 section 15 of the San Francisco Calamity by earthquake and fire this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Anne Boulet the San Francisco Calamity by earthquake and fire by Charles Morris chapter 15 Vesuvius devastates the region of Naples we have in other chapters describe the terrible work of Mount Vesuvius in the past from the far-off era of the destruction of Pompeii down to the end of the last century there comes before us now another frightful eruption one of the greatest in its history that of 1906 for 30 years before this outbreak the mighty volcano had been comparatively quiet rarely ceasing indeed to smoke and fume but giving little indication of the vast forces buried in its heart it shows some sympathy with Montpellier in 1902 and continued restless after that time but it was not until the middle of February 1906 that it became threatening lava beginning to overflow from the crater and make its lurid way down the mountain side it was in the middle of the first week of April that these indications rose to the danger point the flow of lava suddenly swelling from a rivulet to a river pouring in a gleaming flood over the crater's rim and meeting the other streams that came streaming down the volcano's rugged flank while this went on the mountain remain comparatively quiet there being no explosions though a huge cloud of volcanic ash and cinders rose high in the air until it hung over the crater in the shape of an enormous pine tree while from it a shower of dust and sand soon to become terrible began to descend upon the surrounding fields and towns dangerous as is Vesuvius at any time the people of the vicinity dare its perils for the allurement of this fertile soil a ring of populous villages encircles it flourishing vineyards and olive broves extend on all sides and the hand of industry does not hesitate to attack its threatening flanks the intervals between its death dealing throws are so long that the peasants are always ready to dare destruction for the hope of winning the means of life from its soil the rivers of lava all this locality was now a field of terror and death down on the vineyards and villages pour the smoldering ashes in an ever increasing rain tore them slowly and threateningly crawl the fiery serpents of the lava streams and from their homes flood thousands of the terror stricken people frantic with horror and dismay a number of populist villages were threatened by the lured lava streams the most endangered being Bosco Tricassee with its 10,000 inhabitants tore this devoted town poured steadily the irresistible flow of molten rock the soldiers who had been hurried to the front sought to divert its flow by digging a wide ditch across its course and throwing up a high bank of earth but they worked in vain the demon of destruction was not to be robbed of its prey the liquid stream advanced like a colossal serpent of fire turning its head like a crawling snake to the right and to the left but keeping steadily on toward the faded town the ditch was filled the bank gave way the first house was reached and burst into flames the creeping stream of fire pushed on to the next houses in its way only then did the despairing people desert their homes and flee for their lives carrying with them the little they could snatch of their treasured possessions F. Marion Crawford the novelist who was present at this scene thus describes the flight of the terrified people I saw men women and children and infants whose mothers carry them at the breast or in their aprons fleeing in an endless procession dogs to and cats were on the carts and sometimes even chickens tied together by the legs and piles of mattresses and pillows and shapeless bundles of clothes all were white with dust under the lower glare I saw one old woman lying on her back across the cart ghastly white and if not dead already of fear and heat and suffocation certainly almost gone we ourselves could hardly breathe it was on Saturday the 7th that Bosco Tricasse became the prey of the river of molten rock during that night and the following day the crisis of the eruption came the observatory on the mountainside was occupied by Professor Mateucci his assistant professor Perrette of New York and two domestics all others having been sent away their description of the scene in which they found themselves is vividly picturesque at midnight the situation in the observatory was terrible the forces of the earthquake were let loose and the ground rock so that it was almost impossible to stand the roaring of the main crater was deafening while the volcano poured forth its contents like a fountain and the electric display was terrifying constant claps of thunder following the lurid flashes of lightning which gave the sky a blood red hue shortly after three o'clock in the morning the explosive energy of the mighty mass culminated the whole cone burst open with a tremendous earthquake shock from the heart of the recently silent mountain came a deafening roar and red hot rocks like the balls from nature's mighty artillery were hurled a half mile into the air while a dense mass of ashes and sand were flung to three or four times this height all the next day the terrible detonation kept up and a hail of bullet like stones poured downward from the skies rarely has a more terrible Sunday been seen it was as if the demons of earth and air were let loose and were seeking to destroy man and his puny works the crisis of the eruption this frightful explosion of the eighth of April was the worst of the dreadful display of volcanic forces but the work kept up with diminishing intensity much of the following week the ashes and cinders continued to pour down in suffocating showers covering the ground to a depth of four or five feet in the vicinity of the volcano and to a considerable depth that naples ten miles away the sun disappeared behind the thick cloud that filled the air and the scene resembled that described by Pliny more than eighteen hundred years before of Bosco Tricasse nothing was left but the large stone church and a few houses another river of lava reached the outskirts of Torre Del Greco and a third stopped at the cemetery of Torre Annunciata those towns escaped but thousands of acres of fertile cultivated land with farmhouses in stock were destroyed the peninsula railway of the mountain was ruined and the large hotel burned one writer tells the following tale of what he saw on that fatal saturday and sunday on the road i met hundreds of families in flight carrying their few miserable possessions the spectacle of collapse in carts and fainting women was frequently seen when one reached the lava stream a stupefying spectacle presented itself from a point on the mountain between the towns i saw four rivers of molten fire one of which 200 feet wide and over 40 deep was moving slowly and majestically onward devouring vineyards and olive groves i witnessed the destruction of a farmhouse enveloped on three sides by lava immediately overhead the great crater was belching incandescent rock and scoria for an incredible distance the whole scene was breathed with flames and a perpetual roar was heard ever and anon the cone of the volcano was encircled with vivid electric phenomena amid which a downpour of liquid fire on all sides of the crater was revealed in magnificent awfulness in the evening there was a frightful shock of earthquake which was repeated at two o'clock on sunday morning simultaneously the lava streams redoubled their onrush and men women and children fled precipitately toward the sea the lava had invaded the road behind them a reign of terror the great loss of life was due to the vast fall of ashes which crushed in hundreds of routes and buried the occupants within the ruins of their homes in all the neighboring towns buildings were destroyed in great numbers an early estimate being that fully five thousand houses had been partly crushed or utterly destroyed on the otogono side of the mountain where the ashes fell in greatest profusion all the houses of the villages were destroyed and otogono itself was left a wreck several hundred dead bodies being taken from its ruins in naples the ash fall was so incessant that those who could afford it wore automobile coats caps and goggles while the people generally sought to save their eyes and faces by the aid of paper masks and umbrellas the drivers of trolley cars were obliged to wear masks of some transparent material under the visors of their caps disasters at san jisepi and naples there were two special disasters attended by sirius loss of life on the ninth while a congregation of 200 or more were attending mass in the church at san jisepi the roof crushed in from the weight of ashes upon it and fell upon the worshipers below few or none of whom escaped unhurt 54 dead bodies were taken from the ruins and a large number were severely injured the mayor of the town was dismissed from his office for leaving his post of duty in the face of danger the second disaster one of the same character took place in naples this was on tuesday april 10th just previous to it the people had been marching in religious processions through the streets to render thanks for the apparent cessation of the activity of vassuvias motley but picturesque processions were these headed by boys carrying candles which burned simply in the full sunshine and bearing aloft images of the madonna or saints clad in gorgeous robes of cheap blue or yellow satin their joy was suddenly changed to grief by tidings of a frightful disaster the roof of the monte oliveto market fronting on the toledo the main thoroughfare had suddenly crushed in burying more than 200 people beneath its heavy fall the market had been crowded with buyers and their children and it was the busiest hours of the day in the great roofed courtyard covering a space 600 feet square when with scarcely a tremor of warning there came a frightful crash and a dense cloud of dust covered the scene from out of which came heart-rending screams of agony the volcanic ash which unnoticed had gathered