Show VESUVIUS FIRST OUTBREAK K KOld Old Vesuvius continues to spout molten lava that is spreading destruction destruction destruction tion over a great width of Italian ter tor territory The panic has ha spread even as asfar asfar asfar far as Naples Thousands of people have been made homeless vineyards have ha ve been destroyed farms ruined Thus far few if any lives have been lo ln t but the suffering Is described as asu u The sea has taken no part Fart in lit the havoc up tip to date but fear fearIs I Is expressed ed that the volcanic out outbreak outbreak outbreak break will ili be accompanied by a Tidal idal wave that will many of the titles towns t and hamlets along the Th last great outbreak of Vesuvius and amI the occurred when Heron and Pompeii were destroyed Tp rp t to years after the tho birth of i Christ t there was nothing about Mo if Vesuvius to indicate that a oleano slumbered in its bosom In Hi t yar p ar there was a great earth carth iju J U ik that did great groat gr ot damage in lit both bothI I n t i and Herculaneum Smoke was wa son n r to issue from the summit of oft the t til 1 mountain for a brief period but the Ilie was Vas as speedily forgotten i r later in rl 79 A D 37 1 the j outbreak that destroyed J the fI occurred Tt follOwer of ashes the rain of f fire t and the waves of m ten lava con continued continued continued over a period of ot several days d ys Pompeii PO had haa an estimated population of HerculaneUm perhaps a little tittle littlemore littlemore more than half as many The number ar arof I of lives Jives lost can only be conjectured conjecture though from the handed down by the younger Pliny PUny whose father was among the lost It is esti estimated estimated mated that between 2500 and per perished perIshed perished That more were not lost Is due to the warnings given by the volcano itself Most of those who were lost died because they shut themselves in itt their houses in the hope that the eruption eruption eruption tion would quickly cease cease Pompeii was covered to a depth of ot I fifteen feet Herculaneum to a depth varying from fifty to feet The Th years rolled on and the world quickly ly forgot the exterminated cities Century piled on century until In 1709 a resident of the city of Resina which had been built on top ton of the ruins ruing of ot Hercula Herculaneum Herculaneum Herculaneum sunk an unusually deep well weB He was surprised to find In the bottom of his shaft some pieces of marble statuary News of the discovery spread rapidly and for several years a amore amore amore more or less Irregular work of excava excavation excavation excavation tion was carried on Nearly a century elapsed however before any deter determined determined determined mined effort to recover the vast stores of ancient art treasures and manu manuscripts manuscripts manuscripts scripts wore made In the meanwhile 1748 a peasant had discovered part of a ruined house of Pompeii PompoU Excavations were carried carrI d don on here too and they have been prose prosecuted prosecuted prosecuted with special diligence during the thelast thelast thelast last fifty years Nevertheless it is estimated that not more than half halt of either Pompeii or Herculaneum has flag been discovered To the work of ot the th excavators and their finding of price priceless priceless priceless less manuscripts is due the the intimate pictures of early Roman life Ufe that mod modern modern modem ern em writers have presented to t us The volcanic ashes sealed the cities her hermetically hermetically so that even loaves of bread have havo been found in a fair state of or preservation |