The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1905-07-08

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day as If he was carrying d messag
pants, and then the ashes that come
out of the crater at times would make
you think that what they need there
is to have a chimney sweep go down
and brush out the fues.
To get an idea OF what a nuisance
the ashes from the crater are to the
cities On the plain below, you remem-
Der the time you were out in your
back yard splitting boxes for kindling
wood. and my ehum and | threw
pail of ashes over the fence, and &C
cidentally it went all over you, about
four inches thick That time you got
mad and threw cucumbers at us, when
we ran down the alley. Keep that in
your mind and you can understand
the destruction of Pompeii, when We
suvius, thousands of years ago.
coughed up hot ashes. and covered the
town 40 feet deep with hot stuff, and
killed every living thing, and petri-
fed and preserved the whole business,
and made a prairie on top Of town,
and everybody eventually forgot that
there had ever been a town there, for
about 1000 years.f # my chum and
I had not run out Of ashes we would
have buried you SO deep in your back
yard that you would have been petri-
fed with your Ratchet, and when they
excayated the premises a thousand
years later they would have found your
remains and put you in a museum.
Well, a couple of hundred years ago
a peasant was sinking we'll down in
the ashes, and he struck petrifed
barroonl. with a bartender standing Be
hind the bar in the act of serving
some whisky 1000 years old, and the
peasant located claim there. and the
authorities took possession of the
prairie ard have been digging the town
out ever since. looking for more Of
that 2,000-year-old whisky.
When I told dad about what they
were finding at the ruins Of Pompeii,
and how you were liable to find gold,
and diamonds, and petrifed women,
he wanted to so and dig in the ashes,
as he said it would be more exciting
than raking over the dumping grounds
lii Chicago for tin cans and Jumps of
coal. and SO we hired hack and went
to the buried town, but dad insisted
on carrying an umbrella, SO If Vesu-
vius belched any more ashes he could
protect himself Gee, but from what
/ have seen at that old ruin a man
would need an umbrella made Of cor
mgated iron to keep from being bur
led
Well, when we got to Pompeii dad
was for going right where they were
digging, but got him to look over
the streets and houses that had been
uncovered first, and he was paraSzed
to think that town could be covered
with ashes all these thousands of
years, and then be uncovered and find
a town that would compare, in many
respects, with cities Of the present day,
with residences complete with sculp-
ture, paintings and cut marble that
would skin Chicago to finish.
We went through residences that
Looked as rich as the Vanderbilt houses
IL New 1OIht edtuS that you COulu
take a plunge and a swim in, If they
had the water, paintings that would
take a premium at any horse show to-
day, pavements that would shame the
ravements of London and Paris, and
Isetrifed women that you couldn't tell
from a Iow-neeked party in Washing
ton, except that the ashes had eaten the
clothes off I guess most Of the peo-
pie in Ponpeii got away when the
ashes began to rain down. for they
must have seen that it wasn't going to
be q light shower, but deiuge. cause
they never have found many corpses.
They must have run to Naples, and
may be they are running yet, and you
may see some Of them at your gro
Gerry, and If you do see anybody COW
cred with ashes, looking for a job, give
them some crackers and cheese, and
charge it to dad, for they must be
hungry by this time.
Say, ID you know that some Of those
refugees from Pompeii went off in such
hurry that they left bread baking in