Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-03-04

waking. One o. them !, pulled aIOu 2
by q guide with strap. the other Is
pushed iy a guide from behind Th'
woman, having refused ii portaLtina, i,
carried by two gnides. on whose
shoulders she is sitting, :hey With thcir
arms locked tightly arouc,t each othrr
and she with her arms holding tightly
around their Lead---positive!y hight
snl SIGHT.
Here the gravel begins to be hot. An
occasional puff OF steam issues from
crevices here and there. The footing,
however, is little tirmer.
IL ten minutes more We reach the
summit. having been one hour and
twenty-five minutes climbing the cone,
which has an u!tidude OF about two
Thousand feet, and is as steep as as!aes
end gravel can lie heapei up. We had
I been two hours and five minutes walk
ing from the Hermitage.
| Words cannot describe our feelings
as we gaze upon the scene before us.
We stand upon narrow ridge sur
rounding the old crater. Looking
down into the crater. we see a mass Of
black lava. It is streaked here and
there with red seams or cracks, caused
by cooling. 1t is also dotted With red
holes from which steam issues.
This is an old crater. 1t is nearly
circular, about three -fourths of mile
in diameter, and from four to five hun
dred feet in depth.
Near its center small cone rises to
the height of about two hundred feet.
From this constantly issue smoke and
steam, and about every two minutes,
with terrific shunderings and pufings,
it throws high into the air red-hot stones
and flames.
Away down among the red. hot seams
and smoking spots are the people who
had passed us. A short distance to
our left, we find the ridge broken away
on one side of the crater. Here the
overflow Of 1878 passed off, and we still
see the lava very slowly moving.
Near by is very difficult path down
into the crater. The two gentlemen lof
the party, regardless of the almost suf-
locating fumes of sulphur with which
the air is filled, plunge down the steep
declivity, and are soon seen far below
leaping over the red-hot chasms where
a misstep would be fatal to life.
On they go picking up specimens
here and there. till they reach the
other party. They place coins upon
the melted lava, heaping the lava
around the edges of the coins, thus i'm
bedding them; or with tongs with
moulds at their tips they pick up lava
thus making specimens with pictures
on each side Of them.
But the laundering still continues,
and the eruptions are SO violent that
the smaller stones rattle all about us,
and it seems foolhardy to remain lon
ger in the crater. So up come the
stragglers feeling we'll repaid for their
perilous descent, and,somewhat relieved
to return unhurt.
An unusually violent eruption just
as they are coming out sent rocks flying
in all directions. and the sulphurous
smoke compelled them to cover their
mouths with handkerchiefs. We find
it too chilly to linger long here, 80 eat
our boiled eggs and drink our coffee,
and then seek for the highest point of
the mountain before returning home.
Soon we stand there. We are 253
feet above the sea, and 2, 173 above the
hCEmAehRos
We give lingering look down into
the crater; then at the masses of rock
and flames flying high into the air.
Then we gaze toward the beautiful
mountains away in the south; upon the
lovely bay spread out before us, with
Capri lying quietly upon it's bosom; at
the little white cities around the base
Of the mountain, Pompeii, Core del
Annunziata, Tore di Greco, R-sina,
Porticl, and finally at Naples itself,
nestled under the hill farther off to the
west. Surely this view to one is worth
the ascent Of the mountain, but under
meath us is the hidden fountain of fire
which belches forth its flames and
smoke continually, day and night-the
grandest sight of all. Almost with re-
greet we start to return to our hotel, and
soon the descent is much easier than
the ascent.
At forty-fve minutes past six We are
larded safely at our hotel, tired. but we
shall remember onr trip to Vesuvius
as one of the most interesting events of
our Hves.-[Youth's Companion.