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Title: Wonders of Creation
Author: Anonymous
Posting Date: September 22, 2012 [EBook #6131]
Release Date: July, 2004
First Posted: November 17, 2002
Language: English
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*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WONDERS OF CREATION ***
Produced by Curtis A. Weyant, Juliet Sutherland, Charles
Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
[Illustration: Mount Vesuvius]
[Illustration: Marvels of Creation]
WONDERS OF CREATION:
A DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF
VOLCANOES AND THEIR PHENOMENA.
"The mountains quake at Him and the hills melt and the earth is
burned at His presence"--NAHUM 1:5
1872
PREFACE
Being intended for the Young, this work treats of Volcanoes only in a
popular way. Scientific details and philosophical speculations are
accordingly avoided. Nevertheless, a perusal of the following pages may
so stimulate the curiosity of youthful minds, that some, on attaining
to riper years and more mature understanding, may be inspired with a
longing to inquire more deeply into this interesting subject. They may
be stimulated to investigate, in a philosophical spirit, all the
marvellous facts and phenomena connected with volcanic agency, and to
speculate on their causes and modes of operation. Some also, on
reaching their manhood, may be induced to ascend one or more of the
nearer active volcanoes, and examine their phenomena for themselves.
The facilities of travel are now so great, that a visit to Vesuvius or
Etna is no longer beyond the limits of a holiday trip. Even the more
remote Hecla with the playful Geysers may be reached within a
reasonable time. Perhaps a very few, who are now scientific travellers
in embryo, may call to remembrance what they may have read in these
pages, when, many years hence, they may be climbing the cone of
Cotopaxi, or peering into the crater of Kilauea.
Apart from these considerations, a perusal of this work may enable the
young mind to form a more lively idea of the tremendous energy of the
forces which are imprisoned in the bowels of the earth. Such a vivid
conception will naturally lead to a higher appreciation of the wisdom
and power of Him who guides the operation of those forces by his laws,
and has set bounds to their activity which they cannot overpass.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Volcanoes in general--Origin of the Name--General
Aspect--Crater--Cone--Subordinate Cones and Craters--Peak of
Teneriffe--Lava-Streams--Cascades and Jets of Lava--Variations in its
Consistency--Pumice--Different Sorts of
Lava--Obsidian--Olivine--Sulphur--Dust, Ashes, &c.--Volcanic
Silk--Volcanic Islands--Volcanic Fishes--Hot Water, Mud, Vapours,
&c.--Volcanic Storm--Explosions--Number of Volcanoes--King of the
Volcanoes--Artificial Volcano
CHAPTER II.
Volcanoes of Iceland--Mount Hecla--Earliest Eruption--Great Eruption in
1845--Skaptar Yokul--Terrible Eruption in 1783--Rise and Disappearance
of Nyoe--Katlugaia--The Geysers--A very hot Bath --Californian
Geysers--Iceland-spar--Jan Mayen
CHAPTER III.
Mount Vesuvius--Origin of Name--Former Condition--Eruption of A.D.
79--Death of Pliny--Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum--Appearance
of the Mountain before and after Eruption--Formation of Monte
Nuovo--Eruption of Boiling Water--Coloured Vapours--Cascade of
Lava--Discovery of Remains of Herculaneum and Pompeii--The Buildings of
Pompeii--Street of Tombs--Skeletons--Sundry Shops--Ascents of
Vesuvius--Crater--Temple of Serapis
CHAPTER IV.
Mount Etna--Its Appearance and Height--Ancient Eruptions--Pindar's
Allusion--Virgil's Description--Subordinate Cones and
Craters--Caverns--Val de Bove--Formation of Monti Rossi--Eruption of
1852--Whirlwinds--Lava Torrents--Cascades of Lava--Description of
Crater --Empedocles--Enceladus--Craters of 1865--Cyclopean
Isles--Homer's Legend--Volcanic Origin--Other Basaltic Groups
CHAPTER V.
Lipari Islands--Stromboli--Origin of Name--Position of
Crater--Description of Crater--New Volcanic Island named
Julia--Phenomena preceding its Elevation--Description of Island and
Crater--Its Disappearance--Rise of Islands at Santorin
CHAPTER VI.
Peak of Teneriffe--Its Crater--Eruption of Chahorra--Palma--Great
Caldera--Lancerote--Great Eruption--Sudden Death--Fuego, Cape de Verde
Islands--Cotopaxi--Its Appearance--Great Eruptive
Force--Tunguragua--Great Eruption of Mud and Water--Fish thrown
out--Quito--Its Overthrow--Pichinca--Humboldt's Ascent--Narrow
Escape--Antisana--Sangay--Rancagua--Chillan--Masaya
CHAPTER VII.
Jorullo--Great Monument--Jorullo's Estate--Interruption to his
Quiet--His Estate Swells--Swallows Two Rivers--Throws up Ovens--Becomes
a Burning Mountain--Popocatepetl--Spanish Ascents--Orizaba --Muller's
Ascent--Morne Garou--Pelee--La Soufriere
CHAPTER VIII.
Hawaii, Sandwich Islands--Crater of Kilauea--Its awful Aspect--Fiery
Lake and Islands--Jets of Lava--Depth of Crater and Surface of
Lake--Bank of Sulphur--Curious Rainbow--Mouna Kaah and Mouna
Loa--Eruption of the Latter in 1840--Recent Eruption--Great Jet and
Torrent of Lava--Burning of the Forests--Great Whirlwinds--Underground
Explosions--Other Volcanoes in the Pacific
CHAPTER IX.
Atolls, or Coral Islands--Their strange Appearance--Their Connexion
with Volcanoes--Their Mode of Formation--Antarctic
Volcanoes-Diatomaceous Deposits
CHAPTER X.
Volcanoes of Java--Papandayang--Mountain Ingulfed--Great Destruction of
Life and Property--Galoen gong--Destructive Eruption--Mount
Merapia--Great Eruption, with Hurricane--Another, very
destructive---Mud Volcano--Crater of Tankuban Prahu--Island of
Sumbawa--Volcano of Tomboro--Terrific Eruption--Timor--A Volcano
quenches itself--Cleaving of Mount Machian--Sangir--Destructive
Eruption--Bourbon
CHAPTER XI.
Mud and Air Volcanoes--Luss--Macaluba--Taman--Korabetoff New Island in
the Sea of Azof--Jokmali--Fires of Baku--Mud Volcano in Flank of
Etna--Air Volcanoes of Turbaco, Cartagena, and Galera Zamba
CHAPTER XII.
New Zealand--Boiling Fountains and Lakes
CHAPTER XIII.
Underground Sounds--Quito--Rio Apure--Guanaxuato--Melida--Nakous
CHAPTER XIV.
Extinct Volcanoes--Auvergne--Vienne--Agde--Eyfel--Italy--Lacus
Cimini--Grotto del Cane--Guevo Upas--Talaga Bodas--The Dead Sea
WONDERS OF CREATION:
VOLCANOES AND THEIR PHENOMENA.
CHAPTER I.
Volcanoes in general--Origin of the Name--General
Aspect--Crater--Cone--Subordinate Cones and Craters--Peak of
Teneriffe--Lava-Streams--Cascades and Jets of Lava--Variations in its
Consistency--Pumice--Different Sorts of
Lava--Obsidian--Olivine--Sulphur--Dust, Ashes, &c.--Volcanic
Silk--Volcanic Islands--Volcanic Fishes--Hot Water, Mud, Vapours,
&c--Volcanic storm--Explosions--Number of Volcanoes--King of the
Volcanoes--Artificial Volcano.
Among the many wonderful works of God, none exhibits so much of awful
grandeur as an active volcano. This name for a burning mountain was
first applied to that which exists in the island anciently called
Hiera, one of the Lipari group. It is derived from the name of the
heathen god Vulcan, which was originally spelt with an initial B, as
appears from an ancient altar on which were inscribed the words BOLCANO
SAC. ARA. This spelling indicates the true derivation of the name,
which is simply a corruption of Tubal-cain, who was "an instructer of
every artificer in brass and iron" (Gen. iv. 22). The ancient heathen,
having deified this personage, imagined, on first seeing a burning
mountain, that Tubal-cain, or Vulcan, must have established his forge
in the heart of it, and so, not unnaturally, named it Volcano--an
appellation which the Island of Hiera retains to the present day.
The Cyclops--the supposed descendants of Vulcan, who were fabled to
have been of gigantic stature, and to have had each only one eye in the
centre of the forehead--were imagined to be the workmen who laboured in
these underground forges. The noises, proceeding from the heart of the
mountain, were attributed to their operations. It is to the Island of
Hiera that Virgil alludes in the AEneid, lib. viii. 416. The passage is
thus rendered by Dryden:--
"Sacred to Vulcan's name, an isle there lay,
Betwixt Sicilia's coasts and Lipare,
Raised high on smoking rocks, and deep below,
In hollow caves the fires of Etna glow.
The Cyclops here their heavy hammers deal;
Loud strokes and hissings of tormented steel
Are heard around; the boiling waters roar,
And smoky flames through fuming tunnels soar."
A volcano generally presents itself to the imagination as a mountain
sending forth from its summit great clouds of smoke with vast sheets of
flame, and it is not unfrequently so described. The truth is, however,
that a real volcano seldom emits either true smoke or true flame. What
is mistaken for smoke consists merely of vast volumes of fine dust,
mingled with much steam and other vapours--chiefly sulphurous. What
appears like flames is simply the glare from the glowing materials
which are thrown up towards the top of the mountain--this glare being
reflected from the clouds of dust and steam.
[Illustration: Peak of Teneriffe.]
The most essential part of a volcano is the crater, a hollow basin,
generally of a circular form. It is often of large dimensions, and
sometimes of vast depth. Some volcanoes consist of a crater alone, with
scarcely any mountain at all; but in the majority of cases the crater
is situated on the top of a mountain, which in some instances towers to
an enormous height. The part of the mountain which terminates in the
principal crater is usually of a conical form--much like a glass-house
chimney, and is therefore named the cone. It is generally composed of
loose ashes and cinders, with here and there masses of stone, which
have been tossed into the air by the volcanic forces. In some mountains
the cone rises out of a hollow at a considerable height from the base.
A hollow of this kind is generally regarded as having been a former
crater, which had become extinct before the existing cone was raised.
There are sometimes formed lower down the mountain subordinate craters,
smaller than that which occupies the summit of the cone. Within the
crater itself there are frequently numerous little cones, from which
vapours are continually issuing, with occasional volleys of ashes and
stones.
One of the largest and most perfect of the volcanic cones in the world
is that of the Peak of Teneriffe, of which you have here a
representation. It conveys a good idea of the general form of the cone,
and has long been a conspicuous and useful landmark to mariners. It is
upwards of twelve thousand feet in height, and is said to be visible in
very clear weather at a distance of a hundred miles.
The most interesting products of an active volcano are the streams of
lava which it pours forth--sometimes from the principal crater on the
summit--sometimes from the smaller craters lower down. This lava
consists of melted stone. When it issues from the mountain its heat is
intense and it glows like a furnace, so that, during the night
especially, these fiery rivers present a grand yet awful spectacle. The
streams spread themselves till they sometimes attain a breadth of
several miles, with a depth of several hundred feet, and they flow
onward till their length sometimes reaches fifty miles.
Lava, not being so liquid as water, does not flow so rapidly:
nevertheless, when it is careering down the sides of a mountain, or
where the slope of the ground is considerable, it advances with great
speed. Even when at its hottest, it is somewhat viscid, like treacle,
and this viscidness increases as it cools. Hence on a level plain, and
at some distance from its source, the lava-stream advances at a
leisurely pace. In such circumstances the cooling proceeds so quickly
that a crust of considerable thickness is soon formed on the top of the
current, and persons who are bold enough may cross the stream by means
of this natural bridge. Even where the current continues flowing
rapidly, this crust may be formed on its surface; and a man, whose
curiosity exceeds his prudence, may stand on the top of it, bore a hole
through the crust, and see the lava flowing underneath his feet!
Nothing can resist the progress of the lava-flood; trees, houses,
everything yields to its massive assault, The trees take fire before
its approach, and when it reaches them they emit a hissing noise almost
amounting to a shriek, and then plunging into the molten flood are seen
no more. Even the sea cannot withstand the lava-stream, but retires on
its approach; so that promontories stretching to a considerable
distance from the shore are formed in this manner, when the molten
matter hardens into stone.
The eruptions of lava are sometimes attended by peculiarities which
impart to them much additional grandeur. Instances have occurred in
which the fiery stream has plunged over a sheer precipice of immense
height, so as to produce a glowing cascade exceeding in breadth and
perpendicular descent the celebrated Falls of Niagara. In other cases,
the lava, instead of at once flowing down the sides of the mountain,
has been first thrown up into the air as a fiery fountain several
hundred feet in height. This happens when the great crater at the
summit of the cone is full of liquid lava but does not overflow. Then,
on the formation of an opening in the side of the cone, a good way
down, the lava issuing from it is projected upwards to nearly the same
height that it occupies in the interior of the crater at the top of the
cone. It is hardly possible for the fancy to picture to itself anything
so magnificent as such a fountain of liquid fire must be. A simple jet
of water of considerable volume, thrown into the air to the height of a
hundred feet, is itself a beautiful spectacle. What then must be a huge
jet of glowing white lava projected to the height of several hundred
feet, and with what an awful thundering sound must it come tumbling to
the ground, thence to rush as a roaring torrent down the mountain's
side!
Lava, when congealed, differs in its consistency according as it is
near the top or near the bottom of the stream. When near the top it is
porous, owing to its rapid cooling; when near the bottom it is dense,
owing to its slow cooling and the great pressure to which it is
subjected. When the lighter superficial lava is brought suddenly into
contact with water, as when a lava-stream enters the sea, it becomes
still lighter and more porous--forming the well-known substance called
pumice, so much used for polishing. It may be regarded as the
solidified froth of lava, and is so light that it floats on the surface
of water.
The lavas of different mountains, when cooled and hardened, differ much
in their appearance and composition. Among those of Iceland is found
the beautiful black volcanic glass named obsidian. It is a good deal
used for ornamental purposes; for it possesses the peculiar property of
presenting a different appearance according to the manner in which it
is cut. When cut in one direction it is of a beautiful jetty black;
when cut across that direction it is glistering gray. The lavas of
Vesuvius are generally of a brown colour, and are also used in the
arts. In them are found the beautiful olive-green crystals of the
mineral called olivine, sometimes used by jewellers. But the most
useful of all volcanic productions is native sulphur, in which Mount
Etna has been very prolific. It is to this mountain chiefly, therefore,
that we are indebted for our beautiful fire-works--our squibs,
crackers, Roman candles, serpents, Catherine-wheels, and sky-rockets.
Would it had produced nothing more harmful than these! But it has also
supplied one of the ingredients of that villainous gunpowder, which has
been the means of thrusting so many of our fellow-creatures prematurely
out of the world. Etna, however, can hardly be held responsible for
this sad misuse of the valuable substance which it affords; while even
gunpowder itself has, on the whole, been of vast benefit to mankind.
Could we only refrain from shooting each other with it, we might regard
it as an almost unmixed good; for it has helped us greatly in forming
our roads, railways, and tunnels, and in working our quarries and mines.
In all great eruptions the flow of the lava is preceded by the ejection
of vast quantities of volcanic dust, ashes, dross, slag, and loose
stones. These are tossed into the air with tremendous violence,
consequently, to a great height. The stones thus ejected are sometimes
of immense size. A rock, whose weight is estimated at two hundred tons,
was thrown from the summit of Cotopaxi to the distance of more than ten
miles. Large stones have been tossed up by Vesuvius to the estimated
height of three thousand six hundred feet. The dust of the volcano of
St. Vincent was carried more than two hundred miles to the eastward in
the teeth of the trade wind; consequently it must have been thrown to
an enormous height, in order to its falling at so vast a distance from
its source.