thickly on the roof had broken it by its weight the news set the people frantic with grief and indignation they insisted that the authorities knew that the roof was unsafe and had neglected their duty cursing and screaming in their intense excitement they surrounded the market endeavoring with frantic haste to remove the heavy beans from beneath which came the appealing cries for help many of the rescuers sobbing aloud as they worked it required a large force of police and soldiers to keep them back and permit the firemen and other trained workers to carry on more systematically the work of relief 12 persons proved to have been killed two fatally injured 24 seriously hurt and over a hundred badly bruised and cut among these were many children whose parents had sent them to do the marketing without a dream of danger and the grief of the parents was intense the Duke of Aosta prefect of Naples directed the work of rescue while his wife assisted in the care of the injured as the duchess bent in the hospital to give a cooling drink to a badly bruised little girl she felt a kiss upon her hand looking down she saw a woman kneeling at her feet who gratefully said your excellency she is all I have I am a widow may god reward you while this scene of horror was taking place in Naples the fate of the town and villages grouped around the foot of the volcano seemed as hopeless as ever early on the 10th the showers of ashes and streams of lava diminished and almost ceased but later the same day they began again and the terrified inhabitant's fear that a catastrophe like that which buried Pompeii and Herculaneum was about to visit them the lava which reached the cemetery of Tori Anunciata turned in the direction of Pompeii as if too freshly entombed that exhumed city of the past a violent storm of sulfurous rain fell on San Giuseppe the Suviana and Soriano and on all sides the fall of sand and ashes came on again in full strength even with the sun shining high in the heavens the light was a dim yellow in the midst of which the few persons who still haunted the stricken towns moved about in the awful stillness of desolation like gray ghosts their clothing hair and beards covered with ashes the eruption resumed a typical case was that of Tori Del Greco though for 30 hours the place had been deserted a few ghostly figures could be seen at intervals when the vivid flashes of lightning illuminated the gloom covered scene wandering desolately about hungry and thirsty their throats parched by smoke and dust yet unable to tear themselves away from the ruins of their late comfortable homes so deep was the asphalt that railway or tramway travel to the inner circle of towns was impossible and the great depth of fallen dust choked the road so as to render travel by carriage or on foot very difficult a party of officials made a tour of inspection by automobile visiting a number of the town but were prevented by the state of the roads from reaching others Otajano was thus cut off from travel and a heavy fall of ashes followed the officials in their retreat at Bosco Tricasse the lava had gathered into a lake already growing solid on top but a mass of liquid rock beneath the lava carried vast masses of burnt stone and sulfur on its surface like draw some melted lead and nothing was visible toward Bosco Tricasse but endless acres of dark skoria broken here and there by the greenish curling smoke of sulfur at one point a great cone pine tree torn up by its roots and turned to black charcoal stuck out of the mass at a sharp angle the air was almost unbearable the heat intense and few could long bear the dangers and discomfort of the situation scenes of horror the greatest depth of ashes encountered was in the vicinity of Otajano here large areas were buried to a depth of several feet soldiers had been sent there with military carts carrying provisions and surgical appliances with orders to lend their aid in the work of relief they found it almost impossible to make their way through the deep fine dust and the tales of horror and heroism they had to tell resembled those that must have old have been born to roam by the fleeing inhabitants of Pompeii efforts were made to remove the children and old persons in the carts but when these had gone a few hundred feet it was found that although there were four horses harnessed to each vehicle they could not pull their loads through the ashes this caused a panic among the children who expected to be buried in the incessant fall from the volcano and they fled in all directions in the darkness and blinding rain searching parties went after them but in spite of continuous shouting and calling no trace was found of the little ones and numbers of the children were undoubtedly smothered by the ashes and sand many of the inhabitants had been buried in the ruins of their houses and the scenes when the victims were unearthed were often piteous and terrible the positions of the bodies showed that the victims had died while in a state of great terror the faces being convulsed with fear three bodies were found in a confessional of one of the fallen churches one body was that of an old woman who was sitting with her right arm raised as though to ward off the advancing danger the second was that of a child about eight years old it was found dead in a position which would indicate that the child had fallen with a little dog close to it and had died with one arm raised across its face to protect itself and the pet from the crumbling ruins the third body that of a woman was reduced to an unrecognizable mass these three victims were reverently laid side by side while a procession of friends and relatives offered up prayers beside them one soldier rode his horse through the ashes reaching up to its flanks calling out who wants help he was rewarded by hearing a woman's voice reply in weak tones and springing from his horse he floundered through the ashes to the ruin walls of a house from which the voice seemed to come as he made his way through the soft treacherous layer of scoria which surrounded the destroyed habitation and with difficulty worked his way toward the building the soldier shouted words of encouragement and climbing over a heap of ruins and braving a toppling wall entered the building in the cellar he found the bodies of three children near them was a woman barely alive who by almost superhuman efforts for hours had succeeded in freeing herself from a massive debris which had fallen upon her the soldier picked up the woman in his arms and carried her to a place of safety it was found that both legs were broken and that she had been badly crushed about the body some extraordinary escapes from death took place a man and his four children were rescued after having been lost in the ash covered wilderness for 56 hours they were terribly exhausted and were reduced almost to skeletons robert underwood johnson one of the editors of the sentry magazine who happened to be in Rome at the time of the eruption made one of a party who ventured as near the scene of destruction as they could safely approach from his graphic story of his experiences we copy some of the most interesting details an american observer we caught a train for tori annunciata three miles this side of pompe and two miles from the southern end of the wedge of lava which destroyed bosco trecassee we had a magnificent view of their eruption eight miles away rising at an angle of 50 degrees the vast mass of tumult roundness was beautifully accentuated by the full moon shifting momentarily into new forms and drifting south in low black clouds of ashes and cinders reaching capri at tori del greco we ran under this terrifying pall apparently 100 feet above the solidity of which was soon revealed in the moonlight the torches of the railway guards added to the effect but greatly relieved the sulfurous darkness we reached tori annunciata at three in the morning there was little suggestion of a disaster as we trudged through the sleeping town to the lava two miles away the brilliant moon gave us a superb view of the volcano a gray brown mass rising expanding and curling in with a profile like a monstrous cyclopean face but nothing in mythology gives a suggestion of the fascination of this awful force presenting the sublime beauty above but in its descent filled with the mysterious malignance of god's underworld we reached the lava at a picturesque cypress planted cemetery on the northern boundary of tori annunciata it was as if the dead had effectively cried out to arrest the crushing river of flames which piteously engulfed the statue of st. ann with which the people of bosco reale tried to stay it as at catania the veil of st agatha is said to have stayed a similar stream from mount etna we climbed on the lava it was cool above but still alive with fire below we could see dimly the extent of the destruction beyond the barrier of brown which had enclosed the streets torn down houses invaded the vineyards and broken cooks railways a better idea of the surroundings was obtained at dawn from the railway we saw north what was left of bosco tricassee a great square stone church and a few houses inland in a sea of dull brown lava north and east rose a thousand patches of blue smoke like swamp maizma all was dull and desolate slide with nowhere the familiar serpentine forms of the old lava streams in terrible contrast with the volcanic evidences were strong cypresses and blooming camellias in a neighboring cemetery we ate a hasty luncheon before sunrise when the great beauty of the scene was revealed the column now seemed higher and more massive rising to three times the height of visuvius each portion had a concentric motion and new aspects the south edges floating toward the sea showed exquisite carved surfaces due to the upper moving current it was like the decoration of the side of a great sarcophagus as a yellow dust hangs over naples and hives of volcano i count myself fortunate to have seen all day from leeward this spectacle of changing undiminishing beauty the wedge of cultivated land