ETNA. in springs, and that the peasants are seen roving in all directions in quest of water. Spallanzani affirms, that at the time of his visit, the parched inhabitants had not received a single drop from the skies in nine months, and that their cisterns were all empty. He endeavours to account for this scarcity of water, which he thinks common in all volcanic countries, by observing that the rain falls on scoriæ into which it sinks and is absorbed because there are no argillaceous or stony strata to retain it, such as is frequent in other mountains. The large furrows in the lava are, therefore, merely temporary excavations produced by the violence of descending torrents which have no springs, and therefore quickly disappear. Brydone, on the contrary, affirms that he found several intermittent springs which flow in the day, and stop during the night. These he attributes to the melting of the snow and its subsequent refrigeration. On the north of the snowy region, we are informed of several lakes of a small size, which are never known to freeze. M. Houel says, that streams of water issue from the sides of the mountain at all heights, which do not cease even in summer, and the amount of which, if collected into a river, would, he believes, occupy a channel thirty-six feet broad, and six deep. These cannot, he is of opinion, originate in any other than permanent sources, as the condensation of the aqueous vapour arising out of the bottom of the crater, as well as from the numerous fissures and crevices in the sides of the mountain. Different authors also state that there exist several poisonous springs, which emit an offensive vapour; some also which afford a fine salt, and others a water capable of dyeing particular colours. The river Acis, celebrated by the ancient poets, is said to originate in a cold spring at the foot of Ætna, pursuing its course to the sea with the utmost rapidity. It was famous for the sweetness and salubrity of its waters, which the Sicilian shepherds deemed sacred. Minerals. Eruptions. A catalogue of all the mineral productions of Mount Etna, has been published by M. Dolomieu, the lavas have generally a basis of hornblend, but some are compact felspar, or petrosilex; the ejected stones are granitic, or calcarious: he says that Etna is surrounded with columns of basalt, which he terms prismatic liva. After a careful examination of the shore, Spallanzani represents it as volcanic for nearly twenty-three miles, one-third beginning at Catania, and proceeding to Castello Di Jaci, consists of prisms more or less characterized; the other two-thirds, though equally composed of lavas with the former, and usually falling into the sea perpendicularly, assume no such figure; but present here and there irregular fissures and angular pieces, such as are generally observable in all lavas which separate more or less on their congelation. An opinion has been entertained, to which a considerable degree of probability attaches, that Mount Etna is rapidly exhausting its volcanic powers, as the eruptions of modern times are by no means so frequent as in former ages; nor are they so tremendous in their extent and effects. It is reasonable to suppose that the volcanic matter is diminished in quantity by each successive eruption, and that the cavity which contains it by being enlarged and deepened, the vapours have greater room for diffusion, and by being less concen trated diminish in force. The earliest indication of an ÆTNA. approaching eruption is the increase of the white smoke which perpetually issues from the crater. At intervals puffs of black smoke shoot through the centre of this cloudy column, and after attaining a consider able elevation disperse in the atmosphere. These increase in number, and augment in size, till the whole column is entirely black. Every puff is attended with a loud explosion, and the black smoke is succeeded by a red and flame-looking stream. During the night this appearance is more distinct and striking, in the day-time the resemblance is that of a lofty black pillar. The smoke at length becomes highly electrical, and forked lightning darts athwart the lurid darkness in every direction, with occasional thunder. Showers of ashes accompany these phenomena, and red hot stones, which are projected to a great distance. The light ashes being attracted by the smoke ascend with it into the atmosphere, and spread over the surrounding country to its extreme annoyance and injury. Sometimes the smoke has been driven by the winds to the distance of a hundred miles, setting fire to buildings that stood in elevated situations, withering vegetation, and destroying both flocks and shepherds. Brydone says he was assured by Recupero, that he had known stones of an immense size thrown up to the height of 7000 feet, which he estimated from observing the period of their descent from the point of greatest elevation. It