414 



K A M M E N I. 



in rddii-s ns far ns Annsi, mV inland twenty-five miles dis- 

 tant from Simtorin. These ashes had the figure and 

 the grain of fine powder ; but, thrown into the fire, 

 they produced only a few alight crepitations, without 

 emitting flame. 



On the 1 8th of September, there was at Santorin an 

 earthquake which occasioned no damage. The island 

 Was considerably increased by it, as well as the fire and 

 moke, which, on that day and the following night, 

 o|>cned to themselves new passages. Till then, so 

 many fires together had not been seen, nor had such 

 loud" report* been heard : their violence was so extra- 

 ordinary, that the houses of Scaro were shaken by it. 

 Through thick volumes of smoke, which appeared like 

 a mountain, was heard the loud noise of an infinite 

 number of huge stones, which whizzed in the air like 

 large cannon-balls, and felji afterwards on the island 

 and into the sea, with a crash which made all who 

 heard it shudder. The little Kammeni was several 

 times covered with these burning stones, which render- 

 ed it quite resplendent.. 



On the 21st of September, the little Kammeni being 

 thus quite in a blaze, after one of those furious shocks 

 just mentioned, there thence arose three large flashes of 

 lightning, which traversed all the horizon of the sea. At 

 the same instant, there occurred so great a shaking of 

 the whole new island, that the half of its great crater 

 fell in, and there were huge burning stones, of a prodi- 

 gious mass, which were driven to the distance of up- 

 wards of two miles. 



On the 24th of September, the fire resumed all its 

 strength, and the island became more formidable than 

 ever. Among the claps, almost continual, and which 

 were so violent, that two persons, speaking to each 

 other, could with difficulty make themselves heard, 

 there suddenly occurred one so dreadful, that it made 

 every body run to the churches. The big rock, on 

 which Scaro is buijt, tottered, and all the doors of the 

 houses were forcibly thrown open. 



" Every thing continued in the same state during the 

 months of October, November, and December 1707, 

 and January 1708. Not a day passed without the great 

 crater making an explosion at least once or twice, and 

 most frequently five or six times. 



" On the 10th of February 1708, about eight o'clock 

 in the morning, there was at Santorin a rather violent 

 shock of an earthquake. In the course of the night, 

 there had been one much slighter, which induced the 

 opinion, that the volcano was again preparing some ter- 

 rible scene. Large rocks of a frightful mass, which till 

 then had appeared only even with the water's edge, 

 rose very high ; and the boiling up of the sea increased 

 to a great excess. The subterraneous roarings lasted day 

 and night without intermission. The great crater burst 

 even five or six times in a quarter of an hour, and gave 

 reports which, from their repetition, from the quantity 

 and the bigness of the stones that flew about, from the 

 shaking of the houses, and from the great fire that ap- 

 peared in open day, surpassed every thing that had 

 preceded. 



" The 15th of April was remarkable, among all the 

 other days, from the number and the fury of those ter- 

 rible shocks; so that, for a long time, seeing nothing 

 but fire, fiery smoke, and large pieces of rock, which 

 filled the air, all the inhabitants of Santorin thought 

 that the island was blown up. Half of the circumfer- 

 ence of the great crater which had fallen in, and in an 

 instant, again became higher than it was, by the heap 

 of ashes and big stones by which it was repaired. 



" From that day till the 23d of May, every thing con- 

 tinued nearly on the same footing. What was particu- 



larly remarked, was, that the island constantly increas- Kammeni. 

 i'i\ in height, and scarcely increased any more in breadth, 'y^' 

 The great opening, or large crater, rose very'high ; and 

 from the melted substances which cemented its fabric, 

 was gradually formed, as it were, a great pasty, with a 

 very broad slope. 



" On the 15th of July, some persons belonging to 

 Santorin wished to have a near view of the new 

 island. They took care to provide themselves with a 

 boat well caulked, and whose seams were filled with 

 oakum strongly chinced. They went straight to that 

 side of the island where the sea did not boil up, but 

 where it smoked very much. Scarcely had the inqui- 

 sitive party reached this smoke, than they, ajl iielt a suf- 

 focating heat, which affected them. They put their 

 hands into the water, and found it scalding ; they were 

 as yet, however, only within five hundred yards of the 

 land. There not being a probability of their proceed- 

 ing farther that way, they turned towards the point 

 most distant from the great crater. The fire, -which was 

 still there, and the sea, which boiled up with fury, obli- 

 ged them to take a long circuit. They landed on the 

 Great Kammeni, whence they had the convenience of 

 examining the real length of the island, and particular- 

 ly the side which they had not been able to see from 

 Scaro. The island might then be two hundred feet in 

 its greatest height, a mile and upwards in its greatest 

 breadth, and about five miles in circumference. 



" After this examination, the observers again felt * 

 strong desire to approach the island, and to land at die 

 place called the tVliile Island. When they were within 

 two hundred yards of it, they perceived, that, by dip- 

 ping the hand into the water, the more they approach- 

 ed, the warmer it became. They hove the lead ; all 

 the line, which was ninety-five fathoms long, was em- 

 ployed, without finding any bottom. While they were 

 deliberating whether they should advance farther, or 

 turn back, the great crater began to play with its usual 

 crash and impetuosity. The wind carried over the boat 

 the thick cloud of ashes and smoke, which made them 

 think of rowing oft' very quickly. On arriving at San- 

 torin, it was discovered that the great heat of the wa- 

 ter had melted almost all the pitch from the seams of 

 the boat, which began to open .on all sides. 



" Till the 1 5th of August, of the same year, 1 708, the 

 island vomited fire, smoke, and burning stones, always 

 with a great noise, yet less than that of the preceding 

 months. 



" This account of a judicious eye-witness, is to be found 

 in a rather scarce collection, entitled " Lcs Mimaircs det 

 Missions de la Compagnie de Jesus dans le Levant." 



" After the author of the account had quitted San- 

 torin, the new island risen from the sea in the gulf, be- 

 tween the Great and the Little Kammeni, continued for 

 a long time to cast forth flames, a thjck smoke, and 

 large masses of stones, but the explosions became -less 

 frequent and less violent, and at length ceased. 



" The new island is about a league in circumference. 

 All round, but very close to it, the depth of water is 

 from thirty to thirty-five fathoms : farther off, no bot- 

 tom is to be found. From the rocks of the island is 

 frequently detached a quantity of fragments of pumice- 

 stone, which, floating on the surface of the sea, are 

 driven on the coasts of the islands of the Archipelago. 

 The quantity of these light productions of volcanoes, 

 thrown up by the new island, was so considerable dur- 

 ing the beginning of its astonishing appearance, that 

 the sea of the Archipelago was covered with them, -md 

 several harbours were choked up to such a degree, 

 that no vessel, however small, could get out, unless a 

 passage were cleared for her by means of poles. 



