Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-03-06
In THE CRATER.
Exploring Vesuyius-who Did it
How They Went I'm and how They
Didn't Come ont. -- -.

| Exploring Fesuvius-Wh0 Did it
How They Went I'm and how They
Didn't Come out. --- --
In late letter from Naples correspon-
| dent of the New York Sun tells how, 10
| September last, two tourists, an English.
man and an American, obstinately disre-
| garding the entreaties of their guides, in
sisted upon being lowered down into IL
| dark caverns Immediately under the orifice
Of the crater of Mount Vesuyius. and
those daring TOURISTS have not since been
heard Of. When the news reached Naples,
that city was filed with horror, and for
weeks succeeding the disaster few tourists
ventured to the mountain. Recently SIM
liar calamity occurred, and almost under
the same cicumstances. The victims in
this inst nee were Jean LIE Mieux, Belgium,
and Louis Schmidt, of Berne, of SWitzer-
iand. They were remaining at o respec-
| table locansda or boarding house oa the
Chisja, when party was formed to make
the ascent together, and it is strange that on
the morning of the night when they started
for Resina, q village at the foot of Mount
VesuVius where horses, stats, and guides
are procured), Schmidt received q letter
from his sister at Genoa, in which she sta
ted that it would not zach Naples long in
advance of herself. Schmidt therefore beg.
ged his companions TO release him from
his promise to start for Resina that night,
but as be had projected the excursion they
insisted upon his going. Schmidt, after
making arrangements with his iandlady for
the reception of his sister, started with his
companions on Tuesday night for Vesuvi-
us. They left Resina st one in the morn
ing so that they might reach the base ofthe
crater in time to witness the rising of the
sun above the peaks of the surrounding Alrs
and Apennines. Having reaihed the end
of their romantic journey-the summit of
the Volcano-eyerything was quiet as upon
some secluded rustic hill, and LIE Mieux
called upon any of the party to join him
in going down the crater. The guides are
always provided with ropes, either for that
purpose or for assisting cumbersome tray
ellers up the last portion of the steep ascent
Schmidt agreed to accompany LIE Mieux,
and in spite of the remou strances of their
guides each took hold of loop and swung
himself over the gloomy void whence issued
the tremendous showers of ashes and
streams of lava which buried in a single
night the famous cities of Pompeii aud
HerculaEeum. The guides cautiously low
cred them down until the rash adventur-
CIS dnuOuuCSQ LnaL L0oy were STANDING on
firm ground. The guides, last warning to
them was not to venture inward. A call
from one of the tourists above was answer
ed with faint hollow ava benen Gall
rightly from the headstrong explorers of the
mysteries of the burning mountain.
Whether they were smothereG with jfum .es
OF sulphur, or missing step, were b.lrled
ijto the unknown abyss of the volcano,
nobody on earth will ever kn NV. Contra
~ to the advice of the prs cticed guides.
they let go the Topped ropes and ventured
into the fatal darkness oftlle crater's recess
ses The tourists above cri ed out impatiently
and in vain, but no resp onse came after the
first cry of ava bene,' The guides and
the friends of the unfortunate mes remain
ed until near sunIowD, when all hope of
their reappesring was abandoned. The
guides were lowered down repeatedly, and
several e6cursionists went as far IS the
ropes would allow in search of their fatal
ly venturous comrades. This is the third
il istance of disaster of this nature within
I he past ten years. .- "a a...