Los Angeles herald., 1892-09-22
ON MT. ETNA AT NIGHT
HOW THE HEAVENS APPEARED TO
a DARING TRAVELLER.

Ascending the Dreaded Volcano in the
Barkness-wafting Near the Crater for
the sunrise-How the Ascent Was Made.
Faithful Mules.
The story of the ascent of the noun
tain from whose summit Plato, in his
serene and thoughtful time, and Mr..
Gladstone, in our troublous days, have,
among many great men, in great wonder
watched the sunrise, has a strong fas-
cination because of its wide contrast,
its stern exaction of strength and en-
durance and its supreme, awe inspiring
reward, the realization of that which
inspired the ancients and the poets Of
the Middle Ages.
From the banana and the orange
groves, from the vineyards and the
palms, through the seven botanical re-
regions to the snowcapped crust that
spreads for ten square miles between
the awful depth of unquenchahle fire
and the blue heaven that suddenly seems
to be brought near, the traveller mounts
with an ever increasing sense of the
vastness beyond and around him.
When twelve miles of the ascent from
Catania have been accomplished the
summit looks as far off as ever. When
Mr.. Rodwell made the ascent, in August,
1877, no rain had fallen in Sicily for
three months, and along the eastern sea
base of the mountains the mean temper
ature was SO degs. Fahr. His starting
.xxoc Ho+o h, ,-of ~ OF Moo
losi, little town consisting of one long
street, bordered by one storied cottages
of lava. Nicolosi has more than once
been shaken to the ground by earth
quakes. From thence begins the jour
ney, on muleback, by no definite path,
over vast tract covered with lava and
ashes, with here and there patches of
broom. The mules know all about it,
and wise travellers trust them as they
deserve.
Around the district of lava and ashes
lie forests of small trees, and at height
of 4,216 feet is the Casa del Bosco, where
men in charge of the woods live and
whence the start for quite the upper re-
gions of the mountain-where cold sur
passing that of the higher Alps has to
be encountered-is made. There, Mr..
Rodwell records, 'the air was SO extra
ordinary still that the flame of candle
placed near the door did not flicker"
At $500 feet the Regione Deserta is en-
tered Lifelessness is all around. ST.
lence broods over the waste of black
sand, ashes and lava; ants are the only
+,,r s,,f o+a,.
little lower down Spalfanzani found
jays, thrushes, ravens, kites and few
partridges.
There was no moon on the night on
which Mr.. Rodwell made the ascent,
but as the desolation deepened, and the
earth became more arid and more void
and mute, the heavens "took up the
wondrous tale" ''The stars" he says.
'shone with extraordinary brilliancy
and sparkled like particles of white hot
steel. have never before seen the
heavens studded with such n1yriads of
stars. Tho ,nillry way shene like a path
of fire, and meteors flashed across the
sky In such numbers that soon gave
up any attempt to count them. The
vault of heaven seemed to be much
nearer than when seen from the earth,
and more fiat, as If only short distance
above our heads, and some of the
brighter stars appeared to be hanging
down from the sky"
A hundred years ago Brydone, be-
holding this same wondrous spectacle
Of lawful majesty and splendor," re-
cords how he and his companion were
more struck with veneration than be-
low" how they exclaimed together,
"What a glorious situation for an OBJ
servatoryl Had Empedocles had the eye
of Gailleo, what discoveries must he not
have nader and how they regretted
that Jupiter was not visible, as he was
persuaded they might have discovered
some of his satellites with the naked
eye, or at least with small glass which
he had in his pocket.
At 1 80 a. m, with the temperature
at degs. Fahr., Mr.. Rodwell reached
the welcome shelter of the Cas- In
glese, and rested there until 8 a. M,
when, the brighter stars having dis
appeared, he started for the summit of
the crater, 1900 feet above him, in order
to witness what Brydone calls ''the most
wonderful and most sublime sight in ma
ture." There was no strong wind; the
traveller did not suffer from the sick
ness of which travellers constantly COM
plain in the rarefed air of the summit.
He reached the highest point at 4:4O,
and, cautiously choosing a coolish place
among the cinders, sat down on the
ground, whence steam and sulphurous
acid gas were issuing, to wait for the sun
rise. "Above the place where the sun
would presently appear there was
brilliant red, shading off in the direc-
ton of the zenith to orange and yellow;
this was succeeded by pale green, then
long stretch of pale blue, darker blue,
dark gray, ending opposite the rising
sun with black. This effect was quite
distinct; it lasted some minutes and
was very remarkable. This was sue
ceeded by the usual rayed appearance,
and at ten minutes to the upper rim
of the sun was seen over the mountains
of Calabria."
So simply does Mr.. Rodwell record the
guerdon of his toll, for, as he says truly
no one would have the hardihood to at