ruined east of the volcano extended at least 10 miles with a width of 20 or 30 miles fancy a rich and thickly populated country of vineyards lying under three to six inches of ashes and cinders of the color of chocolate with milk while above to the west the volcano in full activity is distributing to the outer edges of the circle the same and you will get an idea of the desolate impression of the scene a tragedy colossal and heart-rending like that of calabria it enlists the sympathy of the civilized world it takes time for such a calamity to be realized two miles below san josephi we struck cinders which the soldiers were shoveling making a narrow road for the refugees our wagon driver begged off from completing his contract to take us to san josephi we had not the heart to insist so the rest of the journey to the railway at palma eight miles was made laboriously on foot for three hours through sliding cinders in many places temporary shelters have been built by the roadside like children's playhouses here women were huddled with their bedding awaiting the coming of supplies which the army had begun to distribute the men were largely occupied with shoveling cinders from the stronger roofs and floors into heaps three to six feet deep along the roadside many two wheel carts loaded with salvage drawn by donkeys or pushed by peasants were making their way along the women with bundles on their heads or carrying poultry in the square of san josephi was an encampment of soldiers with low tents near a destroyed church in coarse yellow linen shrouds were the bodies of 33 of the persons who there lost their lives the peasants were sad but uncomplaining in fact for so excitable a people they were wonderfully calm as evidence of the thrift and self-respect of these we were not once asked for alms during the afternoon the king at the front the italian government did all it could at the moment to alleviate the horrors of the situation sending money to be expended in relief work and dispatching high officials of the government to give aid and encouragement by their presence the king victor emanuel and queen helene reached the scene of destruction as early as possible and lent their personal assistance to the work of rescue obliged to leave his automobile which could not move over the cinder choked road the king went forward with difficulty on horseback the animal floundering through four feet of ashes stumbling into holes and half blinded by the fall of dust and cinders how did you escape he asked a priest whom he met in his journey i put myself in safety was the reply what do you mean asked the king realizing the danger i left nola what cried the king with a flush of anger you a minister of god were not here to share the danger of your people and administer the last sacraments you did very wrong and forgot your duty reaching otogono the king did what he could to expedite the work of rescue at that central point of disaster more than a hundred dead bodies being taken from the ruins in his presence he stood with set pale face watching the removal of the victims and directing the movement of the workers during his visit at the front he inspected the temporary camp hospitals in which the soldiers were caring for the injured and suffering speaking to the poor victims giving them what comfort he could and asking what he could do to relieve their distress every request or desire was received with sympathy and orders given to habit fulfilled a pitiful scene took place when the king bent over a poor man whose right leg had been amputated and asked what he could do to comfort and aid him in his affliction send me my son who is serving as a soldier said the maimed peasant the king visibly affected clasped the old man's hand and exclaimed my poor fellow i can do much but to grant your request would mean breaking the laws which i must be the first to respect i would give anything i have were it possible by so doing to send your son to you but i cannot do so while the king was thus engaged at the scenes of desolation queen hellene visited the charitable institutions at naples and inspected the places where the refugees were housed doing what she could do to improve conditions and add to the comfort of the sufferers the princess of schleswig holstein who was in naples made an automobile visit to the afflicted towns but the motor broke down and she was forced to return on foot walking a distance of 12 miles through the ashes and displaying a power of endurance that surprised the natives the canopy of dust by friday april 13th the eruption was practically at an end vassuvius had spent itself in the enormous convulsion of the seventh and eighth and the subsequent minor explosions and had returned to its normal state ceasing to give any signs of life except the cloud of smoke which still rose from its crater and spread like a thick curtain over and around the mountain looked at from naples there was none of the familiar aspects of the volcano with its output of smoke and ashes by day and fiery gleam by night now it lay buried in darkness and obscurity clothed in a dense pall of smoke at roam there was sunshine but 20 miles south hung a misty veil and 25 miles above naples a zone of semi obscurity began blotting out the sun whose light trickled through a sickly glare everything was whitened with powdery dust pretty white villas were dabbed and dripping with mud and people were busy shoveling the ashes from their roofs the crowd at the stations resembled millers their clothes flower covered the caponia presented the appearance of a dakota prairie after a blizzard of snow though everything was gray instead of white the ashes lay in drifts knee deep as the volcano was approached semi night replaced the day the gloom being so deep that the telegraph poles 20 feet away could not be seen breathing was difficult and the smoke made the eyes water at naples however a favorable wind had cleared the air of smoke the sun shone brightly and the versatile people were happy once more the goggles and ice creams had disappeared but the streets were anything but comfortable for 6 000 men were at work clearing the ashes from the roofs and main streets and piling them in the middle of the narrow streets making the passage of vehicles very difficult and the sidewalks far from comfortable for foot passengers but while brightness and joy reigned at naples there were gruesome scenes within the volcanic zone at bosco tracas say soldiers carried on the work of exhumation being able to work only an hour at a time on account of the advanced stage of decomposition of the bodies many of these were shapeless unrecognizable masses of flesh and bones while others were little disfigured to lessen the danger of an epidemic the bodies were buried as quickly as possible in quick lime on sunday the 15th the searchers at otagano were surprised at finding two aged women still alive after six days entombed in the ruins they were among those who had been buried by the falling walls a week before the rafters of the house had protected them and a few morsels of food in their pockets aided to keep them alive at some points there the ashes were 10 feet deep at San Giuseppe bodies of women were found in whose hands were coins and jewels and one woman held a jeweled rosary this recalls the results of exploration at hercolanum and Pompeii where were similar instances of death overtaking the victims of the volcano while fleeing with their jewels in their hands it is interesting to learn that two men stood heroically to their post of duty during the whole scene of the explosion professor matayuchi director of the royal observatory and his american assistant professor frank a perrette of new york though the building occupied by them was exposed to the full force of the reign of stones from the burning mountain they remained undauntedly at their posts through that week of terror on the 14th some of that venturesome fraternity the newspaper correspondence reached their airy on the highest habitable point on basuvius and heard the story of their experiences the heroes of the observatory professors matayuchi and parrot and their two servants had been cut off from the outside world and bombarded by the volcano their rations consisting of bread cheese and dried onions until on friday a hearty guide was induced to push through to them with some provisions during the eruption the professor had kept at his instruments taking observations day and night and making calculations in the midst of the inferno roughly dressed he looked like a western cowboy after a hard ride in a dust storm the portico where he stood was knee deep in ashes and from the observatory terrace narrow paths have been cut through the ashes but as far as the eye could reach an ocean of ashes and twisted rivers were alone visible with basuvius rising grimly in the midst the great monster was enveloped in a cloak of white as if buried under a snowstorm its surface being here in their slit with gulches in which lava ran at the bottom of one of those gulches lay the wreck remnants of the peninsular railway a portion of its twisted cable protruding through the ashes as the correspondence ascended the mountain they were surprised by the apparition of natives men wrinkled with age who emerged from dugouts just below the observatory and offered them milk and eggs just as if they were ordinary visitors to the volcano as they descended they heard the sound of a mandolin from one of these dugouts evidently basuvius had no terrors for these case-hardened veterans we have already told the story gleaned by the correspondence from the daring scientists matauci completed his record of boldness on friday the 13th by climbing to a point far above the observatory at the imminent risk of his life to observe the conditions then existing from what he says he believed the end of the disturbance near though he did not venture to predict as for the ashes which a light wind was then blowing in a direction away from napels he said the ill wind is now blowing good to other places for ashes