The Holt County sentinel., 1900-11-30
with the jerky, unst ady motion pecu-

liar to all rable lines.
The incline is very great. and the ride
Oh The whole is much like being hoisted
up on pulley. The view is magnifi-
cent one; below lie orchards, vineyards,
villas and palaces, and the whole pano-
rama of the g eat city,till it merges into
the terrace Of he Bay, who-e cleaning
waters sparkle and dance in the sunlight,
while beyond in the distance roll the
blue waves of the Mediterranean in
swelling, undulating b llows. The con-
trast, between the enchantment of the
distance and the desolation OF the i'm
mediate landscape, is overwhelming The
whole side of the mountain about US is
covered with black pail of lava, break
ing ito eddys of dust and ashes in the
imm. diate vic nifty of the cars. which
rise in sutfocating clouds as half dozen
rough looking Italian peasants trudge,
or rather slide down the shifting sands,
as they descend from the summit. On
reaching the terminus, a stretch of pos.
sibly half mile intervenes between the
the sta ion and the summit above you.
The heat is sitting, above you rolls a
dense cloud OF black smoke from the
era: er, while around you sweeps a bill
lowy sea of ashes, debris, scoria and lava
dust, stirred into dun clouds by every
passing breeze. The ascent of the pre-
cipitous slope before US Was in every
sense an duous one.
The first step off the hastily improv-
ised railroad platform landed US in
ashes and dust above the shoe tops: the
heat, as We struggled upward, at each
step became more intense from the ado
ed reflection Of the shifting sands We
were passing over. which seemed both
hot and damp to our feet, the hot ashes
and lava dust corroded and burnt the
soles of our shoes and crack. d and
shrivelled the uppers in seams and elts,
the fumes of sulphur were sitting, and
black clouds of dust settled over our
clothes and faces, until our lite party
looked more like band of chimney
sweeps than the gay debonair group OF
tourists of scarce an hour ago. The
dust was no respecter of persons, but
had the true Democratic spirit OF our
own soil, and the dainty ladies, who =
sayed the toilsom, ascent soon developed
ccmplexions that would certai lly have
done credit to Comanche Indians. My
wife pluckily pressed onward, but her
steps began to lag, and when within a
short distance of the summit she stop
ped altogether. and informed me that she
felt too exhausted by the exeriion and
too choked by the heat and sitting
fumes of the sulphur now almo t over
whelming-to proceed further, but We
were now to near the summit to give up,
and encouraging her the best could,
partly supp Drting and partly carry
ing her at times, and growing at her in
regular bear fashion, which she prompt
ly resented, as all good Missouri wives
do when their husbands essay the bear
act, we weari d, exhaused and decidedly
out of breath reached the crest of the
pe.k, and with eyes rivetted on the cra-
ter stood at the brink of the great chasm
opening at our feet, gust of wind rolled
the clouds of smoke that shrou led the
crater away, and We gazed for moment
down the mouth of the vast pit yawn-
ing there at our feat, mighty abyss
seemingly cut out Of the summit of the
mountain by repeated strokes of light
ming. 1t Was indeed the sight of life
time.
The crater resembled a deep cash
cut in the centre of the peak,
its sides irleguia an angular, but
sloping in the centre, blocks OF molten
lava bubbling and agitated, thin spiral
columns of white vapor escaping here
and there. and emitting the penetrating
fumes Of burning sulphur thrown off
from the fierce hidden fires of the vol.
cano beneath. Suddenly there came a
quiver, the mountain beneath us tot.
tered and trembled like an aspen tree
in the breath Of a storm, and then dull,
indescribable roar, and then it seemed
as If the very jaws of hell opened there
at our feet, and We looked for one brief
moment into its illimitable abyss, and
red hot stones, blocks OF molten lava,
vapor, smoke and hail Of pebbles and
ashes gushed forth from the mouth OF
the black, fathomless chasm. Ths mag
nificence Of the scene, its sublime power,
and yet at the same time the Internal
attributes of the picture,is such tn at no
pen can adequately describe it. And
yet men say there is n hell saw one
that day on the summit of Mount Vesu-
vius. Awed, covered with ashes, debris
and hail of pebbl, S, half sutrocated
with the escaping fun, of sulphur we
staggered, like drunken men, down the
slope.
At st. Peters in Rome we saw the
greatest handiwork Of man, tod ", at
Vesuvius, we saw the aIl-potent hand
work OF God as written in the spheres.
We realized there, as never b,fore. that
he who would tamper with the unseen
forces of nature can well fall victim o
them, and possibly we realized also the
further fact, hat it is It best to lift the
vail that conceals what God intend d
should be the unknowable: it is no. we'll
to ask Heaven to mirror forth It's glorles,
or hell to grant us touch or sight of its
unseen fires. Such was Vesuviu., as l
saw il, and such were some OF the
thoughts and reflections that came with
the seeing.
OREGON, Mo November 81, 1900.
JelI-O, The New Dessert,
plrases all the family. Four favors:
L. mon, Orange, r ,spb-rry an Straw