Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1871-02-15
poNpEII. /
New coveries How the Exeava..
lions are Conducted.


An excavation picnic took place at
Pompeii last month, In honor of the ar
rival of Professor Pierce and the other
members of the Americap Eclipse Ex-
pedition.J A correspondent Of 1.-THE Bos-
ton Advertiser describes the scene:
On arriving at Pompeii, the party were
first conducted to the present limit of
the excavations, that they might witness
the entire process of the labor. The
wheel-barrow is still unknown to the
Italian laborer, and his rude, broad pick
and his zappd, which serves alike for
hoe and spade, would be disdained by
the meanest of an American adopted
fellow-citizens." Men and women, boys
and girls, are employed indifferently,
and 90 sorambling and chattering up the
steep bank, with their little basketful of
dirt npon head or shoulder. "A minia-
ture railway, operated by boy-power, is
laid near the edge of the cutting, and as
fast as the cars are filled they are pushed
away beyond the lines of the city walls,
and beyond she amphitheater, where
their contents are dumped. Close upon
the diggers follow another set Of work
men. These prop up crooked walls, re-
pair breeches made by tearing down the
roofsupports and lintels,f these are OF
such extent as to threaten the crumbling
Of the partitions; cut out carefully and
carry away such mural paintings or tab
lets as have any unusual value, and can
be removed in good condition, or roof
over or otherwise protect such as must
be left in place, but might suffer from
exposure. ...,. ,,-
Just at present the excavators are re-
vealing nothing of any intrinsic value,
for the street they are now opening ap-
pears to have been almost exclusively
occupied by minor shop-keepers-some
of them possibly in the military equip
ment business, for a portion of a full
length and life-sized painting of Ro-
man legionary in complete armor has
recently been brought to light beside one
shop door. In many other places In the
neighborhood are painted up what seems
to be the names of candidates for various
local Offices so that perhaps this district
was the haunt of the ward politicians OF
an older day. Accordingly, Professor
Pierce's party were warned that they
must not anticipate the finding of any
treasures, nor even be disappointed if
nothing were found, for this is the case
with many buildings, everything having
been either carried away or destroyed.
Z The street itself must have been a
pretty one, for the buildings throughout
nearly its entire length wereapainted in
high alternate panels of red and black,
relieved with SOME light ornament.
Doubtless it was also a lively one, forIbe-
sides all its shops, it boasted a livery
stable, in front of whose broad doorway
the sidewalk was Sloped to the roadway
that the chariots might roll out freely.
The more modest art of donkey-ridlng,
too, found its opportunities here, for a
great room in the rear of the stable in
dicates by its frescoes that the proprie.
tor did not content himself alone with
carriage customers" A- - -
Two or three of the more promising
shops and houses had been reserved by
the superintendent for particular atten-
ton, and in front of them chairs were
placed for the company. The debris had
been left, as I have intimated above, tc
the depth of two or three feet over the
floors, and the doorways had been blocked
by large stones to keep the looser dust
from rolling out into the clean-kept
street. A dozen men were Immediately
set to work, and about as many custodi
stood by, watching with all the sharpness
of their long-trained eyes that nothing
might be caught up and concealed. Ex
perience has taught the directors in what
PARTS of each particular kind of building
objects are most likely to be found; and
therefore, while one man was digging
away with the utmost iuSouciance, his
fellow, close beside him, would be upon
his knees carefully scraping away the
dirt with his fingers.
The first building was evidently shop
with living-room at the back, but there
were no external indications of its char
acter. Digging soon developed great
iron furnace or oven, leaden-covered
and set in brick, in the center of the
| front room; and the most popular sur
mise was the owner had been cook, foi
a few bronze vessels of the saucepan
type were found near the furnace, to
gether with the bones Of two or thret
! dogs and cats, which Imagination figured
as having sought the shop, after its mas
ter fight, in search Of fat pickings, anC
as having paid for their gluttony more
dearly than bya beating. , go
| I A couple Of wine dTnphorB lamp, 6
bit of money, bronze. ring, some ivory
pallets for the hinges of doors and NOV
ables, door key, and few nails, com
pleted the treasure-trove, the back room
being absolutely empty IA nnttnF
| Fragments of the red tiles and somt
charred bits of the woodwork, which
throughout the city was almost all ig
nited by the blazing cinders of the die
irR, we're mingled with the ashes anC
pumice, as also were few broken jars
and lanps but all these latter pieces
we're broken 10 atoms as fast as found
that nothing recognizable as a bit o
Pompeii might 20 elsewhere than into
the museum. The next-door neighbOl
of our shop-keeper had left nothing fol
posterity but his simple mosaic pave
ment; perhaps, on the other hand, We
thought, his friend had left his trities be
hind hip in order 10 take his stone car
pet with-him, for in his two rooms we hac
found nothing but the base earth fol
flooring.
AnecdOte OF stephen A. Douglas
In his "reminiscences of public men b!
Mr.. Forney, prepared for his Sunda!
Press, he gives in his last some recollec
tions of Stephen A. Douglas He says
ITO him / am indebted for my frs
and only speculation-the better to b
recollected because it was successful
And the incident is the more interesting
because, just now, the region where
made my money is the point whence on
of those empire lines is going forth 4
\ penetrate the wilderness and to cOnvor
4 II into a garden-I mean the North Pa
cific railroad. Stephen A. Douglas cam'
to me one day in 1853, and said, LOOKING
nm at the man. How would You like L