Besides the usual volcanic dust and ashes, there is sometimes thrown
from the crater of a volcano a substance resembling spun-glass or
asbestos. It possesses the flexibility and lustre of silk. The volcano
of Salazes, in the Island of Bourbon, is remarkable for this substance,
and it has there been seen to form a cloud covering the entire surface
of the mountain. But it has also been found in other places. How
curious it would be to have this volcanic silk spun into threads, and
knitted into stockings or woven into a garment! Who can tell what may
happen in these days of adventure and invention? Who knows but what
some young reader, whose eye is now resting on this page, may yet live
to present his ladylove with a pair of knitted gloves composed of the
volcanic silk of Salazes?
Great as the contrast is between this filmy material and the ponderous
blocks tossed into the air by Cotopaxi and Etna, it is not greater than
that between the latter and other masses which have from time to time
been upheaved by volcanic forces. Instances have occurred of whole
islands having been raised from the bed of the ocean, or whole
mountains upreared on the surface of the land, far away from the sea,
and that too in the short space of a few hours. But of such we shall
have occasion to speak more at large in the sequel.
Of all the extraordinary productions that have ever been thrown up by
volcanoes, the strangest of all are fishes. How droll to dine upon fish
cooked in a volcano! A queer fish it must be that likes to dwell in the
bowels of a mountain--more especially of one whose entrails are mostly
of liquid fire. But of this also more fully anon.
In addition to the solid materials thrown out by volcanoes, there are
sometimes poured forth torrents of boiling water and liquid mud. More
frequently, however, the water issues in the form of vast columns of
steam and sulphurous vapour. These ascend to great heights in the air,
and becoming gradually chilled, they form immense masses of dark heavy
clouds, similar to those we observe before a thunderstorm. Nor is this
resemblance apparent only. For the clouds that overhang an active
volcano during an eruption of its vapours are, in reality,
thunderclouds highly charged with electricity. They accordingly produce
what Baron Humboldt calls the volcanic storm. It includes all the most
terrible of atmospheric phenomena--lightnings of extraordinary
vividness; thunders that peal and reverberate as if they would rend the
echoes asunder; torrents of rain that pour down upon the mountain and
its neighbourhood, hissing like thousands of serpents when they fall on
the glowing lava-torrent; and whirlwinds that sweep the volcanic ashes
round and round in vast eddies, and before whose violence no man of
mortal mould is able for a moment to stand.
Beyond and above this din of contending elements are heard the hoarse
bellowings of the mountain itself, which, meanwhile, trembles to its
very core. The detonations from the volcano far exceed in loudness any
other earthly noise. Compared with these, the pealing of the loudest
thunder is but as the report of a musket contrasted with the
simultaneous discharge of a thousand pieces of heavy ordnance. The
explosions of Tomboro, and the vibrations accompanying them, have been
heard and felt at almost incredible distances. Judge, then, of the
immensity of the forces which are thus brought into play, and the
overwhelming grandeur of the scene which such an eruption, with all its
accompaniments of storm and tempest, must present to the bewildered eye
and ear. Even to read of it sends a thrill through the nerves: what,
then, must it be to listen and behold?
So far do we dwell from the nearest volcanoes, and so little are we
familiar with the names except of a few, that not many persons are
aware of the large number of burning mountains on the face of our
globe. The total number, however, of those which are known to have been
active within historic times is fully two hundred. Of these, the most
familiar to us for its classic fame and its restless activity is Mount
Vesuvius, which stands alone in its grandeur on the continent of
Europe. The most violent in its activity is Tomboro, in the island of
Sumbawa. The highest is Cotopaxi, in the range of the Andes, which
rises far into the region of perpetual snow. Its height is 16,800 feet
above the level of the sea. Strange it seems, that volcanic fires
should glow at such a height in the midst of snow and ice. But in this
particular Cotopaxi does not stand alone. The Peak of Teneriffe, Mount
Etna, and several others, also rise above the snow-line; while the
burning mountains of Iceland, Greenland, and Kamtschatka, with those
which rear their heads in the frozen regions near the South Pole, are
for the most part enveloped in ice and snow from head to foot.
Before proceeding to describe to you some of the more interesting of
the individual volcanoes and volcanic groups, it may be well to let you
into a secret worth knowing. You would doubtless like to have a volcano
all to yourself. Here is the receipt: Buy several pounds of clean iron
filings, and a somewhat larger quantity of the flowers of sulphur. Mix
the two together and knead them well with water into a stiffish paste.
Then wrap this pudding in a cloth, and put another cloth about it,
which has been smeared with common or coal-tar. Dig a hole in some
quiet corner of your garden, pop your dumpling into it, and cover it
well up with earth, treading it down firmly with your feet. Not many
hours will elapse before you will see the ground swell like a molehill;
an eruption will ensue, and you will be the happy possessor of a
Stromboli of your own!
CHAPTER II.
Volcanoes of Iceland--Mount Hecla--Earliest Eruption--Great Eruption in
1845--Skaptar Yokul--Terrible Eruption in 1783--Rise and Disappearance
of Nyoe--Katlugaia--The Geysers--A very hot Bath --Californian
Geysers--Iceland-spar--Jan Mayen
We shall begin with the volcanoes of Iceland, of which the most
interesting and active is Mount Hecla. The annexed woodcut will give
you an idea of its appearance. You will observe the column of volcanic
vapour ascending from the snow-clad summit of the cone, and how dreary
and desolate is the aspect of the country at its base.
The earliest recorded eruption of Mount Hecla took place in the ninth
century of the Christian era; but probably there had been many before
that date. Since then there have been between twenty and thirty
considerable eruptions of this mountain, and it has sometimes remained
in a state of activity for upwards of six years with little
intermission. It took a long rest, however, of more than sixty years'
duration, prior to the year 1845, when it again burst forth. After a
violent storm on the night of the 2nd of September in that year, the
surface of the ground in the Orkney Islands was found strown with
volcanic dust. There was thus conveyed to the inhabitants of Great
Britain an intimation that Hecla had been again at work. Accordingly,
tidings soon after arrived of a great eruption of the mountain. On the
night of the 1st of September, the dwellers in its neighbourhood were
terrified by a fearful underground groaning, which continued till
mid-day on the 2nd. Then, with a tremendous crash, there were formed in
the sides of the cone two large openings, whence there gushed torrents
of lava, which flowed down two gorges on the flanks of the mountain.
The whole summit was enveloped in clouds of vapour and volcanic dust.
The neighbouring rivers became so hot as to kill the fish, and the
sheep fled in terror from the adjoining heaths, some being burnt before
they could escape.
On the night of the 15th of September, two new openings were
formed--one on the eastern, and the other on the southern slope--from
both of which lava was discharged for twenty-two hours. It flowed to a
distance of upwards of twenty miles, killing many cattle and destroying
a large tract of pasturage. Twelve miles from the crater, the
lava-stream was between forty and fifty feet deep and nearly a mile in
width. On the 12th of October a fresh torrent of lava burst forth, and
heaped up another similar mass. The mountain continued in a state of
activity up to April 1846; then it rested for a while, and began again
in the following month of October. Since then, however, it has enjoyed
repose.
The effects of these eruptions were disastrous. The whole island was
strown with volcanic ashes, which, where they did not smother the grass
outright, gave it a poisonous taint. The cattle that ate of it were
attacked by a murrain, of which great numbers died. The ice and snow,
which had gathered about the mountain for a long period of time, were
wholly melted by the heat. Masses of pumice weighing nearly half a ton
were thrown to a distance of between four and five miles.
[Illustration: Mount Hecla]
Mount Hecla is not the only volcano in Iceland. There are several
others; and from one of them, named Skaptar Yokul, there was, in the
year 1783, an eruption still more violent than that from Hecla above
described. It began on the 8th of June, and raged with little abatement
till the end of August, whence onward it continued, but with less
violence, till the following year. The lava, in this case, poured from
numerous openings; but these rivulets ultimately united themselves into
two large currents, which flowed onwards to the sea. In their progress,
these burning torrents filled up the beds of two considerable rivers.
The greater of the two streams, after it had ceased to flow and had
become a solid mass of rock, measured fifty miles in length, and
between twelve and fifteen miles in breadth. Its average depth on the
plains was about a hundred feet; but in the bed of the river, which it
had filled, it was not less than six hundred feet. The snow and ice,
which had previously covered the mountain, were not only melted, but
the water that flowed from them was raised to the boiling point, and
poured down with destructive effect on the plains. The dust and ashes
thrown into the air darkened the sun; and they were then strown over
the surface of the island, destroying all the pastures, so that many
thousands of cattle, horses, and sheep perished. But worse than that,
upwards of nine thousand persons lost their lives by this dreadful
catastrophe.
About a month before this great eruption of Skaptar Yokul, a volcanic
island was thrown up from the sea, at a distance of about seventy miles
from Iceland. So great was the quantity of ashes and dross ejected from
its crater, that it overspread the sea to a distance of a hundred and
fifty miles, forming a crust which obstructed the progress of ships.
Portions of this crust floated as far as the Shetland and Orkney
islands. The King of Denmark named this fiery apparition "Nyoe," or
"New Island," and doubtless prided himself not a little on this
addition to his limited dominions. But, alas, for human ambition! About
a year after the date of its first appearance, Nyoe sank into the
depths out of which it arose, and its position is now marked only by a
moderate shoal.
It is not by their ejected lavas alone that the volcanoes of Iceland
produce their destructive effects. Disastrous consequences have
frequently resulted from the sudden melting of their snows and
glaciers, on which the volcanic fires operate far more rapidly than
does the heat of the sun. It is chiefly by the vast quantities of
earth, sand, stones, and broken fragments of rock, which they hurry
along with them in their wild career, that the waters, so suddenly
freed, produce the greatest amount of damage. During an eruption of
Katlugaia, one of the southern Icelandic volcanoes, in 1756, the mass
of material thus carried down by the melted snows and glaciers was so
great, that, advancing several leagues into the sea, it formed three
parallel promontories, which rose above the sea-level, where there had
formerly been a depth of forty fathoms of water. Vast ravines were, at
the same time, scooped out of the sides of the mountain by the erosion
of the waters. Another eruption of this volcano in 1860 produced
similar results.
Still more interesting than the volcanic mountains of Iceland are its
Geysers, or intermittent springs of boiling water. The chief of these
is the Great Geyser. A jet rises to a vast height, and is accompanied
by much steam. Indeed, it is quite at the boiling-point.
The little mound, from the top of which the jet appears to rise, is
composed of a substance named siliceous sinter, and is a deposit from
the water of the fountain. At the top of this mound, which is between
six and seven feet in height, there is an oval basin, measuring about
fifty-six feet in one direction, and about forty-six in the other; its
average depth is about three feet. In the centre of this basin is a
round hole, about ten feet in diameter, out of which the water springs.
This hole is the mouth of a circular well, between seventy and eighty
feet in depth. It is down this well that the jet retires on its
disappearance; and it drags along with it all the water out of the
basin, leaving both basin and well quite empty, without even a puff of
steam coming out of the hole. In this state of emptiness the basin and
well remain for several hours. Suddenly the water begins to rise in the
well, overflowing till it fills the basin. Loud explosions are heard
from below, and the ground trembles. Then, with amazing violence, up
springs a vast column of boiling water, surmounted by clouds of steam,
which obscure the air. This first jet is followed by several others in
rapid succession, to the number of sixteen or eighteen; the last jet
being usually the greatest of all, and attaining a height of nearly a
hundred feet. In some instances it has risen to a height of a hundred
and fifty feet; and one particular jet was measured which rose to the
amazing height of two hundred and twelve feet.
The action of the fountain seldom continues more than about five
minutes at a time, and then a repose of several hours ensues. If left
to itself, the periods of the fountain's activity, though not quite
regular, generally recur at intervals of six or seven hours. But they
may be hastened by throwing big stones down the well. This not only
hurries the eruption of the jet, but increases its energy, and the
stones are thrown out with great force by the column of boiling water;
the loudness of the explosions being also considerably augmented.
There are several other geysers in the island besides this big one.
Their jets are smaller, but to compensate this deficiency, they are
more frequent in their ascent; so that travellers who are too impatient
to await the eruptions of the Great Geyser, content themselves with
visiting the little ones.
Would it not be very convenient to live near a geyser? We might have
our victuals cooked by it, and have pipes led from it all round our
house, to keep us comfortable in winter; and we might have nice hot
baths in our dressing-rooms, arid even a little steam-engine to roast
our meat and grind our coffee. But perhaps you may think it might not
be altogether pleasant to be kept so continually in hot water.
Were any of the water from the geyser to fall on your hands, you would
doubtless feel it rather sore; still more so, were you to be so rash as
to thrust your hand fairly into the jet of boiling water, as it ascends
into the air. Nevertheless, strange as it may seem, it would be
possible for you, without feeling any pain or sustaining any injury, to
thrust your hand right into the glowing lava as it flows from the
crater of Hecla. The only precaution needful to be observed, is first
to plunge the hand into cold water, and then dry it gently with a soft
towel, but so as to leave it still a little moist. This discovery was
made by a French philosopher, M. Boutigny, and has been practically
proved both by him and M. Houdin, the celebrated conjuror, by thrusting
their hands into molten iron, as it flowed from the furnace. The latter
describes the sensation as like what one might imagine to be felt on
putting the hand into liquid velvet.[1] The reason why this experiment
proves so harmless is that between the skin and the glowing substance
there is formed a film of vapour, which acts as a complete protection.
It is this elastic cushion of vapour which imparts that feeling of
softness described by M. Houdin; for it is with it alone that the hand
comes into contact.
[1. Houdin's Autobiography, ii 270]
Geysers have been recently discovered in California; but the jets do
not rise higher than twenty or thirty feet. They are, however, very
numerous, there being upwards of a hundred openings within a space of
half a mile square. The vapour from the whole group rises to upwards of
a hundred and fifty feet into the air. The boiling water issues from
conical mounds, with great noise. The whole ground around them is a
mere crust, and when it is penetrated the boiling water is seen
underneath. The Californian geysers, however, are impregnated, not with
silica, like those of Iceland, but with sulphur, of which they form
large deposits. The sulphurous vapours from the water corrode the rocks
near the fountains; nevertheless trees grow, without injury to their
health, at a distance from them of not more than fifty feet.
Besides obsidian, already mentioned as a product of its volcanoes,
Iceland is famed for another mineral of great scientific value. It is
that fine variety of carbonate of lime named Iceland-spar. Transparent
and colourless, like glass, this mineral possesses the property of
double refraction--any small object viewed through it in a particular
direction appearing double. It is much used for optical
purposes--especially for obtaining polarized light.
There is another volcano lying far to the northward of Iceland. It is
in the island of Jan Mayen, off the coast of Greenland, and has on its
summit a vast crater, 2000 feet in diameter, and 500 in depth.
CHAPTER III.
Mount Vesuvius--Origin of Name--Former Condition--Eruption of A D
79--Death of Pliny--Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum--Appearance
of the Mountain before and after Eruption--Formation of Monte
Nuovo--Eruption of Boiling Water--Coloured Vapours--Cascade of
Lava--Discovery of Remains of Herculaneum and Pompeii--The Buildings of
Pompeii--Street of Tombs--Skeletons--Sundry Shops--Ascents of
Vesuvius--Crater--Temple of Serapis.
Mount Vesuvius is the only active volcano on the continent of Europe,
and it is highly interesting both from its historical associations and
the frequency of its eruptions. It is situated on the coast of the Bay
of Naples, about six miles to the eastward of the city and at a short
distance from the shore. It forms a conspicuous feature in the
beautiful landscape presented by that bay, when viewed from the sea,
with the city in the foreground.
