Squiers, in 1852,in a longer account than has been quoted here, describes the birth of Cerro Negro. "On the 11th and 12th days of April, 1850, rumbling sounds, resembling thunder, were heard in ....Leon....The sounds increased in loudness and frequency on the night of April 12th, and occassional tremors of the earth were felt as far away as Leon.; which, near the mountains, were quite violent.... Early on the morning of Sunday the 13th, an orifice opened at the side of the long-extinguished volcano of Las Pilas, about twenty miles distant from Leon.... The throes of the earth.....were very severe....resembling, from the accounts of the natives, a series of concussions....It seems that....,at first, quantities of melted matter were ejected irregularly in every direction. This irregular discharge continued only for a few hours, and was followed by a current of lava...... Upon the 14th the lava stopped flowing....A series of eruptions commenced, each lasting about three minutes, suceeded by a pause of equal duration....... accompanied by an outburst of flame a hundred feet or more in height. Showers of red-hot stones were also.ejected....
Last revision Aug. 8, ,1995