Wonders of Creation
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[Illustration: Mount Vesuvius]
[Illustration: Marvels of Creation]
WONDERS OF CREATION:
A DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF
VOLCANOES AND THEIR PHENOMENA.
"The mountains quake at Him and the hills melt and the earth is
burned at His presence"--NAHUM 1:5
1872
PREFACE
Being intended for the Young, this work treats of Volcanoes only in
a popular way. Scientific details and philosophical speculations
are accordingly avoided. Nevertheless, a perusal of the following
pages may so stimulate the curiosity of youthful minds, that some,
on attaining to riper years and more mature understanding, may be
inspired with a longing to inquire more deeply into this
interesting subject. They may be stimulated to investigate, in a
philosophical spirit, all the marvellous facts and phenomena
connected with volcanic agency, and to speculate on their causes
and modes of operation. Some also, on reaching their manhood, may
be induced to ascend one or more of the nearer active volcanoes,
and examine their phenomena for themselves. The facilities of
travel are now so great, that a visit to Vesuvius or Etna is no
longer beyond the limits of a holiday trip. Even the more remote
Hecla with the playful Geysers may be reached within a reasonable
time. Perhaps a very few, who are now scientific travellers in
embryo, may call to remembrance what they may have read in these
pages, when, many years hence, they may be climbing the cone of
Cotopaxi, or peering into the crater of Kilauea.
Apart from these considerations, a perusal of this work may enable
the young mind to form a more lively idea of the tremendous energy
of the forces which are imprisoned in the bowels of the earth. Such
a vivid conception will naturally lead to a higher appreciation of
the wisdom and power of Him who guides the operation of those
forces by his laws, and has set bounds to their activity which they
cannot overpass.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Volcanoes in general--Origin of the Name--General Aspect--Crater--
Cone--Subordinate Cones and Craters--Peak of Teneriffe--Lava-
Streams--Cascades and Jets of Lava--Variations in its Consistency--
Pumice--Different Sorts of Lava--Obsidian--Olivine--Sulphur--Dust,
Ashes, &c.--Volcanic Silk--Volcanic Islands--Volcanic Fishes--Hot
Water, Mud, Vapours, &c.--Volcanic Storm--Explosions--Number of
Volcanoes--King of the Volcanoes--Artificial Volcano
CHAPTER II.
Volcanoes of Iceland--Mount Hecla--Earliest Eruption--Great
Eruption in 1845--Skaptar Yokul--Terrible Eruption in 1783--Rise
and Disappearance of Nyoe--Katlugaia--The Geysers--A very hot Bath
--Californian Geysers--Iceland-spar--Jan Mayen
CHAPTER III.
Mount Vesuvius--Origin of Name--Former Condition--Eruption of A.D.
79--Death of Pliny--Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum--
Appearance of the Mountain before and after Eruption--Formation of
Monte Nuovo--Eruption of Boiling Water--Coloured Vapours--Cascade
of Lava--Discovery of Remains of Herculaneum and Pompeii--The
Buildings of Pompeii--Street of Tombs--Skeletons--Sundry Shops--
Ascents of Vesuvius--Crater--Temple of Serapis
CHAPTER IV.
Mount Etna--Its Appearance and Height--Ancient Eruptions--Pindar's
Allusion--Virgil's Description--Subordinate Cones and Craters--
Caverns--Val de Bove--Formation of Monti Rossi--Eruption of 1852--
Whirlwinds--Lava Torrents--Cascades of Lava--Description of Crater
--Empedocles--Enceladus--Craters of 1865--Cyclopean Isles--Homer's
Legend--Volcanic Origin--Other Basaltic Groups
CHAPTER V.
Lipari Islands--Stromboli--Origin of Name--Position of Crater--
Description of Crater--New Volcanic Island named Julia--Phenomena
preceding its Elevation--Description of Island and Crater--Its
Disappearance--Rise of Islands at Santorin
CHAPTER VI.