are the best fertilizer it is possible to use it is merely a question just now of having too much of a good thing this is a fact so far as the volcanic ash is concerned an examination of the ashes a few days ago shows that they will prove an active and valuable fertilizer the fertile slopes of basuvius have ever been an allurement to the vine grower four crops a year being a temptation no possible danger could drive from him and as soon as the mountain grows surely peaceful after this eruption we shall find his farmers risking again the chance of his uncertain temper but this is not the case with the land covered with lava and cinders time for their disintegration is necessary before they can be brought under cultivation and this is a matter of years after the great eruption of 1871 72 the land covered with cinders did not bear crops for seven years and there is no reason that they will do so sooner on the present occasion so for years to come much of the volcanic soil must remain a barren and desert void end of section 15 section 16 of the san francisco calamity by earthquake and fire this is a liber vox recording all liber vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit liber vox.org recording by ann boulais the san francisco calamity by earthquake and fire by charles morris chapter 16 the great lisbon and colabrian earthquakes to our account of the great earth convulsions of san francisco it is in place to append a description of some similar events of older date it is due to the same causes whatever these causes may be the imprisoned forces within the earth acting over great distances during the earthquake while they are concentrated within some limited space when the volcano begins its work the earthquake is the most terrible to mankind of all the natural agencies of destruction while the volcano usually has a greater permanent effect upon surface conditions it is as a rule much less destructive to human life the earthquake often shaking down cities and burying all their inhabitants in one common grave violent earthquakes are also a far more frequent occurrence than destructive volcanic eruptions many hundreds of them having taken place during the historic period while the earthquake is only indirectly connected with the subject of our work it seems desirable to make some mention of it here at least so far as relates to those terrible convulsions whose destructiveness have given them special prominence in the history of great disasters ancient notable examples are those which threw down the famous colossus of roads and the faros of alexandria the city of anioch was a terrible sufferer from this affliction it having been devastated sometime before the christian era while in the year 859 more than 15 000 of its houses were destroyed of countries subject to earthquakes japan has been a special sufferer in some cases mountains and islands being elevated in association with shocks in others great tracts of land being swallowed up by the sea the number of deaths in some of these instances was enormous numerous thrilling examples of the destructive work of the earthquake at various periods are on record of these we have given elsewhere a tabular list of the more important and shall confine ourselves to a few striking examples of its destructive action in the record of great earthquakes one of the most famous is that which in 1755 visited the city of lisbon the capital of portugal and left that populous place in ruin and dire distress it may be well to recall the details of this dire event to the memories of our readers the great lisbon earthquake on the night of the 31st of october 1755 the citizens of the fair city of lisbon lay down to sleep in merciful ignorance of what was awaiting them on the morrow the morning of the first of november dawned and gave no sign of approaching calamity the sun rose in its brightness the warmth was genial the breeze is gentle the sky serene it was all saint's day a high festival of the church of rome the sacred edifices were thronged with eager crowds and the ceremonies were in full progress when the assembled throngs were suddenly startled from their devotions from the ground beneath came fearful sounds that drowned the peel of the organ and the voices of the choirs these underground thunders having rolled away and awful silence ensued the panic-stricken multitudes were paralyzed with terror immediately after the ground began to heave with a long gentle swell producing giddiness and faintness among the people tall piles swayed to and fro like willows in the wind shrieks of horror rose from the terrified assembly again the earth heaved and this time with a longer and higher wave down came the ponderous arches the stately columns the massive walls the lofty spires tumbling upon the heads of priests and people the graven images the deified wafers they who had knelt in adoration before them the worshiped and the worshipers alike were in a moment buried under one indistinguishable massive horrible ruins only a few who were near the doors escaped to tell the tale it fared no better with those who remained in their dwellings the terrible earth wave overthrew the large number of the private houses in the city burying their inhabitants under the crumbling walls those who were in the streets more generally escaped though some there too were killed by falling walls the sudden overthrow of so many buildings raised vast volumes of fine dust which filled the atmosphere and obscured the sun producing a dense gloom the air was full of doleful sounds the groans of agony from the wounded and the dying screams of despair from the horrified survivors whales of lamentation from the suddenly bereaved dismal howling of dogs and terrified cries of other animals in two or three minutes the clouds of dust fell to the ground and disclose the scene of desolation which a few seconds had wrought the ruin though general was not universal a considerable number of houses were left standing fortunately tenantless for a third great earth wave traverse the city and most of the buildings which had withstood the previous shocks already severely shaken were entirely overthrown water adds to the destruction the last disaster filled the surviving citizens with the impulse of flight the more fortunate of them ran in the direction of the open country and succeeded in saving their lives but a great multitude rushed down to the harbor thinking to escape by sea here however they were met by a new and unexpected peril the tide after first retreating for a little came rolling in with an immense wave about 50 feet in height carrying with its ships barges and boats and dashing them in dire confusion upon the crowded shore overwhelmed by this huge wave great numbers were on its retreat swept into the seething waters and drowned a vast throng took refuge on a fine new marble quay but recently completed which had cost much labor and expense this the sea wave had spared sweeping harmless by but alas it was only for a moment the vast structure itself with the whole of its living burden sank instantaneously into an awful chasm which opened underneath the mole and all who were on it the boats and barges moored to its sides all of them filled with people were in a moment engulfed not a single corpse not a shred of raiment not a plank nor a splinter floated to the surface and a hundred fathoms of water covered the spot to the first great sea wave several others succeeded and the bay continued for a long time in a state of tumultuous agitation about two hours after the first overthrow of the buildings a new element of destruction came into play the fires in the ruin houses kindled the timbers and a mighty conflagration urged by a violent wind soon raged among the ruins consuming everything combustible and completing the wreck of the city this fire which lasted four days was not altogether a misfortune it consumed the thousands of corpses which would otherwise have tainted the air adding pestilence to the other misfortunes of the survivors yet they were threatened with an enemy not less appalling for famine stared them in the face almost everything edible within the precincts of the city had been consumed a set of wretches moreover who had escaped from the ruins of the prisons prowled among the rubbish of the houses in search of plunder so that whatever remained in the shape of provisions fell into their hands and was speedily devoured they also broke into the houses that remained standing and rifled them of their contents it is said that many of those who had been only injured by the ruins and might have escaped by being extricated were ruthlessly murdered by those merciless villains the total loss of life by this terrible catastrophe is estimated at 60 000 persons of whom about 40 000 perished at once and the remainder died afterwards of the injuries and privations they sustained 1200 were buried in the ruins of the general hospital 800 in those of the civil prison and several thousands in those of the convents the loss of property amounted to many millions sterling widespread destruction although the earth wave traversed the whole city the shock was felt more severely in some quarters than in others all the older part of the town called the moorish quarter was entirely overthrown and of the newer part about 70 of the principal streets were ruined some buildings that withstood the shocks were destroyed by fire the cathedral 18 parish churches almost all the convents the halls of the inquisition the royal residence and several other fine palaces of the nobility and mansions of the wealthy the custom houses the warehouses filled with merchandise the public granaries filled with corn and large timber yards with their stores of lumber were either overthrown or burned the king and court were not in lisbon at the time of this great disaster but were living in the neighborhood at the castle of bellum which escaped injury the royal family however were so alarmed by the shocks that they passed the following night in carriages out of doors none of the officers of