The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-06-06
CARNIVAL Of NAPLES /
WITNESSED IN FIRE
Pains Great Outdoor Spectaclet
of the Eruption of Mount
Vesuyius.
OPENING EXHIBITION
GIVEN AT WANDAMERE
Magnificent Display of Fire
works Is Witnessed by a
Great Crowd.

~ I'ullSll' fIuBhlDH VI }PB0 -.
vius, the acme Of outdoor stage realism.
was seen at Wandamerc Saturday night.
when Pain s gorgeous, historical pyro-
technic, musical, scenic and terpsichor-
can masterpiece was presented. An
audience Of 1000 people witnessed the
beautiful spectacle. II was the OPEN
ing performance. The scenic city ex-
tends clear across the old ball park and Z
racetrack at Wandamcre, and the per.
formance went without a hitch from
start to finish.
The performance opens with many
professions, representing Neapolitans
on feast day, these following and
interspersed by high.class acrobatic acts
in the open. Some of the best acrobats,
tumblers. horizontal bar performers,
jugglcrs, etc, seen III Salt Lake for
long time were on the programme.
The ballet of lanterns was one Of the
prettiest features of the show. This
was heartily cheered by the crowds.
Suddenly, as = cardinal leading pro-
ccssion OF friars stops in front Of a
temple and makes his devotion, the
earth is heard to grumble. Mount Vesu-
smoking and without other warning
great thunder is heard. The apex of
the mountain opens and great sheets of
fire pour out, covering the city. Ex-
plosion after explosion occurs. Tho
buildings begin to burn and in short
space of time are destroyed, falling III
masses before the eyes Of the spec
tators.
The big fireworks display starts i'm
mediately Hundreds Of parachute sky
rockets, bombs, balloons and set pieces
were set in motion simultaneously,
lighting the heavens for a great dis
tance. Color and fantastic designs were
in abundance. An immense fire rose
changing colors quickly was one of the
big features. Then came the outline
of the face Of Governor Spry in fire,
and in addition to this came hand
! some woman in fire, d magic fairy,
monkey gymnast and the flight OF
Pain g famous asteroid rockets, releas-
ing high in the air chains Of fire gems
| attached to parachutes, which change
color as they float away, and which
| have been christened as ''aerial sleigh-
| bells"
Hundreds in the Spectacle.
In this big spectacle are 300 persons,
men, women and children, who have to
be drilled so that no evidence Of awk-
warduess is shown. This had been sue
ccssfully accomplished.
The problem of firing several hum
dred pounds Of explosives nightly. with
out injury TO anyone, and at the pre-
else moments the reverberations or the
illuminations are needed, is duty of
pyrotechnis., is the man on whose
shoulders rests all of the responsibility
With the experience born of twenty six
years of employment by the same firm,
Cunliffe carries off the duties Of an
evening without any signs of perturba-
tion. u
The block-long frontage Of scenery
depicting the city and bay of Ma pies.
with smoking Nesuvius at the rear. and
church, n reviewing stand and fruit
and flower booths in the foreground, IS
painted on heavy duck canvas. The
scene is in sections. thirty feet high,
and about forty feet in width, and all
of them hang from light scaffoldinR.
After the long programme of circus
events a half.dozen men behind the
scenes suddenly become active. They
slip into tight khaki jackets, and pull
| hats we'll down over their heads,
How 1t Is Done.
A moment later n series of terrific
dctonntions begins Dynamite Is ex-
ploded for the eruption of the mountain,
the explosion of the sticks of dynamite
being by electricity, red fire and pyro-
technics are ignited and the eruption
is on.
While all Of this has been proceeding
the other operators, headed by Gun
life, have not been idle. The scat
folding from which hangs the scenery
has long shelf of lumber at the top;
on which rest liberal supplies of req
fire and explosives. Long fuses extend
TO them and Cuuliffe and his assistants
dash about, firing them Slmiiar
charges, some containing moro than
pound of powder. have been placed pc.
hind the sset pieces, as the flower
booths, fruit stands and other simiiaf
pieces of scenery are known, and [nsso
soon blaze up. Then as the roar OF tno
"lava' continues, workmen loosen tns
ropes holding the scenes In place, anu
the sections Of canvas fall. The bscks
of the curtains are tainted IN dark
colors, and as the sections fall IN JUN
bled masses they closely resemble lng
wreckage of ruined buildings Benino
the fallen curtains, on iron poles, blaze
great masses of straw, furnishing tne
last note of destruction In the real1stn
representation of the ruined scene lleh let
the display Of set pieces begins, VIII
the added feature of flights OF rocks.S
which burst and disclose Wondeit'1
color schemes. .u
The eruption OF Mount Vesuvius VI.
run all the coming week, ana its
worthy a visit Of all. Saturday niSus
the street car company handlea quo
crowds admirably. There was no delsy'
and everything moved with the P"
cision of n clock.