The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-10-31
IN THE CRATER'S RIM
Bunnie Mead and His Wife
Have a Narrow Escape.
OLD VESUVlUS EXPLODES
While They are Taking q
Snapshot in Italy,

In q letter opened in Wichita yesterday
by J. R. Mead, word was received that
Mr. and Mrs. James L. CBunnie) Mead
touring in italy. came very near giving
up their lives at the crater Of vesuvius
owing to an unexpected eruption. With
a guide. which is compulsory for tourists
who ascend to the crater. they had pass
ed around the quiescent mouth Of the
uneasy old mountain, and were engaged
in taking a snap shot when the volcano
suddenly exploded, showering rock and
vomiting out lava and covering the place
where they had just passed and pelung
heavy rock all about them as they fed.
In his letter from Naples, dated October
IA, he writes Of the perHous experience as
follows:
II VIII leave out section Of several
+ weeks Of cur travel In order TO tell Of
an adventure We had on Mt Vesuvtus
! yesterday while it is fresh.
1--WE arrived here day before yesterday
( afternoon and started early yesterday
morning on ascent Of Vesuvius Went
( by carriage four or five hours, first
through city streets and crowded lanes,
+ then through walled lanes between vine
yards. and lastly over great wastes OF
/ lava, much of it being from eruptions of
/ 1872 and 1885. 1t is black and tumbled
around like rough ice field. We reach
/ ed foot of cable incline which ascends
! the main cone about 1000 feeD got lunch
and went to the top. Gable stops fifteen
minutes walk from top and we scramble
up through black volcano sand with
guide which is compulsory) At the top
is a smaller cone 200 or 800 feet high
This terminates in a sharp edge or circu-
lar rim of the present crater. which is
400 or 500 feet across Inside OF this in
the last three months has formed a
smaller crater 200 or 800 feet across, with
a rim level with the outer one. From the
bottom Of this, which goes down ike an
inverted cone, not seething sulphurous
vajors are boiling up in varying quantity
1t also seeps out Of the inside Of the
outer rims which IS yellow and RED with
sulphur and iron incrustahons, and at
several places on the mountain side
''The guide took us around the outer
rim to the lee side Of the crater. where
we could cross to the inner rim with less
difficulty. We all got over and held our
breath and looked in a moment and then
rushed back for air. I went again and
took a snap shot over the edge Then
we returned around the outer rim to the
windward side and I got the guide to
take us across TO The inner rim from this
point, which is pow difficult. We got an
other glimpse and snap shot of the crater
and scrambled back to the outer rim
about 100 feet across. Suddenly, with a
roar a column Of vapor. gravel and rocks.
filing the inner crater, shot up hun
dreds of feet and continued spouting for
some moments Stones were falling ali
around us. I instantly realized that this
was the beginning Of an unexpected erup-
ton and that our chances Of escaping
were very small My first thought was
to get away from the falling stones. and
I grabbed Cora's wrist and bolted, drag
ging her down the soft sides of the cone.
A rock big as q mans head fell within
five feet of us when we were half way
down the small cone and tore a hole in
the ground. Wen, it seems our time has
not come yet, for the only serious result
of the incident is a sprained ankle on
which I cannot walk today and which
gives me leisure TO read and write
little
81 have since learned that those small
eruptons are liable to occur any time
and are constantly changing the form OF
the top Of the cong I imagine this one
must have been a little more severe than
ordinary. however. as the guides as well
as others bolted. A young French couple
were near as; the man struck out for
himself and left his wife No one was
hurt as far as we heard, but if we had
been on the inner rim or on the lee side
of crater, where most Of the rocks fell,
fear we would not have Jared so well.
The common people of Italy are the
poorest and dIriest have ever seen, and
Naples is the worst city fl italy we have
seen. in this respect. Our negroes live i'm
luxury and cleanliness compared 10 them
The ordinary people here live on what
our poorest families would throw away.
A working person only. earns a few cents
q day and they don work If they can
help IT, Beggars and fadrs swarm ana
are very persistent II you throw a
penny 90 a child a bigger one pitches
onto him ard after a well contested tight
secures it. by this time a stan bigger one
puts iu appearance and the scene IS re-
peated
Except a few avenues and main thor
oughfares here the streets are very nar-
r0w-ten 10 twenty feet Chickens. goats
etc. live In the ground floor apartments
with the people and walk around on the
crowded sidewalks as big as anybody.
Goats and COWS are driven from house
60 house Sand miked the goats even be-
Hg driven 90 The upper floors. They are
WAYS driven Oh the Sidewalks Even
on the best business streets focks or
goats are driven along the sidewalks
crowdinE between and against the people
and standing around The doors and an-
d0ps when q hait IS made
The more ] see e Europe The mere
realize how much better oT Te SIRE .H ou-
country and h0w much better our meth
dds ~ business ana work are Z think the
admission q emiEranls from che lower
classes ~ Europe q great danger ana
viii graduaIly relues oar 7c-klas re- pie
IL She level theg are tere
Tas bay 81 Naples sE1 the location ana
scenery are grand The best hotels cram
by Germans etc1 are located an ta= hsr
ana apart from tHe tn-cs sstae5 d.s-