state were with them at the time on the following morning the king hastened to the ruined city to see what could be done toward restoring order aiding the wounded and providing food for the hungry the royal family and the members of the court exerted themselves to the uttermost the ladies devoting themselves to the preparation of lint and bandages and to nursing the wounded the sick and the dying of whom the numbers were overwhelming among the sufferers were men of quality and once opulent citizens who had been reduced in a moment to absolute pennery the kitchens of the royal palace which fortunately remained standing were used for the purpose of preparing food for the starving multitudes it is said that during the first two or three days a pound of bread was worth an ounce of gold one of the first measures of the government was to buy up all the corn that could be obtained in the neighborhood of lisbon and to sell it again at a moderate price to those who could afford to buy it distributing it gratis to those who had nothing to pay for about a month afterward earthquake shocks continued some of them severe it was several months before any of the citizens could some encourage to begin rebuilding the city but by degrees their confidence returned the earth had relapsed into repose and they said about the task of rebuilding with so much energy that in 10 years lisbon again became one of the most beautiful capitals of europe characteristics of the lisbon earthquake the most distinguishing peculiarities of this earthquake were the swallowing up of the mole and the vast extent of the earth's surface over which the shocks were felt several of the highest mountains in portugal were violently shaken and rent at their summits huge masses falling from them into the neighboring valleys these great fractures gave rise to immense volumes of dust which at a distance were mistaken for smoke by those who beheld them flames were also said to have been observed but if there were any such they were probably electrical flashes produced by the sudden rupture of the rocks the portion of the earth's surface convulsed by this earthquake is estimated by humble to have been four times greater than the whole extent of europe the shocks were felt not only over the spanish peninsula but in morocco and algeria they were nearly as violent at a place about 24 miles from the city of morocco there is said to have occurred a catastrophe much resembling what took place at the lisbon mole a great fissure opened in the earth and an entire village with all its inhabitants upwards of 8 000 in number were precipitated into the gulf which immediately closed over its prey earthquakes in calabria of the numerous other examples of destructive earthquakes which might be chosen from old world annals it will not be amiss to append a brief account of those which took place in calabria italy in 1783 these while less widespread in their influence were much longer in duration than the lisbon cataclysm since they continued at intervals from the 5th of february until the end of the year the shocks were felt all over sicily and as far north as naples but the area of severe convulsion was comparatively limited not exceeding 500 square miles the center of disturbance seems to have been under the town of opidot in the farther calabria and it extended in every direction from that spot to a distance of about 22 miles with such violence as to overthrow every city town and village lying within that circle this ruin was accomplished by the first shock on the 5th of february the second of equal violence on the 28th of march was less destructive only because little or nothing had been left for it to overthrow at opidot the motion was in the nature of a vertical upheaval of the ground which was accompanied by the opening of numerous large chasms into some of which many houses were engulfed the chasms closing over them again almost immediately the town itself was situated on the summit of a hill flanked by five steep and difficult slopes it was so completely overthrown by the first shock that scarcely a fragment of wall was left standing the hill itself was not thrown down but a fort which commanded the approach to the place was hurled into the gorge below it was on the flats immediately surrounding the site of the town and on the rising grounds beyond them that the great fissures and chasms were opened on the slope of one of the hills opposite the town there appeared a vast chasm in which a large quantity of soil covered with vines and olive trees was engulfed this chasm remained open after the shock and was somewhat in the form of an amphitheater 500 feet long and 200 feet in depth most calamitous of the land slips the most calamitous of the land slips occurred on the seacoast of the straits of messina near the celebrated rock of silla where huge masses fell from the tall cliffs overwhelming many villas and gardens at gion greco a continuous line of precipitous rocks nearly a mile in length tumbled down the aged prince of silla after the first great shock on the fifth of february persuaded many of his vassals to quit the dangerous shore and take refuge in the fishing boats he himself showing the example that same night however while many of the people were asleep in the boats and others on a flat plane a little above the sea level another powerful shock threw down from the neighboring mount jackie a great mass which fell with a dreadful crash partly into the sea and partly upon the plane beneath immediately the sea rose to a height of 20 feet above the level ground on which the people were stationed and rolling over it swept away the whole multitude this immense wave then retired but returned with still greater violence bringing with it the bodies of the men and animals it had previously swept away dashing to pieces the whole of the boats drowning all that were in them and wafting the fragments far inland the prince with 1,430 of his people perished by this disaster it was on the northeast shore of sissile however that the greatest amount of damage was done the first severe shock on the fifth of february overthrew nearly the whole of the beautiful city of messina with great loss of life the shore for a considerable distance along the coast was rent and the ground along the port which was before quite level became afterwards inclined towards the sea the depth of the water having at the same time increased in several parts through the displacement of portions of the bottom the quay also subsided about 14 inches below the level of the sea and the houses near it were much rent but it was in the city itself that the most terrible desolation was wrought a complication of disasters having followed the shock more especially a fierce conflagration whose intensity was augmented by the large stores of oil kept in the place immense destruction according to official reports made soon after the events the destruction caused by the earthquakes of the fifth of february and the 28th of march throughout the two calabrias was immense about 320 towns and villages were entirely reduced to ruins and about 50 others seriously damaged the loss of life was appalling 40 000 having perished by the earthquakes and 20 000 more having subsequently died from pervation and exposure or from epidemic diseases bred by the stagnant pools and the decaying carcasses of men and animals the greater number were buried amid the ruins of the houses while others perished in the fires that were kindled in most of the towns particularly in opiddo where the flames were fed by great magazines of oil not a few especially among the peasantry dwelling in the country were suddenly engulfed in fissures many who were only half buried in the ruins and who might have been saved had there been help at hand were left to die a lingering death from cold and hunger four augustine monks at terra nuova perished thus miserably having taken refuge in a vaulted sacristy they were entombed in it alive by the masses of rubbish and lingered for four days during which their cries for help could be heard till death put an end to their sufferings of still more thrilling interest was the case of the marquinas spostara having fainted at the moment of the first great shock she was lifted by her husband who bearing her in his arms hurried with her to the harbor here on recovering her senses she observed that her infant boy had been left behind taking advantage of a moment when her husband was too much occupied to notice her she darted off and running back to the house which was still standing she snatched her babe from its cradle rushing with him in her arms toward the staircase she found the stair had fallen cutting off all further progress in that direction she fled from room to room pursued by the falling materials and at length reached a balcony as her last refuge holding up her infant she implored the few passers by for help but they all intent on securing their own safety turned a deaf ear to her cries meanwhile the mansion had caught fire and before long the balcony with the devoted lady still grasping her darling was hurled into the devouring flames end of section 16 section 17 of the san francisco calamity by earthquake and fire this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Ann Boulais the san francisco calamity by earthquake and fire by Charles Morris chapter 17 the charleston and other earthquakes of the united states the twin continents of america have rivaled the record of the old world in their experience of earthquakes since their discovery in 1492 the first of these made note of was in venezuela in 1530 but they have been numerous and often disastrous since among them was the great shock at lima in 1746 by which 18 000 were killed and those at guatemala in 1773 with 33 000 and at reo bomba in 1797 with 41 000 victims it will however doubtless prove of more interest to our readers if we pass over these ruinous disasters and confine ourselves to the less destructive earthquakes which have taken place within our own country the united states a large