St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-01-29
UP VESUVIUS BY ROPE.
Thrilling Trip Both WayS-EX-
tOrtiOn Done Away With,

tOrtiOn Done Away With.
The observatory with its seismic in
struments is open daily from 8 to /,
but passengers by Cooks route have no
time to pause, so we passed it reluc-
family, consoling ourselves by the
grand views of Monte Somma, the
northern and lower portion of Vesuvi-
us, which, clothed in woods, forms a
striking contrast to the desert-like des-
olation of the ashy-brown lava fields,
says a correspondent of the Boston
Transcript. About l o'clock Cooks
restaurant, at the lower railway sta
ton, was reached, and a really good
meal at moderate rates a la carte was
secured there. The wire-rope railway.
1886 yards in length, is really one of the
wonders of the age. The slope of the
cone is very sharp, varying from 40
deg to 60 deg, and in less than ten min
utes the cone is assembled, the upper sta
ton being 434 yards above the lower,
and the great crater itself being a trifle
over 100 yards above the upper station.
The cars, which are very small, resem-
BILE our open cars, but can accommo-
date only eight or ten people. They are
run on wire ropes by steam power the
water for the steam being carefully
conserved in cisterns at the lower sta
ton, all the water being derived from
the rain water that deScends from the
cone. AS Vesuvius is constantly chang
ing and shifting the shape of it's cone,
the railroad is really built upon very
changeable foundation. The ascent is
really thrilling, and the descent, if
one is seated on the front seat, is
still more so. Practical guides met us
at the upper station to conduct us to
the crater; the extortion formerly
practiced has been stopped. However,
one stout old Italian lady was carried
up in a sedan chair, for which she had
to pay 10 francs extra; an invalid
American was hauled up on the end
of a rope by guide, for which he had
to disburse two francs; the rest of us
found the slight ascent from the ashy
path very easy On foot.
When the crater was reached the
scene was indescribably grand. We
stood on the precipitous walls of the
outer crater and looked down into the
hollow below, where the cone-shaped
mass was emitting vast clouds of white
smoke that rolled up in beautiful tree
like form. Every few seconds rumb-
ling like thunder would be heard, then
a great flame, which almost scorched
our IdCcS, WOulu ICtoIl Ouly liCil a.
shower of red-hot stones would rise
high in the air, seemingly so close that
we shrunk back from the edge of the
crater, fearing that they would descend
upon our heads. But they fell with q
dull thud upon the cone of the inner
crater and rolled down its sides. Sui
phur yellow, Indian red and purple
were the inside walls of the outer era
ter. almost rivalinS in their brilliancy
the famous peaks of the Yellowstone
Park. Circling the foot of the great
crater we came upon numerous smaller
openings. Looking down into one, we
could see the lava flowing and hear it
Kissing as the sulphurous fumes es-
capped. The guides who descended to
the edge of the lower crater to make
impressions in the hot lava with coins
came up painting and choking, and it
really seemed as though they had
taken their lives in their hands. The
descent of the mountain was accom-
plished much more rapidly than the as
cent Leaving the summit shortly
before 4, Naples was reached about Z
o. M, the distance travelled being abont
thirty-two miles in all.