Mount Vesuvius was in ancient times held sacred to the deified hero
Hercules, and the town of Herculaneum, built at its base, was named
after him. So also, it is said, was the mountain itself, though in a
more round-about way. Hercules, as you will doubtless learn, was
feigned to have been the son of the heathen god Zeus and Alcmena, a
Theban lady. Now one of the appellations of Zeus was Ves, which was
applied to him as being the god of rains and dews--the wet divinity.
Thus Hercules was Vesouuios, the son of Ves. How this name should have
become corrupted into "Vesuvius," you can be at no loss to perceive.
Vesuvius was not always a volcano. It was for many ages a very
peaceable and well-behaved mountain. Ancient writers describe it as
having been covered with gardens and vineyards, except at the top which
was craggy. Within a large circle of nearly perpendicular cliffs, was a
flat space sufficient for the encampment of an army. This was doubtless
an ancient crater; but nobody in those times knew anything of its
history. So little was the volcanic nature of the mountain suspected,
that the Roman towns of Stabiae, Pompeii, and Herculaneum had been
erected at its base, and their inhabitants dwelt in fancied security.
In the year A.D. 63, however, the dwellers in the cities got a great
fright; for the mountain shook violently, and a good many houses were
thrown down. But soon all became quiet again, and the people set about
rebuilding the houses that had fallen. They continued to live in
apparent safety for some time longer. They danced, they sung, they
feasted; they married, and were altogether as merry a set of citizens
as any in southern Italy. But the 24th of August A.D. 79 at length
arrived. Then, woe to Stabiae! woe to Pompeii! woe to Herculaneum!
Pliny the elder was that day in command of the Roman fleet at Misenum,
which was not far off. His family were with him, and, among others, his
nephew, Pliny the younger, who has left an interesting account of what
happened on the occasion. He observed an extraordinary dense cloud
ascending in the direction of Vesuvius, of which he says:--"I cannot
give you a more exact description of its figure, than by resembling it
to that of a pine tree; for it shot up to a great height in the form of
a tall trunk, which spread out at the top into a sort of branches. It
appeared sometimes bright, and sometimes dark and spotted, as it was
either more or less impregnated with earth and cinders"
On seeing this remarkable appearance, the elder Pliny, who was a great
naturalist and a man of inquiring mind, resolved to go ashore and
inspect more narrowly what was going on. But a rash resolve it proved.
Steering towards Retina (now Resina), a port at the foot of the
mountain, he was met, on his approach, by thick showers of hot cinders,
which grew thicker and hotter as he advanced--falling on the ships
along with lumps of pumice and pieces of rock, black but burning hot.
Vast fragments came rolling down the mountain and gathered in heaps
upon the shore. Then the sea began suddenly to retreat, so that landing
at this point became impracticable. He therefore steered for Stabiae,
where he landed, and took up his abode with Pomponianus--an intimate
friend.
Meanwhile, flames appeared to issue from several parts of the mountain
with great violence--the darkness of the night heightening their glare.
Pliny nevertheless went to sleep. Soon, however, the court leading to
his chamber became almost filled with stones and ashes; so his servants
awoke him, and he joined Pomponianus and his household. The house now
began to rock violently to and fro; while outside, stones and cinders
were falling in showers. They, notwithstanding, thought it safer to
make their way out from the tottering mansion; so, tying pillows upon
their heads with napkins, they sallied forth. Although it was now day,
the darkness was deeper than that of the blackest night. By the aid of
torches and lanterns, however, they groped their way towards the beach,
with a view to escape by sea; but they found the waves too high and
tumultuous. Here Pliny, having drunk some cold water, lay down upon a
sailcloth which was spread for him; when almost immediately flames,
preceded by a strong smell of sulphur, issuing from the ground,
scattered the company and forced him to rise. With the help of two of
his servants he succeeded in raising himself; but, choked by some
noxious vapour, he instantly fell down dead.
[Illustration: Vesuvius Before the Eruption of A.D. 79.]
Nor was he alone in his death; for although many of the inhabitants of
the devoted cities were able to effect their escape; yet, so suddenly
did the overwhelming shower of ashes, cinders, and stones fall upon
them, that not a few of them perished in their dwellings or their
streets. As for the cities themselves, they were utterly buried
completely out of sight, and, like other things that are long out of
sight, they soon became also buried out of mind. For many centuries
they remained entirely forgotten.
You will doubtless like to know how Vesuvius looked, after doing so
much mischief. Here is a picture showing what like it was immediately
before the eruption; and one showing its appearance soon after the
event. On comparing the two, you will observe the mountain had
undergone a great change. It was no longer flat on the top, but had
formed for itself a large cone, from the summit of which dense vapours
ascended. This cone was composed entirely of the ashes, cinders, and
loose stones, thrown up during the eruption. It had become separated by
a deep ravine from the remainder of the former summit, which afterwards
came to be distinguished by the name Monte Somma. The whole of the
forests, vineyards, and other luxuriant vegetation, which had covered
that portion of the sides of Vesuvius where the eruption took place,
were destroyed. Nothing could be more striking than the contrast
between the beautiful appearance of the mountain before this
catastrophe, and its desolate aspect after the sad event. This
remarkable contrast forms the subject of one of Martial's Epigrams,
lib. iv. Ep. 44. It is thus rendered by Mr. Addison:--
[Illustration: Vesuvius after the Eruption of A.D. 79.]
"Vesuvius covered with the fruitful vine
Here flourished once, and ran with floods of wine.
Here Bacchus oft to the cool shades retired,
And his own native Nysa less admired.
Oft to the mountain's airy tops advanced,
The frisking Satyrs on the summit danced.
Alcides [1] here, here Venus graced the shore,
Nor loved her favourite Lacedaemon more.
Now piles of ashes, spreading all around,
In undistinguished heaps deform the ground.
The gods themselves the ruined seats bemoan,
And blame the mischiefs that themselves have done."
[1. Hercules]
Since the eruption of A.D. 79, Vesuvius has had many fits of activity
with intervals of rest. In A.D. 472, it threw out so great a quantity
of ashes, that they overspread all Europe, and filled even
Constantinople with alarm. In A.D. 1036 occurred the first eruption in
which there was any ejection of lava. This eruption was followed by
five others, the last of which occurred in 1500. To these succeeded a
long rest of about a hundred and thirty years, during which the
mountain had again become covered with gardens and vineyards as of old.
Even the inside of the crater had become clothed with shrubbery.
In this interval, however, there was an extraordinary eruption--not of
Vesuvius itself, but at no great distance from it, in the Bay of Baiae,
on the opposite shore of the Bay of Naples. The whole of this
neighbourhood is a volcanic country, and was anciently named the
Phlegraean Fields. It contains a crater in a state of subdued activity,
called the Solfatara; an extinct volcano having a large crater called
Monte Barbaro; and Lake Avernus, also supposed to be an extinct
volcanic crater. Between Monte Barbaro and the sea, there was formerly
a fiat piece of ground bordering on the Lucrine Lake, which is
separated from the Bay of Baiae by a narrow strip of shingle. On the
29th of September 1538, the flat piece of ground above mentioned became
the scene of a great eruption, which resulted in the throwing up of a
new elevation to the height of four hundred and thirteen feet, and with
a circumference of eight thousand feet. It received the name of Monte
Nuovo, and is now covered with a luxuriant vegetation.
In 1631 there was another dreadful eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which
covered with lava most of the villages at the foot of the mountain. To
add to the calamity, torrents of boiling water were, on this occasion,
thrown out by the volcano, producing awful destruction.
There have been since that time numerous eruptions, which it would be
tedious to mention in detail; but two of them are worthy of notice.
During an eruption in February 1848, a column of vapours arose from the
crater about forty feet high, presenting a variety of colours; and a
short time afterwards there arose ten circles, which were black, white,
and green, and which ultimately assumed the form of a cone. A similar
appearance had been observed in 1820. More recently, in May 1855, a
great stream of glowing lava, about two hundred feet in breadth, flowed
towards a vast ravine nearly a thousand feet in depth. The first
descent into this chasm is a sheer precipice, over which the lava
dashed heavily, forming a magnificent cascade of liquid fire.
Of the buried cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii no traces were
discovered till the year 1713, when some labourers, in digging a well,
came upon the remains of Herculaneum about twenty-four feet
underground. Little attention, however, was paid to the discovery at
that time; but in 1748 a peasant, digging in his vineyard, stumbled on
some ancient works of art. On sinking a shaft at this spot to the depth
of twelve feet, the remains of Pompeii were found. This discovery led
to further researches, and the exact positions of the two cities were
erelong ascertained. The work of disinterment has continued with little
interruption from that to the present time, and many valuable specimens
of ancient art have been brought to light.
The greatest progress has been made at Pompeii; because the stuff, in
which it was buried, is far looser than that which covers Herculaneum.
In the former city, although it was anciently reckoned only a
third-rate place, there have already been discovered eight temples, a
forum, a basilica, two theatres, a magnificent amphitheatre, and public
baths. The ramparts, composed of huge blocks of stone, have also been
exposed. One of the most remarkable places is the Cemetery. It consists
of a broad path covered with pavement, and bordered on either side with
stately monuments, placed over the tombs of the wealthy citizens of the
place, and in which whole families have been interred.
The houses were found filled with elegant furniture, the walls of the
apartments adorned with beautiful paintings. Numerous statues, vases,
lamps, and other elegant works of art, have been recovered. Many
skeletons have also been found, in the exact positions in which the
living men were caught by the deadly shower of suffocating ashes. The
excavators came upon the skeleton of a miser, who had been attempting
to escape from his house, and whose bony fingers were still clutching
the purse which contained the treasure he loved. There were also found
in the barracks at Pompeii the skeletons of two soldiers chained to the
stocks; and the writings scribbled by the soldiers on the walls are
still quite legible. In the vaults of a villa in the suburbs were
discovered the skeletons of seventeen persons, who had probably sought
refuge there, and been entombed. The stuff in which they were imbedded
had been originally soft, but had become hardened through time. In this
substance was found a cavity, containing the skeleton of a female with
an infant in her arms. Although nothing but the bones remained, the
cavity contained a perfect cast of the woman's figure--thus showing
that she must have been imbedded in the substance while alive. Round
the neck of this skeleton there was a gold chain, and on the fingers
jewelled rings.
In many of the houses the names of the owners over the doors are still
legible, and the fresco-paintings on the inner walls are still quite
fresh and beautiful. The public fountains are adorned with shells
formed into patterns; and in the room of a painter there was found a
collection of shells in perfectly good order. A large quantity of
fishing-nets was found in both the cities, and in Herculaneum some
pieces of linen retaining its texture. There also was discovered a
fruiterer's shop, with vessels full of almonds, chestnuts, carubs, and
walnuts. In another shop stood a glass vessel containing moist olives,
and a jar with caviare--the preserved roe of the sturgeon. In the shop
of an apothecary stood a box that had contained pills, now reduced to
powder, which had been prepared for a patient destined never to swallow
them--a happy circumstance for him, if he eventually escaped from the
city. Very recently there has been laid open a baker's shop, with the
loaves of bread on the shelves, all ready for his customers, but doomed
never to be eaten. These loaves are of the same form as those still
made in that country, and on being analyzed were found to consist of
the same ingredients as modern bread.
Mount Vesuvius rises rather abruptly from the plain on which it stands.
The circuit of the base is about twelve miles, and the height of the
summit above the level of the sea about three thousand feet. This
latter measurement, however, alters from time to time, owing to the
variable height of the cone. Its moderate elevation, and the ease with
which it may be approached, have induced many travellers to ascend the
mountain; and not a few have recorded their experiences. So frequent
are the eruptions of the volcano, however, and so much do they change
the aspect of the crater, that any description remains correct for only
a limited time.
Within the last hundred years the crater has been five times wholly
altered, in consequence of its interior having been completely blown
out, and its walls having crumbled down. When Sir William Hamilton
ascended the mountain in 1756, it had no less than three craters and
cones, one within another. The outermost was a very wide-mouthed cone.
Within it rose centrically another, smaller in size and narrower in the
mouth; and within that again was the third and highest, having a
smaller base and still narrower opening at the top, whence the greatest
volume of vapour ascended. In 1767 this innermost cone merged in the
second, which was greatly enlarged; and by a subsequent eruption the
interval between the first and second was obliterated, so that only a
single cone remained. In 1822 the whole interior of the cone was blown
out, and its walls crumbled down, so as to lower the height of the
mountain several hundred feet. But within the vast gulf, nearly a mile
in diameter, which was thus left yawning open, there soon began to be
formed a new cone, which showed itself erelong above the jagged edge of
the crater. Eventually this cone increased, by the accumulation of
ejected matters, to such an extent as to obliterate the division
between it and the rim of the former crater--thus once more
establishing a continuous cone. Since that time, the cone and crater
have twice undergone similar changes.
The most usual appearance of the crater, when in comparative repose, is
that of a vast circular or oval hollow basin, with nearly perpendicular
walls, broken in their continuity, every here and there, by large
projecting dykes, formed by the injection of more recent lavas into
fissures rent in those which had previously become consolidated. Below
the perpendicular walls is a rapid slope, composed of fine ashes or
sand, descending to the floor of the crater, which is, for the most
part, nearly flat. It is much rent by fissures, which during the night
are seen to glow with a ruddy glare, emanating from the hot materials
beneath, and giving to the floor the appearance of being overspread
with a fiery tissue, like a spider's web. From the bottom there usually
rise one or two small craters of eruption, whence continually issue
sulphurous fumes, and which, at pretty regular intervals, discharge
showers of stones heated to whiteness.
The exterior of the cone is composed entirely of loose cinders, ashes,
and stones, so that the ascent is very laborious. The region of the
mountain beneath the cone presents no difficulties, and that part of
the ascent may be performed on donkeys or mules. The view from the top
is magnificent. The contrast between the desolate aspect of the
interior of the crater, and the smiling prospect which may be seen from
its edge, has been well compared to looking out of Tartarus into
Paradise.
Near Puzzuoli, in the Bay of Baiae, and not far from Monte Nuovo, stand
the ruins of the Temple of Serapis, so interesting to geologists. These
remains, consisting chiefly of the shafts of three marble columns,
still erect, though with a slight inclination sea-ward, afford distinct
proofs, confirmed by other phenomena in the neighbourhood, that, since
the beginning of the Christian era, the level of the coast in relation
to that of the sea has changed twice--the land having first sunk and
been then raised again, each time to the extent of upwards of 20 feet.
The evidence of the submergence of the pillars consists mainly of a
zone commencing at the height of about 12 feet above their pedestals,
and extending 9 feet upwards, in which are numerous perforations, made
by a marine bivalve mollusc. The upraising again of the ground on which
the temple stands, to nearly its original height, appears to have
occurred about the time of the formation of Monte Nuovo.
CHAPTER IV.
Mount Etna--Its Appearance and Height-Ancient Eruptions-Pindar's
Allusion--Virgil's Description--Subordinate Cones and
Craters-Caverns--Val del Bove--Formation of Monti Rossi--Eruption of
1852--Whirlwinds--Lava Torrents--Cascades of Lava--Description of
Crater --Empedocles--Enceladus--Craters of 1865-Cyclopean
Isles--Homer's Legend-Volcanic Origin--Other Basaltic Groups
Mount Etna may well be called the Queen of European Volcanoes, so
majestic does she look, with her lofty summit glistening in the
sunbeams white with snow, yet pouring forth volumes of vapour. This
mountain, as you will observe from the annexed woodcut, is altogether
more massive in its appearance than Vesuvius. It is about three times
higher, rising to nearly eleven thousand feet above the level of the
sea, and it has a circuit of about eighty-seven miles at its base.
Etna has been a volcano from time immemorial; but of its more ancient
eruptions only vague traditions have survived. The Greek poet Pindar is
the earliest writer who makes mention of its activity. He refers to it
in his first Pythian Ode, Strophe B, 1. 1. The passage is thus rendered
by Carey--
"From whose caverned depths aspire,
In purest folds upwreathing, tost
Fountains of approachless fire--
by day a flood of smouldering smoke
With sullen gleam the torrents pour"
[Illustration: Mount Etna.]
