AMONG THE VOLCANOES. 87 



A moderate disturbance of the mountain is characterized 

 by the ejection of vapors and stones, accompanied by a roar, 

 resembling that of distant artillery. More serious eruptions 

 are accompanied by loud subterranean noises, earthquakes, 

 and vivid electric phenomena. 



History records a large number of Vesuvian eruptions. 

 According to Strabo, Vesuvius was once covered by beautiful 

 meadows, except over the summit, which was level and sterile. 

 "It has" he says, "an appearance like ashes, and shows rug- 

 ged rocks of sooty consistency and color, as if they had been 

 consumed by fire." At the same period the theater of vol- 

 canic activity was a few miles toward the west. Ischia, Pro- 

 cida, the Solfatara and the Monte Nuovo were then active 

 craters. About A. D. 63, the volcanic nature of Vesuvius 

 manifested itself; and in 79 occurred the terrific eruption 

 which overwhelmed Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabise, and other 

 villages in a deluge of ashes and mud. In the eruption of 

 1631, heavy stones were thrown to the distance of 15 miles. 

 One which fell at the village of Somma had a weight of 

 fifteen tons. The earth was convulsed by a violent earth- 

 quake, and seven streams of lava poured from the summit, 

 overwhelming Bosco, Torre dell' Annunciata, Torre del Greco, 

 Kesina and Portici. Three thousand persons perished on the 

 occasion. In 1779 a vast number of red-hot stones were 

 hurled to a height of two thousand feet. In April, 1872, after 

 months of threatening, the lava burst forth on every side on 

 the north-east, south-west, and more particularly at the Atrio 

 del Cavallo, from which a huge stream issued with such sud- 

 denness as to overtake and destroy twenty persons out of a 

 crowd of spectators gathered to watch the spectacle. The tor- 

 rent descended to Massa and St. Sebastiano, passing beneath 

 these villages, which it partially destroyed, in a molten stream 

 3,000 feet wide and 20 feet deep. At the same time, amidst 

 terrific thundering, the crater hurled forth immense volumes 

 of smoke, mingled with red-hot stones and lava, to a height 

 of 40,000 feet. 



Mt. ^Etna is altogether a more majestic structure. It has 



