Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1854-09-06
SEPTEMBER 6, 1854.
Ascent Of Mount Vesuvius from Pompeii,
afo5t and alone.


ascent, and after feeding up and recruit
ing for the toll, / got ready for a start T
Lad got all the advice necessary from those
who had be0n up and fancied could see
my way clearly One said must have two
guides, another said needed three and
donkey. inquired the expense, and the
time necessary, and the route, and thonghtl
that to pay from six to fifteen dollars for i
little help IN journey that at farthest was
but a few hours, or say one day, seemed to
me little uncalled for.and extrayagant.
Ihad been ma iiufnbea Of : is WIKI fce
Christian men had been before, and I
thought I could go in other places in way
of my own, and not as others did. / deter
mined to try it afoot and alone, and if I
failed I would say was no Yankee. So
took the railroad" StrGda Ferrata' at in
the morning stopped at, ,Peocida, close to
Herculaneum, left Castellamare on the right,
and in half an hour the guard sung out
Pom pa -a-ye!''
There it was-not as in the days of /
Piney the elder, but after being exhumed
from burial of eighteen hundred years
under the ashes of Vesuvius But came
Pompeii. The summit was II miles dis
tant and 1900 feet high. I took bee
line as near as possible, but it was far from
straight. Roads in different directions led
me zigzag march, now in sight of the
4 mountain, and next out of sight behind
high walls of lava. A word touching this
lava. It is quarried out here for building
stone, and much resembles granite. It is
far more solid and heavy, and less porous
than any had seen before. The walls or
dykes by the road side were often twelve
feet high There was no regular road
from Pompeii to the mountain top, but I
took the general direction, and when saw
the mountain top to my right would take
the next right hand road. Ipassed through
one small mean looking village, about four
or five miles from Pompeii. Here [ stop
ped and added a little to my stock of "pro-
vant," as Captain Dugald Dalgetty would
say [ got my bottle replenished, and
bought few apples.
The roads were all deep sand, black vol
canic sand, thrown out of the mountain
The ground gradually began to rise and
soon | came in full sight of the summit
and did not lose sight Of it again. From
the level and we'll cultivated fields and
vineyards about Pompeii the ground be-
came more broken, with here and there
not enclosed, and then vineyards again
and little fig gardens. I met and passed
many people, some riding on donkeys, bI
none s. poke to me. At last [ came to
little thicket of wood, oak and chestnut
where some women were gathering sticks.
The roads dwindled into paths, the paths
grew less and less distinct, and soon [ came
to the last fence, having left the last house
little way back. Here [ cut me cane
a stout oak, one destined to figure as
walking stick in Yankee land. I usec
some caution in my theft, for presume i
had been seen, it might have cost M
dear. [ was somewhat practised, and o
course rather an expert thief-in the can
line | mean-for had cut classic cudgel
! before, and meant to cut and come again
:, My oak was about five feet long, and it di,
me yeoman' service. [ sat down by th
! side of wall of lava and overhauled m.
: provender, and took rest of half an hour
Except some little scanty shrubbery to b
: mentioned hereafter, there was not bus
: or single obstruction to the top Of Vesuvius
! now near four miles from me. Thre
: quarters of a mile over a gentle ascent
nearly level-with ridges of lava and har
; sand, brought me to the mountain proper
! Just to its base. [ had walked over eigt
!, miles from Pompeii and rose about thor
= sand feet.
). To those who have not ascended volc;
T h. r
i the mountain is in two separate flights
! Those volcanoes that have seen-and W
e suvius though not a lofty mountain, is
! good type Of the class-rise from the bas
two-thirds or three-fourths of the who
\ height in pretty regular ascent, and thel
, is sort Of shoulder or resting place. Th
- first ascent of Vesuvius is about 2 1000 fee
"a and at a guess nearly on an angle 40 d
= grees with the perpendicular. This aseel
- was in alternate ridges and valleys, ar
! the valleys having stunted growth
- - bushes. The ridges seemed to be VOL
~ into paths and up one of them took n
:. way. There was mighty little variety
.ot it, and one step followed after another, wi
n the long cane to push against and the gra
a. to pull upon, till I surmounted the iii
and longest stretch of the mountain. I
view from here was magnificent, the des'
ted streets and roofess houses of Pompe
the white cottages of Castellamare, t
Us rocks Of Sorrento, the whole city and b
OF of Naples, and the islands of the Medit
ranean being plain in sight. On this sho
rs, der of the mountain, which may be liker
ne to the shoulders of man, it was nea
lP' level, and walk over rough lava abou
tly quarter of a mile broug me to the ne
mt or foot of the cone This cone or croy
Tas ing summit of the mountain looks fir
IN, Naples to be about 200 feet high, bu
aa found it at least thousand. You may
lieve it was steep.
,2at At the foot of it I rested for half
his hour Far above me, near the summit
ln- could see several pedestrians, who appea
her to have assembled far to my right Of
ost slow travelling this was the chief. | co
not go more than ten or fifteen steps
Tou fore had to rest. The process of rest
was easy All had to do was to
Tou down, or should have said up, against
side of the mountain, and lay there till
MS fatigue was gone. The ground was G
for orally smooth. It was fine volcanic sa
ard- packed hard and close by the wind. |
to stick my heels and toes in to keep f