Peak of Teneriffe--Its Crater--Eruption of Chahorra--Palma--Great
Caldera--Lancerote--Great Eruption--Sudden Death--Fuego, Cape de
Verde Islands--Cotopaxi--Its Appearance--Great Eruptive Force--
Tunguragua--Great Eruption of Mud and Water--Fish thrown out--
Quito--Its Overthrow--Pichinca--Humboldt's Ascent--Narrow Escape--
Antisana--Sangay--Rancagua--Chillan--Masaya
CHAPTER VII.
Jorullo--Great Monument--Jorullo's Estate--Interruption to his
Quiet--His Estate Swells--Swallows Two Rivers--Throws up Ovens--
Becomes a Burning Mountain--Popocatepetl--Spanish Ascents--Orizaba
--Muller's Ascent--Morne Garou--Pelee--La Soufriere
CHAPTER VIII.
Hawaii, Sandwich Islands--Crater of Kilauea--Its awful Aspect--
Fiery Lake and Islands--Jets of Lava--Depth of Crater and Surface
of Lake--Bank of Sulphur--Curious Rainbow--Mouna Kaah and Mouna Loa
--Eruption of the Latter in 1840--Recent Eruption--Great Jet and
Torrent of Lava--Burning of the Forests--Great Whirlwinds--
Underground Explosions--Other Volcanoes in the Pacific
CHAPTER IX.
Atolls, or Coral Islands--Their strange Appearance--Their Connexion
with Volcanoes--Their Mode of Formation--Antarctic Volcanoes-
Diatomaceous Deposits
CHAPTER X.
Volcanoes of Java--Papandayang--Mountain Ingulfed--Great
Destruction of Life and Property--Galoen gong--Destructive
Eruption--Mount Merapia--Great Eruption, with Hurricane--Another,
very destructive---Mud Volcano--Crater of Tankuban Prahu--Island of
Sumbawa--Volcano of Tomboro--Terrific Eruption--Timor--A Volcano
quenches itself--Cleaving of Mount Machian--Sangir--Destructive
Eruption--Bourbon
CHAPTER XI.
Mud and Air Volcanoes--Luss--Macaluba--Taman--Korabetoff New Island
in the Sea of Azof--Jokmali--Fires of Baku--Mud Volcano in Flank of
Etna--Air Volcanoes of Turbaco, Cartagena, and Galera Zamba
CHAPTER XII.
New Zealand--Boiling Fountains and Lakes
CHAPTER XIII.
Underground Sounds--Quito--Rio Apure--Guanaxuato--Melida--Nakous
CHAPTER XIV.
Extinct Volcanoes--Auvergne--Vienne--Agde--Eyfel--Italy--Lacus
Cimini--Grotto del Cane--Guevo Upas--Talaga Bodas--The Dead Sea
WONDERS OF CREATION:
VOLCANOES AND THEIR PHENOMENA.
CHAPTER I.
Volcanoes in general--Origin of the Name--General Aspect--Crater--
Cone--Subordinate Cones and Craters--Peak of Teneriffe--Lava-
Streams--Cascades and Jets of Lava--Variations in its Consistency--
Pumice--Different Sorts of Lava--Obsidian--Olivine--Sulphur--Dust,
Ashes, &c.--Volcanic Silk--Volcanic Islands--Volcanic Fishes--Hot
Water, Mud, Vapours, &c--Volcanic storm--Explosions--Number of
Volcanoes--King of the Volcanoes--Artificial Volcano.
Among the many wonderful works of God, none exhibits so much of
awful grandeur as an active volcano. This name for a burning
mountain was first applied to that which exists in the island
anciently called Hiera, one of the Lipari group. It is derived from
the name of the heathen god Vulcan, which was originally spelt with
an initial B, as appears from an ancient altar on which were
inscribed the words BOLCANO SAC. ARA. This spelling indicates the
true derivation of the name, which is simply a corruption of Tubal-
cain, who was "an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron"
(Gen. iv. 22). The ancient heathen, having deified this personage,
imagined, on first seeing a burning mountain, that Tubal-cain, or
Vulcan, must have established his forge in the heart of it, and so,
not unnaturally, named it Volcano--an appellation which the Island
of Hiera retains to the present day.
