West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1896-02-06

sive behind s'raigh' euei bangs,
and under dripping hts.
Probably the donkeys we're no
worse than other donkeys. but the
road they bad to travel was but o
rough path. and IL seemed to mo
that any self-respecting donkey
would not have taken advantage Of
so many rocks in the road for pur-
pose OF stumbling az these innocent
looking animals did. The saddles
were not fastened secure and the
guides, one of whom accompanied
each rider and shouted dreadful
threats to the donkeys. were ex-
pected to hold the saddles on.
When the donkey fell down, the
saddle slipped forward and cuffed
the animal on the head. When he
went mp hill 1t settled securely on
his tail, and finally when the guide
had grown tired Of holding it on it
tumbled of altogether.
The rain at last began to pour
and the wind rushed violently down
the mountain. 1t was impossible to
hold umbrellas, and cold, wet and
dlsheartened the party reached the
station of the fuuiculairo road that
leads up the steep, yielding ashy
cone TO within a few hundred yards
OF the crater of the volcano. The
only fire in the restaurant was in
the kitchen, and the head waiter.
who speaks five languages and prob
| ably gets about $40 mouth, in.
vited us to warm ourselves, an in
vitation we gladly accepted. When
the world assumed brighter hue
through the medium Of an omelette
and streak, we started up the
mountain again. The road is al.
most perpendicular, and one feels
much more as if the ascent were
being made in an elevator than on
a rail track. 1t is called a funIcu-
laire, but is really cable with
double tracks, and the cars are
balanced so they pass each other
midway of the distance. On either
side are tho great fields of lava and
ashes, the former, Of course, now
cooled and in the most fantastic
shapes, in which, as in clouds, one
sees most clearly what his fancy
suggests. Perhaps it was the in
fuence of the donkey ride and the
weather, but it seemed to me Dore's
Illustrations of Dantes ''Inferno"
might have been photographs of
these formations.
AT the top of the funiculaire we
were met by new relay of guides,
who took off their big coats and
wrapped them about the drenched
women in the party. Chairs carried
by four men were to 6e had for
those unable to walk to the crater.
A guide went ahead of each of us,
and throwing strap over his
shoulder, told US to hold it tight
and lean back. Ones sympathy
for the guide prevents him leaning
back very far at first, but later
sympathy is lost In fatigue and one
resigns himself to being pulled
bodily up the hill through the
deep ashes. The crater was pointed
out to us, and we were warned not
to go too close, but We saw nothing
but place little more foggy than
the dense mist covering the noun.
tain, we saw the running lava which
looked temptingly warm, and the
sulphur which was bright yellow
and smelled like match factory.
Descending the hill again to the
fnnioulaire, the ladies hing Imply
on the arms OF the guides, and re-
gardless of best shoes and silk
underskirts suffered themselves to
be dragged through the fine, grey
ashes, zoo weary and wet to protest.
AT the lower station a stop Of
several hours was made in antlcipa.
ton o. clearing up Of the weather,
a hope that proved to be vain, how
ever. During this time the registry
album, large blank book in which
tourists may end a place to relieve
their feelings, furnished us diver
sion. We we're called upon to be
proud Of our erudite countrymen
AID women when we found these
inscriptions after tile big, black U.
5. A.: ct must be seen to be ap.
preciated." "Grand beyond de-