p. 12 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 32, No. 18. (5/2/1906)

Earlier text: What Do These Things Mean?

A birdseye view of Vesuvius, with surrounding towns, looking from Naples.

VESUVIUS IN ACTION AGAIN.

THE latest eruption of Mount Vesuvius will pass down in history along with the destructive eruptions of A.D. 79 and 1631. In the first of these Pompeii and Herculaneum were buried, and in the second about 18,000 persons lost their lives. The destruction of property during the present eruption is far greater than that which followed any previous one. The lava streams and showers of sand and ashes have spread over a much larger area.

Populous towns and villages clustering around the base of the famous volcano have been depopulated and destroyed. Several of them have been buried in the ashes which for many days have been emitted from the throat of the crater; and streams of lava have poured down the mountain on all sides, destroying orchards and vineyards in their course.

Over the wasted towns and the stricken country the great funnel of angry-colored smoke goes up by day and night, or bends now this way and now that, like a mighty sword of vengeance. Vesuvius stands like a great rapid-fire gun pouring an endless rain of projectiles into the sky, which fall on all sides in a perfect rain of death. It has been likened to a great forge, to a mammoth caldron, to a huge, flaming brazier, and still words are incapable of conveying to the mind an adequate description of what has been going on there. Vesuvius had been grumbling for a long time at irregular intervals; but the people had become accustomed to these, and had planted their vineyards and orchards well up the treacherous slopes, and towns were builded far inside the danger line.

With little warning the outburst came, and the hungry lava began a resistless flow down upon dwellings and towns, and the falling ashes buried everything in a pall of gray. In the midst of it all the stricken people moved about, some half-dazed, others nearly frantic with grief over the loss of homes and loved ones. The crippled, the aged, and the children found it in many places impossible to wade through the ever-deepening mulch of loose sand and ashes, and many of these were lost. There was heroic work done by peasants and soldiers to protect lives; cavalrymen drove their horses forward through ashes up to their horses' flanks to rescue those in danger of perishing. In one case, carts laden with children became blocked, and the little ones, fearing they were to be abandoned, scattered in every direction in the darkness and could not be found again.

In certain places where churches and market places were crowded with people, these collapsed from the weight of ashes, and hundreds were killed. The superstitious vainly carried about with them the images of saints to insure the protection of their lives, or placed such images in the paths of lava streams in futile endeavors to stay the flow.

A view in San Francisco showing the reign of martial law and the needs of the survivors of the awful calamity. The men with muskets are soldiers standing guard over a typical bread line, men in rank receiving bread as it is dispensed at one of the many temporary commissary departments. Such ruins as these may be seen everywhere in the burnt district.

Thousands of the refugees fled to the city of Naples; but this city, too, was deluged with the volcanic rain till its streets and roof tops were covered with ashes to a depth of several feet. In this city two hundred persons were killed by the collapse of the market place.

Boscotrecaz was destroyed by a stream of glowing lava that approached and flowed over the place soon after midnight, leaving but a few landmarks to show where it stood.

There have been various estimates of the number of lives lost, but the exact number will probably never be known. It is placed as high as two thousand; and the immediate property loss is said to be $20,000,000, while the continued loss from year to year from the untillable nature of the land will be very great. After the eruption of 1872, it was ten years before the ash-covered land would produce crops of any kind. It will probably be longer than that before these devastated vineyards and orchards will be planted again, and these years will give Vesuvius ample opportunity to replenish her arsenal for another mighty demonstration. S.

Stanford University

By David Starr Jordan

President Jordan Makes Statement Regarding Earthquake

THE injuries to Stanford University by the earthquake of April 18 are in brief as follows:

1. Wreckage of the Memorial Church by the fall of the heavy spire, which crashed through the nave, the air blowing off the upper part of both ends of the church. The walls generally, of steel construction, are intact, but the building is ruined.

2. Wreck of the unfinished library. The great dome and its steel supporters are unharmed; their swaying completely wrecked the rest of the building.

3. Wreck of the new gymnasium, brick faced with stone.

4. Wreck of parts of art museum which were made of brick faced with cement. The central part of concrete strengthened by steel rods is intact.

5. The Stanford residence in San Francisco, a huge wooden structure, heavily built, was not harmed by the earthquake, but is completely consumed by fire.

