The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1886-10-28
UP AND DOWN MOUNT ETNA.

UP AND DOWN MOUNT ETNA.
The Wonderful View That Rewards
the Toll OF the Ascent--Peering
f Into the Crater.
The guide collects our spare clothing
and refreshments and puts them across
his mule, and then. calling on us to
mount, he leads the way. On the left
we pass the Monti Rossi, two noun
tains between six and seven thousand
feet high, thrown up by one of the
eruptions of Etna. Then there are
nothing before as but masses of tiny
vines some two or three feet high.
which we suppose are the last traces of
vegetation we shall see. But no, we
soon come to quite distinct zone or
belt of woodland, called II Bosco, or
the wood, which extends in width about
six miles, and is three miles deep.
Hitherto we have been plowing our
way through loose cinders with dreary
waste of land on either hand, but now
the scene changes suddenly, and as
pleasantly. For an hour we are riding
through wood of small trees, of oak,
beech, and cork; the roadway is no lon
ger of loose cinders, but of huge bowl
ders of lava, over which or around
which the mules mount or creep as
may seem best to them; for by this
time we are quite persuaded that we
are at their mercy, and that these
patient. hardy animals will well earn
the money charged for them. The
moon has risen. and this part of the
ride is as pleasant as it is picturesque.
But beyond the wood the dreary waste
begins, not to end till we retrace our
steps on the morrow. After little
more than two hours ride we come to
the woodman's house, of which we
avail ourselves for a rest and for some
water for ourselves and beasts. Again
mounting, we start for our next stage,
the English house, or Casa deg I'm
glesi, at the base of the cone of Etna,
and which has been placed there by the
Italian Alpine club, where travellers
may rest and get shakedown before
ascending to the crater.
This stage of three hours and half
is probably the most depressing ride
either of us ever had, or could possibly
have. Usually in mountain climbing
there Is much to delight and to reward
one in ascent; there are halting-places
where one gets visions of beauty de-
lightful in themselves, even if they are
not an earnest of still more extensive
ones to come. But here there is moth
ing for the eye to rest on to please; eve
rything by way of vision or suggestion
is gloomy and depressing. Leaving
behind all trees, and after while even
the hills on which few hardy shrubs
had struck root and asserted themselves,
we enter on dreary waste of lava, un-
relieved by any object to cheer or en-
liven us. Far as the eye can see-and
! the moon is at the full-there is nothing
but scene of somber vastness-one
vast waste of present desolatlon and of
former destruction. After some we'll
intention ed efforts to throw off the
gloom which oppresses US all, we are
forced to yield to the influence Of the
surroundings, which settle down upon
us like nightmare, our one hope to
come to the end of our funereal ride.
BY and by the white front of the Eng
lish house presents itself, shining like
friendly beacon in the moonlight; but
even this relief is tempted with disap-
pointments, as we learn we are more
than an hours's ride from it. The way
is almost perpendicular. SO that the
mules toll on at a snai's pace, quite at
their own discretion, for the cold has
become intense, and we are all glad to
thrust our hands in our pockets. We
could have slept away the tedious
minutes and thus shut out the dreary
panorama, but the cold prevents u.s.
We have nothing to do but to stare at
the whitewashed front of the English
house and wonder if we are ever to
reach it. Never was hostelry more
welcome when, at 1890 o'clock, we
reached the top; and never had hostelry
less to offer to tired and dispirited way
farers. A bundle of straw is all that is
available as bed, and from this two
men have to be aroused who have gone
to sleep: The cold is intense, and no
cover is provided, Fortunately, we
erept under q corner of a rug brought
with us, but even then it is too cold to
sleep, and we are glad when the guide
comes to call US,
At 3:45 clock we start for the sum-
mit our party being increased by two
Sicilian generals and u captain. with
their two guides. We hope to reach
the summit before sunrise, but we lit
/ tie reckon the difficulty of this two
mile assent. AT first our path lies
over loose scorim or ashes, into which
our feet sink to the depth of several
inches. By-and-by the mountain side
becomes sleeper, and the pathway is
over hard lava, in which the guides
with their axes have to cut inches, in
which our feet may find safe hold. II
is trying work, for an insecure foothold
means precipitate fall. Our alpen-
stocks greatly help us, resting on which
every few minutes we take breath.
Looking down, the Sicilian party is
seen to be in trouble, and they present
" give up the attempt; Before we
reach the the top the sun has risen, but ip
. a mist so that an earlier start would
not, haye secured the view desired. But
1 in spite Of the mist the view is inde-
scribly grand and extensive. All
around and below us are the undulat-
ting sides ofl the mountaip, which is
more than ninety miles in circumfer-
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