has been ascertained that the stones and rocky fragments from Etna have much exceeded the one of greatest dimensions projected from Vesuvius, which was forty-five feet in circumference, and was thrown to the distance of one-fourth of a mile. M. Houel speaks of a piece of lava lying on the top of Etna of more than a cubic fathom in bulk, and whose weight consequently is not less than sixteen tons. At the expiration of three or four months, the lava which consists of melted mineral matter, generally bursts through some place in the side of a mountain, and sometimes, though rarely, boils over the top of the crater. As soon as this occurs, the internal agitation subsides, and the lava flows down regularly like a stream of fire in the night; but in the day-time its progress is discernible by a hovering cloud of white smoke. If the aperture through which the fiery matter dis charges itself, should prove too small, the general commotion is increased instead of being diminished, till a freer vent is afforded by a new or an enlarged opening. The ancient poets have exercised their descriptive powers in representing the eruptions of Etna. Thus Virgil: Horrificis juxta tonat Ætna ruinis, Interdumque atram prorumpit ad Æthera nubem By turns a pitchy cloud she rolls on high, Dryden's Trans. TVA The above citation from the Roman poet may be compared with the following passage from Raitano, a Sicilian muse; and, as Brydone assures us, held in equal estimation by the Sicilians. It is evidently taken from Virgil. Nel mezzo verso l'ethere avviccina The following lines from Ovid are sufficiently curious and amusing: Nec, quæ sulfareis ardet fornacibus, Ætne Ignea semper erit: neque enim fuit ignea semper, Luteave exiguis arescunt sulphura fumis; Nempe ubi terra cibos alimentaque pinguia flammæ Non feret illa famem: desertaque deseret ignes. Nor Ætna vomiting sulphureous fire Time was she cast no flames; in time will cast no more. For whether earth's an animal, and air Imbibes; her lungs with coolness to repair And what she sucks remits; she still requires Inlets for air and outlets for her fires; When tortured with convulsive fits she shakes, That motion choaks the vent, till other vent she makes: And subtle spirits find that way oppos'd, Some of our modern British poets have also inspirited their productions by happy allusions to the phænomena of Etna and Vesuvius. Thus in thy world material, mighty mind! Of vapors breeds a pestilential air: Its smother'd flames might undermine the world. Young. Night ix. Another of our devotional poets has heightened the effect of his striking description of the descent of the God of Israel upon Mount Sinai, by a similar allusion. Nor shall the burning hills of old With Sinai be compar'd, Diodorus Siculus has recorded an account of the first eruption to which we can attach any authenticity. He has neglected to mention the precise date when it occurred, but informs us that the Sicani, who at that time inhabited Sicily, were compelled by it to abandon the eastern side of the island, which was at a subsequent period inhabited by the Sicilians, from Italy, and to settle on the southern side. Thucydides mentions three different eruptions, which happened between the year B. c. 733, the third of the eleventh Olympiad, and B. c. 425, the third of the eighty-eighth Olympiad; but he does not specify the exact dates of their respective occurrence. is said by Eusebius to have taken place B. c. 565, in The first of the three, which is the second eruption, the time of Phalaris. is the third in the order of authentic memorials, is The second eruption mentioned by Thucydides, which assigned to the year B. c. 476, the second year of the seventy-fifth Olympiad, when Phædon was archon at Athens, and when Mardonius, the general of Xerxes, was defeated by the Athenians at Platea. The volcanic eruption, and the victory referred to, are both specified in an ancient inscription on the Oxford marble, which however mentions the first, and not the second ÆTNA. year of the Olympiad, when Xantippus was the Athenian archon. Strabo, Silicus Italicus, Valerius Maximus, Elian, and other ancient authors, record a very singular act of heroism during this eruption, and which is exhibited on an ancient medal. Two Sicilian youths, Amphinomus and Anapis, rushed into the midst of the flames, and rescued their aged parents, at the imminent hazard of their own lives: a deed of filial piety and genuine heroism, which the Catanians rewarded by the consecration of a temple to their memory. The third eruption mentioned by Thucydides, or the fourth in the series of authentic history, occurred in the year before Christ 425, in the eighty-eighth Olympiad, and desolated part of the Catanian territory. The reference to this event is to be found at the close of our historian's third book on the Peloponnesian war, in the following words: "About the spring of the year, a