The ode in which this allusion occurs is said to have been written
about B.C. 470; and the eruption to which it refers probably took place
shortly before that date.
Virgil also describes the mountain very forcibly in the AEneid, lib.
iii. 570. Dryden renders the passage thus:--
"The port capacious, and secure from wind,
Is to the foot of thund'ring Etna joined.
By turns a pitchy cloud she rolls on high:
By turns hot embers from her entrails fly,
And flakes of mounting flames, that lick the sky.
Oft from her bowels massy rocks are thrown,
And shivered by the force come piece-meal down.
Oft liquid lakes of burning sulphur flow,
Fed from the fiery springs that boil below."
Since the one to which Pindar alludes, there have been recorded about
sixty eruptions; but in the present century Etna has been less
frequently active than Vesuvius.
Owing to the great height of Mount Etna, the lava seldom rises so far
as to flow from the summit. It more frequently bursts forth from the
flanks of the mountain; and in this manner there have been formed
numerous smaller cones, of which several have craters of their own.
Hence Etna is rather a group of volcanoes than a single cone; but all
these subordinate volcanic hills cluster round the flanks of the great
central summit. Etna may thus be regarded as a fertile mother of
mountains, with all her children around her. Some of these hills, her
offspring, are covered with forests and rich vegetation--such having
enjoyed a lasting repose. Others are still arid and bare, having been
more recently formed. Owing to this peculiarity in its structure, Etna
does not present that conical aspect which characterizes most other
volcanoes. Strange as it may seem, there are, on the sides of the
mountain, caverns which the Sicilians use for storing ice. Some of
these caverns are of vast extent. One called Fossa della Palomba
measures, at its entrance, 625 feet in circumference, and has a depth
of about 78 feet. This great cavity, however, forms merely the
vestibule to a series of others, which are perfectly dark.
Another striking feature of Mount Etna is the Val del Bove. It is a
deep valley, presenting, when viewed from above, somewhat of the
appearance of an amphitheatre, It stretches from near the summit down
to the upper limit of the wooded region of the mountain, and has a
remarkably desolate aspect--presenting a vast expanse of bare and
rugged lava.
Of the numerous eruptions of Etna, one of the most memorable was that
of 1669, when on the flank of the mountain above Nicolosi, about half
way between Catania and the top of the great crater, there was formed
an immense rent about twelve miles long, from which a vast torrent of
lava descended. After flowing for several miles, and destroying a part
of Catania in its course, it entered the sea, and formed a small
promontory, which has since proved very useful as a breakwater. But
besides this stream, there were at the same time thrown up such immense
quantities of ashes, cinders, stones, and other matters, that they
formed two conical hills, more than three hundred feet in height above
the slope of the mountain from which they rose, and measuring nearly
two miles in circumference at their base. These hills were named Monti
Rossi.
Mount Etna was in activity as lately as 1865; but a previous eruption
in 1852 was of greater violence. It began, as usual, with hollow
underground rumblings, and the ascent of dense columns of vapour,
mingled with dust and ashes, high into the air. These were speedily
whirled into enormous eddies by fierce whirlwinds. Two new mouths were
formed on the side of the mountain, and these vomited forth immense
streams of lava, which rushed with the vehemence of a torrent down the
steep. The violence of the commotion increasing, the two mouths were,
by the crumbling of the intervening rocks, blended into one, and then
huge fragments of the broken rock were hurled to a great height, along
with vast quantities of hot stones, cinders, and black sand. Increasing
quantities of lava were now poured from the greatly enlarged opening,
and these formed on the plains below a great river of liquid fire,
nearly two miles in breadth, and between seven and eight feet in depth,
which advanced at the rate of upwards of a hundred feet in an hour,
carrying before it devastation and ruin. Its course being through a
highly cultivated country, the damage it inflicted was immense. This
eruption continued for several months, with only short intervals of
rest.
[Illustration: Crater of Etna.]
It has more than once happened, that the lava-streams of Etna, in their
descent from the crater of eruption, have come to a precipitous wall of
rock, over which they have plunged in a cascade similar to that formed
by the lava of Vesuvius in 1855, but on a less magnificent scale, as
respects the height of the fall. One of these occasions was during the
eruption of 1771, and another during that of 1819.
The principal cone of Mount Etna was ascended in 1834 by Messrs. Elie
de Beaumont and Leopold von Buch. The former describes what they saw in
the following terms:--"It was to us a moment of surprise difficult to
describe, when we found ourselves unexpectedly on the margin--not,
indeed, of the great crater--but of an almost circular gulf, nearly
three hundred feet in diameter, which does not touch the great crater
save at a small part of its circumference. We peered eagerly into this
nearly cylindrical funnel; but vain was our search into the secret of
its volcanic action. From the almost horizontal tops of the nearly
vertical steeps, nothing can be descried but the upper cone. On trying
to reckon those one below another, vision becomes gradually lost in the
perfect darkness beneath. No sound issues from this darkness. There are
only exhaled slightly sulphurous white vapours, chiefly steam. The
dismal aspect of this black and silent gulf, in which our view was
lost--its dark moist sides, along which crept, in a languid and
monotonous manner, long flakes of vapour of a sombre gray--the great
crater to which this narrow gulf is attached, with its confused heap of
diverse substances, coloured yellow, gray, red, like the image of
chaos--all presented around us an aspect quite funereal and sepulchral."
The French geologist, in having escaped from his visit to the crater
with nothing worse than a fit of the vapours, came off better than
Empedocles, the Sicilian philosopher, in the days of old: for, as the
story goes, this inquisitive sage, being very anxious to have a peep
into the crater, and venturing too near, toppled in altogether, and
nothing more was seen of him, except one of his sandals, which was
vomited up by the volcano--thus conveying to his friends an intimation
of the manner of his death.
Some incredulous persons allege that this story has no better
foundation than the fable of the poets, that the giant Enceladus, son
of Titan and Terra, having offended Jupiter, the infuriated god first
felled him with a thunderbolt, and then put Mount Etna as a sort of
extinguisher on the top of him--his restlessness underneath fully
accounting for all the commotions of the mountain.
Soon after the eruption which took place towards the end of January
1865, the craters then opened were visited by M. Fouque, a French
geologist. At the time of his visit, 10th March, they were seven in
number, and he thus describes their modes of action:--
"The three upper craters produced two or three times a minute, powerful
detonations like thunderclaps. The lower craters, on the contrary,
incessantly gave forth a succession of reports too rapid to be
reckoned. These sounds, although unremitting, were clear and distinct,
the one from the other. I can find no better comparison for them than
the strokes of a hammer falling on an anvil. Had the ancients heard a
similar noise, I can readily conceive whence arose the idea of their
imagining a forge in the centre of Etna, with the Cyclops for workmen."
Off the eastern coast of Sicily, and not far from Mount Etna, lie the
Cyclopean Isles, of one of which the annexed woodcut gives a
representation. You will observe what a singular appearance it
presents, with its rows of basaltic columns piled one above another.
The other isle is close by, and there is an ancient tradition that they
at one time formed part of the mainland of Sicily. Homer has a curious
story about the manner in which they became detached. The passage
occurs towards the end of the ninth book of the Odyssey. He tells that,
at the time Ulysses visited Sicily, it was inhabited by the Cyclops,
who, as already mentioned, were said to have had each only one eye,
situated in his forehead. Their king's name was Polyphemus, a huge
giant who beguiled Ulysses and a portion of his crew into a cave, where
he killed some of the crew and devoured them for his supper. Ulysses,
fearing his turn might come next, persuaded Polyphemus to taste some
strong wine he had with him, and filled him so tipsy that he fell fast
asleep. While he was in this state, Ulysses burnt out his one eye with
a red-hot iron. The giant awoke in agony, but Ulysses contrived to
escape from his clutches, and, after getting into his ship, began
taunting and jeering the monster. Thereupon Homer says:--
[Illustration: Cyclopean Isle]
"These words the Cyclops' burning rage provoke:
From the tall hill he rends a pointed rock;
High o'er the billows flew the massy load,
And near the ship came thund'ring on the flood.
It almost brushed the helm, and fell before:
The whole sea shook, and refluent beat the shore."
Pope's _translation_.
The huge missile having thus missed its mark, Ulysses, with great
impudence, renewed his jeers, taunting the giant, and telling him who
it was that had poked out his eye; whereupon Polyphemus invokes the
vengeance of Neptune upon him, and--
"A larger rock then heaving from the plain,
He whirled it round--it rung across the main:
It fell and brushed the stern: the billows roar,
Shake at the weight, and refluent beat the shore."
Pope's _translation_.
The rocks of which the Cyclopean Isles are composed are entirely of
volcanic origin, and it is far from improbable that they may have at
one time been attached to Sicily, and severed from it by some great
volcanic convulsion. A careful examination of these large piles of
basaltic columns led Dr. Daubeny to the conclusion, that the lavas from
which they have been formed were consolidated under great pressure, and
probably at the bottom of the sea, whence they have been afterwards
upheaved. He also concludes, from certain appearances, that the two
islands were at one time united.
The Cyclopean Isles strongly resemble, in their general aspect, the
well-known Giant's Causeway on the northern coast of Ireland, and the
Isle of Staffa off the western coast of Scotland. The latter, which,
around its whole sea-girt outline, presents ranges of basaltic columns,
some of them disposed in curious fantastic groups, most nearly
resembles the Sicilian pair. These differ from it chiefly in their
having the columns piled in terraces, one above another. Staffa,
however, can boast of a far more striking feature --the celebrated Cave
of Fingal--its stately basaltic columns inspiring every beholder with
admiration, not unmixed with awe, while its brightly-tinted floor
rivals in brilliancy of colouring the most beautiful mosaics.
In the Island of Iceland, also, there are some remarkable ranges of
basaltic columns. One in particular, named the Ruins of Dverghamrar, is
in the form of a semicircle skirting the sea-coast. Another group,
still more wonderful, forms a curious natural Gothic arch, surmounted
by pinnacles. It is so picturesque that an architect might study it
with advantage, and derive from it valuable hints in designing the
entrance to a cathedral.
CHAPTER V.
Lipan Islands--Stromboli--Origin of Name--Position of
Crater--Description of Crater--New Volcanic Island named
Julia--Phenomena preceding its Elevation--Description of Island and
Crater--Its Disappearance--Rise of Islands at Santorin
The Lipari Islands are all of volcanic origin. The most interesting
among them, for the length of time it has been in action and the
constancy of its activity, is Stromboli. This name is a corruption of
the ancient Greek name Strongulae which was given to it because of its
round swelling form. This is a very fussy little volcano, for it keeps
perpetually puffing, growling, and fuming. It throws out columns of
steam, and at intervals stones, cinders, and ashes, which are for the
most part drifted by the wind into the sea. This restless volcano has
been in almost uninterrupted activity since at least the third century
before the Christian era --however much further back.
Several enterprising travellers have ascended to the crater of
Stromboli. It was examined with great care in 1828 by M. Hoffmann, a
celebrated Prussian geologist, who, while being held fast by his
companions, leant over the crag immediately above the crater, and
looked right down into one of its active mouths. He thus describes what
he saw:--
"Three active mouths were seen at the bottom of the crater. The
principal one, in the middle, was about two hundred feet in diameter;
it shows nothing remarkable, only fuming slightly; and numerous yellow
incrustations of sulphur coat the walls of its chimney. Close by this
mouth is another, somewhat nearer the precipice, only twenty feet wide,
in which I could observe the play of the column of liquid lava, which
at intervals poised itself at a level. This lava did not look like a
burning mass vomiting flames, but as glossy as molten metal--like iron
issuing from the smelting furnace, or silver at the bottom of a
crucible.
"This melted mass rose and fell--evidently urged by the powerful
tension of elastic vapours pressing it upwards from beneath; and it was
easy to perceive the balance of effect between the weight of the molten
masses and the pressure of the steam which resisted them. The surface
rose and fell rhythmically: there was heard a peculiar sound, like the
crackling of air from bellows entering the door of a furnace. A bubble
of white vapour issued at each crack, raising the lava, which fell down
again immediately after its escape. These bubbles of vapour dragged to
the surface of the lava red-hot cinders, which danced as if tossed by
invisible hands in rhythmic sport above the brink of the opening.
"This play, so regular and attractive, was interrupted, every quarter
of an hour or so, by more tumultuous movements. The mass of whirling
vapour then rested motionless for a moment--even making a jerking
motion of return, as if inhaled by the crater, from the bottom of which
the lava rose more strongly as if to encounter it. Then the ground
trembles, and the walls of the crater starting bend. It was quite an
earthquake. The mouth of the crater uttered a loud rolling bellow,
which was followed by an immense bubble of vapour, bursting at the
surface of the lava with a loud thundering report. The whole surface of
the lava, reduced to glowing splinters, was then tossed into the air.
[Illustration: Julia, or Graham's Island, in August 1831.]
"The heat struck our faces forcibly; while a flaming sheaf rose right
into the air, and fell back in a shower of fire all around. Some bombs
ascended to a height of about 1200 feet, and in passing over our heads
described parabolas of fire. Immediately after such an eruption, the
lava withdrew to the bottom of the chimney, which then yawned black and
gaping. But erelong there was seen re-ascending the shining mirror of
the surface of lava, which then recommenced the rhythmic play of its
ordinary less violent bubblings."
What an agreeable visit this must have been! Don't you think, between
ourselves, that the German philosopher must, on this occasion, have
greatly resembled an Irishman in love, seeing he was so eager to reach
the mouth of the _crater?_
Before passing on to the description of other existing volcanoes, it
may entertain you to hear something about Julia. This interesting
_crater_ had a short and troubled existence. She was not born like
others of her name, but rose suddenly and majestically out of the sea,
as the poets feign that Venus did of old. She did not, however, keep
her head long above water, but after raging and fuming for about a
couple of months, she plunged again under the waves. This happened in
the year 1831.
On page 57 is a picture showing you how she looked in August of that
year, about a month after she made her appearance. You see what a fury
of a _crater_ she must have been. It was a French philosopher (Constant
Prevost) who christened her Julia; but it is hard to divine what
prompted him to act so ungallantly. Perhaps, at the moment, he may have
had in his eye some Julia of his acquaintance, with very red hair and a
very fiery temper.
This volcanic island rose out of the Mediterranean, about midway
between the Island of Pantellaria and the village of Sciacca on the
southern coast of Sicily. From about the 28th of June to the 2nd of
July 1831, the inhabitants of Sciacca felt several slight shocks, which
they imagined to have proceeded from Etna. On the 8th of July the crew
of a Sicilian ship, which was sailing at a distance of about six miles
from Sciacca, suddenly observed in the sea a jet of water about 100
feet high. It rose into the air with a thundering noise, sustained
itself for about ten minutes, and then fell down. Similar jets
continued to rise in succession, at intervals of about a quarter of an
hour, and produced a thick mist overspreading the surface of the sea,
which was much agitated and covered with a reddish scum. Shoals of dead
fishes were drifted on the waves. On the third day the jets were
between 800 and 900 feet in diameter, and between 60 and 70 feet in
height, while the steam from them rose to nearly 1800 feet.
On the 12th of July the inhabitants of Sciacca had their nostrils
assailed by a strong smell of sulphur, and beheld the surface of the
sea covered with black porous cinders, which, being drifted ashore,
formed a bed of some thickness on the beach. So great was the drift of
volcanic ashes, that boats could hardly struggle through the water, and
multitudes of dead fishes floated on its surface. Next morning they saw
rising out of the sea a column of dark vapour, which, however, towards
night became lurid red. From time to time, during both the day and
night, they heard loud reports, and saw bright sparks of fire through
the dusky vapour.
[Illustration: Julia, or Graham's Island, on 29th September 1831.]