section of north america as it occupies is fortunate in being a great measure of destitute of volcanic phenomena while destructive volcanoes have been very rare in its history this it is true does not apply to the united states as it is but as it was it has annexed the volcano and the earthquake with its new extensions of territory alaska has its volcanoes and the philippines are subject to both forms of convulsion and in hawaii we possess the most spectacular volcano of the earth while the earthquake is its common attendant but in the older united states the volcano contents itself with an occasional puff of smoke and the eruptive phenomena are confined to the minor form of the geyser we are by no means so free from the earthquake slight movements of the earth's surface are much more common than many of us imagine and in the history of our land there have been a number of earthshocks of considerable violence prior to that of san francisco the most destructive to life and property was that of charleston in 1886 though the 1812 convulsion in the mississippi valley might have proved a much greater calamity but for the fact that civilized man had not been largely invaded its center of action as regards the number of earth movements in this country we are told that in new england alone 231 were recorded in 250 years while doubtless many slider ones were left unrecorded taking the whole united states there were 364 recorded in the 12 years between 1872 and 1883 and in 1885 59 were recorded more than two-thirds of them being on the pacific slope most of these however were very slight some of them barely perceptible confining ourselves to those of the past important in their effects we shall first speak of the shocks which took place in new england in 1755 in the year and month of the great earthquake at lisbon on the 18th of november of that year while the shocks at lisbon still continued new england was violently shaken loud underground explosive noises accompanying the shocks in the harbors along the atlantic coast there was much agitation of the waters and many dead fish were thrown up on the shores the shock indeed was felt far from the coast by the crew of a ship more than 200 miles out at sea from cape and massachusetts this event however was of minor importance being much inferior to that of 1812 in which year california and the mississippi valley alike were affected by violent movements of the earth's crust the california convulsions took place in the spring and summer of that year extending from the beginning of may until september throughout may the southern portion of that region was violently agitated the shocks being so frequent and severe that people abandoned their houses and slept on the open ground the most destructive shocks came in september when two mission houses were destroyed and many of their inmates killed at santa barbara a tidal wave invaded the coast and flowed some distance into the interior it may be said here that california has proved more subject to severe shocks than any other section of our country in 1865 sharp tremors shook the whole region about the bay of san francisco many buildings being thrown down hardly any of brick or stone escaped though few lives were lost in 1872 a disturbance was felt farther west the whole range of the sierra nevada mountains being violently shaken and the earth trembling extending into the state of nevada the center of activity was along the crest of the range and immense quantities of rock were thrown down from the mountain pinnacles a tremendous fissure opened along the eastern base of the mountain range for 40 miles the land to the west of the opening rising and that to the east sinking several feet one small settlement that of lone pine in owens valley on the east base of the mountains was completely demolished from 20 to 30 lives being lost luckily the region affected had very few inhabitants or the calamity might have been great the earthquakes of 1812 in the mississippi valley began in december 1811 and continued at intervals until 1813 as a rule they were more distinguished by frequency than violence though on several occasions they were severe and had marked effects they extended through the valleys of the mississippi arkansas and ohio and their long continuance was remarkable in view of the territory affected being far from any volcanic region the surface of the valley of the mississippi was a good deal altered by these convulsions several new lakes being formed while others were drained several new islands were also raised in the river and during one of the shocks the ground a little below new madrid was for a short time lifted so high as to stop the current of the mississippi and cause it to flow backward the ground on which this town is built and the bank of the river for 15 miles above it subsided permanently about eight feet and the cemetery of the town fell into the river in the neighboring forest the trees were thrown into inclined positions in every direction and many of their trunks and branches were broken it is affirmed that in some places the ground swelled into great waves which burst at their summits and poured forth jets of water along with sand and pieces of coal which were tossed as high as the tops of the trees on the subsidence of these waves there were left several hundreds of hollow depressions from 10 to 30 yards in diameter and about 20 feet in depth which remained visible for many years afterward some of the shocks were vertical and others horizontal the latter being the most mischievous these earthquakes resulted in the general subsidence of the large track of country between 70 and 80 miles in length from north to south and about 30 miles in breadth from east to west lakes now mark many of the localities affected by the earthquake movements it was only to the fact that this country was then very thinly settled that a great loss of life was avoided new madrid Missouri was a central point of this earthquake the shocks there being repeated with great frequency for several months the disturbance of the earth however was not confined to the united states but affected nearly half of the western hemisphere ending in the upheaval of Sabrina in the Azores already described the destruction of caracas venezuela with many thousands of its inhabitants and the eruption of la suffere volcano of san vinson island were incidents of this convulsion doctor jw foster tells us that on the night of the disaster at caracas the earthquake grew intense at new madrid fissures being opened 600 feet long by 20 broad from which water and sand were flung to the height of 40 feet the most destructive of earthquakes in our former history was that which visited charleston south carolina in 1886 the injury caused by it being largely due to the fact that it passed through a populous city as it occurred after many of the people had retired the confusion and terror due to it were greatly augmented people fleeing and panic fear from the tumbling and cracking houses to seek refuge in the widest streets and open spaces south carolina had been affected by the widespread earthquakes of 1812 these in some cases altered the level of the land as is related in liles principles of geology but the effect then was much less than in 1886 several slight tremors occurred in the early summer of that year but did not excite much attention more distinct shocks were felt on august 27th and 28th but the climax was deferred till the evening of august 31st the atmosphere that afternoon have been unusually sultry and quiet the breeze from the ocean which generally accompanies the rising tide was almost entirely absent and the setting sun caused a little glow in the sky as the hour of 950 was reached we are told there was suddenly heard a rushing roaring sound compared by some to a train of cars at no great distance by others to a clatter produced by two or more omnibuses moving at a rapid rate over a paved street by others again to an escape of steam from a boiler it was followed immediately by a thumping and beating of the earth beneath the houses which rocked and swayed to and fro furniture was violently moved and dashed to the floor pictures were swung from the walls and in some cases turn with their backs to the front and every movable thing was thrown into extraordinary convulsions the greatest intensity of the shock is considered to have been during the first half and it probably was then during the period of its greatest sway that so many chimneys were broken off at the junction of the roof the duration of this severe shock is thought to have been about 35 to 40 seconds the impression produced on many was that it could be subdivided into three distinct movements while others were of the opinion that it was one continuous movement or succession of waves with the greatest intensity as already stated during the first half of its duration 27 persons were killed outright and more than that number died soon after of their hurts or from exposure many others were less seriously injured among the buildings they have though much less disastrous than has been recorded in some other earthquakes in either hemisphere was very great there was not a building in the city which had escaped serious injury the extent of the damage very greatly ranging from total demolition down to the loss of chimney tops and the dislodgement of more or less plastering the number of buildings which were completely demolished and leveled to the ground was not great but there were several hundreds which lost a large portion of their walls there were very many also which remain standing but so badly shattered that public safety required that they should be pulled down altogether there was not so far as at present is known a brick or stone building which was not more or less cracked and in most of them the cracks were a permanent disfigurement and a source of danger and inconvenience in some places the railway track was curiously distorted it was often displaced laterally and sometimes alternately depressed and elevated occasionally