The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 8, 1906, Page 7

THE SAN FRANCISCO SUNDAY CALL. been Rzl Vesavien Chscrvatory, 1o thig pomt the e2ilroad Temamd intact BY FRANK A. al Observatory, M PERRET. evident e blown sroken. nning of the present ar marke ing activit the » which, by February 3, the en to a higher level. This e side openings, which had silently pouring forth the molten main lave dedeena :6m {he mount- a1in. M the &li- {rection_ of the The Lova advencrg, Fom itS awhal source streams, into true craters of eruption, ing a flercely glowing torrent in the 4t gsuierm‘ force ;md volume; then out b A 3 and hissing steam at evety pore, creépt ing slowly, spouting the liquid fire to a height of Trection of the'fated railway. A day and from the burning mountain a gigantic forth upon its work of d % o many feet, with a hissing roar, and send- a night it halted at the base of the cone, serpent of molten stone, all red within uneven ground it felt its way, now mov- ‘fled at one spot, the monster would rear volcaho. -SHAFER 1906 “Honorery Assistant Rgya) Observalony Vesuvius Photos by [romk A Perret now darting forward and Over the shedding rocky scales on every side. Baf- Trom the bommg, houmtain a Ggartic Serpent of’ molten. Stone all red ~witle ‘T and hassing, gleam ot every pore crept forrth upon 1ts work of doom its smoking crest, then turn with a crash and a lurid glare to seek another path— fateful, resis implacable. At a certain place between the Hermit- age and Funicular stations the railway makes a double turn not unlike a huge letter §. As this lies on sloping ground. an attack here would inevitably cut the lne In three places at a single stroke, and toward this point the demon made its way. Men hasten to the threatened sectionm, cut down the poles to save the equid- ment, cover the roadbed with sand and stones and then stand helplessly aside ‘while minutes undo the work of months and hours that of years. Let the Ameri- can dollar sign represent the railway, the vertical ‘lines showing the stream of lava; give to the latter a breadth of a hundred yards and you have a diagram of the disaster and an !dea of the de- struction wrought by the overflowing scourge. Not content with this, the enemy was seen to dispatch a flanking column to at- tack our communications farther down the line, where it arrived on the morn- ing of the Tth, and the eruption culmin- ated In a scene of mingled beauty and ter- r. Al usual at such times, all the ele- ments contributed to thé genmeral effect, rdin, snow, hall and wind alternating with Intervals of calm and sunshine, the flery lava crashing on its way full ten feet to the minute and reeking with brim- stone, the falling ashes, the roaring of the crater half hidden in bursting roills of smoke—it seemed & return to those old time conditions when the clagsic moun- tain was wont to spread consternation through all the surrounding region. But this was not to be, and, having accom- plished its work of destruction, the lava ceased for the time its flow in this di- rection, and the eruption subsided, leav- ing to man the of portunity and the obli- gation to make new proof of courage, re- source and Indomitable perseverance. As far as the Eremo Hotel and Royal Observatory the Veusvian Raillway re- mains intact and from thiz point to the Funicular station tke trip made on foot or in a sedan chair offers the visitor an exceptional means of viewing at close range the workings of this most interest- ing. oftem terrible, always fascinating