Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1908-10-23


steam and smoke of Vesuvius' assures
winding in spiral coils heavenward.
While ashes and orchards, people and
caves took our attention, we lost sight
of it that we were hundreds of feet above
the sea and on slopes built of the bowels
of the earth, lava that had been vomited
forth ages ago. Now that all shrubbery
and life are beneath us we begin to take
note of the rugged crags and stratas,
assures and seams of cold, dead lava we
are coursing. We seem to be now on
a mountain ridge of lava and now in a
valley of it, still ascending, and with
austere twin Vesuvius far above US vet.
Here is torrent of lava miles long and
half a mile wide that ran down this de-
preston left by a former overflow,
sweeping over everything before it,
wiping out orchards and vineyards as
hayseeds of the gutter in a rainstorm.
The next overflow will probably take
another course; and so it has been going
on until Vesuvius' high sides look like
a giant coal or culm pile in Pennsylvania
-as dumpings on top course down the
sides to the bottom. But it is useless
to try to picture the effect. One must
see for himself.
Now we come to the end of our little
tram. Pestiferous and piIfering guides
are handy-and SO is trio of Italian
soldiers, kept there by the government
to accompany parties. If ever you saw
the picture. of an Italian brigand, you
see it in life when you look upon a
Vesuvius guide. He lives on the tour
ist, while sleepingina tent builtlof straw,
and stories are told of the eternal dis
appearance down Vesuvius' treacherous
crater of more than one tourist after
being robbed, before the government
found it necessary to put a relay of
national guards up there. But the SOL
diers do not prevent the guide from
''robbing" women and timid men. A
Tennesseean, who was quite feeble, with
his wife, happened to be in our party
and before he got through from the
bleeding process he had parted with
something like twelve dollars for whal
he should have paid about dollar-and-
a-half. We had to go to his rescue and
keep the human leeches off him.
Leaving the train, some get horse
and some take litter, while several of
us depend on ''shank s." mare; we all
climb together, soldier in front, a
soldier behind, and the horde of guides
out of a job pestering you to take hold
of their rope for franc or two. These
are finally brushed back, and we
plod along. If you didn't put on your
old duds and shoes you can just count
yourself good ones out. The hard lava
or the loose lava stone is not difficult to
climb, but nearly all the path is of loose
ashes. Imagine yourself climbing a
sand-bank for nearly two hours, with
only now and then a firm footing.
True, the path is winding one and not
straight up. The chamois of the Alps
could not go straight up the ash-banks
in some places, and the last two hundred
yards is the eliminating ordeal. The
guides know their business and If you
have rebuffed them belowyou are pretty
apt to part with the exorbitant sum
of three francs (60 cents) now in
the offer to assist in the last hand and
knee scramble. Ashes in your shoes, up
your trousers and in your eyes; we get
there at last, look back upon the barren
ascent and see here dot of ascenders
or descenders meeting or passing the
difficulties you have experienced. The
view over Naples, it's bay, the Medit-
terranean, the white towns skirting the
coast and at the base of the far away
mountains. rich Campania around you,
with modern Herculaneum and the
sepulchred walls Of ancient Pompeii, all
showing their white marble and cement
in the effulgent light of September
sun whose slanting rays begin to singe
the travellers eyebrows now on the
gridiron of Vesuvius. But we have
seen hotter in Virginia and New York,
so are obiivious. We walk around the
ragged, sharp edges of the crater--all
who are sure-footed-andg go little
way down into the loose ash of the pit.
Hell itself could not be better pictured
than by sight Of this place, its great
gaping NAV of hundreds of feet in
diameter and here and there a molten
fissure with steam pouring out. Peter
and Paul and other sacred writer's had
evidently seen the first and puny Vesu-
vius. With fieck of the handkerchief
we extract some molten lava, and after
cooling store it away among our relics.
The varitinted (all dark) ash stratas
we get in phial. And that is about al
to carry away from here except q
lasting impression.
The descent is easy; it is like the boy
and girl in the hay-mow or upon tn.
sand cliff-run. jump roll or tumble, any
way to get to the bottom. When W.
got to our car, We looked like disreput
able brigands, and we took no offens.
when an American lady just coming uy
declined, with shudder, our profferet
assistance to get over rough place.
POMPEII-THE sODOM OF EARLY
CHRISTIAN TIMES.
Being close to your headquarters a
Naples, you may do Pompeii in day
Ii. e., the tourist way; you could spenc
weeks and years there if a student, OF