114 Account of a Fury Eruption in Iceland. 



Alptaver. After this three columns of fire were obferved, 

 the moil northern of which firft made its appearance. 

 When firft feen, they flamed up feparately ; but they after- 

 wards united and rofe to fuch a height that they could be 

 perceived at the diftance of thirty-four miles, when the 

 flame was not covered by thick vapour. 



Iceland is bordered by a long chain of mountains, which 

 are all exceedingly high and always covered with fnow. 

 The largeft and higheft of thefe is the Klofa-Jcekul, in 

 which the principal and heft known rivers of the ifland 

 formerly had their fources. Among thefe mountains there 

 arealfo four volcanoes, the Skaptar- Jcekul, theSula, Trcella- 

 dyngia, and the Oercefa-Joekul, the lad of which is the 

 moft violent. They at firft throw out water, and then Are. 

 There are feveral of the fame kind in the ifland ; but the 

 well known Hecla throws out only fire. 



On the 8th of June the bright flames of the before- 

 mentioned column could be clearly diftinguifhed. They 

 were accompanied with a violent and inceffant eruption of 

 fand, fulphureous duft, aflies, large pumice ftones, and moft 

 dreadful explofions. A furious wind, which prevaded at 

 the fame time, filled the atmofphcre in fuch a manner with 

 fand and fulphureous vapour, that people could not fee either 

 to read or to write even at noon. The aflies and fcorioe 

 which fell back from the atmofphere were red hot. There 

 fell at the fame time a kind of filth as black as ink, which 

 fcemed as it were hairy, having fometimes the appearance 

 of fmall balls, and fometimes of wreaths or rings. 



On the nth the fiery column, which had vanifhed for a 

 little, again made its appearance, and could be diftinclly 

 feen at the diftance of thirty or forty miles. Its thundering 

 noife could be heard at the fame diftance, and continued 

 throughout the whole fummer. The above column was 

 accompanied the fame day by a very violent rain, which »oc- 

 cafioned infinite damage; becaufc the water, in many places, 

 fwept off whole pieces of the foil and carried them with it 



into 