torrent of fire overflowed from Mount Etna, in the same manner as formerly, which destroyed part of the lands of the Catanians, who are situated at the foot of that mountain, which is the largest in all Sicily. It is said that fifty years intervened between this flow and the last which preceded; and that, in the whole, the fire has thus issued thrice since Sicily was inhabited by the Grecians." The fifth eruption occurred in the consulship of Sergius Fulvius Flacus and Quintus Calpurnius Piso, nearly 133 years before the Christian era. It was of some importance; but Julius Obsequius and Orosius, "by whom it is recorded, have not transmitted any details respecting it. In the consulship of Lucius Emilius Lepidus, and Lucius Aurelius Orestes, about B. c. 125, Etna poured forth such a torrent of fire that the adjoining sea is represented as absolutely hot, and immense numbers of fishes were destroyed. One historian declares, that the inhabitants of the isles of Lipari ate so many of those fishes as to occasion a distemper, which proved generally fatal. Orosius states, that four years after the preceding eruption, the city of Catania was desolated by another equally tremendous; the roofs of the houses were demolished by the burning ashes, and so dreadful was the desolation, that the Romans exempted the inhabitants from all taxes for the space of ten years, to afford them an opportunity for repairing the damages they had sustained. Livy mentions an eruption of Etna, just previous to the death of Cæsar, in the 43d year before Christ. It was not very considerable in itself, but acquired importance from being afterwards considered as an omen of Cæsar's death. An eruption happened in the year 40 of the Christian era, on the same night in which the emperor fled from Messina, where he was at the time. This is mentioned by Suetonius in the life of Caligula.* of the mountains on the side nearest to Toursino, was T obviously desolated; Catania was reduced to ruins, and upwards of 15000 of its inhabitants perished. The roof of the church of St. Agatha fell in, and the bishop was killed; several castles were destroyed; new rivers burst forth, and ancient ones disappeared. The clear spring of Arethusa, whose waters were so celebrated, became muddy and brackish; and the fountain of Ajo, after ceasing for two hours, gushed out more copiously than before; its waters assuming a blood colour, which they retained for an hour. A remarkable phænomenon took place at Messina, where the sea retired to a considerable distance within its ordinary limits, but returning, it soon after advanced to the city walls, and rushed into the streets. Multitudes who had sought the shore, were swallowed up by the waves; the vines, corn, and trees of every description were burnt up, and the fields rendered unfit for cultivation, by being covered with stones. In 1181, an eruption broke forth on the eastern side, on which occasion streams of lava ran down the mountain, and encircled the church of St. Stephen, though without doing it any damage. On the 23d of June, 1329, another of these catastrophes occurred, of which Nicholas Specioli has recorded some particulars. About the hour of vespers, Etna was agitated by commotions, accompanied with terrific sounds, so much so that the utmost alarm spread throughout the whole island of Sicily. A blaze of fire, enveloped in smoke, suddenly issuing from the southern summit, spread snow over the rocks of Mozona; as the evening advanced, the flames seemed to touch the clouds, spreading themselves with furious impetuosity, reduced every building to ruins that obstructed their course, many rocks on the shore of Mascoli dashed into the sea, springs and streams of water were annihilated. On the southern side of the church of St. John, called Il Paparinceca, fire issued with great violence from an opening or fissure made in the ground; the sun was eclipsed from morning to evening with clouds of smoke and ashes. Our historian, on approaching the new opened crater, perceived the earth totter under his feet, and saw red-hot stones issue four times successively in a very short space, with a thundering noise. A few days were sufficient to convert the neighbourhood into a scene of desolation, from showers of fire, ashes, and stones, which continued to descend; and every species of animals, with multitudes of the feathered creation, perished in great numbers; the fishes also died in the rivers and the adjacent sea. It is even stated, that many persons died of fear, at which no one will be much astonished who reads the terrible account of Nicholas Specioli. He declares, that neither Babylon nor Sodom suffered so tremendous a visitation. The north winds, which blew at the time, carried the According to Carrera, there was an eruption of Mount ashes as far as Malta. Successive calamities followed Etna, A. D. 253. The same author records another in the