Stanford Memorial Chapel, built in memory of Hon. Leland Stanford by his wife at a cost of $1,000,000 for the building and $600,000 for the decorations, containing many beautiful mosaics.

Arch at the entrance of the Quadrangle, with Memorial Chapel in the distance.

6. The inner quadrangle and engineering shops, of heavy masonry and one story high, are unharmed.

7. The outer quadrangle contains four large buildings reinforced by steel, the laboratories of zoology, botany, and physiology, with the temporary library and assembly hall. These are virtually unharmed.

8. The power-house was wrecked by the tall stone chimney, which was snapped off like the lash of a whip.

9. The Memorial Arch had its upper part snapped off and is split almost to the base, so that it is an entire wreck. This structure was of brick, reinforced with steel and faced with stone.

10. The chemistry building lost all its chimneys and is externally damaged by the fall of part of its stone facing. The building and its contents are little injured.

11. The four large buildings of the outer quadrangle, of brick unreinforced, and faced with stone, are somewhat damaged, the history building least, the incomplete mining building most.

12. Roble Hall, women's dormitory, of concrete with steel wires, is absolutely unharmed except for the fall of two ornamental chimneys.

13. Encina Hall, men's dormitory, a very large, finely-built stone building, was injured by the fall of stone chimneys, one young man being killed. The building also has a serious crack in each of two corners, but is otherwise unharmed.

The wooden buildings on the grounds lost only chimneys and parts of plastering. No injury was done to books, and very little to apparatus or collections. The working part of the university as distinct from its architectural effects is little harmed. The most effective part of its architecture, the inner arcades with their Spanish arches and towers, is wholly undisturbed.

DAVID STARR JORDAN.

Doctor Jordan adds in a later note:

The quadrangles, chemistry building, and dormitories will be at once repaired. The Memorial Church, not so badly wrecked as supposed, will have a temporary roof and will be protected. No attempt will be made to restore that or other large outside buildings for a long time to come—probably not until some donation is made for the purpose. Next term will begin August 23. In haste, JORDAN.

Arch at the entrance of the Quadrangle after the earthquake.

The Sure Word of God.—No human scientist's predictions come so surely as those of God's Word. John, in foretelling what came to pass in later centuries, says: "I beheld . . . and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. Rev. 6:12, 13. Our Lord had foretold the same phenomena (Matt. 24). In fulfilment of these prophecies, the greatest earthquake known to history occurred in 1755, the Lisbon earthquake; the predicted phenomena of the sun and moon occurred in 1780, and that of the "stars" (falling meteors) in 1833.

Following these, and before the coming of the Lord, it is just as plainly and just as surely declared that "the powers of the heavens shall be shaken; and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." Matt. 24:29, 30. John describes the remainder of his vision—that which is yet to come—in this way: "And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places." Then follows the condition and actions of men, as this "great day of the Lord" is ushered in. Read it all in Rev. 6:12-17.

The earth trembled violently when the Lord came down on Mount Sinai (Ex. 19:18; 20:18, 19); also when Christ gave up His life on the cross (Matt. 27:50-54), and when He rose from the dead (Matt. 28:2). And it will tremble still more violently when He comes in glory to gather His saints. In connection with the last event, the righteous will cry out, "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him and He will save us." Isa. 25:9. But the unbelieving host will be so disconcerted that they will say to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" See Rev. 6:14-17.

Be Still and Know That I Am God

"Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations He hath made in the earth. . . . Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." Ps. 46: 8-10.

The Lord Is Good in Trouble

"God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth. . . . The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked; the Lord hath His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet. . . . The mountains quake at Him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at His presence; yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. Who can stand before His indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by Him." [But there is another side to this picture.] The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in Him." Nahum 1: 2-7.

Earthquake Shakes the Coast Steamer

It is reported by the captain of the coast steamer Alliance that the light-house at Point Arena was destroyed by the earthquake. Thus the shock was quite severe for three hundred miles north and south. Altho a comparatively narrow strip inland was affected, no one knows how far it extended under the ocean. The same captain reports that while off Eureka that morning his vessel was severely shaken. He thought that it must have struck bottom, or some uncharted obstruction; but on making soundings he found that he was in twelve fathoms of water.