The Cyclops--the supposed descendants of Vulcan, who were fabled to
have been of gigantic stature, and to have had each only one eye in
the centre of the forehead--were imagined to be the workmen who
laboured in these underground forges. The noises, proceeding from
the heart of the mountain, were attributed to their operations. It
is to the Island of Hiera that Virgil alludes in the AEneid, lib.
viii. 416. The passage is thus rendered by Dryden:--
"Sacred to Vulcan's name, an isle there lay,
Betwixt Sicilia's coasts and Lipare,
Raised high on smoking rocks, and deep below,
In hollow caves the fires of Etna glow.
The Cyclops here their heavy hammers deal;
Loud strokes and hissings of tormented steel
Are heard around; the boiling waters roar,
And smoky flames through fuming tunnels soar."
A volcano generally presents itself to the imagination as a
mountain sending forth from its summit great clouds of smoke with
vast sheets of flame, and it is not unfrequently so described. The
truth is, however, that a real volcano seldom emits either true
smoke or true flame. What is mistaken for smoke consists merely of
vast volumes of fine dust, mingled with much steam and other
vapours--chiefly sulphurous. What appears like flames is simply the
glare from the glowing materials which are thrown up towards the
top of the mountain--this glare being reflected from the clouds of
dust and steam.
[Illustration: Peak of Teneriffe.]
The most essential part of a volcano is the crater, a hollow basin,
generally of a circular form. It is often of large dimensions, and
sometimes of vast depth. Some volcanoes consist of a crater alone,
with scarcely any mountain at all; but in the majority of cases the
crater is situated on the top of a mountain, which in some
instances towers to an enormous height. The part of the mountain
which terminates in the principal crater is usually of a conical
form--much like a glass-house chimney, and is therefore named the
cone. It is generally composed of loose ashes and cinders, with
here and there masses of stone, which have been tossed into the air
by the volcanic forces. In some mountains the cone rises out of a
hollow at a considerable height from the base. A hollow of this
kind is generally regarded as having been a former crater, which
had become extinct before the existing cone was raised. There are
sometimes formed lower down the mountain subordinate craters,
smaller than that which occupies the summit of the cone. Within the
crater itself there are frequently numerous little cones, from
which vapours are continually issuing, with occasional volleys of
ashes and stones.
One of the largest and most perfect of the volcanic cones in the
world is that of the Peak of Teneriffe, of which you have here a
representation. It conveys a good idea of the general form of the
cone, and has long been a conspicuous and useful landmark to
mariners. It is upwards of twelve thousand feet in height, and is
said to be visible in very clear weather at a distance of a hundred
miles.
The most interesting products of an active volcano are the streams
of lava which it pours forth--sometimes from the principal crater
on the summit--sometimes from the smaller craters lower down. This
lava consists of melted stone. When it issues from the mountain its
heat is intense and it glows like a furnace, so that, during the
night especially, these fiery rivers present a grand yet awful
spectacle. The streams spread themselves till they sometimes attain
a breadth of several miles, with a depth of several hundred feet,
and they flow onward till their length sometimes reaches fifty
miles.
Lava, not being so liquid as water, does not flow so rapidly:
nevertheless, when it is careering down the sides of a mountain, or
where the slope of the ground is considerable, it advances with
great speed. Even when at its hottest, it is somewhat viscid, like
treacle, and this viscidness increases as it cools. Hence on a
level plain, and at some distance from its source, the lava-stream
advances at a leisurely pace. In such circumstances the cooling
proceeds so quickly that a crust of considerable thickness is soon
formed on the top of the current, and persons who are bold enough
may cross the stream by means of this natural bridge. Even where
the current continues flowing rapidly, this crust may be formed on
its surface; and a man, whose curiosity exceeds his prudence, may
stand on the top of it, bore a hole through the crust, and see the
lava flowing underneath his feet!
