Encyclopaedia Britannica > Volume 7, ETM-GOA

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Etna, fet, frequent (hocks of earthquake began to be felt;
—v thefe were at firft weak, but continued till day-break
to become more and more terrible. Nicolofi was more
aifefted than any other traft of country on that fide
of Etna : about noon every houfe was thrown to the
ground ; the inhabitants fled in confternation, and in¬
voking the prote£lion of heaven. On the loth of
March a chafm feveral miles in length, and five or fix
feet wide, opened in the fide of the mountain ; from
■which, about two hours before day, there arofe a bright
light, and a very ftrong fulphureous exhalation was dif-
fufed through the atmofphere.
About 11 in the forenoon of the fame day, after
dreadful (hocks of earthquake, a crater was opened on
the hill called des Noifrttes, from which there iflued
huge volumes of fmoke, not accompanied with fire,
afhes, or Hones, but with loud and frequent claps of
thunder, difplaying all the different phenomena with
which thunder is at different times attended. And
what was very remarkable, the chafm was formed on
the fouth fide, between the top and the bottom of the
mountain. On the fame day another chafm was form¬
ed two miles lower, from which iffued a great deal of
fmoke, accompanied with a dreadful noife and earth¬
quake. Towards the evening of the fame day, four
other chafms were opened towards the fouth, in the
fame diredtion, accompanied during their formation
with the fame phenomena, and extending all the way
to the hill called la Fafara.
About 12 paces beyond that, another of the fame
kind was formed. On the fucceeding night, a black
fmoke, involving a quantity of (tones, iffued from
this laft chafm ; it difcharged at the fame time
flakes of a dark earth-coloured fpongy matter, which
became hard after they fell. There iffued from the
fame gulph a ftream of lava, which held its courfe into
a lake called la Hardia, fix miles from Montpellieri,
and on its way thither deftroyed many dwelling-houfes
and other buildings in the neighbouring villages.
On the next day, March 12th, this dream of fire
diredted its courfe towards the tradt of country called
Malpajfo, which was inhabited by 800 people : in the
fpace of 20 hours it was entirely depopulated and laid
wade. The lava then took a new diredtion, in which
it deftroyed fome other villages.
The mount of Montpellieri was next deftroyed with
all the inhabitants upon it.
On the 23d of the fame month the ftream of fire
was in fome places two miles broad. It now attacked
the large village of Mazzalucia ; and on the fame day
a vaft gulph was formed, from which were difcharged
fand or aftres, which produced a hill with two fummits,
two miles in circumference and 150 paces high. It
was obferved to confift of yellow, white, black, grey,
red, and green, Hones.
The new mount of Nicolofi continued to emit aflres
for the fpace of three months; and the quantity dif¬
charged was fo great as to cover all the adjoining tradt
of country for the fpace of 15 miles: fome of thofe
alhes were conveyed by the winds as far as Mtffina
and Calabria; and a north wind arifing, covered all the
fouthern country abput Agofta, Lentini, and even be¬
yond that, in the fame manner.
While at that height on Nicolofi fo many extraor¬
dinary appearances were paffing, the higheft crater
: ] E *T N
on the fummit of Etna dill preferved its ufual tran- Etna.
quillity. /—■
On the 25th of March, about one in the morning, the
whole mountain, even to the moft elevated peak, was
agitated by a moft violent earthquake. The higheft
crater'of Etna, which was one of the loftieft parts of
the mountain, then funk into the volcanic focus; and
in the place which it had occupied, there now ap¬
peared nothing but a wide gulph more than a mile in
extent, from which there iffued enormous maffes of
fmoke, afties, and (tones. At that period, according
to the hiftorian of this event, the famous block of la¬
va on mount Frumento was difcharged from the volca¬
nic focus.
In a (hort time after, the torrent of fire, which (till
continued to flow, diredted its courfe towards Catania
with redoubled noife, and accompanied with a much
greater quantity of alhes and burning (tones than be¬
fore. For feveral months many moft alarming (hocks
of earthquake were felt; and the city was threatened
with deftrudtion by the torrent of fire. They in vain
attempted to turn or divert its courfe ; the lava rofe
over the walls, and entered by an angle near the Bene-
didtine convent on the nth of June following. This
awful event is related by Francis Monaco, Charles Man»
cius, Vincent Auria, and Thomas Thedefchi.
27. Some years after this conflagration, a new burn¬
ing gulph opened in the month of December 1682 on
the fummit of the riiountain, and fpread its lava over
the hill of Mazarra.
28. On the 24th of May 1686, about ten in the
evening, a new eruption burft out from the fummit
of the mountain, on the fide contiguous to the hill del
Bue. Such a quantity of inflamed matter was thrown
out as confumed woods, vineyards, and crops of grain
for four leagues round. It (lopped its courfe in a
large valley near the caftle of. Mafcali. Several peo¬
ple from the neighbourhood had afcended a hill be¬
tween the wood of Catania and the confines of Cirrita
to obferve the progrefs of the lava: but the hill,.on
a fudden, funk inwards, and they were buried alive.
29. Etna was now long quiet; for no lefs a fpace
of time indeed than one half of the prefent age. In
the year 1755 its eruptions were renewed. It open¬
ed near mount Lepra, and emitted as ufual fire and
fmoke; after which it remained quiet only for eight
years.
30. In the year 1763, there was an eruption which
continued three months, but with intervals. Etna
was at firft heard to rebellow. Flames and clouds of
fmoke were feen to iffue out, fometimes filver-coloured,
and at other times, when the rays of the fun fell upon
them, of a purple radiance : at length they were carried
off by the winds, and rained, as they were driven before,
them, a ftiower of fire all the way to Catania and be¬
yond it. An eruption foon burft out; the principal
torrent divided into two branches, one of which ran
towards the eaft, and fell into a deep and extenfive
valley.
The flames which iffued from this new crater af¬
forded a noble fpettacle. A pyramid of fire was feen to
rife to a prodigious height in the air, like a beautiful ar¬
tificial fire-work, with a conilant and formidable bat¬
tery, which (hook the earth under thofe who were
fpedlators of the fcene. Torrents of melted matter
running