The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1886-07-02

10 store these treasures the excess. OF
them is huddled together in the court
yards and houses of Pompeii herself.
1t is estiElated that at the present
rate this mine of antiquities Sill not
be worked ont i'll ffty years.
Vesuvius is the most deceptive of
mountains. We know how treacher-
Gus and cruel he is. But. as we see
hun gently smoking In the haze of this
soft, enervating atmosphere, we think
him very much maligned. The CHM
ney of well regulated house could
not be steadier OF behavior. His sides
look sleek in the distance. One woald
never suspect that all that brown soft
ness is lava fifty feet deep and cover
ing thousands Of acres. When | as
cended the volcano on q fair day, / re-
allied how illusory are impressions
when formed afar Off. Afte, travers-
ing Portici and Resina fold Herculane-
UNI the carriage climbed steep slope
between country villas with "plenty
OF fruit and shade" as an advertise
ment would say. Presently o. sharp
turn in the road brought me face to
face with che head of a lava sire am,
which had been mercifully STAYED at
that point years ago. The road has
been cut through it showing it's depth.
and that was enough to have buried
IN its path any Of the villas / had seen
below. From this point on to the
station of the Funicular Railway the
road for the most time passes between
gray-black walls of lava, the tops of
which are curled like waves ortwisted
into capricious spiral forms, and there
forever stilled. Not flower or blade
OF grass grows there, except in crevices
where dust may have fallen and the
wind has scattered seeds.
The desolation mile after mile is OBJ
pressive to behold. One seeks relief
by looking back over the blue Mediter-
ranean and the reddish white cities of
the plain. Or else he looks ahead and
up to Vesuvius, whose terrible males
ty now begins to appear. Inow see
that where the sea of lava ends the
ashes begin. The vapor, which seemed
to curl up peacefully and thinly-from
the standpoint ofNaples-is mounting
to the sky in great volume, and
whirling as if In cyclone. One imag-
ines o roar as that hot steam lushes
from the crater. He sees specks tossed
into the air. These are stones flung
aloft two or three hundred feet and
dropping back into the yawning pit
to be presently elected again. He has
been told that Vesuvius is little
more active than usual. He can now
readily understand of what frightful
deeds the volcano is capable when in
the maddest humor. Not only all the
little cities near his base, which have.
been rebuilt in their childlike faith
that they will never again be destroy
ed, but proud Naples, which has SO
far been spared, are at his mercy.
After | had ascended by railway to
nearer view OF monster, and COM
pleted my acquaintance with him as
far as it was safe, familiarity did not
lessen my respect for his power. 1t
seemed impudently inquisitive for a
party of tiny mortals to be throwing
stones into his enormous mouth, polk
ing canes into his ribs and stirring up
the red fire there, and laughing as the
dense sulphurous fumes rose in our
faces. The guides roasted eggs for us,
and we ate them with pinch OF salt
chucking the shells into the crater,
which answered back with shower
OF red hot stones These luckily miss
ed their mark. I incline to think
that some of the fun made by our
company of visitors was like whistling
to keep up courage. For noticed
that the noisest of them hung hard to
the guides and gave a wide berth to
the crater's edge and looked much
pleased when the signal was given to
return. Just as we started on the
downward path Vesuvius made a
noise between sob and shrek, and
belched forth a farewell volley of
stones, which might havespoiled some
hats and even heads ii they had been
shot accurately.
For the information Of those who
havenever ascended Vesuvius but hope
to do SO some day, add that the trip
by carriage from Naples is three and
one.half hours long to the foot OF the
Funicular Railway. Thence to the
upper station twelve minutes by a
line much resembling that of Mount
Washington or the Switzerland Rigi in
ease and safety From there to the
top of the crater is steep climb of
fifteen or twenty-five minutes, accord
ing to the age and wind OF the heclimber.
Persons with weak lungs or shaky legs
or in any respect infirm should not at
tempt the latter feat. For them is
provided the chaise-a-porteur. Two
strong young fellows carry this like a
bier-their customer sitting composed
ly unless he or she is badly scared) in
the chair which is swung in the middle
of two long poles. The bearers are
| like goats in sure-footedness, strength
and agility 1t is wonderful to see
them pick their way among the huge,
Jagged pieces Of smoking lava and up
the steep slope of hot ashes-ankle
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