On the 18th of July the captain of the Sicilian ship discovered that an
island had arisen out of the sea at the spot whence the appearances
before described had proceeded. It had already attained a height of
nearly twelve feet, and had in its centre a crater, which vomited forth
immense jets of steam, along with ashes, cinders, stones, &c. The water
which boiled in this crater was reddish, and the cinders, which covered
the sea all round the island, were of a chocolate colour. The island
subsequently attained a height of upwards of 90 feet at its highest
point, and a circumference of about three-quarters of a mile. A channel
of communication was also opened between the sea and the interior of
the crater, which had a diameter of about 650 feet. The vapours and
other matters thrown up from the mouth of the volcano formed a luminous
column upwards of 200 feet in height.
On the 29th of September it was visited by the French gentleman who
gave it the name of Julia, and it then presented the appearance which
we have sketched. He landed with a party and proceeded to examine the
crater, in which he found a circular basin filled with reddish water,
almost boiling hot, and fresh. This basin was nearly 200 feet in
diameter. There rose from the water bubbles of gas, which made it
appear as if it were boiling. The water was not quite at the boiling
point, however, yet the bubbles of gas were sufficiently hot to burn
the fingers.
[Illustration: Crater of Julia, or Graham's Island.]
These bubbles rose from a great depth, and each, on bursting, which it
did with a feeble report, threw out sand and cinders. At a short
distance from the crater there rose sulphurous vapours, which deposited
sulphur and salt. The loose dust and ashes forming the soil of the
island were hot, and walking on them was difficult. The foregoing
woodcut will give you an idea of the appearance which the crater
presented to those visitors.
In the following month of October nothing remained of this wonderful
island but a hillock of sand and cinders; and at the end of six months
it had quite vanished. Soundings taken a few years ago show ten feet of
water over the spot, so that, although the island has disappeared,
there is still a shoal left behind. This temporary volcano is best
known in England under the name of Graham's Island; so called after an
English naval officer of that name, who was the first to set foot on
it, and who planted upon it the English flag, so claiming it for his
sovereign. The Sicilians allege this to be the reason why it
disappeared so soon--that it was in a hurry to escape from under the
English yoke.
Similar phenomena have been taking place during the past year, 1866, in
the Bay of Santorin, situated in the island of that name, which lies to
the northward of Crete. There are several islands in the bay, all
apparently of volcanic origin, and one of them was thrown up about
three centuries before the beginning of the Christian era. Last year
their number was increased by a series of eruptions similar in their
attendant circumstances to those which accompanied the upheaval of
Julia. The first warnings were given on the 30th of January 1866, by
low underground rumblings, and slight movements of the ground at the
south end of New Kammeni, one of the formerly upheaved islands in the
bay. Next day these phenomena increased in violence, and quantities of
gas bubbled up from the sea. On the 1st of February, reddish flames
ascended from the water, and on the 2nd there rose, out of the harbour
of Voulcano, an island, which was christened "George." The volcanic
agitation was prolonged during February and March--the upheaval of
other two islands being the result. Whether these additional islands
will continue permanently above water remains to be seen.
CHAPTER VI.
Peak of Teneriffe--Its Crater--Eruption of Chahorra--Palma--Great
Caldera--Lancerote--Great Eruption--Sudden Death--Fuego, Cape de Verde
Islands--Cotopaxi--Its Appearance--Great Eruptive
Force--Tunguragua--Great Eruption of Mud and Water--Fish thrown
out--Quito--Its Overthrow--Pichinca--Humboldt's Ascent--Narrow
Escape--Antisana--Sangay--Rancagua--Chillan--Masaya
The Island of Teneriffe is celebrated for its magnificent snow-clad
peak. On referring to the woodcut of this volcano at page 11, you will
observe in what a sharp point the cone terminates, and how slender is
the column of vapour at its summit. The crater at the top is
comparatively small--its greatest diameter being 300, and its smallest
200 feet, while its depth is only about 100 feet. From this crater
there has been no eruption since 1706, when the finest harbour in the
island was destroyed. But from the side of the peak there rises a
supplementary mountain named Chahorra, on the top of which there is
also a crater, whence there was an eruption in 1798. So great was its
violence, that masses of rock were thrown to a height of upwards of
3000 feet. In the neighbouring island of Palma there is a volcanic
crater named the Great Caldera, whose depth is said to be upwards of
5000 feet.
Almost due east of Palma, and much nearer the African coast, lies the
Island of Lancerote, on which are a great many volcanic cones, arranged
nearly in a straight line. These were for the most part formed by a
long series of eruptions which took place during the years from 1730 to
1736. Such immense quantities of lava were poured forth in the course
of those six years, that about a third of the surface of the island was
covered by them, and many towns and villages were destroyed. St.
Catalina, a populous and thriving town, was first overflowed by a
lava-stream, and then a new crater burst forth on its very site,
raising over it a hill 400 feet high. All the cattle in the island fell
down dead in one day, and nearly about the same time--they were
suffocated by deadly vapours that rose from the ground. The volcanic
activity of this island was renewed in August 1824, when there was
formed, near the port of Rescif, a new crater, which vomited forth such
quantities of stones, ashes, and other volcanic matters, that in the
short space of twenty-four hours they formed a hill of considerable
height.
The Cape de Verde Islands, lying to the south-westward of the Canaries,
are also volcanic. In 1847 a volcano named Fuego, situated in one of
them, after remaining at rest about fifty years, burst into fresh
activity. No less than seven new vents were formed; and from these were
poured forth great streams of lava, which wrought immense damage in the
cultivated parts of the island. The inhabitants sustained great loss by
the destruction of their cattle and crops.
Passing over to the South American continent, we come to the range of
the Andes, which contains numerous volcanoes. Among these the most
conspicuous is Cotopaxi, the highest volcano in the world, situated in
the territory of Quito. So perfect is the form of the cone, that it
looks as if it had been turned in a lathe. Its coating of snow gives it
a dazzling appearance, and so sharply is the snow-line defined that it
seems almost as if the volcano-king wore a white night-cap instead of a
crown.
The eruptions of this mountain are rare. One of the greatest of them
lasted for three years, and desolated an immense extent of country with
floods of lava. On this occasion, it is said, columns of fire rose to
the height of nearly 5000 feet, so great was the energy of the volcanic
force.
A little to the southward of Cotopaxi, but concealed from it by the
intervening mass of Chimborazo, lies the volcano of Tunguragua, from
which there was an extraordinary eruption in the year 1797, that proved
very destructive to the cities in its neighbourhood. Indeed, so
terrible was the convulsion of the ground, which lasted four minutes,
that the cities of Riobamba and Quero were reduced to heaps of ruins.
Then the base of Tunguragua was rent, and from numerous apertures there
were poured out streams of water and mud, the latter gathering in the
valleys to the depth of 600 feet. This mud spread itself far and wide,
blocking up the channels of rivers, and forming lakes, which remained
upwards of two months. But, strangest of all, quantities of dead fishes
were found in the water which burst from the volcano. These fishes are
supposed to have been bred in subterranean lakes contained in caverns
in the interior of the mountain, considerably removed from the volcanic
fires in the centre. It is probable that, when the rent was formed near
the base, one of those caverns was broken open, and that the waters
from it were discharged along with their finny inhabitants.
Here is a picture of one of those fishes, which was taken by Baron
Humboldt. When you see what a queer-looking fish it is, you will wonder
the less at its having chosen so strange an abode.
[Illustration: Pimelodus Cyclopum]
Quito, the capital of the province of that name, is the highest of
cities--being situated at an elevation of between nine and ten thousand
feet above the level of the sea. It is built on a plain, lying on the
flanks of the volcano Pichinca, of which a view is given in the annexed
woodcut. Poor Quito has suffered severely from this dangerous
neighbourhood; for, on the 22nd of March 1859, a violent shaking of the
mountain laid the whole city in ruins.
Pichinca, you will observe, has a most irregular outline, but very
graceful withal. Instead of a single cone like Cotopaxi, it has a group
of cones, some of which are very pointed. It has four principal
summits, of which the most southerly contains the active crater. Here
the celebrated traveller Baron Humboldt nearly lost his life. Having
ascended the cone and approached the edge of the crater, he peered into
the depths of the dark abyss, and there beheld the glowing lava boiling
as if in a huge caldron. A thick mist coming on, he unwarily advanced
to within a few feet of the rapid slope descending into the crater, and
was within an ace of toppling over into the fiery gulf beneath. What a
pity it would have been had he fallen in! We should have had no
"Personal Narrative," no "Cosmos."
[Illustration: Pichinca]
There are in this region of South America other two great volcanoes,
named Antisana and Sangay. The former has not been in action since
1718, but is remarkable for the immense beds of lava which it has
amassed around it during its former eruptions. Sangay, again, has ever
since 1728 been in a state of almost perpetual activity--in this
respect resembling Stromboli, which, however, it far exceeds in height,
its summit being nearly 18,000 feet above the level of the sea. The
eruptions of this mountain are accompanied by loud explosions, which
are heard at great distances, and they succeed each other with immense
rapidity. The fumes emitted are sometimes gray, sometimes orange; and
the matters ejected are cinders, dross, and spherical masses of stone.
These last are often two feet in diameter, and in strong explosions as
many as sixty of them may be thrown out at a time. They are glowing at
a white heat, and for the most part they fall back into the vent of the
crater. Sometimes, however, they alight on the edge of the
cone--imparting to it a temporary brilliancy; but the mass of the cone,
being composed of loose black cinders, has a most dismal aspect.
Another very active South American volcano is Rancagua in Chili. It is,
however, of moderate height, and thus in its general character
resembles Stromboli, which it rivals in restlessness. Another of the
volcanoes of Chili, named Chillan, which had long been in a state of
repose, renewed its activity in November 1864. Its usually snow-clad
summit became covered in a short time with a thick layer of volcanic
ashes, which greatly altered its appearance. Streams of lava were also
thrown out by the mountain on this occasion.
There are several volcanoes in Central America. One of them, named
Masaya, was very active during the sixteenth century. It is situated
near the lake of Nicaragua, in the territory of that name. It was
visited in 1529 by the Spanish historian Gonzales Fernando de Oviedo,
from whose description it seems to have presented phenomena resembling
those seen in the crater of Stromboli. "In its ordinary state," he
says, "the surface of the lava, in the midst of which black scoriae are
continually floating, remains several hundred feet below the edges of
the water. But sometimes there is suddenly produced an ebullition so
violent, that the lava rises almost to the very brim."
CHAPTER VII.
Jorullo--Great Monument--Jorullo's Estate--Interruption to his
Quiet--His Estate Swells--Swallows Two Rivers--Throws up Ovens--Becomes
a Burning Mountain--Popocatepetl--Spanish Ascents--Orizaba --Muller's
Ascent--Morne-Garou--Pelee---La Soufriere
What a fortunate man was Mr. Jorullo! Old Cheops, king of Egypt, spent
vast sums of money, many long years, and the labour of myriads of his
subjects, in erecting the Great Pyramid as a monument to his memory.
But Mr. Jorullo, without his having to lay down a single Mexican
dollar, and without any labour, either of his own or of his servants,
had a magnificent monument raised to his memory in a single night.
Jorullo's monument, too, is far bigger than the pyramid of
Cheops--being nearly four times the height, and occupying a much larger
extent of ground. Whether it will last as long as the pyramid has done,
time only can show.
You would doubtless like to know how this great monument was reared.
Here is the story:--Don Pedro di Jorullo was a Mexican gentleman who
lived about the middle of the last century. He was a landed
proprietor--the owner of a nice little farm of great fertility,
situated to the westward of the city of Mexico, and about ninety miles
from the coast of the Pacific Ocean. The ground was well watered by
artificial means, and produced abundant crops of indigo and sugar-cane.
Thus Mr. Jorullo was a very thriving well-to-do sort of man.
[Illustration: Jorullo]
This gentleman's prosperity continued without interruption till the
month of June 1759, when, to the great alarm of his servants dwelling
on the estate, strange underground rumblings were heard, accompanied by
frequent shakings of the ground. These continued for nearly two months;
but at the end of that time all became quiet again, and Mr. Jorullo's
servants slept in fancied security. On the night of the 28th of
September, however, their slumbers were suddenly broken by a return of
the horrible underground rumblings-thundering more loudly than before.
The next night, these subterranean thunders became so loud, that the
Indian servants started from their beds, and fled in terror to the
mountains in the neighbourhood. Gazing thence, after day had dawned,
they beheld to their astonishment that a tract of ground from three to
four square miles in extent, with their master's farm in the middle of
it, had been upheaved in the shape of an inflated bladder. At the edges
this singular elevation rises only about thirty-nine feet above the old
level of the plain; but so great is the general convexity of the mound,
that towards the centre it swells up to five hundred and twenty-four
feet above the original level.
The Indians affirmed that they saw flames issue from the ground
throughout an extent of more than half a square league, while fragments
of burning rocks were thrown to enormous heights. Thick clouds of ashes
rose into the air, illuminated by glowing fires beneath; and the
surface of the ground seemed to swell into billows, like those of a
tempestuous sea. Into the vast burning chasms, whence these ejections
were thrown, two rivers plunged in cataracts; but the water only
increased the violence of the eruption. It was thrown into steam with
explosive force, and great quantities of mud and balls of basalt were
ejected. On the surface of the swollen mound there were formed
thousands of small cones, from six to ten feet in height, and sending
forth steam to heights varying from twenty to thirty feet.
Out of a chasm in the midst of these cones, or ovens, as the natives
call them, there rose six large masses, the highest of which is sixteen
hundred feet in height, and constitutes the volcano of Jorullo. The
eruptions of this central volcano continued till February 1760 with
extreme violence--the crater throwing out large quantities of lava; but
in the succeeding years it became less turbulent in its activity. It
still, however, continues to burn; and the mountain emits from the wide
crater at its summit several jets of vapour. The foregoing woodcut
gives a view of this volcano, and of the little steaming ovens which
stud the whole ground around it, giving it at a distance the appearance
of the sea in a storm. And now confess that Mr. Jorullo's monument is
far grander than the pyramid of Cheops. Surely the loss of his farm was
amply compensated to him, by the perpetuation of his memory and his
name, through the rearing of such a marvellous cenotaph.
For a long time after the first eruption, the ground for a great
distance round the volcano was too hot to be habitable or capable of
cultivation. It is now, however, so much cooled down, that it is once
more covered with vegetation; and even some small portions of the
raised ground containing the ovens have been again brought under
culture.
Besides this volcano, so recent in its origin, Mexico contains other
five--Orizaba, Toluca, Tuxtla, Popocatepetl, and Colima. What is rather
remarkable, these five, together with Jorullo, all lie nearly in a
straight line running east and west. The tracts of country which these
volcanoes have desolated with their lavas are called by the Mexicans
the "Malpays."
The most remarkable of these mountains is Popocatepetl. Although it has
long remained in comparative quiet, it was very active at the time of
the Spanish invasion under Cortes. Of the first approach of the
Spaniards to this volcano, and of the attempts made by some of them to
climb to the top, Mr. Prescott, in his history of the conquest of
Mexico, gives the following graphic account:--
"They were passing between two of the highest mountains on the North
American continent, Popocatepetl, 'the hill that smokes' and
Iztaccihuatl, or 'white woman;' a name suggested, doubtless, by the
bright robe of snow spread over its broad and broken surface. A puerile
superstition of the Indians regarded these celebrated mountains as
gods, and Iztaccihuatl as the wife of her more formidable neighbour. A
tradition of a higher character described the northern volcano as the
abode of the departed spirits of wicked rulers, whose fiery agonies in
their prison-house caused the fearful bellowings and convulsions in
times of eruption. It was the classic fable of antiquity. These
superstitious legends had invested the mountain with a mysterious
horror, that made the natives shrink from attempting its ascent, which,
indeed, was, from natural causes, a work of incredible difficulty.