several lateral flexures of double curvature and of great amount were exhibited many hundred yards of track had been shoved bodily to the southeastward the ground was fissured at some places in the city to a depth of many feet and numerous craterlets were formed from which sand was ejected in considerable quantities these are not uncommon phenomena and were due no doubt to the squirting of water out of saturated sandy layers not far below the surface these being squeezed between two less pervious beds in the passage of the earthquake wave the ejected material in the charleston earthquake was ordinary sand such as might exist in many districts which had been quite undisturbed by any concussions of the earth captain dutton made a careful study of the observations collected by himself and others concerning this earthquake and came to the conclusion that the charleston wave traveled with unusual speed for its mean velocity was about 17 000 feet per second the focus of the disturbance was also ascertained apparently it was a double one the two centers being about 13 miles apart and the line joining them running nearly the same distance to the west of charleston the approximate depth of the principal focus is given as 12 miles with a possible error of less than two miles that of the minor one as roughly eight miles the charleston earthquake was felt as a tremor of more or less force through a wide area embracing 900 000 square miles and affecting nearly the whole country east of the mississippi it is said that the yield of the pennsylvania natural gas wells decreased and that a geyser in the yellowstone valley burst into action after four years of rest the movement of the earth wave was in general north and south deflected to east and west and the snake-like fashion in which rails on the railroad were bent indicated both a vertical and a lateral force this earthquake has been attributed to various causes but geological experts think it was due to a slip in the crust along the appellation mountain chain there is a line of weakness along the eastern slope of this chain characterized by fissures and faults and it was thought that a strain had been gradually brought to bear upon this through the removal of earth from the land by rains and rivers and its deposition in thick strata on the sea bottom it is supposed that this variation in weight in time caused the yielding of the strata and a slip seaword of the great coastal plain professor mendon hall however thinks it was due to a readjustment of the earth's crust to its gradually sinking nucleus end of section 17 section 18 of the san francisco calamity by earthquake and fire this is a libra vox recording all libra vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libra vox.org recording by ann boulet the san francisco calamity by earthquake and fire by charles morris chapter 18 the volcano and the earthquake earth's demons of destruction to most of us dwellers upon the face of the earth this terrestrial sphere is quite a comfortable place of residence the forces of nature everywhere and at all times surround us forces capable if loosened from their bonds of bringing death and destruction to man and the work of his hands but usually they are mild and beneficent in their action not agents of destruction and lords of elemental misrule the air without whose presence we could not survive a minute is usually a pleasant companion now resting about us in soft calm now passing by in mild breezes the alternation of summer and winter is to us generally an agreeable relief from the monotony of a uniform climate the variation from sunlight to cloud from dry weather to rainfall is equally viewed as a pleasant escape from the weariness of too great fixity of natural conditions the change from day to night from hours of activity to hours of slumber are other agreeable variations in the events of our daily life in short a great pendulum seems to be swinging above us held in nature's kindly hand and adapting its movement to our best good and highest enjoyment but has nature if we are justified in personifying the laws and forces of the universe has mother nature really our pleasure and benefit in mind or does she merely suffer us to enjoy life like so many summer insects until she is in the mood to sweep us like leaves from her path it must seem the latter to many of the inhabitants of the earth especially to the dwellers in certain ill conditioned regions for all the beneficent powers above named may at a moment's notice change the destructive ones the wind is a demon in chains the wind for instance is a demon in chains at times it breaks its fetters and rushes on in mad fury rending and destroying and sweeping such trifles as cities and those who dwell therein to common ruin sunshine and rain are subject to wild caprices the sun may pour down burning rays for weeks and months together scorching the fertile fields drying up the life-giving streams bringing famine and misery to the lands of plenty and comfort almost making the blood to boil in our veins its antithesis the rainstorm is at times a still more terrible visitant from the dense clouds poor frightful floods rushing down the lofty hills sweeping over fertile plains overflowing broad river valleys and wherever they go leaving terror and death in their path we may say the same of the alternation of the seasons summer while looked forward to with joyous anticipation may bring us only suffering by its two ardent grass and winter often welcome with like pleasurable anticipations may prove a period of terror from cold and destitution such is the makeup of the world in which we live such the vagaries of the forces which surround us but those enumerated are not the whole can we say with a stamp of the foot upon the solid earth here at least i have something i can trust let the winds blow and the rains descend let the summer scorch and the winter chill the good earth still stands firm beneath me and of it at least i am sure who says so speaks hastily and heedlessly for the earth can show itself as unstable as the air and our solid footing become as insecure as the deck of a ship laboring in a storm at sea the powers of the atmosphere great as they are and mighty for destruction as they may become are at times surpassed by those which abide within the earth deep laid in the so-called everlasting rocks slumbering often through generations but at any time likely to awaken in wrath to lift the earth into quaking billows like those of the sea or pour forth torrents of liquid fire that flow in glowing and burning rivers over leagues of ruined land such as the earth with which we have to deal such the ruthless powers of nature that spread around us and lurk beneath us such the terrible forces which only by their time to break forth and sweep to confident man from the earth's smiling surface the subterranean powers the subterranean powers here spoken of those we have denominated earth's demons of destruction are the volcano and the earthquake the great moldering forces of the earth tearing down to rebuild rending to reconstitute and in this elemental work often bringing ruin to man's boasted fangs and palaces no one who has ever seen a volcano or burning mountain casting forth steam huge red hot stones smoke cinders and lava can possibly forget the grandeur of the spectacle at night it is doubly terrible when the darkness shows the red hot lava rolling and glowing streams down the mountain side at times indeed the volcano is quiet and only a little smoke curls from its top even this may cease and the once burning summit may be covered over with trees and grasses like any other hill but deep down in the earth the gases and pent up steam are ever preparing to force their way upward through the mountain and to carry with them dissolved rocks and the stones which block their passage sometimes while all is calm and beautiful on the mountains suddenly deep sounding noises are heard the ground shakes and a vast torrent tears its way through the bowels of the volcano and his flung hundreds of feet high in the air and falling again to the earth destroys every living thing for miles around it is the same with the earthquake as with the volcano the surface of the earth is never quite still tremors are constantly passing onward which can be distinguished by delicate instruments but only rarely are these of sufficient force to become noticeable except by instrumental means at intervals however the power beneath the surface raises the ground in long billow-like motions before which when a violent character no edifice or human habitation can for a moment stand the earth is frequently rent asunder great fissures and cavities being formed the course of rivers is changed and the waters are swallowed up by fissures rent in the surface while ruin impends in a thousand forms the cities become death pits and the cultivated fields are buried beneath floods of liquid mud fortunately these convulsions alike of the earthquake and volcano are comparative rarities and are confined to limited regions of the earth's surface what do we know of those deep lying powers those vast buried forces dwelling in uneasy isolation beneath our feet with all our science we are but a step beyond the ancients to whom these were the titans great rebel giants whom jupiter overthrew and bound under the burning mountains and whose throes of agony shook the earth in quaking convulsions to us the volcanic crater is the mouth from which comes the fiery breath of demon powers which dwell far down in the earth's crust the titans themselves were dwarfs beside these mighty agents of destruction whose domain extends for thousands of miles beneath the earth's surface and which in their convulsions shake whole continents at once such was the case in 1812 when the eruption of Montsoufriere on st. Vincent as told in a ladder chapter formed merely the closing event in a series of earthquakes which made themselves felt under thousands of miles of land ancient awe of volcanoes in olden times volcanoes were regarded with superstitious