The McArthur enquirer. (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1873-1884, 1873-04-23
Lost in Mount vesuvius.
Entering the Crater Of Volcano and
Disappearing FOrever-The Cost OF
Exploring the Recesses OF u Burning
Mountain.

NAPLES, Feb. Sin September
last, two tourists, an Englishman
and an American, obstinately dis
regarding the entreaties of their
guides, insisted upon being lowered
down into the dark caverns imme-
diately under the orifce of the era
ter of Mount Vesuvius, and those
daring tourists have not yet been
heard of. When the news reached
Naples that city was filled with hor-
ror, and for weeks succeeding the
disaster few tourists ventured to the
summit Of the burning mountain
Fashionable adventurers, for whom
the icy heights of the Matterhorn OF
Mount Blanc had no deterring aw-
fulness Of horror, winged at the jdea
of approaching the ESuSh Of vbsu-
vius, after it had SO mysteriously
become the impromptu tomb of two
young men who had not the least
misgiving about their doom.
Recently a similar calamity oc-
Cured, and almost under the same
circumstances. The victims in this
instance was Jean LIE Mieux, Bel.
gium, Louis Schmidt of Berne,
Switzerland. They were remaining
at a respectable locando or beard
ing house on the Chija, when par
ty was formed to make the ascent
together, and it is strange that on
the morning of the night when
they started for Resina, "a village
at the foot of Mount Vesuvius
where horses, STATS and guides are
procured), Schmidt received let
ter from his sister at Genoa, in
which she stated that it would not
reach Naples long in advance of
herself. Schmidt therefore begged
his companions to release him from
his promise to start for Resina that
night, but as he had projected the
excursion they insisted upon his
going. Schmidt, after making ar
rangements with his landlady for
the reception of his sister, started
with his companions on Tuesday
night for Vesuvius. They left Re-
sina at one in the morning so that
they might reach the base of the
crater in time to witness the rising
of the sun above the peaks of the
surrounding Alps and Apennines.
Having reached the end of their
romantic journey-the summit of
the volcano-everything 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
up the last portion of the
steep ascent. Schmidt agreed ac-
companying LIE Mieux, and spite of
the remonstrance of their guides
each took hold of a loop and swung
himself over the gloomy void
whence issued the tremendous show
ers of ashes and streams of lava
which buried in a single night the
famous cities of Pompeii and Her
culaneum. The guides cautiously
lowered them down until the rash
adventurers announced that they
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 an
swered with a faint, hollow "Ta
beae" Gall right,) from the head
strong explorers of the mysteries
of the burning mountain.
Whether they were smothered
with fumes of oil sulpher, or miss
ing a step, were hurled into the un-
known abyss of the volcano, nobody
on earth will ever know. Contrary
to the advice Of the practised guides
they let go the looped ropes and
into the fatal darkness
of the orater's recesses. The tour
lists above cried out impatiently and
in vain, but no response came after
the first and only "Va beae." The
guides and the friends of the un-
fortunate ones remained until near
sun down, when all hopes Of their
was abandoned. The
guides were lowered down repeated
ly, and several of the excursionists
went as far as the ropes would al
low in search of their fatally ven
turous comrades. This is third
instance Of disaster of this nature
within the past ten years,--N. Y.
Sun.
----.--us .--us-ss-s-e-s.-------
A SHARK eleven feet in length was
recently presented to the Dundee
Museum. On being opened, for the