The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1886-07-09
EXCAVATIONS AT POMPEII.
Anxious Digging for Unknown Treasures
The Museum With its Rare Sights,

HlerCe.
HOTEL GRANDE BRETAGSE, NAPLES,
May 10, 1SS6.-It seems odd to speak
OF dead city as a growing one But
that is exactly thecase with Pompeii.
There are many cities in Italy who
do not grow hall as fast as the one
buried by the ashes OF Vesuvius eight
cen hundred years ago. A person Wis
ltlng it at intervals OF year notices a
marked enlargement ofits boundaries.
The ltalians,y know, are the cham.
plon diggers. The make the shovel fly
when they attack the grave OF Pom
pell. We SOW gang of them at work
there. A Government overseer watch
ed them like hawk He wanted to
be sure they pocketed no jewelry, coins
or objects OF art or utility yielded by
the excavations.
The only produce of their toll in
that line, as we stood by, was a bit OF
iron, which the guide called a hinge,
and the fragment OF a small marble
column. The spades, husily piled,
We're gradually bringing to light n
beautiful house. The floors were
mosaic, with simple but graceful de-
signs in scroll pattern-nearly as
fresh OF color as if laid yester-
day. The walls bore frescoes OF fainter
masks, fawns, cuplds,
birds, fish and fruit 1t had evidently
been the home of well.to-do citizen
OF Pompeii. The nervous movements
OF the workmen betrayed their ankle
ty. They were hoping at every move
ment tc make valuable find" Per-
haps they might hit upon a great
iron chest-studded with round knobs
like a boller-and full of gold, money
or ornaments, or they might strike
another wonder in marble or bronze
or they might be startled by coming
suddenly upon skull orother human
remains. In the latter event thework
was suspended till a careful inspection
is made. The responsible and inteli-
gent person in charge proceeds to as
certain ii the dead Pompeiian has left
a mould of himself or herself in the
plastic ashes. Ii so, he prepares u
mixture OF plaster of Paris, breaks u
hole in the crust and slowly pours in
the liquid till the mold is full When
1t has hardened the castinois tenderly
removed. Lo, there is a rough image
some poor creature in the
agonies OF death, prone on the floor
face downward.
Thus, most usually, We're the inhab-
ltants OF the doomed city caught by
the destroying angel The skull or
leg, or arm or whatever other part OF
the skeleton had not relapsed into its
original dust, may attach itself to the
plaster cast in the proper place or
may require to be Joined ON by par
donable ''restoration.' In either
case the effect is thrilling in its horri-
bic reality, Nothing i'll painting or
can shock the beholdermore
than these selfproduced and truthful
statues exhibited in the museum,
which is the first and most interesting
thing shown to visitors. But, though
nelthar gold nor silver, nor the 1ninut-
est scrap OF Il skeleton. nor anything
else OF Importance was unearthed for
my benefit, | quilted the new exeava-
tions with reluctance to examine those
parts OF Pompeii with which the
world is already familiar through the
medium OF books and pictures
| found myself quite ut home in
the bakery, the wine shop, at the
oil merchants. at the houses OF
Pansa, OF Sallust, ,ofthe Tragic Poet, -
and the rest. The high stepping-stones
across the streets looked familiar, us
ii | lad trodden them before. The
deep ruts cut by the carts us they
groaned up the hill coming from the
ancient Stabia, were like friendly land
marks. So fully have literature and
art made us acquainted with this dis
inferred city.
The guide tells me that only about
one third OF Pompei has yet been un-
covered. | take his word for it, He
is also OF the opinion that the best
parts OF the city have already been
dug out. He evidently wishes that
the work would stop. lie is very
human in this. for he finds it tiresome
to show people about the present
Pompeli. Treble its size, and his labor
would be threefold. And he is forbid
den to accept money. Bur | imagine
that this Very stern prohibition does
not prevent persons from offering him
(say) q couple OF francs on "the sly, F."
or him from accepting them.
1t may bel true, as our guide insists,
that the temples, forums, baths,
theaters and fine houses now above
ground surpass anything OF the kind
that may hereafter be discovered at
Pompeii. But the Italian Govern
ment is not disposed to take that for
granted. Liberal sums are yearly APP
propriated to push the work. 1t bears
fruits. A new temple or amphitheater
may not be struck every year, but
something is constantly being turned
up to instruct the world in the man
ners and customs OF the old Romans
so well reflected in the representative
city of Pompeii. OF bronze or stone
statues, household implements and
tools OF trade, the yield is immense
and steady. These may be counted
by the thousand in the splendid
museum at Naples. One can see sc
many articles of luxury and use ex
a2tly similar to those ne buys nova
days that he is fain to pause and try
to remember what besides the steam
engine, the photograph and the electric
telegraph we moderns have invented
There being no more room at Naples
to store these treasures the excess o
them is huddled together in the court
yards and houses of Pompeii herself
1t is estimated that at the present
rate this mine Of antiquities will moi
be worked out in fifty years.
Nesuvius is the most deceptive o
mountains. We know how treacher
Gus and cruel he is. But, as we Sc,
him gently smoking in the haze of TIN.
soft. enervating atmosphere, wethinl
him very much maligned. The chin
ney OF a well regulated house coult
not be steadier OF behavior. His sides
look sleek in the distance. One woulC