Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-11-29


Kostrik to watch for the arrival OF tlec-
trio No. 2. then hourly expected ana 70
send her out beyond the tarr gil0nls,
otherwise known as the rocks OF PJlypne-
mus. II the plan succeeded, n Sarcany
or even Zirone and CarUena were taken
prisoners, the launch would be ready to
convey them TO Autekirtta, where he
would have them in his power.
The gig put OF. IN a few minutes she
reached the steps at tne wharf Dr.. Ante
kirtt and Pierre lad assumed the usual
dress Of tourists ascending the mountain
who may have 10 endure a temperature Of
fourteen degrees below freezing, while at
the sea level it stands at hity degrees
above that point. A guide was Ia waiting
with the horses which at NicOl0sl were TO
be replaced By mules as more untlrIng
and surer OF foot
The town OF Catania is Of little width
compared 70 its length and was soon
crossed. Nothing occurred 70 show that
the doctor was watched and followed.
Pierre ard be, after taking the BelVidere
road, began to ascend the earlier slopes
Of the mountain 10 which the 5ieliians
give the name Of Mongibello, and OF which
the diameter is not less than twenty-five
miles.
The road Is uneven and winding. II
turns aside frequently 70 avoid the lava
streams and basaltic rocks sOlidihed mil
lions Of years ago, the dry raTines filed
In the spring time With impetuOus tor
rents, and on its way 10 cuts through a
well-Wooded region Of olive trees. orange
trees, carOb trees, ash trees
and long branched vines. This is
the fret Of the three zones
which gird the volcano, the "m0untain Of
me smithy," the Phgnic an translation Of
the word Etna-''tne spike Of the earth
and the pillar Of the sky'' for the ge0lo-
gists Of an age when geological science
did not exist.
After a couple OF hours climbing dur
ing halt OF some minutes, more needed
By the horses than the riders, the doctor
and Pierre beheld al their feet the town Of
Catania, the SUPERB rival Of Palermo.
They could look down on the lines OF its
chief streets running parallel TO the
quays, the towers and dOmes Of its hum
dred churches, the numerous and
picturesque converts, and the houses in
the pretenciOus style Of the seventeenth
century-all enclosed in the belt Of green
that enclrcles the city. In the fore
ground was the harbor, Of which Etna it.
self formed the principal walls in the
frightful eruption oil 1869 which destroyed
fourteen towns and villages and cliamed
1900 victims, and poured out over the
country more than million cubic yards
Of lava.
Etns is quieter now, aud II has well
earned the right 70 rest In fact there
have been more than thirty erupuons
since the Christian era. That Sicily has
not been oveTWhe lined IL a sufficient proof
Of thesOlidity Of its foundation. 1t should
Be noted. however, that the volcano has
not formed a permanent crater. 1t
changes Il az It pleases. The mountain
falls Ia where one o. the dre-YOmiting
sbysses opens, and from the gap there
spreads the layic matter accumulated on
the tanks. Hence the numerous small
voicanOes-the Monte ROssi, a double
mountain piled up il three months TO a
height d four hund red feet By the sands
and scOris Of 1863, Frumento, Simoni,
btOrnello. CrisincO, arranged like the tur-
rsts round a cathedral dome, to say Moth
ing Of the craters Of 1903. 1911, 1919, 1893.
1854, 1853, 1875, whose tunnels perfOrate the
TANKS u the central cone like the cells OF
beehive.
After crossing the hamlet OF Belvidere
the guide took q snort cut so as TO reach
the 1ramestier road near that from
SicolOsi. The first cultivated zone ex-
TENDS almost from this town 70 two thou
sand one hundred and twenty feet above.
II wOs nearly 4 O'Clock IN the afternoon
when NicolOsi appeared. and the travel
ers had not met with a single adYen-
ture along the nine miles from Catania,
and bad seen neither boars nor wolves.
They had still twelve and a half miles
y 70 before they reached the Casa degli
Inglesi.
-'How long will your Excellency stop
hsreP askd the guide.
ono longer than necessary" answered
the doctor ''let Us get IN tonight about
Q O'clock"
sporty minutes then -
sporty minutes be itv'
And that was enough 70 procure a hAstv
meal IN one o. the two inns Of the town,
Whlcb--be n said 70 the honor Of the three
thousand Inhabitants Of NlcolOsi. includ-
Jog the DeZgars who swarm In it-has
rather 4 better culinary reputation than
most ricilian inns. A piece OF kid. some
frult, raislnA, oranges, and pOmegranates.
and Ban Placldo wine from the enyirons
81 CataDia-tbere arc very few important
towns 10 Italy ia which an innkeeper
would offer AS much.
Before O'Clock the doctor, Pierre and
the guide mounted on their mules, we're
climbing the second stage OF the ascout-
the forest zone. Not that the trees there
are numerous, for the W0Od-cutiers as
every where else are at work DESTROYING
he ancient forests which will soon b.
10 more than a mythOlogic rcmem.
bTarce. Here and there, however in
clumps and groups along the side OF the
lava streams and on the edges OF tha
abysses grow beecaos aud oaks. and nl
most black leayed hgs, and then, still
higher, tlrs and pines and birchea. Even
the binders mixed with a little mold give
birth % large masses OF terms, fraxinel.
las, and mallows rising from.a carpet 81
moss.
About 3 o'clock 10 the evening the doc.
tor and Pierre had already reached the
ols0. feet almost marking the limit OF per.
petlai snow, which on the nanks of Etna
- abundant enough 90 supply an Italy
ava SICILY. They were then in The region
aoi-Olack iaYas, ciuders, and scorip which
stretches away beyond an immonsel ere.
vase, the vast elliptic nmphiiheatro III
the Vale del Boye, forming cliffs on from
.hVV 70 5000 feet hign, an whose base lio
we strata OF trachyie and basalt which
the elements have not yet DESTROYED.
~ front rose the cone OF the volcano on
which bore and there. "a phaneroeams
formed hemisnhere6 Of verdue. This cen
tfal hump, which IL quite a mountain In
ltteli-a PellOn on Ogsa.-rlsea TN II
reaches an altitude Of 1854 feet abov,
the level Of thu sea,