GRAND ERUPTION OF MOUNT ETNA.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 186, 6 August 1879, Page 6

GRAND ERUPTION OF MOUNT ETNA.

The telegrams from Italy have for many successive days decribed the progress of the eruption of Mount Etna A correspondent of the limes writing from Taormioa, in Sicily, on May 29th, cays :— " On the ni^ht of May 25ih there were continuous marmurings from Mount Etna, but, this not being an uncommon occurrence, it attracted but little or Do attention. On lha morning of the 26th these murmuriogs increased, and I called the attention of a servant of mine to the fact, but he positively denied that the sounds proceeded from tbe mountain at all; he rather thought the noise was made by the surf beating on the seashore 800 feet below, a dull sound which it must have resembled. Somebody called attention to thegla9s rattling in the window frames, and somebody else suggested earthquake, a suggestion which was met with derision, however at about half-paat 12 p.m., a dense cloud of a moke was seen lo be issuing from tbe great crater of Etna — that is as well as its origin could be traced amid the clouds with which the mountain was covered. It was a broad cloud which stretched over the land and over the sea till it was lost oo the horizon. It had a very red, or rather it might be described as of a burnt sienna, color, and minute specs of ash began to fall, but not in any quantity ; we could trace it in its course far into the Digbt, and, in fact, until we all went to bed. On the morning of the 27th all seemed in repose — not a cloud was upon the mountain, save the flit cloud with a lump ia the middle which often overhangs the crater ia the summer months, and which the Sicilians call " the CarJinal's Hat." But at half-past eight a dense cloud was observed to issue from the earth upon the northern slope of tbe mountain, as well as could be judged about half-way between Linguagrossa and Raodazza, but much higher up the mountain. This cloud grew and spread, and became so dense that tbe whcla mountain became perfectly invisible; the light became bo much obscimd that it resembled the darkness produced by a total eclipse of the eao, and ruin of fine black ash, like powderel emery, commenced. So heavy was the /all that the promontory of Naxos, but two miles distant, became perfectly invisible. This black rain continued the who'e of tbe day, loud reports could occasionally be heard from the mountain, tn.l no doubt now remained that an eruplion on a grand scale hid commenced. No positive informalton couid be obtained as to its exact localiiy, for nobody could ascend the mountain under such circumstances. Etna is so enormous, and so precipitousand rugged, that a voyage of investigation in such a rain of ash and such darkness would have been almost an impossibility. We did all we could to obtain news, but very little that could be depended upon was acquired. All night this black rain went on: About midnight huge fires could be seen looming through the dense clouds. In the morning a most extraordinary scene presented itself; the whole face of nature was black,

the hills and plaina wore Hack, tbn sea-shore was black, the usually dazzlingly white roads were black, the root's of the houses were black. My garden is just now a mass of flowers, but every leaf, every petal, every cup, was loaded with black, the edges of the petals giving a bright line of the color of the flower. If a breath of wind passed, a black shower fell from the the trees, and still the black rain went on. The effect upon the mind was most depressing. This ash penetrates everything ; it is found in closely-shut linen drawers, in close boxes ; it is all among my papers as I write ; and it seems to take delight in inserting itself in one's food— for two days I have been chewing grit. The effect of trees and figures in this universal black ia very strange, the colors standing out with startling brilliancy. At two o'clock in the day I started on horseback to Piedmonte to try and gain some positive news, and heard that three craters, each about a mile apart and situated like the points of a triangle, had opened in a valley about six miles above a postal station called Passapescaro, a place nearly midway on the road between Linguagrossa and Randazzo — a most difficult place to reach, as lodging of any description could not be obtained within fourteen miles, over precipitous and rugged ground, with every path obliterated by the asb, the mountain thundering and vomiting fire in unknown directions, with the terrible darkness and eternal rain of black ash, and general consternation everywhere. The lava was said to be flowing, but only its reflected light could be seen at night, and it was in a valley, which, as far as I can ascertain, must be next the " Valley del Bove." My eye 3 were most painfully inflamed by the fine ash as I returned, as were those of my horse. My pockets were full, my boots were full ; it was down my neck, in my hair and beard, and my ear 3 were blocked up with it ; the polished surface of my saddle was ground away with the grit. On the road home I came across a priest enlarging upon the eruption to a select audience of contadini, and ventilating his knowledge by describing the destruction of Pompeii, and among other accuracies described the sentinel at the Herculaneum gate sticking tj his post through it all, and being found with his gun 1800 years after. At night the scene was magnificent ; a tremendous stream of lava, many miles long, descended in the apparent direction of Randazzo, while from the new craters great balls of fire were thrown high in the air and burst into showers of fire, like gigantic rockets, accompanied by thundering explosions. This morning the explosions are still going on ; the stream of lava seems more active than ever; but the ash has much diminished, and although much of the mountain is obscured, it is by a cloud apparently of vapor rather than of ash, and this gives indications of clearing away, when the whole scene may become visible. Two English gentlemen left here this morning to try and reach the craters.