Nothing can resist the progress of the lava-flood; trees, houses,
everything yields to its massive assault, The trees take fire
before its approach, and when it reaches them they emit a hissing
noise almost amounting to a shriek, and then plunging into the
molten flood are seen no more. Even the sea cannot withstand the
lava-stream, but retires on its approach; so that promontories
stretching to a considerable distance from the shore are formed in
this manner, when the molten matter hardens into stone.
The eruptions of lava are sometimes attended by peculiarities which
impart to them much additional grandeur. Instances have occurred in
which the fiery stream has plunged over a sheer precipice of
immense height, so as to produce a glowing cascade exceeding in
breadth and perpendicular descent the celebrated Falls of Niagara.
In other cases, the lava, instead of at once flowing down the sides
of the mountain, has been first thrown up into the air as a fiery
fountain several hundred feet in height. This happens when the
great crater at the summit of the cone is full of liquid lava but
does not overflow. Then, on the formation of an opening in the side
of the cone, a good way down, the lava issuing from it is projected
upwards to nearly the same height that it occupies in the interior
of the crater at the top of the cone. It is hardly possible for the
fancy to picture to itself anything so magnificent as such a
fountain of liquid fire must be. A simple jet of water of
considerable volume, thrown into the air to the height of a hundred
feet, is itself a beautiful spectacle. What then must be a huge jet
of glowing white lava projected to the height of several hundred
feet, and with what an awful thundering sound must it come tumbling
to the ground, thence to rush as a roaring torrent down the
mountain's side!
Lava, when congealed, differs in its consistency according as it is
near the top or near the bottom of the stream. When near the top it
is porous, owing to its rapid cooling; when near the bottom it is
dense, owing to its slow cooling and the great pressure to which it
is subjected. When the lighter superficial lava is brought suddenly
into contact with water, as when a lava-stream enters the sea, it
becomes still lighter and more porous--forming the well-known
substance called pumice, so much used for polishing. It may be
regarded as the solidified froth of lava, and is so light that it
floats on the surface of water.
The lavas of different mountains, when cooled and hardened, differ
much in their appearance and composition. Among those of Iceland is
found the beautiful black volcanic glass named obsidian. It is a
good deal used for ornamental purposes; for it possesses the
peculiar property of presenting a different appearance according to
the manner in which it is cut. When cut in one direction it is of a
beautiful jetty black; when cut across that direction it is
glistering gray. The lavas of Vesuvius are generally of a brown
colour, and are also used in the arts. In them are found the
beautiful olive-green crystals of the mineral called olivine,
sometimes used by jewellers. But the most useful of all volcanic
productions is native sulphur, in which Mount Etna has been very
prolific. It is to this mountain chiefly, therefore, that we are
indebted for our beautiful fire-works--our squibs, crackers, Roman
candles, serpents, Catherine-wheels, and sky-rockets. Would it had
produced nothing more harmful than these! But it has also supplied
one of the ingredients of that villainous gunpowder, which has been
the means of thrusting so many of our fellow-creatures prematurely
out of the world. Etna, however, can hardly be held responsible for
this sad misuse of the valuable substance which it affords; while
even gunpowder itself has, on the whole, been of vast benefit to
mankind. Could we only refrain from shooting each other with it, we
might regard it as an almost unmixed good; for it has helped us
greatly in forming our roads, railways, and tunnels, and in working
our quarries and mines.
