The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-12-02
vEsEvIrs - GROWING.
Its Lava sides Have Reared over 1850
Feet in Nine Months.

From the Pittsburg Dispatch.
Recent dispatches telling Of the stream
Of lava an Nesuvius win cause no surpr e.
10 any one who has visited the volcano ia
the last SIX months III has been stea ly
putting and spoutlng during that time
heaving out showers az molten lava and
glowing by plight until the clouds Of va
por above it took the appearance Of
rolling flames.
Two days before the last outpour from
a break in the cone the shell Of the old
crater trembled from the working Of the
lava underneath, and the peculiar sounds
Of Missing and growing which accOmpa-
MED each small eruption could be heard
two miles away.
Vesuvius is 80 feet higher than it was
nine months ago. Constant showers Of
porous lava have filled in one side Of the
hollow crater and have built up the new
cone, which, from its bold outlines has
greatly changed the appearance of the
summit, and IS still changing IL slightly
every day. Formerly the volcano, as seen
from Naples, had a rounded top, but now
IT, comes to a wedge point. a year ago
visitors looked into the hollow of the old
and somewhat cooled off crater.
OF late they have gone inside the bOun-
daI1es OF the old crater 10 get good look
at the new cone, from the summit of
which, at intervals of a few minutes,
there is gust OF, steam, laden with red
not ashes, which are sent into the air 200
Before the steam has drifted away there
Is another rumble. a sound of watery eX-
plosion, and another shower of ashes.
Thus, from a distance. in the day time,
there seems to be a constant curl of white
Vapor from the summit but at night
each separate eruption throws out a vivid
Hght, which then fades away TO a dull
glow.
The natives who live on the slope Of the
mountain said that after the new cone
had been built somew hat higher it woulI
rDfu a ole Ia
present breathing hole Then tie noun
tain would be like a corkod up bottle.
4 new vent would have to be made, and
IN the making of this vent there would
~ herce eruption. am overflow IF Ia
aEo IEe lorna riOn OF ucH cratNl. 4 DE-
paTently. the natives should he INFORM
81. as some OF them had ancesrors at
Fompeh. and many remember iis il tly
The incidents of the fierce eruption OF
30. by which tho present crate' N;ts
There was, indeed. a general Deiiv-
tnat the renewed anu growing ACTIVITY Of
the volcano would lead to some sorc Of
eruption, but ii was hoped that it would
be nothing more serious than a flow of
lava down over the old and hardened
beds. The last outbreak and the flow
toward Keslna tin the direction Of the
buried city of Herculaneum) was, there
lore, not unexpected
Going to the top of Nesuvius is no pleas
ufe trip. The distance from Naples to
the funicular railway station is fifteen
miles by the winding roadway, which,
Tor a large part of the diStan 30. goes
through the dismal beds of lava. Il is
hard pulling for the horses, and the ear
riage wheels grind slowly on the uphill
turns. The beggars and those offlcIOus
Va6abonds who style themselves guides
or who have greasy boxes filled with
taWdry souvenirs flock about the carria ee
and follow it for miles. They are impu-
dent and leechlike. Their studied policy
is to annoy and vex and poster The un-
happy travellers until they are paid
something to go away.
Above the beggar line is the region of
lava beds, The road zizgags and folds it.
self, and after an hour of aimless climb
ing the smudge of steam around the cone
seems no nearer than before. The lava
is spread around in misshapen blows
thrown up in shaggy humps or rolled and
twisted into fantastic draperies, showing
all manner of serpentine lines. 1t has
been twenty-three years since the sticky
molten mass dubbed out from the crater
and spread down the slopes A few pale
flowers now grow from the deeper crew
ices, and there may be seen occasionally
a discouraged tuft of weeds, but these
cannot relieve the dullness and deafness
edges and sent out streams far I'm adj
vance of the main body. At one place a
stream parted and left house, a clns-
ter OF trees and patch of garden I'M
touched in the midst of the desolation.
This spot seems like an island or an
oasis.
The large cone is simply a heap of Gin
ders dignified by size. The ride to the
loot of the cone consumes five hours, but
IL requires only Ten minutes TO reach tne
top of the funicuar railway. Then there
is walk of ten minutes up the jagged
edges of the huge crater to the bowl,
and in this is the little cone thrown up
by the recent eruptions. 1t is better 70
stand away about 400 feet while watch
ing its performances, and even then
there is no absolute certainty of avoid
ing fall of fiery grit. One of the guides
VIII cautiously APPROACH the cone and wait
for an explosion AS soon as the sizzling
pieces fall he will run forward and embed
coin in some chunk which is still soft
enough to be kneaded. When he brings
the souvenir, on a piece of fiat stone. ghe
coin Is so hot that a cigar can be lighted
from it, For this valiant service he ex-
poets one franc.
The funicular railway up the big cone
was built many years ago. popular
song 'tuniculi, Funiculi" relates to this
particular enterprise. At the railway
station and restaurant. in the shadow of
the big cone about thirty people are en-
ployed. The houses are white. clean and
comfortable and the view of Naples, the
pay and Capri is unsurpassed, but one
! could imagine nothing more cheerless
than living on the reverse side of the
earth's shell. with only the lifeless shapes
of lava for neighbors In the season the
monotonous slope of the mountain creeps
with life. There are 200 visitors a day.
The restaurant takes on the busy air of
a city hotel and the railway cars fly up
and down incessantly.