awe and it would have been considered highly impious to make any investigation of their actions we are told by Virgil that mount Etna marks the spot where the gods in their anger buried and salatus one of the rebellious giants to our myth making ancestors one of the volcanoes of the Mediterranean set on a small island of the liperi group was the workshop of Vulcan the god of fire within whose depths he forged the thunderbolts of the gods from below came sounds as of a mighty hammer on a vast anvil through the mountain vent came the black smoke in lurid glow from the fires of Vulcan's forge this old myth is in many respects more consonant with the facts of nature than myths usually are in agreement with the theory of its internal forces the mountain in question was given the name volcano today it is scarcely known at all but his name clings to all the fire breathing mountains of the earth as before said at the present day we are little in advance of the ancients in actual knowledge of what is going on so far beneath our feet we speak of forces where they spoke of feather giants but can only form theories where they form myths is the earth center made up of liquid fire does its rock crust resemble the thick ice crust on the arctic seas or is the earth as later scientists believe solid to the core is it heated so fiercely miles below our feet that at every release of pressure the solid rock bursts into molten lava is the steam from the contact of underground rivers and deep lying fires the origin of the terrible rending powers of the volcano's depths truly we can answer none of these questions with assurance and can only guess and conjecture from the few facts open to us what lies concealed far beneath rarity of ancient accounts in the history of earthquakes nothing is more remarkable than the extreme fewness of those recorded before the beginning of the christian era in comparison with those that have been registered since that time it is to be born in mind however that before the birth of christ only a small portion of the globe was inhabited by those likely to make a record of natural events the vast apparent increase in the number of earthquakes in recent times is owing to a greater knowledge of the earth's surface and to the spread of civilization over lands once inhabited by savages the same is to be said of volcanic eruptions which also have apparently increased greatly since the beginning of the christian era there may possibly have been a natural increase in these phenomena but this is hardly probable the change being more likely due to the increase in the number of observers the structure of a volcano is very different from that of other mountains really consisting of layers of lava and volcanic ashes alternating with each other and all sloping away from the center these elevations in fact are formed in a different manner from ordinary mountains the latter have been uplifted by the influence of pressure in the interior of the earth but the volcano is an immediate result of the explosive force of which we have spoken the mountain being gradually built up by the lava and other materials which it has flung up from below in this way mountains of immense height and remarkable regularity have been formed mount orizabo near the city of mexico for instance is a remarkably regular cone undoubtedly formed in this way and the same may be said of mount mayan on the island of luzon in many cases the irregularity of the volcano is due to the subsequent action of its forces which may blow the mountain itself to pieces in the case of krakatoa in the east indies for instance the whole mountain was rent into fragments which were flung as dust miles high into the air the main point we wish to indicate is that volcanoes are never formed by ordinary elevating forces and that they differ in this way from all other mountains on the contrary they have been piled up like rubbish heaps resembling the small mountains of coal dust near the mouths of anthracite mines it is to the burning heat of the earth's crust and the influence of pressure and more largely to the influx of water to the molten rocks which lie miles below the surface that these convulsions of nature are due water on reaching these overheated strata explodes into volumes of steam and if there is no free vent to the surface it is apt to rent the very mountain asunder in its efforts to escape such is supposed to have been the case in the eruption of krakatoa and was probably the case also in the recent case of mount pali general description of eruptions if we should seek to give a general description of volcanic eruptions it would be in some such words as follows an eruption is usually preceded by earthquakes which affect the whole surrounding country and associated with which are underground explosions that seem like the sound of distant artillery the mountain quivers with internal convulsions due to the efforts of its confined forces to find an opening the drying up of wells and disappearance of springs are apt to take place the water sinking downward through cracks newly made in the rocks finally the fierce unchained energy runs an opening through the crater and an eruption begins it comes usually with a terrible burst that shakes the mountain to its foundation explosions following rapidly and with increasing violence while steam issues amounts upward in a lofty column the steam and escaping gases in their fierce outbreaks hurl up into the air great quantities of solid rock torn from the sides of the opening the huge blocks meeting each other in their rise and fall are gradually broken and ground into fragments forming dust or so-called ashes often of extreme fineness and in such quantities as frequently to blot out the light of the sun there is another way in which a great deal of volcanic dust is made the lava is full of steam which in its expansion tears the molten rock into atoms often converting it into the finest dust the eruption of mount scaptar in iceland in 1783 sent up such volumes of dust that the atmosphere was loaded with it for months and it was carried to the northern part of scotland 600 miles away in such quantities as to destroy crops during the eruption of tom borough in the east indies in 1815 so great was the quantity of dust thrown up that it caused darkness at midday in java 300 miles away and covered the ground to a depth of several inches floating pumice formed a layer on the ocean surface two and a half feet in thickness through which vessels had difficulty enforcing their way the steam which rises in large volumes into the air may become suddenly condensed with the chill of the upper atmosphere and fall as rain torrents of which often follow an eruption the rain falling through the clouds of volcanic dust brings it to the earth as liquid mud which pours and thick streams down the sides of the mountain the torrents of flowing mud are sometimes on such a great scale that large towns as in the instance of the great city of herculaneum may be completely buried beneath them over this city the mud accumulated to the depth of over 70 feet in addition to these phenomena molten lava often flows from the lip of the crater occasionally in vast quantities in the Icelandic eruption of 1783 the lava streams were so great in quantity as to fill river gorges 600 feet deep and 200 feet wide and to extend over an open plane to a distance of 12 to 15 miles forming lakes of lava 100 feet deep the volcanoes of hawaii often send for streams of lava which cover an area of over 100 square miles to a great depth great overflows of lava in the course of ages lava outflows of this kind have built up in hawaii of volcanic mountain estimated to contain enough material to cover the whole of the united states with a layer of rock 50 feet deep these great outflows of lava are not confined to mountains but take place now and then from openings in the ground or from long cracks and surface rocks occasionally great eruptions have taken place beneath the ocean surface throwing up material insufficient quantity to form new islands the formation of mud is not confined to the method given but great quantities of this plastic material flow at times from volcanic craters in the year 1691 in Baburu one of the peaks of the Andes sent out floods of mud which contain dead fish in such abundance that their decay caused a fever in the vicinity the volcanoes of Java have often buried large tracts of fertile country under volcanic mud an observation of volcanoes shows us that they have three well marked phases of action the first of these is a state of permanent eruption as in the case of the volcano of stromboli in the Mediterranean this state is not a dangerous one since the steam escaping continually acts as a safety valve the second stage is one of milder activity with an occasional somewhat violent eruption this is apt to be dangerous though not often very greatly so the safety valve is partly out of order the third phase is one in which long periods of repose sometimes lasting for centuries are followed by eruptions of intense energy these are often of extreme violence and cause widespread destruction in this case the safety valve has failed to work and the boiler bursts often rests for long terms of years such are the general features of action in the vast powers which dwell deep beneath the surface harmless in most parts of the earth frightfully perilous in others yet even here they often rest for long terms of years in seeming apathy until men gather above their lurking places and multitudes heedless or ignorant of the sleeping demons that by their time below their time is sure to come after years perhaps after centuries suddenly the solid earth begins to tremble and quake roars as a one of the buried giants of old strike all men with dread then with a fierce convulsion a mountain is rent in twain and vast torrents of steam burning rock and blinding dust are hurled far upward into the air to fall again in buried cities perhaps with all their inhabitants and indiscriminate ruin and death end of section 18