Warnings of the Coming Day of Wrath

The great devastations of the past, as also those of modern times, are but warnings of the far greater destruction, foretold in God's Word, that is yet to come. If men will heed these, they may be delivered in the day of His wrath against the evil-doings of a disobedient world. The day that is sure to come, because the Lord has said so, will be "a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wastiness and desolation, . . . a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord. . . . Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath." Read Zeph. 1:14-18.

THE CRY OF THE CHILDREN.

By Edgar Goldsbury Fields

[By Edgar Goldsbury Fields, in the Examiner.]

Our hills lie naked, gaunt, and gray. With ashes heaped on hearth and head, We stand in funeral array And mourn our dead.

When fair winds blow we rate as men; When cities sway and tremble, we Are but Thy little children then, Who turn to Thee.

Help us to meet each day's demands; With Thine own strength our hearts endow; We ask Thy blessings on the hands That help us now.

It was our habit, day by day, To heed Thee not when it was light; But help us, God, to find our way Through this—our Night.

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Watchman, What of the Night? A Remarkable Century The Prevalence of Crime—A Sign of Our Times Judgment Is Turned Away Backward The Earth Is Filled with Violence

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The Great Controversy

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Therefore, the author has selected such events in the history of the struggle of the church as foreshadow the conflict just before it, and grouped them so that their meaning can not be misunderstood. In addition to the history thus introduced, there are several chapters devoted entirely to the future. From them we select the following:

The Impending Conflict The Final Warning The Time of Trouble God's People Delivered Desolation of the Earth

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OTHER TOWNS THAT SUFFERED.

ONE of the towns that suffered greatest in proportion to its size was Santa Rosa, with a population of 10,000. Reports from there state that nearly all buildings except residences and the railway depot are down flat, and fifty of the residences are also down. Fifty-eight dead have been reported as taken from the ruins, and it is believed there are many more still to be exhumed. Her financial loss is placed at $2,500,000.

Gilroy suffered in about the same proportion as did San Jose (see article in another column). Nearly all the large buildings on Monterey Street are down or wrecked. No lives lost; financial loss about $500,000.

Hollister was severely damaged, and 'three lost their lives there. Financial loss placed at $100,000.

Santa Cruz was seriously damaged, losing many of her best buildings, but no lives.

Petaluma suffered little.

Glenn Ellen, the Home for Feeble Minded, was terribly shaken by the earthquake; but none of the inmates were injured.

Sebastapol had one serious wreck.

Sacramento was damaged but little.

At Wrights the big railway tunnel is caved in, and large fissures and ridges were made.

Monterey was not seriously shaken.

Boulder Creek has not a chimney left standing, and destruction of property will amount to thousands of dollars.

Del Monte—all chimneys crashed through the roofs, and two persons, a bridal couple from Arizona, were killed, the bed on which they were sleeping being driven through two floors by a falling chimney.

Napa had forty buildings destroyed, and one death is reported. Financial loss, $50,000.

Salinas is reported to be about half ruined.

Santa Clara was very badly wrecked. Her loss will approximate $50,000.

Agnew's principal loss was the complete destruction of the great insane asylum located there, which contained 1,088 patients at the time, besides physicians, nurses, and attendants. Two physicians and, as near as can be ascertained, 110 inmates and attendants were killed.

Los Gatos was damaged to the extent of $30,000; and Morgan Hill about $5,000.

Alameda did not suffer so severely as her sister city Oakland (see another column). No lives were lost there. Her financial loss will reach $175,000.

In Mendocino County many large mills were injured and have been compelled to close down for repairs.

No damage is reported from Stockton, Fresno, Modesto, Bakersfield, Merced, San Luis Obispo, or Los Angeles.

Heroic Firefighters and Gospel Messengers

One engine company of eighteen men fought the flames that attacked an extensive range of railroad freight sheds in San Francisco, and saved them after twelve hours of incessant, unflinching work. These have been reckoned as fire-traps for many years, yet blocks of substantial buildings in close proximity were swept before the flames. The old sheds were valuable for their treasures of freight. When men are ready to do such unselfish, heroic work for the salvation of souls, the Gospel of the coming kingdom will soon be heralded to the world. "And then shall the end come" (Matt. 24:14), and great will be the reward of the faithful messengers.

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