals as Boon as they were found, some roasted, some Bkinned from head to foot; and this Bad work continued at intervals. 'The very nails of one were pendent with the skin,' says a medical friend, 'and one man I was obliged to leave on the mountain, who was dying, and must now be a cinder.' Most of these have died. There were many, however, who were buried beneath the lava. Several peasants who were cutting wood between Somma and Vesuvius were, according to the newspapers, swallowed up by the deluge, and forty persons were destroyed in a like manner at San Sebastiano. a small town with 2000 inhabitants on the western side of the mountain. On seeing the lava approach they ascended a belfry, one of the distinctive features of the country ; bnt another Btream surrounded it, it fell, and all were lost. I give the reports as I have heard them. San Sebastiano, and Massa, a township of 9000 inhabitants, are both almost entirely destroyed by that great stream of fire which rushed down upon them from the north-west side of the cone. ' I witnessed the desolating scene,' said one who had been a spectator, 'when the first houses were destroyed. There was a brilliant conflagration and then a crash, and, as it were, a grand display of fireworks, occasioned, as I imagine, by the lava falling into the wells. To show you what a want of precision there is in the reports in circulation, I heard it stated that eight townships had been destroyed, but I have not been able to discover that more than two hare been. Several were in great danger, as Bosco Tre Case and the two Torres ; also Resina and Portici ; yet more so Cercola, Ponticelli, Barra, and San Giorgio di Cremano ; many villas and smaller houses in the country, also much valuable land, have been consumed, but of entire towns only the two I have named: The exodus occasioned by these disasters, actual or menaced, was more general and lamentable than that which occurred when Torre del Greco was shaken to its foundations a few years ago. The danger was then more limited, but now Vesuvius has been bleeding at every pore, and the destructive flood has poured down north, sduth, east, and west. To assist the population to escape, a dozen barges off Santa Lucia were packed as close as anchovies with the poor fugitives. There was a sensation in the crowd. A poor woman, half dead with fear, had given, premature birth to a child on board one of the boats. The anthorities, who have acted with great promptitude, have proved themselves equal to the occasion. They sent four steamers to the Gratanella to bring away the panic-stricken multitude. The railway-carriages were used gratuitously, and the customs barriers were suppressed for the time. Corporate bodies and individuals were no less active in the city ; 400 beds were sent from one of the hospitals, and 760 persons were received in several public establishments. Moreover the municipality voted 40,000 lire for immediate necessities. Many of the fugitives are already returning to the homes which they had abandoned. I saw them as I stood at Torre del Greco coming in with apparent indifference, bearing articles of bedding and furniture and clothes. There were mothers with infants in their arms, and decrepit old men and women with bundles of household stuff. , Their homes are not destroyed, but how soon may desolation be their lot — that huge black mass behind their town which is now disgorging millions of tons of dust looks menacing enough. There in, however, a power stronger than fear of death, and that is love of home. We are all compelled to use umbrellas as a protection from the dust, which folia in a thick and heavy shower." .

that brought troops hero from Aden, spread like wildfire all over the country. It k now, we are thankful to say, to Borne extent, dying out. Referring briefly to the weather, we may remark that here in Bombay the season has not been such a fearfully hot one as was anticipated ; nearly all day long the heat is tempered by a strong sea breeze. But, in other parts of India — more particularly the north-west provinces— the heat is described as something terrific. Cases of sunstroke and heat apoplexy are very frequent ; it is impossible tor a European to venture out of doors after nine in the morning, while life in-doors ; even with pankahs and kus-kus tatties, is well-nigh insupportable ; birds and small animals take refuge inside houses and will not be driven out, and crows have actually been known to drop off trees through sheer exhaustion. However, the monsoon is fast approaching, and when it comes, panting Anglo-Indians will bo relieved for a time from cholera, small-pox, dengue, and a temperature of 100 degrees in the shade.