The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1871-07-27

cure some OF them, but were unable either
by purchase or bribery. In one room are
seen the bones of skeleton as it lay, in a
fair state of preservation, in another room
under glass case are exhibited skeletons
OF two men and two women, quite per.
feet, one of the men more than six feet
high. The Forum and public baths
were very extensive. Several hours here
spent with interest, when we prepared
to ascend the mountains. Guides are nu-
merous as we'll as beggars, and constant
ly thrusting themselves in the way.
Our party consisted of three-one Ital-
ian from the north of Italy, an Austrian
friend and ourself and guide. each mount
ed on an awkward pony called horse
five francs each for horse and guide
We left Pompeii about $50, a. NJ, and
after riding an hour came to the limits of
vegetation, except here and there
bunch of weeds. The ascent was now
more steep, and the ground over which
we travelled consisting of scoria, ashes,
sand, dirt and cinders, much resembling
the debris thrown into the street at the
east door of Durant & Van Arsdales
foundry. The foot of the mountain is
bounded by a plain two or three miles
wide and we'll cultivated, then commences
an inclined plane, which extends couple
of miles up the mountain-not smooth,
as might be expected, but consisting of
various inequalities. We assembled from
the southeast side, and, as we rode along,
we tried to compare the plain to some
thing we had seen, but could not. The
best idea of the surface which we can
give is to imagine portion of Lake
Michigan in a heavy swell, but not
broken, then elevate the surface to an
angle of thirty-fye degrees, --then anoth-
er portion of surface, with heavy swell,
and considerably broken, elevated to for
| ty five or fifty degrees then another e!e
walton of sixty degrees. Imagine us
wiuding along on our track, something
like the pictures in the old biographies
of lamas crossing the Andes and you will
get some idea of our appearance. On ar
irving within one thousand feet of the
top, we leave our ponies, Zone Of which
had given out, some ways down the
mountaiu-the one ridden by the guide,)
and we prepared to make the ascent on
| foot. This spot is reached after a ride
of two hours from our setting out at
Pompeii. For some time before reaching
| it, we had been riding over rough
grounding ridges of scoria and lava,
and the labor for the horses was extreme
ly tatiguing.
Here we take new guides, who assist
us up,-one by strap over his shoulder,
fastened to the middle Of stick which
we take hold of, while another pushes
from behind. The ascent might be made
alone by strong person, but we had
been warned of the many who had given
out and were obliged to call assistance,
and at once accepted the services of
guides Our Italian friend, stout man,
attempted the ascent alone, and was
obliged to call assistance before half the
way up-our Austrian friend started
alone and gave out in less than two
hundred feet, and was finally carried to
the summit in a chair with two poles
affixed, by four men, at an expense Of six
teen francs On reaching the summit,
our labor was we'll repaid The noun
tain had been in state of eruption for
some days, the lava flowing out of the
crater and half way down on the west
side and could be plainly seen from the
city by night, By the light being red hot,
but had ceased flowing the night before,
much to our regret. ~ taju
The crater is changeable. It consisted
now of circular basin of Il Of mile in
diameter, then a descent OF Que hundred
and fifty feet, then a rise of about fifty
feet at an angle offorty-ive degrees-the
plane of the descent much the greater
then crater tunnel shaped about one
hundred and fifty feet deep and about
three or four hundred feet across, quite
regular in shape, the sides being very
steep. From the bottom of this pit issued
o volume of smoke, with low, rumbling,
kissing sound, and also from various
crevices on the sides of the mountain
One small crater which we pass ed was
about five or six feet across and resem-
bled huge chimney incrusted with q
sulphurous substance and emitting
fumes Of the same kind. We could only
look down into it twenty or thirty feet
on account of smoke, and then only when
the wind carried it away a little. The
whole top of the mountain was envelop-
ed in smoke more or less, as the wind
happened. The large central Crater, our
guide informed us, had been formed
within the past three months, and the |
Surface Of ashes over Which ,we' travelled |
in ascendency had been thrown tAtt IN Il
shower but a few months previous a.aa5
Y A short distance from the, principal
crater arose crag of irregular shape
about one hundred feet IN height, :ncrns+-
ed with sulphurous. substances, which
was the crater now iii most operation, 1t
was a huge chimney with an opening
twenty or thirty feet wide-we could not
see distinctly, on account Of the dense
smoke, which issued with the roaring
sound ola immense fire. We approach
cd it as near as the heat would permit,