"The great _volcan_, as Popocatepetl was called, rose to the enormous
height of 17,852 feet above the level of the sea; more than 2000 feet
above the 'monarch of mountains'--the highest elevation in Europe.
During the present century it has rarely given evidence of its volcanic
origin, and 'the hill that smokes' has almost forfeited its claim to
the appellation. But at the time of the conquest it was frequently in a
state of activity, and raged with uncommon fury while the Spaniards
were at Tlascala; an evil omen, it was thought, for the natives of
Anahuac. Its head, gathered into a regular cone by the deposit of
successive eruptions, wore the usual form of volcanic mountains, when
not disturbed by the falling in of the crater. Soaring towards the
skies, with its silver sheet of everlasting snow, it was seen far and
wide over the broad plains of Mexico and Puebla; the first object which
the morning sun greeted in his rising, the last where his evening rays
were seen to linger, shedding a glorious effulgence over its head, that
contrasted strikingly with the ruinous waste of sand and lava
immediately below, and the deep fringe of funereal pines that shrouded
its base.
"The mysterious terrors which hung over the spot. and the wild love of
adventure, made some of the Spanish cavaliers desirous to attempt the
ascent, which the natives declared no man could accomplish and live.
Cortes encouraged them in the enterprise, willing to show the Indians
that no achievement was above the dauntless daring of his followers.
One of his captains, accordingly, Diego Ordaz, with nine Spaniards, and
several Tlascalans, encouraged by their example, undertook the ascent.
It was attended with more difficulty than had been anticipated.
"The lower region was clothed with a dense forest, so thickly matted,
that in some places it was scarcely possible to penetrate it. It grew
thinner, however, as they advanced, dwindling by degrees into a
straggling stunted vegetation, till, at the height of somewhat more
than 13,000 feet, it faded away altogether. The Indians, who had held
on thus far; intimidated by the strange subterraneous sounds of the
volcano, even then in a state of combustion, now left them. The track
opened on a black surface of glazed volcanic sand and of lava, the
broken fragments of which, arrested in its boiling progress in a
thousand fantastic forms, opposed continual impediments to their
advance. Amidst these, one huge rock, the Pico del Fraile, a
conspicuous object from below, rose to the perpendicular height of 150
feet, compelling them to take a wide circuit. They soon came to the
limits of perpetual snow, where new difficulties presented themselves,
as the treacherous ice gave an imperfect footing, and a false step
might precipitate them into the frozen chasms that yawned around. To
increase their distress, respiration in these aerial regions became so
difficult, that every effort was attended with sharp pains in the head
and limbs. Still they pressed on, till, drawing nearer the crater, such
volumes of smoke, sparks, and cinders were belched forth from its
burning entrails, and driven down the sides of the mountain, as nearly
suffocated and blinded them. It was too much even for their hardy
frames to endure, and, however reluctantly, they were compelled to
abandon the attempt on the eve of its completion. They brought back
some huge icicles--a curious sight in those tropical regions--as a
trophy of their achievement, which, however imperfect, was sufficient
to strike the minds of the natives with wonder, by showing that with
the Spaniards the most appalling and mysterious perils were only as
pastimes. The undertaking was eminently characteristic of the bold
spirit of the cavalier of that day, who, not content with the dangers
that lay in his path, seemed to court them from the mere Quixotic love
of adventure. A report of the affair was transmitted to the Emperor
Charles V.; and the family of Ordaz was allowed to commemorate the
exploit by assuming a burning mountain on their escutcheon.
"The general was not satisfied with the result. Two years after he sent
up another party, under Francisco Montano, a cavalier of determined
resolution. The object was to obtain sulphur to assist in making
gunpowder for the army. The mountain was quiet at the time, and the
expedition was attended with better success. The Spaniards, five
in-number, climbed to the very edge of the crater, which presented an
irregular ellipse at its mouth, more than a league in circumference.
Its depth might be from 800 to 1000 feet. A lurid flame burned gloomily
at the bottom, sending up a sulphureous steam, which, cooling as it
rose, was precipitated on the sides of the cavity. The party cast lots,
and it fell on Montano himself to descend in a basket into this hideous
abyss, into which he was lowered by his companions to the depth of 400
feet! This was repeated several times, till the adventurous cavalier
had collected a sufficient quantity of sulphur for the wants of the
army."
The more tranquil state of the volcano in modern times having rendered
the summit no longer so difficult of access as it was in those days,
the ascent has been several times achieved--twice in 1827, and again in
1833 and 1834. The crater is now a large oval basin with precipitous
walls, composed of beds of lava, of which some are black, others of a
pale rose tint. At the bottom of the crater, which is nearly flat, are
several conical vents, whence are continually issuing vapours of
variable colour, red, yellow, or white. The beds of sulphur deposited
in this crater are worked for economical purposes. Two snowy peaks
tower above its walls.
Not less magnificent in its proportions is the volcano of Orizaba,
which is nearly of the same height as Popocatepetl. It was very active
about the middle of the sixteenth century, having had several great
eruptions between 1545 and 1560; but since then it has sunk into
comparative repose. This mountain was ascended by Baron Muller in 1856.
A first attempt proved unsuccessful; but by passing a night in a grotto
near the limit of perpetual snow, he was able on the following day,
after a toilsome ascent, to reach the edge of the crater--not, however,
till near sunset. His experiences, and the scene which was presented to
his wondering gaze, he describes in the following terms:--
"I have achieved my purpose, and joy banishes all my griefs, but only
for a moment; suddenly I fell to the ground, and a stream of blood
gushed from my mouth.
"On recovering, I found myself still close to the crater, and I then
summoned all my strength to gaze and observe as much as possible. My
pen cannot describe either the aspect of those regions, or the
impressions they produced on me. Here seemed to be the gate of the
nether world, enclosing darkness and horror. What terrible power must
have been required to raise and shiver such enormous masses, to melt
them and pile them up like towers, at the very moment of their cooling
and acquiring their actual forms!
"A yellow crust of sulphur coats in several places the internal walls,
and from the bottom rise several volcanic cones. The soil of the
crater, so far as I could see, was covered with snow, consequently not
at all warm. The Indians however affirmed that, at several points, a
hot air issues from crevices in the rocks. Although I could not verify
their statement, it seemed to me probable; for I have often observed
similar phenomena in Popocatepetl.
"My original intention of passing the night on the crater had for
overpowering reasons become impracticable. The twilight which, in this
latitude, as every one knows, is extremely short, having already begun,
it was necessary to prepare for our return. The two Indians rolled
together the straw mats which they had brought, and bent them in front
so as to form a sort of sledge. We sat down upon these, and stretching
out our legs, allowed ourselves to glide down on this vehicle. The
rapidity with which we were precipitated increased to such a degree,
that our descent was rather like being shot through the air, than any
other mode of locomotion. In a few minutes we dashed over a space which
it had taken us five hours to climb."
There are several of the West Indian islands of volcanic origin; and
three of them--St. Vincent, Martinique, and Guadaloupe--contain active
volcanoes. The most remarkable is the volcano of Morne-Garou, in St.
Vincent, the eruptions from which have been particularly violent. In
1812 the ashes which it threw out were so great in quantity, and
projected to so vast a height, that they were carried to a distance of
two hundred miles in the teeth of the trade-wind. From Mount Pelee, in
Martinique, there was an eruption in August 1851. La Soufriere, the
volcano in Guadaloupe, is said to have been cleft in twain during an
earthquake. Its activity has long been in a subdued state; but it is
remarkable for its deposits of sulphur.
CHAPTER VIII.
Hawaii, Sandwich Islands--Crater of Kilauea--Its awful Aspect--Fiery
Lake and Islands--Jets of Lava--Depth of Crater and Surface of
Lake--Bank of Sulphur--Curious Rainbow--Mouna-Kaah and
Mouna-Loa--Eruption of the Latter in 1840--Recent Eruption--Great Jet
and Torrent of Lava--Burning of the Forests--Great
Whirlwinds--Underground Explosions--Other Volcanoes in the Pacific.
Hawaii is well known in history as being the island where the
celebrated navigator Captain Cook was killed. The name used to be
written Owhyhee; but a better apprehension of the native pronunciation
has led to its being altered into Hawaii. No one who visits it in the
present day need be afraid of sharing the fate of poor Captain Cook;
for the descendants of the savages who, in his time, inhabited the
island, have now, through the labours of Christian missionaries, become
a very decent sort of quiet, well-behaved Christian people.
Hawaii, which is the largest of a group called the Sandwich Islands,
can boast of the greatest volcanic crater in the world. It is called
sometimes Kirauea, sometimes Kilauea; for the natives seem not very
particular about the pronunciation of their _l_ and their _r_; but
where one uses _l_ another as pertinaciously employs _r_, while a third
set use a sound between the two, as you may have heard some people do
at home. Situated on the lower slopes of a lofty mountain called
Mouna-Roa, or Loa (for there is the same dubiety about the _l_ and the
_r_ here as in the former case), the crater of Kilauea is a vast plain
between fifteen and sixteen miles in circumference, and sunk below the
level of its borders to a depth varying from two hundred to four
hundred feet--the walls of rock enclosing it being for the most part
precipitous. The surface of the ground is very uneven, being strown
with huge stones and masses of volcanic rock, and it sounds hollow
under the tramp of the foot.
Towards the centre of the plain is a much deeper depression. Those who
have ventured to approach it, and look down, describe it as an awful
gulf, about eight hundred feet in depth, and presenting a most gloomy
and dismal aspect. The bottom is covered with molten lava, forming a
great lake of fire, which is continually boiling violently, and whose
fiery billows exhibit a wild terrific appearance. The shape of the lake
resembles the crescent moon; its length is estimated at about two
miles, and its greatest breadth at about one mile. It has numerous
conical islands scattered round the edge, or in the lake itself, each
of them being a little subordinate crater. Some of them are continually
sending out columns of gray vapour; while from a few others shoots up
what resembles flame. It is, probably, only the bright glare of the
lava they contain, reflected upwards. Several of these conical islands
are always belching forth from their mouths glowing streams of lava,
which roll in fiery torrents down their black and rugged sides into the
boiling lake below. They are said sometimes to throw up jets of lava to
the height of upwards of sixty feet. The foregoing woodcut can convey
only an imperfect idea of this immense crater.
[Illustration: Crater of Kilauea]
The outer margin of the gulf all round is nearly perpendicular. The
height of the bounding cliffs is estimated at about four hundred feet
above a black horizontal ledge of hardened lava, which completely
encircles it, and beyond which there is a gradual slope down into the
burning lake. The surface of the molten lava is at present between
three and four hundred feet below this horizontal ledge; but the lava
is said sometimes to rise quite up to this level, and to force its way
out by forming an opening in the side of the mountain, whence it flows
down to the sea. An eruption of this kind took place in 1859. On one
side of the margin of the lake there is a long pale yellow streak
formed by a bank of sulphur. The faces of the rocks composing the outer
walls of the crater have a pale ashy gray appearance, supposed to be
due to the action of the sulphurous vapours. The surface of the plain
itself is much rent by fissures. It is said that the glare from the
molten lava in the lake is so great as to form rainbows on the passing
rain-clouds.
The entire Island of Hawaii is of volcanic origin; and besides this
great crater it contains two other lofty mountains, whose summits are
covered with snow, and whose height is estimated at fifteen or sixteen
thousand feet above the level of the sea. The one is named Mouna-Kaah
or Keah, the other is Mouna-Loa--the same on whose lower flanks the
crater of Kilauea is situated. Mouna-Kaah has long been in a state of
repose. So also was Mouna-Loa up to 1840, when it burst forth with
great fury, and it has continued more or less in a state of activity
ever since. There has been a grand eruption very lately, said by the
natives to have been the greatest of any on record.
A new crater opened near the top, at a height of about ten thousand
feet, and for three days a flood of lava poured down the north-eastern
slope. After a pause of about thirty-six hours, there was opened on the
eastern slope, about half way down the mountain, another crater, whence
there rose an immense jet of liquid lava, which attained a height of
about a thousand feet, and had a diameter of about a hundred feet. This
jet was sustained for twenty days and nights; but during that time its
height varied from the extreme limit of a thousand, down to about a
hundred feet. The play of this fiery fountain was accompanied by
explosions so loud as to be heard at the distance of forty miles.
Nothing could surpass the awful grandeur of this jet, which was at a
white heat when it issued from its source, but, cooling as it ascended
into the air, it became of a bright blood red, which, as the liquid
fell, deepened into crimson.
In a few days there was raised around this crater a cone of about three
hundred feet in height, composed of the looser materials thrown out
along with the lava. This cone continued to glow with intense heat,
throwing out occasional flashes. The base of this cone eventually
acquired a circumference of about a mile. But the fountain itself
formed a river of glowing lava, which rushed and bounded with the speed
of a torrent down the sides of the mountain, filling up ravines and
dashing over precipices, until it reached the forests at the foot of
the volcano. These burst into flames at the approach of the fiery
torrent, sending up volumes of smoke and steam high into the air. The
light from the burning forests and the lava together was so intense as
to turn night into day, and was seen by mariners at a distance of
nearly two hundred miles.
During the day the air throughout a vast extent was filled with a murky
haze, through which the sun showed only a pallid glimmer. Smoke, steam,
ashes, and cinders were tossed into the air and whirled about by fierce
winds--sometimes spreading out like a fan, but every moment changing
both their form and colour. The stream of lava from the fountain flowed
to a distance of about thirty-five miles. The scene was altogether
terrific--the fierce red glare of the lava--the flames from the burning
trees--the great volumes of smoke and steam--the loud underground
explosions and thunderings,--all combined to overpower the senses, and
fill the mind with indescribable awe.
A remarkable volcanic chain runs along the northern and western margins
of the Pacific Ocean. It embraces the Aleutian Islands, the peninsula
of Kamtschatka, the Kurile, the Japanese, and the Philippine Islands.
The most interesting are the volcanoes of Kamtschatka, in which there
is an oft-renewed struggle between opposing forces--the snow and
glaciers predominating for a while, to be in their turn overpowered by
torrents of liquid fire.
CHAPTER IX.
Atolls, or Coral Islands--Their strange Appearance--Their Connexion
with Volcanoes--Their Mode of Formation--Antarctic
Volcanoes--Diatomaceous Deposits
To the southward of the Sandwich Islands, on the other side of the
equator, there is a large group of islands in the Pacific, which have a
very peculiar appearance. They are called Atolls or Coral Islands.
Although not exactly of volcanic origin, yet the manner in which they
are formed has some connexion with submarine volcanic action.
An atoll consists essentially of a ring of coral rocks but little
elevated above the level of the sea, and having in its centre a lagoon
or salt-water lake, which generally communicates by a deep narrow
channel with the sea. The ring of rocks is flat on the surface, which
is composed of friable soil, and sustains a luxuriant vegetation,
chiefly of cocoa-nut palms. It is seldom more than half a mile in
breadth between the sea and lagoon, sometimes only three or four
hundred yards. The outer margin of the ring is the highest, and it
slopes gradually down towards the lagoon; but on the outside of the
ledge of rocks is a beach of dazzling whiteness, composed of powdered
and broken coral and shells. The appearance they present is thus not
less beautiful than singular. Some of these islands are of large size,
from thirty to fifty miles long, and from twenty to thirty broad, but
they are in general considerably smaller. Their most frequent form is
either round or oval. The rocks composing them are all formed by
different species of coral. The animal which constructs them is of the
polyp tribe, and so small that it can be seen only under the higher
powers of the microscope. It multiplies by means of buds like those of
a tree, the individuals all combining to form a composite stony mass,
which is called a polypidom. A number of such polypidoms growing close
together form a coral reef. See woodcuts.
[Illustration: Coral]
[Illustration: Coral Polyp]
It was at one time supposed that these coral reefs were erected on the
edges of the craters of submarine volcanoes, an opinion to which their
annular form, and the lagoon in the centre, lent some countenance; but
the vast size of some of them, united to several other particulars
connected with them, threw great doubts over this supposition.
