﻿Vol. 
  53.] 
  IZALCO 
  AND 
  OTHER 
  VOLCANOES 
  IN 
  CENTRAL 
  AMERICA. 
  221 
  

  

  16. 
  Izalco 
  and 
  other 
  Volcanoes 
  in 
  Central 
  America. 
  By 
  

   A. 
  Gosling, 
  Esq., 
  H.M. 
  Minister 
  and 
  Consul-General 
  in 
  

   Central 
  America. 
  (Communicated 
  by 
  the 
  President. 
  Read 
  

   March 
  10th, 
  1897.) 
  

  

  [Extract 
  from 
  a 
  letter 
  addressed 
  to 
  H.M. 
  Secretary 
  of 
  State 
  for 
  Foreign 
  Affairs.] 
  

  

  It 
  may 
  not 
  be 
  wholly 
  devoid 
  of 
  speculative 
  interest 
  to 
  learn 
  that 
  

   the 
  volcano 
  of 
  Izalco, 
  in 
  the 
  Republic 
  of 
  Salvador, 
  which 
  has 
  

   been 
  in 
  active 
  eruption 
  for 
  over 
  one 
  hundred 
  years, 
  suddenly 
  ceased 
  

   to 
  be 
  so 
  in 
  the 
  early 
  days 
  of 
  December 
  1896. 
  l 
  

  

  Izalco, 
  rightly 
  named 
  ' 
  the 
  Beacon 
  of 
  Central 
  America/ 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  

   the 
  most 
  recent 
  and 
  interesting 
  volcanoes 
  in 
  that 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  world; 
  

   and 
  I 
  venture 
  to 
  quote 
  some 
  remarks 
  respecting 
  it 
  which 
  I 
  contri- 
  

   buted 
  in 
  January 
  of 
  last 
  year 
  to 
  the 
  North 
  American 
  Review 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  ' 
  Nowhere 
  on 
  this 
  planet, 
  the 
  island 
  of 
  Java, 
  perhaps, 
  excepted, 
  

   are 
  volcanoes 
  so 
  numerous 
  and 
  of 
  such 
  varied 
  and 
  eccentric 
  con- 
  

   formation 
  as 
  in 
  Guatemala. 
  The 
  most 
  notable 
  are 
  Agua 
  and 
  Euego, 
  

   respectively 
  12,310 
  and 
  13,976 
  feet 
  in 
  height. 
  During 
  last 
  century 
  

   the 
  former 
  vomited 
  forth 
  volumes 
  of 
  igneous 
  matter, 
  beneath 
  which 
  

   lies 
  buried 
  the 
  old 
  Spanish 
  city 
  of 
  Ciudad 
  Vieja. 
  Guatemala 
  la 
  

   Antigua, 
  the 
  former 
  capital 
  and 
  seat 
  of 
  government 
  under 
  a 
  Spanish 
  

   viceroy, 
  with 
  its 
  hundreds 
  of 
  fine 
  churches 
  and 
  religious 
  establish- 
  

   ments, 
  was, 
  upwards 
  of 
  a 
  hundred 
  years 
  ago, 
  totally 
  destroyed 
  by 
  

   earthquakes 
  caused 
  by 
  ' 
  the 
  sudden 
  and 
  terrible 
  activity 
  of 
  Puego. 
  

   Of 
  recent 
  years 
  seismic 
  disturbance 
  has 
  been 
  of 
  such 
  rare 
  occurrence 
  

   in 
  Guatemala 
  that 
  houses 
  of 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  stories 
  have 
  replaced 
  the 
  

   low 
  and 
  substantial 
  structures 
  of 
  former 
  times, 
  built 
  to 
  withstand 
  

   the 
  much-dreaded 
  violence 
  of 
  the 
  tierra 
  mota. 
  

  

  ' 
  In 
  the 
  Republic 
  of 
  Salvador, 
  a 
  volcano 
  of 
  recent 
  formation, 
  named 
  

   Izalco, 
  by 
  whose 
  agency 
  the 
  capital, 
  San 
  Salvador, 
  was 
  nearly 
  

   destroyed 
  in 
  1873, 
  serves 
  the 
  useful 
  purpose 
  of 
  a 
  beacon 
  for 
  this 
  

   iron-bound 
  coast 
  on 
  the 
  Pacific. 
  Towards 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  last 
  century 
  

   the 
  site 
  on 
  which 
  it 
  is 
  situated 
  was 
  a 
  fertile 
  knoll 
  where 
  the 
  Indians 
  

   cultivated 
  their 
  corn, 
  and 
  where 
  the 
  frequent 
  destruction 
  of 
  their 
  

   crops 
  by 
  fire 
  was 
  attributed 
  to 
  acts 
  of 
  vengeance 
  by 
  neighbouring 
  

   tribes, 
  giving 
  rise 
  to 
  many 
  a 
  free 
  fight, 
  in 
  which 
  that 
  deadly 
  weapon 
  

   the 
  machete 
  played 
  a 
  prominent 
  part 
  ; 
  nor 
  was 
  it 
  until 
  a 
  gradual 
  

   upheaval 
  of 
  the 
  soil 
  was 
  observed 
  that 
  it 
  occurred 
  to 
  anyone 
  that 
  

   these 
  supposed 
  acts 
  of 
  incendiarism 
  were 
  due 
  to 
  subterraneous 
  

   ignition. 
  Izalco 
  has 
  now 
  attained 
  an 
  altitude 
  of 
  some 
  5000 
  feet, 
  

   and 
  coasting 
  navigators 
  watch 
  its 
  rapid 
  growth 
  from 
  year 
  to 
  year. 
  

   Its 
  nocturnal 
  ebullitions 
  form 
  a 
  spectacle 
  of 
  more 
  imposing 
  grandeur 
  

   than 
  the 
  eruptions 
  of 
  Vesuvius 
  ; 
  explosions 
  occur 
  every 
  12 
  or 
  15 
  

   minutes, 
  day 
  and 
  night, 
  with 
  extraordinary 
  regularity, 
  accompanied 
  

   by 
  noises 
  likened 
  to 
  the 
  discharge 
  of 
  heavy 
  artillery, 
  followed 
  by 
  

   the 
  escape 
  of 
  volumes 
  of 
  dense 
  smoke 
  and 
  name, 
  carrying 
  with 
  it 
  

   hundreds 
  of 
  tons 
  of 
  rock 
  and 
  lava, 
  which 
  on 
  a 
  dark 
  night 
  presents 
  a 
  

   most 
  weird 
  appearance.' 
  

  

  1 
  [The 
  Author 
  draws 
  attention 
  to 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  an 
  earthquake-shock 
  was 
  

   experienced 
  in 
  EDgland 
  on 
  the 
  17th 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  month. 
  — 
  Ed.] 
  

  

  