year 420. Jeoffroy of Viterbo, in his Chronicle, mentions an eruption in 812, in the reign of Charlemagne. The next was of a more tremendous nature, and of more disastrous consequences. It occurred on the 4th of February, in the year 1169. About day-break, there was an earthquake in Sicily, which was felt on the opposite side of the Strait, as far as Reggio. The ridge each other, till the 15th of July. In 1333, only four years afterwards, another eruption took place, which poured forth large vollies of stones. On the 25th of August, 1381, the territory of Catania was again desolated, the olive yards in the neighbourhood of the city being burnt up by another Etnean visitation. Sixty-three years afterwards, a similar torrent of destruction issued forth, and ran towards Catania, the ATNA. shocks were so violent, that huge masses of rock were torn from its summit, and hurled into the abyss below, and for eighteen months the mountain was almost incessantly agitated. On the 25th of September, 1446, an hour after sunset, an eruption issued from the place called La Pietra di Mazani, which however was of short continuance. In September the following year, another occurred, which was likewise of short duration, but accompanied with a considerable conflagration. A period of nearly a century elapsed, during which, no explosion taking place, the inhabitants of the vicinity began to think themselves secure from further molestations, and ventured into every part of the mountain. But this long season of tranquillity was succeeded by a new and terrible visitation in April, 1536. On the 25th of that month a strong westerly wind arose, and a thick cloud appeared at the summit of the mountain, of a red colour, a large quantity of fire issued from the abyss, and proceeded with great rapidity along the eastern side of the mountain, breaking down the rocks, and destroying every living thing in its course. From the same crater another and more dreadful fiery stream ran in the same manner towards the west, over Bronte, Adrans, and Castelli. The church of St. Leon was demolished by the shocks accompanying the earthquake, and its ruins then consumed by the sulphureous torrent. Chasms were opened in the sides of the mountain, whence fire and burning stones darted into the air with a noise like that of the discharge of artillery. This eruption was attended by one most melancholy disaster, namely, the death of Francis Negro de Piazza, a celebrated physician of Lentini, who being desirous of obtaining a nearer view of the eruptions, to make some observations which might conduce to the interests of science, was burnt to ashes by a volley of the ignited stones. In the months of April and May the year following (1537), Etna again appeared in a state of commotion, and was rent in several places, from which torrents of fire issued forth with destructive fury. The gardens, vineyards, and monastery of St. Nicholas D'Arena were destroyed, as well as Mont Pellieri and Fallica, with their vineyards and the greatest proportion of the inhabitants. The river Simeto overflowing the adjacent plains, swept away the country people and their cattle; the whole vicinity of Paterno, the castles, and more than 500 houses, suffered by this calamitous inundation. Violent gusts of wind tore up the trees in every direction. As soon as the violence of the eruption abated, the summit of the mountain sunk in, with a noise so terrific that the people in the island believed that the last day was arrived, and prepared for their final exit, by repairing to the rite prescribed in the Catholic church. These disturbances continued through the whole year, and in July and August especially, all Sicily was in mourning. Filotes affirms, that many of the Sicilians were struck deaf by the noise. The castle of Carleone, though more than 25 leagues distant from the volcano, is said to have been demolished. Thirty years after the preceding, the country adjacent to Etna was again covered with ashes and the volcanic productions of a new eruption. In 1579, desolation again overspread the country from a similar cause, which was renewed with increased violence twenty-five years afterwards, in the month of June, 1603. Other VOL. XVII. instances of destructive ebullition occurred in 1607, TNA. Carrera, before referred to, relates that he was per- But the most formidable conflagration was that of Eruption of 1669, which has been minutely described in the Phi- 1669. losophical Transactions. (No. 51, Abridg. vol. ii.) For eighteen days previous to the eventful crisis, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and the atmosphere agitated by thunder and lightning. Many of the houses were overturned by earthquakes in the village of Nicolosi, and the rest abandoned by their inhabitants. The crater on the summit exhibited, for a long time, extraordinary signs of commotion; and the islands of Strombolo and