More recently it has been shown by Mr. Darwin that, while volcanic
agency does perform a part in their formation, it is different from
what had been formerly imagined. His supposition is, that these coral
reefs were built round the coasts of islands which had once stood very
much higher above water than they do now. He conceives that the bottom
of the sea under them being very volcanic, and containing large
collections of molten lava beneath a thin solid crust, the islands have
gradually sunk down into the lava, until their central parts have
become covered with a considerable depth of water. The central parts
thus submerged, he imagines, form the lagoons in the middle of the
islands, while the ring of coral reefs has gradually grown upwards, as
the ground on which it rested sank downwards.
[Illustration: Coral Reef.]
The corals thus rise to near the surface, but immediately on their
being uncovered by the water they die, and the reef ceases to grow.
Then the waves by their action break the upper part of it into pieces,
which thus become heaped up by degrees on the remainder, until the mass
attain so great a height that the sea can no longer wash over it. Thus
the curious ring of land is gradually formed, and affords a nutritive
soil, in which cocoa-nuts, on being cast ashore, germinate and grow to
be large trees. Other seeds, wafted by the waves or carried by birds,
also begin to grow, until the whole surface becomes covered with
vegetation. Then comes man and builds his habitation upon those fertile
spots, and finds in them an agreeable and convenient abode, well suited
to those who are accustomed to live by fishing and other simple means.
You will thus perceive that the connexion between the atoll and the
volcano consists in this--that while the coral builds up the reef, the
volcano beneath ingulfs the island and causes it to sink down. In some
instances, however, the volcano, after a while, reverses its action,
and raises up the island with the reef upon it. In such cases, the
coral reefs are seen standing out of the water, forming perpendicular
cliffs several hundred feet in height. Then also the interior of the
island becomes once more dry land, and that, too, of great fertility.
[Illustration: Mount Erebus.]
Almost due south of that region, in the Pacific, where the coral
islands abound, but at a great distance from them, and considerably
within the limits of the Antarctic zone, lies South Victoria. Here, in
lat. 76 degrees S., Captain Ross discovered, in 1841, two volcanoes,
which he called Erebus and Terror, after the names of his two ships. Of
the former, which is the higher of the two, a view is given in the
annexed woodcut. It is covered with perpetual snow from the bottom even
to the tip of the summit. Nevertheless, it is continually sending forth
vast columns of vapour, which glow with the reflection of the white hot
lava beneath. These vapours ascend to a great height, more than two
thousand feet above the top of the cone, which is itself twelve
thousand feet above the level of the sea.
There is found in these frozen regions a remarkable botanical
curiosity, having a certain connexion with volcanoes. The waters of the
ocean, all along the borders of the icy barrier, produce in amazing
abundance the family of water-plants named Diatomaceae. The Diatoms are
so called from their faculty of multiplying themselves indefinitely by
splitting into two; and so rapidly is this process performed, that in a
month a single diatom may produce a thousand millions. The quantity
found in the Antarctic regions is so immense that, between the
parallels of 60 degrees and 80 degrees of south latitude, they stain
the whole surface of the sea of a pale olive-brown tint. These plants,
which are so minute as to be individually invisible, save under the
higher powers of the microscope, have the curious property of
encrusting themselves with a sheath, or shell, of pure silica. These
shells remain after the death of the plant, and are as indestructible
as flint. They are marvellous objects, both as respects the elegance of
their forms and the beauty of their markings. So great is the
accumulation of these shells at the bottom of the sea, that they have
formed an immense bank 400 miles in length by 120 in breadth, between
the 76th and 78th degrees of south latitude. One portion of this bank
rests on the coast at the foot of Mount Erebus.
Now, it is remarkable that these microscopic shells of Diatoms are not
unfrequently found in the ejections of volcanoes; while it is generally
supposed that, in the case of those situated near the sea, eruptions
are caused by the formation of explosive steam consequent on the access
of sea-water to the reservoirs of molten lava lying underground. The
proximity of this Diatomaceous bed to Mount Erebus would easily explain
how these minute shells might be found abundant in the fine dust
ejected from that volcano.
CHAPTER X.
Volcanoes of Java--Papandayang--Mountain Ingulfed--Great Destruction of
Life and Property--Galoen-gong--Destructive Eruption--Mount
Merapia--Great Eruption, with Hurricane--Another, very destructive--Mud
Volcano Crater of Tankuban-Prahu--Island of Sumbawa--Volcano of
Tomboro--Terrific Eruption--Timor--A Volcano quenches itself--Cleaving
of Mount Machian--Sangir--Destructive Eruption--Bourbon.
One of the most marvellous volcanic regions in the world is that
composed of the islands of the Malayan Archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
They form a chain stretching from east to west, but curving up towards
the north at the western extremity. The most easterly of the chain is
Timor, the most westerly Sumatra.
The most interesting of the group is Java, which is almost entirely of
volcanic origin, and contains no less than thirty-eight mountains of
that conical form which indicates their having at one time or other
been active volcanoes. Only a few of them, however, have been in
activity in more recent times. The most remarkable eruption was that of
the mountain named Papandayang, which occurred in 1772. During this
convulsion the greater part of the mountain, which was formerly one of
the largest in the island, was completely swallowed up in some great
underground gulf.
On the night between the 11th and 12th of August of that year, the
mountain appeared to be wholly enveloped in a remarkable luminous
cloud. The inhabitants fled in consternation; but before they could all
escape, the mountain began to totter, and the greater part of it
tumbled down and disappeared. The crash with which it fell was
dreadful, the noise resembling the discharge of volleys of artillery.
Besides that part of the mountain which thus fell in, a large extent of
ground in its neighbourhood was ingulfed. The space measured fifteen
miles in length and six in breadth. The ground for many miles round
this space was covered with immense quantities of ashes, stones,
cinders, and other substances thrown out by the volcano. These were, on
many parts of the surface, accumulated to the height of three feet; and
even at the end of six weeks, the layers thus deposited retained so
much heat as to render the mountain inaccessible. By this dreadful
occurrence forty villages were destroyed, some ingulfed with the ground
on which they stood, others buried under the loose materials which had
been ejected. Not far short of three thousand of the inhabitants
perished.
Another of the volcanoes of Java, called Galoen-gong, burst into
eruption in 1822, commencing with a terrible explosion of stones,
ashes, &c., followed by a stream of hot mud, which overspread a large
tract of ground. This eruption proved still more fatal to human life,
about four thousand persons having been destroyed.
So lately as September 1849, Mount Merapia, another volcano in this
island, which had been supposed to be quite extinct, burst forth into
an eruption, which lasted three days. It was accompanied by a violent
hurricane. The bed of a river was filled up by the matter thrown out
from the crater, and the destruction of property in crops, &c., was
immense. Fortunately the inhabitants succeeded in making their escape,
so that no lives were lost. A second eruption of this mountain however,
in January 1864, was more disastrous, three hundred and fifty people
having perished.
Java likewise contains a remarkable mud volcano. When viewed from a
distance, there are seen to rise from it large volumes of vapour, like
the spray from the billows dashing against a rocky shore, and there is
heard a loud noise like distant thunder. On a nearer approach, the
source of these phenomena is seen to be a hemispherical mound of black
earth mixed with water, about sixteen feet in diameter, and which at
intervals of a few seconds is pushed upwards by a force acting from
beneath to a height of between twenty and thirty feet. It then suddenly
explodes with a loud noise, scattering in every direction a quantity of
black mud, which has a strong pungent smell resembling that of
coal-tar, and is considerably warmer than the air. With the mud thus
thrown out there has been formed around the mound a large perfectly
level and nearly circular plain, about half a mile in circumference.
The water mixed with the mud is salt, and the salt is separated from it
by evaporation for economical purposes. During the rainy season the
action of this mud volcano becomes more violent, the explosions are
louder, and the mud is thrown to a greater height.
The crater of Tangkuban-Prahu, another of the volcanoes of Java,
presents a remarkable appearance. On approaching its edge, nothing is
seen but an abyss, from which dense clouds of vapour continually arise,
with hideous sounds, like the steam rushing from the open valves of
hundreds of steam-engines. This great abyss consists really of two
craters, separated the one from the other by a narrow ridge of rock, to
which it is possible to descend and view them both. Each of them is
elliptical in form, and surrounded by a crater-wall. That of the
western, which the natives call the poison-crater, is a rapid slope
nearly a thousand feet in depth, and is densely covered with brushwood
almost to the bottom. The flat floor of this deep basin is continually
sending out vapours, and in its centre is a pool of boiling water of a
sulphur yellow colour. The floor itself is nothing but a crust of
sulphur full of rents and holes, whence vapours constantly arise. This
crust covers a surface of boiling hot bitter water, and by breaking it
beautiful crystals of sulphur may be obtained.
The eastern is called by the natives the king's-crater; its walls are
only between five and six hundred feet in depth, and are perfectly bare
from top to bottom. The surfaces of the rocks composing them are
grayish white, an effect produced upon them by the action of the
vapours, to which they are continually exposed. The bottom of this
crater consists of mud mixed with sulphur; but round the edges are some
stones and hard masses. These are the remnants of an eruption which
took place from this crater in 1846, when there was thrown up a great
mass of sulphurous boiling mud, accompanied by quantities of sand and
stones. This mountain, therefore, seems to be also more of the nature
of a mud volcano, than of one which throws out burning lava.
Nearly in a right line to the eastward of Java lies the Island of
Sumbawa, in which stands the volcano of Tomboro, the most violent in
its eruptions of any in the world. One of the most remarkable occurred
in the year 1815, beginning on the 5th of April and continuing till the
middle of July. Its effects were felt over an immense tract of country,
embracing the Molucca Islands, Java, and portions of Celebes, Sumatra,
and Borneo. The concussions produced by its explosions were sensible at
a distance of a thousand miles all round; and their sound is said to
have been heard even at so great a distance as seventeen hundred miles.
In Java the day was darkened by clouds of ashes, thrown from the
mountain to that great distance (three hundred miles), and the houses,
streets, and fields, were covered to the depth of several inches with
the ashes that fell from the air. So great was the quantity of ashes
ejected, that the roofs of houses forty miles distant from the volcano
were broken in by their weight. The effects of the eruption extended
even to the western coasts of Sumatra, where masses of pumice were seen
floating on the surface of the sea, several feet in thickness and many
miles in extent.
From the crater itself there were seen to ascend three fiery columns,
which, after soaring to a great height, appeared to unite in a confused
manner at their tops. Ere long, the whole of the side of the mountain
next the village of Sang'ir seemed like one vast body of liquid fire.
The glare was terrific, until towards evening, when it became partly
obscured by the vast quantities of dust, ashes, stones, and cinders
thrown up from the crater. Between nine and ten o'clock at night the
ashes and stones began to fall upon the village of Sang'ir, and all
round the neighbourhood of the mountain. Then arose a dreadful
whirlwind, which blew down nearly every house in the village, tossing
the roofs and lighter parts high into the air. In the neighbouring
sea-port the effects were even more violent, the largest trees having
been torn up by the roots and whirled aloft. Before such a furious
tempest no living thing could stand. Men, horses, and cattle were
whirled into the air like so much chaff, and then dashed violently down
on the ground. The sea rose nearly twelve feet above the highest
tide-mark, sweeping away houses, trees, everything within its reach.
This whirlwind lasted about an hour, and then commenced the awful
internal thunderings of the mountain. These continued with scarcely any
intermission until the 11th of July, when they became more moderate,
the intervals between them gradually increasing till the 15th of July,
when they ceased. Almost all the villages for a long distance round the
mountain were destroyed; and it is computed that nearly twelve thousand
persons perished. By far the greatest part of this destruction was
wrought by the violence of the whirlwind which accompanied the eruption.
Considerably to the eastward of Sumbawa lies the Island of Timor, in
which there was for a long time a volcanic peak, whose perpetual fires
served as a lighthouse to mariners navigating those seas. But in the
year 1637 there took place a great eruption of the mountain, which
ended in its being gobbled up whole and entire, leaving nothing behind
it but a lake, in which its fires were quenched, and which now occupies
its place.
To the north of Timor lie the Molucca Islands, several of which are
volcanic. In one of them, named Machian, there occurred in the year
1646 an extraordinary event. A mountain was rent from top to bottom,
sending out great columns of fire and dense vapours. The two parts now
remain two distinct mountains.
In the Island of Sangir, another of the Moluccas, there was a violent
eruption in March 1856. A large portion of the mountain fell down, and
tremendous floods of water issued forth. The destruction that ensued
was dreadful, upwards of two thousand persons having perished.
In another part of the Indian Ocean, near Madagascar, lies the little
Isle of Bourbon, containing the volcano Salazes, which occasionally
throws out the curious thready substance already mentioned, so strongly
resembling spun glass.
CHAPTER XI.
Mud and Air Volcanoes--Luss--Macaluba--Taman--Korabetoff--New Island in
the Sea of Azof--Jokmali--Fires of Baku--Mud Volcano in Flank of
Etna--Air Volcanoes of Turbaco, Cartagena, and Galera-Zamba.
The curious mud volcano in the Island of Java, described in the
preceding chapter, although presenting some peculiar features, is not
the only one of the kind in the world. Mud, as you have learned, is
often thrown out in great quantities, along with boiling water, even by
true volcanoes, which at other times eject ashes and lava. But there
are some volcanoes that never throw out anything else than mud and
water, gas and steam. Such are called mud volcanoes or salses.
The most remarkable assemblage of mud volcanoes in the world exists in
the district of Luss, lying at the south-east corner of Beloochistan.
They extend over a very large area, and are exceedingly numerous. The
cone of one of them is no less than four hundred feet high, and the
crater at the top is ninety feet in diameter. The mud in the crater is
quite liquid, and is constantly disturbed by bubbles of gas, and
occasionally by jets of the mud itself.
More familiarly known is the mud volcano of Macaluba, near Girgenti, in
Sicily. It is situated in a country much impregnated with sulphur and
other inflammable matters. The top of the hill is covered with dry
clay, in which are numerous basins full of warmish water mixed with mud
and bitumen. From these small craters bubbles of gas arise from time to
time; but at long intervals they become much more active, and throw up
jets of wet mud to the height of nearly two hundred feet. This mud
smells strongly of sulphur.
In the peninsula of Taman, near the entrance to the Sea of Azof, there
is a group of mud volcanoes, from one of which there was a considerable
eruption on the 27th of February 1793. It was preceded by underground
detonations, and accompanied by a column of fire and dense vapour,
which rose to the height of several hundred feet. The discharge of mud
and gas was abundant. The accompaniment of fire and smoke makes this
eruption more nearly resemble that of a true volcano.
There is in the adjacent parts of the Crimea a mountain named
Korabetoff, which also presents similar phenomena. On the 6th of August
1853, a column of fire and smoke was seen to rise from the top of this
mountain to a great height, and it continued for five or six minutes.
Two other similar but less violent ejections of fire and smoke followed
at short intervals. These appearances were the accompaniments of an
eruption of black fetid mud, which overspread the ground at the foot of
the mountain to a considerable depth.
A still more striking phenomenon occurred in the Sea of Azof, on the
10th of May 1814. On that day a column of flame and very thick smoke
arose out of the water, with a loud report like that of a cannon, and
masses of earth with large stones were tossed high up into the air. Ten
eruptions of this kind succeeded each other at intervals of about a
quarter of an hour; and after they had ceased for a time, they began
again during the night. Next morning it was found that an island had
risen out of the sea, between nine and ten feet in height, surrounded
by a lower level of hardened mud. A strong fetid smell, probably that
of petroleum, proceeded from the island, and extended for a
considerable distance all round.