In all great eruptions the flow of the lava is preceded by the
ejection of vast quantities of volcanic dust, ashes, dross, slag,
and loose stones. These are tossed into the air with tremendous
violence, consequently, to a great height. The stones thus ejected
are sometimes of immense size. A rock, whose weight is estimated at
two hundred tons, was thrown from the summit of Cotopaxi to the
distance of more than ten miles. Large stones have been tossed up
by Vesuvius to the estimated height of three thousand six hundred
feet. The dust of the volcano of St. Vincent was carried more than
two hundred miles to the eastward in the teeth of the trade wind;
consequently it must have been thrown to an enormous height, in
order to its falling at so vast a distance from its source.
Besides the usual volcanic dust and ashes, there is sometimes
thrown from the crater of a volcano a substance resembling spun-
glass or asbestos. It possesses the flexibility and lustre of silk.
The volcano of Salazes, in the Island of Bourbon, is remarkable for
this substance, and it has there been seen to form a cloud covering
the entire surface of the mountain. But it has also been found in
other places. How curious it would be to have this volcanic silk
spun into threads, and knitted into stockings or woven into a
garment! Who can tell what may happen in these days of adventure
and invention? Who knows but what some young reader, whose eye is
now resting on this page, may yet live to present his ladylove with
a pair of knitted gloves composed of the volcanic silk of Salazes?
Great as the contrast is between this filmy material and the
ponderous blocks tossed into the air by Cotopaxi and Etna, it is
not greater than that between the latter and other masses which
have from time to time been upheaved by volcanic forces. Instances
have occurred of whole islands having been raised from the bed of
the ocean, or whole mountains upreared on the surface of the land,
far away from the sea, and that too in the short space of a few
hours. But of such we shall have occasion to speak more at large in
the sequel.
Of all the extraordinary productions that have ever been thrown up
by volcanoes, the strangest of all are fishes. How droll to dine
upon fish cooked in a volcano! A queer fish it must be that likes
to dwell in the bowels of a mountain--more especially of one whose
entrails are mostly of liquid fire. But of this also more fully
anon.
In addition to the solid materials thrown out by volcanoes, there
are sometimes poured forth torrents of boiling water and liquid
mud. More frequently, however, the water issues in the form of vast
columns of steam and sulphurous vapour. These ascend to great
heights in the air, and becoming gradually chilled, they form
immense masses of dark heavy clouds, similar to those we observe
before a thunderstorm. Nor is this resemblance apparent only. For
the clouds that overhang an active volcano during an eruption of
its vapours are, in reality, thunderclouds highly charged with
electricity. They accordingly produce what Baron Humboldt calls the
volcanic storm. It includes all the most terrible of atmospheric
phenomena--lightnings of extraordinary vividness; thunders that
peal and reverberate as if they would rend the echoes asunder;
torrents of rain that pour down upon the mountain and its
neighbourhood, hissing like thousands of serpents when they fall on
the glowing lava-torrent; and whirlwinds that sweep the volcanic
ashes round and round in vast eddies, and before whose violence no
man of mortal mould is able for a moment to stand.
Beyond and above this din of contending elements are heard the
hoarse bellowings of the mountain itself, which, meanwhile,
trembles to its very core. The detonations from the volcano far
exceed in loudness any other earthly noise. Compared with these,
the pealing of the loudest thunder is but as the report of a musket
contrasted with the simultaneous discharge of a thousand pieces of
heavy ordnance. The explosions of Tomboro, and the vibrations
accompanying them, have been heard and felt at almost incredible
distances. Judge, then, of the immensity of the forces which are
thus brought into play, and the overwhelming grandeur of the scene
which such an eruption, with all its accompaniments of storm and
tempest, must present to the bewildered eye and ear. Even to read
of it sends a thrill through the nerves: what, then, must it be to
listen and behold?