Volcano indicated the approaching catastrophe. On the 8th of March, the atmosphere darkened over the village of La Pedara, and its vicinity. On the 11th, a chasm of some miles in length, and five or six feet wide, was opened on the eastern side of the mountain, about twenty miles distant from the old mouth, and ten miles from Catania. On the following night a new chasm was formed on the very spot where Monte Russo now stands. Several other chasms also appeared in different places at a considerable distance, four of them towards the southward side; and from all of them issued immense quantities of smoke, accompanied with tremendous thunder. and alarming earthquakes. From the principal chasm flakes of a dark earth-coloured spongy matter proceeded, and a stream of lava, which flowed towards the lake La Hardia, six miles from Montpellieri, desolating fields and villages in its progress. On the following day it proceeded to the territory called Mal Passo, and in twenty hours depopulated and wasted it. After this it advanced in a new direction upon Montpellieri, committing similar ravages. In some places this tremendous stream of burning lava acquired the breadth of two miles, and extended to Mazzalucia. A new and immense opening appeared on the 23d of the month, which produced a hill of stones, sand and ashes, with two summits two miles in circumference, and a hundred and fifty paces in height. This new mountain continued to pour forth ashes for three months, covering the adjoining country to the distance of fifteen miles. Some of these ashes are said to have been borne along by the winds as far as Messina and Calabria, and other places. Early in the morning of the 25th of March, the whole mountain of Etna was agitated by an earthquake; the highest crater fell into the focus of the volcano, and on the spot where it previously appeared, nothing was to be seen but a wide and deep gulph, upwards of a mile in extent, from which large masses of stones and ashes were continually discharged; and among these Y TNA. the celebrated block of lava on Mount Frumento. This vineyard was formed on an ancient lava, probably ETNA A new burning gulf was opened on the top of the 1682 In the evening of the 24th of May, 1686, an eruption 1686. took place which consumed woods, vineyards, and corn to the extent of four leagues, till its course was arrested in a large valley near the castle of Mascali; but unhappily several people, impelled by curiosity, having ascended a hill in the neighbourhood near the wood of Catania, were buried alive by its sinking inwards. In 1755 the eruptions of Etna were renewed after a long interval, when a vast quantity of boiling water issued forth from the great crater, preceded by smoke, flames, subterraneous commotions, and other usual signs of an approaching catastrophe. The torrent at length descended in cataracts from rock to rock till it reached the plains, which it overspread with desolation for many miles, and finally discharged itself into the sea. Although the water was not emitted for more than half an hour, its effects were extremely calamitous, and two new chasms were subsequently opened from which lava issued. The water proceeded from the bowels of the mountain, and in its progress from the summit gained considerably from the melted snow. It destroyed forest-trees of large size, tearing them up by the roots as it rushed along. The main torrent divided into four streams, which, re-uniting afterwards, formed islands and rivers nine hundred feet in width. In the descent the channel sometimes dilated, and at 'others contracted; in some places it was found to be fifteen hundred feet wide. Lava and pieces of rock were driven about by the violence of the current, and vallies filled up by the sand which was conveyed. A few days afterwards an explosion happened of stones and black sand: the former of which were carried as far as the hills of Mascali, and the latter to Messina, and even Reggio on the opposite coast. Two days only elapsed when the mountain opened again, discharging a torrent of lava for six days, which was observed to proceed towards the plain at the rate of a mile per day. Happily the lava usually moves with slowness and deliberation. 1755 In 1763 an eruption happened, which lasted, with 1763 some intermissions, for three months, and was attended with very interesting and novel circumstances. The flame which issued from the crater assumed a pyramidal form, and ascended to a prodigious height in the atmosphere, and resembling an artificial firework of great beauty, and accompanied by explosions which shook the very ground where spectators ventured to assemble. Sometimes the clouds of smoke were of a silver colour, and at other times, when they caught the sun's rays, they exhibited a purple hue. The lava afforded a very brilliant light as it ran down the sides of the mountain, and continued in a heated state, ex |