[Illustration: Air Volcanoes of Turbaco]
Another mud volcano, named Jokmali, near the Caspian Sea, was formed in
November 1827. In this case, also, the ejection of mud was for several
hours preceded by flames, rising to so great a height that they could
be seen at a distance of twenty-four miles. Large pieces of rock were
at the same time thrown up and scattered to considerable distances all
round. The entire district in which this mountain is situated, has its
soil copiously impregnated with petroleum, and numerous wells are
formed for its collection. Quantities of this mineral oil are
frequently found floating on the sea, along the neighbouring shores,
where the sailors are in the habit of setting fire to this floating
petroleum, while they dexterously steer their boats so as to avoid the
flames. In this district also stands the city of Baku, held sacred by
the Parsees, or fire-worshippers, who have here built a temple, in
which are kept burning perpetual fires, fed by the naphtha springing
from the ground.
During the past year, 1866, a small mud volcano has been formed in the
flanks of Mount Etna. It began with an outburst of strong jets of
boiling water. First, one rose to the height of about six feet, then
several others broke out, whereupon the height of the whole set
diminished. There was much gas bubbling through the water, and some
petroleum floated on its surface. It was very muddy, and left a thick
deposit as it flowed away. Neither flames nor noise accompanied this
eruption.
There are also diminutive volcanoes, consisting of small conical hills,
from which nothing seems to be emitted but various sorts of gas. These
are called air volcanoes. Such are those of Turbaco in South America,
discovered by Baron Humboldt, who has left us a picture of them, of
which you here have a copy. These volcanic hillocks are truncated
cones, eighteen or twenty in number, composed of hardened mud, from 18
to 24 feet in height, and from about 140 to about 180 feet in diameter
at the base. The small craters at the top are filled with liquid mud,
whence bubbles of gas, chiefly nitrogen, are being continually
disengaged.
There is a similar, but much larger, group in the neighbouring province
of Cartagena. It consists of about one hundred cones spread over a
district of nearly four hundred square leagues. There is also a group
of about fifty cones within a range of four or five miles in the
adjacent peninsula of Galera-Zamba. A sub-marine volcano, from which
there have been several eruptions, is supposed to be connected with
these numerous salses.
CHAPTER XII.
New Zealand--Boiling Fountains and Lakes
In the eruptions of mud volcanoes, described in the foregoing chapter,
a frequent ingredient is boiling water. There are, however, several
instances in which there are thrown up jets of boiling water that are
not intermingled with mud, but in which the water is either pure or
impregnated with some mineral which it holds in perfect solution. Of
this nature are the Geysers of Iceland and California, already
described.
In New Zealand there is another variety of this phenomenon, the boiling
water issuing forth, not in intermittent jets, as in the Geysers, but
in perpetually flowing springs, forming lakes, in which the water
remains nearly at the boiling point. These springs and lakes occur at a
place called Roto-Mahana. The annexed woodcut will convey an idea of
their appearance.
There are several basins raised one above another, and all higher than
the level of the large lake. The highest is of an oval form, and about
two hundred and fifty feet in circumference. It is filled from an
opening at the height of about a hundred feet above the level of the
lower lake. At various stages below this upper basin are numerous other
springs, from which several similar basins are filled. The whole of
these basins empty themselves into the large lake below, and the water
in all of them is nearly boiling hot, giving forth, with a hissing
sound, volumes of white vapour.
[Illustration: Boiling Lakes of Roto Mahana]
These waters are richly impregnated with carbonate of lime, which has
formed all round the margins of the basins beautiful incrustations of
snowy whiteness. The sand round the lake is very warm; and if a stick
be thrust into it, jets of steam arise.
Doubtless, some years hence, the enterprising English settlers will
establish hot baths here. Not far from the lake there are smaller
basins, in which the water is not beyond what would be agreeable for a
warm bath; while it is of a blue colour and beautifully clear.
On both banks of the river Waikato, also in this neighbourhood, are
found numerous basins full of boiling mud or slime, which cannot be
approached save with extreme care, owing to the softness and
slipperiness of the soil. The largest of these basins is oval in form,
14 feet long by 8 feet wide, and about as much in depth. It contains
hot mud of a bright red colour, being strongly impregnated with oxide
of iron. Large viscous bubbles are continually rising to the top, and
on bursting they emit a fetid, sulphureous smell. These phenomena are
nearly akin to those of a mud volcano.
CHAPTER XIII.
Underground Sounds--Quito--Rio Apure--Guanaxuato--Melida--Nakous.
Not the least remarkable among the phenomena produced by volcanic
forces, are the strange underground noises which are occasionally
heard. For the most part these are the preludes either of shocks of
earthquake or of volcanic eruptions. Those which for months preceded
the upheaval of the volcano of Jorullo, will recur to your remembrance.
For about a month before the great mud eruption from Tunguragua on 4th
February 1797, already described, there proceeded from the interior of
that mountain noises of the most fearful kind. These would occur
suddenly in the midst of perfect silence. They were heard by Antonio
Pineda, the naturalist, who was there at the time, and they led him to
foretell the approach of some great convulsion. Strange to say,
however, the catastrophe itself was unaccompanied by underground noises
any where near the volcano. But, stranger still, at Quito, which is
distant about 200 miles, a short time after the eruption began, there
were heard tremendous underground thunders. But this distance, between
the site of the underground noises and the probable focus of
disturbance, was far exceeded in another remarkable instance. It is
stated by Humboldt that, in the grassy plains of Calaboso, on the banks
of the Rio Apure, a tributary of the Orinoco, there were heard, over a
large extent of country, loud underground thunders, unaccompanied by
any shaking of the ground; while great streams of lava were being
poured forth from the crater of Morne-Garou, in the Island of St.
Vincent, at the distance of no less than 632 miles in a right line.
This was as though an eruption of Mount Vesuvius were accompanied by
underground thunders in Normandy.
There have, nevertheless, been instances of the existence of such
underground noises, without their having been followed either by an
earthquake, by a volcanic eruption, or any other outward appearance
whatever. One of the most remarkable cases of the kind, was that
mentioned by Humboldt as having occurred at Guanaxuato in Mexico, a
mountain-city situated far from any active volcano. This celebrated
traveller states that these noises began on the 9th of January 1784,
and lasted above a month. The sounds were at first neither very loud
nor very frequent; but from the 15th to the 16th of January they
resembled continuous low rolling thunder, alternating with short loud
thunder-claps. The sounds then gradually died away and nothing came of
them, although they excited great terror among the inhabitants while
they lasted. There are mines in the neighbourhood fifteen hundred and
ninety-eight English feet in depth, yet neither in them nor at the
surface could the least tremor be detected.
A somewhat similar phenomenon occurred in the Island of Melida in the
Adriatic, off the coast of Dalmatia, where underground rumblings were
heard from March 1822 to September 1824; but in this case the sounds
were sometimes accompanied by shocks.
A still more singular phenomenon of this sort occurs on the borders of
the Red Sea, at a place called Nakous, where intermittent underground
sounds have been heard for an unknown number of centuries. It is
situated at about half a mile's distance from the shore, whence a long
reach of sand ascends rapidly to a height of about three hundred feet.
This reach is about eighty feet wide, and resembles an amphitheatre,
being walled in by low rocks. The sounds coming up from the ground at
this place recur at intervals of about an hour. They at first resemble
a low murmur; but ere long there is heard a loud knocking, somewhat
like the strokes of a bell, and which, at the end of about five
minutes, becomes so strong as to agitate the sand.
The explanation of this curious phenomenon given by the Arabs, is, that
there is a convent under the ground here, and that these sounds are
those of the bell, which the monks ring for prayers. So they call it
"Nakous," which means a bell. The Arabs affirm that the noise so
frightens their camels when they hear it as to render them furious.
Philosophers attribute the sounds to suppressed volcanic
action--probably to the bubbling of gas or vapours underground.
CHAPTER XIV.
Extinct Volcanoes--Auvergne--Vienne--Agde--Eyfel--Italy--Lacus
Cimini--Grotto del Cane--Guevo Upas--Talaga Bodas--The Dead Sea.
There are two sorts of extinct volcanoes: _first_, those in which all
evidences of activity have entirely ceased; and, _secondly_, those in
which a subdued state of activity lingers. The former are more widely
distributed than the latter; but sometimes both kinds occur in the same
district of country.
Extinct volcanoes are found in the district of Auvergne in France.
Solidified streams of lava occur at Volvic near Riom; and the crater
whence they descended is still visible on the top of the Puy de Nugere.
It is an oblong basin, having its edge broken on the side down which
the lava flowed. In its descent the fiery stream appears to have
encountered a knoll of granite, by which it was divided into two
branches. These seem to have reunited lower down, and thence to have
overspread the valley beneath.
The Puy de Come, a mountain near Clermont, appears to have sent forth
two streams of lava, which have effected considerable changes in the
surface of the country--blocking up the courses of rivers diverting
them into new channels, and forming swamps in the old. On the top of
Puy Pariou, to the north of Clermont, there exists a perfect crater,
quite round, and about two hundred and fifty feet deep, whence there
has flowed a stream of lava, whose course can be distinctly traced. The
summit of Puy Graveniere, a long round-backed hill also near Clermont,
consists almost entirely of a heap of volcanic cinders, which have
obliterated all traces of a crater; but two streams of lava appear to
have flowed from the sides of the mountain. The Puy de Dome, and the
mountains in its neighbourhood, likewise appear to be of volcanic
origin, and to have been upheaved somewhat in the same manner as
Jorullo. Although the aspect of the mountains of Auvergne indicates so
clearly their having been active since the surrounding country acquired
its present general conformation, neither history nor tradition has
preserved any record of their eruptions.
There is extant, however, a letter from Sidonius Apollinaris, a
cotemporary of Pliny, addressed to the Bishop of Vienne, in which he
refers to forms of prayer which had been appointed by the bishop at the
time when earthquakes demolished the walls of Vienne, and the
mountains, opening, vomited forth torrents of inflamed materials. It
hence appears that the extinct volcanoes in the neighbourhood of
Vienne, and perhaps those of Le Puy, had been in a state of eruption
not long after the beginning of the Christian era. To the westward of
the latter town, there is a number of small volcanic craters, of which
the two largest are the Lake de Bouchet and the Crater of Bar, which
also appears to have been at one time a lake, but is now dry. The
former has its greatest diameter about 2300 feet, with a depth of about
90 feet. The latter is on the top of a mountain, which is composed
entirely of such substances as are ejected by volcanoes. Its diameter
is about 1660, and its depth about 130 feet; while it is almost perfect
in its form. The mountains near Vienne exhibit streams of lava, which
accommodate themselves to the existing valleys. Near Agde also, on the
shores of the Gulf of Lions, on the top of a hill named St. Loup, there
is an extinct crater, whence have descended two streams of lava
apparently of recent origin. On one of them the town of Agde has been
built; the other projects into the sea.
The district of Eyfel, on the borders of the Rhine, is another in which
extinct volcanoes abound. They occur mostly in the form of circular
craters, which are now filled with water, their borders consisting of
volcanic ejections. They also exhibit various superficial streams of
lava. One of the most remarkable of these round craters lies near
Andernuch, a little west of the Rhine. It is named the Lake of Laach,
and is nearly two miles in circumference. On its margin are found
numerous volcanic ejections, exactly resembling those of Mount
Vesuvius. Notwithstanding these evidences that the extinct volcanoes of
Eyfel have been in activity since the country acquired its present
conformation, there are no historical records of their operations.
There is, indeed, a passage in Tacitus referring to fires that issued
from the earth near Cologne; but his description does not warrant the
conclusion that the event to which he alludes was of the nature of a
volcanic eruption. The Drachenfels on the eastern bank of the Rhine,
and the other mountains in its neighbourhood, belong to the more
ancient volcanic formations. The same may be affirmed of the other
mountains scattered throughout Germany and central Europe generally, in
which rocks of volcanic origin occur.
There are a good many traces of extinct volcanoes in Italy, besides
those of the Phlegraean fields already mentioned. In general character
they resemble those previously described. The chief localities are
certain lakes, near Volterra in Tuscany, which give forth very hot
sulphurous and boracic acid vapours; a small sulphureous lake near
Viterbo continually giving forth bubbles of gas; the Lake of Vico
between Viterbo and Rome; the mountain and Lake of Albano near Rome;
Mount Vultur in the Apennines, in the province of the Basilicata; and
Lake Agnano near Naples. Of these, the Lakes of Vico and Agnano are the
most interesting. The former is the ancient Lacus Cimini, and old
authors state that its site was once occupied by a town, whose ruins
used to be visible at the bottom of the lake when the water was clear.
The ground, with the town upon it, is said to have been ingulfed during
a volcanic convulsion, when the lake was formed in its place.
The Lake Agnano is the site of an ancient volcanic crater, and on its
margin is situated the Grotto del Cane, so famous for the deadly
vapours it exhales. These consist of carbonic acid gas, in combination
with watery vapour. This celebrated Grotto is thus described, in his
work on volcanoes, by Dr. Daubeny, who visited the spot:--
"The mouth of the cavern being somewhat more elevated than its
interior, a stratum of carbonic acid goes on constantly accumulating at
the bottom, but upon rising above the level of its mouth, flows like so
much water over the brim. Hence the upper part of the cavern is free
from any noxious vapour; but the air of that below is so fully
impregnated, that it proves speedily fatal to any animal that is
immersed in it, as is shown to all strangers by the experiment with the
dog.
"The sensation I experienced, on stooping my head for a moment to the
bottom, resembled that of which we are sometimes sensible on drinking a
large glass of soda water in a state of brisk effervescence. The cause
in both instances is plainly the same.
"The quantity of carbonic acid present in the cavern at various
heights, was shown by immersing in it various combustibles in a state
of inflammation. I found that phosphorus would continue lighted at
about two feet from the bottom, whilst a sulphur match went out a few
inches above, and a wax taper at a still higher level.
"It was impossible to fire a pistol at the bottom of the cavern, for
although gunpowder may be exploded even in carbonic acid by the
application of a heat sufficient to decompose the nitre, and
consequently to envelop the mass in an atmosphere of oxygen gas, yet
the mere influence of a spark from steel produces too slight an
augmentation of temperature for this purpose."
Similar phenomena, but on a grander scale, are presented by the extinct
crater in the Island of Java called "Guevo Upas," the Poison-Valley. It
is a level about half a mile in circumference, surrounded by
precipitous rocks. From various parts of its soil carbonic acid gas is
discharged in such quantities as to prove fatal to any animal venturing
nigh. The ground is consequently strown with numerous skeletons. This
valley gave rise to the famous figment about the upas-tree, which once
obtained such general belief in Europe.
There is another extinct crater in Java, whence are exhaled vapours
equally deadly, but which exert a most peculiar effect on the dead
carcasses subjected to their influence. Instead of their being, as in
the Gruevo Upas, reduced to skeletons, the carcasses have all their
bones dissolved by the vapours; while the flesh, skin, hair, and nails
are by their action preserved from decay. This remarkable crater is
situated near the volcano of Talaga Bodas.
Of all the extinct volcanoes in the world, however, none is so
remarkable as the Dead Sea. That singular collection of salt and bitter
water has the level of its surface depressed 1312 feet below that of
the Mediterranean--thus indicating an enormous subsidence. The Dead Sea
occupies the site of what was formerly the plain of Jordan, described
as having been "well-watered everywhere, as the garden of the Lord,
like the land of Egypt." One part of it, called the Vale of Siddim, was
full of slime-pits--the only indications of volcanic action. When the
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which stood in the plain, were destroyed,
the Lord, it is said, rained upon them fire and brimstone from heaven;
but while these fell upon the cities from the atmosphere, it appears
that they must have primarily been discharged from the earth; for "the
smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace." The phenomena,
therefore, most likely resembled, in the first instance, those of
Jorullo; but the catastrophe seems to have ended like the last great
eruption of the volcano in Timor--the whole of the plain having been
ingulfed and replaced by the salt lake, whose depressed level so
clearly indicates the nature of its origin.
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