So far do we dwell from the nearest volcanoes, and so little are we
familiar with the names except of a few, that not many persons are
aware of the large number of burning mountains on the face of our
globe. The total number, however, of those which are known to have
been active within historic times is fully two hundred. Of these,
the most familiar to us for its classic fame and its restless
activity is Mount Vesuvius, which stands alone in its grandeur on
the continent of Europe. The most violent in its activity is
Tomboro, in the island of Sumbawa. The highest is Cotopaxi, in the
range of the Andes, which rises far into the region of perpetual
snow. Its height is 16,800 feet above the level of the sea. Strange
it seems, that volcanic fires should glow at such a height in the
midst of snow and ice. But in this particular Cotopaxi does not
stand alone. The Peak of Teneriffe, Mount Etna, and several others,
also rise above the snow-line; while the burning mountains of
Iceland, Greenland, and Kamtschatka, with those which rear their
heads in the frozen regions near the South Pole, are for the most
part enveloped in ice and snow from head to foot.
Before proceeding to describe to you some of the more interesting
of the individual volcanoes and volcanic groups, it may be well to
let you into a secret worth knowing. You would doubtless like to
have a volcano all to yourself. Here is the receipt: Buy several
pounds of clean iron filings, and a somewhat larger quantity of the
flowers of sulphur. Mix the two together and knead them well with
water into a stiffish paste. Then wrap this pudding in a cloth, and
put another cloth about it, which has been smeared with common or
coal-tar. Dig a hole in some quiet corner of your garden, pop your
dumpling into it, and cover it well up with earth, treading it down
firmly with your feet. Not many hours will elapse before you will
see the ground swell like a molehill; an eruption will ensue, and
you will be the happy possessor of a Stromboli of your own!
CHAPTER II.
Volcanoes of Iceland--Mount Hecla--Earliest Eruption--Great
Eruption in 1845--Skaptar Yokul--Terrible Eruption in 1783--Rise
and Disappearance of Nyoe--Katlugaia--The Geysers--A very hot Bath
--Californian Geysers--Iceland-spar--Jan Mayen
We shall begin with the volcanoes of Iceland, of which the most
interesting and active is Mount Hecla. The annexed woodcut will
give you an idea of its appearance. You will observe the column of
volcanic vapour ascending from the snow-clad summit of the cone,
and how dreary and desolate is the aspect of the country at its
base.
The earliest recorded eruption of Mount Hecla took place in the
ninth century of the Christian era; but probably there had been
many before that date. Since then there have been between twenty
and thirty considerable eruptions of this mountain, and it has
sometimes remained in a state of activity for upwards of six years
with little intermission. It took a long rest, however, of more
than sixty years' duration, prior to the year 1845, when it again
burst forth. After a violent storm on the night of the 2nd of
September in that year, the surface of the ground in the Orkney
Islands was found strown with volcanic dust. There was thus
conveyed to the inhabitants of Great Britain an intimation that
Hecla had been again at work. Accordingly, tidings soon after
arrived of a great eruption of the mountain. On the night of the
1st of September, the dwellers in its neighbourhood were terrified
by a fearful underground groaning, which continued till mid-day on
the 2nd. Then, with a tremendous crash, there were formed in the
sides of the cone two large openings, whence there gushed torrents
of lava, which flowed down two gorges on the flanks of the
mountain. The whole summit was enveloped in clouds of vapour and
volcanic dust. The neighbouring rivers became so hot as to kill the
fish, and the sheep fled in terror from the adjoining heaths, some
being burnt before they could escape.
On the night of the 15th of September, two new openings were
formed--one on the eastern, and the other on the southern slope--
from both of which lava was discharged for twenty-two hours. It
flowed to a distance of upwards of twenty miles, killing many
cattle and destroying a large tract of pasturage. Twelve miles from
the crater, the lava-stream was between forty and fifty feet deep
and nearly a mile in width. On the 12th of October a fresh torrent
of lava burst forth, and heaped up another similar mass. The
mountain continued in a state of activity up to April 1846; then it
rested for a while, and began again in the following month of
October. Since then, however, it has enjoyed repose.
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