The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1909-02-26


| But was lucky enough the frs
day on landing to secure brigh
young fellow, well dressed and hon
est for guide. The added comfor
and time saved Is well worth the til
you are expected to give before re
turning to the ship.
The first day ashore, Monday,
was with two other electrician
(shipmates) and we each gave thu
guide five franc Gone dollar, gold
an Italian franc being exchanged fol
twenty cents gold and ! engaged hin
for Wednesday. my next day ashore
and also told him to come out to the
ship on Tuesday morning and / would
help him out again. So bright and
early he came and recommended
him to two fellows who were going
ashore, as a good guide and they
were also glad to have him. He is
studying up to hold a position with
the famous Cook tours.
We got safely through the Suez
but had a strenuous time coaling in
Port Said; started in to coal at
twelve midnight and finished about
ten o'clock the next night; had lit
tie rain along with it which made it
worse. did not have much to do,
but the dirt and noise on deck is very
disagreeable and 1t is always SO hot
below that one can hardly stand it
for all the ventilating blowers are
shut down coaling ship to keep the
dirt and grit from the machinery. So
the best thing one can do is to say
on deck and take 1t. M
About 3 o'clock in the morning /
had a little job which lasted until
about 5. One OF the forecastle deck
winches broke dowel pin on the
commutator end bearing, which al
lowed it to turn in the housing and
heat up to such q degree that we had
to doctor it; the heating caused the
bearings to freeze to the shaft SO
tight that we had to apply heat to
the bearings and ice to the shaft in
order to get it Off but after taking a
turn out Of the bearing and putting
in a new dowel we had no more trou-
BILE.
We received word by wireless that
the straits of Messina were made un-
safe for navigation by the quake, but
before we had hardly got. started
around Sicily.we were informed that
the straits were again safe, So we
again changed our course and put
into Messina. Coming to anchor
there about nine o'clock a. m. on the
ninth and leaving about D. m. the
same day, carrying two or three pas
sengers with us to Naples.
The town of Messina was complete
ly destroyed and estimated there that
one hundred and fifty thousand lives
We're lost, which were being con-
with quicklime. | did not get
ashore but we were anchored in so
close that we could see the rescuers
at work in the ruins and with the
welcould see them all but
their eyes. They were still finding
Ind excavating bodies from the ruins
md carrying them up the street to
heir last resting place. / suppose
| that had been back in the time of
'odom or Pompeii it would have been
Gifted down in the note books as hav-
ng been caused by the wrath of God
N account OF the city becoming SO
orrupt.
On the way out to Pompeii the
rain passes by one Of the streams Of
ava that was thrown out by the
ruption of nineteen six and which
ook almost exactly the same course
s 1t must have taken to destroy
ompeii in A. q. 70, but the eruption
nineteen six was not nearly so Sc
ere as the one that destroyed Pom
81 and the stream did not reach
ompeii by over mile.
You can see Vesuvius has double
FAX and they claim that the one to
le left looking from Naples is the
le that put the finishing touches to
g city of Pompeii. 1t has the :
hole top blown off, and has another ,
lme but ! do not remember it.
The cog road going to the summit :
Vesuvius was destroyed in nine :,
en- six and 1t is almost impossible
ascend by foot to any distance on :
count Of the ashes, so decided to :
1t pass. although I would have l
red very much to have seen the :
ater. 4
Pompeii is great deal larger than =
thought and must have been quite o
thriving city at the time Of its de- /"